Out Like a Lamb

Fresh tracks.

For some dumb reason, it's been hard for me to do much writing lately. At least anything beyond personal note taking. I've gotten a couple of hundred words written a few times, but nothing has really inspired or formed any kind of a hook for me to take off on. I've also been in more of an about state of things, which might create some fodder, but also increases my lack of patience for organizing my thoughts, but here I am giving it the old "college try".

March has been a busy/fast month as most months feel to be lately. It started with a ski trip to Colorado with my kids. This was the fifth year we've taken a trip, and this year didn't disappoint. We did one day at Arapahoe Basin, followed by a day off while a snowstorm moved through the mountains and then skied a second day at Breckenridge in several inches of pristine powder. 

The last couple of years skiing in Colorado, I'm finding I really need that first day to adjust to the altitude. The base of most of the hills is between 8,000 feet and 9,000 feet above sea level with peaks near 12,000. It's a bit of a difference from the ~700 feet above sea level where I spend most of my existence right now. Pausing to fully exhale and catch a fresh breath is a common occurrence. Also, I find that falling or doing things that get the heartrate up takes extra time to recover from. In some senses it's rather frustrating as I do have cardio as a regular part of my routine and I feel like I used to handle such situations better, but I guess it is what it is and won't keep me from going. 

Another interesting thing is that I'm now the slow skier of three of us. I tend to like to casually work my way down the hills, but also admit that I'm maybe a little more tentative than I should be when it comes to hitting powder moguls, etc. for the reasons listed above. It's not that I lag far behind, but it feels I'm a little less in the middle of the pack; especially when I eat it, which I try to minimize. Still, I did have a couple of falls. 

My most notable fall was after our late morning break/snack at Breck. I was feeling pretty spry after a cup of coffee and upped the intensity. I decided to follow my son on some tree-edges. I came out of one path into a mogul that gave me a little air (proud of my paper-thin vertical) but put me into the side of another mogul. What's the term? Arse over elbow? Anyway, after picking up myself, my skis and my dignity I met my kids at the mid-hill lift. Apparently, I was wearing a fair amount of powder on myself, queueing my kids into what happened. Oh well. I survived but pulled back a smidge the rest of the day. The only other time I seem to struggle is towards the end of the day when the edges get a little tricky to pick up and the terrain starts getting a little suspect after being heavily skied.

Outside of the skiing, we took the aforementioned off day to visit a hot spring and do some soaking in pools/tubs of various temperatures. The water was a little sulphur-y, fitting as the place was called Hot Sulphur Springs, but was nice to take some time and relax. We made it there early enough in the day that we had had our fill once the après ski folks started to show up and were able to make our way back to the condo in plenty of time. This was our second year staying in a ski condo. While convenient, I think most are in need of updates. However, we had a 100-foot walk to the chairlift at Breck from the condo and that's hard to beat for skiing. 

That is one of the neat parts about Breckenridge though. Ski access is well integrated with the town with several lifts and a gondola at your service. The ski area is also huge, uncompassing several peaks and there is terrain for everyone. The tops of the lifts can be a little crowded, but there's plenty of space once you get down the hill a little bit. The only thing I'll be more concious of next trip is cost. I held off buying passes too long and ended up paying the window price. If you buy early, as in the fall before, you can get very steep discounts (>50%). Check out https://www.epicpass.com/ if thinking of getting a better deal. 

I will mention that one of the reasons I didn't jump on the Epic Pass is I don't really like the idea of being tied into a single set of ski areas in travel planning. There are a lot of ski areas that maybe don't get the marketing the Vail resorts or Ikon resorts get that I'd like to be able to see before my body decides I'm done (which hopefully won't be for a couple decades :-) ).  Ski holiday's are definitely an area where a little bit of planning can go a long way for us wannabe deal finders. 

The next year may be interesting as my son will be off to college. We are starting to hone in on the where and it will likely be a little bit of a drive. Mixing that with family holiday planning, etc. could make the trip tricky. I'd really like to get out to Utah or California but will have to see. California is tricky as the snow can be hit or miss and is a little more expensive to get to. 

Arrowhead GC, Myrtle Beach, SC

After skiing and a couple of working weeks, I then embarked on another adventure. This time to lower altitude and sunny weather in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. It was my first time attending an annual golf outing organized by one of my football coaching friends. This was also a lot of fun and very much a "dude" trip filled with way more golf than I'm accustomed to playing (99 holes in 4 days!), card games and other harmless shenanigans.

