March 2008 Archives

I think I can finally relax now. I have ordered the digital camera for my summer course. It isn't a true SLR like I was originally looking for, but its just as good for manual adjustment. I have selected the Fujifilm FinePix S5200 for now. It isn't exactly a Nikon D80, but I think it will be a good camera to get trained on SLR techniques. The S5200 is quite an impressive camera for its model class, as well as for the price. For the technical geeks, you can read about it and drool from the Fujifilm website. For those of you who aren't geeks, or don't care to read that page, the S5200 is as close to an SLR camera as you can get without using a camera that has a rotating mirror inside. Because of this, the camera is substantially cheaper than the typical SLR, but provides the same functionality. Features that I like about the camera that aren't a requirement for the course are the 10x optical and 5.7x digital zooms, allowing me to zoom up to 57 times. In addition, the camera can detect shaking and compensate for it. Additionally, the camera is designed to avoid needing flash for most situations, creating a warmer, less washed out feeling to the images. However, when needed, the camera will deploy the flash by itself (unless told not to).

I am really excited and am hoping my camera will ship on Monday, so that I may begin playing with it on Thursday. I have ordered an additional memory card for it from Amazon, as well as a compatible reader. The only downside to the camera is it uses the xD picture card format, but I suppose I will adapt, as I always have.

Today I woke up fairly late in the day and have been having the weirdest mood shifts and changes in objectives. I have a chapter to finish for my novel, I have put in several random attempts at effort on it, for the same course I also have to "explicate a poem", which I can do, but I just have to pick a poem for it. In addition to those assignments, I also have to finish my perspective drawing to turn it in on Monday, and also draw an orange with full shading and texture in my sketch book. I have been letting all of this go through my head and I am bouncing between thoughts in my head way too quickly. I have considered working on the mid-term for one of my online classes as well, but haven't started on it (100 questions, all to be done and turned in by April 7th, most likely by UPS).

Other than academic stuff, I have been looking at LiveCurt.net again, working on some stuff for it and trying to get a grasp of what it is supposed to be. I am feeling like I am trying to do a 4 dimensional website in a 2 dimensional space. I have played with Google Analytics some, primarily adding the Art blog to it. I have also been playing with the idea of a centralized location for all of my blogs, which I then realized are all about me, so therefore belong on LiveCurt.net (my domain-registering addiction is foiled again). Oh, and I have been trying to write blog posts on random shit, and pretty much getting no where. I played a game a little while ago, thinking maybe it would calm me down and let me focus, nope, didn't happen, I'm still bouncing off the walls with stuff to do, but not nearly enough ambition to accomplish any of them.

Finally, I did finish my loop of looking for a digital camera for my course this summer. I still haven't decided on or purchased one, but I have at least placed a fall-back candidate in my head. If I can't decide on anything else, then I am going with the Fugifilm FinePix S5200. It isn't a true SLR camera, but it gives me the functionality I need for the course. SLR cameras are a little scary with how they work. I don't like the idea of using a camera that has to rotate a mirror to take a picture, but I guess if I find a real SLR camera that I like, I will go for it, although, the S5200 is definitely a piece to drool over.

Today I have done a lot of "half-done" things, but fully completed nothing. Maybe tomorrow will be part 2 and I will get everything done.

After spending the early part of the day reading through the syllabus for the Digital Photography course, I decided that I REALLY want to take it, and finished up the registration process. There is one thing I didn't notice last night that I did this morning though, the course is not self-paced as I had thought previously, it is on a standard academic schedule (its a CCO class, not a SPC course). The course I selected is an online course for the Summer 2008 semester. I originally wanted to start the course around May 15th, but the summer semester begins on May 13, so I'm not too worried about timings, except now I have to find an SLR camera before the course begins.

The registration is in, the payment is being sent Monday and the textbook has been ordered. This leaves only one thing still not quite resolved, obtaining a camera for the course.

