Degutis Insights » Al http://www.degutis.com/blog rambling, rambling, rambling Wed, 12 Oct 2011 17:46:48 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.4 20 Pounds Lighter – Finally http://www.degutis.com/blog/20-pounds-lighter/ http://www.degutis.com/blog/20-pounds-lighter/#comments Wed, 12 Oct 2011 17:46:48 +0000 Al http://www.degutis.com/blog/?p=1069 My Sunday weigh-in shocked me by saying I lost 4 pounds in the last 4 days. That was an unusual amount for me to drop, especially since I had not exercised during that time period. In fact, I refused to believe this new weight, knowing it was going to go up.

Last night, 2 days later, my weigh-in showed that I regained 1.5 of those pounds. I was not surprised.

The entire time I overlooked something that occurred to me today.

I realized that even with the extra 1.5 pounds, I have officially lost 20 pounds since April. I am not done, but it was a nice realization.

]]> http://www.degutis.com/blog/20-pounds-lighter/feed/ 0 A Journey Towards Better Health http://www.degutis.com/blog/journey-towards-better-health/ http://www.degutis.com/blog/journey-towards-better-health/#comments Mon, 01 Aug 2011 02:46:25 +0000 Al http://www.degutis.com/blog/?p=1059 One hundred and twenty days ago I set out to get in better shape (i.e. not so easily winded) and lose weight. While I didn’t meet my weight goal, I don’t consider it a failure. I am definitely in better shape. I have to push my workouts to get as tired or winded as i previously did. I’ve learned a lot in these three months about eating right (80% of weight loss) and exercise (20%) and I’ve just scratched the surface. This is just the beginning.

Here are my results so far.

I’ve decided to start with a new weight goal and date rather than extending the current one to meet the last weight goal to a new deadline date. It was an easy decision because taking care of my health and weight is not a goal that has a deadline or end date. It’s a life long goal… a journey towards better health.

]]> http://www.degutis.com/blog/journey-towards-better-health/feed/ 0 90 Day Weight Chart http://www.degutis.com/blog/90-days-weight-chart/ http://www.degutis.com/blog/90-days-weight-chart/#comments Sun, 03 Jul 2011 02:21:29 +0000 Al http://www.degutis.com/blog/?p=1054 It’s been 90 days since I started to work on my health and weight. Here’s a chart showing my progress.

]]> http://www.degutis.com/blog/90-days-weight-chart/feed/ 0 Weighing in on my weight http://www.degutis.com/blog/weighing-in-on-my-weight/ http://www.degutis.com/blog/weighing-in-on-my-weight/#comments Mon, 06 Jun 2011 03:14:31 +0000 Al http://www.degutis.com/blog/?p=1050 In August of 2010 I weighed in at 226 lbs with a BMI of 30.6. I wasn’t just fat, I looked pregnant.

In the two years before and the months that followed, my weight averaged 220 lbs. It would dip down around 217 and then rebound back up. It was a roller coaster.

My birthday this year opened my eyes to my destructive behavior. On my birthday eve I ate half a pizza (medium double dough YUM!). For lunch on my birthday I finished off the other half. I was stuffed and bloated. I looked at the numbers, the roller coaster, and had enough.

I decided that I was going to get the weight off and keep it off. Another major goal was to improve my overall health and stamina. I was getting winded too easily.

I dusted off the elliptical and started working out. When I started I weighed 221 lbs. Due to my bad knees I which can’t handle too many jarring workouts, so I focused on the elliptical. During the workouts I watched some of my favorite comedies (The Big Bang Theory FTW) to help distract me and pass the time. I worked out three days a week, initially doing 30 to 45 minute workouts but quickly settling on 45 minute workouts.

My goal is to get down to 185 lbs with the first milestone of 200 lbs (i.e. lose 21 lbs) by August 1, 2011.

It was an effort, not just the workouts but making myself take the time to workout. I focused on making the workouts a priority while still trying to deal with work and home life.

After a month of these workouts my weight fluctuated between 215 and 219 lbs.

