Sugar

So, a few weeks ago I posted that I had gained 15 pounds over Christmas while working in Georgia. What I didn't post was that one of my goals for this, my 30th year of life, was to go 6 straight weeks without refined sugar. Well, today marks the end of my 6 week sugar diet.

Why go on a refined sugar diet? Well, for a couple reasons - I thought it would help me lose the weight, maybe get rid of that spare tire I could never get rid of, and just to see if I could.
I could and I did. I have no craving for sugar right now, something that will probably change quickly once I start eating girl scout cookies momentarily.

The weight wasn't really a factor in the diet - I lost the 15 pounds in just over 3 weeks - before the end of January I was back to 175. But it made a serious difference in the abs definition and just overall health feeling. So now, back to my cookies.

Another reason to love Texas

You can go for a short run and come back with your teeth covered in dirt from a Grapes of Wrath windstorm. Gross. Here's a shot of my dirt covered forehead. Thanks West Texas!

Happy Valentines Day

Someecards just knows how to say it right...

Caution

Caution: the following link is NOT family appropriate, but it's too dang funny for me not to post. I've sent it to a few friends the past few days while debating whether or not to post it - in the end, I think we could all use a laugh. If you watch it and don't laugh, I feel bad for you.


JAGG OFF from ulteriorproductions.com on Vimeo.

Tiddy Bear

Wow. I'm not even sure what else I can say... Apparently Ellen wanted to buy 300 of these...

Why lawyers are necessary.

So the other day I heard a guy say that he thinks lawyers are a drain on society’s resources. That they add nothing intrinsically to society. This guy is studying to be a doctor, and at the time I didn’t have time to question him, and in any case I’m sure I would have come across as a prick lawyer using my ‘slick’ reasoning, but let’s pretend I did. I think it would go something like this...

Me: And what do you do?
Him: I’m a doctor – I help people get better and junk.
Me: Why can’t people do that for themselves?
Him: Because it’s super complicated stuff – I’ve studied for years and don’t know it all. Plus, if people were to self-diagnose and medicate, it could be really dangerous.
Me: So it’s really complicated, and if someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing tried ‘doctor’ up someone, it could really mess them up?
Him: That’s right – and I’m giving to society, and I’m making the world a better place by helping people that truly need help.
Me: Well, you know that’s what lawyers do too, right? The law is complicated, not necessarily intuitive, and people can really screw themselves up if they try to do it themselves. In many cases, people choose to hire lawyers because they want expertise in dealing with legal issues so they don’t get hosed later, or they choose to hire them because they need help resolving complicated or critical issues. Since I’m also an Engineer I understand what you’re saying about building or giving back to society. But society is simply people interacting within the scope of laws, so in effect lawyers are key to any civilization.

Anyway, if you couldn’t tell, I think this guy was dumb. There some trashy lawyers out there, but we live in a society where everyone is guaranteed the right to legal help because the law is complicated. What a Moron.

Shakira

It's 6 AM on Sunday morning, and I'm exhausted. I have no idea why I woke up - this sucks. But, on a good note, I turned on the TV and while surfing my 6 english channels and 2 spanish channels I came across one showing a hispanic music video that looked like it was from 1980. Intrigued, I started listening to it, and remembered the voice as a younger Shakira (on my mission, EVERYONE blared Shakira from their houses, so walking the Argentine streets everyday for 2 years led to memorization of her first big album...Donde estan los Ladrones).

So, if you can't tell from my even-more-than-usual circular story telling, I'm exhausted, but this video looks 80s, maybe early 90s old, and definitely not modern-shakira-esque, so I'm intrigued. Turns out it was a video made in 2005 - how have I never heard of this song? Or seen this amazing video shot for ~$10? (that's my estimated cost of some nasty purple wigs and saran wrap). I have a feeling that if you read this far, you should probably check out this awesome video, while I go back to bed.