#1742, Friday, September 30: Gone fishing!

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Post 1742, Day 274 of 2016
- 2,100 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

Last blog for a while, as I will be traveling and on vacation for the next twelve days.

Food and Diet

Today's Weight:                      203.2 lbs.

Previous Weight (9/29):              202.0 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                     +   1.2 lbs.

Diet Comment

Well, that's a surprise, but maybe it's just the big, late dinner with all the cheese (and salty stuff).

Food Log

Breakfast
4:05pm:  Dal Takda (lentil curry) with diced London Broil, and chia and hemp seeds over cauliflower.

Lunch
7:30pm:

Second Nature Wholesome Blend: peanuts, cashews, almonds, raisins, cranberries and dark chocolate.

Dinner 
11:00pm: Cheeseburger on Ezekiel 4:9 Flax bread with guacamole.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 1;  Coffee: 0 oz.;  Tea: 0 oz.;  Water: 74+ oz. and a shot of Jameson's Irish whiskey.

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#1741, Thursday, September 29: A vacation from my vacation

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Post 1741, Day 273 of 2016
- 2,099 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

I'm going South.

Today I decided that Saturday is the 'get out of Dodge' day. Friday is trip-prep day. I will spend the day getting ready for what I suspect will be an eleven- or twelve-day road trip.

First stop, former and now current North Carolina BFF Jerry. It will take about thirteen hours to get to his house, so I suspect we're talking late Saturday night when I arrive. Then, Sunday will be ours to kick out the jams.

Monday morning, I head to Wilbur On the Beach, Florida, where I get to hang and fish for a week or so with Marco.

The way back will be worked out, but will likely include another stop in NC, maybe this time catch up with some other friends there, then drive home, or, more likely, drive to NYC, then home.

My life is a vacation. I need a vacation from my vacation - a change of scene, some unplanned and unencumbered time.

I am overflowing with gratitude!

Food and Diet

Today's Weight:                      202.0 lbs.

Previous Weight (9/28):              202.6 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                     -   0.6 lbs.

Diet Comment

Weight loss continuing, and I'm through and under the trend line.

Food Log

Breakfast
5:45pm:  Beef burger with salsa and a salad (kale, spinach, chard, cabbage, feta cheese, home-made mayonnaise.

Lunch

Skipped.

Dinner 
12:30am: Roast beef, Dubliner cheese, cole slaw,  pork rinds, cottage cheese and a Quest bar.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 1;  Coffee: 0 oz.;  Tea: 20 oz.;  Water: 66+ oz. and a shot of Jameson's Irish whiskey.

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#1740, Wednesday, September 28: The friends and music cure

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Post 1740, Day 272 of 2016
- 2,098 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

I was feeling a little down.

I had a couple of trades working, both looking good, but one winning, one losing, both showing positive indicators.

I was maybe a little down from the dearth of gigs (no dearth of playing opportunities, I was just missing that little bit of gig money).

Then Marco called just to say, "Hi!". We talked, happily, and he sent me a pic of the beautiful, deserted beach. Now I'm planning on driving down there this weekend, and feeling better.

Then came the i am Fool rehearsal, which was a lot of fun, and some interesting playing.

Straight from rehearsal to the open mic at Shifty's, where I waited and waited.

And then closed the night with a lo-o-ng set, that I opened with my first public performance of the Dead's 'Candy Man' which was well-received (I get so nervous when I perform on guitar - it gets some adrenaline flowing - far out of my comfort zone).

I switched to bass and hit with three more songs (two rockers, one panty-wetter ballad), and then, with the house players already on stage, invited a couple of late stragglers on, and it just swung like crazy.

So many smiles in the bar - every musician felt it.

And I was made whole.

Food and Diet

Today's Weight:                      202.6 lbs.

Previous Weight (9/27):              203.2 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                     -   0.6 lbs.

Diet Comment

Another good day in the books - would have been even better if I'd slept better.

