Outrageous cost of college tuition

I just figured out that I need to save $1000 per month for the next 16 years to send my kids to college. Tuition has been rising at an 8.4% rate for the last 10 years, 8.2% for the last 20 years (reference: College Illinois). This means that if current annual tuition is $15,000 (e.g., at the University of Illinois), then in 11 years when Ben starts college, annual tuition will be $36,426. Four years of college tuition for Ben will cost $165,000. For Anna, the first year is $46,398 and all four years will cost $210,000.

These numbers are so outrageous, it might seem like they are made up. I assure you the calculations are correct. And that doesn't even include the cost of books, room, and board (currently another $10,000 per year). That adds on another 2/3 of the cost. So the cost of sending my kids to college could be $625,000. And that's if they graduate in four years or don't go to graduate school. The average student is taking more than 6 years to graduate from college, according to the article College Tuition Keeps Rising from US News.

Why is the cost of tuition rising? University officials said one reason they were raising sticker prices was to counterbalance reductions in the subsidies governments (in other words, taxpayers) provide for higher education. The Pennsylvania State University's main campus, for example, received the same state grant this year that it received five years ago, said spokesperson Bill Mahon. So the school raised tuition 5.6 percent this year to cover increased salaries, benefits, energy, and other operating costs, he said. according to the US News article.

And there's more. Finally, many colleges say they are raising tuition to generate more money to hand back to students as financial aid, in part to make up for the federal government's reductions in programs like the Pell grant. But the College Board said that even after subtracting financial aid, the net cost of college has risen at least 2 percentage points faster than inflation over the past decade.

Thank you, state and local governments. It's a pretty simple formula. Politicians make the decisions. They are (almost all) rich. They can afford college tuition regardless, and will probably send their kids to private schools. And they decide how much money will go to education. I can hear the thought process now. "Hmmm, we can give the rich a tax break, or we can give more money to the colleges. I vote for the tax break." The result? Fewer middle and lower class people will get a college education. And that's just what the rich elite want. If you're scared and uneducated, you'll just keep falling for their same old tricks.

The sad part is that we continue to vote for these politicians. They are supposed to represent us, but really they just represent themselves. They make every election about one or two issues. Ignore the man behind the curtain.

Personally, I think education benefits everyone, not just the person receiving the education. We would be a better country if people were more educated. I don't know the root of the problems in this country, but it wouldn't surprise me if poor education was one of them.

- schneid

Cheap stuff equals lost jobs

I've been ranting and raving about this for years. One of the biggest problems with our country is everyone's desperate need to buy everything as cheaply as possible.

My inkjet printer broke recently. It originally cost $100 about 5 years ago. My choices were: buy a new printer for $75, or buy a new printhead for $50. This is a very typical scenario these days. In fact, maybe it's not, when I think of my car stereo. When that broke, it would cost $100 to buy a new one, and more than $100 to get it repaired. So I bought a new one. But when the printer broke, I bought the new printhead instead. The printer was still perfectly good, it just needed a new printhead. Why send the printer to a landfill? Maybe I'm just a more responsible citizen now. I hate to see all the stuff people put by the curb to send to the landfill.

Suppose you could pay $200 for a DVD player guaranteed to work for 4 years. Or you could pay $100 for a DVD player that would last 2 years. What would you do? Most people would pay $100, with the justification that "Hey, I can get another brand new one in 2 years!" But there is a hidden cost, in the landfills, god knows what's leaking out of the electronics in the landfills into our environment, and the lost jobs.

I think that manufacturing quality parts and opening automobile repair centers that are reasonably priced could save the American auto industry. Instead of making cars as cheaply as possible, they could make them as reliable as possible, then make money when you buy parts to repair them. It's only a matter of time before the American auto manufacturers are sold off to the Japanese, Germans, or who knows. I think the unions are partially to blame because they insist on a certain wage, and when they get it (or near it), thousands of people get laid off. The unions are squeezing their own people out of jobs. Then who profits? The people who run the unions.

Sure, many people want to buy a new car every few years, or they want to buy more expensive cars. But these aren't the people who can save the American auto industry. I'm talking about the lower and middle classes. They are the ones who want to buy American cars. They are the people who will spend $500 to repair their car every year, rather than get fed up and buy a new one. They don't have a choice. But they aren't stupid, and they're probably buying a lot more cheap foreign cars these days.

I just ran across the article Wal-Mart You Don't Know today and I feel vindicated. It says that not only does Wal-Mart want to sell the cheapest stuff, but they want to buy the products for less money every year, squeezing their suppliers for profits. This is causing the suppliers to outsource the labor, and is taking away American jobs.

This paragraph sums it up best:
It's Wal-Mart in the role of Adam Smith's invisible hand. And the Milwaukee employees of Master Lock who shopped at Wal-Mart to save money helped that hand shove their own jobs right to Nogales. Not consciously, not directly, but inevitably. "Do we as consumers appreciate what we're doing?" Larrimore asks. "I don't think so. But even if we do, I think we say, Here's a Master Lock for $9, here's another lock for $6--let the other guy pay $9."

If we keep outsourcing our jobs, who will have any money to buy all this stuff? The problem is that everyone only looks out for themselves, and few look at the big picture.

Here are some reactions to the article:

• Liberals: goddamn greedy corporate bastards
  
• Rich suburbanites: Wow, $2.97 for a gallon of pickles? I'm driving my Hummer to the nearest Wal-mart right now!
  
• Republicans: Awesome, every time they sell some pickles, my Wal-Mart stock goes up .00000001 cents
  
• Young people: OMG, NBD WCA ZZZZZ
  
• Libertarians: It's a free country
  
• George Bush: Terrorists hate our cheap pickles.
  
• Democrats: goddamn George Bush
  
• Everyone else: And this has what to do with me?

- schneid

Dec 3 update

187. Don't know how that happened, haven't exercised a lot due to work and been eating badly. I'm probably dehydrated. Forgot my gym stuff today so I can't work out, but someone scheduled a meeting right up until 12:00 anyway that is sure to run long, so I probably wouldn't have time.

I installed some cabinets (salvaged from a neighbor's remodeling job) in my laundry room with the help of Greg T this weekend. OK, mostly Greg did the work and I watched. It's awesome to have a friend that knows how to do all this stuff. Our laundry room is 30x7 so we really needed some cabinets to get it organized. Plus those cabinets were taking up space in the garage where I wanted to park my car.

I hate winter! I have lived in Illinois every day of my life except for vacations. I grew up here, went to college here, still live here. And I hate the weather. On Friday, it snowed, then it rained for 5 or more hours, and everything was covered with ice. Walking from your car to your front door was a dangerous experience. Then, strangely, by morning everything had melted. I really want to move somewhere warmer, but we're committed to staying here near our relatives until the kids go to college...so guess I'll be moving to Florida in 2021. Only 14 years to go! Hooray!

Illinois is going to the Rose Bowl? That's surprising. It's great, but I guess the Rose Bowl doesn't mean as much as it used to.

- schneid

November 30 update

188. I gained about 3 lbs over Thanksgiving. We went to North Carolina to visit Dad and Kay. Debi and David came in from Boston too. We had a good time and had a lot of great food and wine. I did go running one time...

Once again, I'm sorry for lack of updates. November was a really tough month. Ever had a bad day? Well, I had a bad month. Just one thing after another. And when I'm stressed, there are two things I want to do: 1. nothing, like sit around and watch movies, and 2. eat eat EAT! I had to work late from home last night, so to ease the pain, I ate a pizza (yes, a whole one) for dinner plus almost an entire huge Hershey bar for dessert, and I watched Minority Report while I worked. I worked until about 2:30 AM. When I'm up late working on metrics, it reminds me of a quote from Friends. Chandler says "Alright kids, I gotta get to work. If I don’t input those numbers...doesn’t make much of a difference." I also had a huge cheeseburger and fries for lunch. And Starbucks for breakfast. Funny, it didn't help.

I've had very little time to do anything enjoyable, and I have to manage my stress very carefully, which is why I avoid stress. So when don't have time to exercise or have fun, it's twice as bad.

I ran about 3 miles with Tim on Monday. I'm so disgusted with myself. Tim has lost 30 lbs so far (gained a few back over Thanksgiving). My best is down 16 lbs, and now I'm only down 12. I had to work through lunch yesterday and today so no exercise. Things will get back to "normal" next week, but December is always hard since there's so much to do for the holidays. If it wasn't for Tim, I'd probably have gained 12 lbs by now instead of losing it. It's good to have a running partner.

Poker-wise, I'm going to start playing on Full Tilt and maybe Poker Stars because Ultimatebet is a drag. We'll see. I may need to build my bankroll before moving. People are winning a ton of money in the big Sunday and other tournaments, and I'd like to try to get a cut.

- schneid

Lazy Blogger

Sorry I've been so lazy blogging lately.

I have been maintaining my weight pretty well (185) but haven't lost any more weight in the last few weeks. I've been consistently running 1-2 times per week and playing basketball 1-2 times per week. And I've been eating healthily about 2/3 of the time.

This past Saturday was a total wash. I attended the Illinois game with Justin and Steve, and it was a total blast. We had a great time and the Illini crushed Northwestern 44-21. We went to a great tailgate party that had an awesome barbecue spread, and later went to Murphy's and Brother's (formerly Mabel's). I had about 8 pints of beer, 3-4 servings of barbecue, a bratwurst, and a mega cheeseburger with cheddar, everything, and extra pickles, and fresh cut fries. Whew.

And now it's Thanksgiving. I'm going to enjoy myself but try not to overindulge too much. I might even get in a run or two. We'll see.

- schneid

Oct 29 update

186. I ate a huge dinner at Romano's Macaroni Grill on Saturday and didn't eat very well the rest of the weekend either. I played basketball on Friday.