Honestly, I played awful. That combined with a little Minnesota stoic underreporting of my handicap allowed me to bring up the rear in the tournament portion of the trip. Still, I won a little money by way of having a great partner in a team round. I flew home with plenty of sun and sore shoulders. 

You would think I'd be golfed-out but now I'm just wanting to hit balls and adjust my golf bag for my nine-hole league play this season. I even added a new pushcart as my birthday gift to me. It even has a cup holder :-P 

Thus, I'm looking forward to the Minnesota golf season to start. Unfortunately, it snowed for three days after getting home and has stayed cool. Most of it has melted though and I'm guessing the driving ranges and such will be opening soon.

To round out the month was my birthday. A good chill day to relax with dinner at Fireside Foundry and relaxing watching a little TV on Peacock. I had thoughts of going out but found myself tired and wanting to just chill. 

And here we are on Easter Sunday, March going out like a lamb and with a lamb. Enjoying more quiet and waiting for what April holds.

Saturday Morning Post

Norman Rockwell's "Triple Self Portrait". Borrowed from website: "10 Most Famous Paintings by Norman Rockwell". Prints and such: https://amzn.to/43OWe1H

Thankfully, I've been feeling a bit back to normal lately. I'm starting to actually feel acclimated and less in a form of "survival mode". All I have to say is it's about damn time!

Feeling back to normal, it's time to re-baseline, i.e. get some perspective of where I'm at and where I maybe want/need to head. I'm thinking mostly in terms of health right now, but could extend this to other areas as I ramble

Physically, I'm doing okay. Admittedly, the prolonged cooler weather had put a cramp in my getting of steps (goal of 10k/day). Figuring out my new work schedule also made for some challenges. One thing is true being in more of a managerial role: I have a lot more meetings. This much different than having a technical work focus where I can set something down and go for a stroll. Thus, I have to be more deliberate about my schedule if I want to chip away at my step count during the day. 

This scheduling reality has my step getting more concentrated, going for longer walks and runs. Lately, I've been typically putting in three to four miles. If I'm good about getting short walks in during the day this trims back to less than two miles. Ideally, I'd like the latter situation.

As for the type of work, I'm still somewhat impatient with walking. Really, it would help to embrace walking more as a time to appreciate the outdoors and gather my thoughts. Essentially a time of active meditation. It's an important piece to balance with the cardio of running. Regardless, my preference is for doing some kind of interval training. It breaks up the time and gives me something to focus on

I do this with a free app simply called "Interval Timer" that I've mentioned in at least one other post. I'll vary anywhere from 30 seconds to 5 minutes of higher intensity with some kind of recovery time in between. Shorter active times tend to come with higher intensity. The rest times can vary a bit as I ask how recovered I want to be between sets. 

One thing that will be helping the step count this summer is my return to a golf league. One of the fun aspects of the new job is I was able to join a league; having my first round just this past week. Frankly, my score was on the worse side of the distribution of scores. The saving grace on that is it was my first round and needed to establish a handicap anyway so a worse score actually helps me compete later on. To be clear, I was not deliberately sandbagging. I'm not that good. My hope is that golf will beget more golf this summer. 

My other physical challenge at the moment is that of a shitty shoulder. It's kind of weird though that I know a few others who are struggling with bad/frozen shoulders. Fortunately, I don't think I have a frozen shoulder and my pain is more at the deltoid/biceps point of intersection. It seems more like a small tear or prolonged strain that just keeps getting re-aggravated. An armband in the location seems to help as does being conscious of it when moving/sleeping, but it has been nagging me for probably six or seven months. I do prescribed physical therapy for it and sometimes even the right level of exercise has it feeling really good, but it persists. It's just shitty now :( 

Golf, however, may be part of the rehab. My round left it feeling more stretched out and mobile than it had been in quite a while. Even a couple of days after the round, it's bugging me a bit less. Hopefully the trend continues, and no new nagging conditions emerge. Becoming more lame would be lame. 

While taking all this time to discuss my physicality, I need to mention the other part of trying to keep healthy: my eating habits. I think Noom has played a big part in keeping me from drifting too far away weight-wise. I have gained a little since my peak days but have enough of a habit to keep things largely in check considering my recent changes. 

The previous job had more routine with less commitment to being in meetings, etc. Thus, it was relatively easy to sculpt out my diet. As with exercise, I need to be more deliberate now and, for me, that takes discipline that I'd prefer to shirk, but am realizing now that I can't. As with writings from a couple of years ago, the basics are easy: weigh in daily, drink my water, get my steps, eat low calorie food dense foods (grapes are a prime example). Do all of this persistently and lose weight. 

