Sleepypete's Pillow

My brain’s too manic/hyper at the moment to focus on one thing for long right now …

Gaming is helping there as it forces focus on one thing so you beat the game instead of the other way around. Work’s more of a struggle because of juggling lots of different things. (If there was no challenge, there would be no fun).

Current game is Deus Ex Human Revolution (still!) because it’s just downright awesome. Within its limits it is easily one of the best games I’ve played for a very long time. The downside is that it is another On Rails game where you are herded along the storyline. The upside is that you can tackle getting through the story driven missions by whatever method you choose. For some reason, I always go the Pacifist route which must say a couple of things about me :

I prefer the sneaky beaky route to getting stuff done.
I’m such a powergamer I go for the tougher route for better reward
(being Pacifist gives more experience to the character)

Resistance to getting Skyrim is dropping … A more open ended game might be on the menu to follow on from Deus Ex HR.

Skin stuff – my legs are almost completely back to normal now 🙂 That’s been a Very Long time coming. The problem first surfaced in July and spread until a patch roughly 6 inches by 3 inches on my left calf was affected. It also got infected (ick). It’s not completely healed yet (right leg is behind) but is definitely headed the right way. It worsened until the end of August when I got stuff from the doctor. I’ve also changed the stuff I put in the washing machine. I think the washing machine stuff is the main thing that’s turned it round. The doctor stuff will have sorted out the infection but I think an allergy to washing machine stuff may have caused a problem to turn bad.

So that’s another tick for “yes I should be able to play cricket again this summer” 🙂

Which takes me to : when did sport shops become slaves to fashion instead of places you could get sports gear ? You’d think that one thing you’d find in all sports shops would be supports for joints. My old knee supports were getting really manky and their velcro wasn’t up to the job any more so I got some new ones last year. However I think the new ones initiated the leg troubles due to being too tight. So I need some new knee supports … can I find some ? They’re rarer than pink hats !

Ah well – I guess a trip to Globe Sports is in order.

And I just looked in the clearance area on the Globe Sports site, which was a horrendously dangerous thing to do. (I may also need new spikes and those bats are real shiny)

Driving …

Oh crikey how standards on the roads have fallen. It’s been a fairly gradual decline but those roads are definitely a lot more Evil now than they used to be. I partly blame modern cars as they insulate the driver from the dangers of the road. In the days of my first 2 cars before the days of the Safety Nazis, you wouldn’t dare get close to anyone. One tap by another car and that Mk1 Fiesta and Mk1 Astra would have folded like the bacofoil they were made out of.

And moving swiftly on before I go into rant mode …

Hybrid cars and the cold – Because of the warm up sequence, hybrid cars don’t do so well in the cold. In the winter, the engine of my Lexus CT is having to stay on far more in order to keep itself and the cabin warm. The last fill up was 43mpg, down from my current average of 47.6. I’m hoping for more in the summer but I don’t help it with the short trips I typically do.

Music :

The library is growing … I’m almost up to 5000 “enabled” tracks in the library. “Enabled” means it can turn up in the shuffle or on the iPod. For a track to be “disabled”, it’ll either be a duplicate or commentary. So for the iTunes Original album I have for The Cardigans (likely to get the Norah Jones one too), I disable the commentary from getting in the shuffle but I’ll listen to the whole thing when it comes around as an album.

Oh – latest additions are the 2001 sound track, Strange Little Girls by Tori Amos (which includes an “I don’t like Mondays” cover), Sheryl Crow’s collection and Endlessly by Duffy. So far the Duffy album isn’t as bad as I thought it might be and the Sheryl Crow is better than I expected.

Manic/Hyper/Hypo and the diet

The diet is still progressing slowly, I’ve lost almost a stone. I don’t want to lose much more than that to be honest but need to start some kind of training in order to move weight from ballast to useful. I think the change of munching habit has initiated me going more manic, which is good and bad.

Good Manic – I have more energy and can zoom around when I need to
Bad Manic – not a good idea to be manic at bedtime (=insomnia), plus there’s a downside when I come down from the hyper. I also have to make a conscious effort to get things correct and focused.

But – having more tendency to hyperactivity is much better than the alternative which gets me locking into depressive cycles. That’s a nasty downward cycle when it happens because it makes me focus on : loneliness, abused muscles and bones and general feelings of worthlessness. That’s really bad for the confidence. The hyperactivity means I don’t dwell on the bad stuff.

Friends (to finish on an Up point !)

I have great friends. I know a few of them read here. I’m really thankful for all the friends I have. They’re all very special in their own ways. We’re all different, with those differences making us interesting. But it’s amazing when there’s a few people who can keep up with me when I go hyper (like the one who guesses all the codenames I use with ease!). Although sometimes I think they’re keeping up with me to satisfy that old saying “his people would follow him everywhere, if only out of curiosity”.