Do any of my readers know anyone who is willing to sell a used Digital SLR camera? I'm not looking for anything fancy, or even anything with any lenses. All I need is a digital SLR camera body suitable for academic use. I would like to take a Digital Photography class this summer to fill my spare time, and the only reputable institution offering the course I want to take has a requirement of a digital SLR for the course. Again, I'm not looking for anything fancy, just something to get my through the course this summer. If anyone wants to know the course I am considering taking, it is ART 390: Special Topics: Digital Photogtaphy offered by UNC Chapel Hill through the Friday center. I can start the course any time I am ready (hoping to have everything in place by May 1 and start the course May 15th if possible).

Any information leading to the acquisition of a camera for the summer would be very helpful.

This evening I convinced myself that I should never accept a good deal from a plant supplier. Back in December my mother was becoming excited at the concept of growing her own strawberries, in January, Burpee sent me an email offer for strawberry plants. I purchased 25 strawberry plants for $15. Not a bad deal, oh, but they made the deal sweeter, for an additional $10, get 50 strawberry plants... ok, no big deal, 50 strawberry plants ordered, to arrive at a later date. The strawberries left my mind until about a week ago, I received a UPS Quantum View notification from Burpee, a package was coming to me. Last Thursday they arrived, 50 strawberry plants, neatly wrapped and ready for planting. I was far from ready for the plants, so I had to make quick plans to get them in the ground.

Yesterday I obtained 100 lbs of cow manure compost (its better than it sounds) and 3.8 cu.ft. of peat moss. I prepared the ground today, placing alternating layers of peat and cow until I was satisfied that I had a good growing surface for the plants. The row was then covered in a garden fabric to keep down weeds, keep the moisture in and also keep the plants warm. The worst part of doing this today was having to soak the strawberry plants in water before planting. The water was cold and once the water became cloudy, it was hard to locate the plants, requiring me to submerge part of my arm. Twenty one holes in the fabric later (all the holes there was room for), 21 of the first 25 plants had been trimmed (roots to 3 inches) and placed in the ground. After that, I sealed the row off with a layer of straw.

Now, I just have to hope the plants don't freeze in the next few weeks.

Related Links:
Burpee - Ozark Beauty Strawberries

When this blog began in August 2004, my mind was a scary place, full of fears, regrets and things that were just not normal. I still have those types of thoughts from time to time, but lately I have been reflecting on my recent blog entries. My more recent writings have been about personal progress, striving for a better self and just a little bit of everything from my life. There was a time when everything I wrote was more or less a censored version of a personal journal. I feel that over the last few years, my blog has matured, as have the topics which I have selected to discuss. I have been very happy in my life recently and have been finding hope for the future in the strangest places, which I suppose has resulted in me having more blog entries this month than any other month.

With all of these changes, it has me thinking that perhaps the domain doesn't fit its purpose anymore. Chances are though, I will keep the blog right where it is, just because of its history and the fact that while I have used 3 different primary email addresses (and about 12 axillary email addresses) but only one address for my main blog. Here it was created, here it will stay.

Being around my family presents great challenges when it comes to eating healthy. With all of the southern comfort foods we all love (potato salad, macaroni and cheese, biscuits, chick and dumplings) being made fresh and put in front of us, it is hard to resist. I tried to let myself go a bit today as well as keep things in balance. Overall I feel like I did ok, although, I probably enjoyed the two pies that I made a little too much. In a few moments it will be midnight and I return to counting calories, carbohydrates and everything else that is bad for me, and start working out overtime to burn off the excess calories from today. I enjoyed giving myself the freedom from the measurements today and just being conscious of what I have eaten. Tomorrow, everything must be counted, with great accuracy.

I'm giving GrandCentral.com a try. Seems like a great service, but I don't see myself using the forwarding features much. The voicemail is great though, I can check it anywhere via phone or web.

Many of you may have noticed that commenting on entries on my blogs isn't as simple as it used to be. This is because SPAM bots can use the easy forms too well. Effective like 5 minutes ago, everyone who has an AIM ID can now login to post a comment to my blog. Also, the LiveJournal and other authentication methods remain available. If you don't really want to comment on an entry at this time, but want to test the commenting functionality, feel free to comment on this post with a test comment.

There are a lots of options to authenticate, give one a try.

