5 Haziran 2009 Cuma

Biking Update - June 6, 2009

Riding Solo by the Beach in Stratford (5/30/2009)Not a bad week. While I did not reach a new low, I did make it back under 210 lbs and stayed there all week. And I reached 206.4 lbs which was my first measurement under 207 in several weeks. These are encouraging trends! And, as observed by may, some of my difficulty in making "significant" weight loss may be that I am on week 4 (almost week 5) of the 100 Push-Up Challenge which is building muscle. I am not used to having that particular problem. Most of my life, the issue has been shedding a surplus of fat cells.

Riding Solo by the Beach in Stratford (5/30/2009)But there was something new this week on the biking front. For the first time, I took a long solo ride along the beach in Stratford. For some reason, I have almost always gone out with a group - at least my brother. I did a few short rides near home, and a few in the winter in Cherry Hill and Delaware. But never a really long ride. Last Saturday, I rode over 20 miles on my folding bike alone. It was a very different experience. In most ways, it was very pleasant. No worrying about outpacing anyone else - or being outpaced by more experienced riders. No concerns about worrying about whether or not I was going too far or spending too much time. The downside was the nagging worry about what I'd do if I crashed, since there was no one to notice and render aid. But there was no crash, and honestly I was not all alone for much of the ride. Usually, there was someone else nearby in a car or on foot. So it was not a problem.

I also learned that a man on a bicycle can not outrun two little girls on a gas-powered scooter. :-)

Weight Log for June 5, 2009

Religion is no protection for the unborn

It is said your character is defined NOT by what you do in public, but what you do when alone with no one watching. Most of us put on a mask of righteousness and morality in church, at school, at work, and when out and about. But what happens when no one is watching.

A new study suggests despite much noise amongst religious folks against abortion, when alone with their decision, religious women decide to abort their babies as often as non-religious ones. Church affiliation - even overt practice - appears to provide no protection to the unborn.
"This research suggests that young, unmarried women are confronted with a number of social, financial and health-related factors that can make it difficult for them to act according to religious values when deciding whether to keep or abort a pregnancy," she said.

The results of the study did not reveal a significant link between a young woman’s reported decision to have an abortion and her personal religiosity, as defined by her religious involvement, frequency of prayer and perception of the importance of religion.
Is it any surprise that Pro-Abortion groups call Pro-Life groups hypocrites? We need more groups like Hopeline who provide alternatives to abortion, while maintaining absolute confidentiality for those ashamed to bring a baby to term. And we need to make a greater effort to teach our children that a baby is a bless - even though it makes life very difficult - even outside of wedlock.

Sigh - All Too True

From here.

3 Haziran 2009 Çarşamba

Google Wave - E-mail's Replacement

Google Wave ScreenshotWe have seen a lot of companies try to invent "the new e-mail". The shortcomings of e-mail are already obvious to most: SPAM, inability for most to know if a message was received, SPAM, long lags between send and response, SPAM, etc. But all attempts to date have failed because e-mail simply matches best how we actually work - like an old paper letter. Now Google is taking its shot at the e-mail replacement trophy with Google Wave, a system that combines concepts from e-mail, instant messaging, group collaboration software, and social networking. I really didn't "get" Wave from all of the discussion online before, but now hands-on reviews are starting to appear and they make things a bit more clear. The latter link is worth a read, if you're not up for sitting through the 90 minute Google video.

Personally, I think Wave will NOT replace e-mail, but it may encourage enhancements to the old e-mail system to force it to compete. If so, it will still have been a worthwhile effort.

1 Haziran 2009 Pazartesi

Star Wars: The Old Republic Trailer

This is the only thing that could tempt me into buying a PC anytime soon. I hope Microsoft is giving Lucasfilm royalties.

Throwing good money after bad

So, we gave GM multiple bailouts of BILLIONS of dollars in order to keep them out of bankruptcy. So what is the ultimate result? Bankruptcy.

http://money.cnn.com/2009/06/01/news/companies/gm_bankruptcy/index.htm

Can anyone explain to me why this should NOT be seen as a colossal failure of both Bush and Obama policies?

Gas prices


Gas prices
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

(Sent from my 3G iPhone)