mbsbike2002

Hey gang - at a computer security conference in DC. Trying so hard to eat decently. It was much easier to eat right on the road when I was staying at my wife's aunt's house in Boston. Much harder to do at a hotel. Also, for what it's worth, I would give my left nut to be able to drink a Diet Coke. My BB is waiting patiently for me on my desk back at my office. Not doing me any good here. Looking forward to picking it up on the way back from the airport on Wednesday. BG - sucks to spend so much time at the office, but that will be a nice paycheck. Great job on getting to 1/1000th of 1% of the appropriate inventory value. That's a six-sigma job True Blue Sue - Welcome. B

J - Goddamn, I think I have shitty days, but you win the prize for today... The Bad News - the job I interviewed for last week has been filled. Sucks - it sounded like the perfect fit for me. The Good News - They want to hire me for something else, but they have to find a job that will meet my salary requirements. Hopefully, that will work out soon. The Good News - My Bodybugg shipped today. The Bad News - I will be in DC until next Wednesday, so even though I paid for overnight shipping, I won't get to use it anytime soon. Wanh.. Wanh... Wanh.... The best goddamned news in quite some time - I emptied out all of the clothes that I've kept over the years in my "someday I won't be quite as huge" box, and all of them fit now. I'm wearing jeans that I haven't fit into since May 1999. Funny, I kept all of my "not-quite-as-much-of-a-fat-ass" stuff, but I'm only going to keep one pair of "when-I-was-a-fat-ass" pants that I can put on every once in a while to see just how far I've come... I've got a whole pile of shit to get rid of. I weigh less than I have since I was half my age, and I'm smaller than I was 8 years ago. That makes it a great day overall!!! TX - Noticed a few pages back that you were riding 135 miles a week -- That is so awesome! I'm proud of, and happy for, you. I'm hoping by the time I get back from DC, the twins won't be sore when I ride, and I can get back on the bike. I miss it so much... B

J - Glad yours will be there tomorrow. I had hoped that mine would be here before I go to DC for a conference for a week. I leave in the AM, and I'm sure it won't even have shipped by then... B

Got mine in to ZZ just now! J - Congrats on the weight loss. I lost 1.5 pounds since I ordered my BB as well! Just wish the damn thing would ship - still shows as "Pending". B

J - Sorry to hear that some other little girl was mean to Zoe. I think it's one of the reasons that it's best I don't have kids - my heart would ache too much, and I would want to do everything in my power to protect my kid, or return some of the heart ache to the other kid. "Who gives a shit what you think, you snivelling little bitch" is the first thing that would come to my mind (and worse, mouth). Good on her for wanting to wear her costume - it's halloween for pete's sake. I like the idea of the christmas card list & the secret santa --- If ZZ is up for distributing the list. I have a mid-term this afternoon, so wish me luck! (Finance J - Your fave!) B

Steph - That's great! Speaking as the lone husband in the group, Husbands Rock!!! I, too, fully plan to go to Reeses Hell, but not until well after reaching goal weight. B

D - Yep - i caved to the peer pressure (and my own obsessive-compulsive need to measure everything). For what it's worth, there's a special place in hell reserved for the cockknockers that created reeces peanut butter cups... B

Go Me!! B

I am such a FedEx whore... B

Yet another of the bycyling gang has ordered up the second of the bands Hopefully, it will be here soon! B

I was a good boy & rolled back to about 191 or so for it... $266 with overnight shipping - I'm such an impatient bitch Also, want to toot my own horn - over half-way there. I actually lost weight while on vacation! First time ever in my life that has happened.... Woo hoo! B

J - That issue does exist. A school, though, might argue that a paper turned in for a grade is a "work for hire," your compensation being a grade and the opportunity to graduate. If it is a work for hire, then they have some ownership interest in the final product. Not sure how that would hold up in court. At the end of the day, though, they could say that it is a requirement to be at that school that you assign them certain rights, including the right to submit to turnitin. It's a specious argument, but that's the way it works sometimes... Bodybugg to be ordered today... B

J - You do rock!!! Congratulations! B

Hey Gang - J - At the end of the day, there's not a lot that can be done about turnitin - it's mostly an academic (so to speak) discussion, but here's the scenario - let's say that I write a case study that uses my company's intellectual property (with permission and properly cited). Turnitin then appropriates my company's IP in a manner inconsistent with the license granted to me. In reality, this is a form of plagiarism. Anyway, if you want to discuss more, IM me... Might have to jump on the body bugg bandwagon. I had planned to get one, then thought about getting a heart-rate monitor for the bike. I think, though, that the BB might be the better overall solution. BG - "Ugh. Day from hell. Fuck work. FUck housework. Let's go eat some fudge." -- My sentiments exactly... B

J - Interesting that your school uses turnitin.com. There's a whole lot of buzz about them, in that they are using student's intellectual property to grow their database without obtaining permission or providing compensation. It's difficult to justify that they are searching for plagerism when they are guilty of same. As a professional in the field of intellectual property, I would have a big problem with that. B

J - When I lived here before, I had about 1100 sq. ft., and it was the perfect size. Cozy when it was cold out, not too much to clean, and most importantly, not enough space for me to accumulate a bunch of crap that I don't need... It's what the 1100 sq. ft. costs that sucks... We did find a house that would be almost perfect, but I'm not falling for the trap of buying a house up here before selling ours. Seen too many people bite the big one doing that. Hope everyone is having a great evening! B

