Month: January 2012

on copyrights, SOPA, and education

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

Because of SOPA and GoDaddy’s support of it, I’m going to be switching all my domains away from GoDaddy. I’m a little late in joining the throng; been busy, better late than never.

Yeah yeah, GoDaddy claims to have dropped support. I’m not convinced the senior management truly believes SOPA is bad. I can only believe they made the public stance reversal due to all the bad publicity and potential loss of revenue. If they really believed SOPA was bad, why wasn’t that their initial stance? I know people can change their mind and do complete reversals of stance (I’ve been there), but this smells too fishy. Besides, I hate using GoDaddy’s website as they’ve apparently never heard of the KISS principle. I’ve wanted to leave for a while, and SOPA finally broke my inertia.

I’m all for protecting copyright. As someone that’s written software professionally for 15+ years, I understand the importance of copyright, especially in the digital realm. Every time someone steals my software, they’re taking food out of the mouths of my children.

I look at it this way. You want my product/service because it somehow makes your life better. Be it software, be it a movie, be it music, whatever, you like my stuff, consume my stuff, and feel your life is better because of it. Great! That’s why we create these things; trying to make the world a better place, trying to make people’s lives better. Nevertheless, we also need to feed ourselves, put a roof over our heads, put clothing on the backs of our children. With a finite amount of time in a day and energy in my body, I must use those finite resources at my disposal to make money to feed, house, and clothe myself and my children. Given a choice, I’d love to use my time and energy to make the world a better place doing what I do best. If someone can compensate me in exchange, great! If however I cannot make money at it, then I must find something else to do to support my family. If I have to do something else, that means I can no longer create and provide you with that thing that makes your life better. So you see, if you steal from me, eventually I will be forced to do something else. We both lose: I can’t create the thing you like, and you can no longer enjoy the thing I made. If however you compensate me for my work, we both win because I get to create it and you get to consume it. Both our lives are better.

So please, don’t steal. Ultimately your theft hurts both of us — yes, it will come to hurt you too. If instead you make a small sacrifice, maybe don’t buy that Venti White Chocolate Blended Creme Frappuccino today but instead send the $5 my way in exchange for my software you’ve been using well… now both our lives are going to be better in the long run (and you didn’t need those 760 empty calories anyways). You support me, I create for you. It works out for both of us.

I think the solution to this copyright and “digital theft” problem is to eliminate the dinosaurs that want to criminalize their entire potential customer base. I think we need to foster education in consumers about copyright and how things work and need to work so we can labor and they can enjoy the fruits of our labor, both now and for many years to come. Customers need to realize that “free” is not a successful long-term business model, and unless they pay up sooner or later, whatever you like won’t just stop being free… it’ll just stop being. Customers need to realize how supporting those that create the services and goods you enjoy means good things for THEIR lives too (and how not supporting ultimately comes back to hurt them). To pay isn’t trying to rip you off, it’s an understanding that there are costs in the world (gotta host this website somehow, gotta eat), and by helping to do something about those costs we can all benefit. We creators also need to listen to our customers about what they want and strive to strike a balance.

Heavy-handed measures like SOPA may work to address symptoms and make some assholes in Washington feel like they’re “doing something”. But they aren’t striking at the root of the matter, and they’re not really working to solve the problem. In fact, they’re only going to make things worse. I mean, do you really want decisions made by people who think the Internet is a “series of tubes” and take pride in their ignorance of the technology but are getting their pockets lined to shove the legislation through? Does that seem right to you?

First time success

/ hsoi

“Old Painless” from The Box O’ Truth took his 8 year old grandson to the range for the first time.

Not only do I think it’s great to see some great grandfather-grandson time together, but I like what Old Painless had to say about how to make a first range trip successful. He said these are good for taking a kid to the range, but I think it’s good advice the first time you take anyone to the range:

1. Stress Safety, first thing and constantly.
2. Have ear and eye protection for the kid.
3. Let them shoot a gun that doesn’t have heavy recoil.
4. Let them get really close to the target so that they hit something.
5. Give them praise for doing well.
6. Let them help load the firearms if they would like to.
7. Watch them very carefully, stay very close to them, and never let them break any Safety rule.
8. Help them hold the firearm if it is heavy for them.
9. Let them shoot until they are tired and then quit.
10. Make sure it is fun, so that they will want to go shooting again.

Most of it is about being safe and having fun, as it should be. And I think most people understand those aspects. But there are a few that sometimes get overlooked.

