Me

2011-04-28 workout

/ hsoi

Routine much the same as before, but again, everything went up. More reps, more weight. I felt the intensity increase and all through the workout it was hitting me.

It’s all mental.

Well DUH… 🙂

But today’s workout was more mental than any prior. I really noticed it during squats, because I went up in weight and squats are one of those exercises that I’m a little afraid of for whatever reason: probably getting stuck and I can’t push out the last rep, injuring myself, or some such thing, so I always play it conservative. But I pushed harder through it and boy it felt good. And even tho I track my workout progress, keeping track of exercises, sets, reps, weight, today I didn’t pay so much attention. Sure, I’d look at what I lifted last workout to know the starting weight or if I needed to go up, but after that I didn’t pay any mind to how many reps I did with that weight on this set. I think when I do that it makes my brain pre-set to only a particular level of exertion, e.g. “I did 8 reps last time so…” and then somehow my brain says 8 reps is the line. I ignored a lot and really surprised myself at how I’d go up on both weight AND reps. My body can do a lot more than I’m letting it… it’s all in my head.

I am feeling like the workout is getting to a point of “I need more”. I don’t think I’m ready to change up the workout schedule yet because I still feel that things are growing with this routine, not just physical growth, but a lot of mental and just body adjustment stuff. But I am starting to think about what I’ll do. Do I want to just switch to a 4x/week split routine (e.g. upper body Mon/Thu, lower body and abs Tue/Fri)? That feels like it might be too much. But I think about a 3x a week whole body…. that feels like it might be overtraining and not enough recovery. What I’m feeling is each body part is needing a little more work, like bent-over barbell rows AND lat machine pulldowns for back, squats and leg curls, bench press and flies… a sort of 1 compound 1 isolation exercise sort of thing. But also, 2x a week is good on my schedule, going up to 4x well… have to see.

Anyways, so long as I’m improving I’m happy. Body feels so much better than it did a month ago.

Termites – we got ’em

/ hsoi / 7 Comments

Last week we looked in the backyard and noticed this quivering mass of something on the ground. Upon closer inspection, termites. Swarming. Didn’t last long tho… the birds came and picked them off.

Of course, I called our exterminator. They scheduled their termite guy to come out today.

Meantime yesterday, Oldest reported he saw them again in the same area yesterday.

There’s no question, we have termites. In fact, just about everyone in Texas does… they’re everywhere, you can’t escape them. The trick is tho, we don’t appear to have any structural damage to the house. There are no dirt tunnels up the side of the house. We have a slab foundation and it’s fairly high off the ground, so it’d be obvious if we did. We do get monthly exterminator exterior spray to mind for things like scorpions or other bugs, so that helps.

The question at this point tho is… should we get a preventative, like in-ground baits or Termidor.

It’s expensive.

Repairing your house is more expensive.

As I read up on Termidor, it seems amazingly effective. But that same effectiveness is also a source of concern. Toxicity. I read that it is highly toxic to bees, to aquatic life. Upland game birds too, tho oddly not waterfowl. I even read one thing that specifically said it’s non-toxic to mallards… but what about muscovy? Doubt I’ll get any direct info there. Still, I’d hate if any of the ducks died because of this treatment. Plus think about it… it sits in the ground for 10-12 years churning out its effective poison. While that sounds great from a termite control perspective, that also means this potent poison is in the ground… and what sort of impact will that have on our groundwater and aquifers? I don’t know, but I wonder.

It seems like it’s almost one of those “too good to be true” sorts of solutions, which means it probably is….

So the bait system. It seems less ideal in a way, because some studies I read on the Termidor is that it can’t be detected so the termites don’t avoid it, thus colony destruction is pretty quick therefore making the window between treatment and destruction rather narrow. With a bait system, they have to find the bait then take it, and who knows how long that could be. So you potentially have a larger window of opportunity for destruction to still happen. In mentioning this to Karl, he said he’s used baits and likes the added benefit that someone comes around every 3 months to inspect things, instead of 10+ years and hoping it’s still working. There’s a good point to that.