Going to work daily in the old job made this easy. I was separate from my pantry for most of the day. While I still have this option it counter plays to where I'm finding my best opportunities for activity, i.e. working from home. The water supply at work is also sub-par compared to the previous job where we had cold filtered water readily available. With a little more clearity/head space I'm finding that the solution really becomes planning for what I have at home. If I load my pantry with healthy stuff and limit the sweet and salty processed snacks I do better. Part of this is also loading the pantry with things I want to eat that are healthy. Perhaps even if they cost a little more. The example here again is grapes which can vary in price substantially. Popcorn is another good one for me to have around. It may not do the best on the calorie density scale, but it's better than chips/crisps and is self-limiting in that the chomping takes a little work. 

So it seems there are a number of things coming back together. Hopefully they stick, but as many of us know there is a big difference between knowing what to do and actually doing it!

Vegas 2019, Part II

Iconic Las Vegas,Image by skeeze from Pixabay

For me, visiting Las Vegas once every four or five years for a long weekend is enough to pacify my curiosity for gambling, staying up all night, consuming too much food and alcohol, and reminding myself that I'm no longer in my 20's.

This year, I found myself in the oasis-ish place twice. Once in February to golf with one of my good friends and once just last week for a conference; and to golf with that same friend.

The Rio, from casino.org

The conference was during the week and was held at the Rio All Suites Hotel. It was nice, however I'm starting to realize that all casinos are pretty much the same. They have the same gaming options, same types of slot machines and everything is roughly the same price; which gets jacked up during the weekend. It is a little cheaper to play during the week off of the strip, but those differences evaporate fairly quickly when it's busy.

Still, the Rio did have some decent affordable food near the sports book. I recommend a slice of the supreme pizza or "The Foul" chicken sandwich. Now that I write that, I'm a little grateful that I didn't get sick.

Conferences are fun for me on account of getting to see a lot of my old colleagues. This one didn't disappoint. I was never short on someone to interact with. Still, there could have been a few more familiar faces.

One of many vehicles from the SEMA show.

The last day of the conference was my busy day. I was a chairperson for the morning poster session and gave my presentation as the second to last talk in the afternoon. There was a lot of time in between duties, so I took that time to switch hotels to the Marriott Renaissance. The Renaissance is near the convention center, which was crazy busy with the SEMA automotive show going on. There were custom trucks and cars everywhere and you could readily hear drivers doing burnouts in a designated area of the parking lot; quite the spectacle.

The SEMA show also made for transportation challenges as the roads around the center were completely constipated. To return to the Rio for my talk I ended up walking a few blocks away to a McDonalds and hailing my Lyft from there. It still took 20 minutes to get across town as the LA and other crowds were starting to file into the city, but I made it.

The turnout to my talk was decent, especially considering I was one of the last talks of the conference. That last afternoon is often a somber one. The exhibitors are gone as well as a large number of attendees. Many of those who remain typically have their luggage and are largely passing time before they need to head to the airport. I guess with the promise of a Vegas weekend, many decided to stay around.

Talks have become rather comfortable for me as I have switched from a lowly grad student or postdoc just happy to have some approval to an industry veteran where it's sometimes more helpful to pontificate in an effort to steer research in a useful direction. My talks are usually a mix, this time I showed off some sensor noise data and then placed it in the context of designing actual sensors.

As is often my hope, I was approached as I was leaving the session by someone looking for sensor information and perhaps needing some samples. The neat part is I've had at least one successful R&D program start this way.

Post conference, I met up with my adviser from grad school and we met with my golfing buddy for dinner at a steakhouse at the Mirage. I had an amazing ribeye and a pretty good old fashioned. Okay, two old fashions. We wandered and gamed until late. Luck wasn't really on my side that week, but that's okay I'm not a big spender.

The view from a tee box on The Lexington course at the Revere golf club. Image by Joe Davies.

My friend and I golfed Saturday and Sunday mornings. The Saturday course was the Lexington course at the Revere golf club. It was a beautiful, challenging course. Enough so that I decided not to keep score. Our golf partner listened to the Minnesota Gopher football game during the round. Rodney Dangerfield was ahead of his time bringing a stereo on the golf course in Caddyshack, now it seems a Bluetooth speaker is part of the standard equipment.