#3 – please people, we have enough YouTube videos of assholes (often “boyfriends”) giving guns with massive recoil to little people (often girlfriends) that have never shot a gun before, and while it gives the asshole filming the video a good laugh, it leaves a horrible impression in the mind of the shooter… not to mention some horrible pain. Please don’t do this. Let people start with something like a .22 LR and work up from there.

#4 and #5 – these are very important. Shooting a gun isn’t hard, but it isn’t easy either. Do you want this person to foster a love and enjoyment of the activity? Then do what you can to foster their success, because people like doing things they can succeed at. People understand the notion is to point the gun at something (target, tin can, steel plate, etc.) and try to hit that something. Imagine someone trying over and over and over and over and never hitting the target; they’re going to get discouraged. Move them as close as is safe (e.g. I wouldn’t go closer than 10 yards with steel targets), and let them shoot from there. They know being close is easier, so once they succeed at that distance, they’ll probably want to try making it a little harder, so you step back a few yards and try again. They’ll get it. They’ll understand. And when they do start missing, they’ll have enough success already under their belt that the misses won’t be discouragement but rather revelation that there’s something to learn and to come back again to try later. That’s good.

#6 is one I’m guilty of not always doing. I often will load the magazines and load the firearm for them. I do this because there’s enough stuff for a new shooter to have to deal with, so I try to ensure they focus on the critical things and let me handle the extra stuff.  But once they get the hang of things yes, you should let them load the magazine, insert the magazine, load the cylinder, and unload things too. Whatever the firearm’s mechanism is for loading and unloading, yes you should eventually let them do it. Not only do they learn how to do that, but there’s something about loading and unloading that makes for a more complete and satisfying experience.

The bottom line is, again, ensuring it’s safe and fun. You want them to smile. You want them to laugh. You want them to succeed. You want them to enjoy it. Doesn’t matter if it’s a kid or an adult, this is what you want to sow a seed that can grow and flourish.

The Give-A-Way. Pass it on.

/ hsoi

AGirlAndHerGun is doing a Give-A-Way.

No strings, no nothing. A true give-a-way.

The prize:

I will pay $300 towards any reputable beginning self defense shooting course in the United States.

Who Can Enter:

Any female who is interested in taking the next step in learning how to defend herself in the event that she may need to. I would really prefer it be a new shooter that hasn’t had any formal training to this point.

How to enter? Go read her blog post and find out. It’s not hard.

2012-01-06 workout – Wendler 5/3/1 program, cycle 5, Deadlift 2

/ hsoi

I didn’t do jack, but what I did do was good.

“Week 2”

  • “3 reps” – Deadlift (working max: 305#)
    • 1x5x125 (warmup)
    • 1x5x155
    • 1x3x185
    • 1x3x215 (work)
    • 1x3x245
    • 1x10x280
  • GPP – Elliptical
    • Tabata style (20 sec. 120-130 strides per minute, 10 sec. 80-ish strides per minute)
    • 2 minutes slow (warmup)
    • 8 “reps” (8 reps is one Tabata set)
    • 2 minutes slow (cooldown)
  • DeFranco Agile 4 – just foam rolling
  • Grip
    • 3x10xT, 2 sec. hold between reps
    • 3x3x#1, 2 sec. hold between; after last set last rep, 10 sec hold

I opted to do a “ain’t doing jack shit” today. Two reasons. First, I have a busy day today and need all the added time I can get. Second, the chins I did on Wednesday? I used a narrow grip. The reason I take a slightly-wider-than-shoulder-width grip on the pulldowns is to be nicer to my shoulder. So why in the world I opted for the narrow grip here I don’t know. But between that, going to a full dead hang and relaxing my shoulder instead of at least keeping the shoulder socket tight, THEN adding in some poor posture and left-arm-resting stuff on my desk on Wednesday? My left shoulder said ‘fuck you’. It feels a LOT better this morning, but I know with the bar positioning on Good Mornings and then hanging for the HipLeg raises well, if I’m healing up I’d rather heal up than aggrevate it more. So I just cut things out today.

As for deadlifts, that went well. I can tell my grip is getting stronger because the holds were just really secure. I even thought about not doing the last set with a mixed grip but opted to keep the mixed grip because I wanted to ensure I got 10 reps and didn’t want to risk having to switch mid-way. Cranking out the 10 reps was hard, but I wasn’t going to accept anything less. My back and hips were dying, the last couple reps I paused for a couple seconds before I pulled again. But I was going to get 10! I got 10. I’m happy. Well on my way to breaking 300#.