Then there’s money. Termidor is a huge expense up front. Baits are a lesser expense, but constant treatment. Over the lifetime of things it’ll probably add up to about the same amount of money spent, but I think bait ends up being cheaper if you expect to not live in the house for the next 10-20 years. And hopefully, cost of bait doesn’t skyrocket.

Really tho, I think at this point it’s more about what’s going to be effective yet safe. I don’t want to bring harm to anything, really… it’s just wanting to keep my house safe. If that means termites go bye-bye, then it does, but if it’s not hurting my house, I don’t want to see it harmed.

Any input?

Updated: We do have an exterminator that comes out once a month and sprays the exterior perimeter of the house. We do this mainly for scorpions, but of course it keeps a host of other things out too. Looking at the sheet, they put down birenthrin and cyfluthrin, which Google tells me are both barrier repellants that work against termites.

So you know…. I may just stick with that and save my money.

It’s a gamble, I know.

2011-04-25 workout

/ hsoi / 4 Comments

Today’s workout routine was steady, but the intensity was increased.

More weight. More reps. Pushing closer to failure. Stricter form. Overall, things went up. Sure, a few things went down (e.g. biceps curls was same weight as last workout but I did a couple reps less), but usually the overall intensity was up because form was stricter or another exercise worked things even harder so overall muscles were more exhausted.

It was so good, by the end I was feeling a little nauseous… pushed it hard. 🙂  I walked home…. couldn’t jog it.

I can tell I’m gaining some muscle. I can see my body changing already. I have wondered about fat loss, and I figure I must be because if I’m gaining muscle and my weight is staying the same well… gotta be losing some fat too. Good deal. I’m probably going to start supplementation soon (e.g. whey protein, creatine) to help things along. I already take a multivitamin, and with the whey and creatine that should be good enough to start.

Oh wow. Just saw amazon.com sells the stuff pretty cheap. Plus it looks like there’s a “subscription” service you can get where they’ll auto-send it to you periodically at an interval you specify. And if you do that, the cost drops significantly. e.g. 10lbs. of Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey Gold Standard is $82.04 (double chocolate) one time, or $69.73 subscription. Plus it’ll ship free with their Super Saver shipping, and no tax. Whereas bodybuilding.com lists it at $84.99 plus shipping. Interesting. But, the joy of the Internet is that with a little shopping around, I’m sure I can still find good deals elsewhere.

Anyways, onwards!

Happy Birthday, Dad

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

My Dad turns 70 years old today.

Normally I try to refrain from posting too much personally identifiable information here, but Dad’s been a public figure for most of his life so it’s not hard to figure his birthday and age. Anyways….

Thinking about my Dad turning 70 is difficult for me to accept. Something about that number signifies that you’re truly old. Sure, you turn 40 and joke about being old, but you’re not really that old yet. But 70? Sure, 100 is older, but you can’t find any way to finagle 70 into being celebrating your 29th birthday for the 42nd time. And so with that comes having to admit that Dad’s time with me remains limited.

Am I the best son in the world? I don’t know. Is he the best Dad in the world? I don’t know. I do know that he’s the only Dad I have, and I’m the only son he has. So for better or for worse, we all we’ve got.

But really, it hasn’t been all that bad. In fact, I’d say it’s pretty good. I am who I am today because of him, and so I’m grateful and thankful.

It’s always a hard thing that catches you by surprise — that first day something flies out of your mouth and then you realize, “Shit! I sound just like my father!” You hate it, you hate to admit it. But then you find those moments happening more often. When you start to look at them collectively, you realize it’s really a good thing — at least, if your father raised you right and well. I figure my Dad did just that.

He installed a strong work-ethic in me. I remember there was a time while growing up that he’d always come home and say to me “Son, what did you do today that was productive?”  Now, still to this day I relish the notion of having a day without any productivity because sometimes being one with the couch and idiot box is a nice thought. But I’ve come to find that it’s only that — a nice thought. If I wasn’t truly productive today, I feel like I wasted my day. I no longer appreciate days full of sloth, lethargy, and slack. If I didn’t get something done, I’m pissed! In fact, I find that accomplishing milestones every day towards greater goals brings me a great deal of joy.

