So I found this, this morning and just had to share. It seems that the San Diego Zoo is taking a big step forward in the technology department. The Zoo now has it’s own podcast. Apparently it is a podcast of the audio tours of the park. Their site give great instructions on how to get started downloading their podcast.

I have to say I think this is great. I love that my iPod/MP3 enabled family can simply download the podcast and choose which things they’d like to see before we get there. The fact that it’s a podcast and educational makes it something you’d want  to download for your kids. Of course they also see it as a good way to get you to come back again and again.

iZoofari Tip:

After you download your desired Podcasts, create different tours, or playlists, from the individual episodes to load into your portable MP3 player. As we add more Zoo and Wild Animal Park iZoofari tours, you will be able to mix and match audio tracks into custom playlists, making each visit to the Zoo and Park a truly unique and enhanced experience!

We all know that dealing with telemarketers is a royal pain, they call in the middle of dinner, right after everyone is home and finally getting to spend sometime together.

Well, quite by accident last night we found the perfect way to deal with telemarketers. For some reason none of the adult type people at the house felt like answering the phone. So the Little Boy was allowed to do so. So he asks the person "What's your name?". Innocent enough, then as their conversation proceeded he told the person on the other end, "well, sometimes, sometimes, people pick their boogers and eat them, that happens sometimes." We were shocked, laughing and yet a little embarassed. So an adult took the phone from him and the person on the other end had hung up.  We laughed even harder.

We decided that from now on the Little Boy is handling all of the telemarketers.  If any of the adults answer the phone and it's a telemarketer, we will simply say, "Just a moment please, let me get you the person in charge" and then will hand the phone to the Little Boy.

Scott Hanselman has a good post on what the Differences between Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes. I know I found it informative.

So surfing digg.com this morning on the train (more about that in a minute), I came across a site that caught my attention. "CryptoKids", a set of cute cartoony animal pre-teens that happen to have Cryptography as a hobbie. In fact that is how the communicate with each other. We all know that 10 year olds need to encrypt messages to their friends so that the Evil Dr. Dad can't foil their plans to go to the mall. Any how, the whole name of this character set is "America's  CryptoKids, future Codemakers and Codebreakers.

While I think it is good for kids to learn cryptography, because in computer science and security it as absolutely necessary, I don't know if I want the NSA to be the ones to teach them. It seems like they are looking for recruites at childhood. I have to tell you, I'm not in any hurry for the Little Boy to grow up and work for the NSA.

Yesterday, one of our close family friend got married. My Beautiful Wife, my Sis and I drove to the apple valley for the big occasion.. I wasn’t sure what thing about a Friday night wedding, but it was really great. Actually when you think about it, it makes a lot of sense, because now you’ve squeezed one more day in to the honeymoon. The honeymoon is of course the prize the bride and groom receive for the planning and going though with the wedding. Because after two months of the planning, the details, menus, guest list, seating arrangements, you need a vacation, and why not take it with the person you just got married to with you. 

So I got off of work early got home and got ready. We knew it was going to b be a long drive so of course a stop at Starbucks was a must. So we hit a local Starbucks and hit the road. The Friday night traffic wasn’t too bad at all, mostly, because we had each other to talk with. We got lost once or twice, but all and all a successful drive out to the Apple Valley.

We got there a little early and I am glad we did. I was able to visit with Brides family, which was fantastic, I hadn’t seem them in years. We all grew up together so we all have these great stories about each other, some of which are even true. I got to meet the Bride’s Brothers Wife for the first time, a lovely woman that have the fire extinguishers ready thinking that my brother J was going to be there. (She’s heard the stories that were true).

The ceremony was tasteful, simple and beautiful. The Groom's best friend did the ceremony and it was wonderful, funny and heartfelt. It was like a friend giving his newly married friends some good advice on marriage. Also the ceremony was just about  30 minutes long. Just the right length, much shorter and you’d feel like you didn’t get your money’s worth and much longer and people are fainting in the wedding party. So no really America’s funniest video clips are coming from this wedding.

The Bride looked beautiful in her dress and the Groom was looking pretty hunky himself. They both just glowed with the love they have for each other. You know when people goes, “oh that couple is so cute!”, yeah, that is the Bride and Groom.  They are just a wonderful compliment to each other.

