Back To It

It was great! I'm back from Christmas vacation... and our usual yearly family reunion in Florida. It was wonderful.

I'm not yet back to work. I am catching up at home instead. I have lots to do. Today was maintenance and new tires for the van, which continues tomorrow with the other vehicles. Cleaning out the home office and carpet shampooing come next in a long list.

Time is my most precious commodity. Some things just get serviced once a year, like family or carpet. I do better with higher priority items or persons. It's a choice, but everything has a priority associated with it... think of a toe tag with a number. Time is limited and I do what I can with what I've got.

However, strength and endurance training is a high priority... and done daily.

It's about rhythm.

Yes, I am obsessive compulsive, but I have order... and I enjoy life.


-copyright 2013 by Willy.

Santa Has Left

Santa has left the building and a new year is upon us. They go fast.

How did I do this year, Santa?

It was a year of accommodation and accomplishment. The flexible survive a hurricane whereas the strong don't. To a good controls engineer, life is about accommodating change.

I hurt my shoulder and thus my muscles suffered, but I did more hiking instead.

A complication at work demanded more management oversight and thus a bigger staff to compensate.

Yet another good friend offered the social graces and I accepted this variation from my solitude. Being the basic model engineer, I will be forever working on this, but have thoroughly enjoyed her as well as her cadre of friends and varied activities.

What will I do next year, Santa?

Thanks to her recent feedback, i will correct a mistake in my relationship with my friend. I went too far in accommodating her: I will stand my ground and give her a good example of diet and exercise, instead of accommodating the seducing darkness.

I will continue to be tough with myself, especially in diet, strength and endurance.

I will accommodate people, but with better judgement.

I will still take quality over quantity.

My goal is to be a tough man. Old just happens.

And I will stay on rhythm.

See you soon enough, Santa. Happy new year!


-copyright 2013 by Willy.

The Holidays!

Relaxing for the holidays? Does it mean guaranteed increased caloric intake and thus weight gain? Less free time due to socializing? Reduced training? More bah humbug?

Well, yeah...

It's tough to find time to squeeze a few sets in or do a few miles if I'm busy with family and friends. In addition, most socializing is done over food... and rich food, too.

On the other hand, socializing helps my soul if not my body.

A solution is to be aware of the need to get away from family and go do something. When I am away, I walk or bicycle... or find a gym. These breaks from the family are refreshing to both me and the family, who feel that they need to entertain me.

It's a good trade.

It's staying on rhythm with theme and variations.

Happy holidays, and merry Christmas.

P.S., stay close to the wall when opening presents or you'll fall into the lion's pit... but that's for another blog.


-copyright 2013 by Willy.

Thanks

She set a beautiful table. Breathtaking, even. Fine china, delicate glasses and napkins rings. I was amazed.

The food was terrific, and so was people and conversation: "For food to nourish the body and conversation to enrich the soul, we are truly thankful. Amen." I said, from deep inside.

This Thanksgiving was many orders of magnitude above my usual turkey TV dinner with half bottle of wine.

Thank you.

Today, however, is extra-cardio day to compensate... "por cada gustazo, un trancazo." I'm on the treadmill.

(For discussion of compensation, see blogs tagged Control.)


- copyright 2013 by Willy.

Why?

My workout buddy of 22 years looked at me strangely and asked "Why, then?"

I pumped out a rep and said "Not to look good. For function!" And I, in turn, looked at him funny. Like... dah!

We were discussing me going to a charity ball in a tux and that led to... talk of looking good.

We have had similar conversations before, I reminded him of function over form... "I don't want to look good... it would bring too much temptation... but I want to be able to press a car out of me if I need to." I don't need to impress anybody. Looking plain but having the strength and endurance of an athlete is what it's about.

I am a mild mannered engineer during the day, but I am an athlete the rest of the time.



I hike more miles under adverse conditions than anybody I know... even on a dark, rainy and cold winter evening. I'm not good-looking, I'm tough... and I enjoy it.


- copyright 2013 by Willy.

Fantasy Vs. Reality

When reverence, faith or love enters the picture, rationality goes out the window. We find another's behavior adorable or put up when loved ones treat us poorly. This is true of a person, a political party or a football team. They appear to be capable of doing no wrong. For someone with objectivity looking in, it appears puzzling at best and intolerable at worst.