All from Dad’s nagging in my youthful years. 🙂

One odd thing is how Dad influenced my parenting style. Because of Dad’s job, he wasn’t around all that much. I used to hate him for that, because all the gifts and money and whatever in the world still deprived me of the thing I wanted most: him. I have one memory of a time in grade school. Parents were to come to have lunch with their children. Older Sister’s day was prior to mine, and I recall when they came for her day, before they left they came over to my class’s table to say hello to me. All my friends were shouting out “Hey, Mr. Daub!” and gosh if I didn’t feel like the coolest kid with the coolest Dad. I couldn’t wait for them to come eat with me on my day. Then on my day, I reserved a seat on either side of me, the placemats I had spent hours making were ready…. and, my parents never came. I was crushed. And obviously it made quite and impression on me, because I can still feel that crushing emotion today. That, along with other things about my growing-up years well… on the one hand, that my folks weren’t around afforded me a lot of freedom which was cool. But on the other, I longed for doing things with them and the lack of them hurt. So I resolved when I was a parent, I’d be around.

I’d say that between my working from home, Wife and I homeschooling the Kiddos… that yeah, my kids have probably already been around their parents more in their short lives than most people are around their folks in a lifetime. 🙂  If you saw our family, you’d see how tight we are. I’m happy of what I’ve been able to cultivate here.

All because of my Dad.

Now granted, that seems like a bad thing… that Dad did bad. Well, yeah… it wasn’t what I wanted, but it worked out alright because it helped me become a better person. And when I look at it, I consider what my Dad did. He worked hard because of his Dad, his work ethic… but also because his Dad didn’t provide him with much, so my Dad strove to be better than his own father. That’s just how it is: we always want to be better than our folks. Of course, I’m sure in some way I’m screwing up with my kids and there’ll be something they think I sucked at and will resolve to improve upon. So the cycle goes.

One more thing. My Dad’s been a politician for most of his life. For the most part, I hate politicians, because the field tends to attract a lot of scumbags and assholes. But I’ve always felt my Dad was different, and not just because I’m biased as his son. I’ve tried to look objectively at my Dad and what he’s done. He went from being a Federal politician to being a local one. Folks, that’s not how most politicians work: they all want to climb the ladder of power (and corruption). I believe my Dad understands the notion of being a public servant and working to truly serve the people, even if they didn’t agree with him. It’s funny… throughout my life I’d be out with my Dad and he’d be politicking and I’d be standing off to the side waiting for him. Lots of people would come up and talk to me. One thing I often heard from folks? That they didn’t like or agree with my Dad — but they respected him. Why? Because he stood up for his principles. He wasn’t some typical wishy-washy, spineless, substance-lacking, two-faced stereotypical politician that pandered to everyone and served no one but themselves. He had his convictions, they were always well thought out, well-reasoned, well-researched, principled, sound. Even if you didn’t agree with him, you couldn’t help but respect him  (and remember, respect is something earned… he was that compelling). To that, it’s an ideal I only hope I can live up to. I strive to be a man of integrity, of conviction like my Father’s. You can hate me if you wish, but that’s good… because it means I stood up for something. Winston Churchill may have said that, but my Dad taught me that.

All in all, Dad… it’s been good. I know it’s taken years — probably more years than you planned on — for some lessons to sink through my thick skull, but I hope they finally have. I hope I’ve done you proud. I know I’m proud to call you Dad. I love you.

To buy, or not to buy

/ hsoi / 6 Comments

I’ve got an itch to buy a new gun.

Why?

Because.

The question is… what?

Shotgun? No. What I have suits me fine. If I wanted anything in this realm, I’d want something with a short barrel, but that means a lot of tax stamps and paperwork, which I’m not in the mood for right now. Tho of course, that could be somewhat mitigated by a Kel-Tec KSG. But good luck getting one any time soon.

