October 22

Post 983, Day 295 of 2013
- and 1025 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

Why make plans? The future is uncertain, plans can't take into account the changed and different circumstances that always manifest in time. Plans have no reality - they are dreams imposed on fantasies.

One of the fantasies is that we can predict what happens, and by preparing, have some control over which of the possible outcomes future events manifest. This is largely a survival mechanism, useful when the near-future is giving you danger signals, and you mitigate the danger. That's a binary, and is most effective when it is reflexive, and not something you have to mull over. 

But extending that concept - reacting to danger - to planning outcomes? Man plans, God laughs.

Caution, or future-proofing, is more comfort than reality. All the people who built bomb shelters in the 50s were planning on surviving a possible (imminent?) nuclear holocaust. Few were harmed by doing this, but it's hard to see the use of this prophylactic exercise. 

My retirement planning is somewhat similar. It is likely that I will stop working when I turn 66, but maybe I won't. Maybe I'll work longer, until the Spring, because the road trip I have planned would be much easier then. Or maybe I'll retire earlier if I get fired or laid off from (or just pissed off by) my job. 

Or maybe I get hit by a bus, or Alex wins the lottery or makes a lot of money, or I come into a fortune somewhere, somehow. Change of plans.

However, when I don't have to work for a living any more, I would like to check out life in another place. So, I list places that seem like a good fit for living. I have no idea what it will be like to not have to work for money to live on, and am curious to find out how that changes me. If it does. 

Today, I still have many attachments. I'm not ready to live a life of contemplation, which I could pretty much do anywhere. If that changes, my plans and expectations, as illusory as they are, will change with them. 

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 Food and Diet Section

2013 Daily Weight

Today's Weight:         206.0 lbs

Yesterday's Weight:     206.2 lbs

Day Net Loss/Gain:      - 0.2 lbs

Diet Comment

That's flat - margin of error.

Food Log 

Breakfast

A cacao-kale-hemp-chia protein shake (almond-coconut milk, kale, a large egg, raw organic cacao powder, hemp seeds, chia gel, whey powder (24g protein), cinnamon, psyllium and stevia-inulin blend).

Lunch

Egg and black bean salad on Spring Mix and cole slaw blend with creamy balsamic dressing (that's why the egg whites aren't white).

Dinner

Wild-caught salmon burger on coconut Paleo toast with cole slaw and mashed cauliflower with butter and herbs (mashed faux-tatoes).

Liquid Intake   

   Coffee:  28 oz.   Water: 88+ oz.

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October 21

Post 982, Day 294 of 2013
- and 1024 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

I recently posted a link on Facebook to a US News and World Report article on the 10 best places to retire for under $75 per day. I posted it because Syracuse was on the list, and I was pleased about that (I could afford to live here after retirement - something I've known for a while).

But, it was obvious that the (anonymous) authors felt that it was not a desirable choice for retirement, unless your idea of being retired was to "have a second cup of coffee, look out your window at the pillowy snow drifts and think about all the money you're saving by not retiring in a more expensive area."

Bleak. If that were my idea of retirement, I wouldn't do it. And I commented that my solution was to retire abroad.

That post drew some interesting reactions, with some people 'getting it' and some even offering examples of people they knew that were doing it.

But the most interesting reaction was among my musician friends who hadn't known about my plan - and the question they had was, "What's wrong with the [good old] US?"

If I don't want to start a political discussion (and I don't) (ever), I have to put it in more general/cultural terms: 

• I don't want to drive (all the places on my short list are walkable). After I stop working, I wouldn't be able to afford cabs when I needed to get some place that I couldn't walk to (or that bad weather made difficult.
• I don't like the way this country treats seniors. Other cultures take it for granted that if you've survived past middle age, that, by itself, earns you respect. Here, once you're not 'economically productive' you are just old and in the way.
• I don't like the way this country treats poor people. See above. If you're not an active consumer, you are marginalized.
• I want to retire my status as a consumer, as well as a worker. Shopping is not my idea of a 'thing to do'. 
• I want to cut my costs vis a vis health care.
• I want to live in an easy climate.
• I don't believe in American exceptionalism. At least, not in any positive way, and I don't like the economic and political trends in this country.

