cyn is zenful
I know that I have linked to Cyn's blog before (proof 1, proof 2, but I haven't actually spoken about it directly! Well, that changes here and now! You should all go take a look! She posts pictures on blog occasionally… some of the kids, some of nature type stuff, and some random other things that look neat through the lens. She also posts cute stories about the kids.
hear ye! hear ye!
OK, finally got off my lazy rump and sat it down in front of my laptop to do some picture stuff… such as upload a bunch of new photos of the youngin's! You can find them in this flickr photoset!
Also, figured it was about time for a status on my diet. I'm down 80 pounds since beginning this WOL in July. I'm hovering between 224 and 228. I have hit a bit of a plateau, but nothing that has me concerned… especially since we getting deep into winter. The body's cycle leading through fall and into winter is to try and store as much fat as possible to help meet its needs through, what would be in the wild, a reduction of available resources. Then, as winter passes and spring abounds, the body will once again turn into a lean, mean. fat-burning machine. At least in the wild, it would be that way. Is that still how it is supposed to work with us "civilized" beings? I don't know. But, it helps to explain my plateau and it will keep me on track until the weight loss resumes. Honey dearest, are we planning a trip to the beach this summer? 'Cause I think I'll be ready for it this time! I'll post some good "before" and "after" – actually, "after" doesn't sound right… more like "during" – pictures a bit later… I need to take some new "during" pictures.
Oh, and speaking of this WOL/WOE/diet, check out this pic of my baby girl. Mmmmm! Meat good. She is making a good start down the path of healthy eating. Now, about that toddler…
gonna get learned
So, I signed up for piano lessons. It's something that I've always wanted to do, but was too lazy to ever do anything about it. But, now, with all the free time, I figured it'd be a good time to start. And, with the prodigy having turned 3, it's just about time to start him on the cool things like piano lessons and girls. I figured it'd be best to have a year or two of lessons of my own before we get him started with real lessons of his own. Makes sense, right? See, Cyn, I told you it did.
So, now I need a piano for the house. I went to the piano shop that the owner of the music academy recommended and found a few instruments that I really liked… only they were attached to price tags that I didn't care for so much. For example, the Roland HP101 sounded wonderful and is well priced at just under $1700. Which is probably a good power-of-10 more than what I can justify spending at the moment. So, I started in on some research. I found the Casio PX-110 for sale at eMusicGear.com. At less than 1/3 the price of the HP101, it's a much more attractive choice. It still has all of the features that I need in a starter piano… first and foremost, a headphone jack. 
But, alas, with bills compounding and the holidays bearing down on us, it still costs more that I can rationally justify spending. So, I got the {stupid, insane, brilliant} idea to beg for the money! So, here in front of the my friends, family and the rest of the world, I am asking each and every one of you out there in cyberspace to help me buy a piano so that I can learn to play it well enough to teach my kids to play the piano well enough to become famous and support me through my golden years.
To make it simple, here is a donations link:
Or, if you do not feel comfortable just giving money away, I have started an eBay auction. So, now you can offer me large sums of cash in exchange for a really shiny white rock.
Any excess funds from the donations and auction proceeds will be donated to charity. So that it is in writing, the Casio PX110 from eMusicGear.com is $499. Any funds over this $499 mark will be donated to charity.
Update: After posting this and creating the auction listing I decided that instead of choosing the charity myself, I would grant that honor to the winner of the auction. So, there. That's a good reason to donate through the PayPal link above and bid on the auction.
the prodigy's latest
"What is it? Is that your hand?" asks his mother.
"Noooo, " he yells! "It's a camel!"
Or, something along those lines.
Without further ado, here is the latest from young Mr. Parker.
drastic times call for…
Drastic measures. Mrs. Dan (aka Cyn) and myself have decided to get rid of the idiot boxes we have in the house. That's right, no more television in the house of dan. They haven't been turned on since Monday, I think. Definitely not since Tuesday. So far, the only thing I miss is the background noise. To replace that we'll be running the XMs a little more. Side note: I've been getting into the old time radio broadcasts on XM 164 – Radio Classics. Some of it is rather corny, especially the mysteries, but I have fun listening. I listened to some Nick Carter, Master Detective yesterday… could be a suitable replacement for CSI! (… if I actually watched CSI, that is.)
Why are we doing this? What are these "drastic times" calling for these "drastic measures"? I dunno. I just had the random thought one day a couple weeks ago and it stuck. Mentioned it to Cyn and she was all for it. We will be keeping one TV (w/ DVD player) for emergencies and the occasional family movie night. But that TV will be in an upstairs guest room… so, if we want to watch TV, we'll have to get some exercise to do it.
Maybe now I'll be able to finish the half dozen books I've started in recent months………
what the hell
OK, so I figured I'd go ahead and use this thing which I spent so much time installing. Doesn't so much matter whether or not people read… I just ran out of other fun things to do on the interweb, so here I am.
So,
As you should be able to see on the left, I've started using Flickr to store some of my photos… some of them were taken by Cyn.
And, while I am at it, I might as well use this as a good place to tell the one or two people who visit this site per year about the Paleo diet. Short of it is that you eat foods that your body is designed to eat. A lot of the crap in today's diet (grains, sugar, additives) are what's causing a multitude of diseases… even some that you wouldn't normally attribute to diet. I won't be able to do the subject justice, so go pick up a book… my favorite is Ray Audette's Neanderthin. (And, at only $6.99 new why the hell wouldn't you? Aren't you, of all people, worth it?) Another decent book, although I don't agree with his low fat approach, is The Paleo Diet by Loren Cordain. Oh, and following this way of life eating plan, I have lost 52 pounds in a very short amount of time. (2.5 months and, yes, I know it's probably way too fast, but I am not starving nor depriving myself. I'm simply eating evolutionarily appropriate foods when I get hungry.)
To supplement the diet, I recently (today) [re]started going to kung fu class*. I used to go 2-3 times per week, but mandatory employment modification put the kibosh on that. So, after an almost 2 year long hiatus, I have returned to the kwoon… and damn it if I didn't get my ass kicked. But it feels great… I may change my mind in the morning when I can't stand up, but right now I feel awesome. If you are interested and live in or around Cary, NC, the school is called Way of the Dragon Martial Arts. It's more about self-defense than pretty belts. And, as an added bonus, you get to play with some long, pointy weapons.
Fin.
-dan
* – "class" really doesn't feel like the right word, but I'm tired of thinking for today, so "class" will have to do.