Behind the Blogger: 2015 New Year's Resolutions

New Year's resolutions are a silly tradition. For the most part, we never get started on them. Occasionally, we commit to them. For a week. Maybe two. If you keep it up for three weeks, you've got maybe a 50% chance of going past a month, and if you make it to a month, I'm betting you're in rare company.

That said, in 2011, I gave up smoking as a New Year's resolution. Other than the fact that I picked January 3 as my start date (since that was a Monday that year), it took. I have had zero ciggies since January 2, 2011. Truth be told, I could have given them up on Dec. 31, since I think I rationed out my last pack over two days, and ended up giving the rest to The Other Half (who is still occasionally puffing, by the way). Other resolutions have not been nearly so successful, though I often do make it through long past when others drop out.

Usually, it's lose weight, get in shape. I've done that many times. I rarely ever stop exercising completely, so that one is usually stepping up my exercise. But I often fall off the diet. I'm a yo-yo dieter with a really long yo. I can go 18 months at a good weight, then life gets in the way, and boom, chubbo again. Doggone it. Some people think it's as easy as simple math, calories in, calories out. This doesn't take into account differing metabolisms, differing types of food that either stick or pass on thru, and other factors. And it doesn't take into account that Atkins really works, and you don't have to count calories to do it. It's just bloody boring after a while. But...

My resolutions for 2015:

- Lose weight, 20 pounds or above, keep net 20 off for the year. If I lose 25, and end up with just the 20, I'll take it.
- Keep up and ramp up the exercise.
- No smoking (this one is easy)!
- Keep blogging, even though it's mostly for me. Everyone needs a hobby.
- Grow my business/get a job. One or the other or both will be necessary after quitting my job, and moving cross-country with The Other Half.
- Save political arguments for the blog and online shouting matches. No need to start unnecessary arguments with politically incompatible family members!
- Enjoy the changes the move will bring, don't panic, don't overthink, enjoy.
 

First Mac Lesson Successful

Okay, first off, I wasn't trying to shoot the moon here. I thought that the best first test of my newish MacBook Pro was to make something that would be quick and easy for me on the PC with CorelDRAW.

Jinx in her favorite Christmas present.

So, I thought, why not LOLCats? Basically, all that is involved in that sort of graphic is a picture with text on top. You find a picture of a cat first. I had this one from my own cat under the Christmas tree.

Okay, that'll do. But what should it say?

"I CAN HAS BOX"

"WOT? DIS AINT DA BED U BOT ME?"

"TANKS FER XMUS PRESINT. JERBULLZ WUZ DELISHUS!"

"WOT? I'Z NOT TU FAT FER DIS BOX!"

Okay, you get the idea. A suitably pidgin English phrase wuz was all I needed.

Now, in CorelDRAW, I'd just paste the picture on the pasteboard, after copying from its location (in this case, Facebook). Will that work in Illustrator?

Picture pasted copying it from the internet and posting
onto the pasteboard in Adobe Illustrator CS5.

As it turns out, yes! In my previous Mac, such an action would have returned an error message. But it works in Adobe Illustrator CS5. Cool

Next, I had to type my message. Then, select the text and pick a font, in this case "Impact" will foot the bill. Then, assign an outline, and color the letters white. This is what most LOLCat pictures look like after all.

But I ran into a small problem. And to understand what it is, you sort have had to deal with vector graphics yourself.

The outline, when applied and thickened up tends to obscure the letter faces. As you can see in the next picture.

Yucky outline. Howz I ficks?

See, not too pretty, is it. In CorelDRAW, I would simply have applied the "behind fill" command, and possibly "scale with image," in case I wanted to change the size of the text, but keep the outline proportional. This is second-nature stuff to me in Corel, and even in Gerber Omega Composer, my sign software at work. But not so, at least as far as I can find in Illustrator.

No matter. I've worked with enough files from Mac artists to know that they cheat in their drawings to achieve the same effects that I apply the correct way! So, I simply copied the text, pasted in place--which I had to figure out how to do!--and removed the outline from the newly pasted text. Voila!

Voila!

Now, before you jump on me, I'm completely aware that this is a super-duper simple exercise, particularly for experienced Illustrator artists. In Corel, I could do the job in under three minutes, no problem. And in truth, it probably only took twice that long in Illustrator for me. But it goes to show you that you can apply knowledge from one program to a similar but different one. It will take more study to find out if "behind fill" and "scale with image" are features within Illustrator, and I just don't (yet) know where they are.

I will say that I much prefer the Corel/PC interface, having used it for so long. I love the dynamic toolbar in Corel, that puts all of your tools' variables in one simple toolbar, and changes them, depending upon which tool you're using. It's invaluable. It also may have a doppelgänger in Illustrator, and I just haven't found it.

For now, this satisfies my "must learn on the Mac" New Year's resolution, at least for today. Tomorrow, I'll try something a little more challenging. For now? I'z done. Now I can has cheezburger.

