Project 190: Update 5

  Weight (2024-01-28)  221.2 lbs

Change since last week:  +2.4 lbs

Change since January 1st:  -1.8 lbs

And... a step back.  Annoying.  Need to get more serious.  I'm hoping by recording these publicly, it will encourage me to get more serious.  

Rush Retrospective: Album 01- Rush

 

Album:  Rush

Year Released:   1974

Lineup:  

• Geddy Lee – lead vocals, bass guitar
• Alex Lifeson – guitar, backing vocals
• John Rutsey – drums, percussion, backing vocals

Overall Thoughts:

Rush is well known as straddling the line between Progressive Rock and Hard Rock.  But what if they were a Blues Band? 

Their first album (and only one without Neil Peart) is a different sound.  The drums are more basic (Rutsey is not a bad drummer by any means, but Peart added several more dimensions to the band), and the lyrics are far from the themes they would be known for.  ("Need Some Love" and "Take A Friend" would both fit in a ZZTop album)

But the framework of Rush's sound are there from the beginning.  Lifeson's guitar work is excellent, and so is Geddy Lee's bass and distinctive voice.  And when the band moves away from songs about hooking up, they show some clever lyrics.

"Working Man" is the big hit that launched their careers, and it remains a great song.  It's an anthem for a Blue-Collar worker, and right away you can see the appeal.

The surprise song to me was "Here Again"- it could have fit in perfectly with other Blues-Rock bands like Cream or Derek and the Dominos.  

Their first album is a good album- you can hear the tools.  But adding Neil Peart changed their direction, and it shows.

Ranking of Rush Albums (adding as more albums are reviewed):

1. Rush

Top 10 Rush Songs (adding as more albums are reviewed):

1. "Working Man", Rush
2. "Here Again", Rush
3. "Finding My Way", Rush
4. "Before and After", Rush
5. "In the Mood", Rush
6. "What You're Doing", Rush
7. "Take A Friend", Rush
8. "Need Some Love", Rush
9.  
10.  

Rush Retrospective: Prologue

 A little project I'm starting for 2024...

Rush is my favorite band to listen to.  I'm a fan, but I'm nowhere near their biggest fan (my wife might be in the running for that title).  

In fact, on the R40 DVD, for a couple of seconds on the Tom Sawyer song, the camera does a crowd shot and you can catch us (Katie is jamming the air guitar; I'm the goofball standing next to here)

Lately I've been on a kick of listening to their music- and reading My Effin' Life, Geddy Lee's biography.

So I'm going to do a Rush Retrospective.  Go through their catalogue, album by album, give my (amateurish) thoughts on the songs, and rank the albums and songs.

Besides, what else am I going to do on this blog- talk about the Presidential Election?

Coming up soon- their Debut Album.  

Project 190: Update 4

 Weight (2024-01-21)  218.8 lbs

Change since last week:  -0.2 lbs

Change since January 1st:  -4.2 lbs

Nice recovery after a bad step mid-week.

One of the rules I'm trying to follow is to only eat in a certain timeframe:  8AM-6PM.  It's too easy for me to eat late night.  

Yesterday I had a big lunch and didn't get home until after 8PM, so I skipped dinner entirely.  Annoying, but tolerable. 

Project 190: Update 3.5

Current Weight:  222.4 lbs.

Two observations from yesterday:

1)  'Hangry' is a real thing.  I often act stressed at work but I normally keep it in check.  Yesterday I really was stressed and I responded by eating constantly.

2)  Bread seems to be my weakness- when I eat bread (not necessarily carbs, but specifically breads and pasta), my weight skyrockets.

Knowing may not be half the battle- but it's a good first step.  Time to pick myself up and continue.

Project 190: Update 3

Weight (2024-01-08)  219.0 lbs

Change since last week:  +0.2 lbs

Change since January 1st:  -4.0 lbs

I did botch things on Friday- went out when I was starving, and ate an entire 12" pizza.  Not too proud of that.  

