White FSB

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My Engagement

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American Tactical Imports GSG-5 MP5 Clone in .22LR accessories

RRAGES, GSG-5 enthusiast, has started selling the most popular GSG-5 accessories online.

You can find his GSG-5 Accessories store here: RRAGES GSG-5 Accessories store.

RRAGES is responsible for piecing together the famous GSG-5 Screw Replacement set. He also sells HK Pushpins and a myriad of other popular GSG-5 accessories including genuine HK stock sets, claw mounts, and sling clips.

I have personally purchased the GSG-5 Screw Replacement set and the HK Pushpins from him. He's courteous, knowledgeable, and had a fast turn around time. Check his store often, as he keeps adding new accessories often.

Continue reading "American Tactical Imports GSG-5 MP5 Clone in .22LR accessories".

Vortex Strikefire 2 MOA box

**********UPDATE**********
Sam from Vortex optics confirmed in a post on AR15.com that the 2 MOA is a misprint.

Continue reading "Vortex Strikefire 2 MOA box".

This is Software Development

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OMG Lightsabers!!!!

My new office decorations have arrived!

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On Losing Weight: Chickens and Eggs

I'm not riding my bike because I have no energy.
I have no energy because I'm not riding my bike.

Something has to give here, and it's me and my mental state. B and I just returned from vacation in sunny Californ-i-a. Expect a vacation photo gallery up later this week as well as bitching and moaning about how I gained weight and need to lose it (again).

Continue reading "On Losing Weight: Chickens and Eggs".

On Losing Weight: Time to Face the Music

So let's face it. I've been less than faithful to writing on my blog, especially about my weight loss activities. Anyone who follows my daily weigh-ins in the side bar can see that I have more or less kept up the same trend for the last three weeks. I spike into the lower 290's and dip into the mid 280's. I've done this three times now! What's the deal?

But Jeremy, didn't you just write a come to Jesus post about weigh gain three weeks ago?

Well, yes, I did, but that's not what this is about. This is about when to recognize that something is going wrong, and what to do about it...

I've not written lately because quite frankly, I didn't want to deal with the implications of my poor lifestyle choices of late. Sure, my mindset has slightly transitioned back to losing weight (when Brit and I went grocery shopping, we bought healthy stuff), and I have been at the very least going through the motions (biking three times per week instead of five, eating healthy cereal but three bowls full), but I've not been devoted to losing weight the way I have been previously.

Let's take another look at some factors in my life that contribute to the problem (also known as excuses):

• I have only half-heartedly stopped the bad eating habits and have been lackadaisical
  
• Work has been stressful lately because of some important projects
• I've not had optimized sleep in a while

The long and short of it is that I actually had to sit here and think about things that could be affecting my performance. The first item is certainly true, but it's not a cause, it's a restating of the problem. Work is a lousy excuse because biking IS stress relief for me and eating well only makes biking easier. Sleep, while a legitimate factor is also BS because if I were eating correctly and exercising regularly, the quality of my sleep improves dramatically.

So here we are on week three of the cycle, but the truth is I've not focused since June. My goal in May was to be under 270 by September. This was a VERY attainable goal, but due to my lack of focus since my surgery, I may be at risk of hitting it. I will have to lose 17 pounds in 25 days to hit this goal, which may or may not possible.

So what do I do now? That's still the easy part. I now have to really face the fact that I have been a total slacker. Period. There are no excuses good enough for why I haven't broken through my lowest weight in the last three weeks. I've been lazy. I've been apathetic. I've been unmotivated. The goal of losing weight has not been as important to me in the last several weeks. Why is that? Why do I choose to eat three bowls of cereal instead of one? Why don't I get on my bike and ride some? I know the answer has to do with my mood, but that now has to stop.

I'm writing this post today because I now have to admit something to myself. The last time I wrote a post like this, I was saying "hey, no big deal, just get back on the horse!". Well, I never really made it. By writing this post, I am forcing myself to face the music; to face that I have a problem right now. I have encountered a mental wall. There. I said it. Let's move on.

I am correct. I do have the tools and the knowledge and the attitude to get "back on track", but I need something more than those this time. Biking and eating well were two things that used to make me very happy, but they are not bringing me the joy they once did. My new tactic is simple. The thing that used to bring me joy must now become mechanical in nature. I must become something that I simply do with no interruptions. No excuses. Living a healthy life style must now be as mechanical as going to work can be. I'm no longer giving myself a say in the matter.

I am also choosing to make some modifications to my cycling activities. As punishment , I have added two extra laps to my daily trek around the neighborhood, increasing calorie consumption, and hopefully rebuilding lost stamina at a quicker pace.

