I Sprung a Leak (cont.)

Ok, so I went to the Dr. today for my follow-up visit. It wasn't really what I had expected it to be, but if the doctor is correct with the outcome, I will be quite happy (as will my moms).

The visit started as usual. I had a 10 AM appointment and has in the waiting room until 10:20ish, followed by the standard triage with the nurse, and then more waiting for the doctor while in the room.

It was well after 11 when the doctor finally came to see me. Of course, she removed the bandage first. With the bandage came the packing material. Then she instructed me to lie down on the bed. She began with a squeeze. Angel later told me that more white stuff was produced. She squeezed it and played with it enough to get it all out.

Once she was done with that, she decided to go digging. She pulled out a set of tweezers, and not the normal kind either. These things had tips that were in the shape of a V. They were certainly designed for grabbing. She stuck that thing in my back and started pulling and wiggling. To my surprise, the pain wasn't too bad. Mind you she was doing this without any anesthesia.

All the while she was digging around, she kept asking me if I was ok. Apparently she either thought she was hurting me or I was going to pass out from shock. Well, I have a high pain tolerance, so this wasn't a big deal, I can't knock her for it, but I did find it odd. Seemed like every 30 seconds she was asking me if I was ok.

Once she got so far, she started calling for a nurse. Well, either the Dr wasn't loud enough, or they didn't care to listen. Angel was sent to get a nurse. However, apparently she didn't move fast enough, so the doctor left me lying there alone. I didn't know it until later, but the doctor had grabbed this sack from in the wound and had it exposed, sticking out like. Angel told me about it afterward.

So, the reason she was calling for a nurse was that she needed a knife. So, this thing is sticking out of my back and out of my lump, and she starts cutting. By this time, her questions had increased to about every 10 seconds. Honestly, it didn't hurt that bad.

It sore now, more than it was on Friday, but not sore enough for me to want to take anything for it. I've still got the 15 Vicodin on the counter. Anyway, I hope this is the end of the episode with this lump. Supposedly, if she is correct, since she removed the sack, this lump should heal back down flush to my skin and be gone. I guess time will tell on that one. I go back to see her next Wednesday.

I find it funny, that I don't worry about the lump coming back. It has been her so long, it is just there. However, now that it has ruptured it is a whole different matter. But the point I'm trying to get to is that I'm more worried about the bill after all of this is done with than what the actual result is after it is healed.

I would like to think that this is over. Then I wouldn't be required to see a surgeon in a hospital for surgery (thus saving money), but part of me doesn't really expect that outcome. Maybe I will be surprised, maybe not. When I know something more, I'll certainly be providing the update here.

Peace.

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I Sprung a Leak

Well, it isn't very often that I have much to report that could be remotely classified as interesting. Tonight, that trend was bucked. I had to go to the hospital. As most of you know, I have a lump on my back. This lump has been there for over 5 years. Recently, this lump has increased in size. I have had 3 doctors previously review what it is and none of them indicated that there should be any reason for concern. I was instructed that if I wanted it to be removed, that it would be for aesthetic purposes only unless it should start to give me problems.

Well, tonight, at about midnight, my first problem has arrived. I had to work late tonight. There was some change going into our web environment and I was tasked to validate that the changes were successful. Also, following this validation, I was charged with backing up an application. Therefore, I knew that I would be spending some additional time regarding work tonight.

So, about the time that we completed the validation of the web changes and before I started the application backup, I had a sharp pain hit me in the back in the area of my lump. I didn't know what to think of it, but as a normal reaction, I reached back to see what was going on there. I didn't even get my hand 1/2 way up my back when I started to notice there was a liquid flowing down my side.

I head to the bathroom and take off my shirt. Once topless, I could see what was going on. My lump ruptured. I didn't think much of this at first. Then, since there was a hole in it anyway, I squeezed it like a zit, but softly at first. Well, it didn't take much pressure to get a response. A thick white substance began to emerge from the lump. This wasn't like the core of a zit though. This was soft and pliable. And it had a serious odor to it, like the offensive type.

Since the lump is in a difficult place to reach on my back, I decided to get Angel to help me with the extraction of the material from my back. Now, I was doing the squeezing and she was catching what she could in a hand towel. I thought this was a good idea for a couple of reasons. #1. it was better than flinging this stuff on the floor and #2. I didn't want to spray the walls with it either. At one point, when we were getting to the point that it was starting to reduce to nothing, I had her put the towel down and squeeze. Some of this white stuff flew right past her head. It was comical.

Anyway, not long thereafter, as I would squeeze, I was starting to get blood. At this time I was in need of help. My neck was getting sore from trying to bend and twist so I was comfortable and could see what I was doing and the lump was starting to move around where I would have needed 2 hands to get adequate pressure around it to extract more of this substance. I asked Angel to help but, she didn't feel comfortable with that idea. Therefore, we headed to the hospital to get professional assistance.

To expedite the conversation, just be sure to understand that I was not an urgent patient and therefore sat for some considerable period of time to be treated by the Dr. Anyway, once he had time for me, he numbed me up, cut the lump and extracted the remaining substance from the area. However, there is still a fatty lesion remaining that a general surgeon will be needed to remove completely/properly.

Therefore, I think it will be just a matter of time until I am free of this thing and for those of you (mother) that are worried about the fact that it is growing, relax, it just shrank and did so considerably.

I did find it funny that the Dr. prescribed me an antibiotic AND Vicodin. Really, I understand the antibiotic. He doesn't want it to become infected again, especially since it was left open to drain. However, the Vicodin came as a surprise. How much pain can this thing really put me in? I don't expect too much pain. Although, I might be surprised. I should know in a few hours once the local anestesia wears off.

I'll let you know how this turns out.

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December to date - 12/10

Well, life has been busy. Between work, workouts, house cleaning and holiday decorating, time has been scarce. I am not complaining, however, 24 hours is a day is certainly too few. Therefore, something has got to give. In my case, in the interests of productivity, blogging has suffered the most. I would like to create a daily update, but this has not been possible. I have not abandoned the use of this, just frequency has been seriously cut.

Once I get them taken, there will be photos of the house all decorated, inside-and-out, there will be more updates regarding P90X milestones (like tonight is day 30 & it is photo progress update time already) and general life/work/holiday updates will also come around.

What I'm getting at is, check back when you can, I can't promise the frequency of updates. I would like to promise that I won't go weeks again without updates, but I can't hold myself to that at this time.

Peace.

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Metallica Documentary: Some Kind of Monster

So, yesterday we were at the local mall, Discover Mills, doing our Christmas shopping. One of the stores we were poking around in was FYE. In our casual browsing of the titles, we came across the Metallica Documentary: Some Kind of Monster. This title was available used for only $10. I just couldn't pass it up. I had heard great things about it and I had to finally see it for myself and at that price, the timing was perfect. Being a Metallica fan, even after Load, Reload, and their negative publicity regarding Napster, once we got home I had to pop it in.

I didn't know what to expect. I didn't know if this was some sort of Rockumentary (like MTV or VH1 used to produce) or a movie regarding something that the band had conjured in their minds, but a review of the entire recording process for St. Anger had not popped into my head.

This movie was deep. The side of Metallica that was portrayed was moving and new. Metallica for me has always appeared to be a band that somehow creates great music and work in harmony. I am not saying that they never had to face adversity, because some of it is well known. Such as the tragic accident that claimed Cliff Burton's life or the severe burns that James Hetfield received from on-stage pyrotechnics, but the interpersonal issues that they have was incredible to see.

I think the movie kind of shattered my vision of what being Metallica actually means, however, it certainly humanized the band. Everything is not easy and perfect for them. I have learned that they have control issues, communication issues, and all of the other aspects of working closely with people for a long period of time tends to bring about.

I do have to say though, seeing Lars and James with kids is odd. I can't imagine growing up with a parent that is in a rock band, but to be in Metallica is just amazing. What do you say to your classmates when you talk about your parents? Yeah, my dad is the singer/drummer/guitar player in Metallica. Then, with their age, the question would become, who in the hell is Metallica? It is a shame and maybe I'm thinking that I'm one of too few, but how many kids in k-5 that will have been exposed to them? I know my kids will be, but really, how many are?

Also, watching this film has really allowed me to see how they are aging. Being as iconic as they are, it is hard to accept that they are getting old. James is even showing grays. It is a tough pill to swallow. I know that James cutting his hair was a drastic move, but I like to think of him pre-Load with the long hair that is so iconic of the time that they originated.

It has been quite a while since I have listened to the disk. I forgot how much I enjoyed many of the songs on it. They might not be "traditional Metallica", but it is certainly Metallica none-the-less.

This period of insite into what is Metallica really got me to start thinking. How old is St. Anger? What is going on in Metallica land? Well, I had to check on this. I hit up their website and found that supposedly they are working on a new disk. There are no details regarding this work and I'm not even certain by the way the post was phrased if they are even working on one. However, I would like to think that they are working on one. I think it is about time to get some new Metallica in our hands. Think about it, they have recently accepted a new bassist, I know I'm anxious to see what he has to contribute to a new disk.

Overall, this 2 hour movie certainly helped to increase my appreciation for their latest disk, St. Anger.

Hail Metallica. \m/ Rock on!