Legal marijuana is one interesting aspect of spending time in Vegas. Frankly, it's not my thing and the smell is a little too overwhelming for my nostrils, but I impartial to others smoking. It would be nice if they found a way to mellow it out though. I also don't get smoking something that mellows you out during a sport, even golf, but oh well. The guy we were paired with smoked throughout the course. I don't think it affected his game, but was just interesting for it to be so casual. In other words, there's no story to this paragraph, just filler. Sorry.

Sushi...drool....Image by nile from Pixabay

Saturday night we ate a good "all you can eat" sushi dinner. I must have also been dehydrated as I had massive charlie horse cramps during dinner. It's hard not to laugh, or be laughed at as I try to wriggle free from the pain; especially when both legs are cramped. It's weird to be giggling and in so much pain, but I somehow manage.

After dinner we went to the old Vegas downtown, now dubbed "The Fremont Street Experience". There was a lot going on. The nice part about non-strip Vegas is you find a lot more relaxed/normal people. There's no need to be dressed up while drinking a cheap beer and playing the older casinos.

My view. LDB was raising money for veterans.

One treat was the live music. In fact, Gary Sinise, THE Lieutenant Dan, has a band and was playing on one of the stages. "The Lt. Dan Band" were actually quite good and looked to be having a lot of fun as part of a veterans day celebration as well as raising money for the Gary Sinise Foundation.

The Mantis at The Container Park.

We also wandered off of downtown and went to the El Cortez. The first place I ever stayed in Vegas as well as wandered. There were a lot of neat art installations including this praying mantis sculpture that shot flames out of its antennas.

Sunday, we played The Royal Links, a popular course that is meant to emulate famous holes from the British isles. Except, there was no water, the grass was painted green (likely with a water holding coating), there were no accents accept drawls, it was sunny and beautiful, not dreary, the course was backed up and super slow, and I saw a coyote. Other than that, it was just like Scotland. Okay, the course was nice to play, there were some deep sandtraps, and it was flat with some undulations with fescue-like grasses lining the fairways. The thing that drove my friend and I nuts was the slow play. In fact, we cut our round at nine holes. Slow play throws timing off and is just not fun. I also had to head to the airport before long and would rather enjoy the last bit of time in the warm weather.

So we left and grabbed a lunch at the In-n-Out burger near the airport. This is a treat for a mid-westerner as there aren't any InO's in Minnesota. It was really a great way to end the week.

Golf Itch

I think I've caught the golf itch again this year. I'm finding myself wanting to get out and hit and hit and hit.

I think it started with a golf-centric Las Vegas weekend in February with one of my good friends from grad school.

The view from the first tee at Siena Golf Club.

We played two full rounds. The first was Arroyo at Red Rocks and the second was at Siena Golf Club.

My game wasn't the greatest, but it was fun; and apparently the flame was (re)lit. Enough so that I signed up as a sub on the golf league I played on a few years ago and I'm playing in a tournament with that group this weekend.

The weather here started to cooperate in early April and I was able to get to the driving range shortly thereafter. I've also started watching some YouTube videos trying to improve my play.


One thing I noticed from my Vegas golf was my driver seemed dead compared to my friend and the people we were paired up with. I'm still trying to decide if it's a little worn out or not. I've been in and hit some others, but neglected to bring my r5XL for an accurate comparison. Perhaps I will do that tomorrow, although my dad just picked up another r5 from a thrift store that looks like it's barely been swung (his opinion). I'm hoping to get into the simulators and get an accurate comparison.

Still, I think the videos and the time at the range have helped with building some consistency; at least off of the tee. Thus far I have been to the range four times and played three rounds. I've been playing my usual “bogey and change” golf, but am noticing some consistency off the tee and I've been making some great putts.

I’m also trying out a deal off of the internet. I get email updates from an app I use called “Swing U” to record my scores as I play. Like most things on the internet there are recurring ads for various things related to the site. This one was for a “free” two-dozen golf balls. I saw it enough to spur my curiosity and so I called the toll-free number and was soon talking to a sales rep. I agreed to pay shipping and handling on the balls. However, I was also curious about another offer he mentioned for a “free” hybrid iron for testing out some other clubs. I guess I’m an easy up-sell as I agreed to that offer too. There’s a 45-day return policy on the trial clubs or I own them at $150 a piece. They were a 3, 5 and 7 wood. Who in the modern day of golf needs a 7 wood? However, I have since hit the 3 wood and am really liking it. The shaft is stiff and was sized for me. In fact, after hitting it I found my old 3 wood feeling like a piece of junk. Thus, I think I’m going to keep the 3 and 5 woods and return the 7.

