J.P.

EWR.

So I have been sitting at EWR since shortly after noon. After being shuttled from terminal A to terminal C with a tour group headed from Kentucky to Israel (I didn’t question the specifics or intents), I found myself with plenty of time and decided to treat myself to a civilized, sit down lunch at a place called Gallagher’s. Taking a cue from Darrin Stephens and Larry Tate, I decided to have an adult beverage with my lunch. My beverage of choice was a short Yuengling. It went well with my steak salad.

This combination has made the afternoon go by rather quickly.

I have answered all of my outstanding email, wrote a few pages of code for a project I am working on (using my iPad!) and listened in as a man with a Sony Walkman cassette player listened to “Crush on You” by the Jets. He be jammin’.

EWR (or Newark Liberty International Airport) is not as busy as I have seen it in the past, probably due to the MLK Holiday today. The skies are gray and thankfully my flight in less than an hour of this writing is just over an hour in length.

I am feeling productive and relaxed at the same time. Perhaps my standard workday would be more enjoyable if accompanied by Yuengling and/or The Jets.

21 January 2013 by Fun and Games Dept 3

UA 4548

I am sitting in seat 11A on United flight 4548 en route from Raleigh-Durham to Newark. I have a four hour layover in Newark and then I will be on my way home. I’ll probably write more during this layover. Now that I think about it, the layover and flight time is longer than if I landed at Newark and drove home. Oh well.

The flight attendant’s name is Courtney and she is quite pleasant. Initial impressions is that she enjoys her job. She is another one with “fierce” knee high boots. The flight attendant between Dulles and RDU on Friday featured Julie with her knee high boots. I’m not sure why I’m noticing these boots since I have zero interest in women’s footwear, but looking fierce is looking fierce regardless of sex, so there’s that.

The skies are clear for this flight. We don’t seem to be as high up ask would expect, maybe 20-21,000 feet. Oh my gosh how I love flying.

The other passengers are interesting to observe. Since today is a Federal holiday there’s not a lot of business folks traveling, at least from what I’ve seen, but there’s a lot of those that are casually dressed. I am dressed in a sport coat and tie and I am definitely enjoying a better customer service experience and I think it’s because I’m dressed this way. It could be because I have a stronger feeling of self-confidence when I dress this way. Whatever the reason, I am happy that I feel good and that I feel like I’m being treated well.

There is a mom and one of her sons seated across the aisle from me. The young man is well behaved. The mother does things like drop items in the aisle during take-off and eat nutri-grain bars but we can deal with that. The man behind her brought a greased soaked sack of McFat onto the flight that smelled extra pungent for the frivolity of all within a two mile radius of this flight, but we can deal with that with minimal personal irritability.

I’m wondering if this flight would normally pass over Washington, D.C. The reason I’m wondering this is because we’ve done several S banks and for some reason I’m equating this to avoiding flying over the Inauguration celebrations.

It’s time for refreshment! The favorite time of the flight for all. Especially if it helps the passenger behind me wash down his McFat.

21 January 2013 by Fun and Games Dept 2

RDU Airport.

So I’m sitting at gate D3 for my return flight from the Raleigh-Durham area. This has been an off-the-grid weekend with a little bit of work and a little bit of play. I see more of these weekends in the future.

21 January 2013 by Fun and Games Dept 1

The Color Lite Version.

So I’m sitting in the parking lot near Dunkin’ Donuts during my lunch hour. I’m looking across the lot at the various cars parked in a reasonable order and I can’t help but notice that the color selection of the majority vehicles is, for lack of a better word, muted. There are no oranges or lime greens or yellows like you’d find in the days gone by. Everything is a subtle color, if the color falls outside of a monochromatic selection at all.

I wonder why this is.

People often buy the vehicle that expresses their personality. This isn’t always the case, but people will most likely buy the color vehicle that they are attracted to, and judging by this completely unscientific survey I’m doing here, people are feeling rather subtle these days. They don’t want to stray far from a gray area. There are very few who make the bold choice.

I find this intriguing.

17 January 2013 by Ponderings and Musings 5

The Modified Illumination.

I just popped a Vitamin D capsule from my husband’s stash. For some reason I have not been taking Vitamin D this winter. This is something that I usually do because it does help with the winter blahs I feel from time to time. I like to think of Vitamin D as a little capsule of sunshine. It helps boost my spirits a bit. Or, at least I think that it’s helping me boost my spirits a bit.

Even though I don’t like being out in the sun, I still really enjoy sunshine. Lots and lots of sunshine. I like to sit in the shade and look out over a sunlit landscape and just feel the warm breezes on my face. That doesn’t happen a lot in January in Central New York. We get a steady diet of gray skies and snow covered landscapes. While it can be quite pretty, it’s kind of monochromatic and that contributes to a ‘blah’ feeling.

I have a couple of natural LED lightbulbs in my office that are suppose to help me feel all cheery by simulating sunlight. I definitely prefer the LED lightbulbs over fluorescent lights, and the light is kind of cheery, but it’s not warm and cheery. This zaps my energy levels a little bit. Perhaps the warmth and the energy levels will come in the Vitamin D tablet I just pilfered from my husband’s stash of vitamins.