On the other hand, I didn't feel great after eating- in fact, I felt miserable.  So my theory is that I'm training my body to appreciate healthier foods and reject unhealthier foods.

It's a marathon, not a sprint.  I'm not doing this to get to a certain rate by a certain date- it's to get healthier for the rest of my life.

But I need someone to smack my hands when I grab a third slice of pizza.

2023-2024 NFL Playoffs Support Rankings

The NFL Playoffs for Super Bowl LVIII start tomorrow.  I'm ranking the 14 playoff teams by two methods- are they likely to win the Super Bowl, and who I want to win the Super Bowl.

The team I want to win and the team I think will win

Let's do the 'likely to win' rating first:

1. San Francisco 49ers
2. Baltimore Ravens
3. Dallas Cowboys
4. Kansas City Chiefs
5. Philadelphia Eagles
6. Cleveland Browns
7. Detroit Lions
8. Buffalo Bills
9. Los Angeles Rams
10. Miami Dolphis
11. Houston Texans
12. Green Bay Packers
13. Pittsburgh Steelers
14. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

There are three franchises that are considered 'cursed'- Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, and Detroit Lions- and with their track record, I tend to always expect something bad to happen to them.  So I've lowered their rankings by 3-5 spots.

The 49ers and the Ravens are the best teams this year.  But it's been a weird year- no one has been consistently great.  I could see just about any team get hot and be in the Super Bowl.

On the 'want to win' ranking, I'm in a quandry.  I used to be a Browns fan.  But when they paid a quarter billion dollars for DeShaun Watson, I broke with them completely.  It managed to be a bad football move and offensive.  The city has had to deal with a shitty organization forever- you'd think that at least they wouldn't get behind a serial sexual predator.  So I broke with them.

Naturally, they had a great year- but not with Watson.  He was injured (and didn't play that well).  Instead, the Browns picked up Joe Flacco from retirement- and he's been great for the team.  

So, rooting for the Browns isn't rooting for Watson... but it is rooting for the organization that brought in Watson.  Ugh.

My ranking for who I want to win:

1. Buffalo Bills
2. Detroit Lions (then a gap)
3. Cleveland Browns (then a gap)
4. Kansas City Chiefs (lower because they won it last year)
5. Houston Texans
6. Pittsburgh Steelers
7. Los Angeles Rams (not a fan of LA teams, but they are playing well)
8. San Francisco 49ers
9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (solely for Baker Mayfield)
10. Green Bay Packers
11. Dallas Cowboys 
12. Philadelphia Eagles
13. Miami Dolphins (then a GIANT gap)
14. Baltimore Ravens (still bitter...)

Final note:  I've gone from being a fan of the Cleveland Browns to being a fan of the Buffalo Bills.  If the Browns win and the Bills lose in a heartbreaking fashion, the evidence that I myself am the sports curse will be damned strong...

Ahsoka Thoughts

 Finished up 'Ahsoka', season 1, on Disney+.

Overall:  I liked it, but you do need some preparation.  And I fear it opened questions that will not be answered.

Spoiler Thoughts after the break:

Project 190: 2024 Update 2

 Weight (2024-01-08)  218.8 lbs

Change since last week:  -4.2 lbs

Change since January 1st:  -4.2 lbs

This is a good start, but it's a little unfair.  I ate a ton on December 31st so January 1st was artificially high.

I'm keeping track of the weight to monitor my progress, but the more important issue is that I am restarting healthier eating habits.  Fewer snacks (and healthier; instead of cookies, fruit), and eating more meals that are salads or vegetables.  

And potatoes; lots of potatoes.  Baked potatoes, no oil, no butter, almost no salt.  I do put vingear on for flavor.  For the cold winter months, potatoes are great and healthy.

My big question is if I need to get rid of the frozen fruit smoothies.  In the summer, I have them 2-3 times a week.  It's frozen fruit, a little peanut butter, almond milk, and some instant breakfast mix.  I'm not sure if this works with my diet.  When I lost weight in the past, I didn't have any.  At the moment, I have enough milk and fruit to make several more.  I will monitor (health and weight) and decide if I should keep them up.