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P90X - Catch up

Ok, for those of you following, this is going to be a quick post. Just because I haven't been posting additional daily updates regarding our progress along the P90X trail, that doesn't mean that we've broken. Our progress is still moving in the right direction. The holiday and trip to Pittsburgh really put a damper on our routine. We missed our workout on Thursday and Friday but picked it back up on Sunday. Monday we were back in the swing, however, I missed Tuesday. Yesterday, I was going to work out after work. However, in working on wedding photo selections for our albums put a stop to that. Today, we're both going strong again.

Today was Day 17.

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P90X Day 9

Well, today's routine was skipped. This AM I had to visit the doctor, which is a completely different rant, but anyway, I didn't get an opportunity to exercise during work and Angel was running errands all day. Also, since yesterday was Angel's birthday, when I was done with work, we went out. So, the end result is no workout.

To make the issue worse, we did not follow our diet very well last night either. We went to eat at a steak restaurant. We both ordered smart choices for our meals, however, Angel insisted on dessert. Well, I wasn't expecting to have any, as I was already stuffed, but the dessert she ordered was huge. Certainly enough for two people. So, things started out ok, but in real short order, we busted out of that diet. Well, it is only twice since we started. We'll see how well this thing sticks thru the holidays.

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NWN 2 (continued)

Well, I put in some long playing time into NWN2 yesterday. I played from about 1 PM to 1 AM with some minor interruptions along the way (like work stuff). Anyway, I was finding the story enjoyable up until the point of my arrival to Neverwinter.

Once again, one of the districts of Neverwinter are closed down for some reason or other. You have a decision to make regarding how to obtain access to said area, in the same fashion as in NWN1. Last time it was a plague, this time it is because a noble had been killed. WTF? Of all of the puzzles that could have been created, why repeat one that is going to require so much time and effort that had already played out in NWN1?

I think the player/companion interaction is more interesting in this version. I don't know if it is because it was a new concept in NWN1 that I didn't enjoy it as much or because of how they implemented it this time. For example, the teifling in the group has a bounty on her head and you have to assist her with getting it removed or be subject to random attacks within the city along the way.

Thus far, there has only been one mission that I have accepted that I can't complete. I can't seem to manage how to get one of the crypts open in the graveyard. I am pretty sure that I have exhausted every obvious attempt at getting one of the three doors (Outside door and 2 doors that are guard jail cells in another). I've moved on from this mission, but there are 3 poor soldiers stuck in that graveyard somewhere. Maybe I'll look for a spoiler instruction set somewhere online. However, I have found those to be a slippery slope. Once you start using them, you keep going back to it. I don't want to do that yet. It is way too early in the game.

I was happy to see that acquiring companions has been done in a different setting. Instead of them just happening to be in a tavern looking for work, you can choose to assist them or not in their "time of need" and even then you can either accept or reject them from the party. Also, the story begins with a journey to the city. If I recall last time, you started in the city and had to figure out what the hell was going on. However, it has been so long since I played NWN1, I don't recall. All be told, so far, the game seems to be keeping my attention and I'm enjoying it (graphics issues or not).

One thing I was quite disappointed to see is that one of the gameplay rules have been omitted from the previous version of the game. There doesn't seem to be any reaction from anyone if you are walking thru a town or fort or where ever with weapons drawn. I thought that was an obvious role playing standard. If you look hostile then people will treat you as such. However, even in the city of Neverwinter, the guards do not have a reaction to you talking with them while brandishing your weapon. Seems sorta light to me. I know that if someone walked into my neighborhood carrying a sword, axe, hammer, etc. I would treat them differently than if it were concealed or stowed rather than in hand.

Just my .02.

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P90X Day 8

Don't ask where P90X Day 7 went. It doesn't exist. Days on a multiple of 7 are rest days (aka. every Sunday). I know you don't want to hear about my 12 hours of NWN2 that was my Sunday, well, at least not here. So, here we are again, Phase 1 Day 1, Chest & Back followed by some Ab Ripper X. Today was a busy day at work, so today's workout was done after work at ~8 o'clock. This was a bad idea.

I felt dogged before I even started the workout. Trying to "Bring it!" was a hard task, but I brought it as I had it. I did work. It was tough. But I do know one thing, I am much less sore right now than I was last Monday at the same point in time. I don't know what tomorrow might bring, but right now I feel some minor discomfort, but I think I'll be able to sleep this off. I'll let you know tomorrow.

I think there were really two things that played into my fatigue during the routine. The first being the time of day as I had mentioned. However, as directly related to time of day, my eating habits could have had an impact. The only thing I had to eat (if you can call it that) today was my protein shake for breakfast around 11:30 AM. I had some tea thru the work day, but nothing substantial to prepare my body for the routine. Had I started my workout around 2 or 3, as we usually like to workout, I think I would have had the explosive energy that I'm used to having with which to workout.

Well, today I actually followed the instructions provided and logged the number of reps that I did for each exercise. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it yet (yes I know why they told me to do it, that wasn't my point, keep reading). I've thought about a Google Spreadsheet published so you can see my progress. However, the numbers look so bad right now, I might just keep it to myself. When I decide you will know.

Today's Ab Ripper X routine marks the third in the series. To my surprise, this is getting harder instead of easier. From what I can gather thus far, the first couple of rounds were for motion mastery. However, from motion mastery we get to the strength training. So, now that we know the movements, it is time to get serious. Each movement is done to a count of 25. I guess things appear to be getting harder because I'm pushing harder to make 25 through each exercise. Last week it was about doing it for the allotted time, and now I'm trying to survive each movement at pace at count. Therefore, things further into the routine are appearing to become harder, when in actuality, I'm just getting more tired. Interesting dynamic.

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NeverWinter Nights 2

Well, I finally did it. I have installed NWN2 on my system. It has only taken 11 months for me to take that plunge. Anyway, my initial opinion is good of the game, however, I've only finished the introductory missions.

For the most part, the game is running well on my system. I do have a complaint about the quality of the graphics. Granted, I only have the minimum specs, that doesn't excuse skins from looking "speculated" and semi transparent. I'm finding this graphical nature quite difficult to deal with. I would expect with shading and other features disabled that the people with which I have to interact would appear whole.

The eyes are the most interesting part. Their skin (bare exposed skin, clothing doesn't suffer this same effect) has this semi transparent and speculated appearance. However, the eyes are complete spheres hovering within this frame that suggests a face. Granted, this graphical anomaly doesn't detract from the quality of game play, I had just expected better.

I have to agree with other words of caution that I've previously received from other players. The speed of interaction with the game is much impaired in comparison with NWN1. Trying to rotate the screen with the mouse at the edge of the screen is hit-or-miss at best. Trying to get the "free form" camera angles to cooperate is difficult at best. There have already been times that the camera was facing directly down at the party or up from the ground. I found both situations to be frustrating to try to get a useful angle at the party.

I have found one aspect of the game that is not different from the original. The mini map. The map always stays oriented north regardless of your play camera angle. I personally find this frustrating to no end. I am continuously running in circles just to be my head wrapped around what the map is trying to tell me and how to get to what I want to see or do.

The next thing that I'm finding incredibly annoying is the fact that I have to now maintain my henchmen. WTF? I am playing the game as one character, not a party. Why do the henchmen not take care of their own level-ups? I do not play wizards or clerics and typically not a fighter. However, I now have to ensure that I make the right decisions regarding their character progression. If I wanted to play a spellcaster or a fighter I would have selected that at the beginning. Why do I have to put up with this now? For all I know the decisions I make now can have good or bad consequences in the future. That is some serious pressure when trying to manage character types that I don't play.

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P90X Day 6

The last day of the first week. For the most part I rested this day, we started our workout after 9PM, which was after Angel got home from work. Today's workout is called Kenpo. I didn't have a clue what this all was going to include until I did some research online. Kenpo is a style of martial art. However, after doing the workout, the martial art aspect of the workout is missing. The workout just included multiple series of punches and kicks. There wasn't any discipline or any mumbo jumbo to go with it. This was a high cardio workout, low impact (assuming you do it properly). Apparently I can't punch properly with my left hand and I put some stress on my left elbow that appears to have disappeared with some sleep last night.

I have to say, I will be looking forward to this workout on a weekly basis. It is definitely a workout because the sweat you break is no joke. Also, the horse stance that is maintained for many movements is a bear on your quads. However, with the exception of making sure that I don't peak out my heart rate and getting the movements right (coordination is key to this exercise), it is not very difficult and is pretty fun.

There is one important key with this workout. You have to make sure that your exercise area is clear of foreign objects. Last night, one of the punching sequences included uppercuts and I found the ball that is on the corner of the foot board of the spare bed. Thankfully I didn't break anything, just got a cut and some bruising, but it could have been much worse.

Our meals yesterday included tuna salad for lunch and chicken salad for dinner. I guess I cheated a little bit because I ate each as sandwiches, but I need the extra carbs anyway. I've been feeling a bit lethargic lately and I think the additional carbs will resolve that problem. Man cannot live on protein and fat alone. :)

Today, Sunday, is our down day or rest day. We won't have another update for you until after tomorrow's workout. Therefore, we are 1 week down of 13 and things are going relatively well. I think that even with our minor meal setback on Friday, our discipline and motivation are still quite high. The workout that I've outlined this past week will continue for 2 more weeks before it is time to switch things up. Week 4 will be a "rest" week, though it will be no easier then the previous weeks, it doesn't include weight training, only cardio. Then our schedule will change up in Week 5.

