Monday morning means weigh-in morning
On Mondays, at least for a few more weeks, I go to the VA for the MOVE meetings. We are required to weigh ourselves before the meetings. Because we check ourselves, obviously we are on the honor system. Last week when I had to record that I'd lost less than a third of a pound, it was frustrating. This morning, assuming I don't eat or drink anything in the next hour or so, I should be about 1.5 pounds lighter than last week.
I am fascinated by how much your weight can fluctuate from day to day and within a day. I'm sure it is worse for women whose bodies go through a 28 day cycle wherein they retain much more fluid than normal for a short time during that cycle. Without going into the specifics, I can say that my weight during this week on my own scale has varied by swings of ten pounds on various days at various times.
So how do we know what our true weight is? Lately the doctors have talked to me about a concept called "dry weight". It made sense when I first heard it and it does now. The most accurate measure of your weight is when you are retaining as little fluid as possible. This morning, that isn't a lot for me. I lived within my 2,000 milliliter (the doc wants 1,500 but 2,000 is the best I can do regularly at this point) fluid per day limit over the last three days. Yes, I am "dry" at the moment. Not dehydrated, but not holding on to any extra pounds of water either.
If I keep going at this rate, before the year ends, I might drop below one of those "milestone" weights. That's not really a motivating factor for me. But when I was tempted to stop at McDonald's yesterday and delve into a "super-size" portion of fast food that tastes only good and is so bad for me; it was the thought of spending another day or week or month, or year in a hospital that had me change lanes away from their driveway. That thought is highly motivating.
* * *
I guess I should be comforted by the fact that the Obama Administration is "reviewing" U.S. foreign aid to Egypt. Maybe they'll shut off that assistance and stop violating federal law in the relatively near future. Since I'm accusing them of violating the law, let me be very specific. It is NOT the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 that the President is violating. It is the Department of State Appropriations Act of 2012, Title III, Section 7008 which became Public Law 112-74 when he himself signed it. It reads as follows:
" SEC. 7008. None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available pursuant to titles III through VI of this Act shall be obligated or expended to finance directly any assistance to the government of any country whose duly elected head of government is deposed by military coup d’e´tat or decree or, after the date of enactment of this Act, a coup d’e´tat or decree in which the military plays a decisive role: Provided, That assistance may be resumed to such government if the President determines and certifies to the Committees on Appropriations that subsequent to the termination of assistance a democratically elected government has taken office: Provided further, That the provisions of this section shall not apply to assistance to promote democratic elections or public participation in democratic processes: Provided further, Thatfunds made available pursuant to the previous provisos shall be subject to the regular notification procedures of the Committees on Appropriations."
That's pretty clear and specific. A coup'd'etat or however you choose to spell it did take place in Egypt. To say that the military did not take a decisive role in deposing Morsi is about as bad as quibbling over what "is" means. Okay, this is worse. That "is" stuff wasn't nearly this bad. The Obama Administration is disregarding the law to achieve a political aim.
Sorry Mr. President, but you swore an oath back in January. It mentions preserving, protecting and defending the Constitution of the United States. That document gives the Congress the responsibility of passing the proposed laws. Once you sign them, or allow them to become law without your signature, you are just as obligated to obey them as any other American.
Obey this law. Stop the aid to Egypt. Once they elect a democratic government, you can turn that spigot back on.
* * *
Random Ponderings:
A 29 year old actor working on a successful show, a man with a very bright future took his own life today. He's not the first and he won't be the last. We may never know why. But something is going on in the entertainment world that is making people unhappy/angry enough to kill themselves. Frightening.
Wonder if the author of an unbelievable rude and insensitive letter to the parent of an autistic 8 year old, complaining about his presence in the neighbor wishes she'd torn up the letter instead of delivering it? The backlash has been very strongly in support of the autistic child and parent. As it should be.
