Boardgames, Buses and Being Better Because of Bacon

The word of the week is observation.

Dec 1 - Stabilizing

I'm doing better health-wise this week, and I now know why:

I'm not as smart as I thought, in a few regards.

Let me rephrase that: I'm not as observant about my eating habits as I should be.

For the last few months, for various reasons my eating habits have gone out of whack and for the most part, those were supposed to be positive changes. I was eating less sugar, eating out far less often and in general having more vegetables in my diet. This was supposed to make me healthy and less dependent on buying meals as opposed to making my own on very regular basis.

What I forgot about was protein.

In changing my habits, I ended up neglecting a vital part of my diet, which meant meat and eggs. I'd usually have bacon for breakfast at least once or twice a week, along with eggs and I'd have a few sandwiches a week as well for lunch with meat in them, plus a dinner meat once or twice a month.

Cutting most of that out meant my body was being starved of a vital component, giving me symptoms of weakness, fatigue, dizziness and is also related to blood sugar instability – all Not Good Things.

Thankfully, I've figured out the problem after carefully looking at my lifestyle when I was feeling fine and what had changed in the last six weeks. Now that I know I need at least 50 to 60 g of protein a day, I can up my intake through sources such as beans, nuts, quinoa( which I eat regularly ) and of course meat protein.

Because I can't really cut bacon out of my life now, can I?

Dec 2 - HOLY FLIGHT SIM

I know what I want for Christmas, one of these years coming up…

Markus Boesen’s video game setup - I don't know the guy, but now I want to!

Below is pictured his PC gaming setup as featured in an article this week on Kotaku.com, which he's currently using to play Elite: Dangerous. Though "play" doesn't seem to do it justice. He's projecting onto three panels (displaying the game at 5760 x 1080), an array of touchscreen inputs, voice recognition, head-tracking and some expensive Saitek joystick.

There's probably about $10,000 worth of hardware involved, not including the cost of the computer itself. The hardware includes custom touchscreen displays on his instrument panel as well as the three overhead projectors that are creating the screen and the head tracking instrumentation. Really, the only thing I would add would be a curved screen to cut out the ‘borders’ between the three separate displays.

The really neat thing though is that the upcoming Oculus Rift VR headgear will do away with the need for displays like this, necessitating only a decent computer plus the cost of the headgear. Since the Oculus is pegged to run about $500, that's chump change compared to the cost of a set up like the one above, plus you don't have to set aside an entire room to play one type again.

But it sure does look nice.

Dec 3 – Labyrinth

Since I’ve been working a lot of overtime this week, I need some serious downtime to balance it.

So tonight I took up a friend's invitation, heading over to their place for dinner and a movie. As their wife had to study up for test in the morning, we ended up watching the movie ourselves.

The choice? Labyrinth.

Fantastic Fantasy Fanart

Yes, that one with David Bowie from 1986, the one with all the Muppets as well as Jennifer Connelly. I had forgotten just how zany the movie was, how packed every moment is with incredible detail and action that doesn't overwhelm you as much as pull you right into the fantasy.

Re-watching the film again( which I haven't seen in probably 15 years or longer )was a delightful experience, which surprised me. I can remember when the film came out that I wasn't all that impressed with it, but that's perhaps because the idea of more singing and dancing Muppets didn't quite hold any appeal to me at the time. Looking back at the film now with eyes that are more critically informed, I can see how the Muppets were used as performers to push the theme of the movie and not just be entertaining all by themselves.

My belated thanks to Jim Henson: I'll be re-watching this film more often in the future.

Dec 4 - Just A Sprinkling

The first snow has come and gone here in Victoria.

While it lasted for only a couple days, it seemed rather important to quite a few people around here that it stick around longer, in order to make the city feels seasonal. We even had this random little guy show up:

This little guy walked all that way just to see us... then he melted.

Personally, I don't mind that it's all melted, as I've had my fill over the years. For the most part, I don't miss a whole lot of things about winter, not the least of which it being cold. 

I do like ice though! There's something magical about things covered in ice, with the sunlight shining through them; the phrase Winter Wonderland easily comes to mind.

Ice is also cool( pardon the pun ) when it's completely transparent, and there's a lake in central Sweden that has transparent ice like no other. Have a look:

Located near near Östersund in Jämtland, Lake Blanktjärn’s water is so clear that you can easily see fish swimming on the bottom 20 feet below. While I'm not a skater in any sense of the word, I think I would love to just be towed along( by a dog, as in the video )and experience the sensation of flying above the perfectly smooth water of the lake below.

