Updates

Sooo, it has been quite awhile since I've put finger to keyboard for this little blog of mine. A lot has happened or is happening, I think, since last I shared. There were a few topics I wanted to touch base on as I got involved with them, but that sort of went out the window. I have a hard time committing to hobbies, okay?

1. Python

2. Turbofire

3. Tombraider 2013

4. I can't think of anything else right now

Here we go:

1. I'll be honest here, I lost interest in codecademy after they lost all of my progress about a week into using it. Going back through the 15 or so lessons I had already done in order to earn nifty little badges and reach 100% on the progress bars -  not so fun the second time around. Does that make me a completionist? Absolutely. However, this is something I want to learn for my profession. Having to go through and do it all a second time shouldn't be a bad thing, but rather a good thing - solidifying the foundation of my python education. Imagine me saying that last sentence in a lofty voice. ;)

Meh. I'm disenchanted. I have a textbook on Python and IT can't lose my progress. I think I'll start going through that instead.

Okay, okay, I'm being a little unfair. Codecademy is all well and good and I do believe I'll use it again in the near future. My codecademy hiatus is probably due to laziness more than annoyance at lost progress. Still. I think the textbook is the route I'll take for the time being. Being tangible, I think progress with it will feel more real. Have more weight. In my weird brain, anyway.

2. I'll be honest here, I lost interest in Turbofire.....eh, wait...this sounds eerily familiar. Here's the skinny on my Turbofire advancement: I got really sick about two weeks into the program and since then I have only sporadically used it.

The first week, called The Inferno, I lost 4 inches around my waist and I think five or six pounds. Not too shabby, eh? It works like so: there is a strict meal plan and work out regime for this part of the program to detox and condition your body for the rest of the program. The meal plan is basically calorie counting, portion control, and low carbohydrate intake. You consume three bigger meals and two snacks, spacing out your consumption to keep your metabolism going at all times. You are also supposed to do a Turbofire class each day for the duration of The Inferno (five days)[and I only actually worked out twice that week].

Now it wasn't difficult to stick to eating the suggested portions and the suggested meals were pretty tasty. The problem was all of the damn meal preparation time. I work a 9-5 job and spend about 25 minutes commuting in the morning, then 45 minutes to an hour commuting in the evening. This means I've got about four to five hours each evening to make dinner, do chores, run any errands that come up, and to relax. If I have a date with my man that limits my evening's free time to about an hour. As you can probably tell, there isn't much room in my evenings to prep lunches and snacks and dinners for the next day or two. The same goes for the mornings because, and only when I try my darnedest, the earliest I can get up is 6. That's two hours and half hours to spend on a Turbofire class (one hour long), shower, get ready, and pack my breakfast/lunch/snacks. See where I'm going with this? The first week requires, at the very least, micromanaging every second of your days. At the very most, changing your entire schedule around to make it work. I was up until 1 AM prepping meals the one evening. It was madness. Not to mention that some of the required ingredients are not cheap (even if they are nutritious and delicious).

If I haven't totally scared you off from the program, I will say this: the classes and results are very much worth the trouble! Plus, the first week's meal plan is the strictest part of the nutrition guide. Every other meal thereafter is yours to choose with basic guidelines and fairly simple rules to follow. On the classes, the ones I've tried so far are addicting. They are so much fun and actually have decent soundtracks. Chalene is a great motivator. The exercises and classes (so far) are challenging enough to provide a sense of accomplishment and yet aren't so difficult that you can't complete them. The classes ARE intense, though. I have chosen the lower-impact moves or plain out had to stop and take a breather more than once. BUT it's so much fun that you don't want to throw in the towel until you've reached the end.

I plan on jumping back onto the Turbofire wagon within the next couple days. Until then, that's about all I have to report on Chalene Johnson's cardio kickboxing craziness.

3. Boyfriend and I started playing the latest Tombraider together a few weeks ago. Boyfriend devised a list of Lara Croft's top ten favorite activities based on the past 25 hours of game play (we are both completionists, what can I say?) that I must share with the world:

                1. Pant

                2. Kill wildlife indiscriminately

                3. Have frantic conversations with friends on her walkie talkie at random moments

                4. Be almost violently killed in a myriad of ways by rape-y looking men

                5. Obstinately refuse to put even a light sweater on, even on the top of the tallest tower of the tallest mountain of an island which has supernaturally bad weather

                6. Say some variation of "I can do it"

                7. Slide down hills

                8. Say some bullshit like, "This is architecture that predates the Kofun period" or otherwise know within ten seconds of looking at a piece of ancient Japanese history exactly what era it came from and what purpose it served and/or what it represents symbolically

                9. Gain momentary freakish She-Hulk strength when attaching a rope to a 10 x 10 inch support beam

                10. Destroy five to ten inanimate, arbitrary objects for fun in every new area (I contributed this particular point. The rest is all B. :) )

We are going to finish Tombraider (with 100%, I might add) this weekend. I'll post more about Lara, B, and I's adventures next week.