If I'd known that Maria Menounos was scheduled to wrestle in Summer Slam, would I have spent the money to watch it on PPV at home? Uh...no. But she does look good in her "diva" costume.
Hacking Mark Zuckerberg's profile was a smart way of getting the attention of Facebook that you'd discovered a bug. Too bad they won't pay you for the discovery. You deserve it.
If a British lingerie model wants to convert to Islam and live that live, more power to her. The haters in Twitter should find something else to gripe about.
Is cleaning the handle of the toilet in a hotel room being a bit anal?
This may not be the traditional music, but it is a very impressive entrance for a bride. FYI, you can't see that her red heels beneath the dress match the red guitar she's wearing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRcYDNl044E
A big head of hair looks good on many women, but the woman who has hair that weighs 39 pounds went a bit far.
Would you prefer to pay 15% more in a restaurant and not be able to tip, or keep the status quo? I'd prefer the status quo. I'd rather have the option to tip more for better service, and less for lesser service.
Kudos for the NCAA allowing former Marine Steven Rhodes to play college football.
Looks like Double-Stuff Oreos is going the way of the "footlong" sandwich at Subway. When it was demonstrated that Subway's subs weren't really a foot long, they countered by saying the term is "descriptive". Now that students have proven the larger-sized Oreos aren't really "double" the size or weight, what will Nabisco do?
* * *
This Date in History:
1153 – Baldwin III of Jerusalem takes control of the Kingdom of Jerusalem from his mother Melisende, and also captures Ascalon.
1504 – In Ireland, the Hiberno-Norman de Burghs (Burkes) and Anglo-Norman Fitzgeralds fight in the Battle of Knockdoe.
1561 – 18-year-old Mary, Queen of Scots, returns to Scotland after spending 13 years in France.
1612 – The "Samlesbury witches", three women from the Lancashire village of Samlesbury, England, are put on trial, accused of practicing witchcraft, one of the most famous witch trials in British history.
1666 – Second Anglo-Dutch War: Rear Admiral Robert Holmes leads a raid on the Dutch island of Terschelling, destroying 150 merchant ships, an act later known as "Holmes's Bonfire".
1692 – Salem witch trials: in Salem, Province of Massachusetts Bay, five people, one woman and four men, including a clergyman, are executed after being convicted of witchcraft.
1745 – Prince Charles Edward Stuart raises his standard in Glenfinnan – the start of the Second Jacobite Rebellion, known as "the 45".
1759 – Battle of Lagos Naval battle during the Seven Years' War between Great Britain and France.
1768 – Saint Isaac's Cathedral is founded in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
1772 – Gustav III of Sweden stages a coup d'état, in which he assumes power and enacts a new constitution that divides power between the Riksdag and the King.
1782 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of Blue Licks – the last major engagement of the war, almost ten months after the surrender of the British commander Charles Cornwallis following the Siege of Yorktown.
1812 – War of 1812: American frigate USS Constitution defeats the British frigate HMS Guerriere off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada earning the nickname "Old Ironsides".
1813 – Gervasio Antonio de Posadas joins Argentina's Second Triumvirate.
1839 – The French government announces that Louis Daguerre's photographic process is a gift "free to the world".
1848 – California Gold Rush: the New York Herald breaks the news to the East Coast of the United States of the gold rush in California (although the rush started in January).
1861 – First ascent of Weisshorn, fifth highest summit in the Alps.
1862 – American Indian Wars: during an uprising in Minnesota, Lakota warriors decide not to attack heavily-defended Fort Ridgely and instead turn to the settlement of New Ulm, killing white settlers along the way.
1895 – American Frontier murderer and outlaw John Wesley Hardin is killed by an off-duty policeman in a saloon in El Paso, Texas.
1909 – The first automobile race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway takes place.
1919 – Afghanistan gains full independence from the United Kingdom.
1927 – Metropolitan Sergius proclaims the declaration of loyalty of the Russian Orthodox Church to the Soviet Union.
