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30 Day Project Update

Life

My first 30 Day Project for the month of February has been to work my way up to doing 100 pushups in a single set. At the end of January, I did a test to find my baseline, my starting point. I could do 20 pushups, but there was no way 21 would happen.

My plan, based purely on the math, was to start from there, doing 5 sets in the morning and 5 more at night, adding a set number to each set every day. That lasted a day.

The problem with starting a new exercise routine at my max level and progressing from there is the pain. Holy wow, that hurt on the second day. I was doing sets of 5, then. Ow.

The new plan has worked much better. It is an aggressive, self-correcting progression that automatically correct for over-extending myself.

I do 5 sets. Each set is based on the maximum set in my previous session. My first set is half of my max. The next 3 sets are 3/4 of my max, and the final set ends when my abs are cramping and I want to cry, establishing my max for the next session. If I over-extended myself in the previous session, this set either shrinks or stays the same. If the final set stagnates for a couple of days, I take a day off to rest. When I come back, the sets improve drastically.

How well has this worked? Last night, at the halfway point for the month, I ended with a set of 75 pushups and noticable muscle growth. Next month, I’m doing situps and I will be using the same plan.

Plan #2 is also coming along well. Details in 2 weeks.

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-04-24

Misc

  • Watching Gamers:Dorkness Rising #
  • Charisma? Weee! #
  • Tweeting a dork movie? I'm a bit of a geek. #
  • We just met and the first thing you do, after boinking a stranger in the presence of the king, is to murder a peasant? #
  • Every movie needs a PvN interlude. #
  • Everything's better with pirates. #
  • Waffles? Recognize. #
  • The Spatula of Purity shall scramble the eggs of your malfeasance. #
  • Checkout clerks licking their fingers to separate bags or count change is gross. #
  • Watching Sparkles the Vampire, Part 2: Bella's Moodswing. #twilight #
  • @penfed was a waste of money. $20 down the drain to join, wouldn't give a worthwhile limit, so I can't transfer a balance. #
  • @JAlanGrey It's pretty lame. The first one was ok. This one didn't improve on the original. in reply to JAlanGrey #
  • RT @tferriss: Are you taking snake oil? Beautiful data visualization of scientific evidence for popular supplements: http://ping.fm/pqaDi #
  • Don't need more shelves, more storage, more organization. Just need less stuff. #
  • @BeatingBroke is hosting the Festival of Frugality #226 http://su.pr/80Osvn #
  • RT @tferriss: Cool. RT @cjbruce link directly to a time in a YouTube video by adding #t 2m50s to end of the URL (change the time). #
  • RT @tferriss: From learning shorthand to fast mental math – The Mentat Wiki: http://ping.fm/fFbhJ #
  • RT @wisebread: How rich are you? Check out this list (It may shock you!!!) http://www.globalrichlist.com/ #
  • RT @tferriss: RT @aysegul_c free alternative to RosettS: livemocha.com for classes, forvo.com for pronunc., lang8.com for writing correction #
  • Childish isn't an insult. http://su.pr/ABUziY #
  • Canceled the Dish tonight. #

Fighting Fair

Relationships

"MARRIAGE AND PISTOL LICENSE" office...
Image via Wikipedia

This was a guest post on another site early last year.

Everyone, at times, has disagreements. How boring would life be if everyone agreed all of the time? How you handle those disagreements may mean disaster.

This is particularly true when you are arguing with your spouse. You spend most non-working moments with this one person, this wonderful, loving, infuriating person. Your emotions will naturally run high while discussing the things you care most about with the person you care most about. Arguments are not only natural, but inevitable.

How do you have an argument with someone you love without lasting resentment?

You have to argue fairly. There are a few principles to remember during an argument.

  • When your partner is talking, your job is to listen with all of your energy. You are not interrupting. Your are not planning your rebuttal while waiting for your turn to talk. Your are listening, nothing else. If you don’t listen, you can’t understand. If you don’t understand, you can’t find a resolution.
  • Remember that your partner cares. If she didn’t care, she wouldn’t feel so strongly about the argument. This isn’t a war, just an argument. She still wants to spend the rest of her life with you. Keeping this in mind will change the entire tone of the argument into a positive interaction. You will still disagree, but you will be looking for a solution together, instead of finding a “win” at any cost.
  • Search for the best intent. Remember #2? There is an incredibly good chance that, if there are two ways to interpret something your partner has said–a good way and a bad way–your partner probably meant the good way. Even if you are wrong, it is far better to err on the side of resolution than the side of antagonism.
  • When your partner has finished speaking, it’s still not your turn to argue. Your job now is to repeat your understanding of the issue, without worrying about problem-solving. Before you can refute the argument–or even establish your disagreement–you have to know that you understand her position and she has to know that you do. Without understanding, there can be no path to resolution that doesn’t cause resentment. If you have too much resentment, you won’t have a marriage.

After all of this, it will finally be your turn to make your point. Hopefully, your partner will be following the same rules so you can solve your problems together, without learning to hate each other.

