Update Update

[Chuck Jackson]

I'm a tuba player. Do you expect me to follow all of that?

I swear, the only thing in that cup was coffee, Ray.

Chuck"we don't need no stinking relevance"Jackson

[TubaRay]

I'm a tuba player. Do you expect me to follow all of that?

I swear, the only thing in that cup was coffee, Ray.

Chuck"we don't need no stinking relevance"Jackson

Perhaps that was the problem, Chuck.

[Chuck Jackson]

I've been deleting and re-posting this post every 3.2 microseconds for the past seven hours.

Sounds like someone needs a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG vacation. Now Joe, I want you to go with the men in the white coats. They say they'll take you to York #3 and you can play it as LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG as you like.

Chuck"who actually believes Joe is doing this"Jackson

[tbn.al]

You know you could be outside communing with nature, cutting the grass or some other worthwhile pursuit instead of sitting in front of the computer like the rest of us.

[sousaphone68]

Exciting news for my daughter today she has been offered a college place based on her audition and interview.

[TubaRay]

Either a tuba is "like new" or it has "a few dents and scratches."
It can't be both.

This would seem to be obvious. Of course, how often are descriptions entirely accurate? They tend to include a bit of a "spin."

[Tom]

Either a tuba is "like new" or it has "a few dents and scratches."

It can't be both.

So I can throw a new tuba off a building and call it "like new" when it lands?

Only if those minor dents it will likely incur don't affect the sound.

[emcallaway]

The issue here is probably that there are many different interpretations of the word "like" in "like new". It turns out that many people have very flexible understandings of English if it helps them make a few bucks.

[MartyNeilan]

I got to talking to one of the guys after work today about all the highfalutin burger joints in this town. Most of which I either couldn't afford or wouldn't be caught dead in (since I am not one of the "skinny trendy people.")
On the way home, I decided to do my own thing instead, and they came out as good as any I ever had anywhere. All ingredients were from Aldi or the garden and cooked on the stovetop - I don't have a grill.
5 oz burgers, 1/2 lean ground beef 1/2 ground turkey with steak seasoning mixed in.
Grilled onion on the bottom, Monterey Jack melted on top.
Toasted whole wheat bun with lettuce and tomato, ketchup and mustard, and sliced banana peppers.

Served with potatoes (w/skins) and onions sliced and pan fried in olive oil.

Had a handful of roasted peanuts while I was thawing the meat, and a few grapes afterwards for "dessert."

Good stuff. Very good stuff, and I didn't have guilt pangs afterwards when I would have otherwise gotten the check.

[bort]

A few years ago at a hot dog joint in Chicago, I saw a sign that rated their hot dogs as "NC-17." As in, no catsup unless you're under 17.

[Ken Herrick]

Ya gotta learn how to train your dragon!

[windshieldbug]

Ya gotta learn how to train your dragon!

[Dan Schultz]

' anyone doing low-carb...??

can't ****.gif

Where in the heck do you find all the strange Smilies and Emoticons?

[tbn.al]

Try here.

http://www.sherv.net/bathroom-emoticons.html" target="_blank

[Dan Schultz]

Try here.

http://www.sherv.net/bathroom-emoticons.html" target="_blank" target="_blank

Glad I didn't ask about any other functions normally kept private!

[Donn]

' anyone doing low-carb...??

Not me, I'm all about carbohydrates, but ... note that various aspects of human physiology depend on a balance of calcium and magnesium, and a shift in diet that favors calcium rich food might need more magnesium to go along with it. [edit] ... and potassium, that's also important for smooth operations.

Or, if it's the "paleo" thing ... note that modern hunter-gatherers don't eat steak all the time, they eat lots of grubs and stuff. Neanderthals were the big game specialists, our ancestors probably ate more like raccoons do. A big pot of grubs and collards would probably set things right in a hurry.

[Chuck Jackson]

Joe, I'm going off the reservation a bit here, so bear with me.

