Lack of a Valentine

So it's Valentines Day, just another reminder that I'm alone. But you know what I don't have anyone to blame but myself. It's been many years since Harry and I broke up and though I would like nothing better then to be in a relationship I'm doing nothing about it. I don't know if I'm expecting Mr. Right just to come knocking on my door but I know that's not how it works. I'm not one to pick someone up in a bar and my current group of friends that I hang out with are all straight so no help there. It's more then likely that I'm going to have to go back to online dating. I found a website called Our Time and it's online dating for the more mature people 40 +. I put up a profile and according to the website have several "flirts" and messages but of course you have to pay for the service to read and reply to the messages and I don't know how legit this service is. I don't know if I'll pay for this service or not but I do know that this is the year I stop being stupid and find me a guy who perfect for me.

Speaking of Valentines Day.. Agent Carter actors made this very cute and fun video that I want to share with you all. They are quoting romantic exchanges between couples from famous movies. I think I can name them all... can you?

Weigh-In for 2/14

Once again I weighted myself this morning after my morning job. Last Saturday I weighed in at 194.5 with a total weight lose of 24.5 pounds since October of 2014.

Today I weighed in at 195, that's a gain of a half of pound, which brings my total weight lose to 24 pounds. At first I was disappointed as I gained and did not lose weight but then was kind of happy that it was only a gain of a half of pound as I did not have a good food week last week. I also considered that it might be muscle gain since I now workout at NerdStrong Gym on a regular bases (3x a week) as well as continuing my daily morning jogs.

Still I have to stay positive, I'm well on my way to my goal weight. I know this is a process and that it's not going to happen over night, especially if I wish to keep it off. This is going to be a life long battle but I'm determined to win in the end.

Thanks to all those who tweet, Facebook message and text me their support.. it's means alot.

It's All About the Podcasts

Today was all about podcasts. I had several that were due to be released on the 15th, which is only two days away. Sometimes I love editing podcasts and can get through three in one day but other times it's a struggle and I just procrastinate and have to force myself into doing it... this is one of those times.

The first one I must get done is my guest spot on Treks in Sci Fi Podcast. The host Rico and I did a podcast on the second of the Harry Potter books/movies Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. We recorded this a few weeks ago but I waited until the last minute to edit it. Though I did start editing last week but only got about 1/3 of it done.

I don't know why I lack motivation sometimes when it comes to editing podcast as I love creating, producing and hosting podcasts. The upside is once I convince myself to start editing I really get into it and then I'm an editing fanatic... that's what happen today.

I spent a good part of today (about six hours) editing the rest of the Harry Potter podcast and then moved on to my MASH 4077 Podcast and completed the next episode or what I thought was the next episode.. come to find out that I already edited the next podcast (due on 2/15), so I actually finished editing the following podcast for 3/1 and got about halfway done with the episode for 3/15. Talk about being ahead of the game... woot!!

I sent the Potter podcast to Rico and it should be posted on Treks in Sci Fi this coming Sunday 2/15, I'll be sure to post about it here.

NerdStrong Gym - It's All About the Kettlebells

Today session had a "guest" coach Christy. We started with barbell row. I teamed up with fellow noob Ben and we learned how to do barbell rows properly. We did those for about 15 minutes before starting bench presses. I love doing bench presses as I already have a large chest (barrel chested) so when I get any chance to enhance it, I take it. Again it was Ben and I so we took turns doing several reps within our 15 minute allotment.

After the barbell stuff the real workout began. Today's crossfit workout consisted of 3 rounds of 20x kettlebell ballistic rows, 12x kettlebell goblet squats and then :30 seconds of kettlebell high pulls.

As with all the crossfit stuff, I start off great, feeling good and pushing myself. About half way through the rounds I start to feel the burn. While my arms are burning I'm trying to concentrate on form instead of speed. Yes we are working against a clock (12 minutes) but form matters. That last :30 second kettlebell high pull almost killed me but I am happy to say that I finished with a few minutes to spare.