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P90X Day 5

If there happens to be anyone that is actually reading daily, sorry about not getting the recap of yesterday up yesterday. After work, I wasn't too much motivated to look at a computer screen much more. Well, without any further adieu, lets recap the activities of yesterday.

To my amazement, I was fully mobile from the start today. There wasn't any issues moving to standing from sitting, walking steps were a comfortable go, and I was able to reach around my desk without having to coerce my arms thru the pain of moving above my keyboard tray. There were a couple of instances where Angel was able to see clearly that I was feeling better. I was even able to do small sprints up steps.

Anyway, the completion of another day of exercise has come to a close. Yesterday's focus was on Legs and Back with another round of Ab Ripper X. The special thing about today was that Angel & I did not do our workouts together. Work was swamping me and there was no way I was going to be able to get away before Angel had to go to work. Therefore, she took the initiative to workout when she needed to so that she could cool down and be ready for work on time.

So, about my experience, the opening stretching was adequate to take the minor tweaks out of my muscles and I was ready to rock. Well, today's exercise was pretty brutal. Working on legs does not sound difficult, but if you do enough lunges and duck walks and pull ups, you will certainly begin to feel it.

I had once thought that my legs were strong and this should be pretty easy to complete as instructed. It did start out that way. Doing lunges and toe raises was as easy as I had expected. Physically demanding but pretty do able. However, the cardio workout from doing lunges at a fast pace was the hardest part. Many of the exercises recommended using weights during the completion. I didn't think of this as a problem, I've got bands for resistance. Well, using bands for many of these exercises has proven to be a bad idea.

We were doing three variations of toe raises. We started wide, normal, and then pigeon toed. Wide and normal with bands under the balls of my toes worked out just fine. However, when trying to get the pigeon toed position to work, everything started out ok. However, as I was doing a few repetitions, I didn't notice the band slipping. Well, that was quite unfortunate. The band slipped out and smacked me in 3 places on it way up. Somehow it managed to cut my shin, but it brought me to the ground when it hit me in the balls and also left a red mark on my stomach, but that was serious pain getting hit by a fully extended resistance band. It could have been worse, thankfully it was just superficial. The boys were not involved, but pain was plenty enough without them. Recovery came quick and went back to work.

Peppered in between the leg workouts were pull ups and their different variations. My max pull up count during the fit test was 7. The guys and girls are going sets of 12 - 20 in 30 seconds. Without help, I was only able to do sets of 3 - 5 (depending on hand position and direction). This help to do more reps was in the form of a chair. I'm not certain if I am using the chair properly, but it does assist me in doing more reps. And more reps should yield improvement in time.

Following the legs and back routine was some more Ab Ripper X. This battery of moves is tough. It starts right in and doesn't let up for 15 minutes. Each exercise has variations that will allow for progression as strength and training improve. However, right now we're both doing the "easy" way for each set. For the first time while doing this program, we have both noticed the burn. I don't know if that is because we finally figured out the correct way to do the exercise or what, however, this is extreme. There are several different variations of sit ups and crunches that finishes up with a pivot move. This is going to yield some serious results after the program is complete.

Well, 5 days down and one more to go to finish week one of 3 for phase 1. For the first time in a couple of weeks, we cheated on our diet. We were really not in the mood for cooking and the things I was interested in cooking Angel was not in the mood for. So we compromised and got a pizza. I doubt that this will happen very often, but only time will tell.

The next battery of a workout is Kenpo. Kenpo is a martial arts variation that appears to be full body engaging. I don't know for sure, but I will certainly let you know about it later.

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P90X Day 4

Well, today, as with the last few days, started off being sore. Same muscle groups and same deal as before. However, there are signs that it is lightening up. I'll know more for sure in a couple of days. Anyway, today's scheduled event was Yoga. There are a few problems with this.

1. I only get 1 hour for lunch and this program is 1 1/2 hours long. From the get go, I knew I wouldn't be able to finish the entire thing.


2. I am still very sore. Being in the plank position (or in the Army, front leaning rest) and all of its variations was no easy task for over 20 minutes.


3. I am not flexible. I can't do many things and keep my legs straight or wrap myself into a ball and hold my own hands in positions that men were not supposed to be in. Don't get me wrong, the person guiding this program is a guy and he can do it. However, I'm still too new and stiff to be able to do it.

Don't get me wrong, it was different. I think that this could be a beneficial thing to do. However, I think it is too early to be worrying about flexibility while the sore factor is still thru the roof. Let my muscles get used to this abuse and then we'll think about it.

For example, my muscles are so sore that I don't have much strength in them to do a single push up regardless of trying to stay in variations of the push up position for long periods of time.

However, I did find one aspect of the routine easy. Balance positions. These guys were pretty easy. It felt more like stretching for a workout then actually doing a workout. There were 4 on the program and I was able to do 2 with ease, 1 with some form issues and I didn't try the other. I'm sorry, I can't do a many push ups right now, I'm not trying to put all of my weight on my hands. Nope, sorry, not going to do it yet.

I'm not sure if it was because we are still learning it and trying to understand what the different positions are, but it really didn't feel like a workout. I hope once we get further into this the benefits will be obvious. Although, we might have to move our Yoga workout to a different room. Either we need more floor space, take out the ceiling fan, or the bed has to go if we're going to do any more Yoga in the bed room. We were either hitting each other or hitting walls and that's not a good thing. Well, I guess I'll let you know how things go next Thursday when we do it again.

Oh, what you say? Next Thursday is Thanksgiving? Uh huh, what about it. We're on a schedule and we're still going to exercise over the holiday and away from home. Are we nuts. Likely. The only major hurdle we need to figure out is how to do pull ups at my mothers house. Right now the rest of our equipment is very portable.

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P90X Day 3

Well, today marks our third day of this project and 4th day of daily exercising. I woke up today in the worst possible shape (I hope it only gets better from here). I was not moving very well at all. My hip flexers hurt, my triceps, my shoulders, my pecs. I was in a very bad way. Walking to the kitchen required me to take one step at a time, step down, match previous foot's step, take a step down, and etcetera, I'm sure you get the picture. Then once breakfast was over, to get to the bathroom, since I had been sitting for a couple of hours, it took me several steps to be able to fully stand up. I was walking hunched over for a while.

Then the 1 o'clock hour rolled around. Time to exercise again. Are you kidding me, it is hear already? Anyway, I sucked it up and hoped that the pre-event stretching would do the number to get me moving. Thankfully, this was the case. We spent somewhere between 4 and 7 minutes warming up and I was mobile again.

Today's torture workout was arms and shoulders. Thankfully, this did not include any push ups or pull ups. All of the moves were of a weight resistance variety. As the program book indicated, the muscles we were focusing on today are smaller then those of the chest and back. Therefore, the moves that focused on the shoulders and tries require less weight than we have available. I wasn't even able to do some of the moves with the red (smallest) band. We have this purple thing that we picked up from a moving sale the other day (the intention was to use the handles and use one of the packaged bands for the training. However, there isn't any way that I can see to easily remove the purple band and put another one in place. This purple thing I'm referencing is at least 1/2 or smaller then the smallest band from Beach Body. After today's exercise I can certainly seen the benefit in using free weight dumb bells as opposed to bands.

Unfortunately, the free weight dumb bell set is certainly out of our financial range at this point. I will have to do with what we have. This might mean slower progress, but right now, small is better than the backwards direction I was moving in previously.

Following the arm and shoulder routine, we completed another cycle of Ab Ripper X. Being only the second time we've done this I was quite surprised that I was able to improve on form and repetition count. I know that will will take much longer to be able to do each and every exercise as directed for the number of repetitions. However, noticing improvement in only 3 days was a surprise. The routine actually sucks, it hurts, it's rough, but I'm looking forward to the results.

Last nights dinner was a huge hit. We had some turkey breast and gravy with green beans and butternut squash soup. The soup was a huge hit. We did not have a clue as to how it was going to turn out or taste. Well, it did not disappoint. It was as good as any other different concoction that we've had to date.

Tonight's dinner is a bit of a different story. We had halibut with a pesto sauce, wild grain rice and zucchini. Well, I enjoyed all of it. Angel was a different story. The halibut turned out to be not as palatable for her as it did with me. Especially with the pesto sauce, I found it magnificent. Well, we now know we have a dinner to substitute because it doesn't agree with both of us. I do have to give Angel credit, she tried it. Which is more than she would have done not too long ago. Just because it is fish, some time ago she wouldn't have even entertained it. Thankfully this has changed, but the halibut goes on to the no list.

Tomorrow we will be doing Yoga. I don't have the first clue as to what to expect. I have some general ideas which I'm sure will be found to be completely wrong. I guess I'll have to tell you about that once we're done with it tomorrow.

Peace.

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P90X Day 2

Well, today was a heart pounding cardio jumping battery of moves. Since Angel starts work at 5, we worked out earlier today, 12:15 - 1:15. This torture workout was full bore for an hour. Well, I couldn't make it all the way today.

The moves were jumping & squatting and the cadence today was serious. They call this workout high impact because of the potential problems with ankles, knees, and hips due to joint compression and decompression. Thankfully, this was not either of our problems (and Angel is known for having an ankle problem). Our problem was wind and muscle cooperation. The stress on the quads, calves, and hip flexers was serious. The burn was more then I had expected. I truly thought I was in better shape then this.