Arguments in your marriage aren’t–or shouldn’t be–intended to draw blood. Fights happen. If your goal is to win at any cost, you will both lose, possibly everything.

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Over-scheduled

Life

Busy Icon
Image via Wikipedia

Wow. I’m having a hard time believing it’s August already.  Every year seems to slip by a little faster, but this summer has truly flown by, somehow without anything to show for it.   I haven’t gotten any of the yard work or household projects finished.   I’ve taken on so much that I can’t do anything but the side hustles.

This summer, I’ve been busy.  I teach classes one Saturday each month, I’ve picked up a couple of web design jobs,  I’m the webmaster for a nonprofit, and I’ve taken on an affiliate marketing project.    Oh, and I can’t forget my 50-hour-per-week day job or the ebook I’ve promised to help prep and launch.  With all of these projects, my cash flow situation is better than its been in a while, but my time is seriously crunched.

That’s not even counting the family activities.  We’ve had swimming lessons, birthday parties and family reunions…all in the last month.

Our family is seriously over-scheduled.  It seems like there is no downtime, which is a situation I’ve always tried to avoid in the past.   Somehow, I’ve lost the ability to say “no”.   Because of that, I’m now left with the impossible task of trying to scale back.  While I can’t abandon my commitments, I need to work towards resolving them all and not taking on more.

[ad name=”inlineleft”]It’s time to scale back through attrition.   In a month or two, I should be down to a sane schedule again, and able to tackle the things I really want to do that have been indefinitely delayed.

Everybody takes on too much at times.  How do you avoid over-committing?

  • Learn to say no. It is okay to refuse to take on more projects.   You probably aren’t the first person to turn down the project and you probably won’t be the last.  Don’t assume its your responsibility.  It is fine to leave it for someone else.
  • Prioritize. Don’t prioritize your projects, prioritize yourself.  Know what you need to accomplish.  Know what you want to accomplish.  Deny the things that other people want you to accomplish if the new tasks don’t fall into the first two categories.   You need to feed your family.  You need to pay your bills.  You don’t need to take on the soccer team’s newsletter or volunteer to make 1000 cupcakes for some fundraiser.
  • Know your commitments. Most people overestimate how much available time they have while underestimating how long a new project will take.  This leaves them double-booked.  Take a realistic look at what you are currently doing, even if it means keeping a log of your day for a few weeks.  You’ll probably be surprised by what you are already doing.
  • Stay organized. If you aren’t keeping track of what you need to do, you’ll end up running around crazy trying to get it all done.  Keep a calendar and leave yourself notes.    I get daily reminders of what is on my Google calendar each morning.
  • Know your limitations. If you aren’t technical, don’t volunteer to build a website.  Do your strengths, let someone else deal with the things that are your weaknesses.

It’s entirely too easy to do too much.  When every moment of your day has two of more things that need to be done, you’ll do them all poorly.  How do you avoid taking on too much?

The Magic Toilet

Finance

Funny Toilet #1
Image by tokyofortwo via Flickr

My toilet is saving me $1200.

For a long time, my toilet ran.  It was a nearly steady stream of money slipping down the drain.  I knew that replacing the flapper was a quick job, but it was easy to ignore.  If I wasn’t in the bathroom, I couldn’t hear it.  If I was in the bathroom, I was otherwise occupied.

When I finally got sick of it, I started researching how to fix a running toilet because I had never done it before.  I found the HydroRight Dual-Flush Converter.  It’s the magical push-button, two-stage flusher.   Yes, science fiction has taken over my bathroom.   Or at least my toilet.

I bought the dual-flush converter, which replaces the flusher and the flapper.  It has two buttons, which each use different amounts of water, depending on what you need it to do.   I’m sure there’s a poop joke in there somewhere, but I’m pretending to have too much class to make it.

I also bought the matching fill valve.  This lets you set how much water is allowed into the tank much better than just putting a brick in the tank.   It’s a much faster fill and has a pressure nozzle that lies on the bottom of the tank.  Every time you flush, it cleans the inside of the tank.  Before I put it in, it had been at least 5 years since I had opened the tank.  It was black.  Two weeks later, it was white again.  I wouldn’t want to eat off of it, or drink the water, but it was a definite improvement.

Installation would have been easier if the calcium buildup hadn’t welded the flush handle to the tank.   That’s what reciprocating saws are for, though.  That, and scaring my wife with the idea of replacing the toilet.   Once the handle was off, it took 15 minutes to install.

“Wow”, you say?  “Where’s the $1200”, you say?  We’ve had this setup, which cost $35.42, since June 8th, 2010.   It’s now September.   That’s summer.  We’ve watered both the lawn and the garden and our quarterly water bill has gone down $30, almost paying for the poo-gadget already.   $30 X 4 = $120 per year, or $1200 over 10 years.

Yes, it will take a decade, but my toilet is saving me $1200.