TX - Thanks - I'm glad that some things are kind of settled. We at least know that we want to move back to Boston for now. But, to paraphrase the last stanza of the old Mac Davis song, "Happiness is [Fort Worth], Texas growing nearer and nearer," so I'm sure we'll be back someday. Very nervous about selling the house, but we don't live in a regular subdivision, so it will either be easier or harder than average. Our neighbor is a RE agent, so we're going to sit down with her when we get home. Most of the jobs that I'm looking at will offer some relo assistance, so if the agent's commission is included, we can sell for less than we paid, if necessary, and still walk away with some money. HP - CONGRATULATIONS!!! I would be so dying to just pay it off & ride. It's hard to have fiscal discipline sometimes. You'll get your bike soon enough and when you do, you'll be riding with a big ol' smile! J - Thanks for the rockstar! I'm so about to break down and buy the bodybugg, too! I was planning on getting a Heart Rate Monitor, but I might go BB instead - I like the graphs and charts! Alright, off to go drive by some houses here that we might be able to afford - it's sad that a 1200 sq foot house here costs 2-2.5x as much as our McMansion on a heavily wooded acre in dallas costs. On the other hand, these 1200 sq foot houses have 10-20x as much character as ours.... Have a great day, everybody! B

Hey gang - just checking in real quick. I have an interview in a few... It will be interesting - the interview will be in Second Life. Whatever, as long as they pay in real US dollars. Had my first honest to god PB today. It sucked. Will do whatever I can to avoid that again. Note to self - no sodas, not even a sip. JC - seriously, there are muffs that are too tough, and should best be avoided. J - you are my hero with the gantt chart for your life's objectives. I want to be that organized and uptight, but I just can't get it together.... BG - I heart you and your humor - always brings a smile and a chuckle. TX - As soon as I can sell the house and find gainful employment up here (along with the appropriate salary), we're going to move up here. I'll always be a Texan at heart, but I miss Boston and the big "H" way tooooo much. I went to class on campus tonight and realized that's where I belong. You'll have to hold down the fort for us; I'm sure we'll be back someday (real estate is way to freaking expensive up here!!!) I did have a great ego boost, today: we went to the Registrar's office to get some information, and there was a picture of me with the Dean on the wall from when I graduated. It was one of about 4 pictures, but the only one with a student. Have a good evening, all! B

Yeah, you and me both :mad: B

Damn J - that's an awfully rational approach. I usually just assign one outcome to "head" and flip a coin. If my response is "ehh, that's okay" then i go with the wisdom of the coin, and if I wish that it was best two out of three, then I know that the other outcome is the one I desire most... :mad: Might explain why I'm not all wound up about all of the unresolved dependencies of my potential upcoming move... On the other hand, when I'm playing atillia, I can weigh the factors with the best of 'em... Funny, sometimes I mix the two - i'm not wound up about maybe moving, but i have this exhaustive list of criteria for whether to accept a hopefully forthcoming job offer from one of several potential new employers (some of whom do not yet know that their company is doomed to failure without me...) B

Toothpaste with a chocolate protein chaser sounds nasty enough that i think i just PBed a little in my mouth... Yuck. I'm not nearly patient/polite enough not to have been an ass to those people... B

Nah, I got the joke... I could use a nice manic episode about now... You're killing me with the archer farms nuts, though I'm trying to be good & sit back and enjoy my sugar free Suisse Mocha coffee-like beverage, but i want nuts dammit... I also have a hankering for Junior Mints, but I don't want to think about the nastiness that would be a junior mint PB. While we're in Boston this weekend, I'm gonna stand out in front of the Junior Mint factory & inhale as deeply as I can. Maybe try to bottle some of the air... B

Don't even get me started on the premium mixed nuts. I used to be able to go through an entire can of the Mauna Loa macadamia and cashews (they used to have pecans in them, not sure why they stopped). Mmmm le target is right up the road. Want mixed nuts... Not bi-polar at all, just react differently when under stress. Normally, I'm about as laid back and accomodating as you can get & still have a pulse. Under stress, I make Atilla the Hun look like a laid back and accomodating kind of guy... B

I'm one of the "it will all work out" people. I don't have to know the details, just a general idea of where we're headed. Detours and throwing u-turns aren't a big deal, just enjoy the extra scenery along the way... EXCEPT - when I'm in a "i have to know all of the details and contingencies before I start" mood, in which case, it's best to just get the hell out of my way It is a pain right now, because I have several things that depend on which course of action we choose, and sometimes the dependencies seem circular. I have my resume out to a few places now. If none of those jobs work out, I'll probably stop looking until we sell the house (a big, circular dependency). We won't likely put the house up 'til spring, so it will be summer before we'd be looking to move again. It stresses my wife out beyond words, which stresses me out to the point of heading to the jar of Jiff... Gained six pounds in two weeks. Went through the house & threw out all the crap that I could eat in small quantities, except that I end up eating them in big quantities... B

I'm travelling for the next few weeks, so i'll just ride the recumbent trainers that are so popular in hotel fitness centers for now. When I get back, I'll head up to the LBS and try some other saddles - mine is a bontrager that has a depression in the affected area, but not a cut out. Also noticed that it seems to be worse with padded bike shorts than with unpadded shorts - i think it's the same thing as saddles - spreading out the pressure doesn't necessarily help - point pressure can be a little easier to deal with. Anyway - if we don't move, i'll probably just get a recumbent now - if we do, i won't be biking outside 'til spring anyway, so the recumbent trainer i have at the house will work. B