getting back in shape is gonna be hard

Ok, I decided that I need to get back in shape. I sit down at a desk for a living, and that in combination with all the fast food and cokes and shit food has caused me to be a little chunkier than I would like. I mean I’m 6′5” and I weigh 320 lbs. I’m not a fatbody, but I got some stuff to get rid of for sure. My girlfriend tells me she doesn’t think I’m chunky, and I believe her, because she doesn’t candy coat things. :) But I feel chunky and I get winded easily. It should not be that way at 28 years old. It’s not about the vanity of it, I don’t have a problem with how I look, but now it’s starting to become a health thing, where I have little to no energy and I’m sleepy all the time. So now is the time for change. Maybe I’ll keep track of it on here, for the 0 people who read this page. More for myself then :)

Posted by Adam Posted in: , , 3 Comments » September 2007

Zeitgeist: The Movie

I was not a believer of 9/11 conspiracy until I saw this film. This film, and my subsequent research of its points, has made a believer of me. The film started with one of my favorite subject in any form of media, the debunking of religion and all its tenets. When I realized that part II centered around the myth of 9/11, I nearly turned it off, assuming it to be some crackpot nonsense regarding police states et cetera. I could not have been more wrong about it. It was about police states. And it was about the history of the United States government and their willingness to stage international incidents targeting American interests, in order to further their agenda. The Bay of Pigs fiasco, Pearl Harbor, September, 11th, the sinking of the Lusitania which brought the US into WWI, the Gulf of Tonkin incident. All perpetrated, or allowed, or elaborated upon by the US government, in order to achieve their goal, which is the unification of the world under one government. A World Government.

The most startling segment of this film for me was the segment dealing with the North American Union. There is a plan to unite the United States, Canada and Mexico and to eradicate all borders and replace all currency in the three nations with the Amero. Don’t feel surprised if you’ve never heard of this, I never had until this movie brought it to light and the reading I’ve done since then sickens me. The most frightening part of all? It would achieve what George W Bush has apparently been trying to do since he arrived in the office of Commander in Chief. Destroy the Constitution of the United States of America. The Patriot Act has already virtually eliminated all the inalienable basic human rights granted to you by the Bill of Rights. They are already spying on you without moderation or control of any kind. The Patriot Act also allows the American government to arrest you without charge, search your house without a warrant, indeed without you even being present or having knowledge of the search, and by the middle of next year, you may be getting a new ID card which will replace your state driver’s license, called the National ID or REAL ID. But that is only the beginning. You will be chipped. RFID chips, implanted under the skin, will be the ID cards of future generations. And not only ID cards, everything will require interaction with the chips. Your bank withdrawals, receiving your paycheck at work, the list goes on. you will be told it is for your safety, and think about how convenient it will be to not have to carry credit cards or id cards anymore. Will we trade privacy for false security?

As I was watching the film it reminded me of my favorite scene in a from a 1976 movie called Network. And I was very pleased to see that about 5 minutes after I had that thought, they played the scene in the movie. Here is the quote from that scene:

I don’t have to tell you things are bad. Everybody knows things are bad. It’s a depression. Everybody’s out of work or scared of losing their job. The dollar buys a nickel’s work, banks are going bust, shopkeepers keep a gun under the counter. Punks are running wild in the street and there’s nobody anywhere who seems to know what to do, and there’s no end to it. We know the air is unfit to breathe and our food is unfit to eat, and we sit watching our TV’s while some local newscaster tells us that today we had fifteen homicides and sixty-three violent crimes, as if that’s the way it’s supposed to be. We know things are bad - worse than bad. They’re crazy. It’s like everything everywhere is going crazy, so we don’t go out anymore. We sit in the house, and slowly the world we are living in is getting smaller, and all we say is, ‘Please, at least leave us alone in our living rooms. Let me have my toaster and my TV and my steel-belted radials and I won’t say anything. Just leave us alone.’ Well, I’m not gonna leave you alone. I want you to get mad! I don’t want you to protest. I don’t want you to riot - I don’t want you to write to your congressman because I wouldn’t know what to tell you to write. I don’t know what to do about the depression and the inflation and the Russians and the crime in the street. All I know is that first you’ve got to get mad. You’ve got to say, ‘I’m a HUMAN BEING, Goddamnit! My life has VALUE!’ So I want you to get up now. I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window. Open it, and stick your head out, and yell, ‘I’M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I’M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!’ I want you to get up right now, sit up, go to your windows, open them and stick your head out and yell - ‘I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!’ Things have got to change. But first, you’ve gotta get mad!… You’ve got to say, ‘I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!’ Then we’ll figure out what to do about the depression and the inflation and the oil crisis. But first get up out of your chairs, open the window, stick your head out, and yell, and say it: “I’M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I’M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!”