Magical.

Dec 5 - Improving

I’m definitely feeling better this week. Not quite normal, but close enough.

With more protein in my meals the last few days, I’m no longer dizzy, even sitting down; it’d reached a point where I had to concentrate to walk straight and I had to stop every so often to lean on whatever was handy nearby so as not to fall over. Now that my body’s getting most of what it needs again, I’m back to being just plain ol’ tired here and there, which I can deal with.

Also last week, I made a nostalgic mention about Underoos.

Little did I suspect that a friend would Photoshop me into the photo I’d gleaned from the depths of the internet:

I don’t think my moustache was quite as well developed back then, though…

Dec 6 – Xmas Party, Party and Party

I attended three parties today!

Spending the day at work for 6 hours overtime was nice, but I was a bit tired from working three other overtime shifts during the week. However, there was little time to rest as this evening's dance card was full, so I rushed home in the late afternoon to give myself a little time before I had to head out.

This would be a party worth attending, I think...

 

My first stop was the company party, being held this year at Uvic, of all places. Not having taken the bus in that direction before( I’ve never needed to visit the university ) it was a bit daunting, but I managed to find the right bus and get on it at the right time.

Unfortunately, I got off the bus far too early, thanks to Google, which didn't indicate that the bus actually continued into the university itself – too bad for me. I ended up walking an extra kilometer or so through the university grounds on the main ring road, grinding my teeth as I was passed by no less than five separate buses, none of which I could board because there were no stops between where I left my bus and the main transfer station for the University. For all that, I arrived at the party in good spirits, having enjoyed my walk in the dark by admiring the lovely layout and architecture of the University of Victoria.

The party itself was fairly standard fare: free appetizers and desserts, plus a cash bar. I grabbed a table with a few friends and spent an hour socializing, then excused myself, having felt that I had Made An Appearance and could now take my leave: I had another party to attend!

The bus I wanted was easier to find this time around and I made it to my destination on the other side of the city from Uvic. in a timely fashion: it was a friend’s small Christmas party. There were about a half-dozen people in attendance and we quickly dove into playing Tokaido, which is a different kind of boardgame: you play a traveler in ancient Japan, collecting experiences.

It was quite enjoyable and I didn’t start to feel tired until I'd left after a few hours spent in good company. Another bus whisked me downtown, where he joined some of my coworkers at the Yates St Taphouse, where they had been for those same few hours, enjoying themselves. I arrived just in time to see most people heading down to another location, but as I was feeling quite tuckered by then I bowed out of the party crowd to get some sleep, as I had to work again in the morning. Sure, I had volunteered for the overtime, but given my lack of energy of late, I really shouldn't try burning the candle at more than one end.

I did enjoy myself tonight, even given that I’d managed to ‘lose’ an hour’s time from missed bus stops and poor timing. All in all, it was definitely a successful seasonal Saturday night!

Dec 7 – Small Things

On my way to work for a second day, something felt the ground right in front of me.

Fluttered, actually, from the street-level window ledge of a building I pass every day. Curiously, it wasn’t a leaf or anything I recognize, so I stopped to investigate. Here’s what I picked up:

Guess which side landed facing up?

This random act of kindness brought a smile instantly to my face. Looking around the area, I couldn't see any more of these little gifts, either on the ground or poised on other ledges elsewhere. There was just the one I was holding in my hand, which had fallen before me just as I arrived at that exact spot, perhaps pushed by a tiny gust of wind.

The funny thing is, I was running a bit late and was fretting( unnecessarily so, I might add ) about the fact. If I'd been on time for work, I would have missed this little random gift and the smile it had engendered, which wasn't lost on me.

In effect, I was in the right place at the right time and perhaps, I was the right person, too.

Who knows? Maybe the next time that I’m not really paying attention to the world, something wonderful will fall into my lap and bring another smile to my face that I had been expecting. It may even be love. 

Wouldn't that be a wonderful gift to give?

It’s a four-day work week for me coming up and I confess I’m really looking forward to my day off. I’ve little planned save catching up on a few things during the course of the day… plus having a well-deserved afternoon nap, which have been in short supply of late. Maybe I'll ask Santa for a year's supply of naps!