If you have been following my ceramics blog from ClayMentality.net, please visit http://art.livecurt.net and update your bookmarks. The ceramics blog is now the art blog, and is at the new location noted previously. The new blog will be more comprehensive, giving me an artistic outlet without overloading the main blog (this one).

[cross posted from body.livecurt.net for your convenience]

A calorie is 4.1184 Joules, which is roughly 4 watts. A calorie is a physical unit of potential energy. When burned by the body a calorie produces electrical and thermal energy as needed throughout the day. Calories come from 3 things: protein, fat and carbohydrates. Oddly, the worse of the three are the carbs. One gram of protein is 4 calories, one gram of carbs is 4 calories, and a single gram of fat is 9 calories.

Protein is the best thing you can get from your daily calorie allotment, it powers your muscles and acts as a stored energy source throughout the day that can be easily accessed. It is best to eat protein rich foods before and after working out for the biggest benefit to your body.

Carbohydrates are evil. They break down very fast and should almost always be utilized immediately, or else, you risk them slowing you down as the metabolism revs up to burn through them and then crashes you right back down after its done. Carbs are best to eat at breakfast, when you can use them as quick fuel to get you started and the chances of them being burned away almost instantly are very high. If you live a life that isn't active at all, eliminating carbs is likely your only hope for weight-loss, but keep your protein high to protect your muscles.

Fats are GOOD! Fat is very hard for the body to store as fat, because it is more complex and takes too long to break down (your stomach cant just pass fat out to begin building a fat monument on your abs). Fats are relatively quick energy, and aren't reserved for high-level muscle use. Fast-twitch muscles need a lot of protein, but the slower fibers will settle for the fats. Saturated fats are bad, avoid them if possible. Fats in nuts and milks are usually the best for your body because they usually are carrying other things that are really great for the body.

There is some good news, you can blow off 10% of the calories eaten each day to the digestive process itself.

Want to know how many calories you should eat per day? To determine the number of calories you need to maintain your weight, take your current body weight and multiply it by 11, then take that number and multiple it by your energy multiplier, then add whatever you burn during a workout. So.. in an easier form: (Current Weight*11*Energy Multiplier)+workout calories. If you want to gain weight (bulk), add 500 calories per day, if you want to loose weight, subtract 1000 calories per day.

*Energy multiplier: 1.3 (sedentary), 1.6 (light work), 1.7 (moderate work), or 2.1 (hard labor).

Just a little wisdom I picked up in my research.

It has just occurred to me that instructors don't really acknowledge spring break anymore. While there is no class held during spring break, there is no effect on online courses, and in-person classes still have assignments due. My Creative Writing class was on break this week (CPCC break), but assignments are still due on the same schedule. I have been working on the assignment all week, so it doesn't really affect me, but still, there is no true break because work will still be due. Even more fun is the spring break with my drawing course, the instructor has already made it clear that there will be work that is to be done during that week. The only instructor who isn't expecting something to be done during spring break is my astronomy instructor, he doesn't want to see his students, think about his students or have anything to do with the course during the week. All he asks is that his students return to him the Tuesday after break completely refreshed and ready to take on more astronomy material.

I consider spring break to be a necessary break in the semester to allow the brain to recover from the information absorbed during the first part of the semester. Anyway, I'm probably just being irrationally cranky about nothing.

So far in Drawing 2 I haven't enjoyed anything more than I did in drawing 1, until now. We are presently working on perspective. In this course, we are going at it more aesthetically and a lot less technically. I am currently working on a piece that I am really happy with so far. Its sort of like perspective drawing now has meaning.

I was worried that when I started this workout routine and made the decision to become fit and to make other positive changes in my life, that I would be alone, and a bit of an outcast among everyone I am in contact with. I am very happy to say that Chris is being very supportive. Chris is encouraging me to workout, is working out with me and has taken a strong interest in making proper nutritional selections. I think that having someone who is this interested in helping me improve myself is going to make the plan a complete success. Also, I think Chris will find that he enjoys working to become more fit himself.

Thanks for always being there for me Chris.