1934 – The first All-American Soap Box Derby is held in Dayton, Ohio.
1934 – The creation of the position Führer is approved by the German electorate with 89.9% of the popular vote.
1940 – First flight of the B-25 Mitchell medium bomber.
1942 – World War II: Operation Jubilee – the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division leads an amphibious assault by allied forces on Dieppe, Seine-Maritime, France and fails, many Canadians are killed or captured. The operation was intended to develop and try new amphibious landing tactics for the coming full invasion in Normandy.
1944 – World War II: Liberation of Paris – Paris, France rises against German occupation with the help of Allied troops.
1945 – August Revolution: Viet Minh led by Ho Chi Minh take power in Hanoi, Vietnam.
1953 – Cold War: The CIA and MI6 help to overthrow the government of Mohammad Mosaddegh in Iran and reinstate the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
1955 – In the Northeast United States, severe flooding caused by Hurricane Diane, claims 200 lives.
1960 – Cold War: in Moscow, Russia, Soviet Union, downed American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers is sentenced to ten years imprisonment by the Soviet Union for espionage.
1960 – Sputnik program: Korabl-Sputnik 2 – the Soviet Union launches the satellite with the dogs Belka and Strelka, 40 mice, 2 rats and a variety of plants.
1965 – Japanese prime minister Eisaku Satō becomes the first post-World War II sitting prime minister to visit Okinawa Prefecture.
1980 – Saudia Flight 163, a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar burns after making an emergency landing at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, killing 301 people.
1981 – Gulf of Sidra Incident: United States fighters intercept and shoot down two Libyan Sukhoi Su-22 fighter jets over the Gulf of Sidra.
1987 – Hungerford massacre: in the United Kingdom, Michael Ryan kills sixteen people with a semi-automatic rifle and then commits suicide.
1989 – Polish president Wojciech Jaruzelski nominates Solidarity activist Tadeusz Mazowiecki to be the first non-communist prime minister in 42 years.
1989 – Radio Caroline, the offshore pirate station in the North Sea, is raided by British and Dutch governments.
1989 – Several hundred East Germans cross the frontier between Hungary and Austria during the Pan-European Picnic, part of the events which began the process of the Fall of the Berlin Wall.
1991 – Dissolution of the Soviet Union, August Coup: Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev is placed under house arrest while on holiday in the town of Foros, Ukraine.
1991 – Crown Heights riot: Black groups target Hasidic Jews on the streets of Crown Heights in New York, New York for three days, after two black children were hit by a car driven by a Hasidic man.
Famous Folk Born On This Date:
Orville Wright
Coco Chanel
Colleen Moore
Ogden Nash
Lewis Sargent
Richard Simmons
Ring Lardner, Jr.
Malcolm Forbes
Gene Roddenberry (we all miss the "Great Bird of the Galaxy")
Bill Shoemaker
Renee Richards
Diana Muldaur
Johnny Nash
Jill St. John
Fred Thompson
Bill Clinton
Dawn Steel
Gerald McRaney
Tipper Gore
Jonathan Frakes
Adam Arkin
Tammy Bruce
John Stamos
Kyra Sedgwick
Lee Ann Womack
Matthew Perry
Mary Joe Fernandez
Movie quotes today come from 1986's "The Karate Kid II":
[Walking through the Okinawa airport, Daniel and Miyagi find a poster advertising Sato's karate school. The poster shows Sato breaking a log with his bare hands]
Daniel: You think you could break a log like that?
Miyagi: Don't know. Never been attacked by a tree.
#2
[at the cannery. Daniel has ripped his shirt, and almost gotten himself killed, while perfecting Miyagi's "Swinging Drum" maneuver]
Mr. Miyagi: Daniel-san, you all right?
Daniel: Yeah... I'm sorry; that was pretty stupid, wasn't it?
Mr. Miyagi: [with a grim smile] Miyagi say that to father when same thing happen. Father agree, was stupid. Father was right.