Still, intelligence is a very rare thing and not always obvious. Common sense is far better an indicator of intelligence than the ability to do calculus. I definitely get on better with smart people.

PS Pizza cravings are back … And there need to be more movies shown in 2d in the cinema so I can use the 2 vouchers I have that expire on 31 March …

For thinking that there doesn’t actually seem to be much in the way of the old classic at the moment, I have a surprising amount in the series link list in my cable box :

Leverage

Said stuff about this one a few days ago. I’m catching up through series 2 at the moment off the dvds because I’d missed one off air. I’d class this as a Looking Forward To but not necessarily a Watch Immediate.

What’s a Watch Immediate ? It’s either something so good I’m really caught up in the story and want to know what happens as early as possible. Or … I’m scared of spoilers …

Walking Dead

This one’s a Watch Immediate cos I just know that a bunch of people are going to be talking about it tomorrow at work :-). It’s an HBO series which means it’s extremely well made. That doesn’t necessary mean it has a classic or gripping story, True Blood is HBO but I gave up on that after 1 series because I found it boring … The story in Walking Dead is still keeping me interested at the moment, despite a minor aversion to End Of The World stuff where there’s apparently no hope in sight.

A Town Called Eureka

This was close to a Watch Immediate although at 1 episode a day, that can be tough to keep up with. It’s the best scifi on telly at the moment which tells you two things :
It’s getting cancelled soon
There’s no other scifi on telly at the moment worth watching

Fringe

Except maybe Fringe, which is more horror story than scifi. I’m keeping up with this one at the moment but while it has built up the scale of what it covers, the ongoing story arc has got tired over the length of each season leading to several resets. It’s still worth watching but I’m wondering how long it has left.

House

Medical comedy/drama … Hugh Laurie as the central character adds in the dark comedy, with the other characters working around him. This is very definitely the House show. Trouble is, it’s another one which is getting tired. It’s being allowed to keep going because the early series were brilliant and made it popular but they’re really running out of things to show and tell the viewer.

Sanctuary

What Amanda Tapping did next after Stargate … This is darn close to a Watch Immediate. It’s scifi that’s built around individual episodes, although they’ll go off on arcs when they need to. Unlike Fringe and House, they aren’t scared to have fun with each other with this series.

Sanctuary is huge fun, although it’s caught up in between a couple of channels at the moment so catching reruns could be tricky. I’ll watch this one as long as it lasts, which will hopefully be a while. Definitely watch it if you’re interested in scifi and haven’t seen it. And Ashley > Kate.

Ice Road Truckers

To be honest, this is Train Wreck TV. They haven’t had many wrecks yet live on camera so what you are shown can be somewhat pedestrian and routine. It’s compelling for the people they have driving the trucks and the interrelationships between them. They don’t always get on … Oh and I’m a huge fan of the tiny trucker with big attitude : Lisa.

NCIS and NCIS:LA

Still enjoying this one even in its 9th season, which is a huge achievement. They still have almost all the original cast members around, although one or two of the faces have changed. I think the secret to keeping it going that long has been to not throw in that much to up the ante. So whereas Fringe has got confusing because of the massive changes they put in, NCIS keeps on rolling. I’m also watching NCIS:LA but this one is suffering somewhat I think because they think they’re a lot cleverer than they actually are. Smugmode is very definitely active in the NCIS:LA office.

Lost Girl

Ok, so this one’s a guilty pleasure. It’s a lot of fun with some amazing looking ladies. Kensi steals the show here. Not really scifi again though, more Current Earth fantasy.

And there will be a few more (Falling Skies) that will appear when they start up again. Question though :

Where’s all the scifi ?

Star Trek – the only Trek being made right now is on the silver screen.
Stargate – think this is all dead now
V remake – this was pants but got killed before it could tell its story
Outcasts & Defying Gravity – Outcasts was a struggle (the writing) but it’s a massive shame that Defying Gravity got canned early. That was really shaping up into something awesome.

It’s not a good time right now for scifi that takes us to faraway places and new planets. And that’s a terrible shame. It’s like there’s a big baseball bat that the moguls have which says : “This scifi series is getting popular, kill it”. But there’s also some viewer expectation at work, as we’ve got used to high class visuals that are expensive to make. That’s a shame too, as some of the best scifi (Star Trek original series, Babylon 5) was made on a midget budget on cardboard sets before the Shininess Expectation took over.

Have we become shallow, expecting shiny visuals over great stories ? (NCIS:LA is a case in point)

We’d not done one of these for a while because most of the interesting films on at the cinema seems to be 3d only these days. Last night was a good opportunity for the Crazie mob to get some much needed chill out with pizza + movies.