Anyway, the reason for not completing today's battery was because of time and not capability. My lunch is only an hour long. Since we were getting winded and had to rest longer than the time provided on the DVD on a couple of occasions. Therefore, since the workout is 1 hour long, pressing the pause button will always cause us to run over on time. With about 13 minutes to go for the entire workout, we jumped to 5 to go for the cool down. Well, being constrained on time might put a damper on the progress of the workout, however, 1 hour of raised heart rate and cardio activity is more then what I've done before. I believe that in time it will get easier and time won't be as much of a problem.

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P90X Day 1

Well, today was the day. We've begun our workout regimen. This program is exactly what it claims to be. EXTREME! Today's torture workout was composed of two parts. Chest and Back followed by Ab Ripper X.

The DVD's are setup to promote the completion of the program. The way the workouts roll out the setting is one to push yourself, but don't break or hurt yourself. The idea is that each exercise you "Bring it" (your "A" game) however, for those of use that are early in the process a friendly reminder is reiterated several times. "Do what you can and forget the rest."

This thought process is a reassuring way to go from beginner to advanced in as much of a supportive fashion as possible. I can see now that the program is setup as advertised. If you do what they say when they say it, there is no way to fail. The DVD included warm-up and cool down stretches to further promote a safe and effective workout.

Chest & Back is setup with push & pull movements. These include the push-up (5 variations of normal, military, wide, and dive bomber), pull-ups (4 variations of normal forward and reverse and wide forward and reverse), and some weight training moves. It was a complete set of 12 different moves done twice. Very interesting and should prove to retain motivation. This is not like basic in that you are forced to complete the same exercises in a required amount of time regardless of physical ability. This program allows you the freedom to adjust the repetitions to your current physical level. This is a promising aspect of the program. I certainly hope the praise for the layout continues.

As for Ab Ripper X, this was a completely different animal. They jumped straight into several core muscle movements that done at the rate directed is a seriously strenuous task. I am looking forward to the next 90 days where the ease of completion will be easier to find. Today I was pushed hard and then harder. We're to do this exercise 3 days a week for the next month. I hope by then I can complete it at their cadence. That is an impossibility right now.

After doing this 1:11 minute battery of bodily abuse, I am sore. My legs are fine (obviously, they were not the target today), my stomach is doing ok, however, my triceps are absolutely killing me. I'm glad my job only requires me to sit & type all day. I'm not sure how useful my arms will be tomorrow at this point. Furthermore, the P90X recovery formula is certainly the treat that they claim that it is. I am already looking forward to completing tomorrows exercise to I can have more.

There will certainly be more to come. Tomorrow will be Plyometrics (or Jump Training) and I don't have a clue what to expect, but I'm sure it will be EXTREME and fun wrapped in one.

Peace.

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Fit Test

Pictures added
Edited: 11/14/2007 11:31 PM

Well, last night Angel & I took our "Fit Test" for the P90X program. My results were somewhat where I had expected them to be. Angel was more or less ok with her results. Her biggest complaint was the number of push-ups she was able to do. She had expected to have been able to do more.

The purpose of this post is to share with you the results of our test. This is also for us. Somewhere public that we can store our results for later reference.

Event	Description	Standard	Bob	Angel
Resting Heart Rate	What is your heart rate at waking	N/A	68	77
Pull-ups	Chin-ups with palms facing forward, away from body, two fists wider than shoulders	male: 3 female:1	7.5	0
Vertical Leap	The difference between standing arm raised and a one step jump (think jump ball)	male: 5" female: 3"	17.5"	10"
Push-ups	Standard hand width push-ups	male: 15 female: 3	33	11
Toe Touch	Remember in High School doing the flexibility tests? How far can you reach beyond your toes?	> -6	4"	4"
Wall Squat	Place back flat against wall and lower your body into a seated chair position (quads paralel to the floor, feet directly below knees [think 90-degree angle here]).	1:00	2:20	1:27
Bicep Curls	Extend arms straight down in front of body, palms forward. Pull weight to chest and return to a fully extended position	male: 10 curls at 20 lbs female: 10 curls @ 8 lbs.	21 reps with the black band	19 reps with the red band
In & Outs	Think crunches but the activity is in the legs, fully extended and then knees to the chest without touching the ground with feet.	25	33	35
Heart Rate Maximizer	Jumping Jacks for 1:30 at a brisk, steady pace. Followed by 30 seconds of "sprint" Jumping Jacks. Measure heart rate each minute following for 4 minutes	Complete 2 minutes of Jumping Jacks	At stop: 188 At 1 minute: 165 At 2 minutes: 147 At 3 minutes: 138 At 4 minutes: 129	At stop: 172 At 1 minute: 136 At 2 minutes: 117 At 3 minutes: 100 At 4 minutes: 88

And the last part of the Fit Test is to take before pictures. Here are ours:

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Adventures in Cooking

Well, in my prior food post I mentioned that I ruined a meal. Well, I'll tell you how that happened in a moment. In addition to already have ruined one meal, I just recently escaped ruining another.

Tonight we are having Lemon-Garlic Chicken. The recipe called for 4 cloves of chopped garlic in addition to three other liquids that once mixed together amounted to just under a 1/2 cup. Well, I've never prepared garlic fresh. This was new to me. You should have seen my confusion when I was looking at this 1/2 cup of liquid and 3 items of garlic. You also should have seen my surprise when I attempted to cut into this baby. Mind you, I didn't know what to expect. Anyway, it split into many different pieces that were separated by what appears to be onion skin.

So, I'm looking at all of these pieces, each one needing to be pealed and the thought occurs to me, since this is for a marinade, do I really need to peal of these bad boys? Well, to my dismay, when I call my mom, she's not home. I called my dad and Steffy and him are already asleep. What am I do to now? Thankfully Colleen was visiting Dana. She was able to set me straight. Was I supposed to know that the full item of garlic is called a bulb and a single piece is called a clove? I thought the bulb was a clove.

Well, it is a good thing that I asked this simple question, I would have certainly ruined our dinner for the night. There is a huge difference between 4 cloves of garlic and 4 bulbs (I only had 3 anyway, but the point remains the same).

So, the other meal that I did ruin. Chilled Cucumber Soup. Ok, don't laugh, you're thinking to yourself, "How do you ruin soup?" Well, apparently it doesn't take much. Of the few of you out there that have ever watched me cook something, I have a tendency to play with spices. Even odd ones for the application. I'm about certain that my cinnamon accented steak is common knowledge by now or even the chocolate sauce flavored chicken. So those should give you an example of the weird things that I've been known to do. Well, one spice that I've kept distance from has been cayenne.

Most people also know that I'm not one for the spicy foods, so this also stands to reason. Anyway, this recipe for Chilled Cucumber Soup called for 1/16 teaspoon of cayenne. Well, the smallest teaspoon that we have is 1/4 teaspoon. Apparently my estimation skills are a bit lacking when it comes to contents of a teaspoon. The presentation of the soup was nice. It looked good, it smelled good, and it even taste good with one exception, it had bite. This wasn't just a simple, mild bite. It was offensive. The bite didn't hit immediately either. It was just before the swallow. Hell, the aftertaste wasn't bad either. Anyway, neither one of us could tolerate the kick in our soup. In hindsight, I've realized that instead of 1/16 tsp, I actually used something closer to 1/8 tsp. From what I can tell now, I think that even 1/16 might be too much. I think I'll just use a 1/4 pinch on the next attempt.

Well, as we progress through our new dietary plan, I'm sure we'll screw something up again along the way. Stay tuned.

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Hard Disk Backup

Being an IT professional, there are somethings that still get my goat. Within my department there are quite a number of servers that we are charged with maintaining. However, some aspects of these machines are maintained by other departments. Such as database and hard disk (HDD) backups.

This past week we had a server raid controller die. At first glance this wasn't going to be a big deal. We have c (OS), d (application) & p (page file) drive backups that are written to tape on a daily basis. The database for this application does a backup every day to the D drive and then the HDD backup would backup everything present. This sounds logical. These backups are also taken hot. Therefore, unlike with Ghost backups, these backups are not bootable.

Well, the server is still under a maintenance plan and IBM was tasked with restoring the server to operation. However, what wasn't brought to our attention was that with the motherboard and raid controller replacement the entire system would have to be wiped and restarted from scratch. I understand working with SCSI equipment that much of this can get complicated. However, the one thing that I don't understand is that if the parts were swapped one-for-one in make, model, and version why we would have to start over with this machine.

Anyway, the server operations team installed a new OS to the machine. It was previously Windows 2000 and they upgraded it to Windows 2003. So far, so good. Well, since the OS was wiped, all of the applications would need to be reinstalled. Once again, we were not stressing this. However, we later were informed that the databases, that were supposed to be in the backup folder on the HDD, were not present. WTF? What good is it to backup all of this data and then not have the required information to then restore from?

Furthermore, why backup a drive like the C & P drive if they are throw away in the event of a catastrophic failure? Why only backup portions of a HDD? This backup of the drive in question (D drive for the application) was in the neighborhood of 40G. How do you have a 40G backup and not get the databases that the application requires? I don't understand.

Now for the kicker. There is a known DR flaw in this system. This system is charged with distributing software and collecting journals from ATMs. The permanent storage of any of this information does not reside on this server so we're not missing much. However, the ATMs in this system normally do not talk to the server unless spoken to. The only time to force an ATM to talk to the server is to restart the service. Well, the way ATMs are designed, you can't get to the desktop to bounce the service at need. The only other way to accomplish this task is to reboot the machine. Therefore, each and every ATM on the platform must be dispatched for a reboot before we will reacquire the ATMs back on to this server. What a waste of money. If we would have bridged our DR gap OR had the application database, this would not have been an issue.