#3
Mr. Miyagi: Remember, best block, no be there.
I am fascinated by how much your weight can fluctuate from day to day and within a day. I'm sure it is worse for women whose bodies go through a 28 day cycle wherein they retain much more fluid than normal for a short time during that cycle. Without going into the specifics, I can say that my weight during this week on my own scale has varied by swings of ten pounds on various days at various times.
So how do we know what our true weight is? Lately the doctors have talked to me about a concept called "dry weight". It made sense when I first heard it and it does now. The most accurate measure of your weight is when you are retaining as little fluid as possible. This morning, that isn't a lot for me. I lived within my 2,000 milliliter (the doc wants 1,500 but 2,000 is the best I can do regularly at this point) fluid per day limit over the last three days. Yes, I am "dry" at the moment. Not dehydrated, but not holding on to any extra pounds of water either.
If I keep going at this rate, before the year ends, I might drop below one of those "milestone" weights. That's not really a motivating factor for me. But when I was tempted to stop at McDonald's yesterday and delve into a "super-size" portion of fast food that tastes only good and is so bad for me; it was the thought of spending another day or week or month, or year in a hospital that had me change lanes away from their driveway. That thought is highly motivating.
* * *
I guess I should be comforted by the fact that the Obama Administration is "reviewing" U.S. foreign aid to Egypt. Maybe they'll shut off that assistance and stop violating federal law in the relatively near future. Since I'm accusing them of violating the law, let me be very specific. It is NOT the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 that the President is violating. It is the Department of State Appropriations Act of 2012, Title III, Section 7008 which became Public Law 112-74 when he himself signed it. It reads as follows:
" SEC. 7008. None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available pursuant to titles III through VI of this Act shall be obligated or expended to finance directly any assistance to the government of any country whose duly elected head of government is deposed by military coup d’e´tat or decree or, after the date of enactment of this Act, a coup d’e´tat or decree in which the military plays a decisive role: Provided, That assistance may be resumed to such government if the President determines and certifies to the Committees on Appropriations that subsequent to the termination of assistance a democratically elected government has taken office: Provided further, That the provisions of this section shall not apply to assistance to promote democratic elections or public participation in democratic processes: Provided further, Thatfunds made available pursuant to the previous provisos shall be subject to the regular notification procedures of the Committees on Appropriations."
That's pretty clear and specific. A coup'd'etat or however you choose to spell it did take place in Egypt. To say that the military did not take a decisive role in deposing Morsi is about as bad as quibbling over what "is" means. Okay, this is worse. That "is" stuff wasn't nearly this bad. The Obama Administration is disregarding the law to achieve a political aim.
Sorry Mr. President, but you swore an oath back in January. It mentions preserving, protecting and defending the Constitution of the United States. That document gives the Congress the responsibility of passing the proposed laws. Once you sign them, or allow them to become law without your signature, you are just as obligated to obey them as any other American.
Obey this law. Stop the aid to Egypt. Once they elect a democratic government, you can turn that spigot back on.
* * *
Random Ponderings:
A 29 year old actor working on a successful show, a man with a very bright future took his own life today. He's not the first and he won't be the last. We may never know why. But something is going on in the entertainment world that is making people unhappy/angry enough to kill themselves. Frightening.
Wonder if the author of an unbelievable rude and insensitive letter to the parent of an autistic 8 year old, complaining about his presence in the neighbor wishes she'd torn up the letter instead of delivering it? The backlash has been very strongly in support of the autistic child and parent. As it should be.
If I'd known that Maria Menounos was scheduled to wrestle in Summer Slam, would I have spent the money to watch it on PPV at home? Uh...no. But she does look good in her "diva" costume.
Hacking Mark Zuckerberg's profile was a smart way of getting the attention of Facebook that you'd discovered a bug. Too bad they won't pay you for the discovery. You deserve it.
If a British lingerie model wants to convert to Islam and live that live, more power to her. The haters in Twitter should find something else to gripe about.