Exercise:

• ran 4.75 miles today with Tim R (ran 3.75, walked 1)

Food:

• 2 granola bars and coffee
  
• lentil soup
  
• 20 oz diet Pepsi
  
• dinner will be taco salad - I'm going to have spicy fish in my salad instead of ground beef.
  

- schneid

Swimming kids

Ben and Anna have been taking swimming lessons for a few years now. They are doing really well. Ben can swim freestyle the width of the pool. Anna can swim with some floaties or other aid. Both of the kids are moving up to the next level, but the best part is that they will have class at exactly the same time. For at least two months, our lives will be a little easier. And it's the same day as Suzette's class, so she can take them to swimming, I can pick them up, and she can drive directly from there to school. Two of our difficult weekday evenings will be combined into one.

- schneid

New computer!

I finally bought a new computer. The old one is 7 years old with a 600 MHz Pentium 3 processor. I was due! I just found a great deal on an HP Pavilion Media Center with Intel Core 2 Quad processor Q6600 2.4GHz. Ohhhhh yeahhh. I found a deal for $400 off. It has 1 GB of RAM because I can buy RAM really cheap for it. I bought 2 GB extra from Crucial for only $60. I'll probably use some Christmas money to buy an additional monitor to have a dual monitor setup. And I'll need a decent video card and an external hard drive. I can't wait to get my hands on it.

I need to buy a print server so that I can print from our laptop. But most of them sound pretty unreliable or expensive. If anyone has experience with a print server, I'd like to hear about it.

- schneid

Oct 25 update

185 today.

Exercise:

• Ran 4 miles with Tim

Food:

• 2 granola bars
  
• 16 oz coffee w/ equal and h/h
  
• vegetarian lentil soup
  
• 20 oz diet Pepsi
  
• 1 slice supreme deep dish pizza

It was 52 degrees at run time. I wore shorts and a long-sleeved t-shirt, which was a little warm when we were in the sun, but fine. It was a great day for a run. I didn't feel like it at all but once we got going we were fine.

- schneid

Oct 24 update

185.

Sorry, I've been slacking badly on updates.

Tim went out of town from Fri-Mon and couldn't run Thursday either. I lifted weights on Wed, played basketball Thurs, lifted weights on Friday, and carried Ben 3/4 of a mile for what turned out to be a very scary Haunted Hike on Saturday.

On Sunday, Mom and John came over for John's birthday. I've been dying to cook some good food for awhile, and here's what I made.

Sunday's Provencal menu

• spinach quiche
  
• goat cheese toasts, aoili toasts
  
• mesclun salad with mustard vinaigrette
  
• baguettes with aoili or herbed butter (fresh rosemary, fresh basil, fresh parsley, fresh garlic, thyme, oregano, salt, pepper, mmmmmmm!)
  
• potatoes au gratin
  
• ratatouille (minus the eggplant)
  
• Provencal chicken
  
• pork loin stuffed and crusted with cherries and bread crumbs, cooked in rose wine with anise seeds
  
• chocolate cake - well, Anna and Mommy made that!
  
• French rose and red wine, Cotes du Luberon, Cotes du Rhone, and one Moulin a Vent.

Yum! Everything was great.

I really didn't feel like running on Monday, and fortunately they needed another guy to play basketball at the last minute. I had an awesome game, hitting a ton of shots, which is rare. I played bball again on Tuesday, not as well.

So, as far as food...I ate way too much of Sunday night's yummy dinner. Then a little too much of the leftovers on Monday. Today is my birthday and I treated myself to a sausage-egg-cheese biscuit for breakfast, but didn't eat lunch. Tonight we are going to Gino's East for stuffed pizza and Oberweis for ice cream sundaes (I love turtle sundaes).

So I missed my birthday goal by 5 lbs. I'll set a new goal of losing 8 lbs by Thanksgiving - that's 2 lbs per week. So I'm shooting for 177 by November 22. I've been keeping up with the exercise but not eating as well, so post-birthday, I'm going to watch what I eat more carefully.

- schneid

How to report a problem

In general, people are really bad at including a useful description when reporting a problem. People in technical fields should be good at this, especially people who are involved in software or product development, since bug tracking is a critical part of development.

I'm responsible for supporting some tools. It's amazing how often someone will report a problem, but not give any useful information. And they do it by phone! I hate receiving phone calls. I mean, sometimes it's appropriate, but I like email because it forces the person to write down a coherent thought. When they call you, they can just blather on endlessly without getting to the point.

A recent example was a phone message like this (almost verbatim): "Someone was having a problem accessing XYZ in the web pages." There is almost no useful information in there. Who is the someone? What web pages? What's the URL? I actually knew what the problem was immediately (that person didn't have permission), but couldn't actually solve the problem since I didn't know the URL and who it was. So I had to call back and get the correct information to fix the problem.

I love when someone includes all the relevant information. It does happen occasionally.

- schneid

Oct 18 update

185.

Food:

• 16 oz coffee w/ equal and h/h
  
• 2 granola bars
  
• veggie stir fry with teriyaki sauce
  
• 2 granola bars
  
• chorizo chili
  
• 30 potato chips
  
• 1 Three Floyds Gumballhead beer

Exercise:

• 3 on 3 basketball for 45 minutes

I grabbed whatever veggies were in the fridge to make some stew with chorizo, but there were only onions, mushrooms, red bell pepper (not much), and cilantro. So I threw those in with chorizo, kidney beans, and a can of diced tomatoes, and it ended up being chili. I added a lot of cumin, chili powder, and a little chipotle powder, and man it was good!

As for the chips, I worked at home from 8:00-11:30 PM, and I just had to have a yummy snack at midnight.

- schneid

Volleyball with Tim at GLC

Last night, I subbed for Tim Y at Great Lakes Center. It was awesome! Everyone played well, passing was great, hitting was great, serving was great, and I set decently. That was the most fun I've had playing volleyball in years. I didn't run out of gas and was reasonably quick. Being 15 lbs lighter helps a lot. One of the players on our team, Igor, was unbelievable. He's a much higher level than this league. He could hammer the heck out of the ball from anywhere on the court, was incredibly fast, and had a huge vertical. We connected on a lot of quick attacks and he just crushed them. Every time he hit, the opponents just looked at each other like "How the heck are we supposed to defend that?"

- schneid

Oct 17 update

186. I can probably drop 3 lbs by my birthday (1 week), although we're having my mom and John over for dinner on Sunday and I'm cooking a big Provencal dinner. If I can hit 183 by the 24th, I'll only be 3 lbs off that goal. Then I'd like to drop 2 more per week until Thanksgiving, which would put me at 175. Not bad.

Tim R has lost 21 lbs in 1 month! He runs at least a little bit almost every day, and I think that makes a difference. I just can't run the day after basketball because my knees are too sore. So I'm tempted to play less basketball and run more, but basketball is a lot more fun.

Food:

• 2 granola bars, 12 oz coffee with h/h and equal
  
• corn green chili bisque for lunch
  
• 4! granola bars for a snack
  
• a Founders Breakfast Stout and a bag of microwave popcorn for dinner! Yeah! I didn't get home from volleyball until 8:15 and I wasn't really hungry. :

Exercise:

volleyball

I have occasionally subbed for Tim Y over the past couple of years, but I haven't been totally comfortable with it because I don't play much volleyball any more, and I've been totally out of shape. Now that I'm in better shape, I can't wait.

- schneid

Oct 16 update

186.

Sorry, it's getting hard to keep up with the blog!

Food:

• 3 granola bars, 20 oz coffee, 12 oz diet Pepsi, corn and green chili bisque for lunch, went to Bennigan's for dinner: 1 pint Guinness (ahhhhhh), sirloin steak, mashed potatoes, green beans, about 10 French fries. 3 Dove bites for dessert.

Exercise:

• basketball

- schneid

Oct 15 update

186 today. Surprising since I ate a lot this weekend, but last night's run (walk) may have helped, and I'm probably dehydrated too. Just glad I didn't gain this weekend. I wish I could run every day, but with basketball it's too hard on the knees.

Food:

• 1 granola bar, 20 oz coffee w/ equal and creamer
  
• taco salad from home
  
• taco salad for dinner...I like taco salad...

Exercise:

• ran 3 miles

- Tim and I ran 3 miles straight today. It may have been more since it took 40 minutes. We had been slacking off a bit and walking too much, so today was a great run. Tim has already lost more weight than me in less time!

- schneid

Impossible to get tech support

Finding technical help on the internet is getting more and more frustrating. The companies that own the web sites are smart to create FAQs, support forums, and have lots of answers available. But ultimately you should be able to contact a person or send a problem report. And it shouldn't be so hard to find out how to do that. If you look at Google, you really have to jump through hoops to finally find a support email address just to report a bug. Same for contacting Amazon technical support.

I just found a bug in a software tool that I use at work. I have a license for this tool, but my company has no maintenance agreement. When I go to the tool's web site, the only choices for getting technical support are for customers with maintenance agreements. Don't they want me to report a bug?! I don't want any follow up, I just want them to know about it. OK, I want them to care, but if they don't, that's not my problem. It's their product.

Even if you report a bug, don't expect for it to be fixed. I reported a bug on dictionary.com many months ago, but they haven't fixed it. Their American Heritage dictionary pronunciation key has a bug, and in fact it's in the very first entry - it shows the symbol for long a (remember, long vowels say their name), but then the example word is pat. It would take them 2 seconds to fix that, if they cared. Obviously they don't.

- schneid

Oct 14 update

187.

Food:

• coffee, taco with ground beef, taco with chicken and peppers, pico de gallo, refried beans, guacamole, corn and black bean salsa, tortilla chips, chocolate cake.

I made all of that food from scratch, except Anna made the cake with Mommy's help. We had Bill, Carol, Caleb, Carlee, and Christi over for lunch and had a nice time. We decided to do something different and had Mexican food. Everything turned out great.

I skipped dinner and played online poker instead, which turned out pretty well and I increased my bankroll by almost 50%.

