AIDS LifeCycle

If you haven’t heard it yet, you will do so soon: I am participating in this year’s AIDS LifeCycle ride. So far, I successfully skirted the issue by being busy or traveling, but this year my friends that are close to the AIDS Foundation told me that charity is drying up and that they need both the support and the free marketing desperately, like never before.

What is AIDS LifeCycle? Well, it’s a bicycle tour that goes from San Francisco to Los Angeles in 6 grueling days. Modeled after other charity races, AIDS LifeCycle participants pledge to raise a minimum of $3000 for the good cause. As it turns out, people are more willing to give you money if you put your personal effort on the line.

Heavenly? Not So Heavenly

People familiar with the geography of the place know that Heavenly-the-resort is named after a creek and valley that come down from East Peak, the highest skiable location in the Tahoe region. So, to expect it to be heavenly would be geographically not justified.

We had a series of intense storms in the Northern California region, so it seemed the perfect moment to rush out and get to Tahoe. I rented a car, since I wanted to go midweek (and realized later I could have gotten a bunch of friends to go with me). I filled the tiny Kia Rio with the gear and off I went at 5:30.

Snowboarding

Those of you that know me even in passing have an acquaintance with my enthusiasm for snowboarding. I just can’t get enough of it, and I get as much of it as I can.

This year, I went on a two week trip to Whistler, Canada. It’s close to Vancouver, has gorgeous scenery and two beautiful mountains just ready for the shredding fun. That’s how hip boarders refer to the activity of snowboarding: shredding. Go figure.

Yearly Boarding Vacation

Gone again! This time I am in Whistler for two weeks of unimpeded snowboarding fun. The snow could be better (it feels like late November, snowpack-wise) and the air is freezing cold, but the next storm is about to hit and everybody here is eager to get the powder boards out of the bags!

In the first two days, I’ve covered pretty much both mountains. You can’t really leave the groomed trails, as the other surface is all ice, but the groomers are empty and there is plenty room and no waiting in line. Even Emerald Express, the notorious beginners lift with the hiccup motion, was uncrowded last I checked!

Peak 2 Peak

Day 2 of my yearly trip to Whistler. The snow stinks, and you can’t really do anything outside of groomed runs, but storms are on their way. The base is decent, but really way too low for this time of the year. In places you see the base of trees, and the snow covering the rest of the mountain looks threadbare and thin. Snowmaking equipment is on all day and night.

Recovering from Catastrophe

Ok, you’ve been good about your diet, have been following every step of the way, have seen your weight drop, have bought new clothes, and then – boom! – you’ve had a bad day. Suddenly, you find yourself eating 5000 calories, gorging on cookies and chips and chocolate and prime ribs. What do you do?

First of all: breathe slowly. It’s not a tragedy. Even if on one day you bust your diet, you don’t have to fear the worst. You may get set back for a while, but you are going to be fine if you just stick with the original diet. And don’t even think about “making up for it.” You shouldn’t, or things are going to get a lot worse for you.

Fixing bizarre sound playback in Flash Player

For a while now I’ve had a strange behavior happen in Firefox on Ubuntu 8.10 (Ibex): whenever I started a flash video (e.g. in YouTube or CNN.com), the video would come out abut right, maybe a little halting, but the sound would be choppy. I would hear something that sounded about right for a fraction of a second, but then it would repeat like an echo. Turns out that an echo every fraction of a second makes the whole sound unusable.

Food and Mood

Most people change their eating habits based on the mood they are in. Many eat more when stressed, when they are bored, or when they have company. Some react the other way around, losing weight when stressing out or eating less when in a party. In general, feelings of euphoria make us less hungry, while less enthusiastic times see cravings and compulsive eating increase.

You can see this play out in a great many different places. Are you one of those that gain weight in the winter and shed it in the summer? Then your mood probably reacts to changes in the amount of sunlight you are getting. People whose mood is affected by the seasons have Seasonal Affective Disorder, something you should think about when considering a diet.

Protein Bars

Have you ever gone to the supermarket on a Saturday afternoon? When the lines are long enough that you have no hope of getting out without having developed a serious craving by the time you get to see the candy bars?

Let’s face it, it would be wonderful if we could always eat healthily. We should always have fresh, raw foods with us; foods rich in proteins, “good” carbohydrates, vitamins, and a good balance of minerals. Instead, we opt for the convenient, and that mostly means fats and sugars.

Calorie Counting - the Retrospective

On New Year’s Eve 2007, the worst job of my life was over. I hadn’t been there long, but pretty much everything that could go wrong had gone wrong, except the stuff where my team and I had control. Still, the stress nearly killed me and the ten extra pounds I gained were nothing compared to the solace provided by a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie at the end of a long day.