July 30, 2009

Restoration.



Standard Electric Time., originally uploaded by iMachias.

This morning I finished the project of restoring one of my school clocks for my collection. This particular clock came from the elementary school I went to, more specifically, it came out of my sixth grade classroom.

The case and glass has several layers of paint splatter on it. I opted to paint the rim black to match the numbers and hands.

This clock was made and installed in 1955 by the Standard Electric Time Company of Springfield, Massachusetts. The hands on this clock are original, however, are not the style usually found on this style clock. As this clock was intended for a classroom in an addition to the school, I believe these hands were chosen to match the art deco stylings of the older clocks in the original part of the building, which was built in 1939.

Originally ran by a pendulum master clock (like a grandfather’s clock) in the principal’s office, the clocks in the house operate as originally intended with the click-click every minute, but are run by the Linux server in the basement. They click in unison and are synchronized to the atomic clock via the internet. I think it’s pretty nifty that a 55 year old clock (and it’s older siblings scattered throughout the house) are synchronized through modern technology.

This is the second newest clock I have in the collection. The oldest is from 1917.

Determination.

“I’m so sick of being hungry.” So be honest, if you’re watching your weight, how many times has that thought crossed your mind on any given day? It usually passes through on it’s way to the next thought, “My gods that ice cream sundae looks delicious” or “I’ll skip the pepperoni on these four slices of pizza so I can stick to my diet.”

I think I have figured out that if you’re hungry all the time your body is going to rebel against your dieting and start storing food because it’s kicked into survival mode. Go too far in the other direction and you’re quickly popping buttons all over the cubicle.

Where’s the balance?

As I grow older I find that I have to be more and more attentive to what I eat. The metabolism that burned two Big Macs, a large fries and a big pop during a trip for a McRib rusted out long ago. Now it’s all about celery, lettuce and Trader Joe’s rice noodles.

Let’s face it, dehydrated mushrooms are not sexy.

Long ago I lost a bunch of weight and I really don’t want to get back in that direction. It’s no secret that I enjoy beefy guys, after all I really love me some bear, but for some reason I have this self-image of me back when I weighed 160 and when I look in the mirror it can be a sobering reality check.

I know I’m not alone in all this. I try not to whine about it that often, but counting calories and balancing fat grams and multiplying, dividing and doing basic algebra with carb counts is becoming quite tedious.

Tonight I jumped on my bike for maybe the second or third time of the season. It was my first time using my new cycling shoes and pedals. The ride was awesome, the shoes and pedals are excellent and my body feels really good after the 1 1/2 hour ride. Cycling gives me such a rush that I can not duplicate in the gym doing cardio, lifting weights or jumping on a trampoline.

I need to stay determined to cycle and to balance it all out, I need to keep doing the calorie mathematics.

Sigh.

A picture using the Linux computer. I feel good tonight. I hope it looks it.
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