Michael & Liz are Bloggable

Me vs. Machine: Prep Time

This week I have begun to prep for my month of "Me vs. Machine" in August. In case you didn't read the post, check it out for information. I don't really think there is a whole lot I need to prep for though. I have most of the equipment I need but here are the steps I/we have taken to make sure I make the month a success:

• Got a locker at the gym. They don't give out lockers to everyone, you have to explicitly ask for it and it can only be for a short time. So I got a locker and I already set all my softball gear and soccer gear in it. That way on softball and soccer days, I don't have to lug my glove and cleats and stuff to work.
  
  
• Bought a super cushiony seat. Last year some time I was doing a spin bike class at the gym and had done it a few times a week for a few weeks, and after a while my butt started killing me. Those seats are not natural for your butt and don't provide much surface area, so I got a cushion to possibly help with that problem.
  
  
• I temporarily have 2 work laptops. We have a test laptop we use at work and I have gotten the OK to bring it home for the month. This way I don't need to be biking with my laptop. It's heavy and takes up space and is just unnecessary luggage.
  
  
• Since I am not biking with a laptop, I don't need to bike with my laptop bag so it is left at work. Now I can get my book bag out that I had in college that has much more room and I can carry more stuff like clothes and a change of shoes and whatever else.
  
  
• Liz bought a bike. We had extra room in our July budget, so with it we bought Liz a bike. She got a "hybrid" (which I now refer to as "The Cylon" (from Battlestar Galactica)) which is a bike with the tires to ride on the road but able to handle bumps like a mountain bike. We biked 13 miles this morning, it was a blast. So this way during the month, if I need miles, she can go out with me and it can be kinda like a date.
  
  
• Today I am getting a water bottle for the bike and reflection vest. There is going to be times when we have a softball game at 7:15 and I am biking home at 8:30 when the sun is going down. I gotta be seen on the road! Also it's going to be crazy hot, so I need water too.
  

The only other preparation I've done was to go through a test day to see how it goes. So on Wednesday this week I biked to work and biked home. What I was really testing though was if I would have the energy to bike home. Wednesday's I have to run 8 miles, so from work I went to the gym, ran 8 miles and then biked home. It wasn't too bad but I was certainly tired at the end. It also gave me a good idea of how much stuff I have to bring every day and whether I had enough space. I was using my laptop bag at the time so there's no doubt in my mind I have enough space now.

I am definitely nervous about the month since it's going to be so grueling and difficult to maintain the schedule, but I'm excited to see what happens. I am also nervous about biking on the roads around cars and stuff. I am an overly cautious person and just do not trust other people, so anytime there is a sidewalk or trail I can bike on instead, I will be doing it.

The month begins tomorrow and I am going to start it off with a bang. We are driving to church but then I am going to bike home which I believe is 19 miles. I'll have to use the odometer on the car to be sure though.

Monday will be a down day mileage wise. We go to the chiropractor on Monday mornings so I have to drive. The appointment is not within the range of being able to bike and I just don't have that kind of time. So after the appointment I drive to work, drive home, and then also go to Gryffin's obedience class at night. I'm sure I'll rack up a good 40 miles of driving. The good thing is, I have to do my long run for the week on Monday after work, which is 17 miles, so I'll make it up a little bit.

I'll try to blog more frequently and keep it up to date on the total number of miles. I'm starting it off tough with a long bike ride and a long run on Monday, but if I can get through those days, I should be good.

I'm psyched, bring it on!

“Opposition is a natural part of life. Just as we develop our physical muscles through overcoming opposition - such as lifting weights - we develop our character muscles by overcoming challenges and adversity.” - Stephen Covey

About a year ago, I started reviewing movies on the blog. I reviewed a whoppin' total of 2 movies before I quit. It wasn't the "giving my opinion" part I enjoyed about movies, just the watching part. So it didn't make sense to waste my time posting reviews.

I realized tonight I can reach a happy medium. So from now on, I will try to post on the blog the movies and shows we've watched and give a short opinion along with the number of stars we gave the movie in Netflix. This will allow me to post about movies, but not require me to have to go into length about each one. It also might stir up a conversation about a particular movie, and that's all good too. So to that end, here is June's movies we watched (holy crap we watch a lot of movies):

1. Monsters vs. Aliens - 3 stars - It was moderately funny, good for kids.
2. Forever Strong - 4 stars - This was actually an awesome movie, but the whole time I was thinking, "there aren't this many Americans who care that much about Rugby!" I'm just a sucker for feel-good sports movies.
   