In hindsight it would have been really simple to deploy a scheduled task to force the ATMs to talk to the server once a day no matter what. However, we didn't do that yet. It just got bumped up in priority. I predict that this will be bridged in no less then 2 weeks.

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Heart Rate Monitoring

As part of the previously discussed exercise program that Angel & I are undertaking, we needed to determine our heart rate for various reasons. Athletes are known to have slower heart rates then the non exercising populous. Therefore, after completing this 90 day battery, our heart rates should show evidence of slowing down. Also, your resting heart rate is used in determining your training heart rate.

Well, since I am the one that takes things to extremes, of course I've been trying to determine the numbers we should be targeting. Well, this investigation has lead to some interesting results. The first heart rate readings that I took were from sitting at my desk working. This averaged out as I had expected to be in the neighborhood of 82 BPM. I was likewise not surprised that my heart rate while lying in bed to also be in that same neighborhood. My heart rate bounced between 75 and 83 while lying in bed. However, what did surprise me was that my true resting heart rate (taken at wakeup) was much lower. It averaged 68 BPM. I find this to be an interesting swing. However, it is likely to be statistically uninteresting.

Well, our Heart Rate Monitors that were previously mentioned have alarms built in to help the users from hurting themselves by over exertion or from slacking off by not exerting themselves enough. However, in order to take advantage of this feature, we need to determine our training heart rates. A quick search on Google lead me to Wiki. I don't know how accurate this document is as there isn't any reference to the differences between sexes. I don't know if one exists, but I would think that there would be a difference.

The reason that I am inclined to think that there should be a difference is that a difference exists between Angel & I for resting heart rate and in general physical condition. I don't think it would be fair to say that my 90% max heart rate of 173 - 179 (depending on the calculation you use) would be the same for Angel. I realize that it would take different levels of exertion between us to obtain this number and this very well might be an accurate representation of how things work. However, I'm skeptical. I guess we'll see how this pans out once we start working out and what it takes for her to max out.

I know that skating is a pretty lax physical activity. I once skated from Station Square to the Blood Bank to donate and my pulse was around 110 bpm. Also, since I'm a smoker, I am able to maintain a heart rate longer then that of a non-smoker. I don't know why this is, however, I once heard that it is. I was instructed to wait 10 - 15 minutes for my pulse to decrease and the change was not great enough to permit me to donate. When I had my pulse up to 110 I was only marginally winded and know that there is much more that I could have done to kick that rate up. I have no doubts that I will be capable of maintaining a heart rate of 165 for an hour a day to do this exercise. Once again, I can't speak for Angel and am interested to how this works out for her.

If anyone would like to reference my calculations for the desired heart rates I have published my Heart Rate Calculations spreadsheet.

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Eating Healthy

This is a next installment of the post begun yesterday, "Workout Program Introduction"

As everyone knows, eating healthy is expensive. Much more so than picking up the prepackaged items that most supermarket shops are touting today. I find it interesting how much my diet has changed over the past few years, each time for the better. Both financially and in health regards.

It wasn't very long ago that I would eat fast food (in one incarnation or another) everyday for dinner. And to make more of a point of this, that was my only meal of the day also. Once I moved to Atlanta, my diet changed again. Since Angel & I were together again, eating at home became a more logical idea. We could cook for the 2 of us for less than a fast food meal for each of us. Not to say we cut it out completely, but we were eating at home more often. Then we bought our house. At this point, eating on the cheep became important. The house we bought is just about at the knife's edge of being too expensive for us to handle. So, at this point we were shopping on a minimum of a monthly basis for food items in the house. This was working out just fine. We had food to eat and it was more healthy than the fast food joints we were previously patronizing on a periodic basis.

Once eating more often at the house, we were primarily purchasing 2 or 3 step prepackaged meals. We'd get the Crock Pot meals, the Tuna, or Chicken, or Hamburger Helpers, or on rare occasion, we would pickup steaks to eat with canned vegetables and powdered potatoes. By far, I am not calling this healthy. Especially if you know how we were eating (particularly me). A meal packaged to serve 3 or 4 would possibly only serve the two of us. This typically broke down to Angel eating a correct portion and me eating 3. Now, I know that for most of you that know how I eat, this comes as no surprise. However, with eating approximately 2 meals a day now (since I can eat any hour of the day from home because I work from home), the increase in frequency of food consumption has had some adverse effects. My weight is fluctuating on a daily basis, but I was toeing the line at 175 at one point. For my age and height this is substantial. Especially since the Army keeps tabs on these things.

A quick recap of my weight fluctuation over the years:

Graduate High School in '97: 155 lbs
Graduate Basic Training fall '97: 165 lbs (also lost 2" at the waist)
Graduate AIT spring '98: 155 lbs (gained back the 2" lost at basic)
Through the 8 years following: Averaging 163 lbs
Within the past 6 months: Peaking at 175 lbs
Today: 169 lbs.

As I mentioned in my earlier post, the primary objective with this workout program is to get into a better physical condition to improve my PT score. However, I know that in doing so that I will also bring some definition to this undefined shape that I currently call my body. As also mentioned earlier, I'm not becoming narcissistic, however, I would like to be able to see my 6 pack again (and maybe improve it to an 8 pack along the way).

Which brings us to today.

So, we've received our ordered equipment and the room for the workout has been established. The only things left to do are to start eating in accordance to the healthy eating guide and doing the workouts. Keep in mind, the workout plan is 6 days a week for an hour each day. Anyway, the eating aspect is what I want to target in this conversation.

Angel & I opened the books and completed the required reading. We're motivated to start this plan and thus created a shopping list. This list was the largest shopping list we've ever created in our time together. We typically just winged it. Well, with the number of items that we didn't already have in the house and the number of fruits, vegetables, chicken, turkey items, we needed reference for at the store. This list was printed in Arial 10 point from a Google Spreadsheet in a single column and was a full 3 pages of items. We knew this was going to be expensive. However, we didn't realize how expensive.

Our first trip to the grocery store was to Kroger. We believe that they are open 24/7, however after being there for ~2 hours and approaching 11:30 PM, they started to shut off lights. We are not certain if they were trying to close or just conserve electricity. The biggest point is that there were not any overhead announcements. However, we were not trying to spend all of this time getting our items to be kicked out without finishing our shopping and call it a night with more then a dozen or 2 items unchecked from our list.

So, we've got a cart full of items from various locations we didn't previously purchase from around the store. Anyway, at that hour of the night, we kinda felt bad while checking out. Everyone else that was trying to check out were using baskets and only had a couple of items. We let a few people ahead of us, however, we would have been there all night had we let every person that came around in front of us. Well, during the unpacking of the cart, I'm pretty sure we filled the belt twice over. As previously mentioned, we knew that this was going to be expensive, just not HOW expensive.

After everything was all said and done, we had spent $426 and that was after saving $28 with our Kroger card. Of that amount, we had spent approximately $100 in just cooking accessories. These include spices, oils, an ounce scale, grater, syrups, sauces (such as tabasco), vinaigrettes, and cooking wines. Thankfully, future purchases of these items will be more spread out. That is a lot of money to spend on items that are to be used as accents. In addition to these one-shot items, there were many other things that we'd never had to purchase before. Cabbage, 3 different varieties (for cole slaw), eggs [3 18 packs] (we're not big breakfast people, but this menu calls for a bunch of eggs), artichoke hearts, hearts of palm (what is that anyway?), onions [3 different varieties] (we typically just use onion salt or the similar), skim milk (we prefer 2%), squash, fresh beans (Snow Peas & Snap Peas), protein shake powder (with Whey protein), cheeses [3 different varieties, mozzarella, swiss, and feta] (we typically purchased Velveeta and shredded cheese for tacos), salmon, shrimp, swordfish, turkey bacon, and the list goes on. But as you can see, these items individually are not too bad, however, everything at the same time became quiet a shock to the wallet.

So, once we get home and unpack the car and bags, it is time to finally eat. Well, as we came to find out, many of the menu items were missing one or two different ingredients still. I don't remember what we did have that night, but we did have something out of the book. I was kinda skeptical. Don't get me wrong, I'll eat just about anything, but this was so new and different, I didn't know what to expect. Eating healthy. Sounds bland to me. Well, I couldn't have been more wrong. It was very good. It had a wonderful flavor and was even filling. Needless to say, I was shocked.

View Album

So, I compiled a list of items we couldn't find in the time we spent at Kroger and decide to try Publix for the second round of shopping. We were still missing some items that we had never known existed before. This list includes items like Arrowroot, Arugula, Miso, Quinoa, shallots, Soba noodles, Jicama and lemongrass. Well, after doing some research as to what these things are, I came to know that there are some easier to find items to substitute with. But, we did find at Publix the Arugula (some leafy green lettuce like vegie). The rest of the items are MIA. Thankfully we know we can substitute flour for Quinoa, a lemon spice for lemongrass, onions and garlic for shallots, wheat pasta for Soba noodles. However, we are still at a loss as to where to acquire Miso (I doubt we can substitue this as it is a major ingredient of Miso soup), Jicama is some sort of starch and is also known as a Mexican Potato or Mexican Turnip or yam bean. I guess I will have to do some more research because I don't have the first clue where to look. If we were still in Pittsburgh, I'm sure I could find these things in the Strip. Well, our shopping jaunt to Publix came to another sum to exasperate the expense of this endeavor. Another $50 dropped there.