Exercise:

• ran (but mostly walked) 2.5 miles after the kids went to bed. My knees were still sore from basketball on Friday. So I mostly walked. I felt like I ate too much today, but at least most of it was healthy.

- schneid

Oct 13 update

187.

Food:

• 1 donut, 3 cups coffee, 2 slices leftover sausage pizza

Ah, the breakfast of champions! I finally let myself have a donut. We love to go out for donuts on Saturday morning. I limited myself to one. Then I didn't have lunch, and we had leftovers for dinner. So not the healthiest, but at least I didn't eat too much.

Exercise:

• edged and trimmed every edge in our yard, including the sidewalks, driveway, and curbs, then swept everything. That was surprisingly hard work.

Got some great cheap workout clothes at Kohl's. They had some sleeveless running shirts and sleeveless White Sox shirts for 3.88 each. I bought 4. Probably should've bought more. I'm not a White Sox fan. Don't tell anyone.

- schneid

Oct 12 update

187.

Food:

• 2 granola bars
  
• coffee
  
• orange
  
• small salad w/ bleu cheese dressing
  
• 12 oz steak, veggies, 10 oz red wine

Exercise:

• basketball

- schneid

Oct 11 update

188. I'm hoping to drop 1-2 lbs between today's run and basketball tomorrow. It's 54 degrees today, great for a run.

Food:

• 2 granola bars
  
• 1.5 cups coffee, with non-dairy creamer and Equal
  
• wrap club sandwich (included bacon and cheese)
  
• two slices sausage pizza

Exercise:

• ran at 2 miles, walked 1 mile - didn't sweat a drop

- schneid

Oct 10 update

187 today. Hooray, I finally broke the 188 barrier. 180 by my birthday doesn't seem likely now, that's 14 days to lose 7 lbs. I am exhausted today. Basketball is tiring but also hard on my knees and achilles.

Ah, autumn. Well, it appears to have lasted exactly one day. It was 88 degrees on Sunday, really nice and around 75 yesterday, and today it's 52. Brrr. They say we only have two seasons here in Chicago, winter and construction.

Exercise:

• none - I was up until 1:00 preparing for cub scouts, and had to run cub scout errands at lunch time, I'm tired and sore, yadayadayada. Lame excuses, I know.

Food:

• coffee (x3) with equal and milk
  
• 1 granola bar
  
• 6" tuna sub at Subway, no cheese
  
• 12 oz ribeye steak, onions, zucchini, and red bell peppers

- schneid

Oct 9 update

188 this morning. That's 4 lbs less than yesterday, so I guess alcohol + salt = water retention. Tim and I had a good run yesterday despite the heat (the day after they stopped the Chicago Marathon), and I drank lots of water in the afternoon. Fortunately, it's much cooler today and will continue to be more seasonal. I can't wait to run when it's 60 degrees.

Food:

• 1/2 apple, 1 granola bar, 24 oz coffee w/milk and 2 equals
  
• taco salad - grilled chicken, lettuce, black beans, onions, green peppers, tomatoes, salsa fresca, giardiniera, and 1 tbsp sour cream.
  
• taco salad - yes - I had the same thing for lunch too. Ground beef, and pretty much the same as earlier, except non-fat sour cream and no beans.
  
• small handful of soy nuts

Exercise:

• basketball at lunchtime - it really felt great today. I can play without running out of gas. I haven't been able to do that in about 6 years. And I played decently and hit a few shots.

- schneid

Oct 8 update

192 this morning. That means I gained 4 lbs this weekend. I'm totally embarrassed to admit it, but that's how this blog works. We were out of town and I cheated. I didn't think it was that much but I guess it was. Weekends have been killers for me so I'm redoubling my effort this week. I'm going for a run today and hopefully by the end of the week, I can be back where I should be.

Food:

• 2 granola bars, 1 orange, handful of sunflower seeds
  
• 3/4 pork chop, 1/2 cup brown rice, butternut squash with butter and brown sugar

Exercise:

• ran 2.5 miles and walked 1 mile

- schneid

Hanging out with Tim M

Tim M just became a Green Beret! He passed the Selection last year, and just finished the Special Forces Qualification Course which is almost a year of training. Not only did he complete it, he did a fantastic job. And it's not easy for an old man like Tim. Bahaha! Congratulations Tim!

Tim was in town for the weekend to see his parents, so I drove up to Woodstock to partake in some beverages and lively conversation. We went to some dive bar in Woodstock, and I didn't know the Bears game was on...but believe me, when I walked into the bar, I knew it. The place was jammed with rowdy young people wearing Bears jerseys and face paint. They didn't look old enough to be in a bar. Guess I'm getting old. We were able to find a quiet spot to talk. I always enjoy our social and political discussions. Tim will move back to Chicago in January. He's in the National Guard, so despite being a Green Beret, his military commitment is still only a few weeks a year unless he gets called to active duty.

- schneid

Oct 6 update

Don't know my weight today.

Food:

• 2 cups coffee with sugar and milk
  
• 2 little cinnamon breakfast thingies, about the equivalent of 1 nutrigrain bar

Exercise:

• we'll see

- schneid

Oct 5 update

188 today. Probably no updates this weekend, we're going to Michigan.

Food:

• 1 cup coffee with h/h and 2 equals. Forgot to eat breakfast.
  
• ahi tuna sandwich
  
• dinner at Ruby Tuesday - salad bar, 7 oz sirloin, baked potato with some sour cream. The salad bar there was great.
  
• pint of Sierra Nevada pale ale - I forgot how much I like this beer.

Exercise:

• none today. I'll try to do a run on Saturday.

Have a good weekend!

- schneid

Oct 4 update

188. I was really sore this morning from basketball and didn't feel like running today, but once I got some coffee in me, I'm ready to go!

Exercise:

• 4.5 miles - guess I wasn't ready to go because we walked more than 1/2 of this. My legs were dead from 2 consecutive days of basketball, and Tim ran last night.

Food:

• 1 yogurt, 20 oz coffee, mongolian stir fry with szechuan sauce, 2 granola bars, 3 slices frozen pizza, 1 tbsp peanut butter

The kids had pizza because Suzette had to leave for class at 5:30 and I just didn't feel like making anything for me.

- schneid

Oct 3 update

188 this morning, although I'm reluctant to record it since I feel dehydrated. But I always weigh myself at the same time, in the morning, when I'm feeling lightest.

Exercise:

• played basketball 3 on 3 today

Food:

• 1 lowfat yogurt
  
• 2 granola bars
  
• 12 oz black coffee
  
• 1/4 lb cheeseburger, no bun, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, mustard
  
• 1 orange
  
• seared ahi tuna with zucchini and onions YUM! and some corn with butter.

Yes, I ate a cheeseburger. But I thought that was reasonable since there was no bun, no fries, and no mayo.

- schneid

Oct 2 update

189 this morning - ran 5 miles yesterday and didn't eat much. 9 lbs left to go in 22 days to get to 180.

Exercise:

• basketball 45 minutes

Food:

• bowl of granola cereal
  
• 20 oz coffee with h/h and 2 equals (I may have overroasted the Zimbabwe coffee)
  
• taco salad: iceberg lettuce, grilled chicken, lots of salsa fresca, about 1/4 cup refried beans, a tablespoon of sour cream, and giardiniera
  
• 24 oz diet coke
  
• 1 pork chop
  
• 1/2 acorn squash with 1 tbsp brown sugar and 1 pat butter
  
• 1 cup sauteed mushrooms and onions
  

I felt great at basketball today, didn't get winded. That was nice for a change. And I actually made a few shots. I haven't played in about 6 months. I plan to play twice a week.

- schneid

Oct 1 update

I just ran 5 miles!!!

Yes, I walked a little of it. I ran 0.6 miles to McDowell (that always makes me think of McDowell's restaurant in the movie Coming to America), then ran 0.5 miles and walked 0.3 miles because I was early. Tim and I did 3 loops (3 miles) today. Then I ran back 0.6 miles.

I've only run 5 miles one other time in my life, with Gary 10 years ago. If you had told me just 1 month ago that I could do that in less than 3 weeks, I would never have believed it.

190 today. Yes, that's the first time I gained weight. It was a fun wedding weekend in Bloomington, so I've got my work cut out for me now, especially to drop 10 lbs by October 24.

Food:

• 2 granola bars
  
• 20 oz black coffee
  
• 1 orange
  
• 1 lowfat yogurt
  
• 1 slice Domino's veggie pizza
  
• salad: lettuce, spinach, carrots, homemade curry dressing, added balsamic vinegar because it did NOT taste good. Didn't help much. I missed the onions, green peppers, and zucchini REAL bad but we didn't have any.
  
• 5 cheeseits
  
• 1 lowcal fudge ice cream bar, 50 calories

Exercise:

• mostly ran 5 miles

I'm determined to drop 10 lbs in the next 24 days, so keep checking on my progress.

- schneid

Good session 9-tabling

I just finished a session playing 9 tables on Ultimatebet. The first hour went very poorly while I had a bad run of cards, which is hard to believe when you are playing 9 tables! Then I finally had some decent cards and most of my all-ins were good. I finished up 2 buyins.

I got pushed off one hand when I had AK, the flop was K high with no straights or flushes, I bet the pot, and one guy raised huge. I decided he had to have two pair or a set, I folded, and he showed AK. I suppose that was probably my best case scenario, aside from a bluff or a K with worse kicker. But I didn't know the player.

I only had one bad beat. I had aces, there was a standard raise and about 4 players called...I wanted to be heads-up, and thought someone might be crazy enough to call, so I made a huge overbet reraise that would cover anyone (like 7 times the pot), and one guy called! I was thrilled! The board came all rags and I went all-in which was about 1/2 the pot. He called with a pair of deuces and there wasn't one on the board! Unfortunately, the river was a deuce. That cost me 1 buyin right there. I was pissed, but honestly I was thrilled that I trapped him. I just got unlucky.