Another great workout, thank you Christy for your awesome coaching. I'm gonna be sore tomorrow :)

Goodbye Red Band Society

Today I watched the final two episodes of Red Band Society. Yes I said the final two episodes as this series has ended (though it's not officially cancelled by Fox.. it will be). So it was kind of bitter sweet knowing that this would be the final two episode of this series. What is worse is that the series production was halted after the midseason finale. So they didn't get to do an official wrap up to the series and characters. So I'm when I started watching these I was worried that it would end on some horrible cliffhanger that would never be resolved.

Well I started with S1 Ep 12 "We'll Always Have Paris" As Kara is undergoing a heart transplant in real-life, she finds herself in the in-between world with Hunter. After their time together, Kara doesn't want to leave Hunter, but he gives her a speech on the importance of life, after which she wakes up from surgery. A temporary patient named Mae shows up at the hospital, putting Dash on alert. They had started an online relationship on a cystic fibrosis forum, but he avoids her as their conditions don't allow them to be actually be together. Charlie is regaining his motor skills and Dr. Naday has him playing video games. Meanwhile, Jordi's grandmother Alma has taken a disliking to Dr. McAndrew while he's still trying to get her to sign off on the surgery. However, Jordi later tells Dr. Andrew that he doesn't want it anymore, no longer believing that he can get better. At the end he does agree to the surgery but before he goes under, Jordi decides to give Leo, who has been depressed and silent since he got the news about his cancer, a pep talk and is the one that's finally able to get through to him about continuing to fight their battles.

I have never been a big Kara fan as she is such a horrible person. But over the season we have gotten to see a 'softer' side of her and with this episode we got to see a bit more. What I do like about Kara is that she knows she's a bitch and a horrible person and sometimes feels bad about it. It was good to see her and Hunter being together as if nothing was wrong in the world. They did make a cute couple. She loved him as she was willing to die to be with him. Again like with Kara I was not a fan of Dash but as with Kira we got to see a different side to him in this episode. He's not always the player and actually has a big heart and cares for his friends. I didn't care much for the Jordi storyline and his religious grandmother but it wasn't horrible. Overall I enjoyed this episode my only complaint is that is didn't have enough Octavia Spencer (Nurse Jackson) in it, she's my favorite character. Time to move on to the finale.

The final episode of the series which was S1 Ep 13 "Waiting for Superman" Dash and Mae sneak off to be together, but are caught by Kenji and Brittany, who end up employing security guards to keep them apart. Emma's parents are visiting for a family therapy session. After a failed trust fall exercise and an argument with Emma in the bathroom, Emma's mother almost leaves the hospital until Brittany has a talk with her in the elevator. It is only her mother returns that Emma is able to have a deep conversation with her. Charlie is now able to move about in a wheelchair and Nurse Jackson thanks Dr. Naday for everything before he jets off to meet with his next patient. Meanwhile, Leo is pessimistic about beating cancer for a second time and it's hard for him to have been the one to hold everyone up, until Mae tells him that he doesn't always have to be invincible like Superman. The "red band society," including Charlie, reunite on the roof one last time and start singing You Can't Always Get What You Want, which results in Charlie speaking for the first time since the coma. Later that night, he is discharged from Ocean Park. The series ends with Dr. McAndrew and Nurse Jackson acknowledging that the hardest part of their occupations is knowing that everyone eventually leaves, though they themselves will always remain.

I enjoyed this episode more then the one before it as it focused more on the characters that I like. And this being a mid season finale we actually got some nice character story end points. Starting with Emma and her family. By the end she and her mom have this huge break through which can only be good news for her anorexia. More character growth for Dash as he realized that he cares for Mae and can't put her in danger by continuing their relationship. Charlie is up and about (with the help of a wheelchair) and at the end talk before being sent home. Kara still being a bitch, I was hoping for a bit more change after receiving Hunters heart. But there was a nice moment between Kara and Emma. We got to see a bit more of Nurse Jackson and how she deals with all the stress of her job. Leo has his ups and downs but end the series on a up and being accepting into an experimental drug test (his last hope of beating cancer). And Jordi decides that he is going through with the operation with his grandmother's consistent.