3. World's Greatest Dad - 1 star - I watched it cuz of Robin Williams and even that wasn't worth it.
   
4. Braveheart - 5 stars - I feel like I should have been more moved by it, but it's hard to find anything wrong with this movie (other than Mel Gibson), it was awesome.
   
5. Ghost of Girlfriends Past - 1 star - Not worth anyone's time, I was close to turning it off, and that's tough for me to do.
   
6. Philadelphia - 3 stars - Tom Hanks is awesome, as always.
   
7. 9 - 2 stars - Super creative and awesome graphics, but the plot was kinda dumb.
   
8. Glory - 3 stars - Good movie, but sometimes movies are ruined when they keep to historically accurate endings.
9. The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day - 3 stars - it wasn't as good, but if you liked the first, you'll like this for the same reason.
   
10. Africa: The Serengeti: IMAX - 3 stars - I saw it at the IMAX when I was little, and I remember being halfway satisfied back then too.
    
11. Stargate - 2 stars - I can't recall why I added the 2nd star, this movie was TERRIBLE.
    
12. The Time Traveler's Wife - 5 stars - This is the first "time traveling" movie that didn't make me want to throw the remote at the screen. Most movies can't pull it off and make the act of time travel halfway believable/reasonable. But this was very well done and I've never seen a Rachel McAdams movie I didn't enjoy. Highly recommend this one.
13. Robin Hood: Men In Tights - 1 star - I can't stand this kind of humor, which is why I never liked Monty Python
14. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - 3 stars - If only they could combine the awesomeness of the graphics and the robots with a plot that made you care about what was happening.
    
15. Cocktail - 3 stars - I was expecting an intriguing comedy/romance movie and this ended up more on the side of slow and dramatic. 3 stars was generous.
16. Brian Regan: Standing Up - 4 stars- He's hilarious, and what I think most people don't realize is that he is an incredibly "clean" comic. None of his jokes revolve around sex or curse words. Not a lot of comics can get by like that, so it makes me like him even more.
17. Brian Regan: The Epitome of Hyperbole - 4 stars - Same as above. Really funny.
    

One thing I've learned through Netflix is that I am an extremely difficult movie rater. Netflix gives me the number of stars it thinks I will rate a movie and the number of stars the average reviewer rates the movies. We have roughly 100 movies in our queue and for almost every one, my guessed rating is lower than the average reviewers ratings. I kind of like it that way.

We've done a lot of instant streaming in July of TV shows, so we probably won't have as big of a list this month. One last thought, Netflix is awesome.

Who gets rid of bills these days? You can't just cancel water or stop using electricity. And it seems like in this day and age, everyone sees internet and cable or satellite in the same necessary light. Liz and I have been looking at our budget to see what we didn't need and satellite stood out as a glaring opportunity. This effort isn't only to slash our budget to increase our savings, but also for the simplicity in our life. If we are paying for something we don't need to be, why continue that behavior?

Sure we watch some cable channels but we realized that outside of local channels, we don't really watch them THAT much and we could live without them. So at the beginning of June we started researching how we would replace our current $80 per month satellite set up without completely changing our current lifestyle (like going without TV altogether).

So we started out buying a regular converter box. I did a ton of research and decided on Channel Master's CM-7000, it had some of the best reviews and the most extensive program guide:


We disconnected the satellite receiver from our bedroom and started using this instead. I also bought an antenna at Best Buy to see what channels we got. Much to our surprise, we didn't get ABC!! We panicked a little, we are a little too addicted to some of the ABC shows (like V and The Bachelor/Bachelorette). What struck us immediately with this box was the realization that just because you are watching shows over the air, doesn't mean the picture isn't good. We get a better picture with this box than we did with satellite. That is not a joke, it's more crisp, I promise.