Just the first step of a long journey.

MLB 2023 Offseason

Major League Baseball has picked a direction and doubled down on it this offseason.

Look at the free agent signings this winter:

- Shohei Ohtani signed with the Dodgers for a ten year contract with $700 million

- Yoshinobu Yamamoto also signed with the Dodgers for a 12 year contract worth $325 million

- Aaron Nola signed a 7 year contract with $172 million, but for the Philadelphia Phillies

The $700,000,000.00 man

So the 2024 baseball salaries  have six teams with a payroll of over $194 million... and seven teams with a payroll of under $71 million.  The payroll disparity between the teams with the highest salaries and the lowest salaries have never been higher.

Baseball could do something about this- put in a salary cap and floor, change the free agent structure, create revenue sharing on the local tv contracts.  It might be difficult getting it past the Union, but it's feasible.  Baseball has chosen not to do so.  They want the biggest markets to spend as much as possible.

To avoid having the fans of the smaller markets (with lower payrolls) give up entirely, they've increased the number of teams in the playoffs- so there's a chance the small market teams like Tampa or Kansas City could make the playoffs and get hot.  The larger markets- the Yankees and the Dodgers- will be in the playoffs almost every year.  But the smaller markets might get in, and once the playoffs start... who knows?

I used to get upset about- and as a fan of the Cleveland Guardians, it bothers me that the team I root for is priced out of the free agent market.  But this is the system major league baseball wants.  I can either stop being a fan or accept it.  I'm nowhere near the baseball fan I used to be, but I still follow the sport for the moment.

My big question is this; I know this is what baseball wants- but is it good for the sport to have such a huge disparity?

There was a similar period in baseball before.  Look at these World Series:

• 1958: New York Yankees def. Milwaukee Braves
• 1957: Milwaukee Braves def. New York Yankees
• 1956: New York Yankees def. Brooklyn Dodgers
• 1955: Brooklyn Dodgers def. New York Yankees
• 1954: New York Giants def. Cleveland Indians
• 1953: New York Yankees def. Brooklyn Dodgers
• 1952: New York Yankees def. Brooklyn Dodgers
• 1951: New York Yankees def. New York Giants
• 1950: New York Yankees def. Philadelphia Phillies
• 1949: New York Yankees def. Brooklyn Dodgers

In a ten year period, three teams took up 17 of the 20 spots in the World Series.  If you were a fan of the Yankees, Dodgers, or Giants, this was an awesome era of baseball.  If you rooted for any other team... was this fun?  

I'm not upset about this decision.  But it is a decision by baseball to encourage a few superteams.  They seem to think this is a good thing for the sport.  

I remain skeptical.

Project 190: 2024 update 1

 Weight (2024-01-01):  223.0 pounds

Yep, new year, new resolution-  I haven't been happy with how I've been feeling for the past few months, and I've gotten away from the principles and ideas that I did follow when I was healthier.  I waited until after the holidays and now I'm back on a plan on eating healthy.  

And, since I'm not sure who reads my blog besides a couple of close friends and some bots (Hi, bots!), I plan on using this site as a journal for this journey.  I'll put the progress up here on a weekly basis - I figure if it put it out for the world to see, it'll keep me on the path.

I'm keeping track of the weight... well, I'm an engineer.  I measure things and it gives me metrics to follow and a goal to shoot for.  I've said for years that if I ever dropped below 190 pounds I'd get a tattoo (slight problem; I still have no idea what tattoo I would want to get).  Let's see how close I can get.

I'm not calling this a diet, because my goal is to eat healthier on a permanent basis.  When I lost 30 pounds before, I kept it off for a long time because it wasn't so much a case of depriving myself as much as learning to enjoy healthier foods.  But over time, I've slipped; 223 is the highest I've been in years.  So, back to level 1 on this journey.  

Cheers!

(I'll still be using this blog for other thoughts; another resolution is to post more often.)