This is reality distortion.

We all have it. We live our fantasy. It may be that we think we are indispensable, like I do. That your lover cares. That you're not fat. Or that there will be a tomorrow, like voters do.

The solution? Monks have been trying to control their thoughts for centuries. Think, Willy! Get rid of those clouds in your head, and think clearly.

- copyright 2013 by Willy

Incognito

"Act with kindness but don't expect gratitude." -Confucius.

Why do we do what we do? For emotional reasons, of course. Logical or rational thinking is trampled by emotion, every time. In an interaction with another, emotional thinking is difficult to accept from both perspectives: from the giving and from the receiving. We get disgusted with ourselves, and we also don't trust the other.

It messes with your head.

The solution? We should do everything with kindness. We should do things for others without an ulterior motive.

Kindness is done best when it is felt but not attributed. When the receiver does not know the source, it is then true and unselfish goodness.... expecting nothing back.

"There is no limit to the amount of good you can do if you don't care who gets the credit." - Ronald Reagan.

Leave protein shakes and bananas for others at the gym. Clean the sink and toilet at gym and work. Rack the weights. Leave hockey tickets out. Make like Santa. It's about the small things.

"The best leave no track." - Willy.

- copyright 2013 by Willy.

Afraid of Shadows

It does bug me that life has become a TV daytime soap opera. The same never-ending drama, day in and day out, year in and year out. Somebody cattle-prodding us to jump through hoops, increasing anxiety to the point where sleep is difficult. The uncertainty is making us be afraid of shadows.

The last time government closed, about twenty years ago, I cashed in frequent flyer miles and went on the best vacation of my life. This time I do not have the confidence to go off. This one is different. This time it is much worse.

God, help us all.


- copyright 2013 by Willy.

I'm Baack

Yes, it's been a while since I posted. It's been one thing after another. From unsuccessful shoulder surgery to the busy end of the Fiscal Year, with a spectrum in-between. I am having fun with friends, regardless... just went to the beach and the National Naval Air museum, again.

This year-end is unusually busy due to the earlier furloughs (off every Friday) getting us behind in our work. Then the sequestration cutbacks' uncertainty made the program offices hold their money until year-end... at which point they had to send funds for work needed before the funds expired. Add to that the actual, real and regular work, as well as more task management, increased demands from supporting elements, delivery of reports, and, of course, next-FY planning with budget funds request. It's been very busy.

Last September, I brought down an old hiker guy off a mile-high Appalachian mountain. The 70-year-old had stability problems and was falling down backwards. I side-hugged him and locked-stepped him down in 6 1/2 hours. Not a smart thing to have done, in hindsight... should have called the rescue squad instead like we did this year on another old coot, because I only have one shoulder left.

Then, following that, in October, I got a virus/bacteria that required a double-dose of Prednisone steroid. It made me feel so good that I pressed more weight for more reps... like a young man. Not a smart thing to do either.

The shoulder hurt: Changing the car radio station hurt. Reaching for the glovebox was very painful. Grabbing something from the back seat was excruciating. I tried months of rest, ice, chiropractor, massage and etc.

The orthopedist did arthroscopic surgery... Resulting in lots of pain, complications, therapy and recovery... all for nothing, because the pain is still there. The orthopedist wanted to operate again and I understood what he wanted to do as deboning chicken, so I fired him, his physical therapist and the horse they rode in on.

I had kept up my hiking and riding. Am back to the gym, taking it easy and doing OK but avoiding overhead shoulder movements. Am doing my own therapy, trying different things out to see what works. My doctor wants me to go get a second opinion from another orthopedist.

My plan is to give it time to heal. It takes a while... everything takes a while to get over, physical or mental, so wish me luck and patience. In the meantime, I'm enjoying life and good friends.

I've been busy.


- copyright 2013 by Willy.

Why I Train, II

Yes, that's a grandbaby in that backpack.

OK, I've had a great Summer already. A week bonding with my son,  another week bonding with my daughter, and months of having fun with a young old friend.

Did a week hiking Colorado mountains with the daughter's family. It was especially nice to backpack the 1-year-old up Class 2 trails... straight up. I trained at home on long hikes carrying 30 pounds of lead weights.

