From alpha testing to the QUERCUS 200

The book sounds interesting, is it worth the read?

What do you mean by field work? Random question, I was just curious.

Hope the physical therapy helps :)
 
Hi everyone! Therapy went well on Friday and I'm feeling pretty good today. I wasn't feeling very good Saturday, but that was because I started my day putting together 2 chairs, a love seat, and a table which required a lot of weird bending and straining.

Vee, that intersection is why I've changed things. I haven't had success to the degree I've wanted so I'm trying to focus on the mental aspects weightloss/health to try to improve my success on the physical side.

Nostaligic, I am optimistic about the book. The principals seem to be based in cognitive behavior therapy which in my opinion has merit in changing behaviors. I'm always skeptical about diet related books, but this on has no magic solution. It is radically different in that the approach involves allowing yourself unconditional permission to eat and encourages you not to make weightloss the primary focus, and to stay away from the scale. The initial phase will include poor eating and s subsequent gain or stall in weight. The idea is that once you are without fear of restriction or being forbidden foods that you can successfully focus on eating based on hunger and pleasure. The book offers advice and techniques to learn to pay attention to your bodies signals again and help with altering your misconceptions about eating and the process of getting healthy. It rejects dieting and places blame for the obesity epidemic on the dieting yo-yo/quick fix culture that we have.
 
It's amazing how much assembling furniture takes out of you. Even now when activity that used to drain me doesn't do very much, adding a drawer to a computer desk or assembling an office chair still gets me a little winded.
 
I have no stamina for anything any more. I get wore out going to a store. The physical therapy would have been equal to a warmup before and it makes me hurt for days. It was worth the effort because now I can be outside in comfort so I don't feel so cooped up anymore.

I've been thinking about you MrVee. I got started a couple of months after you and you have made so much progress and I have not. I've been trying to keep you as a motivator instead of comparing the 2 of us and feeling like a failure. I've also come to the conclusion that in seeing you as a motivation maybe I'm trying too hard to do things your way rather than my own. I'm in a state of flux and I don't know for sure what my approach will be, but I am feeling more positive and hopeful which is not the norm. Be proud of what you've accomplished. I think we all have to find our on paths to be successful.
 
We're all different, and the reality is that you got injured and I did not. Most of that is luck, really.

I'm also single and work out of my house. You're married and have a lot of outdoor field work. My eating schedule and my choice of foods would likely drive my wife up a wall if I were married. The possibility exists that my particular method could only work for one person in the entire world.

Injury was my number one fear going into this in July of 2012. I consider myself very fortunate that, other than falling off the mountain once while hiking (and whacking my head on a rock), I've progressed injury free since then. So while I have worked very hard, I've also been extremely fortunate.

Hang in there big guy.
 
Q, I'm sorry you're having so much trouble. As you already said we're all different and we all have to find our way of doing things. What works for one won't always work for another. I'm sure you'll find your path now that you're aware that you need to do things your way. As MrVee also pointed out, you were injured. That would slow anyone of us down. I hope your back is feeling better and that your therapy continues to go well so you'll be back on the ball soon. :)
 
MrVee, you are so much lighter and fitter now that you are much less likely to get injured. An accident is always a possibility for anyone, but even that is reduced with your increased strength, balance, and coordination.

Mandy, thanks for your kind words. The back is definitely on the upswing. It isn't that I feel better ever day, but I do more and feel about the same. I forgot my medication this morning and worked in the field for a few hours and so far I'm okay.

I've noticed much less binging so far since I've started to change my approach. I am in a good place mentally in part because of pain improvements and in part because I've really made an effort to reduce my negative thinking in my relationship with food and what I need to be doing with my life. For 38 years beating myself up hasn't worked well for making positive changes and even with success I wouldn't let myself enjoy those successes. I'm working on that.
 
The book sounds good and hope it will help you, I might look It to it also.
Yes, the injury will slow things down so don't be hard on yourself.
It's great you have changed your approach and are thinking more positively about it.
 
Nostalgic, that's a big part of my new approach is not being so hard on myself.