I stepped up the workouts pushing some of them to 60 or 70 minutes. My weight stayed in that same range. I started watching software training videos to double the effectiveness of the workouts which I dubbed #LearnandBurn.

Slowly I started the next phase, trying to change my eating habits. Even though I wasn’t eating half a pizza any more, I still ate large portions especially of my favorite foods. Of course, it didn’t help that my favorite foods are very unhealthy, fattening foods. I’ve been avoiding, or severely restricting, my favorite foods. I’ve been eating smaller portions. If I didn’t feel hungry before my next meal I knew I had eaten too much at the previous meal. I tried to weigh myself everyday to see where I was at and to remind myself of the goals and dangers.

When I was able to fit in a fourth workout, I did. It still took (takes) effort because when the stretching and cool down time is factored in, my 60-70 minute workout takes 90-100 minutes.

This past week I finally broke under the 215 barrier. For a full week (weighing in daily) I stayed under 215 lbs, well below it. I still have a way to go to reach my first milestone. I still have a fat belly but the waistbands of my pants confirm the progress.

Today I weighed in at 210 lbs with a BMI of 28.5. I lost 11 lbs in 63 days.

I have 57 days to shed the next 10. It won’t be easy but I’m determined to do it.

]]> http://www.degutis.com/blog/weighing-in-on-my-weight/feed/ 1 My New Angry Birds T-Shirts http://www.degutis.com/blog/my-new-angry-birds-t-shirts/ http://www.degutis.com/blog/my-new-angry-birds-t-shirts/#comments Fri, 01 Apr 2011 11:18:15 +0000 Al http://www.degutis.com/blog/?p=1048

]]> http://www.degutis.com/blog/my-new-angry-birds-t-shirts/feed/ 0 iPhone 4 – My First 24 hours or The Good, The Bad and the Ugly http://www.degutis.com/blog/iphone-4-my-first-24-hours-or-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/ http://www.degutis.com/blog/iphone-4-my-first-24-hours-or-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/#comments Thu, 24 Jun 2010 16:00:01 +0000 Al http://www.degutis.com/blog/?p=1038 Here’s a summary of my experiences, good and bad, with the iPhone 4 after using it for 24 hours.
Good
  • Fast. A hell of a lot faster than my iPhone 3G
  • Great display. Debates aside, holding it up next to my iPhone 3G the iPhone 4 display is amazing
  • Better camera with good video. First photos: http://post.ly/kY8M
  • Ability to choose the image size/resolution when emailing photos, including full size
  • Folders! I can get to all of my favorite apps from the first home screen
  • Direct access to inboxes. Not the unified inbox option, which I don’t want, but a direct way to get to any accounts inbox. The only way I can use the unified inbox is if I can choose which accounts to include instead of including all of them.
  • Backup during syncing to iTunes is a lot faster.
Bad
  • Glass on the front and back means more smudges.
  • Emailing videos compresses them. I need to find a way to easily (over the air) move videos around to my iPad, Macbook Pro and online.
Ugly
  • I cannot get my two A2DP Bluetooth devices (Jabra Stone earpiece and Kensington headset) to be seen by the iPhone 4. Apple, Bluetooth keyboard support is nice but how about getting A2DP working.
  • Reports are coming out that holding the iPhone by it’s new antenna, you know… the edge of the phone, causes the signal to drop. IMy tests show that there is an issue with this. I immediately ordered one of those expensive rubber bands (aka Bumpers) which I’m hoping will address the problem. Seems like they should have included a “Bumper” with the phone.
    [Update:] the problem seems intermittent. I tried showing off the issue to a half dozen different coworkers this morning and the signal was fine. I made sure I had the palm of my left hand overlap the two antennae (the alleged cause of the problem) but the signal never dropped.
Unknown
  • Battery life. I’ve read reports of people getting good battery life, in one account up to 38 hours under “heavy use.” Since I live in an area that has crappy Internet, thus WiFi at home isn’t a great option, is out in the boonies, and is surrounded by trees, the phone is constantly going in and out of 3G service. More importantly, the phone is expending battery power to find and connect to the 3G network frequently. During my full day of testing which included shooting videos and trying to email those videos and full size photos over the constantly alternating Edge/3G network, I got 12 hours of battery life. Definitely an improvement over my iPhone 3G and I’d expect it to be better under typical use.
  • Using the provided headset, since my Jabra Stone doesn’t work with it yet, Judy said the call quality was a lot better. I haven’t tested it with just the phone by itself to see if the second mic really helps with noise reduction.
  • FaceTime. I’m still waiting for someone I know to get the iPhone 4 so I can test FaceTime with them. A local (i.e. Chicagoan) contacted me on Twitter last night to see if I wanted to try FaceTime, but I was on my slow WiFi at home so it wasn’t worth trying it.
]]> http://www.degutis.com/blog/iphone-4-my-first-24-hours-or-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/feed/ 0 Facebook is scary – serious privacy concern http://www.degutis.com/blog/facebook-is-scary-serious-privacy-concern/ http://www.degutis.com/blog/facebook-is-scary-serious-privacy-concern/#comments Sat, 15 May 2010 03:55:55 +0000 Al http://www.degutis.com/blog/?p=1032 I created a brand new account in Facebook, tying it to an email address that was never used in Facebook. The second screen of the registration process (Find Friends) is a filled with a list of people that I have corresponded with from that previously private email address. HOW THE HELL DID IT KNOW I CORRESPOND WITH THESE PEOPLE? HOW DID IT GENERATE THIS LIST OF PRIVATE CONTACTS? 

