Gizmo-rama

The Old/New Year gizmo-rama appears to be nearing its whimpering finale… The last of the gadgets finally arrived  which meant that i spent most of the day under the desk pulling and plugging wires.

The Wire Box

About four years ago, i completely gave up on trying to run orderly bunches of cables hither and yon.  Within a fortnight they were back to being their dusty, unfathomable jumble.  So fuck it. All A/C wires got run to a one of those file boxes with holes in them where they were plugged into surge protected strips leaving one or two thick cables to lead out from the box to the electrical outlet.  A lid was attached to the box.  What mess the wires got themselves into inside was their business. 

External Drives

Maybe about seven years ago, i gave up keeping any important data on the computer's internal drive.  There were a number of reasons for this all of which justified not keeping anything important in the computer(s).  I have two pair of external drives each consisting of an "original" and a "backup."  Since then internet storage and USB drives provide  provide additional security.

Patch Plugs

Given the above system together with the fact that i can't seem to use only one computer but (for a variety of eccentric reasons) am often switching from one to another, it occurred to me about three years ago that plugging and unplugging FW and USB cable was an ideal way to loosen or plain break the socket running to the mother board.  At this point, i came up with a genius solution. 

There exists a female/female FW coupler. I attached and firmly taped this coupler to a one foot FW cable and then plugged the end of that cable into the external hard drive.  I could plug and unplug the external hard drive to and from any number of computers without worrying about damaging the socket.   It's a genius solution, i must say.

So i've extended it to the other end of the set up as well.  The only caveat is that there is a length limit for FW cables (15 feet being the absolute max), so the coupling has to be kept as short as possible. 

Obviously, it does no good if the "socket-extension" itself wiggles around, so this year i made sure that i found ways to tape up and firm up this connection so that the plug into the drive or console remained as rigid as possible.

As for USB, I have applied the same principle using those mini four-socket USB strip/hubs. 

Cable Clamps

All this still leaves a lot of cables dangling about (and it gets worse when ethernet and telephone are thrown into the literal mix).  The best solution i have found is to use those black metal paper climbs.  They come in mini, medium, large and ultra large.  They are cheap and can be used to clamp whatever bunches of cables you have running in whatever direction.  When the cables need to be loosened there is no unwrapping, untwisting or untagging the bunch.  Just press the clamps little handles and everything drops loose.

Etc.

My new/used 2 Core Duo came with a complimentary macally keyboard and apple mouse (in matching white).  I've always like Macally keyboards and have used their clickable (ugly as hell) Bondi IBM boards for years.  But this newer gleaming white Macally has a lighter click and a nice feel.  So I ordered another one with a two button matching mouse; as well as a black mouse for to go with the Pismo which i have decided is the Chevy Bel Aire classic of computers and which i will not give up.

As for all the rest… it has been the usual mess with new phones, head-sets, answering machines and -- seeing as i have so many consoles an ethernet router.  The router i ordered didn't do what it was supposed to do but as it turns out my internet provider had an upgraded router/modem for no extra charge.  Other than having to stand in line for half an hour behind morons ordering "channel packages" it was a good deal.

I have no illusions that a final solution has been achieved.  It will all have to be redone again in six months for some reason or another… but at least for now it is done.

Needless to say... i was awol from gym :(  which means double duty tomorrow.

It's raining anyways.

 

End Year Finals

Geronto Flex Year End Final Results are In !!!  
(given in weights (reps) sets)

Bench Press (machine)
    85(18) 100(16) 115(14) 130(12) 145(10) 160(08)

Incline Bench Press (track lift)
    70(12) 90(10) 100(8,8,6)

Back Row (machine)
    85(18) 100(16) 115(14) 130(12) 145(12) 160(08)

Wide Grip Pull-down (cable)
    85(18) 100(16) 115(14) 120(12) 145(08)

Narrow Grip Lat Pull-Down (cable)
    50(12)  65(10)  70(10)  75(08)

Military Press (machine)
    50(18) 60(16) 70(14) 80(12) 90(10) 100(4)

Wide Grip Dumbell Delt Press
    25(12)  30(12)  35(10)  40(7,3)

Three Deltoid Dumbell Raises (Front/Side/Back)
    10(12) 12(12) 15(8)   

Olympic Bar Curl
    45(20) 55(18) 60(16) 65(12) 79(14) 75(10) 80(4,4)

Incline Dumbell Curl
    25(12)  30(10,6,4)
   
Preacher Curl (machine)
    65(12) 70(10) 75(08) 80(6,4)

Incline Sit-ups:     35lb(10) x 3

Dips: BW(10)x 3

Chin Ups: BW(8) x 2  :(
   

The drop-set routine has worked out pretty well.  It boils down to a three set warm up followed by three sets of "real" anaerobic lifting.  It has built stamina and by forcing a graduated warm up has avoided what i call brittle-taffy injuries.