I got very emotional watching that scene in Network, because I identified with it. I felt the same way, I didn’t like hearing about politics or knowing how terrible the situation was because I just wanted to be left alone. I just wanted to live whatever life I was able to live and not be involved., and the scene shamed me for feeling that way. And I felt that shame again when I watched Zeitgeist, and saw the scene there. I had ignored what was happening, becuase I just wanted to watch TV and play video games and go to work and make what money I could to afford the things I wanted before I died. And it made me realize, I’m a human being goddammit, my life has value.

Reading some of the stuff above makes me sound a little kooky, like the crackpot conspiracy theorists that I used to constantly deride. But do me a favor, before you condemn me as a lunatic, watch the film. Open your mind, and just watch it. It’s only two hours of your life, surely you can spare that for the chance at enlightenment. See if it affects you like you think it will, or in some totally unexpected fashion. And leave me a comment, I’d appreciate knowing I’m not alone. :)

Posted by Adam Posted in: , , 3 Comments » September 2007

Got my new iPhone

This phone is great. It’s very pretty and fairly practical so far. I haven’t had any real problems. The display is gorgeous, the microphone and earpiece are very good, and I like the fact that the front display is covered in glass and not cheap plastic. Hopefully that will mean it’s harder to scratch up. I still think I want to get some screen protectors, to be EXTRA cautious. :) Anyhow, it’s got a camera built into it, and I can post to Flickr thru email, so I’ll be doing some of that more of ten these days, since I can take the phone everywhere with me and email pics from it. Here is the page where you can see the shots I’ve taken with my iPhone, in case you get curious.

Posted by Adam Posted in: , , , , No Comments » July 2007

Pics of Stirling!

I got new pics on the Scotland page, here. We went to Stirling, saw Stirling castle, as well as the William Wallace monument. It was beautiful country, the waether was perfect for me, the typical foggy misty rain. It was a great time. We probably walked 5 miles total that day. Maybe more. :) Enjoy the pics.

Posted by Adam Posted in: , , , No Comments » June 2007

Glaswegian

One of my days off was today, so Chris and I went walking around the city. I got about 50 pics, all of which I put up on the Scotland page. We had lunch at this restaurant built inside of an old church. This place was so awesome, I can’t believe I don’t remember the name of it. I got a good laugh at poor Chris’ expense today as well, because the restaurant had this nice crossbreeze going from the fans and AC, so Chris ordered the Chicken Curry and when he went to put pepper on there, it all blew away. It blew right off the end of the table, never hit the chicken. It’s not like there was a hurricane in there, the Scottish people just love their pepper VERY finely ground. so it was DUST basically. I laughed so hard when I saw that, plus, his idea to fix i was to tilt the plate up at an angle and start the pepper further upwind. It was so funny to see that.

Also rode my first subway today. Glasgow’s subway system is pretty neat, if small. But what isn’t small for me? It went extremely fast too, and rocked side to side alot. The first time we got on the car it was totally full, pretty much standing room only, so we stood. It was all I could do to remain standing, this thing was really going. Chris said he didn’t have any troubles, but he’s 2 feet shorter than I am and besides, he grew his subway legs in NYC, so no fair.

We saw an interesting sight, something I had not expected. Glasgow has a necropolis. A HUGE cemetery on a massive hill overlooking the city, and there’s thousands of enormous gravestones. I got some pics in the Scotland page, shimmy on over there and check it out.