If you don’t see me on Facebook after today, don’t be surprised.

 

]]> http://www.degutis.com/blog/facebook-is-scary-serious-privacy-concern/feed/ 0 Daniel Say – December 25, 2009 http://www.degutis.com/blog/daniel-say-dec-25-2009/ http://www.degutis.com/blog/daniel-say-dec-25-2009/#comments Fri, 25 Dec 2009 16:00:11 +0000 Al http://www.degutis.com/blog/?p=528 Whoever has the most presents, wins God’s birthday.

~ Daniel

Daniel Says are the thoughts expressed by Daniel Degutis. All rights reserved. Copyright 2009

]]> http://www.degutis.com/blog/daniel-say-dec-25-2009/feed/ 0 Sledding 2009 http://www.degutis.com/blog/sledding-2009/ http://www.degutis.com/blog/sledding-2009/#comments Mon, 21 Dec 2009 15:00:47 +0000 Al http://www.degutis.com/blog/?p=1028

]]> http://www.degutis.com/blog/sledding-2009/feed/ 0 Threatening Spam http://www.degutis.com/blog/threatening-spam/ http://www.degutis.com/blog/threatening-spam/#comments Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:49:08 +0000 Al http://www.degutis.com/blog/?p=1024 A coworker received his disturbing spam email the day before Thanksgiving.

________________________________________
From: w5wade@eastlink.ca [w5wade@eastlink.ca]
Sent: Wednesday, November 25, 2009 6:11 AM
Subject: Keep very secretxxx

This is Scot, head MZP Squad. I wish to let you know that i have been paid by a client to assasinate you at convenience. I have never met you before, but they gave me the full description of your identity

The reason why they want you dead was never not disclosed to me. My guys are now contantly watching you waiting for my
instruction to terminate you at convenience.

THIS IS MY MESSAGE:
Listen very well, the Police cannot do much to help you out in this right now because you are being watched,any such attempt is very risky and can push us to terminate your life without any other option.

We DON NOT want any trace whatsoever. So, you are advise to send your reply within 48hrs to: johnsonp46163@msn.com

WARNING: Like you have been told, any attempted attempt to involve third party will be too bad

Bye for now

Obviously, she was disturbed by the message. Who wouldn’t be. As best as I can tell, the goal of the message is to solicit an email response to verify that your email address is valid and then the flood gates (of spam) are open. If you receive this email, or something similar, just delete it.

Al

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