GeoffBrown.net

It’s kind of hard to believe it’s July already. It’s been a good two months since my last post, highlighting my slackitude in posting.

There hasn’t been a whole lot happening lately. Lots of working. The running program has been sidelined a bit, especially now. Recently had a tooth extracted, and replaced with a dental implant — basically a titanium bolt that will hopefully have the bone in my jaw grow around it. Once it heals, and assuming it integrates with the bone, they’ll put a fake tooth on the end, and it’ll look just like it was never taken out. It goes something like this:

Dental Implant

But I have been kind of sidelined with pain medications and ice packs for a little bit, and I guess I want to make sure I won’t shake the damn thing loose if I start running again. So back to walking for now.

Life otherwise has been pretty mundane. Mostly going to work, going to the gym, coming home, and repeating, with some meetings and a little time for friends thrown in. I think I need to do something to break up the monotony a bit. Like maybe update this thing more often.

This is pretty funny.

Trekkies Bash New Star Trek Film As ‘Fun, Watchable’

Seriously, however, take it from a hardcore Trekkie: this movie kicks ass.

So they say that part of the reason people who like to run like running so much is the so-called “runner’s high.”  This is supposed to be the result of endorphins being released while one is running.  Endorphins are, more or less, chemicals the body releases as a sort of natural, internal pain reliever. I have decided to start running a little bit, and I think maybe my endorphins are broken.  Because I have yet to experience the “runner’s high” — for me, it’s more like the “out-of-shape dude’s low.” (And let me just say that I don’t think it’s just a coincidence that the body’s response to running is to release its own painkillers.)

I had resolved that it was time to get up off my ass, start eating better, and get more exercise just before my doctor gave me the news that I have diabetes.  That, actually, cemented my resolve.  I started a reasonably regular regimen of going to the gym and doing brisk walking and some weight training.  I also made some relatively dramatic changes in what I ate, and I have managed to drop around 35-40 pounds.  That has led to what my doctor calls a “dramatic improvement” in my health (for example, for you fellow diabetics, my A1C was 10.9 when I was diagnosed in September.  By November it was 6.0, and last month, 5.9.  For the non-diabetics: doctors like diabetics to try and keep the A1C number under 7 at the very least, and tend to prefer keeping it under 6.5.  10.9 is really pretty bad).  But I could still stand to lose more weight and get into better shape, and the walking hasn’t been seeming to do the job as well lately.  Plus it seems like a rather ridiculous number of people I know run.  So I decided I was going to start myself.

Until the last few weeks, I haven’t done any kind of running on a regular basis in maybe 15 years or so.  So it has been every bit as hard as you think it might be for a guy who could stand to lose weight and could be in much better shape.  There certainly hasn’t been anything like a runner’s high.  I have been starting out slow, alternating running and walking.  It gets less and less difficult to run each time I do it, so I suppose that’s a plus, even if my damned endorphins are sleeping on the job.

The biggest challenge has been finding the time to do it.  It hasn’t been easy — after a long day at work, it isn’t always easy to drag oneself to the gym.  Nor is it any easier to drag oneself out of bed at the crack of dawn on a cold day to go before the start of a  long day at work.  But I’m trying to keep up with it.

The next biggest challenge is all the guys at the gym who seem to feel the need to wander around the locker room bare-ass naked.  One of the last things I need to see before or after punishing myself on the treadmill is a bunch of dudes’ schlongs waving around.  And we’re not talking fleeting moments of nudity while changing clothes, either; rather, some of these guys are walking around, having conversations, shaving, all the while letting it all hang out.  Worse still, some of these dudes have freakin’ towels hanging around their necks! As if to say, “man, I wish I knew what to do with this towel!”  Well, sir, I HAVE A SUGGESTION!!!

But I digress.

So, anyway, I will be continuing on my quest, to run farther, and maybe faster.  And hopefully someone will fix my damned endorphins in the meantime.

You didn’t seriously think I would actually post more often just because I said I was going to, did you?

The last few months have been … eventful … to say the least.  Recently, my long-term girlfriend and I ended our nearly seven-year-long relationship.  We may not have been married legally, but emotionally, it has taken its toll much the same way.  It’s been entirely amicable, but that only makes it hurt a little less.  While I think most snags that relationships hit can be ironed out, there’s one that can’t be:  when one of you decides you  want kids and the other one knows they don’t.  That’s the snag we hit — she wants kids, and I don’t.  And before you admonish me that these are the kinds of things you’re supposed to talk about with one another, we did.  Sometimes, people change their minds.  She did.  A big part of me wanted to ask her to stay, to use my powers of persuasion (whatever ones I may have) to talk her out of it.  But in the end, it’s not the kind of thing you can ask someone to give up for you if you have any kind of respect for them.  It just isn’t fair, and in the long run, someone who wants kids and gives that up for someone else isn’t going to be happy and will end up resenting that someone else.

And certainly, I had fleeting thoughts of giving in and having (maybe just one) kid to keep her around.  But then I know I wouldn’t be happy, and that wouldn’t be fair to either of us (or, frankly, to the kid, who nobody bothered to consult about any of this).

And so, after spending half of my adult life with her, we’ve gone our separate ways.  It hurt like hell for a while.  It’s been getting better.  Most of the time, it’s okay, right up until the time it isn’t.

Also, I was diagnosed with diabetes this past fall.  I don’t suppose it should have been a big shock, given my strong family history and the fact, that, uh, I hadn’t been doing the best job of taking care of myself leading up to that.  but it still came as a bit of a shock, and it took a while to get used to it.  On the other hand, it has spurred me to take much better care of my self:  eating better, much more exercise, and doing my damndest to reduce stress.

