There is a beauty salon down the road from me that displays this sign prominently in the window:
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I had to laugh when I noticed the quotes around the word MEN’S. If you buy one of their wigs … are you still a man?
Safety tip: Portable Air Compressor For Your Vehicle
My initial safety tip would be to notice as soon as one of your tires starts to get low and do not ignore it or think to yourself that you will fix it later. For me, when I do that I tend to forget for a couple of days and then I’m in real trouble the next time I notice that my tire is low. By then it is really really low. Lucky for me, I have a mini air compressor in my trunk that plugs into my cars 12 volt jack.
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The mini air compressor I use is a Slime brand tire inflater with LED light. I bought it from my local auto parts store (Auto Zone). The LED light comes in quite handy in a dark parking lot and is probably even more handy on a dark country road. You definitely need to get one of these little babies for each of your vehicles. This particular model is only 10 bucks, which is very cheap for the peace of mind that it buys you.
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Kurt
Update 1: This particular device will only save you if you have a very slow leak. If you end up with a puncture or something like that, then you will also need a can of tire sealant handy.
Update 2: It’s not shown in the photo above, but since I permanently keep one of these babies in each of my cars, I went ahead and used a permanent marker to place an arrow on the gauge telling me the air pressure of that car’s tires. This saves me the time and trouble of having to figure that out late at night in the dark while possibly also being eaten by mosquitoes.
How I lost 20 pounds in 7 weeks simply by making healthy choices
Ideas From The Crowd
A few months ago I came to the realization that I was 20 pounds overweight and needed to do something about it. I asked my Facebook friends for suggestions and got some really good ideas:
- P90X
- Wii Gold’s Gym
- Hollywood Fast
- Hollywood Cookie Diet
- Cut out all junk food & sugar
- Replace simple carbs with complex carbs
- Eat right & exercise (no fad diets)
- Cut portions in half
- Avoid artificial sweeteners
- Avoid processed foods
… and I also received a few not so great ideas:
- NASA high tech fat sucking machine (Thanks, Mick)
- Get a tapeworm (Thanks, Joe)
- Cocaine habit (Thanks, Norm)
I thought about these options and did some online research. I wasn’t wanting to spend a lot of money and I really didn’t want another fad diet. I wanted to change my unhealthy eating habits for good and I wanted to start exercising regularly again. I found some online chatter about eating like a diabetic and that sounded interesting so I looked more into it.
Eat Like A Diabetic
I had always thought that diabetics could not eat sugar at all. But that’s not true. Diabetics are really supposed to eat well balanced meals in order to keep their blood sugar levels balanced. And portion sizes are pretty important too. Most of us eat about twice the portion size that we really need to be healthy.
Many dietitians suggest the following for breakfast:
- small portion of medium-fat protein
- small portion of starch
- small portion of fruit
- small portion of low fat dairy
- a little fat
… and for lunch:
- small portion of lean protein
- small portion of starch
- small portion of fruit
- small portion of vegetable
- a little fat
… and for dinner:
- larger portion of lean protein
- small portion of starch
- small portion of fruit
- small portion of vegetable
- small portion of low fat dairy
- a little fat
… and one snack is also suggested:
- small portion of starch
- half portion of low fat dairy
Dietitians are recently suggesting that diabetics do not need a starch at every meal and they are also cutting out some of the dairy because it contains the hidden glucose of lactose. Also, many dietitians believe that 5 smaller meals versus 3 larger ones equaling the same daily caloric intake keeps the body’s metabolism and blood sugar more level.
Major Points To Consider
A couple major points are in order. Avoid junk food! Avoid fried food! Minimize sweets! This healthy meal plan does not include soda … the two allowed drinks are water and low fat milk. Most people should probably drink 8 glasses of water each day. There are many reasons … it flushes out toxins … it carries nutrients to your cells … it maintains healthy tissue.
This healthy meal plan does not include big desserts. Occasional small desserts are fine, though. A certain amount of sugar is necessary for a balanced diet. Naturally occurring sugar is suggested, though, like the sugars occurring in fruits. Do not add sugar to your food!
