More thoughts on Renaissance Man Project / What I Learned Today..

Motivation:

"Success is the proper utilization of failure."
~unknown

Diary:
New results are in - and recorded on the sidebar. I have lost 25 pounds since Jan 1, and am feeling pretty good. I am sleeping better - not waking in the middle of the night - and overall am starting to see the shape of my body changing.

I am only 9lbs away from my first goal, so I should be able to do it in the next few weeks. Then I will get to reward myself, and set the next goal.

Picture of the day is my grocery shopping from yesterday. It is random, I know, but I have been trying to incorporate more media into my blog. More on this later.

Right now, I am up early as I have been thinking about all of the things on my to-do list that didn't get done yesterday. I am also watching outside to see if the snow-plow person is going to arrive soon. It snowed here all night, and there is a pretty good cover of snow over everything. I would like to be able to get out for church today, and the association where I live does hire a person to clear the snow from the roads and the public parking areas. It actually looks very nice outside right now. The snow has fallen and it is clear and white. Ready fr a group of snow angels...

My band had a show last night in Wisconsin, but with the forecasted snow-storm, I ditched the show. I feel kind of bad about it, as I may have let my band-mates down, however I have been sick this last week (bad sinus, sore throat and runny nose) and am just now getting over it. Because of this illness, I haven't had time at night to get the things done that I need to (general stuff - laundry, dishes, etc) and so on Saturday I was faced with a long long list of things to do - just to get to the real things that I wanted to do. I also didn't want to get stuck in a snowstorm - not that I am scared of doing this, just not right now. I have too much stuff on my list to get down to spend a night battling snowy roads.

So I feel a little guilty about the band thing - I would like to devote more time to learning the songs and practicing my skills - but right now it isn't working in my schedule. Perhaps, in the spirit of the Renaissance Man Project, I will add a category called "Fine Art" and make a point to hone my music skills at least once per week - in some form.

Notes:

I have a few 5K dates to inform you of. Here are the two that I am planning 0n entering:

• Sept 29th, Northfield, MN - St. Olaf College 5K walk/run
• Nov 23, Eau Claire MN - 5K Turkey Trot Walk/Run
  

I can't wait to get these 5Ks over with. I am curious to see how this works, and can overcome this major milestone in my development. Once this is done, I am planning on changing this blog a little, maybe adding the title "What I Learned Today" to better describe The Renaissance Man Project. I am planning to put together a podcast on this for sometime in the 2nd quarter of 2007, with some interviews of other people who have thought and acted upon concepts of what it means to be a Renaissance Man. I leave this thought here for now, as there is much more to say, but little time to say it without boring everyone.

Speaking of boring - let's review my list for this week.

#Diet#
I have been eating right and often. I have been drinking my water and using my supplements. For those who are interested, let me review the types of things I have every day.

• Omega EFAs - Essential Fatty Acids that come from fish - helps with body in many ways, including supporting normal healthy cell function, normal blood triglycerides and healthy blood flow, maintain joint mobility and promote normal brain function and concentration. I take one for every meal.
  
• Carb Blocker - to help control calorie absorption from sugar and carbohydrate-rich foods. I take one for every meal
  
• Daily Multivitamin - natural food based vitamins and minerals. I take one every day.
  
• Antioxidant - to help fight free radicals generated by smoke, pollution, and exercise. I take one a day (although it recommends 2, I haven't quite gotten there yet.)
  
• Stress Reducer - rhodiola rosea. I use this just before my vigorous workouts and on energy-filled days. I can tell a difference in my workouts if I take one.
• I have recently purchased a Siberian Gingko Biloba extract to try on days that I need a little help to keep going. I am planning on using this in situations where I feel I need a boost, similar to downing a Mountain Dew, for the caffeine or sugar high, but I think this will do a better job of keeping mental sharpness, without the crash that occurs with the caffeinated sodas..
• Along with my 3 meals, consisting of 1 protien, 2 vegetable, 1 fruit, 1 starch - specific starches, such as:
• Ak-mak Cracker
• Kavli
  
• Wasa
• 40 calorie bread
• All-Bran Cereal
• Kashi Go-Lean Cereal
• Brown Rice
• Sweet Potato
• that is about it...
  