Off to the Craziequeen’s place then :

First up – Perfect Sense.

I gotta say it right at the top – I wouldn’t recommend this movie to anyone … It’s an End Of The World tale, where people are gradually losing their senses. First is taste, with other senses following later. Interspersed with the loss of sense are bouts of intense feeling : Grief, hunger, rage.

Not my type of movie though. But it did tell me one thing : my bum is better than Ewan McGregor’s 🙂

Second – Tucker and Dale versus Evil

Better movie – it’s a take on the horror slasher hillbilly and college kids in a camp movie. The stars are Alan Tudyk (of A Knight’s Tale and Firefly/Serenity), Tyler Labine and Katrina Bowden, who turn what could have been fairly ordinary into a lot of fun.

Enjoyed this one, I’d consider buying it if the blu-ray got cheap.

Aside – I’m converted over to blu-rays now although I’ll buy dvd’s of series if they didn’t get shot in HD. But … I buy less blu-rays than I used to get dvd’s because the price point is still higher than I’d like to pay. It’s not an affordability thing, more a getting ripped-off thing.

Lastly – Bunraku

This one got the attention early and held it throughout. It has a certain style about it, lots of use of colour and smart set design. It’s a child of digital composite imaging too, with transitions between scenes leaning heavily on computer graphics to tell the story.

Impressive film. Lots of action here and in its own distinctive style which makes it memorable. I may well add it to the collection soon. I bet if RCA watched it, she’d be dialling up Amazon to order it by halfway through.

And on top of all that was pizza provided by our Craziequeen. Twas a good night in all.

Off work today – I’m using one of my annual leave “jokers”. After Easter leave is taken into account, I have 2.5 days left of annual leave until the end of April which I’m keeping in reserve for when I need it. Definitely wanted to use it today as this week has been somewhat uncomfortable due to the old injuries giving me reminders :

Lower back pain leading to sciatica
Upper back stiffness
And other stuff which I hide wherever possible – If I don’t acknowledge it to myself, I can deal with it better and make it less of a distraction. A consequence of that is that other people don’t realize when I’m struggling except when it surprises me and makes me go OW.

So – taken a day away today to give me a longer weekend than usual. I’ll not loaf for the whole weekend (will do tomorrow for sure as there’s cricket on), there’s a few errands I need to do today which will get me out of the house later.

PS I had a run going that went to posting on 17 consecutive days – don’t think I’ve ever done that before. Glad I did too, hope there wasn’t too much filler garbage in there to wade through. But I’m glad I did all that posting as I think it’s beaten some of the Wall Of Text tendency out of me.

Muahaha – I know I'm in shape by the Puff factor.

As in, how long does it take to get my breath back after running across the road because there's a truck to dodge 🙂

Hugs 🙂

I agree with you. We usually dont need bmi and other messuers, we all know if we are healthy and in shape or not. : ). Hugs

The “irritated Sleepy” buzzer just went off again …

I’ve just looked at BBC’s BMI calculator as part of my daily peek at various websites. It flags up what’s very dangerous about following religiously what the medical people say. My diet’s going quite well, although I know I’m probably getting to the plateau for what I’ll lose just by being more disciplined.

What’s the numbers ?

Height – 5″9 (ish – a poorly back may have brought that down to 5″8)
Weight when I started the diet – 14st2lbs

According to the BMI calc, that’s 29.4 which is on the verge over going into Obese from Overweight. I’d actually agree with that assessment with reservations. At that 14st + a bit, I was getting slowed down by having to carry too much weight around and I was having trouble unlocking the potential energy hidden in the chubbiness. Hence the decision to try and cut down and be more disciplined in what I consume.

That’s a mindset thing that goes throughout how I’m trying to be. Focus on “Need” instead of “Want” :
I may want the teacake in the morning but if I’m not hungry …
I may want to hunt down obscure information but if I need to produce a business case …
I may want to demolish the cookies but if I need to be in better shape …

Urg – getting sidetracked again. What’s the BMI say for me if I lose weight ?

Current weight – 13st 4lbs (it varies but that’s the current average)
BMI – 27.2 solidly in the middle of Overweight
Fair enough for my build and fitness at the moment but that BMI is what I had when I was playing cricket regularly. For people who regularly exercise and have some strength about them (mine’s in my legs), BMI is a terrible measure.

Target weight for current build – 12st
BMI – 24.7 – just into “Normal”
This is where things get a little dangerous. At 12st, I’d in theory have got rid of the spare tyre around my middle. However, I’d probably be losing the leg muscle mass that gives me my speed.

But … BMI calls an index of 18.7 as “Normal”, which is just above “underweight”. That’s at a weight of 9st. HUH ! ? ? ! A male of 5 foot 9 and my build at just 9 stone would be in severe need of feeding up. I wouldn’t describe that as healthy. I don’t think I’ve been 9 stone since I was a teenager and it took me a while to fill out.