Incidentally, this operation would have taken an interminable amount of time on my old PowerBook. With the MacBook Pro, I was running iTunes (Adele's 21), PhotoShop, Adobe Illustrator and Safari, all at once, and toggling between them. There was no performance lag, no "spinning beach ball of death." It works. So I can say without reservation that 2011's four-year-old Mac is a much more useable than 2009's five-year-old Mac! Don't buy a PowerBook on eBay under any circumstances (I can say this now that mine sold!).

2011's New Year's Resolutions: How'd You Do?

As we close out 2011, we leave a pretty crappy year behind us. But it wasn't all bad. In fact, last year's New Year's resolutions were my most successful ever. Last year, I resolved to

1) Quit smoking
2) Start exercising regularly
3) Lose weight

I quit smoking on January 3rd, the first day back to work. I haven't had a cigarette since.  My exercise plan was always to come later in the year, since January resolvers tend to pack the gym. I started in April. But, the no smoking led to weight gain, despite the regular exercise. My half-hearted low-carb diet plan needed revamping. So, in September, I kept on with my exercise, and hit the Atkins Diet full bore.

Prior to Christmas break, I weighed in at 149 lbs., a full 30+ pound loss from my highest weight. I'm still exercising 5-7 days per week, and even with a one-week "break" from the diet, I'm still at 154 lbs., and re-started the diet today.

So, for 2012, I resolve to

1) Remain a non-smoker
2) Continue to exercise regularly
3) Maintain my weight loss, to at worst below 160 lbs.
4) Use my MacBook Pro to learn Adobe CS5 to proficiency

I'll check in with you in a year to let you know how I did!

New Year's Resolution Update: No Smoking, Day 16

Image from (no joke) Church Times

It's been a little over two weeks now, so I thought I'd write an update, giving a little of my progress.  I'll not recap any of my smoking history here, other than to say that most of my smoking was very regimented. Evenings, weekends and when we went out to the casino.  So, my habits were possibly more attuned to situations and timing, making me very vulnerable to "triggers."

I picked January 3 as my first smokeless day, since it was the first day back to work in the new year. I bought my last pack of smokes (Marlboro Menthol 100s, Silver Pack) on January 1, and rationed them out over my last weekend. This was sort of a dry run for the actual quitting, rationing out the pack, even letting The Other Half (who still hasn't #$@?! quit!) have some, and leaving him two or three in the pack at the end of my last day.  I really didn't enjoy my last two days, which is probably a good thing.

The first day really wasn't so bad. I've been able to set rules for myself before, and have gone many hours or even a couple of days without smokes before, depending on circumstances.  The biggest challenge was fighting the urge to go outside.  I liken the smoke breaks to commercials during a TV show: I was segmenting my evenings into sections, and after this message from Marlboro, I'd be right back.  So having continuous, unbroken evenings took--and is still taking--a little getting used to.  Day two was much like the first, no biggie, a few genuine cravings, but mostly pointless urges to go outside.

Day three was different. By now, my body and brain couldn't be fooled into thinking this was merely a "break." There was really no cigarette coming. This inspired many more cravings than the first two days. To make matters worse, The Other Half was out of town, and on those days, I traditionally smoked a bit more.  But I held fast, and didn't buy more.  I ain't gonna lie though, it was tough. On day six, I had to cut up a big branch to throw away. After twenty minutes with a hacksaw and some big clippers, I realized. . .I'm not winded! I'm not tired! That my friends, was amazing.

Each day since then has gotten a little easier, with some days being almost completely without an urge to smoke. The urges returned at predictable times, those old times when I'd have usually lit up. I just shook them off, ranted a few times on Facebook, got some support, and moved along. Day 14 had a strong desire, once. Then it passed.  I've always liked cold turkey. . .

Best things about being smoke free:

- Morning coughing (and afternoon, and evening) has reduced to that of a normal person. Phlegm production way down. NO hacking to the point of nausea. This is new!
- Nighttime wheezing tendency gone. I often had an annoying whistle I'd have to clear, and could always churn up something, given a try. Not any more.
- Hypochondria easing. Yes, I can convince myself that I've got a terrible disease. . .wait, did my heartbeat just skip? That nuttiness will likely always be with me, but it's eased a lot.
- I've saved at least $50 already, just in the cost of cigarettes. That doesn't count the time it took to get them, and the planning involved to make sure I was always stocked up.
- My clothes don't stink. My hands don't stink.
- My gums--plagued by periodontitis--already feel better. Maybe that's reverse hypochondria, but I swear it's true.
- I feel a sense of accomplishment, and no longer have a feeling of vague shame.

Hardest things about quitting:

- Getting started. Just set a date and try it.
- Gritting your teeth and having will power for five to ten minutes until the urge to smoke passes. Really, that is about what it takes, a few times per day. Trust me, you can do it.
- Resisting the urge to have "just one." I've already gone through that bargaining process with myself: "If I have just one, I can still say 'I've only had one since I quit.'"  But I quit for me, not for somebody else. What point is there in cheating, when I'm the one who matters?
- Realizing there really isn't a substitute for the activity. There's nothing else where you stop what you're doing for three-five minutes while you go outside and sit/pace around, and then come back and resume what you were doing. This should be no big deal, but it is so hard to get used to.
- Resisting the urge to become an anti-smoking Nazi. I want to slap butts out of people's hands. I want to tell them they stink, that I don't want to smell their smoke. I have to only flash back a couple of weeks to the other side of that argument to stop me. But I do feel sorry for those currently smoking.