If you want to occasionally have cookies in a meal, then you should skip any other carbohydrate content of that meal like a slice of bread and have the cookies instead. This is an even trade and the total amount of carbohydrate ingested during the meal will remain the same. I wouldn’t suggest eating cookies at every meal, though. Or even every day. Maybe twice a week or so would be okay. Give yourself an occasional treat for being good. If you do it too often, though, then you’re not exactly being good!
This meal plan suggests foods that are low in cholesterol and low in salt and low in added sugar. Restaurant food is often high in cholesterol and high in salt and high in sugar. If you eat often in restaurants, you will likely not be able to lose weight unless you are very very very careful what you choose from the menu.
Now let’s talk about portions. Portions are very important. For a meat in your meal, many dietitians suggest 3 ounces which is about the same size as a deck of cards. This doesn’t sound like a lot of food but by the time you finish a meal that includes a meat and a starch and a vegetable and a fruit and a milk, it all adds up to quite a filling meal. And a balanced meal, which is very important. The whole time I’ve been eating like this I’ve rarely ever noticed that I was hungry.
Real Food Examples
Here are some examples of actual foods that fit within this meal plan:
- small portion of medium-fat protein
- 1 ounce of pork sausage
- or 2 strips of bacon
- or 1 ounce of regular cheese
- small portion of lean protein
- 1 ounce of white fish, tuna, salmon, shellfish
- or 1 ounce of chicken breast or turkey, no skin
- or 1 ounce of ham, pork
- or 1 ounce of low fat cheese
- minimize red meats and eggs
- larger portion of lean protein
- same as above, but 3 ounces instead of 1 ounce
- small portion of starch
- one slice whole wheat bread
- or 2 ounces of low fat granola
- or 3 ounces of multigrain pasta
- avoid white bread, white rice
- small portion of fruit
- 3 ounces of fresh or frozen berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, etc.)
- or 3 ounces of mango
- or 3 ounces of apple slices
- or 1 measuring cup of 100% fruit juice
- minimize citrus, bananas
- fresh, not canned fruits
- small portion of vegetable
- 3 ounces of raw broccoli, cauliflower, carrots with low fat ranch dressing
- or 3 ounces of steamed broccoli with garlic powder and grilled onions
- small portion of low fat dairy
- 1 measuring cup of low fat milk
- 3 ounces of nonfat yogurt (add 1 tsp pure vanilla extract or 1 tsp honey for flavor)
Don’t Forget To Exercise
Regular exercise is important to maintain a fit body that won’t fall apart as you get older. And regular exercise can also help you drop unneeded fat weight. Exercise doesn’t have to be a regimen that you force yourself to do and ends up giving you sore muscles for days afterward. A simple daily brisk walk can do wonders.
For two months, I’ve been on a regular routine of three times a week walking very briskly … like over 4 mph … for about 3 miles. The brisk walk isn’t all that hard, but it gets the heart pumping and gets the sweat flowing anyways. The hardest part for me is the getting to bed an hour earlier than I’m used to and getting up an hour earlier than normal.
What I’ve Been Eating
I’ve been keeping track of what exactly I’ve been eating for two months, so here are some details that show exactly what I’ve been eating. Now everyone’s body chemistry and metabolism is different, so don’t get mad at me if you don’t have the same results as I did. The healthy eating meal plan I described above does not include counting calories. It includes eating the right portions of a rounded set of healthy choices. I only counted the calories for fun to see how many calories I was taking in each day on average. This is not a calorie counting diet. This is a new way of eating that will make you healthier and thinner in the long run. I was using an iPhone app called MyFitnessPal to track my calories in case you were wondering where the calorie numbers came from.
