During the last open enrollment period at work, I switched health insurance plans. Same provider, but a plan that ought to save me some money and hassle compared to my previous plan ( Read more... )

I started working with a new personal trainer, Nikki, a couple of weeks ago. Before we started training, Nikki sent me an email asking me what my training goals were. In the past, I think I've been a bit unfocused in describing my goals to trainers. "Well, I want to get stronger. And prevent injury. And get better at running. And get more flexible ( Read more... )

I spent the afternoon yesterday playing Mass Effect 2 with Younger Nephew, or, since Mass Effect 2 is a single-player game, coaching him through playing Mass Effect 2. (Younger Nephew's most frequent commentary besides, "This game is really fun!" was, "I wish it had a multiplayer mode!". Do any of the Mass Effect games have a coop mode? Or are ( Read more... )

I think Younger Nephew and I have been sporadically playing Lego Star Wars II together for something like 4 years now. We've finally started to make progress on the story line in a serious way recently. Today we completed the entirety of Episode V. I might have to get some new games soon ( Read more... )

Reader, I must confess - I made it to the age of 43 without ever having done karaoke. Primarily because the idea terrified me. I have genuine anxiety about singing in front of other people. Seriously, I've been at parties where we were playing Rock Band, and I've gotten shaky hands and sweaty palms at just the thought that someone might hand me the ( Read more... )

Last week, I offhandedly mentioned to Tim, my personal trainer, that if the reaction on Twitter/Facebook was anything to go by, the Wonder Woman movie was going to bring in a lot of women interested in strength training. Tim hasn't seen a movie in the theater in about 5 years, but went to see Wonder Woman and loved it ( Read more... )

ACT for America, which the Southern Poverty Law Center has described as the "largest anti-Muslim grassroots organization in America", are staging a bunch of "anti-Sharia law" rallies in various locations across the U.S. this weekend. One of them is happening in Santa Clara, a few blocks away from where I live. The ACLU, CAIR, and a bunch of other ( Read more... )

One of the work projects that pretty much consumed my work life from last August through this March is now in beta: http://docs.vmware.comRead more... )

While commuting last night and this morning, I've spotted a number of interesting vanity license plates ( Read more... )

Coming out of the cafeteria at work with a sandwich and a cup of soup, I slipped on the wet wooden decking in the patio area. Both feet shot out from under me and I landed with my ass in an inch deep puddle. Thanks to a couple of years of judo training, I fell properly and am entirely unharmed. The cup of soup (which had a lid) survived the ( Read more... )