More as I move through this.

New Year's Resolutions, 2011 Edition

January 3rd was for me--and likely for a whole lot of Americans--the first day for this year's batch of new year's resolutions. I mean, why start on the first if it's on a weekend? Doomed to failure. So, starting on the first day back to work was the way to go for me at least. Who knows me better than me?

I have two, well, two-and-a-half resolutions this year. The half one is a plan to start working out and/or walking more regularly. This one only merits a half because I'm pretty sure I'd do it anyway, resolution or not. And the plan is to wait a little stretch into the year before really getting going. You know, when it's lighter out later, when the early batch of resolution-makers starts failing, and the gym gets a little emptier.  This one is rather a foregone conclusion, and I'm sure I'll get to it.

One of the resolutions is also fairly easy: I'm going to lose a little weight, mostly gained from Thanksgiving to New Year's. I'd do this one anyway too, but it does involve a little more willpower. Since the plan that works for me is a variation of the Atkins Diet, it also requires a bit of an investment in food. That part of the mission is accomplished as of tonight (pepperoni, cheeses, eggs, meatballs, lettuce, roasted chicken, pickles, etc.), and I've been completely faithful to the diet all day. Woohoo!

The other resolution is the biggie. Quitting smoking. Oh, did I mention that I'm a smoker? Probably not. Not many people know. I'm what they call a sneaky smoker. Or maybe a semi-closeted smoker. Oh, I'm out to a few people, but not all!  But my habit is a little tricky to classify.

I started smoking almost 20 years ago, mostly because the "cool kids" were doing it (which is kind of pathetic when you figure that I was 23!). Actually, it was other friends, and it just sort of grew out of a social group. Initially, I was about a pack-a-day smoker, more on weekends. This went on for about six years. Then, I started dating The Other Half. I decided to quit smoking a few months into our relationship, and actually did it. For three months.



Image from WebTradeBureau



But then--as happens quite a bit with young relationships--we broke up for about a month. I had a stress-induced relapse of smoking, but this time with a twist. I stopped smoking indoors, making myself step outside to indulge. I'd also completely given up smoking at work. When The Other Half and I patched things up, I kept up a bit of a charade of still being a non-smoker. I'd sneak one in the morning, one before lunch, one after lunch, and one before I went home. Then, I'd sneak a few when he was gone. Then finally, I just started smoking them in the evening or when we went out.

I never reverted to smoking at work. I even cut out all daytime smoking entirely (no more sneaks), at least on weekdays. But my new openness with evening and "going out" smoking grew to a nearly regular habit again. Over the last several months, The Other Half and I have been toying with the idea of quitting for real and for good for quite a while. So around Thanksgiving, I set the date: January 3, 2011. And it has come to pass. Since I don't usually smoke in the daytime, this little experiment is really only a few hours old. But so far, so good.

One thing I'm pretty sure of is that I'm not addicted to smoking. After all, I go through an entire workday, and occasionally after-work events with no craving whatsoever. My behavior was all related to time and place. When I got home--provided there was no one there but "us"--I had a smoke. Every hour or so in the evening, I'd have a smoke. If we go out to a casino. . .boy, howdy. . .we smoke. But I've been doing it inside a set of rules I pretty much set up myself, and I really haven't strayed. So, I'm fairly confident I can do this.

So far, the problem is habit. I'm so used to going outside to light up at some point, that I keep wanting to go outside. It isn't even really a smoking craving, as sort of a muscle memory or something.  I couldn't tell you what I ever got out of smoking. It's not exactly a buzz or a high. I would light up and go ahhhh after the first one of the evening, but I couldn't articulate that ahhhh if you put a gun to my head.  And I'm betting most other smokers couldn't either.  But we'd have no problem giving you a list of the bad things about smoking.

That would be (in no particular order): a vague sense of shame, smelly clothes and fingers, stained teeth, a phlegmy cough, $5 - $7 per pack cost, and health paranoia. Here's hoping that my next report on resolutions points to the success of this (and my other 1-1/2 resolutions). Wish me luck!

Pet Peeve: Fat Ads Everywhere

Arrrgh! I know I could stand to lose a few pounds. In fact, I've been on a diet--Atkins, to be exact--since September. I've even lost 20 pounds, from 180 to 160. For a 5' 8-1/2" guy (don't forget the 1/2"!), that ain't so bad.

But this is a new year, even though the first month of it has almost passed us by. So web ads are everywhere reminding us that we are big fat pigs. I know! Don't remind me!

I see this flab, and these stretch-marked bellies everywhere I go on the internets! Make it stop!

Oh, and now I've done it to you. . . My bad.

Realistic New Year's Resolutions

Here's a song I found while surfing the YouTubes, from a comedy song duo named Rhett & Link. Pretty funny stuff, and accurate too. We may make New Year's resolutions, but come mid-February (at the latest), they seem sort of pointless, don't they? You think "New Year's?" It's Valentine's Day! I want a cookie!

Just watch.