WEEK 1
- Monday August 9th
- was not keeping track at first
- Tuesday
- was not keeping track at first
- Wednesday
- was not keeping track at first
- Thursday (1,538 net calories)
- Exercise: Brisk (4 mph) walk for 3 miles or 45 minutes (minus 289 calories)
- Breakfast: Fruit/Yogurt/Granola: 3 oz frozen mixed fruit, 3 oz nonfat yogurt, 1/3 cup low fat granola, 1 tsp pure vanilla extract, water (300 calories)
- Lunch: half Sicilian shrimp appetizer, half Greek salad with meat, water with lemon (445 calories)
- Dinner: 2 helpings of the following: 6 inch flour tortilla, 1/2 Tbsp salsa, 1/2 oz feta cheese, 1/2 cup romaine lettuce, quarter small tomato, 1.5 oz rotisserie chicken white meat, water (312 calories)
- Snacks: fruit and nut trail mix, Fruit/Yogurt/Granola, herb roasted nut mix, tortilla chips and salsa (770 calories) (I was eating about 3 snacks a day for the first 2 weeks)
- Friday (1,031 net calories)
- Exercise: Mowing lawn with push mower for 90 minutes (minus 636 calories)
- Breakfast: Fruit/Yogurt/Granola (300 calories)
- Lunch: 2 helpings of the following: 6 inch flour tortilla, 1/2 Tbsp salsa, 1/2 oz feta cheese, 1/2 cup romaine lettuce, quarter small tomato, 1.5 oz rotisserie chicken white meat, water (312 calories)
- Dinner: Denny’s Prime Rib and Blue salad, water with lemon (600 calories)
- Snacks: gala apple, Planters South Beach nut mix, chocolate chip granola bar, low fat graham crackers (455 calories) (I was eating about 3 snacks a day for the first 2 weeks)
- Saturday (1,133 net calories)
- Exercise: yard work for 1.5 hours (minus 636 calories)
- Exercise: Brisk (4 mph) walk for 3 miles or 45 minutes (minus 289 calories)
- Breakfast: Fruit/Yogurt/Granola, water (300 calories)
- Lunch: dip consisting of 2 Tbsp nonfat yogurt and 1 Tbsp light mayonnaise and a tsp yellow mustard and chili powder and Cayenne pepper and curry, raw broccoli dipped in the dip, 1 slice whole grain bread, 2/3 Starkist herb/garlic tuna pouch, 1 cup 100% apple juice (373 calories)
- Dinner: salad consisting of romaine lettuce, raw carrots, raw broccoli, tomato, and 3 oz grilled chicken breast, water (195 calories)
- Snacks: Planters South Beach nut mix, unsweetened apple sauce snack pack, low fat graham crackers, 1/2 Naked Juice Green Machine smoothie, Walgreen’s small bag of yogurt pretzels (these things are terribly fattening and I would not suggest them! 4 servings and 600 calories in one small bag!), 1 oz BBQ potato chips (455 calories) (I was eating about 3 snacks a day for the first 2 weeks)
- Sunday (1,722 net calories)
- Breakfast: low fat graham crackers, 1 cup low fat milk, 2 servings of pound cake, water (495 calories)
- Lunch: dip from yesterday’s lunch, 3 oz grilled chicken breast in the dip, 1/2 cup fresh mango, 1/2 cup raw cauliflower in the dip, handful of low fat granola, water (400 calories)
- Dinner: 2 helpings of the following: 6 inch flour tortilla, 1/2 Tbsp salsa, 1/2 oz feta cheese, 1/2 cup romaine lettuce, quarter small tomato, 1.5 oz rotisserie chicken white meat, 1/2 Naked Juice Green Machine smoothie (382 calories)
- Snacks: chocolate chip granola bar, pineapple cake, vanilla bean ice cream (445 calories) (I was eating about 3 snacks a day for the first 2 weeks)
Week 1 Complete … 5 pounds lost
WEEK 2
- Monday August 16th (1,856 net calories)
- Exercise: Brisk (4 mph) walk for 3 miles or 45 minutes (minus 289 calories)
- Breakfast: Fruit/Yogurt/Granola, water (300 calories)
- Lunch: Greek salad with no meat, low fat Italian dressing, water (390 calories)
- Dinner: whole wheat wrap filled with grilled chicken breast, leaf lettuce, tomato, 1 slice Swiss cheese, onion, banana peppers, black olives, water (440 calories)
- Snacks: herb roasted nut mix, egg salad sandwich, 8 oz apple juice, fruit and nut blend trail mix (this was extremely high in calories it turns out!) (1,015 calories) (I was eating about 3 snacks a day for the first 2 weeks)
