Quick Post

Today I am heading to Danbury, Wisconsin for the public opening of a casino to replace Hole in the Wall. The new location will apparently be called St. Croix Casino and Hotel Danbury or something to that effect. Honestly, I am glad that I have an opening to attend. I am not really in the mood to work in the office, so this comes at an opportune time. Since Heather works tonight, I forced myself to not bring my camera, against my better judgment. If I have my camera in hand, I may not make it home early enough for Heather to make it to work on time. I know, I know... but if I see a photo opportunity, I have to take it. If I don't bring my camera, I am absolutely certain I will miss something I want to shoot. On the other hand, traveling for one day without my camera manages my temptation to photograph for hours. It does feel like I left a part of me at home today. [sigh...]

I heard somewhere that if the first thing you want to do in the morning is to grab your camera, if the last thing you want to do at night is to photograph the sunset, then you are meant to be a photographer. The thing is, I don't just want to grab my camera... I have to do it. I just can't help myself. I need to photograph the world!

Thank God I am a photographer!

On the Road Again

I am in a hotel in west central South Dakota. My destination tomorrow is Deadwood where two of my techs work. I can't complain about traveling, because some employees travel more than I do. Further, I do not travel as much as I did when I was a field tech. I miss our beautiful boys when I am traveling. The good thing is that coming home is always a sweet reward. I will see Heather and the boys Friday, so that is cool beans, as Heather would say.


I had a reservation at this hotel. I even contacted the hotel to let them know that I would have a late check-in. When I showed up here, my room was given to someone else. Fortunately, there was a single room still available. Unfortunately for the hotel, it was the king Jacuzzi suite and I got that room for the cheapo rate charged for a standard room. Good for the payer, bad for the payee. For me, this is a "Whoohoo!" moment. I get to enjoy this one facet of being on the road, especially since I was driving most of 12 hours today. The stinky part is that Heather is busy with classes, and the boys are with a sitter during the day while Heather is in class. As a result, I am on the road without my family. But my techs have to be away from their families, so I shouldn't necessarily expect anything different. I manage better by not being too far removed from the things that the techs go through doing their jobs. That is what I think.


That doesn't remove the fact that I am far from my family. I don't like it, but it is a necessary part of the job. I know, I know... homecoming is much sweeter because I am out here on my own.


Time to wrap up my final for this class and call it a night!

The First Week is Almost Over and I am Sticking With It (So Far)

Okay, I know that it has only been six days, but so far I have really stuck with it. Should I be impressed with myself? I think not. In the past, I have tried this and stuck with it for a week or two. This time, I am showing Heather what I am doing and she finds my food intake interesting to see.  Heather is very supportive! The ironic thing is that all the whole foods I am eating make me feel like I never stop eating! I still want to make some changes in my diet, but one step at a time, I am doing that. I look forward to my knees feeling good and being able to keep up with my sons for years to come!

I am heading on a road trip to the Dakotas tomorrow for five days to visit the techs and customers in Deadwood, South Dakota, with a few additional customer visits during the drive. I will be dining in restaurants and from a cooler. I really hope that I can stick with it during this week. I feel like this will be a good test for me. The fact that the program has both a browser-based site and a mobile-based site is helpful.  I can check the food out from a smart phone OR from a computer, before or after I eat.  The plan database is comprehensive, with 50,000 food listings.  I do wish that the database had more foods for Perkins, since I will likely encounter those more than any restaurant. This program forces me to plan ahead so I know what I can eat and remain within my guidelines for that day. I could go over if I want, but I don't want to exceed my program guidelines. I have stayed true to the program for six days, and I don't want to exceed the parameters. I feel that if I do it once, it gets easier to ignore the guidelines in the future, and becomes a slippery slope to failure. I just don't want to go there!

Today, I went out to dinner for the first time since I started the program (to Perkins), courtesy of my mother-in-law for a belated Fathers' Day meal (thank you, Mom/Laura!!!)  I did pretty well, or at least I hope I did. I kept it to 750 calories for the entree (salmon dijon), the bread and rice (I wish it was brown rice, instead of white) and the salad, with dressing. Why do they always serve the refined white rice instead of the vitamin-rich and fiber-gifted brown or wild rice? The funny thing is that about halfway through my food, I started thinking that I had an awful lot of food to eat. I used to live for the Chinese buffet and at least 3 plates of MSG-loaded food. I hope my stomach is shrinking and telling me not to eat too much!

I wonder if I will ever look at buffets the same way again? Honestly, I kind of hope not, though when I go to the store, I see so many food temptations everywhere (mostly the refined sugar junk food, chips, and chocolate) that I really love to eat. I will start eating those foods again, but in much smaller doses, and not for a while, probably not until after the tempting, calorie-intensive Christmas holiday season this year. I know, everyone says that you have to allow yourself to eat junk food or you will want to binge. For me, the best approach is to avoid the foods completely until I get that junk-food mindset completely reprogrammed. That is going to take a while, and I am on-board with this health kick as long as it takes to meet (and exceed?) my goals! Honestly, if I want to really watch what I eat, especially the calories, I have to continue with the program. I am moving in the right direction so I think I am going to stick with it!

To the people who have been positive and supportive, thank you!  This approach sort of reminds me that this is a marathon, not a sprint.  Nobody wins by quitting in the middle! 

On to week two of the program...