I also explain that this isn't a new idea for me, it is something twenty years in the planning, and counting. And, I explain the economics of visiting family and friends - they're so geographically diverse, I couldn't afford to visit them unless I live somewhere less expensive, and that means abroad, and it means I'll be coming back and visiting friends yearly, and I'll be able to visit more than I would if I stayed in the lower 48 (and much more than if I lived in Alaska or Hawaii).

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 Food and Diet Section

2013 Daily Weight

Today's Weight:         206.2 lbs

Yesterday's Weight:     208.0 lbs

Day Net Loss/Gain:      - 1.8 lbs

Diet Comment

Fasting knocked some off, but I expect eating today will put a few back on.

Food Log 

Breakfast

A cacao-kale-hemp-chia protein shake (almond-coconut milk, kale, a large egg, raw organic cacao powder, hemp seeds, chia gel, whey powder (24g protein), cinnamon, psyllium and stevia-inulin blend).

Lunch

Wild-caught salmon and black bean salad on Spring Mix and cole slaw blend.

Dinner

Italian-style Chicken Sausage (with onion and peppers) with dijon mustard and mashed broccoli with butter and herbs. Not shown: Lentils with butter and herbs.

Liquid Intake   

   Coffee:  22 oz.   Water: 128+ oz.

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October 20 - Fast Day

Post 981, Day 293 of 2013
- and 1023 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

A nothing of a day. At least, until I went out to play, and then, not much happening there, either.

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 Food and Diet Section

2013 Daily Weight

Today's Weight:         208.0 lbs

Yesterday's Weight:     209.8 lbs

Day Net Loss/Gain:      - 1.8 lbs

Diet Comment

No particular reason to do it, but I'm fasting today.

Food Log 

Breakfast

Skipped.

Lunch

Skipped.

Dinner

Skipped.

Liquid Intake   

   Coffee:  0 oz.   Water: 80+ oz.

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October 19

Post 980, Day 292 of 2013
- and 1022 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

Lazy day spent sleeping, eating, unloading my DVR (watching some of the stuff, too), doing maintenance on my computers.

Finally, went out to see a band.

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 Food and Diet Section

2013 Daily Weight

Today's Weight:         209.8 lbs

Yesterday's Weight:     210.0 lbs

Day Net Loss/Gain:      - 0.2 lbs

Diet Comment

Last night's little end-of-night cheat doesn't seem to have caused much damage. We'll see if I can contain it today, during which I ate very irregularly - or, continuously, from the late afternoon to bedtime.

Food Log 

Breakfast

Skipped.

Lunch

Skipped.

Snack

First meal of the day: Ezekiel 4:9 Golden Flax sprouted grain cereal with blueberries, chia seeds, hemp seeds, cinnamon, coconut-almond milk and stevia-inulin blend.

Dinner

Protein bars. Sliced Buffalo-style chicken breast with Spring Mix greens, cole slaw mix and baslamic vinaigrette.

Snack
Hard-boiled eggs and cole slaw. Ezekiel 4:9 Golden Flax sprouted grain cereal with coconut-almond milk, cinnamon and stevia-inulin blend. 

Liquid Intake   

   Coffee:  24 oz.   Water: 80+ oz.

Please leave a comment if you visit my blog. Thank you!

 

October 18

Post 979, Day 291 of 2013
- and 1021 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

I spent the whole day getting more and more tired. When I got home, I was hungry.

I was too tired to go out, but not too tired to cook up some food and the result was three hours of cooking and eating. Not surprisingly, I fell asleep watching something I'd DVR'ed and, writing now, I can't remember what it was.