- Tuesday (1,827 net calories)
- Breakfast: Fruit/Yogurt/Granola, water (300 calories)
- Lunch: Greek salad with no meat, low fat Italian dressing, water (390 calories)
- Dinner: 3 oz baked salmon, 1/2 cup fresh mango, tossed salad with carrots, tomato, low fat dressing, water (254 calories)
- Snacks: fruit and nut blend trail mix (this was extremely high in calories it turns out!), low fat graham crackers, beef steak jerky (883 calories) (I was eating about 3 snacks a day for the first 2 weeks)
- Wednesday (1,474 net calories)
- Breakfast: Fruit/Yogurt/Granola, water (300 calories)
- Lunch: whole wheat wrap filled with grilled chicken breast, leaf lettuce, tomato, onion, banana peppers, dill spear, water (364 calories)
- Dinner: oats & honey granola bar, 1/2 Naked Fruit Green Machine smoothie (260 calories)
- Snacks: 2 oats & honey granola bar, herb roasted nut mix (550 calories) (I was eating about 3 snacks a day for the first 2 weeks)
- Thursday (1,232 net calories)
- Exercise: Brisk (4 mph) walk for 3 miles or 45 minutes (minus 289 calories)
- Breakfast: Fruit/Yogurt/Granola, water (300 calories)
- Lunch: whole wheat wrap filled with grilled chicken breast, leaf lettuce, tomato, onion, banana peppers, water (359 calories)
- Dinner: 2 helpings of the following: 6 inch flour tortilla, 1/2 Tbsp salsa, 1/2 oz feta cheese, 1/2 cup romaine lettuce, quarter small tomato, 1.5 oz rotisserie chicken white meat, water (312 calories)
- Snacks: 2 oats & honey granola bar, herb roasted nut mix (550 calories) (I was eating about 3 snacks a day for the first 2 weeks)
- Friday (2,569 net calories)
- Breakfast: Fruit/Yogurt/Granola, water (300 calories)
- Lunch: whole wheat wrap filled with grilled chicken breast, leaf lettuce, tomato, onion, banana peppers, water (359 calories)
- Dinner: 2 slices of Kelsey’s pepperoni pizza, garlic knot, water (760 calories)
- Snacks: fruit and nut blend trail mix (this was extremely high in calories it turns out!), oats & honey granola bar, herb roasted nut mix, Dunkin Donuts chocolate frosted donut, (1,150 calories) (I was eating about 3 snacks a day for the first 2 weeks)
- Saturday (1,261 net calories)
- Exercise: Brisk (4 mph) walk for 3 miles or 45 minutes (minus 289 calories)
- Breakfast: Fruit/Yogurt/Granola, water (300 calories)
- Lunch: oats & honey granola bar, 1/2 Naked Fruit Green Machine smoothie (260 calories)
- Dinner: fruit and nut blend trail mix (this was extremely high in calories it turns out!), 1/2 Naked Fruit Green Machine smoothie (630 calories)
- Snacks: oats & honey granola bar, herb roasted nut mix (360 calories)
- Sunday (1,520 net calories)
- Breakfast: oats & honey granola bar, water (190 calories)
- Lunch: salad with grilled chicken breast and low fat dressing, water (500 calories)
- Dinner: salad with grilled chicken breast and low fat dressing, water (500 calories)
- Snacks: oats & honey granola bar, low fat graham crackers (330 calories)
Week 2 complete …2 more pounds lost or 7 total pounds lost
WEEK 3
- Monday August 23rd (681 net calories)
- Exercise: Brisk (4 mph) walk for 3 miles or 45 minutes (minus 289 calories)
- Breakfast: no sugar added applesauce with cinnamon, water (50 calories)
- Lunch: Greek salad with no meat, low fat Italian dressing, water (390 calories)
- Dinner: peanut butter crunchy granola bar, water (190 calories)
- Snacks: herb roasted nut mix, twice (340 calories)
- Tuesday (1,483 net calories)
- Breakfast: Fruit/Yogurt/Granola, water (300 calories)
- Lunch: Greek salad with no meat, low fat Italian dressing, water (390 calories)
- Dinner: 3 ounces roasted turkey breast, green beans, honey glazed carrots, 1 measuring cup milk (469 calories)
- Snacks: Chips and salsa (324 calories)
- Wednesday (1,176 net calories)
