I bought a fitbit on your recommendation last week, and I really like it. I set a basic goal of 10k steps a day, and today I walked 14,000. When my shoulders feel better, I think I can easily do 20k, but even the motion from walking causes fits of agony.
Went to the farm today to see Harry and Chatman and to drop off some egg cartons, and on the way home, had to stop for a while for some feathered friends:
They just meandered about in the middle of the road for a while, and we all patiently sat there waiting for them to cross. By the time they finally finished doing whatever it was they were doing in the middle of the road, there were about eight cars waiting.
Speaking of turkeys, I hope no patriots come to my little town, because the college has put up these signs telling people that there are no weapons allowed on campus as per state law. And since the town and the campus are inextricably combined, it basically means there are very few places for gun nuts to run around open carrying or whatever the hell it is they want to do:
And you know what? Everyone around here has rifles and pistols because this is farm country, and no one I know, even on the right side of the aisle politically, has any problems with it whatsoever. Sure, they all have guns, but they are for home defense, shooting groundhogs and other vermin, etc. In other words, they’re sane people in which guns are part of the cultural tradition but remain a tool, and not a penis extension or political statement.
I’m off to bed, as 7 am rolls around pretty soon. The only thing I really miss about drinking is the ability to remain in bed until 10-11 am on the weekend.
Belafon
Have three kids. Once they get too old to want to come wake you up, you will cherish sleeping in, especially if the only quiet time is after everyone else is asleep.
aangus
120 paces a minute gave the Grande Armee the advantage.
I highly recommend it. :)
wasabi gasp
I wanna break down your regions all ways, always.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Axttlq5E8is
aangus
Oh, yes, tonight’s ear worm.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_12IyhedQs
Punchy
Do you still teach for that college?
hilzoy
What kind of Fitbit? (One, Flex …)
Mnemosyne
Just be careful that your tendency to take a good thing too far doesn’t lead you to screw up your knees or something. My friend in recovery watched me with my FitBit and decided it wasn’t for her, because she knew her first thought at reaching 10,000 steps would be, I could totally do 12,000. Or 20,000. Heck, it’s only midnight, I can totally get another 5,000 steps in before I have to go to bed.
Pick a daily goal and stop when you get to it. Trust me, it will be better for your overall sanity.
Wag
Glad to hear about the fitbit. Mine is great. I don’t get as many steps at work as I wish I could, but make up for it on the weekends. Exercise can save you life. Keep up the excellent work!
Wag
And I think 10,000 per day is a great initial goal, and stretch it to 15,000 after 3 months
Jane2
@Mnemosyne: Agree. Don’t let it become another obsession. Some days you’ll do 4k, some days 15k. Pick your average and life will be fine…and it *will* keep you on track.
Mnemosyne
@Jane2:
We don’t want John to turn into David Sedaris. Just sayin’.
aangus
I’m 62 and can still go 10 km in about 100-110 minutes.
(Most days.) :)
max
And you know what? Everyone around here has rifles and pistols because this is farm country, and no one I know, even on the right side of the aisle politically, has any problems with it whatsoever. Sure, they all have guns, but they are for home defense, shooting groundhogs and other vermin, etc.
And you don’t need semi-automatic ‘tactical’ weapons to kill birds and deer and assorted varmints. Revolvers, shotguns and bolt-action weapons will handle all that, and really unfriendly people as well.
Won’t let you stage a replay of the Alamo from your double wide, but if you’re fortifying a double wide anyways, you are stupid and you’re going to die.
max
[‘Good God Almighty, this country’s main problem is nutbar racists worried about ‘zombies’.’]
aangus
@max:
Amen!
Violet
So Candy Crowley explained why John McCain will never get off our TVs:
They think he gives good TV. That is just sad.
Alison
@Violet: VERY sad. “He expresses his views quite clearly.” I guess it doesn’t matter that those views are stupid, cruel and wrong. GREAT STANDARDS. AWESOME JOURNALISM.
Hal
@Violet:
Sure. Then he does a complete 180 when those views aren’t working for him any longer (see immigration, DADT) and people like Crowley will never call him out.
scav
@Hal: Well, all the switches just fill up still more of the yawning gaps in 24/7, so all to the good! Plus, simplifies booking and scheduling to just have one infinitely flexible guy rather than wasting time chasing down new sources of good ideas.
Ruckus
@Alison:
This is TV. Speaking clearly while saying nothing is what it’s all about. Good presentation, who cares about the lousy content. After all TV gives us reality shows. Presentation, lousy content, low cost. What’s not to like?