So after more research, I found out that lower channels (like 11 for ABC) are apparently labeled as "VHF" channels and those are hard to get with weaker antennas like little indoor ones. So I then went after an outdoor antenna. At this point it's really getting into the land of no return. We are starting to accumulate too many items to return them and turn back. Oh well, here we go. So I decided on this outdoor antenna and installed it on the roof, it's the EZ-HD Antenna from "Dennys Antennas":


It was cheap, small, and could receive stations 50 miles away. YAY! We get ABC now! I then returned the indoor antenna since it wasn't needed anymore.

The last item that we had to look into is finding a way to record shows. We had a DVR with our satellite receiver and it's tough to go from DVR to no DVR at all and have to watch all the commercials. Having loved the Channel Master converter box we got before, I researched their other converter box, the CM-7000PAL DVR converter box. It not only receives channels like a regular converter box does, but it also records shows just like our satellite receiver does. It was surprising to me, when I started this research, that this device even existed. A recording device without a subscription fee? SCORE! Eat your heart out TIVO! After watching the video on their website, I was convinced:

Here is a link to the product page and the video.

We ordered the system at the end of June but unfortunately a remote control was left out of the box. I was told that never happens and I hope that's true. Yesterday we finally received the remote control after my many many calls to the company, and after messing with the DVR during lunch and tonight when I got home, I have to say I'm so ridiculously impressed. It makes the satellite DVR look stupid. It's so super easy to use and worth every penny.

To complete our setup, we have a Netflix subscription to get movies, and also a Wii to instantly stream movies and shows from Netflix. We watched the entire first season of 30 Rock over the weekend and I'm definitely a big fan of that show now.

So the whole set up cost us $480, which will take 6 months to make up the cost considering our satellite fee was $80 a month. So yes, initially it was a little expensive, but hopefully this setup lasts us several years. I can't exclaim how happy it makes me to call Directv and say "I don't need your service anymore" (and to also hear the salesman squirm). No more monthly bill and no more $80 automatic draft from our account. It's music to our budget's ears. Goodbye Satellite Bill!

Last Sunday at church the service revolved around "Building Community". Our Pastor at one point was talking about how it used to be that people would sit out on their front porches and wave and talk to people as they went by. For example in Andy Griffith (I realize it was only a TV show and not real life), they'd sit out on the front porch and sooner or later pretty much everyone they knew would walk by and say hello.

So early last week I was thinking, we do no activity in the front of our house. If we go out the front door, it's either to take the dogs for a walk or get the mail. Some people have porches but "hanging out" in the front of our house doesn't really work. I decided on Friday to change that and see what the effect would be.

I had to bring my boy out with me. So I took Gryffin and tied him to the tree in the front. I brought a bowl of water for him, some treats, and brought out a beach chair and we sat there for about an hour. I sat there and read while he sniffed the air and enjoyed the breeze. The clouds were a gorgeous pink as the sun was going down. See, something I wouldn't have seen from the Sweet Room. It felt really nice to change things up a little like that.

When I first sat down out there, I couldn't help but laugh and think of the "Friends" episode where their apartment got robbed and they temporarily replaced their furniture with lawn chairs in the living room. Sitting in a basic plastic white chair and drinking a beer, Chandler shrugs and says "Could we be more white trash?" I love "Friends", too funny.

I was bored so drew a picture to add a little flair and color to the blog and post:

Liz told me the neighbors would think I was nuts but we only had two people walk by(with dogs) and of the many cars that drove by, only two of them took notice, and both of them smiled and waved.

On Monday last week, Gryffin started his "Canine Good Citizen Class" since he graduated the regular obedience class. It's 6 weeks long and in the 7th week he will take the test to earn his "good citizen" badge. I've read through the test and of all the tricks or skills he is tested on, there is only one, even at this moment in time, I think he would fail (and fail miserably). Here's the test:

Test 8: Reaction to another dog
This test demonstrates that the dog can behave politely around other dogs. Two handlers and their dogs approach each other from a distance of about 20 feet, stop, shake hands and exchange pleasantries, and continue on for about 10 feet. The dogs should show no more than casual interest in each other. Neither dog should go to the other dog or its handler.

So by sitting in the yard, it was also my effort to help him and his reaction to other dogs. The two people that walked by both had dogs and Gryffin went absolutely NUTS. "NUTS" is actually an understatement. Imagine the worst temper tantrum you've ever seen, multiply it by 10, and put it in dog form, that's what Gryffin does. It's downright embarrassing how bad he is. He whines, howls, squeals, growls, and barks at the dogs walking by. He yanks on the leash like he's about to run a sprint in a race. He leaves no embarrassing action unused.