Well, I am happy to report that each and every item that we've prepared has been a smashing success (as long as you exclude the Chilled Cucumber Soup that I mixed wrong). These meals don't feel like a diet. The portions are large, they are filling, and they taste wonderful. Last night we had the Steak and Arugula Salad for dinner. Don't let the name salad fool you. There was more meat and tomatoes than there was leafy greens (same as the chef salad also). This plate also included a dressing of Balsamic Vinaigrette that needed to be prepared. This dressing was amazing. I couldn't have been happier. When I read that this was to be the dressing for the plate, I was worried. I've had a Balsamic Vinaigrette before, I wasn't too impressed by it. Well, I was wrong. The combination of this dressing and the arrangement of the plate was excellent.

So, in summary, we've spent damn near $1,000 in preparation for this adventure and we haven't done a single thing yet. I have high hopes for this process and hope to benefit from this expense. Only time will tell at this point.

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Workout Program Introduction

Well, Angel and I have decided to take on a new challenge. We're going to begin a workout program. The program is called P90X. Of course as most of you well know, when I decide to do something I don't usually opt for the easy way. I'm most inclined to execute full bore. So, of course, I didn't just purchase the workout program, but also many of the items required to most efficiently begin the training at the highest level. In addition to the program, a eating right booklet, pull-up bar, resistance band set (dumb bell replacement), and the "P90X Recovery Formula" were also purchased. This caused the start up costs to exceed my initial expectations. Once I completed this order, there were resultant purchases required finalize the preparations.

Before taking delivery of the purchase, a PDF was provided that would outline the "Fit Test". I guess this is their way of demonstrating the minimum requirements recommended for undertaking this physical battery. Just reading thru the test, I know for absolute certain that I'm fit enough to handle what will be dished out. However, we're going to do it anyway. The test is also used as a point of reference at the completion of the program. Once completed with the program, the "Fit Test" will be executed again. This way your progress can be objectively seen. Pretty simple concept.

However, while reviewing the requirements for this test, one of the final things to check is your heart rate a specific intervals. Well, at reading this, I decided that this would require another purchase. We bought a Polar F4 Heart Rate Monitor for each of us. I got the unisex version and Angel got the blue one.

I figured that most of the time we would be doing the workouts together, therefore we would each need one, especially for the "Fit Test". They want a reading at 1, 2, 4, and 8 minutes after exertion. Well, if we are both exercising, it will be very difficult for us to be taking each other's heart rate to fill in the chart. Additionally, there is a feature on these watches that will notify you if you exceed or drop below our optimum training beats per minute (BPM). This feature will pretty much will ensure that we obtain the most benefit possible from the training. This feature will prevent us from slacking off or from hurting ourselves. From Dick's we were able to get these at a cost less then that of the manufacturer (~$68 each instead of ~$90).

Once we received the delivery of the workout program, it was time to establish a workout location. This seemed pretty obvious at first. We've got a 2 car garage and there's plenty of room in there to set up & workout. Well, the design of the pull-up bar put the kabash on that idea. The bar set is designed to mount over a door frame. We don't let the kitty into the garage so therefore, putting the pull-up bar in the garage door was out of the question. The bar mount is only temporary and the door would not need to be left open all of the time, however, we still don't want the cat to get used to visiting the garage. Additionally, concrete is not very friendly to the joints. Therefore, we thought about getting remnant carpet to put in there. This was a failed idea because we get water seepage into the garage on heavy rains. We don't want to pickup said carpeting each time we're going to exercise.

The next idea was to workout in the bedroom. Everyone knows that we've got more then enough room in there to do it. However, this was before I realized how the pull-up bar was designed to be used. I thought we could use one of the closets as a mount for the pull-up bar. Well, it turns out that they are too wide. The J clips that hold the vertical support bar are not there to hold the weight of the user. When attached to a door frame, the door frame holds the vertical weight, but the horizontal pivot generated by the design is to be held by the vertical supports of the door frame. Since the closets are so wide, this support was not present and kept bending the J hooks and ripping holes into my wall from where the screws were previously installed. The final straw on the bedroom was the fact that the entry door area is too narrow to put said device up.

Therefore, the spare bedroom is selected as the next likely location (there are no usable doorways in the living room). The catch with the bedroom or garage is the absence of a TV or DVD player. Well, I thought I had this covered. I came to learn that it was not. Angel had a TV from back in the day. This is one of the most interesting televisions I've seen in a very long time. This TV is a VCR/TV combo which only admits age, not oddity. (Did I mention that this TV model still has the UHF/VHF screw connectors?) The true oddity is the reminiscent aspect of that of a recording monitor. The reference link doesn't really give you much detail about the features of these specialized monitors, but said TV appears (at a distance) to have them. Well, the good news is that the TV is still operational. For how long, we don't know, but it works now so we're happy about that. However, the DVD player that we had that was excess in the house did not work. It functioned in every fashion except for the absence of audio. A aspect that usually proves to be pretty important. Particularly when you're trying to take instruction from said media playing.

With everything else that was purchased up to this point, this was one thing we were not expecting with which to have to deal. Anyway, we bought a cheapy unit from Walmart (remember also that I'm not a fan of this establishment either, however, they had the best brand at the best price).

So, lets take a story break and evaluate the expense thus far.

P90X Workout Program: ~$300
2 Heart Rate Monitors: ~$160
New DVD Player: ~$35
Total: ~$500

This is a pretty steep price to pay for a workout program. I just realized this as I'm writing at this point as I hadn't previously done the tally. However, if I had known the "hidden" prices of the program before getting into this, I doubt I would have done anything differently. The motivations for this plan is more then just of narcissistic roots. Now, I hardly think of myself as narcissistic and the expectations of the results of this program are not of appearance but that of physical appearance.

The greater motivation for this action is regarding my military career. I had a meeting with my commander earlier this year. He took one look at my PT score and had to respectfully decline in providing a letter of recommendation. Even once I did pass my PT test, his opinion did not change. I was not exceeding the standard by enough. There was too much opportunity for someone to contest a single push-up or sit-up and throw my passing PT score into a falling one. Therefore, to provide a letter of recommendation was not in either of our best interests. That being said, I needed to find somehow to find a regimen to workout and build towards enhancing my PT test results.

So, many of you might be wondering, what is different between this program and anything that I can come up with myself. Well, the answer is simple. Atmosphere. Working out alone is boring. Going to a gym is not my style. Becoming muscle bound is not my gig. This program is an interesting mix of strength and cardiovascular training. By the looks of the program (as advertised) there are very strong similarities between this and Army Basic Training. I can't say that I enjoyed the rigorous training that I was put thru while at Basic, however, the results were hard to argue. If this program can accomplish the tasks of motivation and enhanced physical capacity then it will have succeeded in my eyes. As an additional motivational factor, Angel is going to participate also.

Please keep in mind, up to this point, I have not yet reviewed the actual videos that we'll be using. Curiosity and anxiety are starting to get the best of me. However, all of that will resolved as of Monday. Angel & I will be taking the "Fit Test" tomorrow and starting the training program Monday (assuming that my minor surgery does not prevent this from happening).

Finally, I'm pretty certain that this is not the last you all will hear about this topic. I'm not sure what all I'll have to say in the future, I might post my new eating habits day-by-day on some interval or maybe just a periodic, They could even be as simple as I/We am/are still doing this or WTF, I/We quit! I can't predict this, but I know that before we start I do have another post to share with you. I will be writing again tomorrow to let you know how much more expensive this project of ours has really been. We've already gone shopping twice this past week for food to adhere to the diet portion of the program. Please check back to check out this one. If you're left with any thoughts of OMG, what are you doing, you won't want to miss the next installment. It will likely shock you more then this one.

Peace.

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Wedding Pictures

Well, for those of you that are paying attention to this, which I hope you are, we've got an announcement for you. Wedding pictures are now available. Follow this link and the password is Denner (or denner) as long as you spell it right capitalization does not matter and it will let you in.

Make sure you block some time out for this. Especially if you watch the slide show. There are in excess of 600 pictures and it will take you a while to get thru it.

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More Household Chores

Well, once again, I've been tasked with fixing another appliance in the house. This time, the dryer. And before anyone asks, yes, Angel trusts me working with high power electricity. The dryer was functional in all ways except the slightly important part, heat. So, something doesn't work, how do you fix it? Tear it open.

So, the dryer first stopped working on Thursday of last week. Once I got off of work, I started tearing into the dryer to figure out what was wrong with it. Have I ever tried to troubleshoot a dryer before? No. Do I have a clue of what I'm looking for? No.

The process starts with opening the back of the dryer. For reference, the big part, not the little one. Once I get the back off of the dryer, I discover that there isn't much to it. The only part of the machine I couldn't get to was the motor. However, since the exhaust fan and drum spin, I'm not worried about getting to it. So, what are the pieces of the machine I'm looking at? Well, to be perfectly honest, I don't know yet.

Since there wasn't too much to look at, time to open the small part on top of the dryer. The top of the dryer wasn't too much different from the bottom. There are only a set of wires running from point A to point B. Since the dryer is functioning in every aspect but that of heat, the knob/timer should be working fine. Since the machine starts and stops, the start button obviously works. What is left to investigate on a machine of such relatively simple construction.

