I had a followup appointment at the doctor this past Thursday, and we went over my blood sugar log for the past week. They were very impressed and excited for me… they want my pre-meal sugar in the range of 4-7, and after only a week of exercising, eating right and the Metformin I’m on, my logs ranged from 5.9 to 8.7 – they said they hadn’t expected such a change and they were so pleased with the results. I go back again in a month and we’ll see how it goes, but it’s looking like the changes in lifestyle are doing me good, and I’m pleased to say that I think that I’ve finally turned that corner and am ready to live healthy and lose the weight. I’m focused, I’m ready, and I have the support of my loving wife who’s taking the journey to healthy living with me.
I happened to stumble across a MuchMusic Profile on Weird Al the other day. One of the videos they showed was his parody of Michael Jackson’s “Bad”… “Fat”. That got me thinking back to elementary school when he was popular, which led to the “diet” that Rick and Kip often decided to give me – squashing me against the school wall. I do believe that I have several hundred of them to return in kind – just remember, Rick, revenge is a dish best served cold. And low fat and sugar free. Watch your back. :)

There has been lots of discussion about whether or not the point for losing in OT or shootout is a hindrance or an asset. While personally I don’t think a team should be awarded for losing at any point, does it impact the standings as much as they claim? After crunching some numbers, the answer is no. Below are the league standings as they are before tonight’s games:
EAST
Boston
New Jersey
Washington
Philadelphia
Carolina
Pittsburgh
NY Rangers
Montreal
Florida
Buffalo
Toronto
Ottawa
Atlanta
Tampa Bay
NY Islanders
WEST
San Jose
Detroit
Calgary
Chicago
Vancouver
Columbus
Anaheim
Edmonton
Nashville
Minnesota
St. Louis
Dallas
LA
Phoenix
Colorado
When we remove the extra point, very little changes. New Jersey becomes the Beast of the East, while Boston drops behind them by two points. Carolina leaps ahead of Philadelphia by two, while Pittsburgh and their cross-state rivals in Philly end up tied in the standings. Toronto fans won’t like the results, as the Sens jump ahead of them in the standings.
In the West, Detroit moves ahead of San Jose. Edmonton, Nashville, and Minnesota end up in a three-way tie for eighth place. Colorado moves ahead of LA and Phoenix to emerge from the West basement.
It’s important to note that none of the six division leaders lost their lead. So while the point may be annoying to some, and some may remain indifferent, the extra point does not impact the standings as much as some nay-sayers would want.

This weekend marks the end of the largest high school hockey event of the season…the quest for supremacy at the Division II level. My team, the Central Kings Gators, has a great chance to take it all this weekend. Our only real opposition comes from the NKEC Titans. These guys have been an arrogant bunch of twits since 2003, when they formed the team, and it’s about time someone shut them up. The championships are being held on their home ice, so what better place?
We’re learning all about the THEORY of evolution in psychology class and I must admit, hearing about evolutionary psychology is even more hilarious than hearing about the theory of evolution. At least the teacher is smart enough to realize that it is only a theory and should not be mistaken for fact. I have great respect for people who can admit they don’t know how evolution could be real fact, and is only a theory.
This one is for all the evolutionists out there.
Once I was a tadpole when I began to begin. Then I was a frog with my tail tucked in. Next I was a monkey on a coconut tree. Now I am a doctor with a Ph.D.

So today I did something that I don’t think I’ve ever done before in my life.
I ran for a quarter mile.
Sure, it doesn’t sound like much, when you look at some of the people on the Zonkboard doing 5Ks and marathons and the like, but I look at this as a personal milestone. I’m 34, I’ve been out of shape my entire life and far more likely to sit my ass on the couch for days at a time, and I think I’ve finally turned a corner. Mark this day on the calendar, folks, this is the day that I stopped being a lardass and started being a recovering lardass.
Post-gym, I’m feeling warm for the first time in days. I don’t know what it is, either my blood sugar slowly going down as I’m eating healthier or what, but I’ve been freezing for the last few days. It feels great to finally feel warm again. Apart from temperature, I feel… good. I feel happy. I feel like I actually accomplished something today. And most of all, I look forward to going again tomorrow.
I’ve been taking my blood sugar twice a day since Friday, when I got my glucometer. I’m not sure what my sugar is SUPPOSED to be at, but it’s been hovering around 7 (6.8 here, 7.2 there, etc). Mind you, those are pre-meal levels… I’m pretty sure that the doctor told me between 5-7, but I think he meant post-meal levels. My biggest peeve with this thing is that I think I’m doing something wrong – I can only draw enough blood from one finger, so I keep having to use that one each time. But it only stings for 5 minutes, so I guess I can’t really complain. (Though I’m sure my wife would say I’d try anyways, as complaining is my favorite pastime.)
Finally, as threatened promised, I’ve posted some “before” photos, if you will, under the clicky thing. Be warned that these photos are of pasty white hairy fat guy!

Continue reading →

Today was bottling day for the first batch of home brew I made with the gents now being referred to as the Brew Jam crew. A half bottle remained so we tried it pre-carbonation and it’s actually good. Nice sweetness, but noticeable hopping. We probably used 3-4 ounces of hops in a two gallon batch, which is a ridiculous amount of hops. Spent the rest of the afternoon jamming with Jay, who I’ve come to find has very similar taste in music to myself. I’m looking forward to this year, seems to be moving in the right direction for my music efforts.
Tonight, relaxing at home and decided to try my hand at a soup recipe. It turned out so I present the recipe for my Smoked Sweet Stout Onion Soup:
Smoked Sweet Stout Onion Soup
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 Vidalia onion, sliced thinly
— Melt the oil and butter together, add onions, and about a tablespoon of kosher salt. Stir and leave on low heat for up to 30 minutes, allowing the onions to caramelize.
3 dashes liquid smoke
2 tbsp blackstrap molasses
1 bottle stout beer
— Add these ingredients, stir together, and turn heat up to boil until the liquid is reduced in half
1L chicken stock
1 bay leaf
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp sage
1 tsp rosemary, crushed
1 tbsp black pepper, cracked
— boil for 5 minutes, reduce and simmer for up to 15 minutes.
I chose to melt some mozzarella on bread on top, French Onion style, but this will taste fine as it is as well!