Marshall Wolff/Metrowest Daily News staff

I was interviewed this past Friday for a series of articles in the Metrowest Daily News on rising fuel costs. The newspaper also sent a photographer to take some pictures of me getting ready for my bike commute.

My parents came up for Mother’s Day, and to visit my kids school (on Monday). We went out to the playground and we had a great chat while watching the kids play. I mentioned that I was interviewed for the paper, and being that today was Sunday it should probably be in it. Then we went out to Fresh City for dinner. After our meal we stopped by the little coffee house section, where they had the newspapers and took a look. Everyone was shocked when we realized, right there on the front page, was a big color picture of ME. The article continued on an inner page, and there was another picture of ME.

That was very exciting, so we went to Ben and Jerry’s to celebrate.

• Consumers shudder under fuel spike

Thanks go out to Aaron Wasserman for interviewing me and writing the article, Marshall Wolff for taking some great photos (including the one included here) and the Metrowest Daily News for publishing it.

Carl sent me this one:
Former Slacker: 7 Horrible Truths About Dieting and Exercise

Some highlights:

• Losing weight is hard — It’s hard work.
• Exercise is an inefficient way to lose weight. — You would have to run an extra 2.5 miles, almost 30 minutes, to burn off the 280 Calories found in one Snickers bar [ I burn 7 points per hour with high intensity exercise, a 2 oz. snickers bar is 7 points (1 hour), a king size 4 oz. is 13 points (2 hours) - Ben ]
• Fad diets all rely on denying yourself something — This leads to a feeling of deprivation, and the associated high failure rate — Just eat less food overall.
• You don’t have any genetic predisposition — Widespread obesity is a relatively recent phenomenon — You also don’t have a low metabolism — You just learned bad eating habits, and you’re more sedentary than your ancestors.

Read the whole posting

My buddy Google Reader sent me these great links today:

• Jon’s Blog: The Four Best Ways to Sit at Your Computer
  I’ve been thinking about bringing a yoga ball to work to sit on, except all my friends will make fun of me even more. You guys suck chat.
• CNET News.com: Gates keeps close eye on kids’ computer time
  My wife and I limit how much TV and computer time our kids get. We try to keep the TV between 30 and 60 minutes a day. Computer is usually about an hour a week for our older, nothing for the younger. Truthfully, we only let them watch that much TV because we need to get stuff done dangit! And when the TV is on they are focused on it, and not pouring out the legos and mixing them with playdough.

I’ve been having an issue with my hands getting really dry, I’ve only started noticing this the last couple winters. I think it may be due to the rise in popularity of anti-bacterial soap, that combined with the fact that I have to wash my hands so frequently. Last night I started to read the responses to this question:

Help my dry hands! | Ask MetaFilter

The amount of comments to this question were enormous, a lot of redundancy - “I know this has been said before, but I better say it again just in case you didn’t read it above.” Here’s what I learned:

• Keep hyrdrated - drink more water
• Consume more Omega-3s, tablespoon of flax seed oil per day (this reminds me that when we used to have a dog, we’d give him a fish oil pill daily to help keep his coat silky)
• Put lotion on where it’s needed, on the backs and knuckles of the hands - skip the palms and fingertips.
• Use some alternative lotions, more natural products or “goo” instead of lotion. Bag balm, Eucerin, oatmeal stuff, etc.
• Go to sleep with lotion on, perhaps even with gloves on
• Use milder soap/cleanser (less harsh, moisturizing, baby soap, shower gel), stay away from heavy-duty anti-bacterial stuff or anything with alcohol

The comments I really didn’t like were things like:

• See a psychologist about your OCD - too much handwashing. I’m sorry, but people like me (IE - with kids) don’t wash our hands for fun, we do it because we are hygienic. I wash my hands thoughouly with soap and water: after going to the bathroom, after changing a diaper, after working with food (like raw chicken or eggs, etc), after working with chemicals (cleaning solutions, gasoline, etc), after doing “dirty work” (lawn mowing, car repair, etc.), and before eating.
• Only wash your hands after using the bathroom, and only use a quick rinse without soap. Holy crap that’s disgusting. I’ve noticed this at the office - makes me feel like throwing up. I’ll never shake those people’s hands!

Here’s some links for you:

• Wikipedia: Hand washing - “To maintain good hygiene, hands should always be washed after using the toilet, changing a diaper or tending to someone who is sick; before eating; before handling or cooking food and after handling raw meat, fish or poultry. Conventionally, the use of soap and running water and the washing of all surfaces thoroughly, including under fingernails is seen as necessary. One should rub wet, soapy hands together outside the stream of running water for at least 20 seconds, before rinsing thoroughly and then drying with a clean or disposable towel. After drying a dry paper towel should be used to turn off water and open exit door. Moisturizing lotion is often recommended to keep the hands from drying out, should one’s hands require washing more than a few times per day. “
• WebMD: Search on Hand Washing - some good results like, “Many Skip Bathroom Hand Washing,” and, “2 Out of 3 Americans Don’t Wash Hands.” Gross!
• WebMD: Dry Skin and Itching

Weird Al rocks. But that’s not what this post is about. Its also not about the fact that I’m fat, which, at 11% body fat now - I’m officially not fat. About two years ago I weighed 205. I was officially ‘obese’ according to BMI. Over the course of 5 months, I went from obese, to overweight, to normal. Yay me. And my friends wonder why I put flax seed oil and beans in my oatmeal (and bike 3,000 miles a year). Here’s all about fat:

• WebMD - Types of Fats
• Good Fat, Bad Fat: The Facts About Omega-3

Saturated Fats
Solid at room temperature, raise bad cholesterol. Red meat, milk/dairy. Poultry is less saturated, fish has the lowest amount of saturated fat. Also found in coconut and palm oil (used in “non-dairy” stuff). Should account for no more than 10% of your daily calorie needs.

Hydrogenated - Trans Fat
This is where the saying, “fresh from our chemical laboratory direct to your home,” came from. This is where nice unsaturated fats are chemically altered (saturated with hydrogen) to be solid at room temperature. Increases the shelf life, raises bad cholesterol - as bad as saturated fats. You have absolutely no need for this, none at all, zippo, stay away, warning warning, etc . - 0% of your calories.

Unsaturated Fats
Liquid at room temperature.

Monounsaturated are found in vegetable oils like canola, olive and peanut. May help lower bad cholesterol, while keeping the good cholesterol high. Omega 9 (oleonic acid) is found in olive oil, and is a good replacement for Omega 6. Up to 20% of calorie needs.

Polyunsaturated fats are found in vegetable oils like safflower, sunflower and corn, and in seafood. Decreases both good and bad cholesterol. Omega 3 are heart and brain healthy polys, walnuts, coldwater fish, flaxseed, broccoli, cauliflower, cantaloupe, kidney beans, spinach. Omega 6 can have a negative effect when not balanced with Omega 3s - eggs, poultry, cereals, veg oil, baked goods, margarine - but they are essential. No more than 10% of calorie needs.

Total Fat
The amount of fat (all types) in your diet as a percentage of calories, should be 20 to 35%.

So, eat healthy please. Exercise. You can enjoy your food without it killing you. You may need to re-train your taste buds a little, but eating good just makes you feel so good.