The good news is that in one to two weeks I should be back at a place mentally where I feel joy from my efforts. Until then, I'll have to keep fighting the good fight!

Continue reading "On Losing Weight: Time to Face the Music".

Things That Scare Me: Solo Road Rides in Unfamiliar Territory

I've been road riding for the better part of three months now. This has become a very important and enjoyable part of the weight loss routine. I started riding a cheap mountain bike last year, but upgraded to a 2008 Giant FCR 1 fitness cycle this year. For the record, I can tell you that riding a road bike on the road will change your life if you're used to riding a mountain or hybrid bike on the roads.

Generally speaking, my exercise routine involves 8-12 laps around a section in my neighborhood. It's a good course that provides an opportunity to get the benefits of interval training when ridden correctly. Today though, I decided that I wanted to get out on the open road around some of the gorgeous horse farms that are practically in my back yard...
Thankfully, I didn't have to go out blind! I've recently become addicted to MapMyRide.com, an online community of cyclists (also available in a running flavor) that has an amazing set of tools to find ride paths, track your workouts online, interface with your Garmin GPS, and other tools that are just damned cool! So I found a track called "Bethel Beginners 12.25". This seemed like the perfect course and it seemed doable:




So I loaded my bike onto the top of my car, called the route up in Garmin Edge 305 (the coolest toy I've bought for my bike to date), and headed off.

The first thing I had to find was a place park, which didn't seem to be as easy as I would have though. The area is littered with almost nothing but beautiful, sprawling horse farms, and I didn't want to park in someone's yard. While seeking parking, I decided to take the opportunity to drive the full course so I could be familiar with it. When I got 1/3 through it, I was forced to turn on to a fairly hilly (for me) two-late road that actually had a fair amount of traffic. This road accounts for almost 50% of the total ride. I finished my survey and decided to stay on the secluded farm roads instead, figuring if nothing else, I could just double back to attain the mileage I was hoping for.

Too bad I'm a wimp...

While I had the best of intentions to ride something close to this, I got nervous because of the challenges I still face when mounting and dismounting my bike (a whole other story in and of itself) and the surprising amount of traffic I encountered tonight. So what I actually wound up with is this:



To be fair, this was my first time attempting a full "road ride" by myself, and I have only ridden one other full road ride (13.5 miles) with a very experienced rider (friend, coworker, and mentor Jeremy Williams. So, I need to do some more exploring. I need to get my "road legs", and I need to ride like I got a pair!

Continue reading "Things That Scare Me: Solo Road Rides in Unfamiliar Territory".

Apple TV 2.1 and Remote.app for iPhone/iPod 2.0: Accessing Shared Media

Dear Apple

Thank you for releasing Remote.app for my iPhone. It works wonderfully for my iTunes library. I had high hopes for control of my Apple TV, but am unfortunately disappointed. Since I don't store any of my music, movies, or TV shows on the Apple TV directly, I am unable to play any content using Remote.app since all of my content is shared via my iTunes library. Please add shared media playing abilities soon.

Love
JK

[UPDATE 2008.07.24] I discovered last night that you can in fact use the remote to play shared content on the Apple TV. I will post a write up soon about how to make this happen. The short and sweet version is that you add your Apple TV as a synchronizing device rather than a sharing device. This puts all of your media into the "My (Movies|TV|Music)" category rather than the "Shared (Movies|TV|Music)" category.

[UPDATE 2008.07.25] By popular demand, here are the instructions on how to make Remote.app access your iTunes shared content. I am on a Mac running Leopard, so YMMV.

1. In iTunes, select 'Preferences', then the 'Apple TV' pane
   
2. Highlight your Apple TV, then click the 'Remove Apple TV' button.
3. Click OK
4. Go to your Apple TV and from the main menu, select 'Sources'
   
5. Select 'Syncing'. The Apple TV will now display a unique pass code.
   
6. In iTunes, you should once again see your Apple TV in the devices list on the left side menu. Click your Apple TV.
7. iTunes will prompt you for a pass code. Enter the pass code from step 5.
8. If desired, provide a name for your Apple TV and click the 'OK' button.
9. Voila! Whether you elect to actually sync content between your computer and the Apple TV, you will now be able to access your iTunes content under 'My Movies|TV|Music|etc' on the Apple TV, and selecting those categories in Remote.app will now allow you to access your iTunes content.

[UPDATE 2008.07.29]: To the person who commented about syncing media. When you have an Apple TV in sync mode, it appears in iTunes just like an iPod. If you do not wish to transfer media to the device (which I also do not do), simply open each tab (Music, Video, etc) and remove the check box for "Sync media" on each tab.

Continue reading "Apple TV 2.1 and Remote.app for iPhone/iPod 2.0: Accessing Shared Media".