Doing Something New and Taking Care of Myself

Today I started doing something new.  I began using this program basead around an online community of people trying to get fit and trim.  You can share as much or as little as you want about yourself.  I am sharing just enough to allow helpful interactions with other users who only know me online. On the other hand, telling a few people in my life about it creates an additional reason to succeed. Who likes to fail at something like this? Nobody!  Telling a few people in my life creates an awareness and a spotlight that creates accountability.  I can work with this, knowing that at least a few people are paying attention.

So, this is the program and how it works, in a nutshell. You keep a food diary, listing every single thing that you eat every day.  The diary breaks down your food intake to include the basic nutrients you are taking in, and details include calories, fat (total, saturated, and trans), cholesterol, sodium, carbs, fiber, sugar, protein and calcium.  The program also makes recommendations for your calorie limit for the day. The site has enough interactions with users that it keeps you focused on where you are going and why.  For instance, to move from the first levels (Bronze 1 to Bronze 2 and 3, and then on to Silver and Gold), you have to complete certain tasks. These tasks include listing barriers to healthy eating and triggers for junk food eating. On the flip side, you create short-term, intermediate, and long-term goals and motivators. The program regularly fires off emails to you to get you to participate so that you can advance and stay motivated. 

My initial reaction is that this really can work.  But it only works if a user commits to doing this, and I mean, really, really commits to it, day in and day out. When you log your food on a diary, it causes you to be accountable and to really think, not just about your calorie count but about how you view food and eating.  It creates a "big picture" mindset and make you consider the food you eat... or overeat.  The program doesn't hound you if you exceed your calorie recommendation for that day. For each participant, it is your program, and your gain or loss if you are not sticking with it. I am trying to view this as the beginning of a new mindset about food.  I want to stick with this for a long, long time... at least until I rewire my mind and body to stay fit and strong.  My sons are growing so fast, I will not be able to keep up, so I need to kick it into gear!

The Political Persuasion of The Daily Show (Part 2)

A classmate stated, "I can definitely agree that he [Stewart] does not have a political agenda, because he spent the majority of his time making a mockery of politicians."  That declarative statement begs for critical analysis:   Are you sure that he does not have a political agenda, despite the fact that he mocks politicians? To answer that question with a degree of veracity requires some study to establish a trend. Watching the show one day probably does not give adequate exposure to the content to declare that he either does have a political agenda or he has no bias. What I would suggest is that to rule out the possibility of a clear bias or to establish the slant of his bias, if any, a quantifying study of content would be needed.

A study of this type would consider the political party of all guests who were politicians and all stories focusing on politicians. It would need to be conducted over a period of time, perhaps a month or a season of the show. Maybe Jon Stewart was a bit grouchy one day, and his sarcasm was over-the-top on that occasion. To rule out things like the influence of mood (since Jon Stewart is human and subject to human nature), the study would need to compile this information over an extended period of time, not a single day.

Even one day can help to make a somewhat informed decision in search of a political agenda for the purpose of discussion, but lacks credibility because of the variability of human condition to which Jon Stewart is subject. However, a single day of viewing lacks the content immersion required to establish a trend that lends credibility to a declarative statement that a TV host is clearly pushing an ideological agenda as a deliberate attempt to indoctrinate the viewers.

After the study is completed, it would be instructive to see quantified results. For instance, if Jon Stewart picks on Republicans like Sarah Palin, Bobby Jindal, Haley Barbour, and Michelle Bachmann day after day, month after month, but never gives a modicum of equal time to lampooning Democrats like Barack Obama, Harry Reid, Hillary Clinton, or Nancy Pelosi, can a person say that there is clearly no political agenda because Jon Stewart spent the majority of his time mocking politicians? Does he fairly distribute the mockery among prominent politicians without regard to political affiliation or ideological bent?

To echo a statement from part one of this discussion, the challenge is in judging what constitutes bias. How do a TV host and his viewers collectively establish a centrist perspective that would be completely apolitical? One person’s bias is another person’s reality.

The Political Persuasion of The Daily Show

In my current class focusing on media influence on society, we are discussing sarcasm and irony used by the media as part of healthy political discourse in society. One of the prime examples of irony given by the facilitator is The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. This is part of my discussion with the class about that program. What do you think?

From my viewpoint, it is difficult to dispute the fact that Jon Stewart does have a political bias. I don’t really have a problem with it, because the bias seems clear to me and I can filter my perceptions about the show using my acknowledgement that the program is partisan. On the other hand, it is a comedy show and uses satire and irony for entertainment. The show routinely exaggerates for comedic purposes so I don’t blame the producers and Stewart for creating that bias. The tongue-in-cheek nature of that comedic exaggeration is sometimes evident when you see that Jon Stewart is trying to stifle a grin. The same thing was obvious on the Weekend Update segments with Norm MacDonald. MacDonald's exaggeration was sometimes so over-the-top that it was clear that he was ready to bust a gut laughing at himself and the irony of the stories.

When I read in interviews that Jon Stewart has no political agenda in doing the show, I understand. I believe that he thinks he applies no bias. However, since bias is a subjective perception of self, what may seem nonexistent to him may seem clear to the viewer. The difficulty in judging partiality is that both the host and the viewer have to acknowledge subjectivity, because each person is different. When people watch the Daily Show and get annoyed because of the messages that appear to be part of a political agenda, maybe the viewer misses the point that it is comedy and involves satirical humor and irony. The other challenge is in judging what constitutes bias.

How do a TV host and his group of viewers collectively establish one centrist perspective that would be completely nonpartisan or moderate? One person’s bias is another person’s centrist reality.