On the elliptical today, I experimented a bit more. I set the angle at “10” and found the resistance level goes up to 20! When I cranked it to 20, whoa… you really have to push hard to move things, so that’s cool. I opted to put it on 10 today and see how it went. It was reasonable. I wasn’t huffing and puffing, but my heart rate was up and I was getting a good long work. This felt a lot more natural to me, didn’t have that “floating” feeling. I’m not sure how I’ll change things next time: up the angle, up the resistance. Probably the resistance because according to the little “computer” on the machine, greater angle stresses the glutes more and the thighs less. I want to spread the pain around and have maximum recruitment, so according to the little computer “12” is about the most angle I should go. I could also up the tempo, but I think the tempo is alright… tho don’t hold me to those tempo numbers as I realized I forgot exactly what they were by the time I got home to write this entry. Anyways, I think the elliptical may well work out, I just have to keep working to find the right settings to push me like I want.

I did the grip crushers on the way home. As you can see, I upped the workload. I see little reason to continue working with the “S” gripper, so I might put that in my gun range bag to show to students as a way to work on increasing their grip strength (since it’s not too hard to do but is more than the cheap ones you get at the sporting goods stores). Of course, the grip workout today was a little easier because I didn’t have the extra work that comes from the HipLeg raises. But I do need to get a #2 and eventually work that into the mix. Still, I can tell my grip is getting stronger because of what I did today. Back when I got them in November my left hand couldn’t fully crush #1 and my right could crush #1 if I was fresh. Now here I am today, the grip work from deadlifting, then working 3x10xT, and then still being able to do 3×3’s with the #1? Yeah, getting stronger.

*sigh*

/ hsoi

SAN DIEGO – A 22-year-old Navy SEAL was gravely wounded early today when he shot himself in the head at his Pacific Beach home while trying to convince a companion that the pistol he was showing off was safe to handle, authorities said.

[…]

The serviceman, who had been drinking with a woman at a bar before they returned to his residence, was showing her his 9 mm handgun when the accident occurred, SDPD Officer Frank Cali said.

The man offered to let his friend hold the weapon, which he mistakenly believed was unloaded, according to Cali. When she declined, he tried to demonstrate how safe it was by putting it to his head and pulling the trigger.

*sigh*

That is NOT the way to verify the state of a gun.

Never point a gun at anything you are not willing to destroy. I would suspect for most people their own head is something they don’t wish to destroy.

Alcohol of course degrades your ability to make proper judgments. Guns and alcohol don’t mix.

How to verify a gun is unloaded?

Pick it up. Point it in a safe direction. Ensure your finger is off the trigger the entire time you perform this procedure. With a semi-automatic handgun, remove the magazine from the gun. Fully retract the slide and lock it in the open position. Visually inspect the chamber to ensure no round is in the chamber. Visually inspect the magazine well to ensure there is no magazine in the gun. Use your finger to tactilely verify the same (both chamber and magazine). Check again. Check a third time. If it builds your confidence in ensuring it’s unloaded, check a fourth or fifth time. If you have someone with you, have them check as well. Once you have verified it is unloaded, you can release the slide.

If you are handing the gun to someone else, first you verify the gun is unloaded. Keep the action locked open. Hand the gun to the other person. If the other person doesn’t verify the gun is unloaded on their own accord, have them verify the gun is unloaded.

If you ever set the gun down or have it otherwise out of your control for even a moment, when you pick it back up, verify the state of the gun. Gremlins exist.

We are human. We are prone to make mistakes. But we can also work to minimize our chances of making tragic mistakes by following rules.

Please do your best to avoid making the same mistake this man made.

The M&P, Third Impressions

/ hsoi / 34 Comments

The next chapter in my investigation of the Smith & Wesson M&P.

For reference, here’s first, here’s second.

The focus now is accuracy. The factory barrel is pretty bad, with 6-8″ groups at 25 yards. But, it seemed to vary with ammo, such as Gold Dot 124 grain +P was about 3-4″ at 25 yards. I installed my KKM barrel and off to the local indoor range I went. I didn’t want to go to the indoor range (more on it shortly), but it would allow me the easiest means of benchrest shooting at various distances. Plus it’s the closest range to the house and time matters right now.