The son and I upgraded my TV to a big full-smart model with keyboard and streaming (to replace my 22-year-old tube)... and new WiFi and recliners too... while that grandkid went to camp. So... this wasn't really what I trained for, but I need a place to crash after the training, no?

A great Summer already... and, now we have sequestration furloughs: I'm off every Friday until October. More outdoors and time with good friends... it can't get better than this!


- © 2013 by Willy

Tough Vs. Rugged

I made a decision a long while back that I wanted to grow up to be a tough old man. The old is easy, but the tough... is tough.

But, what is tough? What does it mean? Did I choose the right word to describe what I wanted to be? Did I mean rugged instead?

Tough is strong but flexible and not brittle. Not easily chewed. Characterized by uncompromising determination. Capable of enduring hardship and strain. Hard to influence. Just... hard. Tough is hiking 15 miles without water, which I do.

Rugged is shaggy, hairy, jagged, turbulent and stormy, with wrinkles and furrows. Weathered. Strong. Sturdy. Austere. Stern. Coarse. Having ability, stamina or resolution. Just... rough. Rugged is two weeks worth of stubble while ridding on a horse... like The Marlborough Man, a young lady friend tells me.



Rugged seems outward appearance whereas tough is deep inside... like character.

Me, always thinking function over form, easily chooses tough over rugged... while borrowing a couple of qualities, like strong, sturdy and austere... and understand that rugged does correlate somewhat with tough.

What I am, and how ruggedly old I look, are my real trophies in life.

I accept this comfortably.

I want to be a tough man, discipline, diet and exercise will take me there. And it will happen before I know it.


- copyright 2013 by Willy

Power Vs. Energy

Our houses are connected to the utility company. We used to call it the power company, which was aptly named. They had the power and we drew their power and paid for it in units of time. If we plugged in a coffee pot that drew drew a killowatt and it took a half an hour to perk the coffee, we used a half-kilowat-hour, a term of energy for which we paid at the end of the month. Power times time used equals energy.


The same is true in engineering. A super-capacitor can quickly discharge large amounts of power for discharging a laser but a lithium battery slowly powers cell phones for hours if not days.

In the same way, athletes have developed power-ful muscles and have power to use when running, bicycling and swimming. If they last a couple of hours, they have generated energy from their power (have done work). But athletes specifically train for either short bursts of high power (powerlifting, for which they look huge but can hardly walk) or long low-power endurance races (for which they look like skinny runts). Seldom do you see a muscular athlete doing cardio (they'd get small), or a racer lifting (too much mass to carry).

Which way is healthiest: Both. An athlete lacking power means brittle bones, and an athlete lacking endurance means heart attacks. In this age of specialization, we should worry about the quality of life rather than trophies and T-shirts.

- © 2013 by Willy

From The Noise

There is an awful lot of junk, stuff or noise out there. When watching TV, we are bombarded by ads; when driving we get the signs and billboards; when dealing with people, we deal with fakes and lies; and when reading an article or book, we read biases and opinion... when all we want to do is find content.

In dieting, we have junk food where we really should be taking in protein and high-grade carbs. In exercise, we have throw-away miles where we should be getting effective use of our time. Where's the beef?



In engineering, we call this finding the signal amidst the noise, and it's a rather difficult task. Noise makes up most of our world, by far. So much, that sometimes we can't find the signal... we have too many choices.

The real solution is an iterative one. You have to know what the signal looks like before you can recognize it, and thus many "looks" are postulated, and extraction attempted, before success can happen. We need to know what the signal looks like. We need to know the form of the answer before we can get the answer. We need to know what we need before we need it. Yes, it seems like double-talk, but it's true.

Not only that, but it is human to see something false out of the noise if we lack control. People want to react to the situation we're out of control in. This explains why TV is so effective. People feel out of control and TV talking heads helps them make sense of it, even if it's a false understanding and thus... brainwashing.

In the health and fitness area, it's about what motivation works for diet and exercise. I have found that silly goals are much better than logical goals... because silly goals are emotional and logical goals are not. We respond to emotional goals much better than common-sense goals. My current goal to trim down fat is to enter a bodybuilding contest (for which I have to show my abs). Amidst numerous logical reasons (noise) like heart attacks, blood pressure and diabetes, the possibility of embarrassment in a bodybuilding contest (signal) is working well for me.