For now, back to the tunnels. <3

Correction

On turbo fire: I don't really need a life face lift. Just an endorphin boost. Who doesn't want to be happier-er? :)

Turbo Fire, GIS, and Devin Townsend

A couple things:

1. I bought the Turbo Fire workout program this past week. I'm not interested in losing weight so much as I am interested in making exercise a regular, fun part of my routine again. I absolutely loathe going to the gym and I get tired of watching the one and only workout DVD I own: Jackie Werner's Power Circuit Training (a difficult workout, let me tell you). Also, most DVDs available on the superstore chain (Walmart, Target, Kmart, etc.) bore me to death just to look at them, let alone purchase and try at home. You've got Jillian Michaels. You've got Richard Simmons (tehe). You've got Billy Blanks. You've got the random trainers teaching you to kick box, dance, yogi, and tae bo your way to fitness. Each DVD claims to do the job. The thing that most people don't realize while browsing the workout section is that a 15 to 30 minute exercise number alone is not going to do much of anything. I say this mostly to women because we are extra special creatures, biologically speaking, designed to keep and carry more fat than the opposite sex. Women especially need more than 30 minutes of side bends and sit ups to see results. We need an excellent diet. We need cardio. We need targeted training on problem areas to keep our frenemy, Fat, from clinging so tightly. I do call fat a friend/enemy here because I've read that women with more meat on their bones are also more fertile. Damn it.

So.

Yes. I bought into the Beachbody empire for a total workout experience and perhaps a life face lift. Tens of routines, advanced training options, online support, supplemental equipment and nutrition guides all come shipped in one gorgeous package right to your doorstep. I'm not looking to have kids anytime soon...sorry to disappoint you, Fat.

2. I used my precious tax refund to purchase an ArcGIS license. I want to say that I'm a struggling young person. I've got a Bachelor's degree in GIS. I pretty much need the damn thing to be able to better myself in my field and to further my career. Why did I have to spend my entire tax refund to get a license? I'm a walking billboard for the company. I was trained with ESRI products. Where I go, that knowledge, that training goes. If a company didn't have the software, but desired GIS solutions, my abilities with the software would most likely push a company to buy it. Throw me a bone here, people.

3. I spent a good portion of my evening listening to Devin Townsend's album Addicted and reading his discography notes on HevyDevy.com (twenty albums total, I think). I have been quite inspired by DT's pursuance of and perseverance in music.

Artists intrigue me. This isn't the first time I've been enthralled by the insights of an artist on his work and life. I think this is because art is such a personal expression of oneself. If you want a banana to be painted blue instead of yellow, it is acceptable and you may even have a reason for it (it's also super fun not to have a reason). If you want to produce masterful songs while jumping music genres like a frog, it is acceptable, but mostly if you can pull it off. I love it when the rules become malleable. It's refreshing.

There would have been more to that, but I can keep my eyes open no longer. I'll get back to DT later.

Later.

Print offput * 20

Okay, I don't know if the post title is a valid python command or not. I wouldn't know because codecademy went down for maintenance and lost all my progress. That's a big demerit in my book. I have lost motivation temporarily. That's all for now. Ta ta!

A Cacophony...of Coding??

Hello again!

Are you concerned about the cacophony of coding I've used for this post's title? Well, there's no need to fear! Underdog is....errr, *ahem....let me explain what I mean there.

The cacophony is totally unrelated to the coding bit. The cacophony is my NEIGHBOR being loud and obnoxious. This is a constant thing, but especially late at night when I'm preparing for sleep.

As for the coding part, that's just me, actually doing some coding. That's right, folks, I'm trying to teach myself Python. And really any sort of computer language that might be of some use in my life. I am currently using Codecademy to learn a few things. The jury is still out on whether or not this site is the shit or not. I'm leaning toward it being the best coding experience I've had to date, though. I shall be posting updates here and there on my progress and the site's pros and cons if you're interested. So far, I dig it. I've done one unit on the fundamentals of Python with lessons that turned out to be 100% enjoyable. However, I have discovered a small glitch. At random times, the 'Run' command yielded no response in the results window. I don't know what it was - browser issue, programming and results windows communication lapse, or internet problem...whatever the case, it wasn't really a deal breaker. I just had to fiddle with it by reloading the page, switching lessons, or hitting the 'Run' command a few times.

It's a little early for bedtime, but I can't stop my eyelids from falling. Sweet dreams, people.