I don't think I've mentioned this, but the outer part of my left foot has been giving me trouble for the past 2 weeks to the point where I have been considering a doctor visit. I'm happy to say that it is starting to feel a lot better and I think that I will do 1 or possibly 2 SHORT runs this long weekend and test the back out. I have this cleared with my Dr and physical therapist and I will start with 5 minutes of running no more often than every other day. If there is no problem I'll add 5 mins every few sessions. I'm careful to say that I won't be running every other day. That is the minimum "wait period" to see how I respond to it, but I will be running based on how I feel and how it makes me feel rather than making a fixed program to adhere to. Starting with 5 mins and adding 5 mins keeps me from overdoing it, but I won't be working up to a regimen or fixed schedule. I will run because it makes me feel better and because I enjoy it.

I've been told to avoid bike riding or even the stationary bike as the forward sitting posture puts strain on my injury. Hopefully I'll be good to cycle before winter gets here so I can ride my stationary bike rather than run in the cold and dark.

This will be a major change in the right direction to getting healthy so I hope it goes well.

My wife and I took a page from Vee's social playbook and signed up on a socializing site and found a local group with shared interests and we are meeting up with a group tonight. We have become quite antisocial since moving back and hopefully this will be a step in the right direction. I also played chess with a coworker at a coffee shop twice this week which is a record breaker for social outings on its own. Add in the group this evening and I'm a veritable socialite of the highest order.

I'm sooooooooooooooooooooooo ready for this long weekend. I have no plans other than float in my little pool, go for a tiny run or two, and read a few books.

Of the books that I have going I would like to complete these:
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Present Shock
Intuitive Eating
Zero Decibels
Star Wars Red Shock

The Star Wars novel is a nostalgia/guilty pleasure read.

The eating book is poorly written in my opinion but quite useful.

Zero Decibels speaks to my scientific and isolationist qualities and is a wonderful nerdfest.

Present Shock is a culture piece describing the effects of our current tech driven "presentism". Quite interesting and for me a look into media and pop culture that I am intentionally less connected with than the populus at large.

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is quite frankly the best science fiction novel I've ever read. I put it above any of Philip K. Dicks' novels which in my estimation is a singular feat. I would also place it in the same social importance spectrum as the dystopian heavyweights like 1984, Brave New World, and Fahrenheit 451. The only serious detraction is the ever-present voice of sexism even as a female is one of the strongest primary protagonists. I excuse it as I do the "mistakes" in predicting future technologies as a product of its time (1966). I feel that it is this quality and perhaps to a lesser degree the title and genre that prevents this book from being as recognized and widely read as 1984.

tl/dr: It doesn't apply to you.
 
A lot of folks have recommended "Moon is a Harsh Mistress" to me. My understanding is that it fits me philosophically/politically as well.
 
From what I know of you Vee I would think you would really appreciate it. This is a huge diservice to the book, but: It's about an autodidact who, through the help of a gorgeous and brilliant women and a fringe dwelling professor, sticks it to the man using intelligence, bravery, and secretly self-aware computing power. I appreciate his depth of world creation. There are completely different family organizations based on the needs of the lunar community. There are vernacular that are specific to lunar existence that don't seemed forced or a direct adaptation of an actual idiom. I haven't finished it yet, but the people and places exist in my mind and I get their culture and motives. Heavy stuff.

The meetup went well. I met 8 different people and they all seemed very cool. We will all get back together again next month and I imagine we will have informal hangouts before then.

I ate a greasy heavy breakfast and went out in the heat for a couple hours. I feel gross, but it's a good reminder of why I shouldn't eat that way.
 
I just ordered that book from our library as it sounds interesting. I'm glad the meetup was a success. It's a great idea. It's so much harder to get that sense of community that once existed almost everywhere. People are becoming so much more insular. Cheers, Cate.
 