Food Log

Breakfast
2:45pm:  Berry protein shake with blueberries, cherries, strawberries, almond-coconut milk, kefir, extra-large organic egg, chia gel, kale, whey powder (36g protein), hemp seeds, hemp protein (7g protein), celery, vanilla extract, raw organic cacao powder, moringa leaf powder, cinnamon, and stevia-inulin blend.

Lunch

5:25pm, at CoreLife:

Chicken Cobb salad (shredded kale and spinach, grilled chicken, avocado, bacon, hard-cooked egg and blue cheese dressing with a little sriracha).

Dinner 
2:00pm: Crunchy peanut butter and a Quest bar.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 1;  Coffee: 22 oz.;  Tea: 0 oz.;  Water: 48+ oz. and two shots of Jameson's Irish whiskey.

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#1739, Tuesday, September 27: No comment

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Post 1739, Day 271 of 2016
- 2,097 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

Nothing today.

Food and Diet

Today's Weight:                      203.2 lbs.

Previous Weight (9/26):              205.0 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                     -   1.8 lbs.

Diet Comment

One good day and I'm down. I'm really down. How can you laugh, when you know I'm down
? Yeah, me!

Food Log

Breakfast

2:45pm:  

Omelet with peppers, onion, greens, chia seeds, hemp seeds, feta cheese and bacon.

Lunch

8:10pm:  A Quest bar.  

Dinner 
11:00pm: Sliced London broil with Philippe's hot mustard, pork rinds, cole slaw and a Quest bar.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 1;  Coffee: 0 oz.;  Tea: 18 oz.;  Water: 82+ oz. 

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#1738, Monday, September 26: Trading options for fun and profit

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Post 1738, Day 270 of 2016
- 2,096 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

I have decided to jump back into options trading.

I did it from 2003-2004 with mixed results. Actually, most of that time I had great results, but at the end I hit a long losing streak.

I will not be playing with a lot of money - but, while I take it seriously, it is still playing.

It isn't exactly gambling, in the sense that there are tools and techniques to assist you in your quest for profit, and skill and talent develop.

I learned a lot last time, beyond all the fundamentals, and the language of options trading.

Meanwhile, in the ten+ years since I did it, things have become easier, and the ancillary costs, cheaper.

My goal is two-fold: First, although serious business, it's fun. Which is to say, like Sudoku, the math involved, the intellectual challenge, the self-competition means every trade is like a sports match - you win (make money) or lose. The idea is to win more than you lose over relatively short (weekly) timetables.

The second reason is income. I am feeling a bit pinched. I look at my budget, and I'm living within my income. But that income includes a month where I was working, and got a small payout for retiring, and regular small amounts from gigs. Concerning the latter, I am coming off a period where, beginning with retirement, I've gotten around $200 cash per month on average, with this last month being the least lucrative at $140. But I have, for the first time in at least five years, zero future gigs booked.

So risking small amounts of money, my goal is to trade to an extra $250 per month. I did my first trade yesterday, making $65 after costs in a trade that lasted only three hours, during most of which I wasn't looking.

So: Options trading for fun and profit.

I'll do it as long as it stays fun and profitable.

Food and Diet

Today's Weight:                      205.0 lbs.

Previous Weight (9/23):              201.0 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                     +   4.0 lbs.

Diet Comment

So, I had a blow-out, old-fashioned cheat day on Saturday, where I overate off-plan food from early in the morning (that's what got me going, the first day since retirement I was out of the house before 9AM) to... early in the morning. Nothing but bad stuff, including, but not limited to, donuts, ice cream, chocolate, hot dogs, potatoes, peanut butter, bread in many forms... Then, Sunday, I was full and slightly nauseous all day, only to go on to finish leftovers all night...

Food Log

Breakfast

1:45pm:  Green protein shake with almond-coconut milk, kefir, extra-large organic egg, chia gel, kale, whey powder (36g protein), hemp seeds, hemp protein (7g protein), raw organic cacao powder, celery, moringa leaf powder, cinnamon, coconut oil and stevia-inulin blend.