Now I remember why we sneak off to Virginia Beach around the last week of February. We might have to do that again this year.

In the meantime I’ll look at the LED lamp and hope there’s warmth in the Vitamin D.

16 January 2013 by Ponderings and Musings 1

The Time Factor.

I must be doing something wrong. There must be something that I’m missing in this grand scheme called life. I look around. I see people in real life having dinner with friends, enjoying drinks, spending hours at the gym. They laugh, they have fun. And they have all the time in the world to do so.

I read blog posts. I see tweets. Same deal. People out having fun, having a grand time with all the time in the world. They seem relaxed. At ease. Ready to par-tay. Woo woo!

I must have signed up for a shortened timeline or something. I feel like my life is frenetic. Packed to the seams with events and activities. And we’re not even that sociable. Sleep, eat, work, eat, gym, repeat. It doesn’t feel treadmill-like, it just feels like I don’t have enough time.

I’m organized. That’s all working and has made things better, but after dinner, working out at the gym and then trying to fold a load of laundry, it’s time for bed. Time to rinse and repeat.

Maybe this is part of some two-decade long mid-life crisis. There’s so many things, both big and little that I still want to do. So many little projects that I want to escape into. So many people I want to meet, so many places I want to see. But who has the time? Something is consuming all of my time.

And I don’t have the time to figure out what it is.

15 January 2013 by Ponderings and Musings 2

The Little Thing.

If I were ever to monetize my blog, I would seriously consider becoming a spokesperson for PopChips.


My monthly case of PopChips arrived on Thursday. There was much excitement because I decided to go with 11 different varieties in this case instead of the standard six. I tried the That Sweet Chili Potato flavor and the Sweet Potato variety to much delight. Today was my first experience with Parmesan Garlic Potato.

Delectable.

Now, when you’re in line at Subway trying to eat healthy by ordering a Veggie Delight on wheat bread with barely a suggestion of dressing and a complete absence of cheese, take a moment to look at the bag of the healthy-looking SunChips. They’re really not that healthy. In fact, I think the caloric count of the SunChips will outweigh the caloric count of the healthy sub you’re ordering.

PopChips? 100 calories a bag. No saturated fat. No Trans Fat. Total fat 3.5g. And quite frankly, I don’t see anything in the ingredients list that I can’t pronounce.

I won’t ever ad ads to my site, after all, you have my vivacious personality to enjoy, but if anyone ever asks for a snack recommendation, I recommend PopChips.

14 January 2013 by Fun and Games Dept 0

The Inspiration Inclination.

So, back at the end of August, on the day that I shaved off that big mustache that wasn’t as popular as the absence of it, I weighed myself. This is not unusual in itself, because I weigh myself every day. I know that people say that a person shouldn’t weigh themselves every day, but this is something that I’ve done for years and it’s the just the way that I am.

Anyways, on that last day of August I weighed 209 pounds. It’s not the most I’ve weighed in my life but I was headed in that general direction. And quite frankly, I didn’t really like the way I was feeling. Riding my bike was not as enjoyable as it had been in years past and I just didn’t feel comfortable in my skin.

Now, I’ve always had a “cub gut”. I will always have a “cub gut”. There is a picture of me playing basketball at 7 or 8 years old with my Dad’s cousin (we called him Uncle Bill) and when I posed for the picture it looked like I had a little tyke-sided basketball under my shirt. My abs have always worked undercover and they will always continue to do so. I am a realist and I know that I’m never going to be the chiseled type. My only goal was to feel comfortable in my own skin. So I decided to start doing something about it.

Removing the daily 75 minute commute each way was a big step in the right direction. By working from home three days a week, I had the opportunity to get out and do something instead of spending daylight hours behind the steering wheel. So I ramped my alarm back to 0500 ET (I always write that in military time so that I feel disciplined about it) and started getting up early and going for a walk. After a few weeks of doing this, I started riding my bike again. I found myself wanting to tackle hills I hadn’t climbed before. I found myself wanting to get out and feel the fresh air. My body thanked me after its initial confusion. The daily weigh-in, which never left my routine, did not result in disagreements with the scale. There was no drop-kicking. If the number crept back up, I decided I need to work harder.

I didn’t crash diet. I’ve tried that before and it has never worked. SlimFast did not enter the picture. Protein shakes did not become part of my routine. What I needed was a lifestyle change, not a quick fix. So what did become part of my routine was keeping track of everything on an app that our friend Jeff introduced us to, MyFitnessPal. I have written about this before and I have found it to be very valuable to this whole approach. It tracks my calories in, calories out, water intake and my weight, and it syncs between my iPhone, iPad and any computer with a web browser. I have no excuse for not keeping track of these things. It even has a barcode scanner that looks up nutrition information for you!

When the daylight hours grew short and the weather didn’t lend itself to bike riding, Earl and I joined the gym. Other than a break during the holidays, we have been going to the gym on a regular basis.

My area of concentration has been weight loss. I set reasonable milestones along the way and I even changed my goal once when I felt happy about where I was headed.

