Shuroki Online

I am about to embark on my #1 exercise/diet killer: business travel. Well, all travel kills it for me really, but business travel more so. I think part of the reason is that the schedule is always so hectic. I am a creature of habit and comfort. When my environment or routine changes I get really stressed out and when I’m stressed I seek comfort foods.

Part of it is the social aspect. On these trips I am expected to do a lot of after hours socializing, which invariably involves a meal at a good restaurant and beer. I basically end up feeling very self conscious ordering super healthy food when everybody is splurging on their week “out”.

I think the final nail is habit. I have gotten in the habit of when I leave town, I let loose with the food. That’s become my ritual of dealing with it all.

The good news is that this trip is coming so close to rededicating myself to my health. I recognize the patterns, I know what to watch out for.

===== Update Jan 15 =====

I finally got a little Internet access and thought I’d write an update. Its gone pretty well so far. I ate well flying in. The first day here there was a scheduling mixup though, so I missed my workout AND didn’t eat anything all day until dinner. Dinner was a salad followed by grilled Mahi Mahi with cucumber and artichoke hearts. It had a very heavy sauce though, and I didn’t escape the banana pudding Though, it did have fresh bananas in it and I didn’t finish it (other than the bananas).

This morning I made it down to the beautiful fitness center downstairs at the hotel. I had three sensible meals, though I was unable to resist the ‘chocolate decadence’. So, extra treadmill coming!

All and all it has gone well, and I didn’t immediately dive into a double Sonic cheeseburger followed by Weinerschnitzel chili-cheese dogs, so I’m pretty proud of myself. Off to bed. Up early for another workout before starting the next session at 8:00am.

===== Update Jan 18 =====

The trip is over. Well, I’m in the airport waiting for my flight home (free wifi FTW!). I did well overall on the trip. My ‘official’ weigh in is tomorrow, but according to the scale at the hotel I lost 2 pounds during my trip. Not too bad for consuming banana puddings, chocolate ganache and the occasional chocolate chip cookie

Very much looking forward to getting home and back into my usual routine. And sleeping in my own bed!

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If I remember correctly (given the frequent announcements from airport PA systems and… um.. common sense) you are never supposed to take packages from other people in an airport.

Given that, this excerpt from a leaked TSA report is terrifying:

At San Diego International Airport, tests are run by passengers whom local TSA managers ask to carry a fake bomb, said screener Cris Soulia, an official in a screeners union

Someone please tell me this doesn’t actually happen. “Hi Mr. Passenger. I’m a TSA manager. You know I’m not lying to you because of this official-looking laminated badge I have. We need you to help us test airport security. Here’s a ‘fake’ bomb that we’d like you to carry through security in your luggage. Another TSA manager will, um, meet you at your destination. Give the fake bomb to him when you land. And, by the way, what’s your mother’s maiden name?”

How in the world is this a good idea? And how hard is it to dress real TSA managers up like vacationers [instead]?

You can see more info on the report at Bruce Schneier’s blog

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Over the Memorial Day weekend I took a trip to the Union Church cemetery in Fredericksburg, Virginia. I have frequently driven past this cemetery and while waiting at the stop light gazed up the hill, at a small area surrounded by a rod iron fence.

I always wondered if somebody famous was buried there, but would forget about it again until the next time I drove by. For whatever reason, last weekend I passed by it and decided to pull up and see what was there. What I found was quite interesting and I returned the next day to take some pictures.

Many of the graves (and what remains of the church) are from the 1800s, and some as recent as this year. Several headstones are so worn that you can’t make out what they say, either in person, or in a photo. I think it would be interesting to return to the site and do some rubbings, which might reveal information that can’t be seen because of the texture of the stone.

I also found it interesting that much of the cemetery is partitioned into family plots that are gated and are home to multiple generations. Two family really seemed to dominate the cemetery with multiple plots throughout, the Paynes, and the Snellings.

I’ve collected many of the resultant pictures in a Flickr set which I invite you to go check out. I hope that you find them as fascinating as I do.

