Ahhh! Vacation. Just what the doctor ordered. Having a great time. Barbs place is great! Hittin' the fitness center daily for a hard workout... then the pool. Then the beach, then out to dinner... you get the idea! Caught a great Fla. Marlins game. Couldn't be better. Off to the beach again...

Put up my weight loss web page. Lots of referals to my web site are from people searching for info on calculating Weight Watcher food points. That info is now here.

Its been a real stressful couple of days. Not going into detail here, but I just barely saved my job, and I was forced cut someone elses. A close associate and friend. Sometimes, making a living can suck.

Been stepping up the excersize. Ran 2 miles, power-walked 2 more. I have found that this is the best stress reliever. Eating only lasts while your doing it, and drinking can provide relief untill you crash... but excersize really does melt away that stress.

Long time, no post. Been extremely busy. Feel good, feel healthy, feel upbeat. Been excersizing, eating good, feel like I am at the top of my game (right now, anyway... all that could change in a heartbeat). Seen some good movies. Finished up the dreaded taxes. Still feel optimistic about possible changes comin' down the road, maybe for me and the wifey (more on that later, maybe).

Of course, Fantasy Baseball in full swing. I am in 3 leagues, and commish 2 of them. Even started one up with all my Internet WW friends from the GoaD BBS. At the moment I am in 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the 3 leagues... pretty cool.

ONE MORE WEEK till Vacation. Boy, I am looking forward to that. Already gettin ready. Bought some luggage, took out some clothes and bathing suits. Gotta cop some tix for a Marlins game. Wooooohoooo.

Haven't posted here in many days. A lot has been happening, some good, some bad, some not meant for posting here (at least not at this time). Here is some of the good.

Attended a breakfast at Rockville High to celebrate, as the principal said "The best and brightest" of RHS - Kids that made High Honors. And, do you believe it? Both our kids were being honored! Here is a picture from the event.

Took the afternoon off friday to go to Quinnipiac University. We were all impressed by the school. The small class size and community, the well equipped communications lab, the emphasis on student development. As opposed to UCONN, the large student population and class sizes, not really having the Communications program that Dave wants... maybe Quinny is a better fit for Dave. Quinny would be VERY expensive, it would be much more difficult to fund for 4 years. But, this might be the most important investment that we can make. This experience could shape his entire adult life.

Toot-toot... sorry, but I gotta toot my own horn. Got my Lifetime Key from Weight Watchers. The best reward is setting out to make a difficult goal, and seeing it through to the end. Not only do I feel that pride of accomplishment... but I have a healthier lifestyle for myself and my family. NOW, the trick is... can I make it last a lifetime!

Saw a phenomenal movie - Himalayas. Read my review here. Sure would be nice if others posted their reviews once in a while!

Just one of those lousy stinkin' days. Lots of negative energies. Nothing seems to be going our way (me or SO). I'm in one bad mood... so watch out! I've been snapping at everyone today.

Maybe... the upcoming vacation is what we need to snap out of this funk. I am really looking forward to it. Gotta wait another month though.

Whoopie! I lost 40 lbs., in 16 weeks, and here are the pictures to prove it. Thanks to Weight Watchers, it really works.

Went to Film Fridays International at UCONN this weekend and saw the film Calle 54. As described in the program,

Director Fernando Truebaâ's tribute to Latin Jazz is a joyous celebration of musicmaking by Paquito D'Rivera, Elaine Elias, Gato Barbieri, Tito Puente and many more. Sponsored by the Puerto Rican/Latin American Cultural Center. "This is one of the most infectiously joyous celebrations of musicmaking ever committed to film." TV Guide MovieGuide "A brilliantly conceived and elegantly realized documentary tribute to Latin jazz, it packs more drama into each of its 12 musical tableaux than most feature films manage in two hours." Washington Post, "it simply sizzles with sophisticated passion" Ottawa Citizen.

Really enjoyed this flick... went out and bought the soundtrack the next day, and have been groovin' to it all day.

This article is a real hoot. An excerpt: Like all new Apple gear, it belongs in a museum and shouldn't be touched (fingerprints). I'm pretty sure it's as close to sex as you can get with a machine. I mean look at this photo. Scarry thing is... I can really relate!