Violet
@Alison: Today I was somewhere that had Fox News on. It was Greta van Susteren’s show. I came in when she had three women on the panel and all of them were discussing the “optics” of President Obama playing golf after making comments about the death of James Foley. What message it sends to ISIS, the American people, etc. I wasn’t really watching it but kept looking up at the TV from time to time. This segment went on for ages. Seriously, they dissected the “optics” of the President playing golf for like ten minutes.
At some point I glanced up and guess who was on the TV? That’s right! John McCain. The chyron under him said something like, “I’m proud ISIS called me their greatest enemy.” Okay then. Good Lord that man gets a hard on when people think he’s tough.
I rarely see Fox News so I don’t know what Greta van Susteren looks like normally. Her face is really weird looking. Did she have some botched plastic surgery or something? Her eyes are pulled way up and it makes her look kind of wild eyed and crazy. Maybe that’s how she’s always looked. Anyone know?
Roger Moore
@Ruckus:
I thought looking good was what it was all about. Or does that only apply to women?
Alison
@Violet: Even though MSNBC has its issues, I’m really grateful for shows like Rachel’s and Chris Hayes and MHP, because at least they have intelligent discussion, people who actually have important shit to say and would NEVER get asked on CNN or whatever, and they avoid bullshit sensationalism for the most part. Whereas Fox and CNN seem to thrive on it. Like, they couldn’t exist without bullshit, and that should be the OPPOSITE of true for news organizations.
Sorry. “News” organizations.
Ahem.
Violet
Anyone know anything about this?
aangus
@Violet:
Damn!
Live Free or Die means never having to say sorry.
Means that we will be up late a certain Tues. in Nov.
:P
wasabi gasp
Deolinda – Seja Agora
aangus
Testing, 1, 2, 3…..
Is anybody else here?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQ0zMDJKkbg
ETA: I stand corrected.
Ruckus
@Roger Moore:
Looking good is a bonus. And yes the women more so than the men, IMHO. And I’m not sure looking good means the same thing to TV that it used to.
aangus
@Ruckus:
Yup!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRSEp9z22lg
aangus
Sorry. You-Tube f^%ed up.
This is what should have posted.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzqGq6jiorg
aangus
F**k the ad, wait it out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPAmDULCVrU
Glidwrith
@max: I’ve heard somewhere that zombie is the racists new code word for a black person in the context of the ‘n’ word.
Yuck! And a short google search pulls up some hits. I am not going to stir that raw sewage this late at night. Good night.
Arclite
Walking 20K steps will let you sleep until 10AM the next day.
aangus
@Glidwrith:
Try this instead.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-QltfChgmY
Amir Khalid
@Glidwrith:
There’s never a shortage of that kind of ugly, alas.
Bill E Pilgrim
Even though I know it’s not what you meant, the image of people being attacked in their homes by groundhogs gave me a good laugh to start the day.
@Violet: Yes, he stays on script. Is basically what she’s saying. “We need someone to answer every foreign policy question with “Bomb somebody!” Who shall we get? Hey, I know!” Sad indeed.
FlyingToaster
@John Cole +0: Wimp Turkeys, dude.
Elmo
@Bill E Pilgrim:
You may laugh, but my wife was attacked and bitten by a groundhog in our backyard. The dogs were in the yard and everything, and it was the Honey Badger of groundhogs – it did NOT give a shit.
She managed to capture it because it wouldn’t stop coming after her, and get this – the rabies test was negative. No idea why it just lost its shit like that. Gave her a nasty bite right through blue jeans.
Ken
Are you sure they had feathers? In that one where they’re crossing the road, they look a lot like the Compsognathus from Jurassic Park.
Then again, http://xkcd.com/1211/ .
shelley
If this was November, woiuld all those motorists have been so merciful?
Annamal
One of the biggest cultural differences between the US and New Zealand seems to be the way guns are viewed, not that a lot of people don’t have them, farmers need them for stock and pest control and a lot of people hunt (one of my partner’s professors was shocked by how many of his masters/PHD students enjoyed hunting on the weekends) but they aren’t self defense weapons here (except just possibly in the ruralist of rural areas and even then not legally).
You legally have to have your guns in a secure safe and stored away from ammo and even the police don’t routinely go armed with guns.
It’s not the perfect society or anything but I would much rather live in a place where the average beat cop did not have the option of shooting first.
Comrade Mary
Well done on the walking, John! But as one seasoned human to another, I would advise taking it easy when ramping up the walking. I was covering 10-15k steps a day easily for a couple of weeks — and would have loved to do more — but then plantar fasciitis hit with a vengeance. I’m still getting physio. Grr. If your feet start complaining even a little bit, don’t tell them to shut up.