Oh, and the gated grave you can see from the road is semi-famous. There rests James Hunter. Born in Scotland 1721 and died in Falmouth, 1785.

From the plaque: Mr Hunter owned the famed Hunter Iron Works in Stafford County, which manufactured most of the camp utensils and weapons for the Virginia forces during the Revolutionary War. A true patriot, he received little, if any, compensation.

Indeed, according to an article in the Freelance Star “Hunter was never reimbursed by the fledgling U.S. government for much of the equipment he supplied, and died broke”. Broke, but clearly not forgotten.

A little history of the site:
According to one article the Union Church was “founded” in 1727, but another says it was “built” in 1750. The church was abandoned some time in 1796 and destroyed by fire in 1818. Rebuilt in 1820 the Church was used by Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Baptist, and Methodists congregations on rotating Sundays.

During the Civil War the church was used as a hospital by Federal troops. It remained in use all the way to 1950 when it was again destroyed (this time by a storm) leaving only the brick facade.

Still standing today (and photographed in my set) is the front of the church and the belfry.

Reference sites:
www.fredericksburg.com
www.rootsweb.com (with a thorough collection of names and dates of those interred)
www.simplyfredericksburg.com

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This has gotten so out of hand that I’m getting very disgusted with the direction our Government leaders are going. Yes, I know that I am far from the first person to say this (especially in the last few years) but zOMG will we be required to “show our papers” just to freely move around the friggin country now!?

As a good Federal Employee am I going to be required to get one of these flawed IDs -putting all of my personal and private information into another massive Government database (well, lets be honest, another contracted database) with another chance to get leaked and my identity stolen- or else bring a passport to get into my work building!

Arrgh.. I wonder if they can use English-only speaking IT Managers in Sweden. Its clearly time to learn a new language.

From Slashdot:

rev_media writes to tell us that CNN has a few updates to the Real ID act currently facing legislators. The Real ID acts mandates all states to begin issuing federal IDs to all citizens by 2008. Costs could be as much at $14 billion, but only 40 million are currently allocated. Several states have passed legislation expressly forbidding participation in the program, while others seem to be all for it. The IDs will be required for access to all federal areas including flights, state parks and federal buildings. People in states refusing to comply will need to show passports even for domestic flights

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From Mental_Floss:

Baby Jessica and other kids I’d forgotten about…
by Mangesh - July 16, 2007 - 5:10 AM

Sure, you remember their stories. You might even be able to remember their names. But here’s the real question: it’s 7am, do you know where these kids are right now?

That Kid: Who Got Stuck Down a Well

The Story: Back in 1987, an 18-month old “Baby Jessica” McClure captured the nation’s attention when she tumbled into an old well in her aunt’s backyard. Emergency workers piped fresh air and heat into the well, and expert miners spent 58 straight hours digging a parallel shaft 22 feet into the ground to rescue her. While healthy at the moment, The Today Show reported that Jessica has undergone 15 surgeries and 9 blood transfusions since reemerging.
The Post-Puberty Report: Adult Jessica seems to be, pardon the phrase, well-adjusted. Now 21, she’s married, has a child, and according to all reports, remains thoroughly down-to-earth. In fact, she’s refused to get plastic surgery to cover up her scars because it reminds her to be thankful for her life. Of course, she’ll probably be even more thankful for her life in 4 years. That’s when a trust fund, set up in her name with public donations, should kick a few million dollars her way.

That Kid: Who Was Too Old to Play Little League

The Story: Back in 2001, Danny Almonte didn’t just pitch his Bronx, NY team to a third-place finish in the Little League World Series; the 12-year old phenom also pitched a perfect game along the way. Of course, there was just one problem: turns out little Danny wasn’t so little. After a rival Staten Island team hired a private investigator to look into the case, Sports Illustrated followed-up with their own investigation. Unbeknownst to Danny, his father had falsified his birth certificate by two years to hand his son an arm up on the competition.
The Post-Puberty Report: Well, to be accurate, the story actually started post-puberty. That said, while the team was stripped of their Little League title, all the players including Danny Almonte were cleared of any wrong-doing (since he didn’t know his own age at the time). As for where Danny is today: after helping his high school team win 2 public school athletic league championships (and garnering MVP honors), ESPN is reporting that he’s now pitching professionally, throwing “90s plus fast-balls” for the Southern Illinois Miners.