If I remember any more interesting stuff, I’ll write it up. Until then, BEDTIME. :)

Posted by Adam Posted in: No Comments » June 2007

Day 2

I got some new pics on the Scotland photo page. Chris and I went for a bit of a walk after I got off work, after a full Scottish Breakfast of course. They really know how to do breakfast here in Scotland I can tell you. It was scrambled eggs and sausages and bacon and mushrooms (eh!?) and hashbrowns and cheese and ham and haggis. No I did not try the damn haggis, no reason to ask. :) I only took about 4 pics today, but I’ve got a whole month, no reason to blow the whole load on the first day out and about. Besides, going to Stirling Castle on Saturday, so plenty of photo ops there, no worries. I’m feeling rather tired now, so I think I will sleep. I will write more later if I think of something that might interest anyone.

Posted by Adam Posted in: No Comments » June 2007

First day in Glasgow

I have never left the USA before. This trip will mark my first time doing so. It sort of shames me that I made it to the age of 28 never having left the borders of my own country. True it’s a big country and I’ve been to 20 or so of the states inside it, but this hardly counts as travel in a world so big. The flight to Amsterdam was long, possibly the most excruciating and painful experience that I have had to endure in a long while. Painful because they simply do not make planes for people who are 6′5”. I was cramped into the seat with my knees banging into the seat in front of me, my tray table wouldn’t go fully down without acrobatics, and forget trying to get out of the seat to stretch, I would trample everyone beside me. I’m not complaining of course, it was worth it and more to get to have this opportunity, I’m just trying to make my sacrifices known. :) One thing about the flight that I wanted to mention for those that have never flown overseas. When you’re flying kind of low over water (in my case the English Channel) take a look out your window and check it out. The sea looks like a black felt mat on which someone has thrown handfuls of broken glass. It served to make the whole trip pretty much worthwhile.

This lady from Frankfurt sat next to me on the flight. Her name was Gerry. I know what are the odds, right? A German named Gerry? At any rate, she made the time go by, she had plenty of things to say and lots of travel stories. She has been ALL OVER the world. She and her husband are riding round the world on their motorcycle. That sounded really cool to me, like a good way to spend your retirement. That’s one thing about the Europeans over here, they seem unafraid of life, ready to try new stuff, not held back by what they don’t understand or simply haven’t done before. They try things.

We landed in Glasgow at about 1:15pm local Glasgow time, which was about 7am Central time. I had been awake for 36 hours by this point and my body was telling me it was time to sleep for real. However I still had one thing to do, we had to take a short tour of the Glasgow facility and get descriptions of our duties etc. I’ll be working night shift at first. Chris wanted that shift too, but I had to make a supervisory decision. :) It’s better for both of us this way, trust me.

Anyway that is pretty much it for Day 1. I came back to the room and slept because I was exhausted, and now I am doing what you see me doing. Typing into a wordpress form. It’s dark here, and I’ll get lost in this city in the daytime, so any excursions into Glasgow proper will wait until tomorrow. :) OH here’s a pic of the view from my window. I love this town. :)

Posted by Adam Posted in: , , , No Comments » May 2007

Going to Scotland

I found out a couple of days ago that my company is sending me to Scotland for a training opportunity. I’ll be over there a month. I always used to think I would be a world traveller by now, you know, having already been to all the places I’ve seen in movies and TV. But here I am 28 years old leaving the country for the first time in my life. There’s lots to do to get ready. Luckily the company is paying for the majority of the things I’ll need while over there, all I’ll have to pay for is special interest stuff, such as souvenirs etc.

Of course I’ll be taking as many photos as I possibly can and uploading them here. I’ll try to make daily posts about whatever’s happening over there, but no promises. :)

Wish me luck!

Posted by Adam Posted in: , , No Comments » May 2007

Does Darth Vader have to choke a bitch?

I’m not really in the best mood today, but I can still come up with the funny even when I’m depressed beyond all logical thought! Here we go! Oh and when you’re reading it, say it in the voice too, it’s funnier. :)

Posted by Adam Posted in: No Comments » May 2007

Leonidas and Ted

I was bored. Gerard Butler is the greatest and I have bitten on yet another internet meme. Here we go.

Posted by Adam Posted in: , , , , 4 Comments » April 2007

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