Change your thoughts and you change your world.

- © 2013 by Willy

Correlations

A good engineer analyzes and correlates... that's what we do. And when we do, funny things come up.

When engineers discuss correlation, we ask how alike are two things or variables. In a plot of two variables like age and wisdom, we expect positive correlation. For other variables, like beauty and niceness, we expect no or negative correlation (as example, look at movie actors and actresses and their behavior).

Somewhat unfortunately (1) every thing or variable is related to every other thing or variable... not just one or two, and (2) emotions and biases mess up our analysis.

It is truly wonderful to find kind and nice people. I know a few of them... just ran into one of them. They are exceptional. They make the world right for me. What is even better is that they are also athletes... for whatever reason, athletes seem to be correlated to beauty and niceness. Or maybe it's me... I do not tolerate fools, I do not really like fat people, and I think sweat is the best makeup.

- text © 2013 by Willy

Why I Hike In The Rain

My daughter and I have a yearly ritual. We get together every summer for a backpacking trip. It's a week or two, sometimes the A.T., sometimes others, but usually remote and usually by ourselves. I enjoy these bonding times. A few years ago, we hiked the White Mountains of New Hampshire. We bought plane tickets and secured reservations ahead of time... we paid for it. When the time came, it was rain, rain and more rain... but we executed the plan. In other occasions, we've hiked in extreme heat, extreme cold, and extreme fatigue.

What this pointed out to me is that I must train accordingly, in all conditions. Especially if I'm to be a tough old man... one of my goals in life.

So, when bad storms come locally, and it's either on my after-work hike day or on the weekend... I hike. I hike by myself (I do not want to risk others). I hike in parka... wet, cold and all. I just do it. No excuses. The storms add excitement to my little adventure. My kind of excitement.

And at the end, I have a terrific feeling of accomplishment and increased self-esteem... I feel smug all over.


- text © 2013 by Willy

What's Missing?

Cardio afternoons at the gym begin on the elliptic, with load and ramp at medium. The mp3 plays on and breathing and pace match the audio, which increases in tempo. I warm up, struggling and fighting the machine until something magic happens... it all comes together... I relax, my shoulders drop, everything synchronizes and the struggle is no more. I then increase the load and ramp to up the heartbeat and maintain the effort. I smile. As long as I relax and maintain that magic meditative state, the effort is easy. I keep this up for a couple of hours.

The same is true in life. After the preparation but in the various struggles, there comes a time to meditate and expect that magic moment... the inspiration. I understand what the other wants and I accept it. Everything synchronizes and I smile. Life is good.

Try it... find that magic moment for yourself... find what's missing.



- text © 2013 by Willy

Why I Train

My old friend Jim is an eclectic kind of fellow... an engineer that carves and paints, but also canoes and hikes. Like me, he loves the outdoors.



Jim took me bushwalking this weekend at a national wilderness... off-trail, over downed trees, rock climbing up waterfalls, through briars, stepping across boulders and walking on logs across creeks. I thought I was in good shape but this was tough. We only did 11 miles in 8 hours.

This wilderness was new to me, so there was a rich bounty of photographic subjects... of moments to capture. What a great place... what a great life. This is why I train.

- © 2013 by Willy

Old Friends

Old friend Amanda and I were having coffee yesterday, discussing various old age topics.

"I don't want to be a nuisance to anybody." I said.

"Well, it's too late for that!" she said.

"Haaa jaaa heee jeeeee!" we both roared, and kept on going like this for an hour or two.



Time flies, and regular coffee meetings with various old friends has become commonplace and very much something to look forward to. I'm sure we discuss the same topics, maybe even use the same jokes, and we always have fun. They are like a ray of sunshine.

And as healthy as regular cardio.


- © 2013 by Willy

Evil Happens

Why does evil happen? God, in perfect love, allows us the chance to do the right thing, or the wrong thing. Just giving us the opportunity does not mean God creates evil. But God allows the possibility of evil. And some choose to follow the wrong path. Such is life. Evil happens. I choose The Father, who guides me with a soft hand an an easy touch. Those evil people can go to hell.