That offer also had me on the quest to complete the short game clubs as well. I currently have a cheap sand wedge that I love, but lack anything for distances between that and the pitching wedge and for very short shots that require some loft. Not wanting to drop another several hundred dollars on new wedges, I found matching cheap “gap” and “lob” wedges on EBay where the funds go a "The First Tee" charity chapter in Florida. So now my bag is feeling a bit heavier, but more complete.

Digressing...

Today's round was my first 9 holes on a regulation course. Proudly, I did play to my handicap. I had one really bad hole, else I played decently. The weather was cool, enough to keep people away, so I had the course to myself for the most part. I even played with two balls (get the laughs out now) for a few holes. Still I noticed my driver was feeling dead but was sinking mostly bogeys and a couple pars.

With the empty course I was able to get the round in very quickly. It only took roughly 75 minutes for the nine holes. I can easily complete a round in an hour on a typical “par 3” course. Regulation length courses usually take a bit longer; 90 to 120 minutes.  The speed left me feeling good about the round as well.

This re-found love for the game has me wanting to play/hit every day. I know this isn’t practical, but I am hoping that it will lead to some improvement and summer enjoyment. My interests typically go in waves. I’m sure by the time fall shows up, I’ll be ready to move on to the next thing.

Golf, part deux

So on a good note, I won my match yesterday. On a bad note, the latter portion of my round was atrocious. Here's the rundown:

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Tot
Par	4	4	5	3	4	3	4	3	4	34
Score	4	4	6	4	9	5	8	7	5	52

One neat thing I've been enjoying is the app Swing-by-Swing. It provides hole-by-hole scoring, a GPS (although I question the accuracy) and even some side betting. Added features for $15/year can log other performance metrics such as greens in regulation, fairways hit, etc. It's a fun toy so far and may just prompt me to generate some graphs.

For a little Overtime workout, I mowed the lawn...

First Rounds

The weather here in MN has been excellent over the last few days. This past weekend I played par 3 Island Lake Golf Course with a friend and then on Tuesday I played my first league round at Dwan golf course.

Both rounds were so-so. I have been better off of the tee, although I did land all three greens on the par 3s at Dwan and hit 5 greens in regulation (i.e. leaving me with a two putt for par). I three putted more than I am accustomed to though and only par'd one hole per round.

The MN golf season is early and there is lots of time for improvement. This year I'm working on slowing down my back-swing in hopes of gaining some control. Obviously I need to put some work in on the putting green and at the driving range as well. I'm also hoping to play a couple of new (to me) courses this year. The St. Croix river valley is full of scenic courses and I am on the lookout for some Groupon or Living Social deals.

Golf!!!!!

Yesterday was my first day out on the driving range. I always seem to lose a little distance to start the year. I think my swing gets largely out of sequence where I lose the hip rotation/snap in the off-season. It's not something that developed when I first started playing golf so I have to be more conscientious about it. Still I hit pretty well with my 3Wood landing beyond 200 yards and minimal hooking. I'm going to take a look at slowing my backswing this season as well. I'm hoping it leads to more control

League play starts in a week and a half so I'll be making a few more trips to the range and try to get at least 18 holes of golf in before it starts.  Here's the GHIN handicap card to start the season, lets see if I can make that 25.9 drop substantially this year.

Walk This Way

Step totals from Feb. 1 until now. Red lines separate the data by week and the black line is a linear fit. I'd like to stay on the upward trajectory.

I've been using the Samsung Health(tm) feature on my phone over the last little while to track my steps. Yesterday was an event as I amassed over 17,000 steps!  The error in a lot of these days is pretty big as I often rest my phone on the treadmill at the gym, so a wearable might be in order. Even still, there's lots of room for improvement.

Ideally, I'd like hold that coveted 10,000 steps/day goal. I'm also itching to play some golf and this is a good way to start getting warmed up for the courses.

Frozen Fore!!!

This weekend was a lot of fun. I played a round of golf on frozen Lake Minnetonka in what is dubbed the "Chilly Open". Essentially nine holes of golf on Ice. They had a chili tasting contest and lots of free stuff from the sponsors. It was a perfect (for winter) 30ish degrees F. I look forward to playing in it again next year.