- Breakfast: Fruit/Yogurt/Granola, water (300 calories)
- Lunch: Greek salad with no meat, low fat Italian dressing, water (390 calories)
- Dinner: baked non-breaded catfish fillet, honey glazed carrots, green beans, 1 cup milk (395 calories)
- Snacks: very thin slice of cheesecake, about one ounce (91 calories)
- Thursday (1,633 net calories)
- Exercise: Brisk (4 mph) walk for 3 miles or 45 minutes (minus 289 calories)
- Breakfast: oats & honey granola bar, Naked Fruit Green Machine smoothie (400 calories)
- Lunch: whole wheat wrap filled with grilled chicken breast, leaf lettuce, tomato, onion, banana peppers, 1/2 Naked Fruit Green Machine smoothie (499 calories)
- Dinner: 3 ounces Cajun spiced non-breaded shrimp, green beans, raw blueberies, 1.5 cup milk (353 calories)
- Snacks: vending machine chocolate chip cookies, vending machine apple juice, oats & honey granola bar (670 calories)
- Friday (1,586 net calories)
- Breakfast: Fruit/Yogurt/Granola, water (300 calories)
- Lunch: green salad from salad bar with raw veggies and hot wing sauce as dressing, water (273 calories)
- Dinner: salad with grilled chicken breast, tomato, raw broccoli, water (303 calories)
- Snacks: oats & honey granola bar, Mrs. Smiths slice cherry pie, vanilla Blue Bell ice cream (710 calories)
- Saturday (158 net calories)
- Exercise: mowing yard with push mower for 90 minutes (minus 636 calories)
- Exercise: Brisk (4 mph) walk for 3 miles or 45 minutes (minus 289 calories)
- Breakfast: 1 slice whole wheat bread, 1 teaspoon seedless strawberry jam, Frigo low fat cheese stick (188 calories)
- Lunch: 3 ounces turkey breast, water (285 calories)
- Dinner: 2 helpings of the following: 6 inch flour tortilla, 1/2 Tbsp salsa, 1/2 oz feta cheese, 1/2 cup romaine lettuce, quarter small tomato, 1.5 oz rotisserie chicken white meat, water (312 calories)
- Snacks: oats & honey granola bar, low fat graham crackers (330 calories)
- Sunday (1,250 net calories)
- Breakfast: oats & honey granola bar, water (190 calories)
- Lunch: IHOP Spinach, mushroom, tomato omlette with fruit (400 calories)
- Dinner: 4 ounce baked salmon filet, brown rice, cooked broccoli, milk (520 calories)
- Snacks: low fat graham crackers (140 calories)
Week 3 complete … 4 more pounds lost or 11 total pounds lost
WEEK 4
- Monday August 30th (1,138 net calories)
- Tuesday (1,526 net calories)
- Wednesday (1,113 net calories)
- Thursday (1,311 net calories)
- Friday (1,748 net calories)
- Saturday (1,058 net calories)
- Sunday (1,606 net calories)
Week 4 complete … 4 more pounds lost or 15 total pounds lost
WEEK 5
- Monday September 6th (1,437 net calories)
- Tuesday (1,624 net calories)
- Wednesday (1,386 net calories)
- Thursday (1,390 net calories)
- Friday (2,439 net calories)
- Saturday (1,526 net calories)
- Sunday (2,343 net calories)
Week 5 complete … zero pounds lost or 15 total pounds lost
WEEK 6
- Monday September 13th (1,220 net calories)
- Tuesday (1,073 net calories)
- Wednesday (1,406 net calories)
- Thursday (1,450 net calories)
- Friday (1,305 net calories)
- Saturday (1,256 net calories)
- Sunday (1,474 net calories)
Week 6 complete … 3 more pounds lost or 18 total pounds lost
WEEK 7
- Monday September 20th (1,240 net calories)
- Tuesday (1,430 net calories)
- Wednesday (1,302 net calories)
- Thursday (1,348 net calories)
- Friday (2,245 net calories)
- Saturday (2,713 net calories)
- Sunday (1,232 net calories)
Week 7 complete … 2 more pounds lost or 20 total pounds lost
Things I Learned
- You don’t have to starve yourself to lose your fat stores
- Small portions do not feel like small portions when you eat a well balanced and well rounded meal
- Diabetics do not need to avoid sugar completely … they just need to be careful. Diabetics need to eat balanced and well rounded meals. Surprise, that’s good advise for everyone!
