Microblog

I'm going to try and microblog for a little while in an attempt of getting back in the swing of updating bd.net.
I'm going to Anderson University to get a Bachelors in Business Admin with a CIS emphasis. I believe it's the best option I've found at the right price. Classes start to tomorrow. Let's see how it goes.
It's really hot, not riding a lot. Changing that this week.
Drink lots of water.

-bd

Vegetarian

I've been considering the vegetarian lifestyle recently. Mandy spent much of her life as a vegetarian and only because of practical purposes did she succumb to eating meat again (mostly because of my meat eating needs). Finn has not directly eaten meat yet, so I think he's a vegetarian by default. After reading several successful accounts of people switching, I have weighed the pros and cons of such a lifestyle.

I haven't heard of anyone who, after going on a meat-less die,t have negative results. No doubt just the opposite. I think the main frustration for me would be convenience. Eating out in Greenwood is very difficult on a meat-less diet; the majority of our restaurant choices consist of major chains that specialize in the type of food that 90% of Americans enjoy. This alone wouldn't be a problem if they offered decent entrées that didn't revolve around meat.

Finding lunch that is fast and "healthy" is pretty much impossible in Greenwood, mainly for the same reasons as above. The most frustrating part of my day is if I'm very busy with things and I need something fast for lunch. South Greenwood provides only a few choices: Burger King, Subway, McDonalds, and KFC. Boones is an decent choice if i had 2 hours for lunch and Howard's is a great choice if I had a limitless lunch budget; however I don't know if either of these offers vegetarian lunches. Mark my words, if anyone opened a Chick-fil-a in south Greenwood, they would make a KILLING, but that's a bit off topic.

A solution to the eating out problem is simply order meals without the meat or order meat-less appetizers as the meal. Both of these might be good solutions if what you got was substantial enough to call a meal, which depends on the venue. Pasta would become a staple when dining out, but that would get a bit old.

Another problem I face with vegetarianism is doing it right. I believe you can have a meat-less diet and still eat just as bad, if not worse, than with the meat. When you don't have meat as the center of the meal, what are you going to substitute it with? This is where a certain degree of creativity and knowledge must be used in making healthy food choices, and I must admit, I don't have either the knowledge or the creativity, but I expect both can be learned.

Anyway, that's all I've got on the matter. I've got a lot more research to do and I feel that this would be a progressive change. I'll keep you, dear reader, updated on my progress.
-Brian

Server

Site's hosted on a server server at Webbynode. So far so good.

Of Late

Things of interest for me as of late:

• Home brewing. I opened my first bottle the other night and was quite tasty. More on that to come.


• Trucks. I bought a 2001 Nissan Frontier last week (traded in our Nissan Altima). I've been casually looking for just the right one for the past 6 months , and I lucked out with this find. Low miles for the year, very good condition, crew cab, locally sourced, and just the right price.


• School. I signed up for classes (a class actually) at Limestone. Next term starts in March, so hopefully I will decide not to go to  Lander by then as I'm considering it as an alternative. Main course of study will be computer related, that I'm somewhat sure of.


• Work.


• Reading. One of my (many) resolutions is to continue reading as a primary after-hours activity. Currently I'm reading through the Harry Potter series and I've just finished The Chamber of Secret, which I liked a lot. I've also been reading StrengthsFinder 2.0 which is next on my list from the Personal MBA Reading List. Also reading The Pursuit of God for homegroup, which I've been enjoying very much. Lastly I got the acclaimed 4-Hour Body and have been starting to read that bit-by-bit.

That's all for now. For those of you who need pictures of Finn (and who doesn't), go to www.finndean.net

-brian

Chilly

It's getting colder outside which means I'm less motivated to go outside and puworking in the garden (what's left of it from the spring/summer). I don't suppose there are a lot of things left to do in a garden during the winter.
I'm also less motivated to ride the bike. There are plenty of reasons one could make to not ride a bike in the cold, especially when he has the option of a car - I'm having a real hard time with that.

I read 10 Days to Faster Reading over the past few weeks. I myself have not been a very fast reader, although my comprehension was decent. This book really helped me by providing techniques and strategies to read through material much more quickly, and pointed out several bad habits that I have unknowingly  grown into. The first assumption the author makes about the reader is that he or she has never had any kind of formal reading training since elementary years where they are taught a very inefficient  method of reading, at least independently. Anyway, it helped me a lot and I can't think of anyone I wouldn't suggest it to.

Currently reading Reforming Marriage in between reading CCNA material. It's pretty thought provoking and I like it a lot so far.

-bd

9/6/2010

Yesterday we went to Ikea with Finn. We purchased a buffet table and some other doodads (a lot of stuff for other people...). On Saturday we painted the living and dining room a clean green color, very contemporary. It was amazing that we finished the whole thing in a day, even with Finn.

I'm thinking about going to different colleges right now. I've more or less narrowed it down to Franklin University, Limestone, and WGU. I've also thought about going to a traditional school but that would probably too hard on me and the family as well as work. We almost live on the Lander campus but there really isn't many options for me there, and their tuition is more than many colleges. Also considering getting an MBA (after bachelors, but it would influence what I do now).

Went for a bike ride yesterday, it was cold as all get out.

-bd

Months

The past few months have been kind of a blur for me. Summers are usually that way. When I was little summers felt like they lasted a lifetime, but now it feels like just a short pause in the year, even though it's anything but. Finn coming into the world has made time go by even faster. He's a little more than two months old now and I'm looking forward to the next few months when he'll start communicating and being more alert and attentive to his surroundings.

I'm still studying for the CCNA when I can and reading various other things.

Mandy and I have also watched the entirety and continuation of Mad Men. If you can get past the immorality (I'm not suggesting that anyone should try and "get past" immorality portrayed in any medium, fictional or no) this is a very deep and interesting story that has evolved from a simple power-trip, alpha-male, womanizing-free-for-all to a character development and believability like I've never seen. While it portrays human depravity in a very raw form, it also communicates a human element that can be sympathized with. It has also pushed the envelope for re-creating of the 60's era in every possible detail down to the brands of products used in that time period.

I'd also like to draw attention to the new tabloid in Greenwood - THUMP. A recent addition to the paper, Justin Shoenberger, is writing a cycling column that's very enjoyable and informative, especially for residents of Greenwood. He doesn't talk about racing or triathlons, but about using bicycles for commuting, utility, and riding for the sake of riding, which is what I'm about.

That's all I've got for now.

-BD