On the first of September I weighed in at 209. This morning I weighed in at 178.4. I have lost over 30 pounds.

I haven’t reached the number I have as a goal yet, but I’m in the ballpark. I took my blood pressure the other night and it was 120/82, and that was after a day at work! Ten years ago I was on daily medication because I had chronic high blood pressure. My weight yo-yos a little bit still, I’m sure I’ll clock in a little over 180 within the next week, but it just keeps me more determined.

Folks are starting to notice the weight loss and I find it flattering when someone says something. The folks that have always seen me with a beard or with the big mustache wonder why I’m clean shaven. It’s part of the effort; a more disciplined approach to my morning routine helps me get on track for the day and having a naked face helps me stay that way.

For the first time in many, many years, I am looking forward to the longer days so I can start walking or riding my bike in the morning before work without risking getting hit by a car. In the meantime, Earl1 and I are going to keep doing what we’re doing and holding tight to the effort.

It’s good to feel good, both inside and out.

1 Earl has made amazing progress as well and while I wouldn’t be so presumptuous as to talk about his goals and achievements, I will say that he is impressing me VERY much with his efforts. I am very proud of him.

12 January 2013 by Fitness. 6

The Lunchtime Whine.

I am working from home today, and as I sit here at the kitchen table and enjoy my lunch, I can’t help but notice that the house is being buzzed by some very large airplanes today. This is not surprising; this sort of thing happens when you live a couple of miles off the end of one of the longest runways in the United States, despite the fact that the Air Force Base that houses this runway has been officially decommissioned for nearly two decades.


He’s bigger than he looks in the photo.

I find these planes fascinating. From what I can tell, they’re Lockheed Galaxy transports and I believe there are students flying the plane. I think two planes are taking turns doing touch-n-gos. One of the planes markedly pulls back on the throttle just as they’re approaching the house and it looks like the jet is coming to a complete standstill. The other plane opens up the throttle and the engines whine about it, higher and louder. The second plane was loud enough to get Tom’s attention (must be the frequency of the whine) but not loud enough to wake up Jamie, who’s still asleep as of this writing.

Maybe they’re both used to the noise.

So the planes go ’round and ’round and I watch them fly over wishing I was up there with the students and whoever else is on the plane. I bet they’re massive on the inside. I could see myself enjoying the view with a parachute strapped on my back and awaiting for the leader to give the signal to jump. That’s a different passenger approach than the planes that most people fly on. There’s probably no first-class section divided from the rest of the plane by a limp, blue curtain. The curtain probably isn’t even camo or anything because there’s no first class. Honestly, skydiving would be a first class experience to me. The idea of skydiving from a big plane like that (or even a small plane) is awesome. I told Earl that I want to skydive for my 45th birthday this year. He looked at me with fleeting panic but then calmed down. He knows that I’m adventurous enough to do such a thing. To tell you the truth, it’d be quite an adventure to just be in one of the Galaxies when they feel like they’re coming to a halt in the air.

For now, I’ll listen to them whine while I whine with envy a little bit.

Just as I was finishing up this entry the whine was replaced by the traditional roar of jet engines usually heard around passenger airports. Since Griffiss doesn’t have commercial service, I had to take a look to see what was flying in and saw that DHL must be having some jets serviced by that does that sort of thing on site. Nifty! I need to work at home on Thursdays more often.

10 January 2013 by Geek Ponderings and Musings 0

The Resolute Week.

So it has been a week since I set some goals for myself for 2013 and quite frankly I’m feeling good about them thus far. The scale and I are getting along. I have completely revamped my workflow at work and I am markedly less stressed (though sometimes I played the harried part to keep people off my back). At home, well, the cleaners come back in a week. Two out of three ain’t bad.

Earl and I went to the gym the other night and I snagged the last available elliptical machine (otherwise known as the ‘Spazz-master’). It seems that there are many people trying to get fit for the New Year and I applaud their efforts. The social engineering person in me is curious to see how long the overpopulated gym situation lasts. I think some make a list of dozens of resolutions and lose interest in them. I know that I would. I’m finding by concentrating on less than a half dozen goals, instead of trying to revamp my life, I’m focused on what I want to get done and I’m actually accomplishing something. This is a good feeling.

I’m employing technology in my new routines where I can; I still use MyFitnessPal to keep track of my healthy stuff. I have a FitBit that is keeping tracking of my steps and sleeping patterns. I was a little surprised to find out how many times I wake up during the night and after the first few nights I adjusted my sleep schedule so that I would get more restful sleep. My organizational goals at work have focused on a completely paper-free desk. I wiped out a bunch of unused apps on my computers and iDevices. I’m getting rid of older technology that I used to keep around for nostalgic purposes and only keeping the things I actually use.

It’s a good feeling. I guess when your only resolution is to set up achievable goals for yourself, you’re setting yourself up to win.

And that feels good.

9 January 2013 by Fun and Games Dept 4

About J.P.

Just a guy with a husband. We’ve been together 28 years and he still makes me see fireworks on a daily basis. Hiker. Storm Chaser. Private Pilot. Tech Guy. Hackerish.

Weird? Eccentric!

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