Lunch

8:10pm:  A Quest bar.  

Dinner 
11:00pm: Beef burger with salsa and guacamole, and a salad (kale, spinach, chard, cabbage, feta cheese, balsamic vinaigrette.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 1;  Coffee: 25 oz.;  Tea: 0 oz.;  Water: 75+ oz. 

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#1737, Friday, September 23: No comment

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Post 1737, Day 267 of 2016
- 2,093 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

Nothing today.

Food and Diet

Today's Weight:                      201.0 lbs.

Previous Weight (9/22):              200.2 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                     +   0.8 lbs.

Diet Comment

Oh, well... Too much salt at the end of the night?

Food Log

Breakfast

2:15pm:  

Omelet with peppers, onion, greens, chia seeds, hemp seeds, parmesan cheese and bacon.

Lunch

9:30pm:  Bean and beef chili, Dubliner's cheese, corn bread.  

Dinner 
11:20pm at A&W Drive-in: A fried fish sandwich.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 1;  Coffee: 22 oz.;  Tea: 0 oz.;  Water: 74+ oz. 

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#1736, Thursday, September 22: Good news via modern medicine

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Post 1736, Day 266 of 2016
- 2,092 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

I am so ambivalent about modernity and progress, even when it comes to science.

I have a lot of fun, and enjoy a lot of convenience in the digital age, but I am not certain it is worth the losses I have experienced.

But medicine - that's complicated. While there have been huge advances in medicine, and I owe my health and my life to medical interventions I've had over the years that might never have been available to me if I were not born in this age, some of the progress in medicine seems like anything but. Because, when you are at the edges of the science, say in matters of cancer or neurological diseases, or rare diseases without a large enough occurrence rate to have been studied (or to make study profitable); when the doctors' knowledge of the human body is exhausted, things stop looking modern.

I don't know where the balance is, but I know wherever it is, medicine has been very good to me.

An anomaly on my last regular (every four months') blood work was a higher-than-normal amount of phosphatase. This usually indicates a gall bladder problem, but I don't have one of those any more, so the doctor was concerned that it was an indication of bone loss, that I could be developing osteoporosis.

For that, he ordered another blood test in six weeks. Here's where the 'modern' starts:

His practice is all about electronic medical records, making notes on a tablet computer as he goes, sending my prescriptions in electronically, and also maintaining a web site where I can see those notes, test results and other less technical things, like appointments, etc.

When the phosphatase results came back from the retest almost the same, he ordered a dexa scan, which is a 'dual x-ray' (dexa, see?) whole body bone density scan.

I knew within a few hours of the blood re-test what the results were, because I got an email telling me to 'check the results' on the web-site. A couple of days later, I got another email telling me that I would have to arrange for the dexa scan, details of which (as well as a necessary 'paper' prescription of the doctor's order, would arrive by ordinary mail.

When I got the letter, and called to make the appointment, I was told I didn't need an appointment, the procedure took less than ten minutes, I could just do a walk-in.

Which I did today.

While the x-rays were being done, the images were showing up on a computer display real-time. How's that for modern? I think my next dental x-rays will be the same as that.

Then, only four hours later, I get an email telling me I can see the test results.

Which, thank goodness, showed nothing abnormal, no indication of bone loss, and, in fact, a better-than-average density for someone my age.

It goes without saying that, despite my misgivings about technology, progress, modernity, I am nothing but grateful.

Food and Diet

Today's Weight:                      200.2 lbs.

Previous Weight (9/21):              201.8 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                     -   1.6 lbs.

Diet Comment

And... goal weight, and the trend line goes negative (slightly, but negative)!

Food Log

Breakfast

4:50pm:

Beef and red beans with red curry sauce, chia and hemp seeds, cottage cheese, sauteed greens and broccoli. 

Lunch

9:00pm:  A Quest bar.  

Dinner 
11:20pm: Cottage cheese, pork rinds and a Quest bar.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 1;  Coffee: 0 oz.;  Tea: 0 oz.;  Water: 96+ oz. 