Earlier I posted a blog entry about having difficulty conceiving a gaudy poem... well... I thought for a few more minutes (10 minutes max) and then decided to turn to my favorite research assistant for help.... Google. I went to the search box in my browser and typed "gaudy poem" (without quotes) and guess what the first hit returned was? MY BLOG POST. It would appear that since I have been abnormally chatty as blogs go recently, the GoogleBot has placed my IP address on speed-dial and my entries appear in the Google index almost immediately. Its a bit cool, but also a bit scary at the same time.

A person should never see themselves as the first hit on any random search on Google... it just isn't right.

Well... this is what I came up with. It ain't pretty, but it will get me a grade for turning it in on time (which is all that counts).

Push, pull, Push, pull
Blind to the pain
Ignorant to the ripping
Deaf of the muscles crying for relief

Breath in, Breath out
Coach screams like a master of bellows
The pain is nothing
Drone in the heat keeps pushing

Pain is fear
Fear is weakness
Brave the pain
Alienate the weakness

I have the easiest assignment ever in Creative Writing II that is due in a few hours. It is an assignment called "gaudy poem". It is supposed to be a very showy poem. Using all available literary devices and language techniques to create a poem to showcase the strengths of a poet. I believe I can do this, but I am currently bouncing around between topics and can't get my mind to settle on one particular topic to write about. In Creative Writing 1 I could usually come up with a variety of things to write about, and could throw together a poem in any form requested in just a few moments. This course isn't having that effect on me. I feel pressured into fiction, so I have thought about the next chapter of my novel, due next week. I decided that one of my characters is going to be gay, and that one of the central conflicts of the novel will involve his homosexuality as it relates to his interactions to heterosexual men, primarily, his best friend.

I expected when I started this plan of personal health and fitness that it would result in me losing some of my favorite foods, but so far, nothing has really had to be ejected. I no longer indulge in carbonated beverages at all, and the only thing sweet I drink is 100% juice and the occasional cup of tea (usually for the caffeine later in the day). For dinner tonight I had what I consider to be a "bad" meal, spaghetti and meatballs. I enjoyed a serving of spaghetti (2 dry ounces), a serving of sauce (1/2 cup), and 2 meat balls for under 500 calories. The negatives of the meal would be the 170 calorie piece of garlic bread that I decided eat with my meal. After the meal I ate a small slice of birthday icecream cake (122 grams) for a little over 200 calories, simply because I craved something cold and sweet. I don't like that I consumed so many sugars, but I suppose occasionally I am allowed to indulge a little. I am still under 1500 calories for the day and quite full from dinner still.

Next week when I start trying to eat 5 - 6 small meals per day, these big meals will be a thing of the past, but I am trying to go into that fairly slowly. I will also be working on keeping my carbohydrates, proteins and fats in balance more.

I have been a little nervous about the concept of posting a link to my supplemental blog for my personal "body renovation" project, both because of my self-esteem issues related to the blog, and because I don't think most of my readers would be interested in such things. I have been trying to post a synopsis entry here for every few entires I post there. Anyway, for anyone who is interested in the other blog, it is located at:

http://body.livecurt.net

The supplemental blog isn't required reading, as I will continue to make a synopsis post here, since it is still relevant to my general life. The other blog is more detailed and focuses only on my progress and things I learn along the way.

Today was my "birthday observed" day, and it is the day I received gifts. My mother decided to get me another AeroGarden, so that I can grow more things. I have already set up the new garden with a chili pepper seed kit. Since the other garden was started on a Saturday, and today is Saturday, they are on the same nutrient schedule, and they have been reset to have the same light schedule.

The peppers require 8 hours of darkness each day, so I have had to make sure both gardens are set to be dark at night. I'm looking forward to seeing more things grow in my environment.