A few other issues are sort of hanging around in the background making things slightly more difficult than they need to be.

It could certainly be worse.  My job situation is (as far as I know) solid, I have a roof over my head (albeit one that has depreciated in value a rather ridiculous amount over the last couple years), and I am making ends meet with a little room to spare.  But the fact that things could be worse doesn’t always make the things that aren’t so good trivial.

But, it’s a new year.  And things are already starting to look up a bit compared to some unpleasantness I was dealing with this time last year.  So there is that.

Bet you liked it better when I wasn’t updating, though.

I started this little web log project back in 2003 using Movable Type’s blogging software. I remained a faithful MT user for quite a while after, but every once in a while, I would grumble about the frankly rather onerous measures I’d have to take to get something to work, or even to install it. With each nifty upgrade, the system requirements would require more and more difficult-to-obtain-or-install Perl modules, and so on.

So now I’ve decided to try WordPress, and it is much easier to work with.  And there are a lot of things that were either impossible to do or that required difficult-to-install plugins that one can do right “out of the box” with WordPress.  I wish I had done it sooner.

If you go to “register” on the right side, you can create your own profile that will let you add comments and receive emails when I post updates.  Of course, you can do both of those things without registering by following the appropriate links, but registering allows instant comment posting and helps cut back on the spam.  I will probably install an add-on that will allow the use of OpenIDs for logging in, which will allow you to log in with any number of other logins (including your username and password from your own WordPress blog).

Most of the old bells and whistles from the MT version are here, along with a few new ones (like my World of Warcraft character, for my fellow gaming geeks).

Now, if only it would do my writing for me, too.

I have decided to give Wordpress a try to see how it works.  I’ve moved all of the old entries here, too.  Wordpress seems to be a lot more flexible and easy to update.  Maybe that will inspire me to write more often.

I’m always curious just what possesses people who don’t know me to stop by and read the site. I mean, I’d like to think that every so often, if only by accident, I write something someone finds amusing or entertaining or something. Well, my web server keeps track of search engine queries, so I can at least have an idea of what people typed into Google that led them here. But, as you can see below, and from the last couple of times I did this, it’s not always clear just what people were thinking when they typed in their search questions, or why it is that they thought the answer was here.

Keywords: cookie monster being chased by the police

And you thought getting caught with your hand in the cookie jar was a “victimless crime.” What I find intriguing is that I don’t remember writing about the lovable Muppet having any run-ins with the law. I do, however, remember lamenting the Cookie Monster being forced to lecture kids about how cookies aren’t really all that good for you, and that you should eat healthier food instead. I guess calling him “Carrot Monster” isn’t as catchy.

Keywords: repairing shower curtain rod damage

Two words: Not fun. Not fun repairing the damage, and even less fun when you’ve caused the damage in some borderline humiliating way.

Keywords: why do so many people go to law school?

An excellent question. And too many law students don’t have very good answers, either. For most of them, it seems to be the same reason some people climb Mount Everest: because it’s there. And in both cases, too many people start out and don’t have the wisdom to know when to turn around and quit before it’s too late.

Keywords: what national chain has the best pizza?

I would probably have to go with Papa John’s with Pizza Hut being a close second, if you’re limiting it to just national chains. This reminds me that I still need to do my “Best of” post.

Keywords: join the evil league of evil

Yes, do. Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog is now out on DVD.

Keywords: has anyone done a stool transplant on their own

I realize that the rising cost of health care has people taking care of their own illnesses and injuries whenever possible, but there are just some times when you absolutely should consult skilled medical professionals. I’ll go out on a limb and suggest that “stool transplants” fall squarely into this category.

Keywords: i really hate medicine last year

That may be, but I still think you shouldn’t be doing your own stool transplant.

Keywords: bad dreams can’t wake up

Nice to see my fellow University of Michigan football fans stopping by. Don’t worry: it’ll be better next year.

It’s nice to know that even though I’ve been pretty bad about doing updates lately, people are apparently finding all kinds of reasons to come by and visit. No matter what brings you here, I hope you find what you’re looking for.

I think 2008 was a bit challenging, to say the least, for most people. Certainly, that was the case for me. While things could always be worse, There were some rather, shall we say, less than positive things that have happened lately. More on that later. (Really.) So I’m hoping 2009 is better, for me, and for you, too.

I am **way** behind in updating this thing, aren’t I?

Every once in a while, I feel like I should try and write something worthwhile here, instead of using this as a dumping ground for whatever comes off the top of my head. After all, I allegedly have some skill in writing, analysis, and intelligent thought. But then I realize that there are probably hundreds of blogs where people write about the subjects that might inspire me to do more “serious” blog posts. So nobody is really going to care what I have to say about those topics.

And of course, I’m not so arrogant as to think that anyone really cares what I have to say about the things I **do** write about, either. But it makes me feel better to write those things, and isn’t that what really matters? (Okay, maybe just a little arrogant.) And my profession requires that I write hundreds and hundreds of pages of serious, analytical material as it is. So I need an outlet for the more inane things rattling around in my head. Perhaps it’s beneath someone of my supposed skill and education, but hey, this isn’t a law review, and it’s not an appellate court. I can’t be “on” all the time. It’s not like surgeons come home and perform surgery for fun.

And after the rather crappy week I had last week, I’ll be needing more of an outlet than usual for the inane ramblings rattling around in my head. It’s cheaper than therapy.