Sunday January 28, 2007 5:30 am Lethbridge Sunrise 8:10 Sunset 17:18 Hours of daylight: 9:08

A. Morning Musings

5:30 am It is -1 C at the moment with a high of +1 C forecast.

Here are the news.

CBC Headline: Thousands Pack DC to Protest Iraq War

This is one of the largest public demonstrations so far. I remain somewhat confused about who has the ultimate say - is it Congress or the President? I thought it was congress but this item seems to suggest that the president can push ahead with his plans in spite of opposition from congress. It is clear to me that the U. S. invaded Iraq under false pretenses and they should find a way to withdraw as quickly as possible. Public statements that indicate that all American presence (not just military, but civilian as well - particularly related to the oil industry) will cease as soon as the violence stops might be a start. Such statements might reduce the insurgents' motivation that the U. S. must leave.

Canadian Headline: Mamas and Papas' Doherty Remembered for Wit, Angelic Voice

Doherty died at age 66 following complications after an operation. I remember the Mamas and the Papas' from the 60's, but when I first saw this item, I did not realize that Doherty was one of that group. Mia culpa.

Australian Headline: (from The Australian): Death Squad Chieftains Flee to Beat Baghdad Surge

Apparently a number of shi'ite leaders have left Iraq and taken refuge in Iran. The article goes on to say that Iran is supporting the shi'ites who are opposed to both the Sunnis as well as the American occupation. There are many different factions at play in this part of the world. And violence seems to be a preferred option over diplomacy.

I had difficulty yesterday getting my model train track planning software (3rd PlanIt) registered. I think I now know what the problem was: I was using a previous version of 3rd PlanIt and the registration code was for a new version that had just been released. I have emailed a request for an unlocking key. Hopefully I will get that either today or tomorrow. In the meantime I will move that item from "Immediate" to "Later". I spent an hour yesterday editing my iPhoto files for 2005. There is a lot of work needed here, but if I put in a hour a day it will eventually be cleaned up. I have moved that item up to the "Immediate" category. I now have a total of 5 hours/day allocated to some form of Learning activity.

From rear window	South patio
Both images taken at 11:35 am

B. Plan

Immediate
Health	Walk & exercise	1 hr
Model Trains	Continue assembly of coaling tower	1 hr
Technology	Digital photography - learn about using the various manual settings	1 hr
	Review & edit iPhoto files for 2005	1 hr
Literature	Continue reading "A Spot of Bother" by Mark Haddon	1 hr
Later
Chores	Investigate water softeners for home
Technology	Read manual for cell phone
	Make notes for chap. 4 of "Switching to the Mac"
	Begin reading "iPhoto"
	Burn backup of images onto DVD
Mathematics	Make notes for "Mathematics: A Human Endeavor" ch 1
	Read "Fearless Symmetry" chap 9: Elliptic Curves
Model Trains	Add ground cover to oil refinery diorama
	Follow tutorial for 3rdPlanIt (Manual p. 13 - 20)
	Purchase DCC system
History	Read Watson "Ideas"
Philosophy	Read & make notes for "Breaking the Spell"
GO	Complete reading "Lessons in the Fundamentals of Go"
Puzzles	The Orange Puzzle Cube: puzzle #10

C. Actual/Note

6:30 am While viewing the CNN news Web site, I noticed a link to "America's Healthy Living Habits - How Do You Compare?". This led to a "Cooking Light" Web site that provided an exercise routine for beginners that involves only 30 minutes, 3 times a week. While we have both been fairly good at maintaining a daily walking routine, I have been unable to maintain a regular exercise routine. This seems to be worth a try.The three meta-strategies are to (1) always pick a set time. For me, this might be in the early morning, just after I complete the creation of this web page; (2) Adopt a procedure that results in a gain in strength; and (3) Set a goal of losing 5 pounds. My weight has creeped up (again). This time it was a bad combination of holiday eating, cold windy weather making walking difficult, and not feeling that good due to a bad cough following the flu. Then again, this all sounds like an excuse. The real issue, as always, is mental. I must be determined to turn this around, and to stay with it. Nothing needs to be done radically, but the overall moderate goal must be adhered to. Today is day 1. And, as before, I will keep track of both my eating and exercise using the FitDay software.

7:50 am My slow and steady approach to editing my iPhoto images continues. My 2005 file folder originally contained 2095 photos and occupied 3.0 GB. Yesterday I reduced that to 1949 photos and 2.8 GB. This morning I brought it down to 1839 photos and 2.7 GB. I am now at photo #487 of 1839, so that is just over a quarter of the way through. The progress is noticeable. But 2006 will be a challenge. I have 4633 photos taking 13.8 GB. But this editing is very similar to the planned exercise routine. Baby steps that get one to the top of the mountain. Much better than remaining in the valley.

8:45 am I have just finished my first try at the "Beginner Circuit Workout". It was a real eye-opener. I am definitely out of shape. I could barely complete the last few exercises. I was sweating profusely, breathing hard and my legs and arms could barely keep the exercise going. Very close to hopeless. There are a total of 9 exercises and by number 5 I was sweating and breathing rapidly. The last 3 exercises were only partially completed. This is like getting 15% on a math test - there is lots of room for improvement. The real test will be to see how long I keep this up. The schedule is for alternate days. I will continue the daily walking as well. It is also going to take a few sessions before I have the actual movements under control. Right now I am continually looking at the sheet of paper to see where my arms and legs should be. Now to set up the FitDay values.