What we've been taught to cure him of this behavior is to give him treats as much as we can BEFORE his temper tantrum occurs. So while those dogs are approaching, I'm giving him an endless stream of unearned treats hoping he'll learn that "other dogs = treats = happiness = calmness" and not go nuts anymore. He definitely has a threshold for when he's calm to when he goes bananas so as long as we continue to shorten that threshold, we're making progress. It's been a while since progress has occurred though.

So I think over the next 6 weeks I'm going to make it a point to sit in the front yard, not only to help Gryffin get over his ridiculous behavior, but also to see what effect it might have on the neighborhood. It's an experiment is what it is. Will we make new neighborhood friends? Probably not. But I think it will certainly help with increasing the friendliness of our neighbors.

Back in August 2008, Liz and I went vegetarian for the entire month. It was a good experience. It's not something I would want to do again, but we definitely learned from it. It was difficult to stick with it during the entire month especially when we got into the late teens and 20's.

I like using August as a month to change your life up a little bit. I think it's always good to do something different that challenges you, but to do it for an entire month is even more difficult. It's much like the concept for the TV Show "30 Days", where Morgan Spurlock does something different for 30 days. So instead I'm doing 31 days because August is the month I chose. It's really a boring month: you're looking forward to Summer ending, it's the only time you follow up a 31 day month by another 31 day month, and when you were in school it was the month you went back.

So this August I am changing things up again, it is "Me vs. Machine". The concept is simple:

For an entire month, it's the miles I travel in a car vs. the miles I run and bike. Can I travel more miles in the month running and biking than my car does driving?

So here are the rules:

• Any time I go anywhere by car, I have to count my miles using the odometer. Whether I drive or am a passenger, it all counts.
  
• Running and biking, whether that is outside or inside the gym, counts as miles for me. Walking or playing sports does not count.
  
• Do not dramatically alter my lifestyle. If I would have gone someplace, don't skip out because of the challenge. This will be a TOUGH rule and something I will struggle to follow.
  

There's no doubt it's going to be a very tough month. Just thinking through all the places I go, some of them aren't just right down the street. Two I have in mind are church, which is exactly 19 miles away, and the dog training facility, which is 7.6 miles away. I gotta come home too so that makes the trips 38 miles and 15.2 miles. How do I make that up quickly? This is definitely going to be a challenge.

In any given month I fill up my car 3 to 4 times and probably drive about 1000 miles. A majority of those miles are just between home and work but that trip is short enough that I can bike it. Work is exactly 5 miles away so technically if I bike to and from work every day during the month, that's 220 miles for the 22 days. And if I run as much in August as I did during June, that'll be another 140 miles. I probably won't be able to maintain the schedule as much as I want to, but I figure if I can accumulate 300 miles, that would be good enough to beat my car.

I came up with this idea earlier in the year around March. I pegged June and August as potential months due to the favorable weather. June didn't quite work out so August it is. There are tons of advantages to doing this. Not only would we be saving on gas money during the month, but it would also help me achieve my goal of being in better shape and having stronger legs for the marathons and races I have coming up. I also can't believe that I won't lose some more weight from all the exercise. Really the only downside I can see is that the dogs and Liz will suffer. Every day I come home for lunch and during August I won't be doing that. I also am home before Liz these days and I probably won't be most days in August.

I'm not blind to the struggles that I will face:

• I have a stupid mountain bike and not a road bike. Makes biking hard and I don't feel like buying new tires.
  
• August is the time Kidstuf begins to start back up so I may have to go to church at one point or another during the weekdays.
  
• Biking during rainy weather will be tough. I need a parka.
• There will be times when I have to bike home in the dark after softball. I need some lights on my bike.
  
• Of the 5 miles to work, 1.5 miles of that is on the road and the last 3.5 is on a trail. Honestly, I can't STAND biking on roads around cars. I can't stand driving around bikers on the road so it pains me to think I'm going to be one of those people holding cars up and getting in the way.
  
• It's still crazy hot in August, sweating and exhaustion is a factor.
  
• I have to pack my lunch.
• What if my bike pops a tire on my way to work?
  