And I didn't put a bad beat on anyone. Good karma.

- schneid

Jason and Erin's wedding

We went to Bloomington, IL for my cousin Jason's wedding this weekend. It was a mini-reunion of sorts for the Japanese side of my family, since my Aunt Carolyn, Uncle Terry, Uncle Denny, cousins Mika and Kenneth, and my sister Debi and her boyfriend David came from out of town, as well as Jason's sisters Dana and Kristen and their mom, Aunt Jill. It was certainly the first time that all of those people had been together since the last reunion in 2004.

We stayed at The Chateau which is a nice hotel. It's related to the Jumer's in Urbana where we had our rehearsal dinner in 1993. It was a really nice place with a French theme and decor.


The immediate family was at the rehearsal dinner, so I planned a dinner on Friday night for the rest of our family. Unfortunately, it was just a little too early for Debi and David due to their arrival time. The remaining 9 of us had dinner at Orient Gourmet Japanese and Chinese restaurant. It was a very small place but they were able to reserve a table of 9 for us. We ate great sushi and good Chinese food and had a great time.

Afterwards, we stopped by Terry and Carolyn's room so that Uncle Terry and I could trade some beer. He brought a six-pack of Dominion Oak Barrel Stout, and I brought a mixed six to trade. We tried the Stout and also a Dominion Octoberfest. I liked the stout, which good flavor but a lighter body for this type of beer. The Octoberfest was nice and malty.

Aunt Carolyn and Mika were entertaining Anna and she was roaring with laughter and this pillow-person that Aunt Carolyn made. I can remember how much I looked forward to seeing Aunt Carolyn when I was a little kid.

On Saturday morning, we swam at the hotel with the kids. They had a great time, but the pool was freezing! Then we made the mistake of going in the hot tub, which felt great, but then the pool was like ice. The kids jumped back in and I finally relented and let them push me in. Ben and Anna are really becoming excellent swimmers. Anna has a swim vest and really gets around. Ben doesn't need any aid and can swim the width of the pool. He is really improving his freestyle. The kids take swim lessons every week.

We had lunch, then headed to the wedding which was at 2:00. It was at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Bloomington. The church was amazing, designed in art-deco style with a soaring cathedral and beautiful stained glass. The ceremony was really nice and Jason and Erin looked very happy. Ben and Anna took turns leaning into the aisle to take photos. Anna was just running out of gas when the ceremony ended. Fortunately, Aunt Carolyn, as she always does (and always did when I was a kid too), brought some little notebooks and notepads for the kids, and that helped keep them busy.

We went back to the hotel briefly after the ceremony and had a drink at the bar with our family, then headed back to the reception - about 2 hours early - so that the kids could take a nap in the car.

Debi came up with the idea of a money tree for a wedding gift, so we did that together. Since the tree would fit better in the van, we took it with us. But I had to lean it over 45 degrees, and the decorative rocks in it were sliding out. Every time I stopped, started, or turned a corner, you could hear the rocks pouring out of the pot, and the kids cracked up every time. There were about 4 inches of rocks in the top of the pot and they had all fallen out by the time we arrived.

Ben and Anna were wiped out from staying up so late on Friday. They fell asleep pretty quickly and we ran some errands and drove around Bloomington. It reminded us a lot of Champaign-Urbana.


The reception was at a cool place called Central Station Cafe in downtown Bloomington. We sat with Debi, David, and Uncle Denny. Anna decided she was going to sit with Mika and her family. Mika and Kenneth really kept an eye on her and made sure she had dinner. Ben did a lot of reading to keep occupied.


Later, when the dancing commenced, Ben and Anna were a riot. Ben was dancing like a maniac - I don't know where he learned those moves, which you might call a fusion of disco/swing/karate. Anna enjoys dancing with other people, and she especially liked dancing with the bride, who she thought looked like a princess. Ben doesn't really need other people, just some music with a good beat...and some space...watch out for those spinning kicks! They also played with some other kids and kept busy, and our relatives were helping keep an eye on them, so we really enjoyed the reception.

I (re)met the woman who had been the flower girl at Aunt Jill's wedding where I was the ring bearer (31 years ago). I said I was sorry that I never called. :)

On Sunday morning, Aunt Jill had a brunch and we spent more time with family and had a nice breakfast.

I really enjoyed the time we spent with my aunt, uncles, and cousins over the weekend. We don't get to see the out-of-towners very often, and they are some of the genuinely nicest people I've ever met. We also have a lot of similar views of life. I wish that we could see them more often.

We packed up and headed back around 12:30. It's a pretty easy ride from Bloomington. We enjoyed the rest of our day and have some great memories. And we're looking forward to doing it again at Dana's wedding in May!

- schneid

Sept 29 and 30 update

There is no...Sept 29 and 30 update. Sorry, see this post to see what we were doing this weekend.

I did get some exercise while swimming with the kids at the pool, not to mention carrying a heavy tree up a flight of stairs. I managed to not overindulge in food too much.

- schneid

Sept 28 update

189 today. Yesterday's run did the trick. Tim and I are planning to run twice a week. It would be nice if we could run together 3 times, but that will be very difficult to schedule...plus I really want to start playing basketball at lunch too. Tim only lives about 30 minutes from me, so if we really wanted to, we could meet half way and run on the weekend. Half way would be downtown Aurora, and we could run along the Fox River Trail. That would be a nice run.

I'm setting a goal of 180 lbs by my birthday, which is October 24. I need to lose 1 lb every 3 days, which is achievable if I keep eating well, running and playing basketball, and I probably need to do some exercise on the weekends too.

Food:

• 16 oz black coffee
  
• bowl of granola cereal
  
• bowl of green chili corn chowder
  
• lots of sushi
  
• 1 piece shrimp tempura
  
• bowl of miso soup
  
• a little szechuan chicken
  
• 1 glass of white wine
  
• a few snacks in the car, like a few potato chips and cheese-its
  
• 1 diet Pepsi
  

Exercise:

• none today. Went out of town.

I worked a 1/2 day and we went to Bloomington, IL for my cousin Jason's wedding.

Dinner was awesome. We had reservations at a place called Orient Gourmet in Bloomington, IL. They had Japanese and Chinese food. I ate way too much sushi, which I hadn't had in quite awhile, including spider roll (deep fried soft shell crab), spicy tuna roll, spicy crunchy salmon roll, unagi (barbecued eel), and some tuna and yellowtail pieces. Mmmmm mmmmm! I also tried my aunt's shrimp tempura which was served in a huge portion and was great. It was probably the best tempura I've ever had. There was a lot of panko in the batter and it was so light but really crunchy.

- schneid

Sept 27 update

190 today. Well, a hair under 190, but let's just leave it at that. I'm going to run today so that should help.

Food:

• 2 granola bars
  
• 16 oz Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffee, fresh-roasted and fresh-brewed!
  
• big salad with grilled chicken breast and balsamic dressing
  
• plain iced tea with lemon herb tea
  
• szechuan chicken - a chicken breast and a few onions and mushrooms with yummy sauce
  
• 10 potato chips and 20 fritos (this was a slip up, the kids left their uneaten bags on the table and I had a craving)
  
• 1 tbsp peanut butter
  
• 1 beer (Three Floyds Gumballhead and man was it good)

Exercise:

• run 3.2 miles

Awesome run today again with Tim R. I ran 1/2 mile to the Forest Preserve, but Tim gave me a ride back. We did an extra 1/2 mile there, so I just didn't have the legs to run back. Soon!

- schneid

PS: Keep commenting and inquiring about my progress! Thanks!

More 8-tabling on Ultimatebet

I was 8-tabling on Ultimatebet on Tuesday night and plan to do more on Thursday. I was pretty disappointed on Tuesday. I played for about 2 hours, and lost 1 buyin (of 8 total) over that time. I ran really bad for those 2 hours...tons of bad hands and getting all-in with KK vs. AA twice in the space of 5 minutes. I managed to slowplay trip Qs and have my opponent river a J to give him Js full of Qs. I feel like I'm playing pretty well and mixing up my game, so I expect to do better in the long run.

- schneid

Sept 26 update

190.

Food:

• 1 granola bar
  
• 2 cups coffee - black!
  
• salad with giardiniera
  
• small bag pretzels (160 calories)
  
• handful sunflower seeds
  
• 20 oz diet Pepsi
  
• 1 pork chop, 1 small sweet potato with butter and brown sugar, peas
  
• 10 peanuts
  
• large decaf coffee with cocoa, skim milk, and 2 equals - I really had a craving for chocolate, looked at the unsweetened cocoa container, and it's not bad for you

Exercise:

• volleyball

My green coffee beans arrived in the mail yesterday. The air popcorn popper that I won on eBay had already arrived. So, I roasted some coffee last night and drank some fresh coffee this morning. It was gooooood. The coffee is so good and not bitter that I can drink it black. This was an Ethiopian Yirgacheffe which my friends think is the best in the world.

It didn't seem like a good day food-wise. Fortunately, I didn't have much time for dinner or I probably would've eaten more. I felt like I had too many snacks.

- schneid

Sept 25 update

190 today! Woohoo! I didn't eat much yesterday and ran almost 3 miles to drop that pound. I feel pretty good today after that run, just a little soreness in my legs.

Next major goal: 180 lbs

Tim R and I are now talking about running twice a week if we can find time.

Food:

• 1 cup coffee with h/h and 1 Equal
  
• small turkey and swiss sandich on a whole wheat roll
  
• small bag of pretzels
  
• 20 oz diet Pepsi
  
• chicken cacciatore with a little spaghetti
  
• 1 cup decaf coffee
  

Exercise:

• ran after work for 25 minutes.

There was a lunch meeting today, so I'm going to try to work out later in the afternoon.