The reception again was just beautiful, very tasteful, simple and beautiful. Being that the Bride’s brother and I are both car buffs, we loved the old 20’s ford that was in the dining area. Everyone was taking pictures of each other, and of course of the Bride and Groom. (After all it is there day, they should have a few snapshots of the thing). One of the my favorite things is that the Bride and Groom would go to each table sit down and talk with everyone. It’s there day and they are going from table to table to make sure everyone is doing okay and having a good time. That is just how they are, very sweet and caring. So you know they are going to take good care of each other.

One of the funniest things was not something I personally saw, but my Beautiful Wife and Sis did. You see the reception was actually held at an old folks home. Any interesting venue for such an occasion granted, but it was quite lovely nonetheless. Anyhow, apparent this places had some recent plumbing issues and in the womens bathroom there was a sign to help prevent the issue. The sign clearly read “Please do not flush your fruit”. Apparently, there was enough of a problem that it required signage.

In the best wedding I’ve ever attended category(your own wedding doesn’t count in this one), theirs took the cake. The cake of course was gorgeous. I loved the music note decorations.

Well it was time to go home, so a stop by the Drive-Thru Victorville Starbucks and we headed home.  Not a bad Friday night, we did one Wedding and Two Starbucks.

So to get my triglycerides lower the doctor has me on a medicine called advicor, as well as diet and exercise. My Beautiful Wife wants me off this medicine as soon as possible. It has a laundry list of side effects. So if I am going to get off this medicine I need to focus on the diet and exercise part. The diet part is going good, I have a support system at work, of people who will slap me in the back of the head (I hate being slapped in the back of the head) and take away the donut, and then cross there arms and give me the, “We are very disappointed” look. Of course my Beautiful Wife has been just awesome, like I said early she is basically eating or not eating all of the same stuff I am. In fact yesterday we had a phone conversation about how much we both craved sugar, and a coke. We talked each other down. Having someone that is going through the same thing  you are and being able to talk with them about it is so helpful. So the diet part is going pretty well.

Well the exercise is the thing I need some work on. I really don’t like to exercise just  to exercise if you know what I mean. I love playing sports with the family. However I’ll never be a gym “person”. I’ve tried, I’ve joined a gym and figured that the amount of money I was paying each month would help me to go more often. I went three times that year. So I have to find something I love to do for exercise. Well, I love cycling, so I have started do that again. Again my Beautiful Wife being the amazingly supportive person she is, has bough me a new mountain bike. It’s really nice and lets me ride in a more upright position so my back doesn’t hurt so much. The bike I’ve had since I was 17 doesn’t fit my 32 year old, 225lb self as well as it fit 17 year old 165 lb self.

 This morning was the first of many morning rides to come. I got up and 4:30am  and finally talked myself in to getting dressed  around 4:45am and actually riding at about 5am. It was quite nice, riding down quiet streets, hearing the buzz of the tires against the asphalt and feeling the brisk fall morning air on my face. Being that this is the first ride I’ve done in a while I took it easy and decided to only go for a couple of miles and to say on well lit streets since I don’t have a light setup yet. It was a nice ride only has hard as I want to ride, I had to keep reminding myself that it was only me and there was no need to go faster, to just spin a good cadence and I get back home when I get there.

This whole life style change of diet and exercise is something I wanted to do but felt I didn’t have the time do do before the doctors visit, however after that doctors visit, I realized I didn’t have time not to. My family means to much to me not to do it.

Officially I started my new diet Saturday morning. Friday after finding out about the ultra high triglycerides thing, we did what anyone would do when faced with a complete dietary change, we went to Disneyland and had Fried Chicken and a Root Beer.  Next day it was oatmeal and water.

Well now I’ve not had a soda in 5 days, I’ve only had one cup of coffee and as little sugar as possible. Apparently with these dietary changes it’s not the third day that is the hardest it is the fifth. I’m sure I’ll say it is the sixth tomorrow, but for right now it is the fifth. However I kept at it with the water and that is the only thing I’ve bought from the vending machines here at work.

The guys here at work went out to lunch, and I stayed here and ate my Amy’s Vegetarian Lasgana. Another day in the datamines