• I have to shower every morning at the work showers in my building. And with lunch, my backpack will be HEAVY and FULL.
  
• I may not be as social as I'd like to be. Football will be starting back up and that's not the time to be a hermit.
• Softball season will be wrapping up. I've been told I can have a permanent locker at the Rec Center so I can store my stuff.
  
• Fall Soccer season will be starting at that time too.
• Both soccer and softball games start at 6PM and 7:30PM, that's a long time to not be home for the dogs. Those days we'll just have to leave them out of their crates.
  

This type of challenge is what I was talking about in my last post about how Liz has to put up with my crazy crap. She will definitely be affected seeing as I won't be home to take care of the dogs like I normally do and I will always be tired and complaining from the biking and running. So a big thank you to her for supporting my insanity.

Do I think I will beat my car? I think I will but not in the way I want. I'd like to do it using every day tasks, through biking to work and running for my marathon training. But I get the feeling I will have to do extra hours of biking at the gym and on the weekends on trails. I'm definitely not running more than I have to (since I'm already running 30 to 40 miles a week) so if I add anything, it will be biking. I really don't want to have to do that, but my car (from now on referred to as "WhoDey") is going down and I'll do everything I can to win.

So at this point it's all about preparation. Getting together all the things I need in order to succeed. I'll be working on that in the next few weeks and will keep the blog up to date on my miles as the month goes on.

2 quotes for inspiration:
“We choose to go...not because it is easy, but because it is hard, because that goal will serve to measure and organize the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win.” -JFK

“Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they're supposed to help you discover who you are.” -Bernice Johnson Reagon

Today is Liz and my 3rd anniversary and to celebrate we are heading to The Melting Pot. Neither of us have been there before so we are both curious and excited to try it out. I heard you have to cook your own food and if 3 years of marriage has taught me anything, it's that Liz will probably be having a better meal than I will.

We can't believe how fast it has gone. It really doesn't feel like 3 years at all. I have told Liz this a bunch of times but I swear the key to our marriage is how tolerant she is. She is so patient, tolerant, and supportive of the crazy things that I do. So hopefully she can continue to put up with me for 50 more years!

Just thinking through the highs of the past 3 years:

• Hawaii Honeymoon, too awesome!
• Adopting Daisy. I will never forget how tiny and awkward she was. We nicknamed her "Magellan" the first day because how curious and independent she was. She definitely continues to live up to it. Also she's not a dog, she's a cat.
  
• Liz getting her new job (and still current job), that was exciting seeing as how unhappy she was before.
  
• Going to Hilton Head with the family and smuggling Daisy in and out of the building.
  
• Our trip to Colorado and skiing together. Can we go back soon? We seriously still talk about moving there. It's a pipe dream though.
  
• Adopting Gryffin. And the first time the two dogs met, Gryffin snapped at Daisy.
  
• Hosting Liza from Belarus for 6 weeks. YA NEE PAWNEE MYOOO!! (english: "i don't understand"). PREE NEE ME DOOSH!! (english: "Take a shower!")
  
• Pawleys Island. For me the most memorable part was Gryffin jumping in the water to save me... unfortunately the current started to take him away and I saved him.
  
• Vegetarian Month. Started great, ended with lots of meat. Without Liz's creative skills, the month would have been even worse.
  
• Las Vegas. I think we stayed up until 11PM on one of the nights. I put a quarter in a slot machine once. We rock.
  
• Marine Corp Marathon trip and the rock that found my windshield on the way home.
  
• We've now hosted 4 broods in our birdhouse for a total of 15 fledged babies. We love watching them.
• Being with our family when baby Audrey was born on Christmas Day. And then putting together the book to send to everyone with all the pictures.
  
• Mexico!! Roosters, dogs, and bugs oh my! It was such an awesome experience and the first time flying over the border together.
  
• Building the garden this past Spring.
  

So what do we have to look forward to in the future? Well definitely the Caribbean Cruise this December, that should be amazing. We can never get enough cruising. Then going to Atlanta for the Georgia Marathon in March. And after that, I thought about running the Seattle Marathon next June. That'd be kinda amazing to go up there.

We are going to ignore the fact that this is the "leather" anniversary... we aren't leather people, except on our belts and shoes.

Woo hoo Melting Pot!!