The evil also make the wrong choice on health and fitness... living a rough life which eventuality results in bad quality and quantity, and thus getting to hell faster.

- text © 2013 by Willy

The Real Thing

Compared to a hike, doing cardio at the gym is like masturbating... we get the same result but with a very different feeling. In a hike, we get intimate with nature... we are provided nature's ample bosom.

The gym has shock, but nature has awe.

Besides the better feeling, nature fully satisfies all the senses. There is little better than standing on a sunny peak, enjoying the view, feeling the wind, having smelled the wildflowers, hearing only yourself pant, and tasting the accomplishment. Enjoy!

- © 2013 by Willy

Humbled!

I have been humbled by a Wii... the type with a floor pedestal for exercising. My toes were hanging out in front due to my big feet, but this gadget seems to sense weight in four places... front and heel of each foot... while an exercise program runs, which measures and exercises balance.

Right off the Wii insulted me when it created an avitar based upon asked height and its measured weight...  and my avitar was overweight.

I tried several different exercises like step, bike, and hula... and some of them were hard enough to make me break out in a sweat. I wasn't good at it at all and it gave me an age based upon my performance... which was right!  Heavens, I do not act my age as far as fitness goes, so it was a total insult. Margaret, the Wii's young lady owner was gracious enough not to laugh, but I'm sure that I was entertaining with my ineptness. I note that the gadget told HER that she was twenty years younger... she is good.

So, what did I learn from this? One lesson is that I have to get better at balance, so I'm back to not grabbing the elliptical... I've been lazy about that.  The second lesson? Quit playing Wii, of course.

- © 2013 by Willy

We Built This City On...

Step class was peaking when that song played. "We built this city on rock and roll," went the harmony, on and on. Of course, it could have been rocket motors, breakfast cereal or sunshine. What is interesting is the possessive tense: We... with the cooperation of many.

I built this body, or is it that we build this body? Even as fiercely independent and proactive as I am, I have had lots of help from trainers, instructors, gyms, bicycles, shoes, God, McDonald's and Taco Bell... you name it. I spend far more time at gym, saddle and trail than waking time at home. I feel pretty needy sometimes. Whenever I need help with that last heavy press in the last set, I think of what my ex-wife did to me... and that takes the barbell home. So, even my ex helps me... if you call it that.  ;-)

- © 2013 by Willy

Are Engineers Autistic?

Well, yeah! Of course. All the good ones.

I have many times stated that I have the recipe to make an engineer, even mass produce them like pies. Just like an apple pie is made with apples on a crust, engineers are a cup each of Autism or Asperger, social awkwardness or extreme shyness, obsessive compulsiveness, attention deficit, hyperactivity, obsession, solitude, logic, causality, math, physics, and science... all mixed well and wrapped tight. Engineers are about machines and code. To an engineer, a strange object is to be understood, has many functions and possibilities, and brings fun.

Engineers always have paper and pen to write down their concepts for contemplation and tasks for execution. Properly channeled, hyperactivity is good. Engineers think in fast-changing concepts and fast moving 3D pictures, not slow words. When they do think of words, the words come in fast strings with numbers attached in correlated sequence and patterns. They crave information, and they observe... noticing not only detail but also the integrated large picture of how things fit and work. Engineers own many machines of varying types and a toolbox of code. Properly channeled, obsession is good. An engineer will obsess about diet and exercise when he sees the need for health and fitness. Engineers make like machines, and they don't miss a workout.

Engineers see solvable technical challenges but impossible people problems.

Engineers do not know how to relate to people other than themselves. They would rather be alone. Their heroes are Spock, Einstein and Asimov, not Hollywood nor NFL. They can't read others' feelings because feelings make no sense and get in the way. Music is for cardio pacing or mood therapy. Young engineers wonder what the heck others did in High School, and how could anybody ever get bored (the answer is that some flks wasted High School just talking). It is difficult for an engineer to start a gym class in step or yoga, or any non-engineering class. Engineers tolerate but don't like to go to movie theaters or anywhere people congregate but instead like the broad-spectrum of machines and their museums. A manager controlling an engineer makes the engineer bust a mental gut. To an engineer, a strange person is suspect, has few functions, negative possibilities, and brings nothing but trouble.