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#1735, Wednesday, September 21: Comment called on account of whining

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Post 1735, Day 265 of 2016
- 2,091 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

I was halfway through writing a comment that began with: "The latest thing that tried my philosophy happened at an open mic."

Then it occurred to me I was complaining about something that happened. That was over. About the negative effect and feelings I had about a few hours of my life when people didn't do what I wanted.

I was elaborating on that, replaying it, extrapolating from it to 'learn' from it.

Halfway through that, and I realized, as I was writing, I was now feeling the way I had felt then, and realized what I really needed to do was let it go.

And, that is what I am doing. What, now, I did. I feel better already.

That is today's Daily Comment.

Food and Diet

Today's Weight:                      201.8 lbs.

Previous Weight (9/20):              201.8 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                     -   0.0 lbs.

Diet Comment

Still under the trend line. Still good.

Food Log

Breakfast

11:50am, at Core Eatery:

Tuna poke salad with: Kale, cabbage, quinoa, cucumber, carrots, scallions, ginger,edamame, avocado, tuna poke, sesame seeds, almonds and miso-sesame dressing.

Lunch

Skipped.  

Dinner 
8:00pm, at Eskapes: 

Blackened salmon with BST salad (BST is bacon, spinach and tomato). Not shown: Pita bread.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 0;  Coffee: 0 oz.;  Tea: 0 oz.;  Water: 44+ oz. 

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#1734, Tuesday, September 20: Politics suck, but some things suck worse

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Post 1734, Day 264 of 2016
- 2,090 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

Friends who are supporting Donald Trump.

What to do? I feel they are doing harm, and I cannot, for the life of me, figure out why.

I really don't understand why anybody finds him acceptable - for anything, let alone President.

I know a lot of people hate Clinton, who is really the proxy for Obama. And I don't particular like her, either. or Obama.

But I don't think either is as crazy, corrupt, or recidivist as Donald Trump, who I have had a low opinion of since the 80s.

I don't even like him as an entertainer.

And some of the friends who have stated they will vote for Trump were Bernie Sanders supporters. I am flummoxed.

On two occasions, I have tried to talk to Trumpers. Pointless. They concede no fact that doesn't support their position, and believe any lie that does.

And, amazingly, every single accusation they make against Clinton, I think applies to Trump, many times over.

The latest one, a table-pounding Bernie supporter, an ex-Marine, and someone in the music scene I have worked with a lot, just posted on FB that he will 'hold his nose' and vote for Trump, because Hillary and the Democrats are too corrupt.

He is going to vote for the most corrupt individual ever to run for the Presidency because she is too corrupt?

I'm anxious to find out how however I handle this turns out. I know if Trump wins, I will have a lot of work to do to remember that the people who voted for him sincerely thought he would be better. They believed it was the right thing to do, when I am of the opinion that it is obviously the wrong thing to do. I know, of course, exactly what my opinion is worth.

How can I spin this? Well, I'm grateful for the opportunity to grow and see how everything shakes out.

Food and Diet

Today's Weight:                      201.8 lbs.

Previous Weight (9/19):              202.8 lbs.

Net Loss/Gain:                     -   1.0 lbs.

Diet Comment

Got under the trend line. That's good!

Food Log

Breakfast

5:05pm:  Berry protein shake with blueberries, cherries, strawberries, almond-coconut milk, kefir, extra-large organic egg, chia gel, kale, whey powder (36g protein), hemp seeds, hemp protein (7g protein), celery, vanilla extract, raw organic cacao powder, moringa leaf powder, cinnamon, and stevia-inulin blend.

Lunch

9:50pm:  A Quest bar, a small amount of dark-chocolate covered blueberries and a bag of mixed nuts.  

Dinner

12:20am:  Dubliner cheese and a Quest bar.

Liquid Intake

   Espressos: 1;  Coffee: 22 oz.;  Tea: 0 oz.;  Water: 72+ oz. 

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