- schneid

Multi-tabling on Ultimatebet

When I play poker online, I play 4-6 tables at a time. You can play very tight and wait for good hands to come. I would like to play more tables, but even 4 tables overlap on my monitor. Ultimatebet has a miniview that displays the table in a much smaller space, maybe about 2" high x 6" long on a 1280x1024 screen. One problem is that my monitor can't do 1600x1200; the other problem is that in the miniview, my desktop doesn't have enough horsepower to do the graphics. If I open up a few tables in miniview, the cards start to disappear. And it's awfully hard to play poker if you can't see the cards.

Last night, for the first time, I hooked up my laptop to the monitor. I used the miniview and 8-tabled for awhile. I would've done 9 but I ran out of money to spread around. It was tough keeping track of so many tables, but this forces you to fold any marginal hand. You just don't have time to fool around with mediocre cards.

It took some time to get used to where the data is displayed. I misread my cards a couple of times, and didn't bet when I should've because I was hurried. But I started to settle into it and was reasonably comfortable after an hour. I also lost my stack with KK vs AA on one table. But in one hour, starting with 8 buyins (one per table), I managed to win 2 buyins. I certainly don't expect to always win at that rate, but I made some mistakes due to the new look and feel, and I was getting terrible cards. I mean really. I was dealt about 500 hands in that hour and had about 15 pocket pairs...the expectation is 29 pocket pairs. I'm going to keep doing this and as I win more money, keep working my way up the limits and see what happens. I've been treading water for awhile at .10/.25 and .25/.50 no-limit, so we'll see what this can do for my bankroll.

- schneid

Why I love the internet

I wear extra-wide shoes. Basketball shoes are narrow, probably because men that play basketball are tall and thin and have narrow feet. I, on the other hand, have short (size 10) wide feet. I bought some new shoes about 6 months ago, played basketball twice, and my feet hurt so bad I could barely walk for a week, and felt like I had bruises on the balls of my feet for a month. Needless to say, I stopped playing basketball then.

You can't get wide-width basketball shoes at the store. You have to order them. I went to Sports Authority to try on shoes, and figure out what my proper size would be by trying on New Balance running shoes. Sports Authority has those in wide widths, and you can order wide-width basketball shoes from New Balance. So I determined that I needed a 10 4E New Balance shoe. Then I went online to find some and they retail for about $80.

Then Google found an ad in craiglist. In New Hampshire, no less. A guy was selling two pairs of exactly the shoes I wanted in exactly my size - 10 4E. One pair was worn once, and cost $25. The other pair was brand new for $30. I called the guy, paid by PayPal, and he shipped them within 4 hours...these shoes were on my feet in 4 days. I bought the cheaper pair and they fit great, so now I'm buying the other pair.

And that's why I love the internet!

- schneid

Sept 24 update

191 today.

Food:

• 1 large orange
  
• 8 oz coffee with h/h and 1 Equal
  
• 1 orange
  
• 2 granola bars
  
• szechuan steak stir fry - steak, onions, green pepper, zucchini, mushrooms, garlic, ginger, yum!

Exercise:

• Ran 2.8 miles and walked .5 miles at lunch with newly inspired friend Tim R (Tim's not new, he's old. His inspiration is new.)

Tim and I at McDowell Forest Preserve, and I decided to also run there and back. It's about a 1/2 mile. At McDowell, we ran and walked a 1 mile loop twice. I think we ran and walked about 1/2 and 1/2, maybe even ran more than that. (But by distance that would be about 3/4 distance ran and 1/4 distance walked). So let's stretch a bit and say that we can 1.5 miles and walked .5 miles. Plus I ran another 1.3 miles there and back. So I ran about 2.8 miles and walked .5 miles today

I have to admit that when I stepped outside, it was hot and I thought, I should drive over there. But I had just told Westy that I was going to run over, so didn't want to cop out. And running back to work afterwards was tough but I ran all the way.

It was awesome running with Tim. He also needs to get into shape and lose weight, and he's actually in worse shape than I am right now. But he's done this before and within a week or two we'll be the same. I haven't seen Tim that much lately so it was great to get together and hang out. We've been friends since fourth grade. Instead of going out for lunch, we will try to run once a week!

Szechuan sauce

• 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
  
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
  
• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced peeled ginger
  
• 1/2 cup canned low sodium chicken broth
  
• 2 tablespoons sherry
  
• 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
  
• 1 tablespoon red chili paste
  
• 1/2 teaspoon dry crushed red pepper
  
• 1 teaspoon sugar (to taste)
  
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch

- schneid

Sept 23 update

Sorry, pretty busy. 191 today.

Food: multi-grain oatmeal with 1 tbsp brown sugar (didn't help nearly enough, was like eating a the box that the oatmeal came in), coffee with milk and 1 equal, 6" Subway turkey and ham sandwich (lots of veggies, no mayo), sugar-free lemonade and ice tea, a couple chips. I made our entire dinner on the grill: 10 oz rib eye steak, 1/2 zucchini, about 10 french fries (grilled), 2 corn on the cob, and 10 oz red wine. I definitely felt like I pigged out. I really didn't need that much steak, fries, or corn. I'm going running tomorrow to make up for it and hope to lose about 3-4 lbs this week.

Exercise: Walked around downtown Aurora after church.

- schneid

Sept 22 update

191 this morning. I can't wait to get under 190. I haven't been there in about 3 years.

Food:

• 1 granola bar
  
• 1 large McDonald's hazelnut iced coffee with 1 cream and 2 Equals...hopefully they don't put a bunch of sugar in there
  
• 1 can diet Pepsi
  
• iceberg lettuce with taco meat (hamburger), black bean and corn salsa, green peppers, nonfat sour cream, and just a tiny bit of shredded cheddar.
  
• 1 tortilla chip (yes, 1)
  

Exercise:

• none, really...walked with the kids for a round of mini-golf and at the park.

I made some black bean and corn salsa tonight. Mmmmmmmm it was good. Here's the recipe:

Black bean and corn salsa

• 1 15oz can black beans
  
• 1 1/2 cups cooked corn (cold)
  
• 1 cup prepared salsa
  
• juice from 1 lime
  
• 2 tbsp onions, chopped
  
• 1 tbsp green onions, chopped
  
• 2 tbsp green peppers, chopped
  
• 1 tbsp roast red peppers, chopped (optional)
  
• 1 tbsp cilantro, chopped
  
• 1 tsp cumin (to taste)
  
• 1/4 tsp ground chipotle peppers (to taste)
  
• Mix it all up!

This turned out really good. We couldn't stop eating it. All the amounts are to taste. You might want to add some chopped jalapeno, I didn't have one. The chipotle gives it a nice smoked flavor. And you should add enough cumin to taste it. Some roasted chili peppers would probably help too.

- schneid

Sept 21 update

192 this morning (3 days in a row). Still, all told it's 8 lbs in 9 days. I'm exhausted from working out and I wrenched my back a couple days ago, so I might not work out today. Instead, maybe I'll take a walk tonight while my kids ride their bikes.

I did get a workout last night when some neighbors threw out their old cabinets. Today is North Aurora cleanup day, so you can put any junk by the curb. They remodeled their kitchen and threw out the old cabinets. So at 12:30 last night after poker, I used our little red wagon to drag the cabinets down the street and put them in our garage. Our laundry room (which is 30' x 7') needs some cabinets and they will be perfect.

Sorry for updating this late. I worked until 1:15, so couldn't work out at lunch time...plus I was pretty sore and tired. I did get a long walk in with my kids in the evening. Maybe 1 mile.

Food:

• 2 granola bars
  
• 1 cup coffee with h/h and 1 equal
  
• stir fry with chicken and lots of veggies, one scoop of szechuan sauce, plus some of my homemade curry dressing.
  
• green tea
  
• 1 granola bar
  
• 1 20 oz diet Pepsi...was dragging again
  
• 1/2 Panera Asiago roast beef sandwich, bowl of chicken noodle soup, and a bite of a chocolate chip cookie

Exercise:

• 1 long walk

- schneid

Sept 20 update

192 this morning.

Food:

• yogurt (no granola today, I think I ate too much yesterday)
  
• 1 cup coffee with half and half and 1 Equal
  
• lunch was chicken stir fry with broccoli, green peppers, onions, chinese cabbage, mushrooms, and carrots. 1 scoop of szechuan sauce, and I added my homemade fat-free curry salad dressing. It was gooooood.
  
• green tea
  
• 1 20 oz diet Pepsi - needed a boost again
  
• grilled chicken salad with homemade ranch dressing
  
• 20 oz beer
  
• 1/2 cup nuts (pepitas, sunflower seeds, almonds, dried cherries, raisins

Exercise:

• volleyball at lunchtime

Tonight is poker night. I'm going to limit myself to 12-16 oz of beer and a handful of snacky stuff (probably this mixture of pepitas, sunflower seeds, almond, and soy beans that I just bought).

I tried about 4 different beers on Thursday night but shared them and only had about 1/4 glass of each. Also had the nuts as a snack.

I stopped at Trader Joe's the other night. Someone mentioned that they have a great frozen fish selection, and they really do. Ahi tuna was 4.79/lb. They have a lot of great products, including a wide selection of cheeses, which I'm not really eating right now. Lots of fun gourmet stuff. I was surprised that the prices are pretty good. I've only stopped in there a couple times before.

Homemade ranch dressing recipe

• 1/2 cup nonfat mayo
  
• 1/2 cup nonfat sour cream
  
• 2 tsp minced green onion
  
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
  
• 1 tbsp minced onions
  
• 1 tbsp minced red bell pepper
  
• 1/2 tsp parsley
  
• enough water to make it dressing consistency
  

It's pretty good. And it's about 9 calories per tbsp. Hidden Valley Ranch is 71 calories per tbsp. I might try some buttermilk next time to see if I can get it to be closer to store-bought.