Engineers are mostly born from that recipe at birth, but may flounder until they figure it out. Borderline nerds and geeks have to be revealed to become engineers. What throws them over the edge is typically social in nature... the bullying; boys and girls making fun of them, tricking them and taking advantage; girls breaking their heart; and their families not understanding them nor supporting their views. Engineers ferl the people they love let them down... just the way everybody else feels. 

However, I stand corrected. It may be that the Autism portion of the engineer recipe is a cup and a half. It was pointed out to me that Cambridge's Autism Research Centre had created the Autism-Spectrum Quotient, or AQ, as a measure of the extent of autistic traits in adults... their 50 questions read exactly like what makes a good engineer. How funny is that! The test is at http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/aqtest.html

And that's my opinion, my observation, and my life.


- © 2013 by Willy

Kindness

Life can be tough and is often broken.

Kindness is welcomed in all parts of life... especially in health and fitness, where by far the most important component is mental. A stress filled life is not a healthy life and kindness is the best there is against stress. There are some stresses in life that are unavoidable... usually people. But this can be mitigated... usually by other people's kindness plus some steadfast thinking (like a resolution to outlast the stressor). That kind word, received or given, makes a huge difference in tolerating stress, sleeping better and being healthier. It's an attitude: Do it with kindness... it's not what you do but how you do it. I thank all those who have been kind to me... maybe somebody in yoga who said a word here and there... and hope I return kindness back.

- © 2013 by Willy

The Resolutions

"Does this work like the other one?" I heard the young husband ask his wife, pointing to the treadmill next to me at the gym. In front of me, a white haired old man was sweating heavily on the elliptic. Another White Hair was next to him, briefly standing on the pedals on a bike. A younger honey was running at the end. All these people were new. Last Saturday's step class was full... every step was taken. The gym has been full of new faces and new bodies: The Resolutions are here. Good for them. They give me a smile. I hope they stay, but few do. They are usually gone by March.

Every one of us has his or her own fitness level, and it does not matter what it is as long as we're trying, as long as we're exercising. Of course, this thinking will not win any races, but over-training days are over for me. I'm in the "don't risk injury" stage of life, or maybe it's "lift today so as to lift tomorrow" stage. I suspect that injuries are a big reason why most Resolutions drop out.

Another contribution to the dropout rate is boredom. To fight that, we use an mp3 player, watch TV, take classes, and hike and bike outside. Also, change exercises, machines or profiles fairly often.

Resolutions often ask how much exercise will show results. I have seen studies that say 10 minutes will do it (it's better than nothing). I don't believe in a minimum but rather a maximum: I exercise as much as I can, just not at a high intensity. Google this.

Again, self-motivation is key. A good alternative is classes but it's best to have a partner... or even a coach or personal trainer. Some of us need a strong hand.

Everyone is different. Be different and find your own level. Hike your own hike. Live your own life.


- © 2013 by Willy

A Smile to My Face

Q: "What makes life worth it?" A:"Anything that brings a smile to my face!"

If I ever make it to old age, it will be because of the smiles. Sure, there's motherhood and apple pie, family and friends, truly nice/beautiful people, the splendor of nature, the physics of detail, and so on. All of that matters... but number one is just good laughing-out-loud kind of fun smiles. My favorites are (1) Slapstick, as in the Pink Panther and Home Alone movie series, and (2) Silliness, like in absurdity... which is everywhere. I've got to laugh at political theater, among others (What? Do politicians really think we buy their drama?). Given a choice on what to watch on TV, I choose comedy... but with news a close second. The way I laugh at the news, somebody will surely take me away sometime. News has the silliest content ever. I choose to laugh until my belly hurts.

One item in the news today made me smile in a different way. Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, is getting absolutely swamped with mail. Floor to ceiling, semi truck loads... of handmade snowflakes, sympathy cards, favorite football cards and piggybank money. "It's awesome," said the PTA president. "From children, just like us," said a local child at the recent tragedy. "That much love multiplied this many times," said the narrator. It made me smile all over.

My new year's resolution is to smile more... every which way.

- © 2013 by Willy