   
Some yung'un who seems to spend a fair amount of time scaling inaccessible places is to blame for the olympic bar curls and the shoulder dumbell presses which made for increased joint stress and difficulty but which i have so far managed without popping or snapping anything. 

New Year plans entail getting off most machines and adding at least some basic leg work. ( I was doing leg extensions and leg curls but left off in mid summer.) I'm also determined to do 10x3 chins and then start working on the same number of pull ups.   

At the beginning of the year my max military press was 70, and max bench press was 125 (all this on account of stupid shoulder and elbow injuries).  So progress was made.  

But the real star of the show remains Mr. Nicki  who this weekend proved that he can run, jump, leap, and bound with inexhaustible effortlessness for hours on end. 

Auld Lang Syne

Should Old Acquaintance be forgot,
and never thought upon;
The flames of Love extinguished,
and fully past and gone:
Is thy sweet Heart now grown so cold,
that loving Breast of thine;
That thou canst never once reflect

on Old long syne.

James Watson (1711)                    

The Old Auld Lange Syne which  Burns later adapted.

QUOMODO

SEDET SOLA CIVITAS PLENA POPULO.  NON EST QUI CONSOLETUR EAM.  OMNES AMICI EJUS SPREVERUNT EAM ET FACTA SUNT EI INIMICI.

FACEBOOK PAYS NO TAXES

FACEBOOK PAYS NO TAXES GETS REFUND INSTEAD

when one wonders will people understand what "United States of America" stands for.

it snowed

Nicki chased vanishing snow balls.

kinda like politics....

Step 4 and Done

Oh boyoh boyoh boyoh boyoh boy....

The Fuzzy Fish

The days are short and it's been damp and dreary. With me fighting off a cold while keeping to my gym schedule, Nicki didn't get much romping this week.  So i promised him that today -- Sunday -- he'd get a decent ausgang no matter what.

As i looked up from my coffee, it was (oh surprise!) damp and dreary.  But a promise is a promise; and, after going back to bed for an hour or so, i rebundled into outside wrappings and, with very low energy, headed to the car.

We drove up to the river by Hovander.  There usually aren't that many people up there and i can let Nicki off leash without worrying about cyclists and babies. When we got there, there was one car in the lot which was a good sign.

Nicki was in dog heaven, blasting off with a week's worth of pent up doggergy.  A hundred yards up the trail and he found some fish-muck to roll in.  Oh joy!  Ah well, i thought, it will be sturm und drang back home.  As far as Nicki was concerned, the muckier the better. 

About a mile up the trail there is a turn off which leads into a forest of branches and brambles before emerging at the river bank.  When i got there, Nicki had been into the brush and back at least two times in what was very clearly an "Are-you-coming/Can-we-go?" statement.

  

I really didn't want to.  The current is too strong this time of year and the pathway was pure mud, muck and mulching leaves.  But i also figured a dip in the water might not be such a bad idea given the disgusting fish slime that Nicki had coated himself with. 

Once Nicki saw that i had made the "right choice" he went completely wild, rushing back and forth and bounding over and under fallen trees and branches and snarling in a manic fashion as dogs will do when they blow their gauge. Twice he bounced off my chest at what felt like 20 mph, but was probably only five. 

When we got to the water, none of the sticks would float. Nicki paddled around looking for them and got the bath i wanted.  We then headed back to the trail.

At this point, the sun decided to make an appearance.  All of a sudden, the grey blanket of clouds pulled apart revealing a blue sky, white clouds and... best of all.. sunlight.

We walked up to the large field near the end of the trail.  As Nicki ran around the field, I took off my layers and stood in the sun.  When Nicki saw me eating an apple, he came over for his portion before taking off again.

 It's hard to describe the light around here this time of year.  It is soft but lies somewhere between pastel and luminescent. Sometimes green moss just radiates green-nees. I haven't been able to capture it yet. Tweaking the pixels produces something too saturated.  [ HERE ]

On the return, i ran into a man carrying a MAX-FORCE, camie coloured bow.  He asked me if i had seen a party up the ways, and i said that i hadn't.  I asked him what the bow was for and he said he was going deer hunting; his friends had discovered a trail used by the deer.  "Well, it's a beautiful day," i said non-commitally. "Oh, yes," he replied rolling his eyes upward, "a perfect day for Ad-Vent..."   Oh wonderful, i thought to myself, killing deer while waiting for Jesus.  Bye.

I'm sorry, but deer are too beautiful to kill.  Unless the economy has collapsed, chicken and fish will do.  Bah.

Heading back into town, i was going to stop off and pick up a bag of dog-chow.  But the traffic was too heavy with Sunday Shoppers, half of whom drove 40 miles from up there down here for cheap deals.  Instead, i just picked up a baguette and headed home.

Nicki still smells of fish.  I guess i'll have this BIG FUZZY FISH next to me in bed tonight.