So Long My Friend...And I'm Glad The Rest of You Were Just A Phone Call Away!

Life is all about moving forward. We must move on. Change is good. It allows us to learn new things, take us out of our comfort zone, and challenge ourselves.

Alas, I sold my Expedition last Saturday. He doesn't have a name (because I don't give names to my cars, and its not a she) I really loved that truck. But is it the truck or is it the memories? Perhaps it was just an enabler to wonderful experiences (Good way to rationalize my sadness) But my minds telling me no, but my body, my body is telling me yeesss! (Ok, bad R Kelley reference) But yeah, eventhough my heart was there to keep it, I just know it was going to continue to deteriorate and I would have to continue to put more money into it.

But in the spirit of Reverend Run(If you watch Run's House) the huge lesson I learned this weekend, was how powerful the simple reassuring words of friends and family are. Having someone there to reassure you that you made the right decision (regardless if it was or wasn't), made a huge difference in how I felt. I really appreciated the empathy and sympathy from my friends and family, and having someone there to listen made all the difference. Im learning more and more the value of community, while trying to balance that independent spirit to make my own way through life. But I truly appreciated having the reassurance and attention of my family and friends.

I know I just sold my truck. But I loved my truck. So, now we are moving on. I have already started the investigation into possible replacements. Lots of exciting options. But we'll see where this next journey takes us.

That's Amore...

Who doesn't love anything Italian. Pizza, spaghetti, Giada(from Food Network), gondolas, venice, fashion, shoes. What's not to love? Ok, I guess there is the mafia. But thats pretty much it. In any case this week has been an Italian food fest, and I have been loving it. My wife loves to read recipe books. I really can't understand how anyone can enjoy browsing through recipe books. But I'm super glad she and others do.

This week we had some incredibly unique and traditional Italian dishes for dinner...

Penne with asparagus, prosciutto, and smoked mozzarella. When we went to the grocery store to pick up the ingredients, I was all about getting fresh prosciutto from the deli counter. However when I saw the $25.99/lb for fresh deli sliced prosciutto (not even from Parma) I said pre-packed works for me. And actually it turned out super delicious in the dish.

Homemade ricotta cheese gnocchi. My wife is a huge fan of gnocchi. Me, not so much. But if my wife makes homemade gnocchi, you bet Ill eat it. It was quite yummy.

Homemade sheep's cheese pizza. One of the benefits of studying to be a pastry chef, is you learn how to make breads, but more importantly pizza crust. With pizza being one of my favorite foods in the entire universe, I was so ecstatic to hear that she learned how to make pizza dough. We have a baking stone and a mario batalli pizza thingy to create these crisp crust pizzas. The crust is really amazing, and she even dusted the bottom with a little corn flour. Light, crispy. However, I do have to say the sheep's cheese added a unique flavor. (almost blue-cheesey) If you also notice, its a half and half pizza (to accommodate my love for tomato sauce)

Im sure we will have another Italian food fest. And that's ok by me.

Death of a Legend

All good things come to an end. Unless you've been blessed with bringing things back to life. (e.g. Jesus, Pushing Daisies star) And boy do I wish I had that power now. Nothing super serious, except if you call needing a NEW ENGINE serious. Yes my trusty gas guzzling, super utility vehicle, 1st car I bought out of college, is pretty much kaput.

It turns out that my 1998 Expedition needs a new engine, due to a leaking head gasket or some mumbo jumbo like that. Coolant has been leaking into who knows where (nothing on the floor, most likely into the engine) My only symptom was a sudden increase in temperature for about 15 seconds and a red light which would go away in about 30 seconds. And you know we ignore all those flashing red lights on our dashboard that say "Emergency Something is Wrong with Engine, but lets keep our hopes up and maybe it will go away".

So when I finally brought it in to get checked at a dealer AND also getting a 2nd opinion from a local mechanic, they both gave the same diagnosis. It needs a new $5,000 engine (but that includes parts and labor)

Ok, so here are my options...

