Its coming up on a year since I've started on the "lifestyle" change. I can't say that I kept to it perfectly. In fact from about February from July or so, I had slipped. I wasn't really bad, but I wasn't being really good either. I had let the stress of work and the biggest project we had ever done. So grapes gave way to M&Ms. Well as the sugar intake went higher, the flushing side affect of Advicor got bad. Well I have had enough of it. So I've started back on my routine of exercise and health food. I don't want to say diet because it has a very temporary connotations to it. I really do want it to be a life style change. So I’ve been studying. I came across this great article in men’s health about the top ten new things you can do to keep your heart health. Check it Out

So as I mentioned I am working at exercising more and eating healthy. However I have asthma, allergy based and exercise-induced asthma. So it was kind of a catch 22, I needed to exercise to get healthy, but if I exercise I have an asthma attack. Well that doesn't sound like much fun does it. Well, I started slowly. Lifting weights, with just some dumbells and work up from there. Men's Health again has a good article on how to exercise when you have exercise-induced asthma.

Its dark when I leave the house and walk to the train this morning. I leave the house at 6am this morning to catch the train to get me to work before 8:00am. This isn't so much for productivity reasons as it is for political ones. Ah, office politics. If we could live in that utopia of where being a productive knowledgable worker, allows you to work the times you are most comfortable and productive.  But I don't think anyone really gets that. Its the worker bee's pipedream. So I'm on the early train. It leaves the station and it is still dark outside. The train car is quiet with the exception of the air conditioning. Most people are either asleep or snoozing.  No snorers this morning so its fairly quiet. I rarely sleep on the train. In fact I rarely sleep in any moving vehicle, I've always loved seeing the road go by. In this quiet sleepiness that is the train car, I'm reading and every once in a while looking out the window. We get about half way to Union station and as I look out the window I see the sun starting to rise. However heavy clouds are infront of the sun so it shines through them with beautiful purples and reds and oranges. In my brain the phrase instantly flashes:

"Red Sky by Morning, Sailor take Warning, Red Sky by Night Sailor's Delight"

Riding in the upper deck of the train car, I'm about ten feet above the tracks, and as we cross the San Gabriel River the train is 20 feet above the road, we have a perfectly unobstructed view of the whole valley. The whole sky is ablaze. I think, "I wish I had my camera" knowing that even if I did, taking a low light shot from a moving train just won't come out like I see it. Red Sky by Morning, Sailor take Warning Red Sky by Night Sailor's Delight.

Don't run too quickly.... I thought this was just too fun, had to share.

I know that the photoblog has been slipping a little bit. The fact that I only posted on picture in September is proof of that. However I wanted to let you know it is back on track, there while be a new photo everyday for the next two weeks. So please check it out and don't be afraid to leave a comment or two.

  When you're a kid you know who your enemies are. It's the kid in your class you don't get along with class and any one deemed a "bad guy". However as you get older, who your enemies are gets a little blurry, but there is one guy I know for sure is my enemy. The Ice Cream Man! Oh yes, don't be fooled by his innocent looking brightly colored, cartoon wrapped wares, he is evil, pure evil. Like McDonald's he markets to children. Here's what happened, once someone bought the Little Boy an ice cream from The Ice Cream Man, or Dr. Evil as he is referred to around here, we've also suggested that his parents were never married. Anyhow like feeding a stray animal it only takes once for it to become a habit. Now when we here "pop goes the weasel" the whole house goes to defcon 5, because the Little Boy hits the door at about 300 mph. It's amazing and sad how Little Boy reacts to that song. Its like pavlov's dog meets a crack addict. The crazed look in his eye, the way he runs so fast his feet can't say underneath him. It so scary to see. You don't dare stand in his way, getting hit by a 70lbs blur in the stomach at 300 mph will land you in the hospital. So if it isn't bad enough that Dr. Evil sales sugar from a van he has recently started selling toys as well. Does he have no soul!

So tonight, I was watching TV and pretending that it was interesting, which it wasn't when the Little Boy came in to our room and asked, "have you seem my ttoodoolllee(something completely unintelligible)?". To which I replied "seen your what?" a little louder he says "have you seem my ttoodoollee?" Well I still don't really understand what he was asking me for so I say "I don't understand what you are asking", so at almost a yell he says "have you seem my ttoodoollee?", to which I reply, in a firm but calm voice, "We don't yell, I don't know where it is but I will help you look". Ten minutes later, three adults are search the house for "ttoodoolee", As the Little Boy is  muttering "my only toy" as he search through one of his two large toy boxes. My Beautiful Wife finally finds it and I realize that I had no idea what I was looking for!

Two days ago I learned that Writely was now open to all GMail users. I've had a gmail account now for a little over two years, and I know use it as my primary email address. I don't have a email client installed on my computer. I've gotten use to the idea of the applications I need and want to use being online (I think being a web developer helps with this). About two months ago I started using Google Spreadsheet, and I have to say that it is amazing. I am so impressed with all that I can do with it. I track data of my rides, and of course I use Google Earth to help me figure out my distance and elevation changes.  I schedule things in Google Calendar, and I write my resume and other inportant documents in Writely. Google earth being the exception, the rest of the applications are all online. No installs. So now I have my data, wherever I want it, no matter what computer I'm on. Mac or PC, Home or Work its there. So again I think, do I need Microsoft Office?

Well yes and no. For work a standardize Office Suite is needed. Besides doing things in anything other than MS Word or Excel seems to melts some peoples brains. The concept that a spreadsheet, or a .doc can be created in something other than a Microsoft product send them ready for the EAP number. 

However for home, I only use the online application, it just make sense for me when I work on and from so many different machines. So heres a quick little rundown of the online equivalents of the Microsoft Office Suite.

• Microsoft Word - Writely
• Microsoft Excel - Google Spreadsheet
• Microsoft Outlook - GMail , Google Calendar & Ta-da List
• Microsoft Messenger - Meebo
• Microsoft Publisher - Google Page Creator
• Microsoft PowerPoint - Still Looking
• Microsoft Visio - Gliffy

ZDNet has a great blog post on their picks for Office Suite Replacement Applications.

Happy Computing