As with any great change in my life, the Getting It Together Interface will be changing with me. In the next few days, the Health module (to be called Heath and Fitness Module) will gain a nutrition component to supplement the existing workout component. The components will then be integrated into the common module. During this change, the Exercise module will likely become more complex and more able to handle the complexity of routines I will be doing. Exercise will become more about planning and scheduling than recording data. For too long GITI has been about recording data that won't mean shit to anyone in 6 months, so its time for a change, time to get GITI more involved in my life and helping in its improvement. The new nutrition component will be able to calculate my dietary needs based on information that it knows about me and will be able to make suggestions as to the profile of foods that I should eat. Maybe eventually I will get the cookbook module written and it will be able to suggest specific foods that I should eat.

One thing I think this will reveal about GITI is that it is a very personal thing. GITI isn't the type of application you can create an account on and instantly get what you need from it. GITI has to know a lot about you before it can help you. If I ever open GITI to the world, each module will require a "getting acquainted" survey, as well as probably a synopsis of the logic used to write each module. Some things are too specific to ever be for everyone though, such as the sneaker management utility (its friendly name is "collection").

I think if I put enough effort into GITI's Health and Fitness module, I will learn more than I ever wanted to know about the topic of fitness, but also will be more dedicated to it than before the existence of the module. The fun part will be using the creation once its finished and having it dictate what workouts I do and what I eat.

Over the past few days I have significantly reduced the amount of calories I take in. I have stopped drinking carbonated beverages completely, falling back to water, juice and small amounts of tea. I have been picking up more workouts each day too it seems. I started with Chin-ups, then went to chin-ups and sprints, and on to chin-ups, sprints, push up, crunches, oblique crunches and some lower ab workouts. Today I added some more upper body work, including some exercises for my triceps and my favorites, some bicep curls. In the next few days I will begin dividing up my calories into their types and determining how much of each type of calorie (fat, protein, carbohydrate) I should eat.

I will likely take Sunday as a day to relax and not workout at all, except for a morning sprint. I intend to have a serious workout at least four days per week, and stick with fairly standard rotation routines for most of my body parts. Abs will be on a three to four day cycle, something like lower abs, obliques, then upper abs and then a rest day. Then something compatible for the arms and legs as well.

I am a little upset because I missed my morning sprint today because of rain.

I am usually a very calm and rational person when it comes to bad grades on assignments, for one, they happen to everybody, but in this instance... I can safely say, it is everybody in the class. There are 4 people in my drawing class, 2 in Drawing 1 and 2 in Drawing 2. On this one particular test that was given, no one made above 90 and even that person admits to getting the grade based on guessing.

First, two weeks ago the drawing instructor (who is an art history psycho bitch) announced a test in the course. No big deal we all thought, "it will be simple" the instructor repeats over and over. She asked bizarre questions in class and we got all of them right, and then she gave us a sheet with some terms to memorize. No big deal I thought. On the sheet of terms she starred (*) terms that she wanted us to know. On the day of the test, she had decided to ask all of the random shit from the class, including things that had only been mentioned once or twice and there were arbitrary questions from the page she gave us.

The test material was not abnormal for the course, however, there was no formal outline of test topics, and we were deceived into believing that the test would be more simple and straight forward.

Why do I call her an Art History Psycho bitch? Well... she is an art history person, that is her area of expertise, that and sculpture. She has no business teaching a 2D/Drawing course. Psycho bitch comes from her abnormally perky nature, and dismissive manor for handling student criticism of her course. I honestly believe she is a nice person, but she is in over her head with this course, since she has no fucking clue how to teach it.

Where is Mr. Biggers and his 30 years of drawing/instructional wisdom when we need him?

Addendum:

My score is 78. I missed 2 questions of 21. You do the math.

Aside from a variety of friends wishing me happy birthday today, I haven't had a lot of feeling that is my birthday today, but it was a good day.

I would like to thank all of my friends who acknowledged me today:
Chris, Oscar, Denon, Brian "Curtis" Moss, and David Loder

Thanks guys, you made me feel very special :-)

I have gotten so attracted to my chin-up bar. It is like totally staring at me, daring me to use it, daring me to do more reps. Only discouraging factor is the way my hands feel after. My hands get sore from the bar, but I am not letting that deter me at all. I am going to get some protection for my hands this weekend to make things a little better. Now I just have to get myself this motivated about daily sprints (or runs) and working my abs just as hard as I am working my arms.