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 Food and Diet Section

2013 Daily Weight

Today's Weight:         210.0 lbs

Yesterday's Weight:     208.2 lbs

Day Net Loss/Gain:      + 1.8 lbs

Diet Comment

I had a little end-of-night cheat, of the healthiest kind (sprouted whole grains and blueberries). As Oscar Wilde said, "I can resist anything but temptation."

Funny guy.

Food Log 

Breakfast

Skipped.

Lunch

Italian-style chicken sausages and eggs with spinach, onions and peppers. And chipotle Tabasco. Yum.

Snack

Buffalo-style chicken breast with cole slaw.

Dinner

Chili (ground grass-fed beef, black beans, tomatoes, mushrooms, chili spice) and Spring Mix greens with balsamic vinaigrette.

Snack

Ezekiel 4:9 Golden Flax sprouted grain cereal with blueberries, coconut-almond milk and stevia-inulin blend.

Liquid Intake   

   Coffee:  24 oz.   Water: 80+ oz.

Please leave a comment if you visit my blog. Thank you!

 

October 17

Post 978, Day 290 of 2013
- and 1020 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

I found out that tonight's was the next-to-last night of my favorite open mic - not the first one, not the one where I met the most musicians, but the one I had the best time at, the one with my favorite host band (which existed only for open mic duties), the one I got to play - and sing - my songs at, and the one where I first saw and met the other members of i am Fool.

I understand it is business, and not personal, and it certainly isn't being done as an attack on my well-being. It's two weeks too early for RIPs, but it really sucks.

Please leave a comment if you visit my blog. Thank you!

 Food and Diet Section

2013 Daily Weight

Today's Weight:         208.2 lbs

Yesterday's Weight:     207.2 lbs

Day Net Loss/Gain:      + 1.0 lbs

Diet Comment

A little reversal after last night's late-night high-calorie (2 protein bars) snacking, not to mention the hours-earlier small pizza slice.

Food Log 

Breakfast

Skipped.

Lunch

At Ling-Ling's Chinese Buffet and Grill:

Brussels sprouts, kimchee, and, from the "Mongolian Grill", my go-to dish, pork and chicken with cabbage, onions, mushrooms, green peppers and broccoli. Yes, it's the same meal I always have here, and yes, the same picture, too.

Dinner

Buffalo-style chicken breast with cole slaw, coconut Pale bread with guacamole.

Snack

Protein bars.

Liquid Intake   

   Coffee:  12 oz.   Water: 114+ oz.

Please leave a comment if you visit my blog. Thank you!

 

October 16

Post 977, Day 289 of 2013
- and 1019 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

I try to have a simple approach to playing bass. Play the song, not the instrument.

In the bass-playing world, there are bass players who can do it all: Lock with the drummer forming a tight rhythm unit that supports the singer and soloist, or take the lead part and drive the melody as well as the rhythm. I am not one of those bass players. I do the former, and never the latter. In general, I don't play and don't even like to listen to bass solos. 

There are a lot of bass players who want to be lead guitarists. I can almost always spot a guitarist on bass. Guitar and bass are not functionally the same. They can sometimes do the solo part, and they tend to get the notes right, but typically lack the rhythmic feel that I think is fundamental to good bass-playing. I don't think you can succeed as a bass player if you are trying to use it like a low-tuned guitar. They make baritone guitars for that.

I had the great pleasure to play with an extraordinarily talented and locally well-known drummer tonight. She is trio-izing my duo for a gig early next month. 

She brought home the truth about the power of simple - when done right, the result is elegant.

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 Food and Diet Section

2013 Daily Weight

Today's Weight:         207.2 lbs

Yesterday's Weight:     208.2 lbs

Day Net Loss/Gain:      - 1.0 lbs

Diet Comment

No late-night high-calorie eating, so I expected a loss, even after a pretty high-calorie dinner.

Food Log 

Breakfast

Skipped.