Also note from the first round of shooting tests, I discovered the rear sight was off in the dovetail. A few days ago I went to my workbench and did my best to center the rear sight, measuring as best I could with calipers (it was difficult to get a flat surface given the cuts in the slide back there). FWIW, the sights seemed to be reasonably “on” during today’s tests. More later.

So given the ammo issue, I took 3 types of ammo with me: my 115 grain plinking handloads, which shoot pretty well (generally better than factory target loads); 124 grain American Eagle target loads; 124 grain +P Gold Dot. I asked at the gun counter if they had any 147 grain ammo but alas they had none. Since both the Gold Dot and the AE seemed to shoot better in the factory barrel, I was just curious what sort of results I’d get with 147 in the KKM.

My general plan was to shoot 5 shot groups from benchrest at 3, 7, 15, and 25 yards. Shoot each type of ammo at the same distance, compare and contrast results, tape the target, go to the next distance.

General results? Everything shot low. Exactly how low varied based upon distance and ammo, with the 124 AE generally shooting lowest of the 3 (makes sense) and the Gold Dot shooting highest of the 3 (makes sense). Still, every ammo at every distance had point of impact (POI) below the point of aim (POA). Interesting was that the Gold Dot tended to shoot towards the middle, the reloads slightly to the left, and the AE slight to the right. For the most part, the reloads and the AE shot to similar behavior in terms of grouping, and the Gold Dot of course shot a bit tighter.

I started having a rough time shooting at 15 and 25 yards. My eyes were blurring. I’m sure part of it is age. I’m sure part is just eyes getting tired from all that squinting. But I also know part of it is range-induced. The lighting there has improved, but it’s still a lot darker than being outdoors. Furthermore, the range was rather busy so there was a lot of smoke and such floating around. I find myself not wanting to breathe when I’m there — totally subconscious, but I realized how shallow my breathing was. A few times I set my gun down on the bench and went into the store area just to take 10 deep breath of clean(er) air. When I went back in, my eyes were a lot happier, but it just delayed the inevitable need to stop because my eyes and lungs couldn’t take it any more. Like I said, I really don’t like going to the indoor range, but sometimes you have to make compromises.

I’m still disappointed with the group sizes. It’s not the KKM itself, but that I have to get a replacement semi-match barrel in order to get similar accuracy that I get out of my factory barrel in my Springfield XD-9. Overall the KKM’s accuracy and grouping was acceptable and I am pleased with its results, but I don’t think it’s right that I should have to get an aftermarket barrel in order to get acceptable accuracy.

I should also caveat that due to my eyes, I just couldn’t shoot very well at 15 and 25 yards, so in my mind the final verdict is still out on performance at those ranges. Even still, the groupings I did get were still better than I got the first time with the factory barrel.

After I did the benchrest shooting, I put up a fresh target at 7 yards and just did some two-hand “freestyle” shooting. Couldn’t do anything fast or fancy due to range restrictions, just put the gun out there and pressed off a shot every second. Drilled a nice hole in the middle of the target, just a little low. Acceptable. I’d say about 150 or so rounds went through the gun today. So the barrel still isn’t broken in, but so far so good. Of those, 45 were Gold Dots (5 GD’s shot at the first range session), so I feel comfortable that this barrel will feed my carry ammo.

So far I’m pleased. Annoyed at the factory barrel. Annoyed about auto-forward. But I’ve been dry-firing the gun every day, it’s feeling more comfortable, and it felt more natural today (need to do some “real” shooting tho). The KKM is certainly a keeper, but if that rumored Apex-designed BarSto happens I’m likely to upgrade to it. From here, I need to find new sights because I have to do something about the low POI vs. the POA.

Off to Dawson Precision’s website I go!

Blacksmithing

/ hsoi / 4 Comments

Saw this article posted to the ArtOfManliness website last night: Blacksmithing Basics.

I don’t know why, but I’ve wanted to try blacksmithing. It’s been a desire for a couple years now, ever since I discovered that Pioneer Farms offered classes in it. They have a Basic, Advanced, and then a Knife Making class. I’d want to take all 3, because I think the knife-making would be cool.

