Every day's a holiday

He's a small (11.8 pounds) mix of a dog. Very sweet, obviously used to being in someone's lap. But he got away and was found on the road. He'll be in a good home soon as he's neutered. Not mine but a good one. He's got a whole Fu Manchu / Yoda thing going on.

I did not watch the Oscars.  Maybe I'll watch some of the Youtube version.  As in the past I did not like the winner.  I finally watched Parasite a year ago and thought it was an OK film.  A little disjointed and kind of pointless.   This year's winner was about the same.  More than a little disjointed and pointless.  I've yet to get through it.  I've watched over half and had to put it down. 

Sinners, on the other hand, was a really good move.  Actually it was half a dozen movies squashed together looking for a coherent plot.  Was it a vampire movie?  Was it a commentary on the KKK and being black in America?  Was it a love story?  Was it a movie about blues in the south?

The answer is yes.

It actually did all of those pretty well all in the same movie.  It would have been a lot nicer to have made three or so movies and split the plots off.  But it was more coherent and watchable than One drug addled battle after another drug addled pointless battle.

 I didn't see any of the others.  They were probably better.

Not great photos. Sixteen of the 22 we picked up. Maybe I'll be able to get more but I didn't want to disturb them too much. They were much more vocal yesterday when I took this. On the way down in the van they were all quiet and obviously terrified. Not so much now. They are beginning to get better. And noisier. Like dogs.



I went over to the shelter yesterday and did about four hours of intake assistance. Not exciting work since what they really need is to be sure the paperwork, all the computer entry, is done so they can get the dogs ready to be adversised and closer to adoption. But it is work I don't mind doing and it really makes such a difference for the staff who can focus on what they do working with the dogs. And I don't mind doing that kind of work. And I get to see the dogs all I want. I can always just go back and grab a dog and take them for a walk.

I thought that I'd be working on the Chihuahua intake forms but they had not even gotten to them yet. They had a different set of 9 puppies and a couple of adults that had come in the previous day. Entirely different but needed the processing documentation entered so I was doing that. It is an endless job. The staff is actually pretty amazing. They never seem to be overwhelmed.

On my journey to figure out what to do with the body that seems to accompany me everywhere I'm trying new things that ultimately result in being back to the basics of where I always knew I should be.

First was Noom, which I really liked.  It started my journey to go from 230 to 210.  That was a big deal.  No drugs to help, just knowledge.  Noom took me through much of what I already knew but it was like having a friend along to help.  A great program.  But I plateaued at 210 and could not break through that floor.

I should say that the govm't says I should be about 170 or so.  That would make me an emaciated beanpole and really unhealthy.

Last August I started taking HIMS version of GLP1.  And it obviously works.  Reduces food noise.  I lost another 25 pounds pretty quickly with only a couple of plateaus.  And I could easily have continued to 175 or lower.  But my skin was hanging off me, my right knee joint felt like it needed to be replaced and I could not move well.  My pickleball was desultory.  I just was not being athletic.

So I had a talk with ChatGPT.  The upshot of that several hours of discussion was that it was time to get off the weight watch and get on the muscle growth.  Ultimately ChatGPT convinced me that I needed to stay under 190 but other than that don't worry about the weight.  But I need to reduce my belly button girth from 42 to 38 or less and the only way to do that is through resistance training.  Build up muscle bulk.

I had an A1C test about that same time that indicated mine was high but it has been hight for most of my adult life so no panic.  BUT more muscle bulk will help control it.  

After Noom ran out (it lasted a year and then kind of fizzled) I tried a couple of different food tracking apps and finally found on that is simple, both web and phone based, and can shoot PLU codes making food recording so easy.

My protein was about half what it should be and I needed to do some strength training, resistance training.

About that time I found a guy in England that I follow online by the name of Will Harlow.  He's a physio exercise guru for seniors.  His site, for which I pay $550 a year or so, has videos during which he does the day's routine with you in its entirety.  Just like having a personal trainer.  It is an excellent system and I'm a month into it with huge differences in the way I move and feel for about 20 minutes focus a day.