Well, thankfully, Whirlpool so conveniently provided a wiring diagram inside the top section. Based on the diagram, I was then able to identify what the devices in the bottom portion of the dryer were. I found a fuse, a couple thermostats, and a thermo-fuse (for lack of a better name). I was able to deduce that the fuse was in working order with a multi-meter. The thermostats and thermo-fuse are a completely different story. I thought one of the thermostats were the problem. However, while testing the fuse the battery died within the meter. At this point I've decided that since I can't prove without reasonable doubt which part is broken. Also, there is still one more part that could be the culprit. The coil.

The heating coil, according to the diagram, works off of 220/240 current. There is only one 220/240 plug in the house. Something within the dryer is broken and I can't manually trigger the coil. What else is there to do to test the coil? Yup, you've guessed it. Hot wire the coil to the plug.

WARNING: DO NOT TRY THIS YOURSELF! YOU CAN BE SERIOUSLY INJURED TRYING TO REPRODUCE THE FOLLOWING STEPS!

The plug has 3 wires in it, red with white generates a 110/120 volt circuit and red and black creates a 220/240 volt circuit. Well, according to the diagram anyway. Since I've been inside the guts of this machine, it is already unplugged. So, from my dad's garage, I had some 12 gauge solid wire lying around. There are already 2 pieces, so I'm set there. Each wire has one end stripped. So, there are only two strips that I need to do. I don't know what heat rating this wire has, but for the duration I'm going to use it, it is safe enough. So, I unscrew the retainer screw for the red and black posts for the plug. I place the wires into the gap that is produced and refasten the screws.

Now that these wires are ready to be energized, I determine where and how I'm going to place the wires against the coil once the plug is connected. So, the two safety mechanisms I took to protect myself was first determining that connecting the wires in opposing directions (both inward to the center of the 2 posts which would prevent the wires from touching because the posts would be in the way) and having Angel in charge of the plug. So, now that the safety procedures are in place (no matter how unsafe it might have been) it is time to give this coil a go.

Angel's instructions were that should I get shocked, unplug the source. Then, she connected the plug to the outlet. So far, so good; no sparks and I'm not getting zapped. So, I present the wires to the coil. First the one in my left hand. Nothing happens. Then I begin to move the wire in my right hand to the coil. I get about 1/4 or 1/8 of an inch from the terminal and ZAP! Sparks fly. I guess I moved too slowly getting the wire to its destination. Well, at this point I've proved that the circuit works. But, I have not proved if the coil will still heat. Also, the look on Angel's face was classic. The look said OMG!!! But, she didn't say a word or make a move.

So, I regain my composure and try this again, this time prepared for the spark. Once I get the wire connected, the coil didn't wait any time getting hot. I mean did not wait. I was absolutely amazed at how quickly it went from black to orange and being able to feel the heat on my hands. Ok, the coil works. I remove the wire from the coil. Angel removes the plug and I remove the jumper wires. This leaves me to believe that there are only 2 items that could possibly causing our no heat issue. A thermostat or a thermo-fuse.

Angel and I make the futile trip to Lowes to see if we can purchase the replacement parts. Well, as expected, the parts for the many items that they sell are not warehoused at the stores. The sales representative was kind enough to provide me with a number to call to get the parts ordered. Well, since we're there and we didn't get what we needed, I bought a new battery for my meter.

Well, since it was so late, I didn't make the call to the Lowes Parts Replacement line that night. Friday was a day from hell at work (10 AM - 3AM working) and therefore, I didn't make the call then. The business card did not indicate if they were open on weekends and I failed to think about it on Saturday (well, it didn't help that I spent most of the day sleeping). Therefore, I gave them a call on Sunday just in case they were in operation. My luck is with me then, they were there and were able to help.

Before I gave them the call, I pulled out my meter again and did a continuity test on all of the thermostats and the thermo-fuse. Well, the only one to give a reading that worried me was the thermo-fuse. It was open. Therefore, I thought it was the culprit for certain.

I gave them the make and model of the machine, a brief description of the part that I believe is the problem and they placed the order for delivery on Tuesday (today). To my amazement, the parts to fix my problem came to a combined total of $35. I had heard horror stories about people being told that fixing their dryer would be so expensive, it would be less expensive to buy a new one.

Well, today, my parts arrived. I decided to hit the new pieces with the meter and to my surprise, the new parts were generating the same results as the ones I took out. At this point I'm skeptical. Did I order the right parts? Is the dryer going to work when I put it back together? I don't have a clue and there is only one way to determine the answer. Time to put everything back together.

Once again during this process, I am shocked. I don't know what changed at this point, but once everything was reassembled the dryer is working. Almost as equally amazing, once again, there were no pieces or parts that were not replaced left over. This is amazing. In a two week period I've fixed 3 appliances of varying degrees of difficulty successfully and without left over parts. Is this going to become a trend? Should I get used to this? I guess only time will tell.

Anyway, one of the more interesting aspects of this instance has to do with the following question. When these things are so simple to fix by yourself, is it worth calling in a technician that is going to inflate the cost because of the addition of labor costs. I think I'll keep working on things myself until I'm out of options, either physically or due to knowledge.

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Identity Theft

About a month ago, Angel & I both experienced an instance of Identity Theft. A combined total temporary loss of about $375. We got the full amounts back almost immediately, so the loss was a non-issue. However, I thought I'd share our experience with everyone.

The day started out as any other, I woke up and walked across the hall to work. However, shortly there after, Angel was asking me about a transaction that was posted on our joint account. Since the transaction was for $299, it immediately jumped out at us. It was a transfer thru Western Union. Neither of us have ever used Western Union nor had made a transaction in the recent past for that dollar amount. Therefore, we began to worry.

The first call was to BofA. Unfortunately, since the transaction had not cleared yet, there was nothing they could do for us. They recommended that we call Western Union. Angel calls to talk to Western Union and they claim there is nothing that they could do for us because the transaction had already been paid out. Also, this transaction, so they claimed, contained all of the information related to Angel's check card. This included, Name, Address, phone number, Debit Card #, expiration date, and security code (the one on the back of the card). With this information in hand, Angel calls BofA bank to have the card blocked and subsequently shreds the card. They inform us that it would take 7-10 days to receive the replacement. We would not get that until we returned from our honeymoon. Unfortunately, at this point, there was nothing more we could do about it until the posting of the transaction cleared. We wait 3 days.

In the meantime, I checked into my PNC account, though for reasons I can't recall, and discover 2 transactions with the European arm of eBay via PayPal. I logged into eBay and find no reason for these charges. These charges were in relation to sellers fees. You know, the type you get charged for posting an auction. I have never sold anything on eBay and don't have a sellers account in my eBay account. The final oddity to the story was that it was charged in Euros. It wouldn't make sense for my US based eBay account to be charged in Euros. Therefore, I call them and start to question the charges. They would not begin the investigation until I could mail them a statement from my account. This was unacceptable. My statement period had just begun and I wasn't waiting for a month to file a claim thru them. I threaten to resolve this thru Paypal and they don't even give up a fight. At this point I'm steamed.

I log into Paypal and start poking around. I find a link for disputing transactions. I give the forms all of the information they want and I feel unsatisfied. But, at least with this action, I know that the ball is rolling. To make a long story short, Paypal attempts to contact eBay three times and do not receive a response. Subsequently, they give me the money back. I don't know how my Paypal account became linked with a different eBay account. Also, I don't even remember what the linking process is like. I don't remember what information is required or anything. Aside the point, I change the passwords for both my eBay and Paypal accounts and did it again once I got my password manager. Now I am certain that noone will be steeling my passwords for any reasons. I can't even remember them.

Back to the Western Union story. So, we've waited the three days required for the transaction to completely clear the system and call BofA back. Once again, we go thru the process of explaining what happened, what we've done, and what we want them to do. They immediately start processing the claim. However, they did not present us with a temporary credit until they receive an Affidavit. They send that out to us immediately. Before we fly home to Pittsburgh, the letter is received, we both sign it (once again, joint account), and get it back to them. While we're in Pittsburgh, we receive notification that while they are investigating the transaction that the money has been replaced in our account. They investigation did not turn up any information that they were willing to disclose to us. However, the end result stayed the same (as it should have), we got our money back.

Between these two little issues, I decided that we would take further steps to securing our information. Introducing a password manager with password change policies. The post RTFM will explain the difficulties of my first few days with it. And the subsequent Password Quagmire will discuss my surprise at the number of passwords that I have to juggle within our favorite ether entertainment spot, which we like to call the Internet.

I know that this little password manager is not going to prevent any future issues like the one that occurred against our BofA account, but I'm pretty certain that they only way that my Paypal account could have been linked to another eBay account was thru hacking my password.

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Password Quagmire

As a follow up to my RTFM post, about getting my password situation under better secure control with a password manager, I have learned something interesting. The number of places that require a password that I use are numerable. I new that there were many places that I use a regular basis, however, I didn't know how many. Now that I have all of my passwords configured into my manager, I'm shocked.