It’s on my slate for 2012 to take the class, tho I’ll probably wait until Fall to take it (my Spring is already booked fairly solid). Would love for Oldest to join me in the class; he said “maybe” which means I’m just going to force him to do it. He’ll groan, he’ll protest, then I’ll catch him enjoying it and he’ll be happy for having taken it. Kids…. 🙂

Why take it? I have no idea. It just seems cool. Maybe this is my mid-life crisis. Instead of buying a red sports car and trying to act like a kid again, I’m embracing more manly things like powerlifting and blacksmithing. I probably should learn how to weld too (another thing I’ve wanted to learn and may eventually take a class in as well). I don’t really know how it will parlay into anything useful in my life, but who says everything we do in life has to be immediately useful? Who knows where this may take me, but if nothing else, it sure looks like fun.

Correcting Handgun Shooting Problems – a little more information

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

One of the most popular pages on my blog is this one about correcting handgun shooting problems.

The page is popular due to the targets, but I’m not sure how well the targets actually work for folk. Sure it tells you what you’re doing wrong, but it doesn’t tell you how to fix it.

Based upon what I see in my stats, I don’t think many are clicking through to the Rangemaster 2009 Newsletter article that has not just “here’s what you’re doing wrong” information, but also suggestions on how to fix those things you’re doing wrong!

If you still don’t want to click, here’s a few suggestions to help you hit the bullseye:

  • Slow down. Don’t take forever to get off the shot (fatigue, oxygen deprivation if you’re holding your breath, eye strain, etc. can all set in and make it harder to get the shot), but don’t rush. Don’t go faster than you can get good, successful hits. No unacceptable hits allowed!
  • Think about your grip. While there are better and worse ways to grip a gun, most people will generally do better by ensuring whatever grip they use it is consistent in terms of hand placement and grip pressure (both the crush of the grip and any lateral forces your grip places on the gun AND that your 2 hands place against each other). For some more grip tips, watch this video with champion pistol shooter Todd Jarrett.
  • Slow, smooth trigger press. This goes along with point #1 – slow down.
  • Follow through. Don’t worry about checking the hole in the target — it will be there 5 seconds from now, it will be there 5 minutes from now. Finish the shot all the way through. You have sight picture, slow smooth trigger press, gun goes bang, your eyes don’t move, gun recoils and comes back to where it started, and you regain your sight picture as if to take a second shot. To take a second shot doesn’t matter, follow through on the first shot as if you will take another. Once you have that second sight picture, THEN you can set the gun down and look at your target.
  • Slow down. Seriously.
  • Have you slowed down yet?
  • If you’re still having problems, make sure it isn’t the gun. Are the sights loose? are the sights properly zeroed/aligned? Is the gun not too big nor too difficult for you to handle, either in terms of things like improper gun fit thus reaching/pressing the trigger are difficult, or perhaps too much recoil and it causes you to flinch. Here’s a great article on gun fit. If you’re still working to master fundamentals, try shooting a handgun chambered in .22 LR. It has minimal recoil, not a lot of noise (relatively speaking, for a gun), and can help you master fundamentals. Sometimes it’s better to take a step back so you can later take two steps forward.
  • If you’re still having problems, consider seeking formal training. Having an knowledgable eye watching you could shed more light on and do more towards correcting problems and helping you succeed.

The bottom line? It’s all about fundamentals of sight alignment, trigger control, and follow-through. Even the top shooters in the world still have to practice and apply these fundamentals.

 

What’s your excuse?

/ hsoi / 4 Comments

Ali McWeeney. Lost the lower part of her left leg (above knee) in a boating accident… at 20 years old.

She refused to give up powerlifting and strongman competition.

(h/t RossTraining)

What’s your excuse?

2012-01-04 workout – Wendler 5/3/1 program, cycle 5, Press 2

/ hsoi

Improvement, and more experiments.

“Week 2”

  • “3 reps” – Press (working max: 145#)
    • 2x5x45 (warmup)
    • 1x5x60
    • 1x5x75
    • 1x3x90
    • 1x3x105 (work)
    • 1x3x115
    • 1x7x130
  • Asst. #1 – Press
    • 4 x 10 x 70
    • 1 x 10/7/5 x 70 (rest-pause set)
    • Performed 1 chin-up after sets 1 and 2, with a slow negative. Set 3’s chin didn’t clear the bar, but still got a negative. Sets 4 and 5 just got a negative.
  • Asst. #2 – Supinated Close-grip Pulldowns
    • 4 x 10 x 130
    • 1 x 10/5/4 x 130 (rest-pause set)
  • GPP – Elliptical
    • Tabata style (20 sec. sprint, 10 sec. walk)
    • 2 minutes “walking”, around 100 strides per minute (warmup)
    • 5 “Tabata reps”, about 200-220 strides per minute

Much to go over.