- schneid

Coffee

I am definitely going to spoil myself with some good coffee. I just won a West Bend Poppery II hot air popcorn popper on EBay, which I'm going to use to roast green coffee beans. This is a highly recommended brand of popcorn popper for this purpose and they are no longer manufactured. I also ordered some green coffee beans from Sweet Maria's. They have a sampler pack of 8 coffees from 4 continents. I requested decaf for half of them, so Suzette can enjoy them too. I can't wait to roast my own coffee!

The main purposes for roasting your own coffee beans are:

• You can buy exactly the coffee beans that you want. Different beans have really different flavors. Most people don't know that because most coffee is overroasted and they all taste the same.
  
• You can roast exactly the amount that you like. You might like a lighter or a darker roast.
  
• It is fresher. As soon as the coffee is roasted or ground, it loses freshness. You should use roasted coffee beans within 1 week. So this is almost the only way to get really fresh coffee. Green coffee beans are fresh for up to a year.
  
• It doesn't need anything added. You can drink it black.
  
• It's reasonably priced. The coffee is $5-6 per pound online. Even considering shipping costs, this coffee is cheaper than the Papanicholas coffee that I like (5.99 per 12 oz on sale).

Thanks (or blame) to Rob W. and Russ M. from work for putting me onto really good coffee!

- schneid

Sept 19 update

192 this morning. I didn't have much time for lunch or dinner yesterday, so ate a little less than usual. Plus I jogged yesterday. And my shins feel terrific today - no trouble from the run.



Food:

• granola and yogurt
  
• 16 oz coffee with 1 half and half and 2 Equals
  
• small grilled chicken breast with sport peppers and onions
  
• bowl of corn green chili bisque
  
• handful of mixed soy, pepitas, almonds, sunflower seeds
  
• 2 slices frozen pizza
  
• 3/4 package microwave popcorn
  
• 1 BEER!

Exercise:

• volleyball at lunchtime

I took the afternoon off to prepare for our first den meeting and I was busy up until it started. I didn't have time to make anything healthy for dinner so had some of the kids' frozen pizza. Had some popcorn as a snack later. I really need to just take a portion and put it in my own bowl, rather than eating out of the big bowl. Before I knew it, I had almost finished the bag. I did finally splurge and have a beer...mmmm, it was a Surly Furious and it was good. I hadn't had a beer in 9 days, so I was due. I'll try to only have 1 tomorrow at poker night; I planned to have 2. I don't feel like this was a very successful day food-wise, so I plan to have two salads tomorrow. I just marinated some chicken with lemon, basil, olive oil, onions, garlic, and a few other things, and we'll have a grilled chicken salad for dinner. Yum!

- schneid

How I'm losing weight

In case anyone doesn't have time to read 10 different posts, here's how I'm trying to eat healthier and get into shape:

• exercise every day
  
• eat in moderation
  
• eat a lot more vegetables (lunch and dinner are mostly vegetables)
  
• eat less fat
  
• eat fewer carbs
  
• eat big salads for lunch
  
• eat yogurt
  
• eat healthy oils
  
• avoid unnecessary calories (e.g., make my own salad dressing, put 2% milk in coffee instead of half and half)
  
• drink more water
  
• drink less diet soda
  
• drink green tea and black tea
  
• drink less alcohol, just a few drinks per week
  
• don't go out to eat
  
• NO fast food, no potato chips, no french fries, no greasy food, very very limited sweets (I have eaten 1 small chocolate chip cookie and 5 chocolate chips in 1 week)

Exercising at lunchtime every day has another benefit - I can't go out to eat.

Once my weight is down where I want it (170) or if I feel great and I'm exercising enough and my weight is pretty good (180), I will start adding things that I want (i.e., beer, french fries) back into my diet in moderation.

In the past week, I have not eaten cheese, fried foods, junk food, desserts, or pasta. If you look at the bullets at the top, you might think, "How can you eat less carbs and less fat unless you are on a high protein diet?" It's because I'm eating way less overall.

In case anyone has any concerns, I'm getting some bloodwork done soon because I changed cholesterol medication. And I'm scheduled for a physical in November.

- schneid

Sept 18 update

194 this morning. Same as yesterday, so I think I was dehydrated then and also I ate a little more for dinner last night than usual (a steak, mmmmm). I'm wondering if I should jog a little in the morning, to get my metabolism revved up for the day...I could jog for 10 minutes and sprint a block or two. Wonder if that will work?

I remembered to bring my salad dressing to work today! Here's the recipe. It's good on salad and for dipping (meats and veggies).

Curry salad dressing

• 1 cup nonfat mayo
  
• 1 tbsp ginger (crushed through garlic press)
  
• 1 clove garlic (crushed through garlic press)
  
• 1 tbsp fresh cilantro
  
• 1 tbsp chopped green onions
  
• juice from 1 lime
  
• 1 tsp garam masala
  
• 1 tsp curry powder
  
• salt and pepper
  
• water

Mix all ingredients except water. Then add water and mix until it's the consistency of salad dressing. Amounts are all to taste, so you will need to adjust, to get the flavors that you prefer. I'm going to try making a homemade ranch similar to this. It's about 20 calories per tbsp and almost no fat. This recipe should make about 2 cups of dressing.

Food:

• yogurt and granola bar
  
• salad with my homemade dressing, yum
  
• banana
  
• granola bar
  
• 2 cups coffee, one black, one with 1 Equal and a little milk
  
• 1 20 oz diet Pepsi - I really needed a boost this afternoon
  
• steak stir fry - Suzette used last night's leftover steak, plus sesame oil, ginger, garlic, red chili paste, soy sauce, onions, green peppers, and some other stuff that I can't remember and it was fantastic. Really awesome flavor.

Exercise:

• ran and walked for 32 minutes outside today. I was sick of working out so I hit a few weight machines and then went for a jog. I walked and jogged the first half, then jogged all the way back. It was nice to get some fresh air and it felt pretty good (ok, it sucked, but afterwards I felt pretty good). My shins seemed to hold up pretty well.

I stepped on the scale at 10:00 PM and was 194...that looks pretty good. Must've been the run today. I'm trying to drink a lot of water tonight so that I'll feel confident in the scale if it says 193 tomorrow.

- schneid

Sept 17 update

I was at 194 this morning, which was a little surprising because I exercised less and ate more this weekend. I feel a little dehydrated, though, so maybe some is water loss.

Food:

• yogurt with granola
  
• coffee with half and half, 1 equal
  
• big salad for lunch with ranch dressing, watered down
  
• 1 black tea, 1 green tea
  
• ribeye steak
  
• 3/4 cup cooked corn
  
• mushrooms and onions
  
• 3 tater tots
  
• 5 chocolate chips
  
• and a partridge in a pear tree....
  

Exercise:

• 25 minutes on the bike
  
• 17 minutes weight lifting

I downloaded the first episode of the show Weeds, which I've never seen, and watch on my video iPod while cycling (stationary bike). That helped me stretch it out to 25 minutes.

I made homemade curry salad dressing this morning with ginger, green onions, garlic, curry, masala, nonfat mayonnaise, and water. And then I left it on the counter.

2 tbsp of Ranch dressing is 143 calories and 15.5 grams of fat. 2 tbsp of nonfat mayonnaise is 27 calories and less than 1 gram of fat. I'll save a lot of calories.

I haven't had a beer in a week. I think I will treat myself to 1 or 2 on Thursday night at poker if I can lay off the snacks. Nothing gets stored as fat faster than beer. It's hard to not drink it when I have about 30 different varieties at home. But once I get my weight down, I'll add it back in moderation.

- schneid

Cermak Fresh Market

There is a new grocery store in Aurora called Cermak Fresh Market. It's on Route 31 a couple miles south of I-88 and a couple miles north of downtown. It is fantastic! It's typical of this type of market in that the meat and produce are abundant and cheap, but brand name stuff like cereal and soda is expensive. They have a great selection of ethnic specialty items too. There were many Mexican and Asian products. I went on Saturday to only buy produce, meat, and some Asian condiments. By the way, Vietnamese red chili sauce is way hotter than the chili sauce I had at a Thai restaurant this weekend!

There were some sales, and we bought local Gala apples, huge Spanish onions, pears, and limes for 10 cents each. The prices of the meat were great. A package of assorted pork chops was .79 per pound. Rib eye steak was $4 per pound! I didn't need any meat, but I might start shopping weekly to get fresh produce and meat. Meat is one of the few things that I really crave that fits into a healthy diet.

- schneid

Sept 16 update

I weighed 196 this morning.

We had a great time with Kim and Dennis last night. We had Thai food and watched a play at a small theater in downtown Aurora called the Riverfront Theater. It seats about 100 people. We saw "The Night of the Living Dead - The Musical". It was really funny and I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the small theater. Everyone in the audience and the cast seemed to know each other.

Food:

• no breakfast, granola and yogurt, and coffee for lunch
  
• 12 oz. fruit smoothie (strawberries, raspberries, and ice, maybe sugar)
  
• a few bites of ice cream
  
• crusted tilapia on curried vegetables with homemade fresh salsa, and peas
  
• about 30 almonds

Exercise:

• chasing Ben while he learned to ride his bike. He's finally got it! He was able to ride almost the length of the block a few times.

We went to Oberweis to celebrate Ben's accomplishment. The kids had these huge waffles cones that were dipped in chocolate and sprinkles. I had a fruit smoothie, which may have had some sugar. I only ate 3/4 of it and had a few bites of everyone's ice cream. Their chocolate peanut butter ice cream is awesome.

The tilapia wasn't as crunchy as I would've liked. But the combination of the tilapia, curried vegetables (more of a thick sauce), and salsa was great. Yum!

- schneid

Sept 15 update

Hooray, it's Saturday. I weighed 197 today. I've done a good job for about 3.5 days.

Food:

• granola bar crushed into yogurt
  
• coffee with 2% milk and 1 Equal
  
• 1 can tuna, 2 tbsp mayo, celery, onions, green pepper, green onions, pickles, cilantro. I don't have fat free mayo yet, so that was a little excessive (90 calories per tbsp), but I've only had about 600 calories so far today.
  