36 Holes in three days...

...a new record for me (I think). I was took a mental and physical holiday last weekend and stayed with my aunt and uncle near Portland. I had a dear old friend getting married which presented the opportunity. I decided I was just going to try to be helpful, but in the moment for the duration of the trip. I was able to maintain that for the most part. As the title says I got to play a bit of golf at Tri-Mountain Golf Course in Ridgefield, WA. Admittedly my diet wasn't the best as there were many beers consumed, some from a high school friend's brewery in Seattle (Chainline Brewery), but it was overall good for the soul to see good family, old friends and relax a little.

Casting Shadows on the Green

Golf Season in Minnesota is short. Too short. We are now in playoff mode for my golf league and a 5:30pm tee time guarantees very long shadows on the course by the fifth hole. I bought a new sleeve of Titlest proV1X balls. I think it helped off the tee, but my mid irons and putting just killed me. Unfortunately, that's the extent of Dwan GC: drive, iron, putt on moderate length par 4s). I ended up shooting my worst round of the year...a 53 (net 40). Oh well. I'm hoping to get a few more rounds in before the snow flies...

Birdie

As from previous posts, I thoroughly enjoy golf. I played nine at Bunker Hills Golf Course on the north end of town. My future brother-in-law (God help him) played too. It was a cloudy day which kept the course from getting too busy, it was a great outing.

I played a great round (for me) shooting a 41 with no holes worse than a double bogey (on a side note I broke 50 for the first time on my "home" course  this year shooting a 48 this evening). My B-i-L on the other hand, had a rough round. Understandable for not being out for the last couple years. We are telling people he shot a birdie though...well a Canadian goose to be more exact. He hit one teeing off on the 4th hole. Fortunately it was on a bounce and really just pissed the bird off more than it already was. It had ganders so was hot tempered to begin with. He also almost took out a squirrel, but there's no golf analogy for that save he might have had himself a new head cover.

Traction?

Ok. Going on day four sans pastries. Yesterday I opted for carrots with my guacamole instead of chips and actually enjoyed it. I bought some stuff to build salads at work. By the way, strawberries with a little balsamic vinaigrette (as part of a salad) is an excellent flavor combination.  I know that was just one day, but hopefully I can get back on a healthier eating trend. I just need to eat right one meal at a time, right?

I also, got back into the gym for a regular workout. My schedule has been a little in flux going through this separation/divorce along with participating in a golf league. I may try going back to high intensity training for a while as the workouts are a bit shorter and they supposedly amp-up the metabolism. The Men's Health 2008 Total Fitness Guide has a HIT program that really kicked my butt, but also really worked. I may post some of it if I get this site spruced up a bit more.

I'm also contemplating moving my routine back to mornings. I have a hard time falling asleep with the evening workouts I've been doing. Regardless, we just need to keep moving forward.

Yet another Golf Headline

Tuesday League headline: "Davies horrid on the approach, immaculate around the green: plays his handicap and eeks out the win. Not quitting day-job anytime soon."

Back at it

After impressing my daughter by doing dips on some steel rails at a local sandwich shop, I hit the gym in what felt like the first time in a month. Well it was actually a week-and-a-half. Some of the slacking was from being on travel for work, getting in a few more rounds of golf and doing some yard-work/gardening with the kids, so it wasn't a total slump.

What has slumped some is my diet, I'm having a hard time going a day without either the doughnut or beer fairy visiting. Also my portion control is a little out of ...control. My (ex)wife started doing Weight Watchers and I know in the past loosely using their "point" system to at least quantify my food intake has helped. Perhaps some healthy eating motivation will rub off on me. It's key to keep looking forward and not dwell on that way too calorie-laden dessert I had the other day. That just results in a craving.

Minnesota Golf

Those white specks...they're snowflakes on my first day of league play...

Golf, Golf, Golf

Not to wax sentimental, but I love golf. I'm in the process of acquiring enough "recent rounds" to get a handicap for my 9-hole league which starts on Tuesday. This morning I played 18 holes (two rounds) at the Brookland Golf Park. The local municipal course I grew up playing. I was on the course even before the club house opened and had the course essentially to myself.

I remember always being fascinated by this potentially brutal to the psyche and cost prohibitive game. I have early memories of wanting my dad to get down his clubs in the garage and hitting whiffle balls in the backyard with my next door neighbor. I think what sinched it though was playing the occasional 9 or at least walking along with my uncles in Montana. The golf was fun, the company was good and rolling dice in the bar afterward kept it interesting.

Anyhow, I'm glad I have some good before Tiger (BT) experiences to make this more than just a passing fad.