Take that to an extreme and put BMI numbers in for professional sportsmen. Chris Ashton is a star on the wing for England’s rugby team (he of the dive). He’s 6ft and 14st 7 for a BMI of 27.4 (Overweight). He’s on the top of his game, doesn’t have an ounce of fat, could probably run marathons but BMI sees him as overweight. That turns to the ridiculous for muscly forwards.

It’s a silly measure. It ignores how wide you are and just concentrates on height. A better measure would see how wide you are from either shoulder to shoulder or across the pelvis. I went from 11st7 to 13st7 over a few seasons of cricket over ages 15 to 20 that saw me get wider across the shoulders from just filling out a bit.

But the real rule is : Know yourself. Don’t trust arbitrary (and illogical) measures made up by idiots. Ask yourself whether you think you’re overweight (I know I still need to lose a decent amount). Don’t make yourself unhealthy by losing too much.

Losing the weight I’ve got rid of so far has unlocked agility and energy I’d forgotten about but I would run myself into severe problems if I tried to get to that 9 stone for “underweight”. With the muscle mass on my legs, I’d hit problems if I went under 11 stone.

As for others, aim for what you feel comfortable with. Examples for how I see certain celebs :

Adele – cor. She’s comfortable with who she is and it shows. It’s attractive. Great voice too, shame I’m not a fan of the songs.
A N Other skinny poptart – reaction : “Eat something”. Bony is not sexy.
(they might have a better foundation for thin & reedy & screechy voices too if they weren’t unhealthy)

Only you know what weight you should be. Arbitrary measures like BMI only cause Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt. Big can be sexy too, it just depends on a person being comfortable with who they are. Nikasaur from the League of Legends videos is definitely not overweight (she’s a hottie that kept my interest in that game for a while) but I saw an offensive video on youtube that suggested she was. I hope the person responsible looks back in a few years when they will no doubt be much bigger and I bet they will be ashamed of putting that hurtful video on youtube.

And I really must take care that when the sexy people catch my eye, that I don’t stare. (Grinning = ok, slackjawed stare = creepy)

Oh you're definitely missing out if you don't try the :

Hannah Peel and
Lene Marlin (think you got me a couple of her cd's)

And The Incidentals is one of the best songs I have …

Don't know half of those!
One of my fave songs was on Jack on the journey home.
Rat Trap by the Boomtown Rats 🙂

After saying what I thought of the commercial side of 14th Feb (and threatened soppy music), here we go.

To my readers : I love you all !

That goes for the regulars (you know who you are !), the occasionals, the ones I have to cajole into having a look and all the random people who come here via “Next Blog” or google searches. Every hit logged makes me smile, especially those who know I have a Wall Of Text tendency yet still come back for more 🙂

On to the music – soppy stuff in a semi-random order :

Let’s Do It (Fall In Love) sung by that total legend, Ella Fitzgerald. Who’s not singing along to that classic yet ?

Only Exception by Paramore. Quite possibly my favourite from all they’ve come out with so far. Another one I can sing along to ! And Hayley looks adorable in that video.

Valentine by T’Pau. Carol Decker and co were due for far more than just the 2 albums …

Eyes Closed by Lene Marlin. Talking of putting out albums … Lene Marlin has 4 out there already and I’m hoping for many more from this Norwegian lady with a fantastic voice. (that just happens to use a range I can harmonise with !)

Your Song from Moulin Rouge, sung by Ewan MacGregor. Need to watch that movie some time …

Oh Boy by Duffy. Wow. And this didn’t make the main album ?

Under Your Spell from the Buffy musical episode. Total magic. This scene is probably the highlight from the entire 7 series of Buffy.

Almond Tree by Hannah Peel. If you watch any of the videos here, watch this one. She’s special. (Ok, maybe not strictly valentines theme but I adore her style)

Beautiful One by the Cardigans. This is from their early cute phase before their music got somewhat darker. Same enchanting Swedish voice (another I can sing along to!).

Incidentals by Alisha’s Attic. Oh if I had a pound for every time I’d linked this stunner, I’d be able to afford my lunch tomorrow. Ok, dinner too and pizza on Thursday.

That’s it for today 🙂 Hope you all enjoy what you’ve been getting up to today.

Thanks, tell your friends and family about my Blog if you don't mind. I am trying to get the word out to people to make it a hit. If you discipline yourself, put your mind into it, and allow for cheat days, you can accomplish any goal weight. Motivation is power! The winter months I tend to bulk up a bit, but I recommend eating small healthy meals throughout the day 4-5, and don't eat a lot at night.I studied Health & P.E. so I know somewhat, I am not cert. dietitian or anything.