• 2 diet Pepsi
  
• 3 cups jasmine tea
  
• 1 helping cashew chicken
  
• 2 satay chicken
  
• tiny bit of yellow curry
  
• 1/2 cup rice
  
• some cucumbers and other veggies
  
• 3 tbsp chili sauce
  
• 1/2 bowl of popcorn

Exercise:

• shot baskets with our neighbor Matt for a little while. I'll try to do more later.

We had Thai for dinner with Kim and Dennis at Thai Spice in Aurora. I love yellow curry but it has a lot of coconut milk, so I just had a tiny bit. The chili sauce was really good and I had a lot, so hopefully there's nothing bad in it. I ate about 2 or 3 cashews in the cashew chicken. This was about 1/3 or 1/4 of what I would usually eat at a Thai restaurant.

Suzette and I split a bag of microwave popcorn. It has surprisingly few calories for the amount that you can eat and it's filling.

- schneid

Dinner with Charon and Ryan

On Friday, I had dinner with two friends from high school who I hadn't seen in 21 years. I don't have time to post now, but I wanted to create this entry so I don't forget. I'll try to do it this week.

Also, here's a link to Charon's photos from the 20-year reunion of the Woodstock High School Class of 1987. I can only recognize a few people. Charon, I hope you don't mind.

- schneid

Sept 14 update

I was a hair under 198 this morning...we'll just call it 198. My shins are really sore from the exercise, but the rest of me is just regular muscle soreness and my joints feel good.

Food:

• light yogurt with a granola bar crushed in it
  
• 12 oz coffee with 1 tsp (15 cals) of hazelnut powdered creamer - no sweetener
  
• 3 oz Ethiopian coffee, black
  
• huge salad for lunch, spinach, romaine, carrots, green peppers, peas, onions, kidney beans, vinegar and oil.
  
• black tea
  
• granola bar
  
• went out to dinner: 1 glass red wine, 1 scallop, 1 date wrapped with bacon (bad I know), 2 lamb chops (small rack of lamb size), 1 slice bread and olive oil, about 1/2 a potato, and assorted greens and mushrooms from the appetizers.

My friend Rob W. at work generously shared a taste of his homebrew coffee. He buys green Ethiopian coffee beans and roasts them. I was surprised at how good it was. It was the best coffee that I've ever had without cream and sugar. I can drink black coffee - I never thought I would say that - if it's this good. So I'm going to buy some and start roasting myself (roasting the beans, that is, I'm not climbing into the oven). Rob has pointed out a couple of good sites for ordering coffee beans: Sweet Maria's and Fresh Coffee Beans Company.

And no diet soda today yet. It hasn't been that hard to cut out, although I need the caffeine. I've been drinking green tea and black tea instead.

Exercise:

• 20 minutes on the bike
• 20 minutes lifting weights

- schneid

Sept 13 Update

I have lost 2 lbs so far! Down to 198.

I don't think it's water weight since I drank about 2 gallons yesterday. Anyway, we'll know within a week that it's real weight if the number keeps going down. I'm writing my weight in a column of numbers on the bathroom mirror at Greg's suggestion. I need that immediate feedback. I'll live if I don't lose weight over a couple of days; I realize that I'm putting on some muscle too.

I'm also going to set a reward for getting my weight below 170. Of course, if it's an expensive one, I'll have to get spousal approval. But honey, I'm going to save $720 a year in health insurance costs! It's been 10 years since I've been under 170.

I feel great physically and emotionally. In fact, this is physically the best I've ever felt after jumping back into serious exercise. Usually, the first time I return to lifting weights, I overdo it and I'm in serious pain for days. I'm sore now, but it's a good sore. I think all the veggies, antioxidants, and water yesterday helped, and I'm sure the Advil didn't hurt.

I've found a cool web site called MyPyramid Tracker. You can enter everything you eat and it does a complete nutritional analysis. I've used this in the past because I thought I was deficient in certain vitamins and minerals. Even with the current healthy diet, I'm not getting enough B vitamins, due to barely eating any grains yesterday. I'll have to work on that.

The funny thing about yesterday is that most of my calories were from fat. I basically only ate vegetables...there was oil in the stir fry and oil in the ranch dressing. I'm going to cut down on the oil we use to cook and use nonfat mayonnaise to make homemade dressing.

I skipped the diet soda and had some green tea instead. I have some friends at work who are coffee snobs (they roast their own beans) and they are educating me about the joys of really good coffee.

Food:

• 1 granola bar
  
• coffee + half and half + Equal
  
• green tea, orange herb tea
  
• mongolian stir fry - lots of veggies, only a little rice, with szechuan sauce
  
• handful of sunflower seeds
  
• Rosh Hashanah dinner: 1 matzoh ball soup, 1 gefilte fish, 1 kishke, 2 small meatballs, 2 small slices of brisket, and a 1/2 glass of red wine. (If you want to know what any of that stuff is, feel free to ask.) For dessert, one small chocolate chip cookie, decaf coffee with artificial sweetener and skim milk, and a few pieces of fruit salad.
  
• lots of water

Exercise:

• 2.5 minutes on the elliptical machine (man that's hard)
  
• 12 minutes on the bike
  
• 15 minutes lifting weights
  
• 25 minute walk around Tellabs. We have really nice walking paths. I had no idea it took so long. I couldn't work out any more so I thought I would take a cooldown walk (wasn't all that cool) and decided to walk the whole path.

And remember, if you see me putting unhealthy food in my mouth, knock it out of my hand or tackle me!

- schneid

Sept 12 Update

Man, I was sore when I woke up today. In particular, my ankles were really sore from the run, and my entire legs were too.

Exercise for today:

• I rode the stationary bike for 20 minutes. My legs wanted to quit after about 5 but fortunately the World Series of Poker was on TV and that kept me going. I should put some episodes onto my video iPod.
  
• I hit the weights hard and did 1 set on each of about 6 machines. I checked the time and only 10 minutes had gone by (sheesh). So I did 10 more minutes on mostly the same machines. My legs were shot so I did all upper body.
  
• I also took the damn stairs this morning.
  

Here's what I ate today:

• granola bar (90 calories) for breakfast
  
• 16 oz coffee with 1 cream and Equal
  
• big salad for lunch with lots of spinach, green peppers, celery, onions, and no cheese or bacon. I did have 2 tbsp of Ranch dressing which I watered down. I need to make some homemade lo-cal dressing.
  
• 1 cup green tea
  
• handful of sunflower seeds
  
• 1 diet Pepsi
  
• stir fry for dinner, no rice
  
• lots of water
  

And that's all I ate today. Under 900 calories according to http://www.mypyramidtracker.gov. And not bad. The stir fry was awesome. Suzette made it with fresh ginger, garlic, cilantro, sesame oil, green peppers, zucchini, onions, and chicken. I didn't feel deprived. I enjoy eating vegetables, it's just that my brain thinks that I want cheeseburgers.

I don't know what to do about the cream in my coffee, but it's only about 50 calories. Maybe I'll bring some milk into work or get some low-cal powder creamer.

I am sore and tired, but it's a good sore, mostly muscle aches and not too much joint pain. I might have been in better shape than I thought.

Thanks so much for everyone's support! Day 1 has been a success!

- schneid

It's time to lose weight

I'm making a serious commitment to losing weight. The impetus is a conversation that I had with Paul at our pack meeting tonight. While talking about the chocolate caramel corn that the Cub Scouts sell, he mentioned that he had lost 70 lbs about 18 months ago. I was shocked, because Paul is in good shape. He changed his diet, changed his work schedule, and worked out twice a day - he lost 70 lbs in 3 months. I don't expect to lose so much weight so fast, but I need to start doing something about it.

I recently found a health assessment from 1996. According to it, I weighed 167 and had a body fat percentage of 20%. I was running with Marty and Gary and I got into decent shape, running 4 miles three times a week. That lasted about a year.

A lot of time has passed and I am now 200 lbs and who knows what % body fat. Frankly, I will be very happy to lose any weight. I haven't been 190 in a few years, and I certainly haven't seen 180 in about 7 years. 165-170 would be a good range to shoot for. I'm only 5'7", so in theory I could get down to 150. I haven't seen 150 since college (about 17 years ago). I really enjoy playing volleyball and basketball and I'd obviously play much better (ok, my friends might say I would still suck) if I lost a bunch of weight.

I even have financial incentive. I pay $90 per month for life insurance because I'm so overweight that I'm in the same category as a smoker. It would only cost $30 per month if I lost 30 lbs. I could save $720 per year and buy my kids 3 more minutes at college.

Here's where you can help: Please read this blog and post comments. Trash talk, encouraging words, harassment, support, ridicule, advice, anything is fair game. I will post all my exercise and every single thing that I eat.

I have slightly improved over the last 6 months. I eat a huge salad for lunch a couple of days a week and I rarely eat breakfast from McDonald's. That might not sound like much of an achievement, but I was eating crap for breakfast a couple of times a week and crap for lunch every day. I've been playing volleyball once a week. I've gotten into the gym sporadically. We have a fitness center at work so there is no excuse. The guys also play basketball at lunch time several days a week, and I've felt like I needed to get into better shape to play, but no more excuses.

Here's the plan:

• Exercise at least 5 days a week.
  
• Use the stairs at work (I'm on the fourth floor).
  
• No fast food.
  
• Limited sweets.
  
• No junk food.
  
• Cut down on snacks on poker night.
  
• Eat yogurt, fruit, or granola bars for breakfast.
  
• Actually eat breakfast.
  
• Eat salads for lunch as much as possible.
  
• Eat more of the healthy stuff at dinner and less fattening food.
  
• Drink lots of water. I'm always dehydrated.
  
• Drink green tea.
  
• Cut back on beer.

That last one is going to hurt. I've found a lot of good beer lately, and I've been drinking about 7 per week. That's not too much, but I'll cut back and slowly add it back to see what the effect is. There's a reason they call it a beer gut.