I have been reading the book I obtained yesterday, "Total Body Plan". I have picked up a strong quote that I am going to stick with for the duration of my personal "body plan"... "abs are made in the kitchen".

The quote is good and helps a lot, but I have one major obstacle, the resources of my kitchen suck. I don't have a clue how to prepare a meal that avoids heavy carbohydrates and encourages the consumption of protein.

I guess over the next few weeks I will learn how to make things work for me, and with the help of friends and professional resources I will learn everything I need to know for having a healthy lifestyle.

Would the person who decided to send me a subscription to Instinct Magazine please step forward?

I know I am a bit of a perv, but I really don't need dudes coming to me monthly in the form a magazine... at least not guys that are that gay. There is no information included with the subscription, so I have no clue who the hell did this, and the magazines just sort of appeared suddenly today (two of them, one for last month, one for this month).

I'm a bit freaked out, so if the responsible party will come forward, it will ease my worries a bit.

http://www.instinctmagazine.com if anyone else is curious what showed up in my mail today.

With my birthday approaching quickly (tomorrow) I was eager to get my plans made and my workouts started yesterday. I was planning a nice brisk hike to inaugurate a time of physical fitness and overall health, but I got to Crowders Mountain and there was no where where to park, which meant the trails would be crowded. Then on top of that I hadn't planned even physical activity to get me through the week. All of the books I have are for more specific training once I get started, they don't give any clues to how to build a workout routine, or how to eat properly while following a workout routine. I stopped in at the bookstore, and picked up another book for my collection. I picked up Men's Fitness Total Body Plan (978-1-57243-971-9). This book is supposed be a good plan for beginning this type of life. I guess that is why this one contains the word "Plan" in the title. I have the "Hard Body Plan", but that is for a little later in this process I believe.

I started this morning with one very productive activity. I hung my new pullup bar that I bought yesterday. I have already found that I suck at doing pullups, but I think it may be because of lack of technique and fear of the bar that I installed falling off the wall while i'm in mid-workout.

"first impressions are the most important" is something I have heard all of my life. It is what many people hold to be a strong truth, but in placing so much in them, are we depriving ourselves of a greater understanding of the world? Every person is different and with a more loose social movement occurring it may be harder to understand much about a person when you first meet them. The more I age the more I find that I am usually wrong in my first impressions. It is very easy for a person to give me reason to not like them when I first meet them, but in general I like everybody, once I know a little about them.

http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2008/02/russian-gmail-art.html

I saw this earlier on the GMail Blog (linked from my Inbox) and thought it was both humorous and a bit amazing that this could be done like this.

Yesterday (February 29, 2008), I attempted a new trail, Rocktop. It is a 1.5 mile strenuous trail that is mostly upward with many hazards associated with mountain climbing. The trail is quite nice. On Pinnacle you can only see the mountain ahead of you and the trees that you have already passed, but on Rocktop you get many opportunities for some very nice views as you ascend the mountain. At about the middle of the trail you can see the radio and other communication towers that are located at the peak. That is where the hike ended for me. I have for a long time had a fear of heights. This fear occurs only when I can see the ground below me through a straight line descending down, such as while hiking up a trail without many curves (Rocktop). While I turned back this time, next time I intend to take the trail all the way to the top.

And now for some GPS data....

The overall trail. The trail to the west of the road is the first half of Crowders trail. Once crossing the road there is an option, continue on Crowders (a less rocky, but more winding trail to no where... ) or go to the right and head up Rocktop. On this map, everything highlighted to the east of the road is Rocktop.

This is an elevation profile like the one in my previous post. It shows with its curve and with color, the level of height

Here is a new way to look at it, it is overlayed on the same map as the usual Google Earth maps. The altitude is shown in varying colors, indicated by the key on the side.

This is a speed profile that shows how fast (or slow) I was going during the hike. Obviously, as the hills become more steep, I became more sluggish. There are also a few points during which I stopped to take a break.

If you are interested in all of the details of the hike, they are located at http://www.livecurt.net/gps/20080229.html.