1) Buy the new engine, wait for other things to go wrong with my 173,000 mile truck, spend more $$$ on those, continue to spend more $$$ on gas, continue to destroy the environment BUT live the fabulous life by driving in comfort, bullying around those pesky priuses, and be able to pack my truck with whatever gear I want. I LOVE my truck. But I think its really time to go.

2) Be practical (as my wife would say) and buy another "basic" car (as my wife would say) which is more fuel efficient and not "pretentious" (as my wife would say).

Excerpt: My wifes definition of basic...
1) Lexus, Mercedes, Acura, Infiniti are a No-No, but a BMW X3 is ok because her boss drives one.
2) No leather, no navigation, no vehicle dynamics control because they are $$$.
3) Bluetooth, push button start, auxillary port for ipod are ok, if they are free.
4) No big hulking SUVs.
5) If it is a mini cooper or volkswagen beetle the rules above don't apply.

Im telling you, logic is not the most important factor with my wife and cars/technology. Its more of a fluffy science with her.

So I find myself at another crossroad in my life. Which car/truck do we get? I LOVE my truck (did I say that already?) Although we went through this process back in January and decided on a Subaru Outback, new models have come out and a whole new set of factors jump in. (Like can I live without a supersized SUV) I guess its a question of WANT vs. NEED. Damn, why does it always have to come down to that. Ill keep you updated.

Tivo To Go... Not so easy

I have been a Tivo loyalist for several years now and LOVE the technology. Tivo is not just a DVR but truly an integrated multimedia service. It allows you to listen to the songs on your computer through your TV, view photos on your computer on your TV, buy movie tickets, check traffic and weather among other things. But my latest foray into the world of Tivo is to get my favorite new fall show "Pushing Daisies" onto my Windows enabled Samsung Blackjack (for tv on the go) Heres my new technical challenge...

1) I can easily get my favorite shows from the Tivo box to my laptop. A free utility called Tivo Desktop 2.5 easily allows that. (Although it takes about the same time as the length of the show approx. 1.58GB)

2) Now the hard part. Now I need to compress it into a format that fits onto my 1GB micro SD storage card on my phone. The options are...
a) Use Windows Media Player 11 to seamlessly transfer and compress 1.58GB file into a .wmv file. At the best quality it takes about 20 min. Not too bad considering the size. However although it compresses down to a measly 70MB file, the video quality is barely watchable. Although this is a seamless solution, it really doesn't work for me. I need to find how I can improve this process.
b) Use a program called Direct Show Dump which allows me to convert my .Tivo 1.58GB file into an .mpg 1.58GB file, so that I can use a program like Roxio, or Divx Converter to convert the file into a 256MB .avi file. The quality is perfect. However this adds 3 additional steps and time...converting to .mpg, converting to .avi, and then manually transferring it to my phone.

Ok I probably lost most everyone by now. But is all this effort really worth it? I say no. Even if I do these things while I eat and wash the dishes, it still takes time to monitor. AND although Pushing Daisies is my new favorite show of the season, I watch it live anyways, so why do I need it on my phone.

We will get there one day when we can easily watch our favorite shows from our cell phones. But were not yet there.

Going Geek with a Cell Phone Belt Clip Holder

My new cell phone case arrived last Friday! And I had the opportunity this weekend to "adjust" to my new fashion accessory. Im sorry to say that it's tough to get used to...

Positives
1) Professional looking with black leather and cream stitching.
2) Has beltloops, so it wouldn't ruin my belts. It turns out the clip is also designed in such a way that it doesn't ruin my belts. (Great added bonus)
3) Much more comfortable than carrying the phone in my pocket.
4) Strong magnetic cover to keep the case closed.
5) Krusell cases are well made.

Negatives
1) No matter how I wear it, it still looks like Im wearing a utility belt. All I need to do now is put on a leather suit with a bat logo on my chest.
2) Because it is a case that the phone has to be removed from, there is still the possibility I can drop my phone and it can get scratched. (I liked my previous aluminum case because it saved my phone from at least 3 drops)
3) Kind of tough to take the phone out because the leather is tough. (Im sure it will soften up over time)
4) Still not 100% confident the case will NOT clip off and I will loose my phone. I definitely need to be careful.