My current weight is 192 pounds. FitDay then provides the following graph:

The next display shows:

This then lead to the following formula:

Using a common diet formula of 30-40-30 (carbohydrates-protein-fat) we have:

I tend to treat all of these numbers as rough guidelines, but am not particularly excited about minor deviations from these values. My goal to get my weight back to 180 will put me back into the "healthy" range. Nonetheless, I now have some targets to aim for: 400 calories of fat, 400 calories of carbs and 500 calories of protein. Now to see what I actually do over the next couple of weeks.

	Model Trains 10 January 28
Model Trains Notes
12:10 PM I have been working on assembling a coaling & sand complex for my classification yard during the last three days. This was a Bachmann Plus kit: There are 7 steps to this assembly. I have now completed the first four steps: 1. Silo Assembly 2. Tower Assembly 3. Hoist House Assembly 4. Sand House and Storage Bin Assembly. Instruction sheet Sand House and Storage Bin Assembly Sand House and Storage Bin Assembly Silo, Tower and Sand House & Storage Bin   SUMMARY of the session: Another example of slow and steady finally resulting in a new structure.

	Recipe of the Week 05 Cajun Meat Loaf January 28
Recipe Notes
2:30 PM This recipe was motivated by an attempt to clean out some of our frozen meat. I googled "ground beef recipe" and found this web site. Original recipe in http://www.dianaskitchen.com/page/ground/cajun.htm Ingredients (serves 6) (the following ingredients serve about 12 as the meat packages were about twice what the original recipe called for and therefore everything was doubled when I made it.) Seasoning mix   2 whole bay leaves 4 whole bay leaves 1 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons Hy's seasoning salt 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper 2 teaspoons ground cayenne pepper 1 teaspoon black pepper 2 teaspoons black pepper 1/2 teaspoon white pepper 1 teaspoon white pepper 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg     Main Ingredients   4 tablespoons unsalted butter 8 tablespoons butter 3/4 cup finely chopped onions 1 1/2 cups chopped onions 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper 1 chopped green bell pepper 1/2 cup celery, chopped 1 cup celery, chopped 1/4 cup finely chopped green onions 1 bunch spring onions, finely chopped 2 teaspoons minced garlic 2 tablespoons minced garlic 1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce 2 tablespoons Tabasco sauce 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 1/2 cup evaporated milk 1 cup evaporated milk 1/2 cup catsup 1 cup ketchup 1 1/2 pounds ground beef 3.8 pounds lean ground beef 1/2 pound ground pork 1.5 pounds ground pork (this was the package that determined the quantities for the remaining ingredients) 2 eggs, lightly beaten 4 eggs, lightly beaten 1 cup fine bread crumbs 2 cups fine bread crumbs Steps 1 Combine the seasoning mix ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. 2 Chop onions, celery, bell pepper, green onions into small pieces. 3 Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. 4 Add onions, celery, bell pepper, green onions, garlic, Tabasco, Worcestershire and seasoning mix from step 1. 5 Saute until mixture starts sticking excessively, about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally and scraping the bottom of the pan bottom well. (I never noticed any tendency for the mixture to stick excessively.) (I cooked this for about 10 minutes, as the heat was not high enough initially.) 6 Stir in the milk and ketchup. 7 Continue cooking for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. 8 Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool to room temperature. (This only takes about 15 minutes.) 9 Mix ground beef and ground pork by hand. 10 Mix eggs, cooked vegetable mixture (from steps 2 - 8) and the bread crumbs and remove the bay leaves. 11 Combine meat from step 9 with mixture from step 10 and mix by hand until thoroughly combined. 12 Place half of mixture from step 10 in each of two 13 x 9 baking pans. 13 In the center of each pan, shape the mixture into a loaf that is about 1 1/2 inches high, 6 inches wide and 12 inches long. 14 Bake uncovered at 350 F for 25 minutes. 15 Raise heat to 400 F and continue cooking until done, about 35 minutes longer. 16 Serve immediately as is or with Very Hot Cajun Sauce for Beef. I will try salsa or horseradish. Nutrition (from FitDay software) The following two images are based on a single serving (1/10 of the above recipe). Here are a few photos: Comments This was excellent, but I was a bit surprised that it wasn't more flavorful as there were a large number of spices and sauces added to the meat. There is an aspect of overkill with the preparation - after all, this is only a meat loaf. On the other hand, when one is only doing this a recreational activity, it was quite enjoyable to go through the effort of chopping the onions, green pepper and celery into small pieces. Time is something I have plenty of, so why not use it cooking? The combination of the chopped vegetables and the condensed milk gave it a nice texture, one that broke apart easily with a fork. Since I doubled the recipe, it looks like we will be eating Cajun Meat Loaf for much of the coming week. A Lindeman's cab/merlot was a nice addition, as was the salad. I am still learning: I seem to be getting the hang of the main course, but haven't yet twigged to the fact that there should be something else with it.

D. Reflection

8:50 PM The FitDay software recommends that I eat 1248 calories/day in order to achieve my weight loss goal of 12 pounds in 7 weeks. Today, my first day on this regime, I had 1484 calories. Not too bad. I only want to be in the ball park.

I set aside 5 activities this morning, and I ended up completing 4 of them. I am getting close to being realistic.