- It’s completely possible to live comfortably on about 400 calories per meal, plus about 400 calories in snacks each day
- Salads with meat added are a simple way to get the correct portion sizes of your protein while also getting your vegetables at the same time
- Exercise does not have to be painful or hard in order to be beneficial
- All vending machine snacks are super high in calories, no matter how healthy they look
- Restaurant food is 2 to 3 times the calories and portions which is considered healthy by most standards
- Salsa is not bad for you, but most tortilla chips are quite high in calories
- I really like the Greek salad served by my cafeteria at work … and it’s not too bad for me either
References
My wife found this book Diabetes Cookbook for Dummies that she really likes.
Ezine Articles: Diabetic Diets: What to eat and what to avoid
What is all over my backyard at dusk?
I had an odd experience the other evening. I was working in my garage near dusk grinding a new edge on my lawnmower blade. It was pretty dark and the lighting in my garage is not the greatest, so I was wearing my super bright LED powered forehead light.
[http://www2.westfalia.net/medien/scaled_pix/580/580/000/000/000/000/001/332/86.jpg]
After I was done, I put the lawnmower away in my shed in the backyard. I kept the LED light on my head since it was easier than carrying a flashlight … and it is way brighter. As I was walking in the backyard with the LED light, I kept noticing these tiny little twinkles of light all over the yard that would flash occasionally as I was walking. There was maybe one of these odd little twinkles of light in every two square feet or so of yard.
Please comment below your guess as to what the source of the tiny little twinkles of light were in my back yard the other evening. One guess per comment, please. The first person to guess correctly will win a t-shirt from the Leucht Online Store.
Top 10 things I learned on my summer vacation road trip
10) Do not start a new diet before your vacation
This one is actually pretty obvious. I don’t know what I was even thinking. It’s pretty much impossible to eat healthy while on vacation.
(http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200812/r320235_1425804.jpg)
9) It’s possible to discharge an iPhone 3GS faster than it can charge if you play podcasts while also using the GPS receiver
This actually surprised me. I specifically bought a car charger for my iPhone so I could try out some GPS navigation software on our trip. I figured as long as I had the iPhone plugged into the power cord, I wouldn’t have to worry about draining it on the long trip. I was wrong. With the GPS program running and the iPod app playing podcasts that I had downloaded earlier from my PC, the iPhone drained faster than it charged. I did not appreciate this situation.
(http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/gadgetlab/2009/08/tomtom_83913_tt-for-iphone-incar-landscape-uk.jpg)
8 ) A pop-up summertime thunderstorm can ruin a nice sunny beach day
We had only been on the beach for a total of about 15 minutes. Just enough time to get sunblock on all the kids and let them go out and play in the surf for a few minutes. Then we heard the thunder. There was a pretty bad storm that suddenly had formed and was heading right for us. It was a beautiful sunny day one minute and we were running from a lightning storm the next. We tried to find other things to do. We hung out in a souvenir shop for a while. Then we sat in our cars at a park for a while and ate our picnic lunch. The storms kept building right over the beach. We eventually gave up and went home.
(http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/radar/radardata.html)
7) It’s completely possible, although possibly quite expensive, to wash a pickup by driving it completely into a lake
If you back your pickup truck down the boat ramp just to wash out the bed … then you might be a redneck! I just hope this poor guy is able to laugh at this later! (This is no joke. We witnessed this with our own eyes, by the way.)
6) Always check the trail online from town before driving up into the mountains where there is no chance of any cell phone signals (or grab a trail map from the welcome center)
We drove to a small waterfall in the Smokey Mountains of southwest North Carolina first thing one morning and were planning on visiting larger waterfalls later in the day. This first small waterfall was only maybe 50 yards from the road pull off. But while walking to the waterfall, we went past a forest service sign that had details about climbing and rappelling. The trail split and one trail went directly to the waterfall and the other went on up the mountainside. After experiencing the waterfall, I thought it would be fun for me to check out the other trail and see if I could get to the climbing and rappelling rock and take some photos while the rest of the family had a snack back at the car. After walking uphill for about 2/3rds of a mile, I finally gave up with no climbing wall in sight. Had to turn around and go back. My little hike up the mountain was recorded on my GPS, but there was no cell connectivity so I had no Google map overlay to look at. After we got back into town, I brought up the Google map overlay onto my GPS hike. See the screen shot below. It turns out I was only about half way to the climbing face when I gave up and turned around.