Pressing. I generally feel strong with this movement and today was no exception. I cranked out 7 reps, which is more than I’ve done before at this weight. Not a pure PR, but most acceptable.

Assistance pressing felt much stronger too, as you can see with the rest-pause set, doing more reps this time around and with less rest. I believe last time I did 15 breaths during the pauses, only did 10 today. I’ll take that.

As I stated before, after each assistance press set I’ll do a chin-up with a nice slow negative. I wasn’t able to hit all sets with a chin, but I did get some. Huzzah! As long as I make progress, I’m happy. Another guy at the gym saw me doing this and mentioned there was a band to assist with chins. He found it for me, but I’m not sure I can use it. The band requires the use of the foot, and I’m too tall to get a full extension (I have to curl my legs behind me in order to do a full dead hang from the bar). I’ll probably play with it some and see if I can make it work. May not try this tho until next cycle.

I didn’t know how much the chins would affect the lat pulldowns, and it didn’t affect much, but towards the end I was hurting a bit more. 🙂 If I keep this routine up, I may try to make larger jumps per cycle (e.g. 10#) and allow my reps to go down to say the 5-8 range to again focus on building up the strength. I really want to be able to do chins with enough sets/reps (e.g. 5×5, then 5×10). I’ll get there. Just have to admit my wussiness and strive to grow stronger (and shed some flab, which is happening too).

As for GPP….

Sprints were killing my knees from the impact. Stationary bike? Just can’t get the resistance. But they recently got some new ellipticals. They’re heavy-duty and they can adjust the incline. Hrm. Could that simulate hill sprints? It was worth a shot. I got on the machine, fiddled with the settings and just picked “12” for an incline and “5” for resistance. I set out on a Tabata set and didn’t get far. My lower thighs and calves were killing me after about rep 5, but I wasn’t that winded. Hrm. Not sure. Plus it felt weird being on the machine. There is zero impact, which isn’t like normal walking around. Plus I felt like I was floating because there just wasn’t the same resistance you feel when you say walk up a hill or stairs. I’m going to keep trying it tho because there’s potential here towards a GPP solution that won’t kill my knees but could still give me a reasonable workout. I am going to first play with the resistance level, then the incline, and also my pace. We’ll see how it goes, I’ll keep fiddling with it.

Didn’t do the Agile 8 today. Had to scoot.

Quick note on diet.

I’m trying to work on simplifying. I’ve toyed around, up and down, this and that, and observed what it’s done to my body. My present approach? 200-250 grams of protein a day. About 100g will come from 2 whey drinks during the day (one as soon as I wake up, the other typically mid-afternoon). The other 100-150g will come via 3 regular meals with the family, about 35-50g per meal. That’ll be about a 6-8oz portion of meat, which isn’t as much as I think it is. I have to retrain my brain to say “no, you don’t need a mountain of meat, just enough”. Fats? I don’t worry about it. I’m not drinking a vat of lard, but I need some fats to work right and I’m just not sweating it much… we’re fairly low fat around here, but if I want to have that 3rd slice of thick-cut bacon I will because overall it doesn’t add up to much in my diet (due to Wife’s cooking). Carbs… fruit, veggies, grains. Strive to have at least 1 serving of fruit a day, whole fruit, not juice. All the cruciferous veggies I can handle; that CSA box from Johnson’s Backyard Garden does wonders here to fill this bill. Grains? breads, rices, beans, etc… In general I’m cutting them out of my diet, but because they are used to feed the rest of the family, and because I still enjoy a good Wife-made cookie, I can have some, just very small portion. Take my one hand, cup it, and it has to fit in that.

And I wonder if it’s already working. I generally float between 235-240# depending on the time of day, less in the morning, more in the evening. The past few weeks I’ve hovered more towards the 240 end of things. Last night I got on the scale before bed and was at 235#. That’s odd. This morning I checked again, and was about 233 or so. Not enough data points, but I still raised an eye brow.

FWIW, supplements are running as follows: the whey (referenced above); 2 NOW Adam men’s multivitamin, the softgel versions; 6g vitamin C, spread over the day; 6g fish oil, spread over the day; 3 Citrical at lunch (for some extra calcium and D3). Any other supps I’m pretty much giving up on because it’s all a waste of money.