23 Apr 09 Happy St. George’s Day
The Irish have St Patrick’s Day; The United States has Indepence Day and the English have St. Georges Day.
St. George is the patron saint of England. This from Wikipedia:
A traditional custom at this time was to wear a red rose in one’s lapel, though with changes in fashion this is no longer common. Another custom is to fly or adorn the St George’s Cross flag in some way: pubs in particular can be seen on April 23 festooned with garlands of St George’s crosses. However, the modern association of the St George’s Cross with sports such as football, cricket and rugby means that this tradition is rare outside this context. It is customary for the hymn “Jerusalem” to be sung in cathedrals, churches and chapels on St George’s Day, or on the Sunday closest to it.
If you don’t have a red rose, then have some honest to goodness English Real Ale instead!
Tags: cathedrals, churches, cricket, fashion, fly, garlands, george s day, honest to goodness, hymn jerusalem, patron saint of england, pubs, real ale, rugby, sports, st george, st georges day, st patrick, tradition, wikipedia
22 Jun 08 The Daily Plate
I’ve decided, due to a few factors, that the time has come to make a little more than a cursory attempt to lose a little weight. I’ve been asked more than once, when the baby is due.
I did the BMI thing, and it tells me I’m obese. Not clinically obese, but obese nevertheless. It still conjures up in my mind, pictures of huge huge people, and I don’t think I’m huge, but I know I’m overweight.
Until I got into my mid-thirties, I always looked underweight if anything. In my mid-twenties I can remember asking an older friend how I could put weight on, and he suggested I eat more potatoes. Well, I’ve always enjoy potatoes in their many forms.
Thing is, it all seems to be down to portion control. I read about this in a number of articles. I don’t eat as bad as many folks I read about online, and talk to. I don’t drink soda of any kind; don’t take sugar in coffee; don’t drink that much alcohol; seldom eat dessert; don’t put more than a real drizzle of dressing on my salads; almost never eat take-out food.
However, I do like a good plateful of what I do eat. Mostly we cook and eat at home, and if I go out during the work week to visit a client, I will usually take sandwiches with me, or get a sandwich somewhere.
Well, I’ve been pointed in the direction of The Daily Plate. It looks like a useful aid to achieve my goals.
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My goals are this. I want to lose 65 lbs. I’m not going to start one of the many diets about; they’re all theory, and I’m cynical. I want to lose weight, not put dollars in someone else s pocket so they can tell me their idea of dieting. I don’t want to jump on the fad of the week. Diets go in fashions, and I’m about the most anti-fashion, anti-follow-the-crowd person I know.
So I’ve started this new regime from last Friday. Today is day three. As I said, it’s normal food, none of this overpriced lean cuisine style crap ( I don’t eat prepared processed packet food now, and I’m not going to start).
I’m still going to the pub from time to time. I’m just not going to have seconds, or finish other people’s plates anymore. I’m going to quit being the house dustbin, and put the leftovers in the refrigerator, or even freezer for another day, and not have seconds.
I’m supposed to lose two pounds a week, so this will take me about nine months. I guess by the time I’ve finished, if I succeed, I won’t get asked if I’m pregnant anymore, and I might look like I did just eight years ago
Tags: alcohol, bmi, coffee, crowd, cursory attempt, dessert, diets, drink soda, drizzle, fad, fashion, mid thirties, mid twenties, portion control, potatoes, progress bar, salads, sandwich, sandwiches, thumbnail
19 Jun 08 Water
It’s one of the best things you can have. Not coffee, tea, soda, lemonade, but good old plain tap water.
Bottled water is mostly a fashion fad, and it’s a crazy waste of energy and materials. In the US alone there are tons of plastics bottles going into landfill sites each year. Most people in the US, and most of the rest of the western world have perfectly safe drinkable water from the faucet. I personally drink cupfuls of it every day. In fact bottled water has been shown to have up to one thousand times more bacteria in it than water from the tap, and of course, it’s thousands of times more expensive too!
I always drink a glassful of water when I get up in the morning. It helps to re-hydrate you after sleeping, and not drinking all night.
I spend a lot of time at my desk during the day, and I always have a glass of water on it. I’ve got a pint mug of water there right now.
Drink water during your meals and it will help you digest your food, and keep you hydrated at the same time.
After exercise, and also particularly during hot weather when you sweat more, it’s a good idea to drink extra water too.
If you do drink coffee or soda, or other caffeinated drinks, you should drink an extra glass of water for every cup of coffee you drink, as caffeine is a diuretic, and stimulates your kidneys to excrete more water. That’s why drinking lots of coffee makes you run to the bathroom. The same goes for alcohol too.
Tags: bacteria, bottled water, coffee tea, desk, drinkable water, exercise, fad, fashion, faucet, glass of water, hot weather, landfill sites, lemonade, pint, plastics bottles, soda, tap water, waste of energy