Looking back at some of my old posts, and realized that I have been doing this blogger thing for over 1 year now. Started it up in Feb 2001. Incredible! Where has the year gone.

Spring Training games begin today! Should be a good year for the NY Mets. Started up my MJBL fantasy baseball league. Probably will need some teams to fill out the league. Interested? Let me know (gotta be local to attend the draft).

Since so many hits to this site are from people searching for calculating weight watcher points... here it is again. From the US Patent office web site Patent number 6,040,531.

p = (c/50) + (f/12) - (r/5)
p=points, c=calories, f=fat grams, r=fiber grams (max. of 4 fiber grams)

Today, I went to Seybold Exposition in NYC, with David. Seybold was once the premier electronic prepress and publishing trade show. This show was a mere shadow of what it has been in the past. Whats up with that? Usually every powerhouse in Electronic publishing showed off there warez with huge glitzy booths. Adobe, Apple, Agfa, Macromedia, Quark, Scitex, Linotype, Kodak, Xerox, etc. etc have always exhibited. This year, only one company, Adobe, had any significant presence. I have seen better turnouts for baseball card expos at the Elks Club in Rockville! Is this another nail in the coffin for our entire industry? Is it just the state of the economy at present? I recall at the keynote of last years expo, one of the Industry leaders stated that there is no more Venture Capital being invested in printing technologies. All this money is now being used to finance Internet based publshing and e-Commerce, and that will be the end of innovation in the traditional Printing technology. Maybe what I saw today is the end result of that premonition. I'll tell ya, it was a real shocker.

Best part of the day was drivin' home with Dave, pumpin up the jams on his mega sub woofer thumpin boomin bass stereo system recently installed in the Jeep. Man, that electronica... Crystal Method, Chemical Brothers. Awsome tunes. Gotta get those loaded up on my MP3 player.

Last night, excercycle busted for good. I had been using it nearly everyday. Now what do I do? Too cold to jog or bike ride, and those fitness centers are too damn expensive. Maybe one of those excersize tapes? Tae Bo anyone?

Uggg! Feel like hell today. Damn cold and fever plagued me all weekend. Just trying to survive the day at work. Thank god for Sudafed and Nyquil.

BTW, that other situation just gets worse and worse. Somehow I need to turn this around. Not sure exactly how yet... but beleive me, I am working on it. - nuff said here.

Woke up way too early this AM. Hopped on the GOAD Message Boards. One of my favorite things to do these days. Nice group of folks.

Just hung out around the house. Bought the DVD Contact. One of my all time fav sci fi flicks. Its so well done. Opening sequence is amazing. Story centers around the conflict of Science v Religion, Fact v Faith. It all gets turned around in the end with the scientist relying on *faith* in the end. Great Flick... even better book (by Carl Sagan). Too bad they didn't add more content to the DVD (like SETI information).

Yipee! Went to the 7 AM WW meeting, and MADE MY GOAL! I've been starving myself for the last two weeks to shed those last 6 lbs, and pumpin it up on the exer-bike... and it worked. I can stop driving the family crazy with my diet, and relax a little. Sure feels great. I'm gonna love those extra 4 points I can add to my point range! Oh Happy Day! Total weight loss - 34 lbs. Now I hope to be a little less focused on this WW thing and get back to a Normal Life (but still keep On Program). There is another segment of my life that needs to be straightened out... and life will be good. One other thing. Dave got accepted to college. Right now, its his fall back school, but its a relief to know he's got this in his back pocket for now.

Nice weekend. Took a nice long power-walk on the trails near the house. Its the farthest I've gone on this trail. Gorgeous cliffs, evergreens, streams and lakes. We are really lucky to have this here in Vernon. Loaded up the MP3 player with some old Buddy Rich and Art Blakely tunes from 50s-60s. Man, this music is timeless. Rich plays those drums so lyrically. He's got to be the best drummer of all time. He solo's on the drums like Sony Rollins solos on the sax. Incredible. Finished up the weekend watching the Superbowl. Great game. Watched 1st half with buddy Gordon. Don't like either team. NE and owner Kraft used and abused Hartford a couple of years ago, but I guess its nice to see the underdog win. Not a good year for those Superbowl commercials that everyone gets psyched for. They were pretty much ho-hum.