Lunch

A cacao-kale-hemp-chia protein shake (almond-coconut milk, kale, a large egg, raw organic cacao powder, hemp seeds, chia gel, whey powder (24g protein), cinnamon, psyllium and stevia-inulin blend). 

Dinner

Roasted turkey breast on Spring mix greens with cole slaw mix and creamy balsamic dressing. Coconut Paleo bread with guacamole.

Snack

At an open mic, a small slice of pepperoni pizza. After, late in the evening, protein bars. Consider the whole thing a 'fail'.

Liquid Intake   

   Coffee:  28 oz.   Water: 102+ oz.

Please leave a comment if you visit my blog. Thank you!

 

October 15

Post 976, Day 288 of 2013
- and 1018 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

I try to have to approach making music simply.

Make it.

Find some musicians with a cooperative attitude, start playing, see what happens. 

And what happens, like life itself, runs the gamut, and that means variable quality, quantity, and the pleasure I get from playing.

If people have a reasonable amount of control over their instruments, are open to other players' ideas, are relaxed in their attitude (and expectations), and listen, the results can be very good, and everybody has a good time.

Let one person try to control things with a rigid idea about the right way to play a song, and the odds it will be enjoyable are reduced - far from impossible, just more unlikely.

A lack of adventure spoils so many things.

At an open mic tonight, we had a drummer who consistently imposed his will on the other musicians he was playing with - changing rhythm and tempo in the middle of songs, losing the group. 

The drummer was imposing his idea of how things should go. My take: he showed a lack of support in an ensemble situation. I feel support should be the primary role of the rhythm section in this kind of ensemble playing, so to me it seemed musically unsuccessful, and rude to the other performers, who weren't necessarily trying to be rhythmically progressive.

The drummer was being adventurous, for certain, but because he stopped functioning in the ensemble context he was in, for whatever reason, he spoiled a few otherwise good jams. 

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 Food and Diet Section

2013 Daily Weight

Today's Weight:         208.2 lbs

Yesterday's Weight:     207.4 lbs

Day Net Loss/Gain:      + 0.8 lbs

Diet Comment

Late-night high-calorie eating.

Food Log 

Breakfast

A cacao-kale-hemp-chia protein shake (almond-coconut milk, kale, a large egg, raw organic cacao powder, hemp seeds, chia gel, whey powder (24g protein), cinnamon, psyllium and stevia-inulin blend).

Lunch

Wild-caught salmon and black bean salad on Spring Mix and cole slaw blend.

Dinner

Grass-fed burger and cole slaw.

Liquid Intake   

   Coffee:  24 oz.   Water: 130+ oz.

Please leave a comment if you visit my blog. Thank you!

 

October 14

Post 975, Day 287 of 2013
- and 1017 days since I started this blog -

Daily Comment

This comment intentionally left blank.

Almost. Except for these eleven words.

Please leave a comment if you visit my blog. Thank you!

 Food and Diet Section

2013 Daily Weight

Today's Weight:         207.4 lbs

Yesterday's Weight:     208.4 lbs

Day Net Loss/Gain:      - 1.0 lbs

Diet Comment

Yesterday's fast, followed by a couple of high-protein and -carb meals, seems to have knocked the weight down another little bit. Fasting to lose weight seems like a bad plan to me, since its only weight loss property is cutting calories, which causes its own set of problems, and is at best temporary (until you start eating a normal amount of food again).

Food Log 

Breakfast

Skipped.

Lunch

Dal Tadka (lentil curry), spinach and scrambled (large, organic) eggs. I am counting this as lunch, but it was eaten halfway to dinner time.

Dinner

Cole slaw and Italian-style chicken sausage, and Spring Mix greens with balsamic vinaigrette.

Snack

Egg salad on coconut Paleo toast. Eaten late.

Liquid Intake   

   Coffee:  28 oz.   Water: 88+ oz.

Please leave a comment if you visit my blog. Thank you!