In 2008 I weighed 237 lbs. At 6'2" this wasn't an alarming weight, but I hated how I felt. At the Doctors today (at 53, I had to endure the "Let's check your prostate" portion. Scintillating) I weighed 195. I think losing weight, for me, has been about balance. I started eating breakfast everyday, Honey Nut Cheerios with Skim Milk. While carb heavy, for me it was a revelation. I wasn't hungry during the morning and at lunch(no snack breaks made Chuck a much more productive teacher), so I cut back what I was eating. Dinner is a balance of salads (I actually really like salads) and a lot of fish. Chicken makes an appearance, and red meat about once a month. I realized that I really wasn't into food all that much and it became fuel instead of a crutch. Low Carb, high protein, fish only, and all the others are meaningless diets unless they fit your bodies balance between input and outflow.

One thing I swear to is this: EAT AN APPLE EVERYDAY. Seriously, my bowel movements are regular and my general health is better. Again, this is just me, everyone's body is different. Two more things that have really helped is one, obviously, exercise. I loved to run while I was in the military and regained that love after dropping 20 lbs and walking 2-4 miles a day. A little running here and there morphed into a little walking here and there. Let you body be your guide.

The next one is going to sound silly: Take care of your teeth. Get them cleaned 4 times a year, floss twice a day, get the cavities filled, the crowns put on, the root canal done. When I decided it was folly to try to continue to play with my FD, the first thing I did when I sold my horns was have extensive dental work done. Since then, I haven't had a cold or been ill. Your gums are the conduit for alot of bad ju-ju, so taking care of your teeth is imperative to good health.

I know most of this sounds self-serving, and to a certain extent it is. Donn's advice is spot on as are his descriptors, but I'd trade the grubs for a big bowl of Edamame (soy beans in the pod, huge on protein and good for the digestive track) and have a big salad with Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar as a dressing. I am a hypocrite though: I smoke a pack of cigarettes a day and drink coffee and Diet Coke almost non-stop. We do those things that give us solace I guess. Some advice I learned in the military: If you want to weigh 185 lbs, keep your caloric intake at a balanced 1850 calories a day. Again, balance is the key.

I wish you continued luck on your weight loss. You will find your balance. In the meantime, instead of counting calories, count your sodium intake(have your well water assayed, you might be amazed at the chemical content). Sodium will suck the water out of you, hence making it "hard" to poop.The pay-off is possibly seeing your great-grandchildren while standing on your own two feet.

Chuck"Who thinks that the stereo-type of a fat tuba player is just that and not the truth of the matter"Jackson

[Donn]

Yes, obesity is looming large as a health problem in the US, probably has by now overtaken tobacco as a cause of death. And smoking rates have gone down fairly dramatically - which sure could raise the obesity rate. But not real significantly, because smoking isn't at all guaranteed to save you from obesity, and the smoking rates haven't gone down that dramatically. If everyone stopped, then yeah, you'd be looking for a much more significant effect -- but so what really? No one would encourage people to abuse amphetamines just to improve obesity statistics.

I'm with Chuck - on every count, I think, but starting with breakfast, I have a hunch that a daily, reasonably healthy breakfast would do more to combat obesity than smoking ever did, statistically. Not to mention the obvious stuff like walking, eating lighter and better, etc.

[Chuck Jackson]

Yes, obesity is looming large as a health problem in the US, probably has by now overtaken tobacco as a cause of death.

I teach high school. The disproportionate rate of fat kids is amazing, but, oddly enough, it is in the guys and not the girls. Instead of playing they sit in front of a computer/TV/Tablet/Smartphone and exercise their thumbs. It really kills me to see this trend as it bodes badly for the future.

As for smoking: It is a dirty, disgusting, habit that has its thrall on me. But the urge to smoke trumps the urge to quit every time. In my mind, that just makes me a weak individual and not a victim. My Doctor half jokingly said to me yesterday I should quit while I'm still healthy. I admit to the addiction and just have to decide to do it. Or not.

I sincerely hope that you get to your fighting trim, Joe. When it all balances out, it is a great feeling to get out of bed each day and not have some part of my body hurt.

Chuck

[bort]

On a somewhat related note... I've always thought "going to the gym" is a silly thing for humans to do. People only do that because they don't get enough *real* activity in their daily lives. Think about it -- how many people do hard manual labor (farmers, iron workers, etc.) develop their strength by working out at a gym, instead of by "doing." For example, my grandfather was a butcher, and he was an extremely strong man, and I'm sure he never went to a "gym" a day in his life. I sit at a computer all day long. I'm smart, but maybe 1/10 as physically strong as he was.