Pic-a-day

Posted on May 13, 2011 by Brian

I started a Tumblr blog. I’m going to try to post one picture a day there for the next 30 days, in the style of Matt Cutts.

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Someone make this travel site, please

Posted on April 28, 2011 by Brian

Here’s my idea. If it already exists, point me there. If not please make it. I’ll be your first customer.

I want to travel to a city (say New York) and I have a small budget (say $1000). But I want to see the ritzy side of NYC.  I tell you where I’m starting, where I’m going, my budget (per person), travel dates, and maybe some interests. Then you plan my trip. It should look something like this:

Flying Southwest Airlines in the luggage compartment with 19 connections – $200
Staying in a motel in New Jersey – $75
Bus, PATH Train, Subway – $25

Now we’re in NYC with $700 left.

Dinner @ Le Bernardin (no drinks) – $150
Ticket to see The Book of Mormon @ the Eugene O’Neill Theatre – $100

Brunch @ The Carlyle – $50
Dinner @ Per Se (no drinks) – $300
Ticket to see The Lion King @ the Minskoff Theatre – $100

We got there on the cheap and blew most of the budget on overpriced food and entertainment. The trick is I want someone else handle the bookings, or at least figure out where I should go and work out the budget.

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Turning the corner on Slow Carb

Posted on April 22, 2011 by Brian

Every meal for the first 3 weeks of slow carbing has been a challenge. What am I going to eat? Do I have slow carb ingredients? I need to run to the store. I’m already hungry. Now it’s going to be 2 hours before I eat lunch. Aaahhh! Very frustrating.

On my second pass through the book I focused in on this:

Mix and match from the following list, constructing each meal with one pick from each of thethree groups. I’ve starred the choices that produce the fastest fat-loss for me:

Proteins
*Egg whites with 1–2 whole eggs for flavor (or, if organic, 2–5 whole eggs, including yolks)
*Chicken breast or thigh
*Beef (preferably grass-fed)
*Fish
Pork

Legumes
*Lentils (also called “dal” or “daal”)
*Black beans
Pinto beans
Red beans
Soybeans

Vegetables
*Spinach
*Mixed vegetables (including broccoli, cauliflower, or any other cruciferous vegetables)
*Sauerkraut, kimchee
Asparagus
Peas
Broccoli
Green beans

Eat as much as you like of the above food items, but keep it simple.

I didn’t exactly miss this the first time I read the book (in fact it’s in my notes) but I didn’t realize how important it was. This is an example of why I’ve been saying anyone following the advice in this book should read it again after 3 weeks. You’ll have a different perspective.

So I cooked  up a couple of proteins, a couple of legumes, and a couple of vegetables and put them all in containers in the fridge. Whenever it’s time for a meal I heat up a scoop of each and I’m done.  Use various spices or hot sauces for variety and change the selections within each category every few days. Easy as pie. Pie. Tomorrow is cheat day. Pie.

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Living Up to the Hype

Posted on April 21, 2011 by Brian

I’m not going to do any product reviews here because they’ve been done a million times on a million websites and because I don’t want to spend the time. I’m just going to point out a few products that have been hyped up like mad and actually live up to the hype (based on my personal experience.)

1) Dyson DC25 Ball All-Floors Upright Vacuum Cleaner – For years I resisted, assuming they were all hype and stupid Americans were supposed to think they were awesome because they’re really expensive and the ads have a guy with a British accent.  Well, no, they really are awesome. Worth $400+? Yes.

2) Apple iPad 2 – Perfect? No. Worth $600? Yes. I would like to get in to more detail later on my issues with iPad, but overall the good really does outweigh the bad here. There are plenty of things I would like the see changed and maybe we’ll get them in a post-Jobs iPad 5. But for now this is the best there is, and it really is pretty great. I’m using my laptop less and less in favor of the iPad. No, we’re really not in  the post-PC era Jobs talks about, but this is the first step. I love my Android phone but if you’re looking to make the leap to tablet computing don’t bother with those other toys on the market.

3) Bose QuietComfort 15 Acoustic Noise Cancelling Headphones – Audiophiles should just skip this section. I don’t know what I’m talking about. I have all kinds of hearing loss, I rarely listen to music, and I don’t know anything about acoustics. What I do know is that these things are great. They’re super comfortable (I wear them about 8 hours/day) and the noise isolation and canceling is great. If you’re sitting next to someone speaking you’ll still hear them (faintly). It doesn’t block out 100% of the noise around you. What it does block out is noise you may not even be aware of right now. It’s the low mechanical drone of the heat pump, the ceiling fan, PC cooling fans, the forced air… so fans, I guess. You pop these bad boys on and all of that stuff just disappears. Worth $300? Well, yeah, I guess so.  I tried some competing products and couldn’t find anything that really compared so I guess (like Dyson) they get to charge whatever they want. Load up on AAA batteries – I go through about 1 every 4 days.

4) Portal 2 – 2 Player collaborative mode! Do I need to say any more? It’s $55 on Amazon but if you order before 4/23 you get a $15 credit. Do it! Do it now!

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