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Thursday October 26, 2006 6:20 am Lethbridge Sunrise 8:10 Sunset 18:20 Hours of daylight: 10:10
A. Morning Musings
6:20 am It is +7 C at the moment with a forecast high of +11. It will be windy. The forecast is for 60 km/h with gusts to 80 by noon.
I have reached my goal of 180 pounds! Now to see that I stay within a couple of pounds of this, either way. There is no longer any need to keep track of this on the web page. There is a real feeling of satisfaction. The approach was simple: eat less, no snacks, and take regular one-hour walks. My daily calorie intake was consistently less than 2000, often less than 1500. The walking was more for general fitness than weight loss. Using the FitDay software was an important component. This forced me to focus on what I was eating and helped me keep the calories down. Daily early morning weigh-ins made sure that I didn't begin to creep up. As soon as I went up, I was particularly careful to get back to where I had been. Feedback on progress is essential! I plan to maintain this routine but will no longer focus on weight loss - keeping my weight steady at 180 is the new goal. I plan to continue using FitDay as a regular part of my daily routine for the feedback it provides.
Yesterday was primarily on mathematics. Today I will alternate with model trains. I have coffee scheduled for 8:30 am. It should be an interesting walk with the wind up. The coffee shop is a good 20 minute walk one-way.
B. Plan
Immediate Health Walk & exercise 1 hr Model Trains Assembly of CN 5930, an SD40-2 with a NAFTA logo 1 hr Mathematics Read "Fearless Symmetry" chap 7: quadratic reciprocity 1 hr Continue reading "The Equation that Couldn't be Solved" 1 hr Literature Complete reading "Standing Stones" by John Metcalf 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" digital photography - learn about using the various manual settings
Literature Read "The Art of Living" by Epictetus Read "The Song of Roland" Mathematics Larson "Calculus" Read "The Computational Beauty of Nature" Chap 3 Gardner "The Colossal Book of Short Puzzles" History Continue reading "Citizens" Watson "Ideas" Model Trains Build oil refinery diorama: add ground cover Assemble second oil platform kit Puzzles The Orange Puzzle Cube: puzzle #9
C. Actual/Notes
9:50 PM Earlier today I spent about half an hour gluing down some of the ground cover at the Black Diamond site. This is a necessary first step to gluing down the foam track bed, which I hope to begin tomorrow.
I then spent a couple of hours attaching the guard rails to the SD40-2 diesel unit. This was very slow work as all of the holes on the diesel body had to be slightly enlarged with a pin vise drill. The guard rails (6 in total) are now installed. I then tried to install a Kadee coupler but it didn't fit.
I decided to try the Kadee web set (which I was not sure existed) and see if they provided special instructions for units such as this Athearn kit. A bit to my surprise, the answer was yes. I photocopied the instructions and will visit the local hobby store tomorrow and see if they have the necessary parts.
While reading the instructions I thought I recognized some of the terms (such as a 2-56 screw, and a tap drill). I checked one of my tool kits and was delighted to see that I had the necessary screws and nuts. However I still need a #37 Kadee coupler. Hopefully the hobby shop will have these.
Today may not appear to have been very productive, but for me it was another important step forward. I am now familiar with the Kadee web set, and realize what is involved in making a modification to a locomotive to ensure that the proper couplers are installed.
D. Reflection