Is cleaning the handle of the toilet in a hotel room being a bit anal?
This may not be the traditional music, but it is a very impressive entrance for a bride. FYI, you can't see that her red heels beneath the dress match the red guitar she's wearing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRcYDNl044E
A big head of hair looks good on many women, but the woman who has hair that weighs 39 pounds went a bit far.
Would you prefer to pay 15% more in a restaurant and not be able to tip, or keep the status quo? I'd prefer the status quo. I'd rather have the option to tip more for better service, and less for lesser service.
Kudos for the NCAA allowing former Marine Steven Rhodes to play college football.
Looks like Double-Stuff Oreos is going the way of the "footlong" sandwich at Subway. When it was demonstrated that Subway's subs weren't really a foot long, they countered by saying the term is "descriptive". Now that students have proven the larger-sized Oreos aren't really "double" the size or weight, what will Nabisco do?
* * *
This Date in History:
295 BC – The first temple to Venus, the Roman goddess of
love, beauty and fertility, is dedicated by Quintus Fabius Maximus Gurges
during the Third Samnite War
43 BC – Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, later known as
Augustus, compels the Roman Senate to elect him Consul.1153 – Baldwin III of Jerusalem takes control of the Kingdom of Jerusalem from his mother Melisende, and also captures Ascalon.
1504 – In Ireland, the Hiberno-Norman de Burghs (Burkes) and Anglo-Norman Fitzgeralds fight in the Battle of Knockdoe.
1561 – 18-year-old Mary, Queen of Scots, returns to Scotland after spending 13 years in France.
1612 – The "Samlesbury witches", three women from the Lancashire village of Samlesbury, England, are put on trial, accused of practicing witchcraft, one of the most famous witch trials in British history.
1666 – Second Anglo-Dutch War: Rear Admiral Robert Holmes leads a raid on the Dutch island of Terschelling, destroying 150 merchant ships, an act later known as "Holmes's Bonfire".
1692 – Salem witch trials: in Salem, Province of Massachusetts Bay, five people, one woman and four men, including a clergyman, are executed after being convicted of witchcraft.
1745 – Prince Charles Edward Stuart raises his standard in Glenfinnan – the start of the Second Jacobite Rebellion, known as "the 45".
1759 – Battle of Lagos Naval battle during the Seven Years' War between Great Britain and France.
1768 – Saint Isaac's Cathedral is founded in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
1772 – Gustav III of Sweden stages a coup d'état, in which he assumes power and enacts a new constitution that divides power between the Riksdag and the King.
1782 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of Blue Licks – the last major engagement of the war, almost ten months after the surrender of the British commander Charles Cornwallis following the Siege of Yorktown.
1812 – War of 1812: American frigate USS Constitution defeats the British frigate HMS Guerriere off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada earning the nickname "Old Ironsides".
1813 – Gervasio Antonio de Posadas joins Argentina's Second Triumvirate.
1839 – The French government announces that Louis Daguerre's photographic process is a gift "free to the world".
1848 – California Gold Rush: the New York Herald breaks the news to the East Coast of the United States of the gold rush in California (although the rush started in January).
1861 – First ascent of Weisshorn, fifth highest summit in the Alps.
1862 – American Indian Wars: during an uprising in Minnesota, Lakota warriors decide not to attack heavily-defended Fort Ridgely and instead turn to the settlement of New Ulm, killing white settlers along the way.
1895 – American Frontier murderer and outlaw John Wesley Hardin is killed by an off-duty policeman in a saloon in El Paso, Texas.
1909 – The first automobile race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway takes place.
1919 – Afghanistan gains full independence from the United Kingdom.
1927 – Metropolitan Sergius proclaims the declaration of loyalty of the Russian Orthodox Church to the Soviet Union.
1934 – The first All-American Soap Box Derby is held in Dayton, Ohio.
1934 – The creation of the position Führer is approved by the German electorate with 89.9% of the popular vote.