PLUS: We catch up with rock ‘n’ roll’s favorite baby, a 13-year old cover model and the kid who outspelled Dan Quayle after the break.

That Kid: from Nirvana’s Nevermind album

The Story: According to CommonGate, when Nirvana initially brainstormed on CD artwork, they started by looking at stock photography of babies swimming. But when the costs proved too stiff for their slim wallets, the band hired a photographer who in turn paid a friend’s couple $200 to use their 4-month old baby in the shoot. Supposedly Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love were so pleased with the pic, they vowed to take the kid out to dinner when he grew up as thanks for his contribution to the album. As for the hook and dollar also featured in the pic? Those were actually Photoshopped into the scene later.
The Post-Puberty Report: Now 16, Spencer Elden has been featured in various Nirvana documentaries and magazine features. He claims to be a big fan of the band, and proud of his child labor for the album. And while there’s no word on whether Courtney Love has followed up on her promise to feed the kid, Nirvana’s isn’t the only album on which he’s been featured. Elden also appears on the cover of Skinny Puppy founder cEvin Key’s 2003 album The Dragon Experience.

That Kid: Who Spelled Potato Right (until the VP corrected him)

The Story: In 1992, Vice President Dan Quayle made a pit stop in Trenton, NJ, where he acted as judge in a 6th grade spelling bee. Unfortunately for Quayle, the cards he’d been handed hadn’t been spell-checked. So when William Figueroa, who’d been bused in for the event, spelled out his word correctly, Quayle told him “You’re close, but you left a little something off. The e on the end.” The press immediately picked up the story, Figueroa appeared on Letterman and Quayle’s reputation as a mental midget was solidified in the public’s mind.
The Post-Puberty Report: Not good, from what we’ve read. In 2004, a New York Times reporter met up with Figueroa, who’d since dropped out of high school, had his first child by 16, two more by age 24, and was reportedly working a low paying job.

That Kid: from the National Geographic

The Story: While visiting a Pashtun refugee camp in Pakistan, photographer Steve McCurry snapped a pic of a 13-year old orphan with hauntingly beautiful eyes. The image made the cover of a 1984 National Geographic, and the girl became an international celebrity. Well, sort of. Despite securing a great shot, McCurry never took down the girl’s name, and despite taking more than 10 trips back to the region to locate her, it would be another 17 years before she was tracked down.
The Post-Puberty Report: Now a wife and mother of three, Sharbat Gula lives in a remote village in Afghanistan. She lives in purdah, and while only female reporters were allowed to visit and photograph her for National Geographic’s long awaited follow-up, supposedly she’s now “being looked after” by the magazine. Of course, as the BBC reports, the most amazing part is that she hates the iconic photo. She never liked the red scarf she was photographed in, she doesn’t like media attention, and has since moved to avoid future interviews.

Plus, a few more tykes you might’ve forgotten about:
Louise Brown, the world’s first test tube baby, has had her own baby.
Elian Gonzales is now a Cuban celeb, has a lot of pets, gets front row seats to Castro speeches, and apparently helped land his father a plush gig in Cuba’s national assembly.
And Heather DeLoach, who tapped danced her way into MTV viewers’ hearts as a tap-dancing bee in Blind Melon’s “No Rain” video, has since landed several acting jobs, including 2 episodes of ER.

Special thanks to Kara Kovalchik for all her research work on this piece.

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From my buddy Dave’s MySpace:

Dave Wavy
Check out my latest adventure. This was used as a front page story for the local outdoor section of our paper here in Boise.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/outdoors/story/104863.html

http://legacy.idahostatesman.com/video/phillips/2007/boulder/

Dave Wavy

———-

Way cool Dave!

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