Overall I think it is a good move. It is very functional and Im sure in the long run it will be more comfortable that fumbling it around in my pocket. BUT..after seeing the ipod nano, I started to reconsider the need for an "all in one device". But that opens the floodgates to a whole other set of factors.

The Joys of Tai Chi - Translating Mental Thought into Physical Action

After recovering from a cold last week I jumped back on the saddle this Sunday and joined a spinning class. The instructor Joanne was awesome. She regularly road bikes, had funky music, and her program that day incorporated lots of hills.

After the class I asked her a question about some trouble I had with exerting the right amount of effort. We got into a discussion of how your thoughts can actually translate into physical exertion. Sounds brainless right, your brain sends a signal and your muscles move. But this was more than that. If you continually focus on pedaling at a pace of say 85 rotations per minute, even without looking at a computer, you can most likely hit that pace if you concentrate enough. She made the comment that lots of her students initially thought its a bunch of mumbo jumbo. But I have always believed in the connection between mind and body, and I think we have more control of our physical actions than we think we do.

My 1st realization of this connection is when you have a cold. I always believed you can to a certain extent "will" your way out of being sick. Of course there are certain physical limitations, but a strong will, positive mindset, will take you far in recovery.

Another realization I had was when I started to take Tai Chi classes. Our teacher practiced Tai Chi/Chi Gong. Initially, I was more interested in the Tai Chi part, you know, slow motion, martial arts for old people. But after a few months, I found real value in the meditation and energy practice of Chi Gong. Like many, I was very skeptical of what they were saying. Energy channels in the body, feeling your internal organs, etc. I still can't feel my internal organs, but I definitely believe in continually practicing and increasing your awareness of your body. Some of the benefits include concentration (and believe me, as a reality tv junkie, I can definitely use some help with concentration), relieving stress by relaxing tense muscles, and quieting down your mind from all your worries.

So once I found the benefits of Tai Chi and Chi Gong, I tried to incorporate them into my active workouts, like spinning and mountain biking. Essentially, during times of heavy excertion, I would simply try to relax my shoulders, face, and any non-essential muscles to conserve energy. Makes sense right. There is even a recent book out called Tai Chi running.

In any case, I think our minds have much more potential in influencing our physical well being. There are many books right now talking about positive thoughts, and willing our way to success. I definitely believe in those principles. In mountain biking you are always supposed to look where you want to go, versus what you want to avoid. Otherwise you will just hit what you want to avoid. And in tennis you are supposed to visualize the shot successfully being hit in your head. And more times than not, it will totally work. Our thoughts and intentions are powerful things. I definitely need to think more positive thoughts and visualize my way to success.

Getting in shape one heart beat at a time

Lately, I've been on a mission to get back into a regular exercise routine. Inspired by signing up for a corporate JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge back on Sept. 19, I trained for several weeks before the run so I could be in somewhat decent shape. I bought some nice running shoes and an armband for my phone so I could listen to music. It turned out great.

As a result I've run more, mountain biked more, and have regularly gone to spinning classes at my Golds Gym (I feel a little better that my membership fees are not going entirely to waste)

Part of the motivation is I get to fill in my Polar watch software with historical workout data. It's great to see the month filled in with all my different workouts. When there are big gaps (e.g. due to recovering from a cold for a week) I get motivated to make sure that I get a workout in. But its great.

What it doesn't do though, is show what I ate that day. For example right now Im feeling guilty for eating 2 homemade cinamon rolls, and 2 cupcakes (both courtesy of my wife) yesterday after participating in a spin class in the morning.

Kind of tough when your wife studied to be a pastry chef. But really Im not complaining. It was fabulous.

I've gleaned lots of useful information from blogs and hopefully I can also provide some interesting info. Here are some up and coming topics, I hope to write about... 1) Moving on up, from mold to vaulted ceilings 2) Going geek with a cell phone belt clip holder 3) The joys of Tai Chi - translating mental thought into physical action.