1940 – First flight of the B-25 Mitchell medium bomber.
1942 – World War II: Operation Jubilee – the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division leads an amphibious assault by allied forces on Dieppe, Seine-Maritime, France and fails, many Canadians are killed or captured. The operation was intended to develop and try new amphibious landing tactics for the coming full invasion in Normandy.
1944 – World War II: Liberation of Paris – Paris, France rises against German occupation with the help of Allied troops.
1945 – August Revolution: Viet Minh led by Ho Chi Minh take power in Hanoi, Vietnam.
1953 – Cold War: The CIA and MI6 help to overthrow the government of Mohammad Mosaddegh in Iran and reinstate the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
1955 – In the Northeast United States, severe flooding caused by Hurricane Diane, claims 200 lives.
1960 – Cold War: in Moscow, Russia, Soviet Union, downed American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers is sentenced to ten years imprisonment by the Soviet Union for espionage.
1960 – Sputnik program: Korabl-Sputnik 2 – the Soviet Union launches the satellite with the dogs Belka and Strelka, 40 mice, 2 rats and a variety of plants.
1965 – Japanese prime minister Eisaku Satō becomes the first post-World War II sitting prime minister to visit Okinawa Prefecture.
1980 – Saudia Flight 163, a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar burns after making an emergency landing at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, killing 301 people.
1981 – Gulf of Sidra Incident: United States fighters intercept and shoot down two Libyan Sukhoi Su-22 fighter jets over the Gulf of Sidra.
1987 – Hungerford massacre: in the United Kingdom, Michael Ryan kills sixteen people with a semi-automatic rifle and then commits suicide.
1989 – Polish president Wojciech Jaruzelski nominates Solidarity activist Tadeusz Mazowiecki to be the first non-communist prime minister in 42 years.
1989 – Radio Caroline, the offshore pirate station in the North Sea, is raided by British and Dutch governments.
1989 – Several hundred East Germans cross the frontier between Hungary and Austria during the Pan-European Picnic, part of the events which began the process of the Fall of the Berlin Wall.
1991 – Dissolution of the Soviet Union, August Coup: Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev is placed under house arrest while on holiday in the town of Foros, Ukraine.
1991 – Crown Heights riot: Black groups target Hasidic Jews on the streets of Crown Heights in New York, New York for three days, after two black children were hit by a car driven by a Hasidic man.
Famous Folk Born On This Date:
Orville Wright
Coco Chanel
Colleen Moore
Ogden Nash
Lewis Sargent
Richard Simmons
Ring Lardner, Jr.
Malcolm Forbes
Gene Roddenberry (we all miss the "Great Bird of the Galaxy")
Bill Shoemaker
Renee Richards
Diana Muldaur
Johnny Nash
Jill St. John
Fred Thompson
Bill Clinton
Dawn Steel
Gerald McRaney
Tipper Gore
Jonathan Frakes
Adam Arkin
Tammy Bruce
John Stamos
Kyra Sedgwick
Lee Ann Womack
Matthew Perry
Mary Joe Fernandez
Movie quotes today come from 1986's "The Karate Kid II":
[Walking through the Okinawa airport, Daniel and Miyagi find a poster advertising Sato's karate school. The poster shows Sato breaking a log with his bare hands]
Daniel: You think you could break a log like that?
Miyagi: Don't know. Never been attacked by a tree.
#2
[at the cannery. Daniel has ripped his shirt, and almost gotten himself killed, while perfecting Miyagi's "Swinging Drum" maneuver]
Mr. Miyagi: Daniel-san, you all right?
Daniel: Yeah... I'm sorry; that was pretty stupid, wasn't it?
Mr. Miyagi: [with a grim smile] Miyagi say that to father when same thing happen. Father agree, was stupid. Father was right.
#3
Mr. Miyagi: Remember, best block, no be there.
posted by me at 9:41 PM
<< Home