I now start and end my day with protein.  I've got huge vats of whey protein (a brand specifically selected by ChatGPT) that I drink in the morning and once or twice during the day.  I eat yogurt with granola and chia seed in it and focus on protein any other time I eat.  If I really work at it I can hit the daily goal but it takes a lot.  

So exercises that are really not too arduous and maximize protein.  Nothing earthshattering, nothing new, nothing I should not have been doing all along.  But at 72 it is different.  I'm not going to be a muscle man but I am going to be able to get out of my seat without using my hands, get up and down from the floor easily, play pickleball with some athleticism for six hours a week without getting tired.  Basically stuff I should be able to do, have done before, and now I'm doing it again.

And I started spacing out my GLP1.  Instead of every 7 days I'm taking it every 8 days.  As long as my weight stays close to there it should be I'll keep that up and then move it to 9 days.  I still track everything I eat so I'll know immediately if things aren't right and move the dose frequency back to where it was.  But I don't want to be on the drug forever.

All in all it is an interesting experiment.  GLP1 and an AI helped me figure it out.  

Such an interesting time we live in.

Turns out that my sister @susandennis, mentioned being offered a pay gig just shortly after I was offered one. Hers was customer service, mine consulting. Hers, likely many customers. Mine is only one.

My friendly bookkeeper with whom I network monthly and who I've known for 15 years or so is making some changes and wants to see if she can streamline with AI. So she asked me to help and wants to pay me. I had no idea what she wants to pay but she seemed to think that I was not going to ask for enough. So I went through ChatGPT and had a discussion and my value is around $150/hour so I'm going with a version of that. At least for the first part of the set up. Block of a project with a $2k flat rate. It will likely involve more than the 13 hours but it will be fun for me and likely a one off. And they are good people to work with.

But if the first project is successful it may grow into much more. I suspect that if I can wrap my mind around the processes I can save them a lot more than they are paying me. All the time having fun.

The way it should be.

Other than that things are fine and dandy. I've got an open day that I've turned into a bit of consulting study and getting my car inspected so I can register it.

And today is Toby's 9th birthday:



We celebrated by taking him to the vet for annual shots. He was not amused.

"a preplanned and unprovoked act of armed aggression against a sovereign and independent UN member state."

Hmmmmm  ..  who could that be?

 I feel sorry for The Onion trying every day to find something ironic.  They have to compete with all the other papers.

Beaux does not like the cold.

I don't think I look like it but as of this morning I'm at 185 pounds, down from 230. That's a lot of stones. I've got ten more or so to go. A couple of weeks ago I was stuck at 190 and then the floor just dropped. I'm not consciously eating less and there is certainly a bit of junk food, mostly chocolate and cinnamon rolls, mixed in with the not quite enough protein. So, far from perfect. But still effective.

Two weeks ago I signed on with a company, Lifelong Mobility, a British guy with a small staff and a good, senior directed program. It does make a difference and will continue to do so if I keep it up. I've paid a bunch for a year and, like pickleball, need to get my moneys worth. And it is fun to do it with an English accent.

We voted today in the Democratic primaries. Pretty much an exercise in futility. We'll do better this November but I doubt will make any real headway. Still, it is an easy thing to do and the price is right.

Today is chilly but one only has to look at the forecast where my son lives, in Taunton, MA, to feel better. One to Two feet... FEET.. of snow. Fuck me. I've already turned the ceiling fans back on it was so warm yesterday. It's going to be 82 next Wednesday afternoon. The plants are sprouting. Spring is nearly sprung.

First day of MLS soccer season is today. So far we're undefeated. I can enjoy that until about 7:30 tonight. We're ranked solidly in the middle of the pack in our division with a pile of naysayers. And that is our supporters. I've paid for the year on Apple TV and will mostly enjoy it regardless.

I just did a bad thing. Looked forward in my calendar and saw Zoe's birthday. The Ides of March she would have been 16. It is something I compartmentalize and have now deleted from the future. But it is a bit of a punch in the gut:

Just another afternoon.

To be a dog. Beaux knows how to do it