I now have 41 passwords stored in my manager. The device has a maximum capacity of 50. I certainly hope that my internet usage doesn't change too drastically in the near future. I will max it out and then have to figure out a different storage or usage scheme. Right now I have 13 password slots for just work and the Army. If required I could consolidate my US Bank passwords again, but that would defeat the purpose for which this all started. Trying to synchronize all of my passwords at work is a bunch of work. I would rather not have to do that again. Though, keeping the separate might be more difficult, but I've yet to discover this problem as I haven't yet started using this for work purposes. (That will be Monday.)

Anyway, this little device, once configured the way you want it, is pretty simple to use. To begin use, just click the center button. This will cause the device to prompt you for your 5 key finger pattern (a password comprised of a combination of the arrow keys). Once into the token, you use the center button as they enter key and the arrow keys to navigate to which password you want to use. It is pretty simple and straight forward.

However, it doesn't always produce as much feed back as you would like. To shut off the device, you press the left arrow key from the main menu (View, Options). However, while you are in the View mode, you select a site to view the password of by pressing enter, to return to the list press left. However, the first left arrow press only takes you back to the individual record so you can see the username also if required. To get back to the list, press left again. If you get impatient and press left too many times, you could shutdown without wanting to.

The device boasts a last used password memory. I will not tell you that this is false. On a technical level, this is not a lie. As long as your session within the token continues, you can look at a password, return to View, look at options, or whatever else and when you return to View, it will take you to your last used password. However, once you shut it off and return it to use, it will not remember which password you were using. Having a list of 50 available slots in the device, navigating around to view you password can get annoying.

The user interface allows the user to overlook this issue, as they have provided 2 very useful features. The first one is the wrap around. From record 1 you can roll back to record 50. For me, this was very useful. My most commonly used personal passwords are at the bottom of the list. All of my work related passwords are at the beginning. The other solution that they put into place is a common one. If you hold an arrow key down, it will continue to move from one record to another. If you hold it down long enough, the progression speed will increase. Thus, moving faster then continually pressing the arrow yourself.

The instructions also recommend another security tool for those worried about having their token hacked. They recommend that you use a symbol offset for the passwords on the token. Therefore if someone was able to obtain your token AND hack your finger code, the passwords that they see are not the passwords that you actually use. There are simple ways of doing this, but for the paranoid, they have an example of a complex way to use it in their manual. Their demonstration from the FAQ's is as follows:

AN EXTREME EXAMPLE –

The following is an example of a complex offset that
combines multiple techniques which can be used
separately or in combination with other techniques.
This example includes (1) a fractional reading of only
a subset of the displayed code; (2) applying
multipliers against displayed numeric characters; and
(3) substitutions for displayed alpha characters.

For this example, lets say a user utilizing the token
generates and stores a purely random string of 14
printable characters.

The Display reads:

\BjrGjh3>u7A&t

The user secretly applies the following complex
offsets only known to him/her to arrive at the true
password for the Login Record:

 Offset (1): The password length is only the last 8
           Characters read right to left on the display;

 Offset (2): All displayed alphas are decrement by
           one character;

 Offset(3): All displayed numbers are incremented by
           one.

The actual password for the Login would be
discerned in the following 3 step process:

 Step 1: - Locate the Last 8 Characters of the
           displayed password and read them right to left.

                t&A7u>3h

 Step #2: All displayed alphas are decremented by
           one character (application of offset #2):

                s&Z7t>3g

 Step #3: All displayed numbers are incremented by
           one character (application of offset #3):

                s&Z8t>4g

Under this complex example, the displayed password
of

 \BjrGjh3>u7A&t

would be converted by the user to the actual
password of

 s&Z8t>4g

Without knowledge of the offset only known to the
user, it is impossible to deduce the actual password
from the displayed password.

So, since getting this bad boy configured for use, I have done myself a favor to force myself to use it. The first thing was to put all of my passwords into it. The second was to completely turn off password saving in my browser. Since these passwords are more complex and different from anything that I have memorized, I have to go back to it each time I want to log in somewhere of less common use or if I press the wrong link and log out of a commonly used site or due to a reboot.

This might sound and be annoying, however, it is better then what I was doing before. The same password everywhere and/or exposing my site usage to anyone that can obtain access to my computer. For any of you wondering, yes, this also included my passwords for my financial websites. I feel safer knowing that even I don't know my passwords.

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RTFM

For as long as I've been into computers, this has been a recurring theme. Read The Fine (or other "F" word of choice) Manual (RTFM) is the mantra of a support analyst. We use this term for those people that don't have the drive or skill with computers that would have lead them to a simple answer.

Unfortunately, every once in a long while, there are circumstances that arise I have to use this against myself.

I recently received a new toy. This little device (just about the size of a OEM car keyless entry box) is soon to become another tool for my computing arsenal. With all of the passwords that I maintain and with all of their various rules of composition, it was starting to become difficult keeping them straight. It really wasn't that big of a deal until a situation occurred just before the wedding with eBay and Paypal. At this point I determined that I needed to do something to better secure my information within the ether world of the Internet.

Bear with me if you are reading this early. I will document the aforementioned situation in a subsequent message. Once it is posted I will create a backlink.

Anyway, after being financially impacted by some unknown means I determined that it was time to increase my security. So I bought two of these Mandylion Password Managers. I could not tell you how long I had been using the same passwords at many of the sites that I was required authentication. Furthermore, majority of the sites were using the same passwords. The exceptions were the ones that required a specific password composition, such as no symbols. Anyway, the more sites and places that require a password that use the same password increase my risk to exposure should it ever be cracked. Although, the password I was using was strong, the more that it is used, the more potential that it can be discovered. The definition of a strong password is one that is not dictionary based and contains a mixture of letters, numbers and symbols.

Well, as with many of the things that I do, as soon as I received my new toy, I grasped on to it whole heartedly and have taken it to the extreme. I've spent several hours with this toy already and almost gave up on it as a publicly consumable item. It has taken me 3 days thus far to get it configured the way that I want it. However, as the title of this message implies, my frustration was due to an issue with the instructions. I didn't read ALL of them.

So, lets recap my experience from the start.

I get this device while I'm working so I have to sit on it until I'm done with work. As soon as I finished work for the day I rip into the packaging and begin the discovery process. I get the device connected to the computer. Install the drivers & associated software and validate that it is what it says it is. So far so good. Now, lets put it to use.

I fire up the software to begin to enter the array of sites and locations that I use a password the most often. I determine what the password template should be for each site. For example, how many characters and what character set (are multi case letters required, numbers, are symbols permitted) to use. The next question is regarding what time period the password should change. Since only at work do any of my passwords have a mandatory expiration period, this is completely subjective. How often do I want to change the password.

To this point, everything has been peachy. However, the next part caused the most frustration. There are a few options regarding how the password should be specified initially on the token. I figured that since I had set policy information that manually entering a initial configuration password that this would work. However, this is not the case. As soon as I would enter a manual initial password, the password pattern would reset to manual. This was not a good thing. I was hoping with how shotty this software appeared that this was just an ascetic problem. This was not the case. Therefore, once I transferred the information to the token, it would configure it anyway that it wanted.

However, I didn't discover this until after I started using it. Since the password I wanted to see was on the token, I went to begin changing passwords that I use. However, after getting just a couple sites into the process, I discovered that passwords were being generated that I couldn't use. The password templates that I specified were not being enforced (because they were reconfigured) and getting passwords that were too long or even with the wrong character set.

This was unacceptable.

So, now I have a real dilemma, I was under a misconception that I needed the software to configure this device for everything that I wanted. I now know that this is not the case, however, it is too far gone now for me to start over. The only thing that a computer is required for is the initialization step. Anyway, since I'm now using the passwords that are on it, I'm not going to re-initialize it. I'll deal with it with what I've got.

Moving on with the issue. Now, the device has passwords that I don't have memorized but I need to make configuration changes to it. So, I'm back to the same problem that I had initially. I need to update the password template from the software (because I locked the token from being able to do it) and I need to be confident that once I make the change that the password on the device is correct. A little forethought was put into this. I wrote down the passwords on the token into notepad and tried to reconfigure it.

At this time, I'm not very confident that what I tell the software will not certainly reach the token. So here's the deal. I first need to determine how to set the password pattern template and set a starting point password. As I told you before, this wasn't working. So, instead of flailing blindly at this software, I open the manuals. There was an option for the initial password called "Bootstrap". I didn't understand this term and wasn't sure what the results were going to be. Unfortunately, the manual was not very clear at the definition of this option, but it did give the impression that this was the option for which I was looking.

I return to the UI and start to redefine my password template options and specify bootstrap passwords. We have success. The software accepted the password and did not reconfigure anything else in the configuration.

Please bare in mind, all of this has transpired over a three day period. I'm not so sure that the typical consumer would put this much effort into using this device. I might have been better off making all of the password additions and configuration within the tokens interface, but this would have been cumbersome and time consuming. In hindsite, it might have been less cumbersome.

So, I spend some time (a lot of time) researching my browser cache and putting every password that I use for work (including the Army) or personal use into the software and I'm now ready to start using it.

The moral to this story is read the manual, understand the tool you are trying to use and it will save you tons of time in the long run. However, I'm not excusing the company. The documentation is less then desirable and the UI is about as intuitive as something I would expect from Beagle. Maybe, not even that good. His interfaces might not be pretty, but they work well and he will explain to you how to use it. That is more then what I got from this company.

The last challenge left in this adventure is to get Angel to set up her token. I'm certain that working with her will be a better usability test for this device. However, she has an advantage, I know how it works now. I'm sure that I'll have more to say about this little tool in the future.

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