(http://mobile.accuterra.com/)
5) North Carolina experiences the same temperatures as Florida, only with slightly less humidity
It was pretty hot and pretty humid in central North Carolina while we were there. We’re talking the middle of July. But every time I brought up the current conditions for North Carolina and compared them to the current conditions in Central Florida, the temperature was always the same within a couple of degrees and the humidity was always worse in Florida. I probably checked about 4 times during the week that we were there and the results were always the same. So I guess it actually did feel just a little bit nicer up in North Carolina compared to back home. After all, it’s a slightly drier heat up there! 🙂
(http://media.trb.com/media/alternatethumbnails/story/2010-08/55334161-03051444.jpg)
4) It is utterly impossible to lock your keys in the ignition of a Nissan Xterra SUV
We bought a 2004 Nissan Xterra recently and drove it on our vacation. One time at a gas station I was trying to write down the mileage and the car was turned off and the keys were in my pocket, which is where they belong when they are not in the ignition. Well, the odometer doesn’t work unless the key is on, so I had to turn the key on to write down the odometer reading. When I was done I needed to go in to use the restroom, so without thinking I locked the door with the power lock button and shut the door. Just as I was shutting the door, I realized the key was in the ignition still. Turns out that the car doesn’t let you lock the doors when the key is in the ignition, or maybe when the key is turned on. So even though I tried, I was not able to lock my keys in the car. Now, if it wasn’t in the ignition that would have been a different story, but my keys are usually in my pocket or in the ignition. I tend not to leave them laying anywhere else, knock on wood.
(http://saloncars.com/catalog/images/08NissanXterra.jpg)
3) After a long hike through a narrow trail in the woods, if you stare at a large flat sign you will experience this really freaky peripheral vision motion after effect illusion of the sign melting away from you
After walking back down the mountain trail about 2/3rds of a mile from looking for the climbing and rappelling wall, I stopped at the bottom to read the forest service signs again, because there were details about the climbing wall there. According to my GPS records, I had walked downhill on this woodsy trail at about 2.5 miles per hour for approximately 14 minutes without stopping. Well, when I stopped and looked at this big billboard of a sign, I experienced something very weird and interesting. My eyes and brain were totally still in “moving through the woodsy trail” mode and so when I stopped to look at this big stationary wall of a sign, it looked like the sign was melting away from me. At least in my peripheral vision, the sign seemed to be moving away from me. It was pretty freaky and it took about a minute before I could see normally without getting a bit dizzy. Scientists call this illusion the motion after effect or waterfall illusion.
Here is a nice example: http://www.michaelbach.de/ot/mot_adapt/index.html
2) Waterfalls are really cool … but not real fun if you forget your water shoes
We saw some pretty cool waterfalls on our vacation. One of them, Looking Glass Falls, is 60 feet tall and at the bottom there was a big pool where tourists can swim and play. It’s common sense that you would bring water shoes or at least flip flops or sandals if you’re gonna visit a place like this. After all, everyone knows that the floor of these creeks and waterfalls is covered with sharp jagged rocks, right? Well, this Florida boy found out the hard way. I was wearing my good tennis shoes and did not have anything else in the car to wear. I wasn’t gonna ruin my good tennis shoes, so I chose to walk around barefoot in the water. Not a great idea. The rocks are slippery in addition to being sharp. Pretty uncomfortable to walk on. I actually slipped once and messed up my big toe, but I won’t go into the details. A week later my big toe is still recovering from my poor planning, though. And the bottoms of my feet are probably all cut up too.
1) Dry cereal is completely okay with everyone in the family for dinner after arriving home after a long drive
After a very long drive home and returning to a house that is pretty much devoid of real food. The boys were perfectly content and happy to sit and eat dry cereal for their dinner. They were just happy to be home again. 🙂
(http://www.comesatradehub.com/images/products/8912164569.jpg)