Overall a nice ending to the series, yes we are left with a few minor cliffhangers and we really only got the resolution of one of the characters (Charlie). But it was still a decent ending to what was one of my favorite new TV series this season. I'm sad to see it go as it had so much potential but I'm happy that we got to see 13 wonderful episodes.

Worldwide Gay Marriage & the Latest Gotham

I found a cool "World" map marking which countries allow gay marriage, which allows partial gay marriage and those that it's illegal. I was surprised I actually thought more of Europe was open to gay marriage. And soon enough the US will be fully purple as well.

Today I came across a Big Bang Theory from last season that I had never seen. I don't know how it happen as I was sure I had recorded every episode, but somehow I missed this one... It was S7 Ep13 The Occupation Recalibration. I had always wondered when Penny quit the Cheescake Factory... now I know.

Watched some TV in the evening with my buddy Erik. We started with FaceOff, which is always alot of fun. And then Gotham, S1 Ep 15 "The Scarecrow" When Gerald Crane targets another victim, James Gordon and Harvey Bullock investigate his background and discover that he was a biology teacher whose wife died in a fire accident that he was too scared to rescue her from. Bruce Wayne goes on a treacherous hike. Falcone tells Cobblepot to renovate Fish's nightclub as his own before speaking to Maroni about him - Maroni agrees to let Cobblepot live in exchange for having a judge placed in his pocket. Crane injects his son with a large dose and does permanent damage to him causing him to be in fear all the time.

Another really good episode, I actually enjoyed all the various storylines. It was really fun to see Enigma (The Riddler) and Penguin meet for the first time. Penguin has always been my favorite character but Enigma is starting to become my new favorite. I really thought that Bruce would encounter the bats in his travels but that didn't happen. The birth of Scarecrow was really well done and I like the flirting going on between Gordan and Dr. Thompkins.

Agent Carter S1 Ep6 - My Thoughts

Tonight I watched the latest episode of Marvel's Agent Carter. S1 Ep6 "A Sin to Err" Carter and Jarvis investigate the women that Stark has been involved with over the last six months, believing that a female Leviathan operative may have been used against Stark and to kill Krzeminski, but their search is unsuccessful. Sousa reveals to Dooley that Carter is an apparent traitor, and all agents are tasked with tracking her down. They eventually corner her and Jarvis, but Carter fights them off. During the commotion, Dr. Ivchenko, who is actually working for Leviathan, hypnotizes Agent Yauch, who reveals that only Dooley can access Stark's weapons. Yauch shows Ivchenko how to get out of the S.S.R., before Ivchenko forces him to commit suicide. Carter retrieves Rogers' blood from her apartment. As she tries to escape the building, she is knocked out by Underwood, but not before realizing that Underwood is the Leviathan operative. Underwood is about to kill Carter when Thompson and Sousa arrive. She feigns ignorance, and the agents arrest Carter.

This series continues to impress and tonight's episode was no different. We knew this was coming, we knew they would find out about Peggy helping Stark but it doesn't mean I have to like it. I was disappointed in Sousa. I was hoping he would approach Peggy privately and ask her what is going on. She then could have explained everything and brought him into their little circle. But I understand that this is not where the story is going. Though Sousa did turn Peggy in he at least did the right thing by letting her go when he had her at gun point. I loved that she decked Thompson (so deserved).

I was so happy to see Jarvis team back up with Peggy as I have mentioned I really love their chemistry. Jarvis' face of joy while he was helping fight off the Agents with Peggy was priceless. Angie got to shine in this episode. She didn't question Peggy on why people were after her she just wanted to help her friend... I love that about her character.

And of course though Peggy was capture by the SSR at the end it was a good thing as Dottie was about to kill her. So they in essence saved her life.

This was a very tense and hard to watch episode because we know Peggy is in the right but all her misogynistic co-workers are clueless and you just want them to listen to her. Next weeks episode looks interesting. I wonder how hard Sousa is going to integrate her. We know Thompson likes to use his fists.

Only two episode left. I'll be sad when this series is gone but when it goes Agents of SHIELD will be back to fill the hole.