• ... I also get (actually they are mandatory - I must eat them) two snacks per day. I have things like 'soy protein pretzels' and 'soy protein tomato soup mix' and 'soy protein vegetarian sloppy-joe mix'. My favorite so far of the choices I have is the bbq crunch stuff. I also can have protein bars, but I currently don't have any. I may get some later, after I have used the other items..
• My favorite new thing on this diet is that I have to drink lots of water - 80 oz a day - and I can put stuff in it. They have this energy drink that includes a lot of vitamins, and tastes like lime. I personally like the flavor of my old energy drinks better. Specifically Root Beer and Cranberry flavors, but these are ok. When I get to a certain point, I am going to switch back to my old favorites. One of the things both of these energy drinks have is lots of Vitamin B (3, 5, 6, 12) and this tends to help stabilize my mood, my overall energy level and helps battle my depression. That is a good thing. Another thing that helps stabilize my mood level is Alison Krauss - that was a random fact.

What I will be doing this week: I am putting a "before and after picturebook together" that will track my weight loss. Some of the pictures on the blog are included, but some others are in here as well. I will use this sometime, but more keep it as a motivation for myself.

#Exercise#
I have been working out on an elliptical machine at the basement at work. The office allows workers to use the workout room in the lower level, and they have a shower and locker area, so I can workout at noon, and be back to work in no time - without having to leave the building. If I am feeling down or lacking in energy, I take an upper - see my notes about stress reducers and energy above - and get at it.

I am starting to feel my 'second wind' and can feel the workout taking affect. This feeling hits me about 24 minutes into the workout, and lasts for about 15 minutes or so.

For the next week, I am planning on putting together the list of 5K training sites in the twin cities, and will put up a poll so that you can help vote for which site to use.

#Fine Art#
I mentioned earlier that I missed the SJM7 concert, partly due to the snowstorm, partly due to my cold/flu residue, and partly from just being tired and not wanting to leave the house.
I did purchase an accordion file to organize all of my music files, so I am at least getting organized. I also got a bunch of plastic sleeves and a couple binders , and alphabetically organized my sheet music, to help prevent me stumbling around clumsily during rehearsal, trying to find the songs. I hope this type of prep helps me - and just to let you know - it is this type of anal geeky prep-work that I think is a crucial part of being a Renaissance Man. I feel like Mr Monk (USA network character) when I am doing these things, but perhaps he is a Renaissance Man - minus the obsessive compulsive disorder.

#Geek#
Not sure how detailed to go into this section - this week has been a pretty "Nerdy" week, as I received a copy of Windows Vista, and am setting this up on my test machine. I am finding that my test machine has some issues, though, so I am unsure how far I will get.
What I have done:

• Installed Windows Vista on test machine
• Updated the ChazzVader Blog
• Added RSS Feeds
• Added email subscription
• Added media (images/video)
• Added link to podcast
• Added scripts for tracking
• Added Snap (hover over any link to preview the link it is going to)
  
• Downloaded some geeky podcasts for my iPod that speak to technology, electronic/computer gadgets, blogging and podcasting.
  
• Found a bunch of RSS feeds, websites, and user groups that deal with technology, gadgets, computers, blogging and podcasting.
• Found this article from TechRepublic that shows how to build a Vista-ready computer (and a sweet monitor) for people on a budget. Since I don't need all of the parts, I might even be able to spend less.
• Learned how to use Audacity to create my podcast
• Learned how to use FeedBurner
• Found two cool Mozilla Firefox add-ons. Sage and Foxmarks are becoming very valuable extensions for me. Now that I am used to it's interface and set the options the way I like them, I am using Firefox as my default browser. I used to use Microsoft IE all of the time, but made this change and I am pretty happy with it. (although I still do use IE for some sites, and to download MS Office Templates.)
  

So here are the items left on my geek list. If you would like more information on any of these items, please let me know:

• On Vita test machine:
• Install Sun J2EE Runtime environment - http://java.sun.com/javase/
• PHP 4.2.x or above - http://www.php.net
• MySQL 3.23.x or above - http://www.mysql.com
• Apache 1.13.19 or above - http://www.apache.org

I realize that this seems pretty weird - installing a Microsoft OS, but then installing all of these open-source third party add-ons. Why don't I stick with Microsoft products, like SQL Server and IIS? Well two reasons.