Glad I coud pique your interest Cate. I'm as guilty as anyone in reducing the sense of community as I am quite introverted. We haven't had a non-realtive guest in my house for a couple years at least and only one famiy visitor this year I believe. That visit was due to the fact that my cousin couldn't do fireworks in the town limits. I'm making a small effort. No man is an insular body. That sounds a bit off.

So far I'm not making the best choices with my food. I'm still working on things and I haven't given up on this idea. After all of my grand goals for reading this weekend I have read nothing so far. I got busy with computer projects yesterday. I am taking "The Moon.." to the coffee shop in a bit.

I had a really crummy back day yesterday, but today is much better. I'm pretty sure the physical therapy on Friday was the culprit for the back woes yesterday. I don't thing running is in the picture. PT was much less demanding than running I think and it did a number on me.
 
I agree, poorly written but it does make you think. I'm not for through it though.
As for books..... I NEED the next game of thrones book. So much so that Kathy bates in Misery crossed my mind lol.

Glad you are able to run a little since you enjoy it. You mentioned a pool, is swimming not good for your back? Not sure but I'm positive someone said it was great for bad backs?

Also glad the meet up went well.
 
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Hi Nostalgic! Swimming does help my back although if I exert myself much it hirts the next day regardless of what the exercise is.

I only read part of my scifi book this weekend. I got caught up watching a chess tournament yesterday. I've forgotten how much I like chess. I plan to play this week with a friend. I have started to think about his typical openings and variations that might take advantage of his style. We are both pretty evenly matched at the moment which makes it fun. I used to play quite a bit and I have been big on logic games and puzzles for the last year or so and I think it will help me in visualizing outcomes better. I'm not particularly good at chess or logic puzzles, but I enjoy them and enjoy making improvements and lerning new approaches.

My food choices this weekend were mixed. I did make a big reduction in my diet soda intake (2 all weekend) and I made it through labor day without any alcohol. I didn't even think about it until this morning talking to a coworker who looked a little worse for wear from his weekend. I feel the need to focus on my hunger and concious decisions about eating more. I found myself eating without doing the though process part this weekend. I firmly believe that forming new habits is the hardest part.
 
I also have another social engagement lined up for next weekend so another week of 2 or more get togethers. I know I got pretty down with all of this back crud, but I realize now that I am getting stronger and feeling better that I was in a pretty dark place and I am still coming out of that. Trying to stifle the negativity in my inner voice has been helpful.
 
My chess skills are seriously rusty and they were never that good to begin with. I suppose my midgame was okay, but I didn't have the discipline to memorize openings.

I can, however, do a Sudoku like nobody's business.
 
I think you would like Flowix Games Einstein puzzle game if you dig sudoku. I'm not very good at sudoku, but I like it. A puzzle with no fewer than 4 blanks in any square and at least a couple totally blank squares (category "hard" on my phone app" takes me about 15-20 minutes. I don't know my time on pencil/paper ones, but I'm slower still.

I've not memorized openings. What I meant before was that I was trying to vary my usual opening to take advantage of his. I typically move the same 3 or 4 moves unless my opponent does something unusual. I bring my knights out early and try to develop long diagonals for the bishops. I tend to go for trades if I am pitted against an aggressive player and get any material advantage. I still make obvious blunders which bothers me. If I see a sequence very far in advance I tend to get tunnel vision and that's when I goof up.
 
Owh Chess, that takes me back, used to play a lot when I was a little lad. Even during my college years I could occasionally find an opponent.
Beautiful game!
 
I wish I had played as a child. I learned the game in college, but I've never played consistently.

My wife had 2 wisdom teeth extracted yesterday so the chess plans have been postponed. She's is doing okay, but the pain medicine makes her loopy so I want to be home to take care of her. I had to change out her gauze every 20 minutes for a few hours yesterday and she was asleep every time. Not too much swelling and the bleeding was less each gauze change. I made scrambled eggs, mac and cheese, and pudding for dinner last night. Surprisingly not a bad combo.

I'm having a pretty good back day. I hurt a lot after physical therapy on Tuesday and I'm worried it will be the same on Friday, but I felt better that evening so that's the fastest recovery by far.
 
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