NerdStrong Gym - It's All About the Dumbbells

Another fun but exhausting work out at NerdStrong Gym. We always start with a warm up, this time we did jump rope. I use to jump rope all the time when I was younger but man trying to do three minutes now was like torture.

After the warm up we learn the correct way to do several workouts. This time we learned the correct way to do Box Jumps and Pull Ups. I got box jumps down pretty good.. I even advanced to the 20 inch box. The pull ups on the other hand were alot tougher. I could manage to pull myself up once but that was it so Andrew had me jump and hold myself up at the bar and then slowly lower myself which puts huge amount of strain on your muscles. I manged to do about eight of those.

After all that it's time for our circuit workout. Today it was all about Dumbbells. We had to do 5 rounds of 12x Dumbbells Lunges, 12x Dumbbell Renegade Rows & 6x Dumbbells Push Ups. We had twelve minutes to complete all five rounds. I am happy to say that I finished second in our group with a few minutes to spare. It was an extremely good upper body workout.

Afterwards as the 7:30 session got going my buddy Joey started setting up a bench and planned to do some bench presses. I really enjoy bench presses so I asked if I could join him. We did six sets of six at about 115 lbs. My arms were dead by the time we finished but it was a very enjoyable workout.

Spider-man Returns to Marvel

So big geek news Sony and Marvel made a joint announcement today, Spider-man will be joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The reason this is such a huge thing is that Sony owns the rights to the Cinematic version of Spider-man, they acquired them years before Marvel that is, ever came to be.

Spider-man has been such a huge part of the Marvel universe for over 50 years and we had heard rumors that this might be happening but with two very large companies there is a lot of red tape.

We don't know all the details, all we know at this moment is that Spider-man will show up in one of the already announced Marvel titles, rumor has it that it's going to be in Captain America: Civil War since his character did play a big part in the comic books. After his appearance in one of the Marvel movies there will be another stand alone Spider-man movie.

Whats crazy is this will be the third time they have re-booted Spider-man as neither Tobey Maguire nor Andrew Garfield will be reprising the role of Peter Parker / Spider-man.

They also announced that they are working on getting some Marvel Cinematic characters in the next Spider-man movie.. so it looks like the two companies are gonna play nice and will be getting a lot of crossover.

Now if Fox would do the same for Fantastic Four and The X-Men life would be grand.

Call the Midwife & Rebels - Latest Episodes

After the workout a group of us went out for a late breakfast/early lunch at a local diner. I'm just getting to know these folks so it was nice to get out of the gym and just hang for a few hours.

I watched two shows today that I want to do a quick review on.. first one is Call the Midwife S4 Ep4, After an encounter with a young prostitute who is both pregnant and infected with syphilis, Sister Winifred attempts to spread the message of safe sex among the prostitutes of the neighborhood. Barbara deals with a man who is so desperate to have a son to inherit the family business that he will accept no other outcome for his wife's pregnancy. Sister Monica Joan finds a new sense of purpose when she is unexpectedly forced to assist with a birth. Trixie begins to doubt that she will ever be suited to life as a clergyman's wife, and after learning that Tom's first appointment as a vicar may be in a deprived inner-city area of Newcastle rather than the rural parish she had hoped for, she breaks off their engagement.

I enjoyed this episode, lots of character building especially for Trixie. She is confronted with her "drinking" problem which almost lead to a crisis and her getting cold feet for her upcoming wedding. Her future isn't looking to bright at the moment. I was shocked at that dad who wanted nothing to do with his daughter as he wanted nothing but a son. Luckily he came around but still, it made me sick to think that he'd turn his back on his newborn because of her sex. I really didn't care for Sister Winifred and prostitutes storyline. I mean it was okay but it could have been removed from the story and I'd be okay with that. I did like the Sister Monica Joan story but it felt like a repeat. I feel like every season she is questioning her usefulness but I did like the end result in this one. Next week it looks like Cynthia is back.. I can't wait. I hope we see Chummy again this season as well.