This list is pretty funny. I'm on the 4th floor at work and in the first year, used the stairs once. I'm totally out of breath when I get to the 4th.

Before writing this post, after my conversation with Paul, I came home and jogged for 20 minutes. It was a nice cool night, about 58 degrees. It felt great (and awful). Then I drove my car to check the distance, and it was only 1.6 miles, so I tried to jog more, but I'd already drunk about a gallon of water, and only did 2 more minutes and .2 more miles. But that's farther than I've run in about 10 years, so it's a start. The total was 1.8 miles in 22 minutes.

I'll post my progress daily (except maybe on weekends) - if I don't, bug me!

- schneid

Summer Volleyball Second Place

Here's our summer volleyball team, To Kill a Blocking Nerd. From L-R, Jim, Westy, Mike, and Schneid.

Well, we took second place again in summer volleyball at Tellabs. We played decently overall. We've never taken a game against the team that beat us in three matches this summer, and probably a couple matches in 2006. We'll get to play them again in the fall league once or twice. They're good sports and we really enjoy playing them, it would just be nice to win. They're very consistent and don't make a lot of mistakes, but if we played our best, we could win.

- schneid

Cub Scouts Starts

Yes, the insanity begins...Ben started selling popcorn for Cub Scouts yesterday. He is a Wolf Scout this year and I'm the den leader. Fortunately, I have some parents who will be co-leading the den, since we are combining with another den. That will help a lot, in addition to the experience from last year.

- schneid

Why is spam always about this

I can't be the only one who gets this much spam and it's always about the same topic.



- schneid

Real World Mommy

Suzette will be going to Aurora University to get her certificate to be a school social worker. She already has a Masters of Social Work, so she only needs two classes and a school year internship. She will attend one class at night each semester. For the internship, she will work with a school social worker at a local elementary school one day per week. Suzette is going to have her hands full - just imagine the crying, fighting, whining, complaining...and that's just at our house! :)

She is excited but apprehensive, as you would expect after seven years as a stay-at-home mom. She is an excellent student and a very conscientious and caring worker. If she is half as good at being a school social worker as being a mom, she will be great! In a year, Anna will attend all-day kindergarten, so Suzette can work full time as a school social worker.

For now, it will take a little time to adjust to our schedule, not to mention the kids going back to school. We will all need to help out a little more around the house. But we are all very excited and proud of Mommy!

- schneid

Great Taste of the Midwest 2007

On Saturday, August 11, I reached Nirvana. Enlightenment. I became one with the universe. How, you ask? I attended the Great Taste of the Midwest in Madison. GTMW is an annual beer festival organized by the Madison Homebrewers and Tasters Guild. These guys know how to throw a party! And thanks to Westy, for telling me about it. Here he is with the Three Floyds Alpha King!



GTMW is always held on the second Saturday in August. In fact, this year was the 21st year of the festival. There were approximately 100 breweries from the Midwest serving about 500-600 different beers. Look at the GTMW Program to see all the great breweries that attended. Many of the beers are listed.

It's not easy to get a ticket to the festival. You can stand in line for several hours at a Madison store on the first Sunday in May for a shot at 3000 tickets. Or you can send a check and SASE on May 1. Not before, not after. Send it before and they send it back. Send it after and you are too late. From all the requests postmarked on May 1, they have a lottery to distribute the remaining 2000 tickets. You can request up to 4 of the $30 tickets. Tickets were selling on eBay for up to $100. But don't scalp them. That will hurt your beer karma.

I attended GTMW with friends Mark (westweasel on Beer Advocate), Barry, and Carl. We enjoyed a leisurely drive from Illinois. We planned to get in line around 12:00 – the festival ran from 1:00 – 6:00. We considered stopping in Janesville for lunch, but realized we would be eating 2 hours before the festival. Instead, we stopped at McDonald's one exit before our hotel. Nothing like a greasy meal before an afternoon of beer drinking.

We parked at the Holiday Inn Express and walked the 1/3 mile to Olin-Turville Park. We arrived at 12:15 and a long line was already serpentined across a couple of soccer fields. We were in about the third leg of the line. By 1:00, the line had about 8 legs. The time went by quickly as we met some other people and discussed what beers we wanted to drink. I was surprised to see that the people behind us were drinking Budweiser and clearly more interested in becoming inebriated than in tasting good beer.



One smart idea of the organizers was to have volunteers walking around exchanging wristbands for tickets. By the time the gate opened, everyone had a wristband. This way, they could just visually inspect everyone at the gate instead of taking tickets and the line moved very quickly.

Upon entering the festival, it's awesome and awe-inspiring to see thousands of people gathered to share your common interest. There were three huge tents where the brewers were pouring beer, plus the cask tent where they were serving beer from casks and kegs at higher temperatures. There was at least one tent for food and several tents where local proprietors where selling their stuff.

After a few lines, we got smart and the four of us would each get a different beer, then share them all. So in that way, we must've had at least 60 different beers. The souvenir glass was like a tall shot glass, 8 oz. The brewers were supposed to pour 2 oz. pours, but most of them were filling it. I definitely didn't need that much beer. I tried to stick to the beers that I really wanted to try, drank only a few beers that I'd had before, and dumped out anything that wasn't great.



I don't even know where to begin...well, OK, I'll begin with the Dark Lord. We were able to try Three Floyds Dark Lord and also Barrel-aged Dark Lord. They were both thick, complex, and tasty. The alcohol was noticeable but only a tad high considering what a huge beer it is. The Barrel-aged Dark Lord was smoother than the Dark Lord and had a nice little bourbon edge to it. This was the best beer we had at the festival.

We also tried Surly 2006 Barrel-aged Darkness, which some people consider a better beer than Dark Lord. I thought it was very good and smooth, and easier to drink than Dark Lord, with less alcohol. It was a great beer but didn't match the complexity of the Dark Lord.

I enjoyed the New Glarus Wisconsin Belgian Red. This beer is almost more like a cherry wine. It's loaded with cherries and was a nice contrast to the huge stouts and porters that I was drinking.

more good beers to come...

We met some interesting people. You can just strike up a conversation with anyone while you're waiting in line. People were very friendly and laid back. Copious amounts of beer may have contributed to that. One of the more unusual characters we met was the Hop Whore. She was dressed as a schoolgirl with a sash that said Hop Whore on it. Apparently she won a Tyranena contest but wouldn't say what exactly that entailed. ;)



A little advice – if you need a bathroom, use one of the many porta-potties around the festival grounds. Relieving yourself on the trees or in the lake is not recommended. We saw several people arrested for doing that.

We left the festival about 5 minutes before it was over and beat the crowds heading for the exit. We walked back to the hotel, showered, and caught a cab to downtown Madison for dinner.

We had dinner at Angel's. They beer was good and the service was great. The steaks that we had were not. Other than the steaks, the food was good. Frankly, we didn't really need a big dinner and maybe next year, we'll stop at a few places and have appetizers. After dinner, we walked toward the Capitol building and down State Street. I've never been to downtown Madison, and it was really nice, almost as nice as Naperville. Fortunately, the students weren't back yet, so it wasn't crowded. We stopped at another bar, had a beer, tried not to let on that we were Cub fans as the Brewers pounded on the Cubbies, then went to the Great Dane.

The Great Dane is a huge brewpub. It's three levels, I think, or at least it seems like it. It has an outdoor beer garden that is completely surrounded by buildings. There are even some trees in there. They had some good beer on tap.

After awhile, we noticed a strange woman standing by a table of attractive women, about 30 feet away. She kept glancing over her shoulder in our direction. When we got a good look, her face looked like a man's. But she was clearly dressed like a woman although she wasn't wearing a dress. She turned sideways and two things become very clear...she had huge breasts and she was a man. And not an attractive man. Or woman. I thought she looked like the actor Rhys Ifans (the kicker in the Replacements). He/she was blond with a big nose and extremely skinny. With huge breasts. Seriously, we thought they might be balloons. Maybe I don't get out enough, but this isn't something I see every day.

One of the guys asked our waitress "What's with the guy with the big tits?" She looked over, did a double-take, and replied "I don't know!" The group of women left and the guy/girl started heading in our direction. Only a few other people had spotted him/her, all watching intently. He/she worked his/her way across the restaurant to another table of women, and by this time, everyone in the place had noticed. Our conversation centered around "Is it for real? Is it a joke? Is it some psychology student with a wacky social experiment gone awry? That would be a hard one to explain if your girlfriend was there when you returned home. "Um, Bob, why are you dressed like that?" Shortly after that, he/she left, leaving us to wonder what it was all about. Eventually we caught a cab and returned to the hotel.

On Sunday morning, Mark and Carl sent me a text message around 8:00 that they were eating breakfast. I was surprised they were awake so early. Barry and I woke up and joined them. We were amazingly not really hungover. I felt dehydrated and my digestive system was a little weird for a couple days, but nothing serious. And I had no headache. But my feet were sore from standing for 6 hours! It's a good thing that the festival doesn't end at 11:00 PM or I would've been a wreck.

We took off around 9:45 and stopped at Woodman's grocery store in Janesville. Woodman's is known for having a good selection of beer and great prices. They carry a lot of beer that is available in Wisconsin but isn't distributed in Illinois. Barry and I loaded up, buying 7 six-packs each and a few other bottles. I was pleasantly surprised that they had Smuttynose – I bought some IPA and Old Brown Dog. I also got some New Glarus Quadrupel, New Glarus Wisconsin Belgian Red, New Glarus Raspberry Tart (those last two in big bottles, they had no six-packs), some Tyranena Coffee Porter something or other,

The festival was very well-organized and we had a fantastic time. Kudos to MHTG!

If you are really interested in beer, I strongly urge you to attend the festival. No wait, forget that, if more people try to get tickets, it will be harder for me to get them. Never mind.

- schneid