Rifle? No. I mean sure… building an AR would be fun. Yeah, tweaking my 6.8 AR would be useful. I’ve been tossing around some ideas for new optics but then I pull back because while yes there are better optics out there than what I have, for what I do the optics are more than sufficient. Yes the other days I started my yen again for that Savage 10FCM Scout, but I’m not dying for it. Of course, I’ve also always had a yen for the Kel-Tec RFB.

Handgun? Yes… this is where I’m really feeling it. But then, I’m not surprised as I’m mostly a handgun guy. That Kel-Tec PMR-30 is interesting to me… not sure if I’d want to buy one, but they’re not too expensive. I’m sure they’re a lot of fun, and I can’t help but be curious about them as a self-defense gun for some people (especially now that Speer is making Gold Dot .22 WMR). I did want to buy a 1911 this year; it’s one gun I don’t have but should have just because of what it is. If I bought, I’m pretty sure as a first I’d buy an STI Spartan. But I’m having second thoughts because I really only want one because I feel I should have one in my collection — it’s a 1911, and that’s all the reason why. But I’m not feeling that’s good enough a reason because it would be a total safe queen for me, or at best a teaching aid. Not a bad reason, but it gives me pause. Ever since the Chiappa Rhino was introduced, it intrigued me. A way to have a carry snub, that could perhaps make .357 Mag in a carry snub a viable option?? And talk about a teaching aid… I know that would be a huge hit at KR Training Basic Pistol 1 classes and probably any other class I brought it to. If it panned out to be solid and reliable, I certainly could see carrying it… and that nudges it up the “good waste of money” ladder.

Some of the local guys are toying around with the Smith & Wesson M&P more. Back when I was choosing a carry gun it came down to the Springfield XD or the Smith & Wesson M&P. The only reason I didn’t go with the M&P was because at the time it was brand new and who knew if it’d be solid or another S&W Sigma stinker. Well, turns out it’s one hell of a gun. I shoot well with it, there are a lot of good things about it… and so perhaps if I did buy something new, this would be the way to go. The thing to consider here is the cost isn’t just for a gun, but Apex trigger parts, a couple of IWB holsters, mag holster, lots of magazines (which apparently are pretty scarce right now), sending the slide to Dawson for sights… that jacks up the cost substantially.

Then there’s a part of me that says to be responsible and use that money on other things… like maybe putting Dawson Precision Charger sights on my carry guns, buying lots of springs and replacing every spring I have in guns and magazines. Or just not spending the money at all. But there’s no fun in that. 🙂

Wife is probably reading this… and probably thinking the “not spending it at all” is the right option. 😉

Are you thinking about any sort of purchase?

2011-04-21 Workout

/ hsoi

Today’s workout was good. I’m getting locked into good working ranges and getting more comfortable with things.

I strove to be a little more strict today, but obviously wasn’t strict enough as the owner corrected my form a bit on the dumbbell overhead presses… keep things in line with my ears. I thought I was, but I was focusing more on seeing my form in the mirror in front of me and not feeling where the weight was.

I also didn’t do those “machine crunches” because they really are only working the hip flexors; the abdominal muscles are only being worked as a supporting muscle. Owner suggested to me to use the big Pilates ball, lay on my back over that, and crunch that way. I liked that more than I thought I would. Because of the ball curvature I got a bit more stretch and range of motion for the crunch, and if I keep my feet close together it requires a lot more work to remain balanced. Plus my neck muscles (e.g. sternocleidomastoid) got some work too. I like.

I felt like I could do more, which I take as a good sign that my body is getting used to things. I’ll probably stick on this 2x-week, whole-body-each-workout routine for at least a couple more weeks, no real change-ups in the routine. I don’t want to rush things at this point and let my mental excitement get ahead of my physical capabilities. 🙂

Rite of Passage

/ hsoi / 4 Comments

I took Oldest and Youngest shopping today.

For a suit.