The other show I watched was Star Wars Rebels S1 Ep11 "Call to Action", When the rebels want to broadcast a message to the nearby star systems about their cause, Kanan decides to invade a Communications Tower. They think they have the element of surprise, but they were wrong... Governor Tarkin has come to Lothal and has deduced where they will strike. After Commandant Aresko and Taskmaster Grint are executed by the Inquisitor, Governor Tarkin sends the Inquisitor out to capture Kanan alive to earn back his trust. When the Imperial forces attack the group at the tower, Kanan instructs the team to leave him and thus is captured. The team is able to send a message before Tarkin orders the tower to be destroyed to end their broadcast.

I really enjoyed this episode. I like this series but it still hasn't hooked me like The Clone Wars did. I enjoy the characters and the stories but there is something about it that makes it not quite as awesome and I don't know what it is. This weeks episode was a favorite of mine. It was good to see Tarkin again and it felt like the sakes were alot higher with this episode. I actually thought they might kill off one of the main characters but of course they wouldn't do that with this series. This is the first episode that ended in a cliffhanger. Maybe that's what it is, with The Clone Wars there were very few stand alone episodes, most were two, three and even four episode story arches which of course gave the story time to breath. Maybe that is what Rebels is missing. All I know is weekly Star Wars is awesome.. even at subpar it's better then 90% of the stuff out there in TV land and I will continue to love it.

The Indy Workout - NerdStrong Gym

Today I did my first Sunday workout at NerdStrong Gym. Sunday workouts are different from other workouts as they are themed and you usually work in teams. They are also known for being the toughest workouts. But before I get to the workout, let's chat about the warm up. I got the gym about 20 minutes early so the 9am group was still working out. Let me say that it's not a great idea to watch what "hell" you're about to go through. Watching these poor people sweat and huff & puff and be exhausted was hard because you know this is going to be you in about a half hour or so.

Luckily we were distracted by Marla (the other trainer) and began our warm up since the class before was running long. We did some lunges, high steps, butt kicks and various other things. We then did two laps around the parking lot but this wasn't your usual run it's something called an Indian Run. I had never heard of this but here is what it is. An indian run is when a team jogs in a single file line around a playing a field (or in our case the parking lot). It begins when the last person in line sprints to the front. When that person gets there, the next person at the end of the line sprints to the front of the line. This continues as the line jogs around the parking lot.

It's exhausting.. I was so tired and the actual workout hadn't even begun yet. Once the class before us was done with started our session. First up was learning how to row properly. So we all did a few minutes on the row machines. We didn't have time to do the "team row" event so we skipped to the main event. As I mentioned before Sunday workouts are themed and this one was titled "Indy" as in Indiana Jones. For this workout you had 12 minutes to complete 5 rounds of 5x Burpee, 10x Box Jump, 15x Cowbell Swing & 20x Situps or you could get smooshed by a boulder. If you didn't think you could complete this workout you had two alternates, less reps per event but still 5 rounds or you could do 4 rounds but full reps. I chose to try and do 4 rounds at full reps and if I had time I'd push to do the 5th round.

So we were all teamed with a partner and we started. My partner Katie went first and did a great job. she opted for the same workout as me and did 4 rounds of the full reps. When it came to my turn the first few rounds were fine but on my third during the sit ups I started to feel it. I managed to get through most of my fourth round but again when it came to sit ups I struggled and on number 14 and with a minute left I couldn't continue. It's strange when your mind is telling your body to do something and your body is literally ignoring it. I pulled myself up a few more times but barely and managed to only do 16 or the 20 required sit ups.

This meant I got squished by a boulder and was penalized with 30x Wallball (which is taking a medicine ball and throwing it up against the wall and hitting a certain mark 30 times). Andrew said that I didn't have to do it since it was my first Sunday but Marla (the other trainer) was having none of that and made me do 30 squats instead :-)

Overall it was another fantastic workout. I'm really enjoying the NerdStrong Gym, the trainers/coaches are great. The fellow workout buddies are nice, encouraging and helpful and it's fun being surrounded by fellow geeks/nerds. If you want to check out the place you can do your one on one and first workout for free. You can check out their website and set up an appointment HERE.