1. I got a free version of Vista through the consulting work that I do, and I need to learn more about this product, so the best way for me to do it is install and use it. If I had enough time and computers, I would possibly think about installing Linux and removing the Microsoft factor altogether. I am recently very interested in learning more about open source or 'free' software. (although I know I am late to the party.)
2. I want to install some other web applications like Joomla or Alfresco for testing a new way to blog or share information. Stay tuned on this later. When I am ready I will publicize the new site that I will create to demonstrate my testing

• In time, I am planning on learning Dreamweaver and create Flash on my test site.
  
• Also, I am planning on learning more about the following and testing them on my test site
• Moveable Type,
  
• Plone,
  
• WordPress,
• PodPress,
  
• Amaya,
  
• Nvu,
  
• PowerGramo,
  
• PublicSquare,
  
• Skype,
  
• Textpattern, and or
  
• Thingamablog
  

• I am also looking at updating parts to my test machine to make it faster/better
• I am also considering (at a very initial level) Mac OS and getting a Macintosh Powerbook.
• I am also looking at a digital audio recorder from Sony or Olympus. I need to research which kind I should get to assist me in making remote snippets for the future podcasts. I have some other resources and reviews with podcast mics and recording equipment I need to read and use.

There is more stuff in the Geek list, but this is enough for right now.

#Money#
I got my first paycheck at the new job, so I am happily planning on getting started on my new budget and debt reduction plans. That is about all I have to say about this topic for now.

#Personal#
I have been thinking about how nice it is to wake up in an organized bedroom. Clothes put away and hung up make my mornings 100% easier, and a kitchen with dishes put away cuts the time it takes to make a meal. This sounds like elementary-school thinking, but let me tell you, when it is 6:00am and I am groggily reaching for shirt to put on or an egg for breakfast, or just walking around without stumbling and stepping on something...... priceless.

I recently was told that my mind is like an Etch-a-Sketch - and I easily lose track of what I was doing, as if someone shook my head and I lost all my lines. While this may seem mean, it was stated in a very loving way, and after some thinking, I understand what he meant. I am an ENTP after all, and an Aquarius. The combination of those two factors makes me a scatterbrain. This is part of the reason I am a list-maker, and also a Technical Writer. If it is written down, then my brain doesn't HAVE to remember every minute detail, just where the lists are.

Using this knowledge, I will be looking into something called "Mind-Mapping". More information is at the Freemind site. I am going to see if I can use this to help me with my geek projects as well as at work, writing software manuals. Sometimes when I am testing software installs or configuration, things are just happening all at once, and you have to remember to do like 12 things in order for the application to work right. When brainstorming the documentation preparation, it may be good to just write down all of the things you have to do, and then organize them into steps and form patterns. With these patterns, a documentation flow can appear, and give guidance for how to organize sections, chapters, and books. It is a sometimes painful task, but is important for your audience (readers) to understand not only what they are doing, but in what order, and easily find information that may be relevant.

Now that I have taken a step back and read this blog entry, maybe this mind-mapping will help the preparation and production of the blog itself. I will try to play with the Freemind concepts for the next blog and podcast prep


#Trips and Dates#
here are the upcoming date items

• April 13-15, Raquetball Tournament, Grand Island, NE
  
• May 13-16, STC Conference, Minneapolis, Minnesota
  
• June 29-July 1, Twins Baseball Trip to Detroit, MI
• Sept 29th, 5K walk/run, Northfield, MN
  

#Work#
I have been learning quite a bit at work. I have been learning about Content Management Systems, how they work and what they do. I have also started using Adobe FrameMaker and am continuing to learn this tool. I would like to master this product. I am also learning the Stellent Content Server and Universal Records Management tool. It is pretty cool, and I am excited to learn.


Listen to my podcast without the iPod:




COMMENT! Let me give you a subject, and leave a comment below to answer. Question: What is your view of 'The Renaissance Man"? What types of things does he do, and how does he treat others? Do you have a definition?

It has started to snow again, and I am ready to get outside and romp.

more later,

Chazz