Oldest needs a suit, Youngest just gets one (Easter and all). Full jacket and everything. A tie that doesn’t clip-on. And his feet are big enough that he shopped in the proper mens shoe department… ouch, that cost a lot for shoes he’ll rarely wear. But I also picked up a new shoe shine kit because the few things I have in the shoebox just doesn’t cut it any more.

Time for Oldest to learn how to care for good leather shoes.

Time for him to learn how to properly tie a tie.

Oldest looked mighty sharp in that full suit. Even he liked it…. which came as a surprise to me.

Damn. Do they have to grow older?

2011-04-18 workout

/ hsoi

Gotta make this a quick entry… need to get to other things with the day.

The workout went well. After doing a lot of reading over the weekend and giving how my body is feeling, I’m changing up slightly. Instead of aiming for 3 sets of 8-12 reps, I’m going for 4 sets of 6-10 reps, except the isolation exercises like curls and triceps extensions I’ll have those be 3 sets since those muscles will have gotten some good work already.

Exercises were the same as prior workout. Some weight increase too. I’m getting close to finding my groove in all the exercises and the amount of weight needed. When doing squats tho, the owner was walking by and just said “keep your core tight, push up through your heels”. Good advice… I’ve forgotten so much but getting it all back. 🙂

I strove to do that during the workout but found that there’s a part of me that’s trying to push more through the weight and letting form be a bit less than strict. Not sloppy by any means, but I’m focused on so many things and strict strict form hasn’t been one of them. For instance, keeping my core tight. Any time I did that, it made things harder, so that’s good. I’m thinking next workout I’ll keep everything exactly the same in terms of sets, reps, weight, exercises, but slow down a bit, try to exaggerate form to be uber-strict, really squeeze at the top of the rep.

Left ankle hurt a bit on the jog home so it was half jog half walk. That’s the ankle I blew out years ago doing jump spin kicks in Kuk Sool and landing badly from being exhausted and losing my balance.

Also tweaking some of my thoughts on nutrition. Only supplements I’m doing right now is a general multivitamin and fish oil in the morning, calcium and vitamin C before bed. Eating good food, ensuring good protein intake. Trying to space out meals every 2-3 hours and keep them small. Not being uber strict here… need to find my groove here too, but it’ll come. I figure after a month or two I’ll want to look at picking up whey protein and perhaps creatine, but we’ll see. I will likely also switch to a better multivitamin, but not until our current supply in the house is used up (e.g. we bought Centrum for the kiddos but it seems to bother their stomachs… so… I need to use it all up since I seem to be the only one that can consume it).

Another cool thing was finding FitnessTrack. It’s a barebones workout tracking app. It doesn’t have all sorts of sexy frills, but I don’t need that. It seems to be doing what’s needed, straightforward, and seems to work nicely. Of course being a developer myself I thought I could write something, but hey… let’s see what’s out there first. If this ends up fitting my bill, great.

Feeling good!

Moneydance – so far, almost good

/ hsoi

Moneydance has been working out as my financial software. I’m still dealing with those interface quirks (hey Moneydance, you hiring?), but you figure them out and soon enough it just fades into the background.

It seems to be doing the job well enough.

Except… exporting.

This is the first year I have to file for my LLC, so since I tracked those expenses in Quicken I just exported a QIF and sent those to my accountant. Funny… QuickBooks doesn’t grok QIF. You’d think Intuit might recognize its own file format, but I guess not.

Let’s see… what can Moneydance export? Oh… QIF. They can also export in their own format as well as a simple tab-delimited, which is better than nothing and thus can go into Excel, but… that feels so flat. Especially when Moneydance can import OFX and OFC files… why can’t it also export those formats? I’m not sure if QuickBooks can import those either. Bottom line: I’d love a file format that my accountant can grok. 🙂

In the end tho, Moneydance’s reports came to the rescue. I created a detailed income & expense report, printed to PDF, and sent that to my accountant. Hardly ideal, but here we are.

Will have more in-depth talks with my accountant later about how we can come up with a better solution. 🙂