Shaving for Real

Life

me getting ready to shave.
Image via Wikipedia

When you look at a safety razor, you see the mostly-unguarded blade.  When you look in the mirror, you see your throat and you see this blade–by definition, razor-sharp–and you realize that you are about to put a knife to your own throat.   Why?

Because shaving sucks.

For my 18th birthday, I received 2 Mach3 razors.  I used them  for more than 10 years.  It certainly beat disposable Bics, but not by much.

I liked it, but only because I didn’t have anything good to compare it to.

I’ve start using an old-fashioned safety razor.   Now, I can shave smoother and with less irritation than I ever could with a modern razor and it only takes a few extra minutes.

Why would you want to abandon modern technology to put a blade against your jugular?

Modernization isn’t always an improvement.  There is something about reaching back in time a couple of generations and doing things, not only the way they used to be done, but the way they should be done.  It’s the same feeling I get handling an old rifle or sitting in an antique car.

A real shave is 15 minutes of peace and focus. Lock the kids out of the bathroom and focus on the task at hand.  The concentration will usually give you a chance to forget about the rest of the world for just a few minutes.  This is pure meditation.

As a benefit, when you’re done, you feel refreshed and well-groomed.  It feels good to take care of yourself.

What do you need to shave like a real man?

Start slow and ease your way into it.  Put a cup in the bathroom. If you shave with a modern razor, the easiest way to improve your shave is to use hot water.      Put your shaving cream in the cup and add a bit of hot water.   Mix that up and use it to shave.  The hot foam will do wonders for your skin and the closeness of your shave.   I did that and immediately start trolling antique stores looking for a good, cheap shaving brush.

A brush makes applying your shaving cream a small pleasure. Spreading the hot foam on your face with a brush gets in on all sides of each hair, softening it for the razor.   Ideally, you want a badger-hair brush, but I’ve been perfectly happy with boar hair.   I found one at an antique store for $5.

Shortly after acquiring my antique shaving brush, I decided to go even older-school and upgraded to an old-fashioned safety razor.   I took my life, and my life-blood, in my own hands to shave for real.  I went with a  Merkur 23C Long Handle Safety Razor.   It’s a basic razor with a longer handle, because I have large hands and long fingers.   Don’t worry about getting an adjustable razor.  There’s no point.   It cost $29 at West Coast Shaving*.

You will need blades for the razor.  West Coast Shaving sells a variety pack of 45 blades for $15.    Try them all and stick with the one that works best for your facial hair.   I tend to change blades every 4-5 shaves.   More than that, and they get a bit dull and make me bleed.  I try to avoid bleeding.
Now that you’ve got a brush, a razor, and blades, it’s time to get rid of the worthless can of shaving foam. Shaving soap works much better.    You can get 3 discs of Col. Conk’s soap for $15, and they will last 6 months each, easily.    They are almost exactly the same diameter as a regular coffee cup, so guess what?  Just drop it in your cup.
That’s everything you need to shave for just $65, and of that only the blades and soap are recurring costs.  Your razor and brush will last forever.   I figure it costs me about $1 per month to shave, now.

How do you avoid killing yourself while getting ready for work?

It’s all a matter of technique.

  1. Dampen your cheeks with hot water to soften the hair.  I prefer to shave immediately after I shower.
  2. Run hot water over your brush.  Get it thoroughly soaked, then shake off the excess water.  You want it hot and wet, but not dripping.
  3. Briskly brush the soap disk until the brush picks up as much soap as it can.   It may or may not form a lather in the cup.
  4. Put the brush on your face and whisk it around.   I use a quick circular motion to build up a lather on my cheeks.   This works the hot soap into each hair.   Keep brushing it onto your face until it forms peaks.
  5. Pick up your razor.   I run it under some hot water, just so the cold metal isn’t a shock after the hot foam.   From here, you need your full attention on what you are doing.
  6. Shave.

When you are shaving there are a few things to keep in mind.

  • Take your time.
  • Never, ever, ever, ever turn the blade while it is in contact with your face.  You will bleed.   Once the blade touches your face, it goes in a straight line.
  • Keep the edge of the blade as close to parallel with your face as possible.
  • The goal is hair reduction, not removal.

I make 4 passes when I shave.  First, I shave from the top down.   Next, from the back towards my nose and mouth.   Then, from the front to the back.  Finally, I shave against the grain from the bottom to the top.    This results in a closer shave than anything I’ve ever had with a modern razor.

When I think I’m done, I dip my fingers in some warm water and run them around my face, in all possible directions, to see if I missed a spot.

When the hair is gone, wipe of the remaining cream and splash cold water every place the razor touched.   This closes the pores and will help prevent infections and razor bumps.

The last step is aftershave.    Aftershave disinfects your face.   It also prevents infections and makes you stink nice.

There you have it: the secret to a baby-butt-smooth shave and 10-20 minutes of masculine meditation.   If you are looking for a present for someone, you could do a lot worse than a real razor set.

*I have absolutely no affiliation with WCS.  I am just very happy with the service and the product.