For the love of (insert whatever diety or profane expletive you are most comfortable with).

I have been going to the gym with almost religious furvor, being very careful of my diet and when I eat things, and I am STILL stuck at the same weight for almost 2 weeks.

I know, I know. Plateus happen. I know this, intellectually. It is the emotional response that is very trying right now. I want so much to lose this weight, and keep it off, that any setback is taken as an almost personal affront. And what is responsible? My own damn body. No one else to blame but me, and I happen to be doing it all right. I just have increased my cardio by 10%, and am being more strict with the food composition. We’ll see if this allows for a break-through.

Wish me luck - I want to break 270 by New Years (As of this mornings weigh-in, that is 11 pounds). I know that Thanksgiving and Christmas and the subesquent celebrations of those holidays is going to wreak havoc on my system. I am going to do my best to minimize thier impact, mostly by avoiding excessive imbibing of spirits. I will raise to the toast, perhaps a SINGLE after-dinner drink, but that is it. No eggnog - too much fat.  It will be interesting to view the holidays completely sober.

That’s all for now - I just needed a place to vent, and hey, it’s my blog. So I can. So there. Feel free to share any frustrations or ancedotes about your holiday pitfalls.

I was driving the other day and saw a bumper sticker that caught my attention. Usually I am like everyone else, and I read them, perhaps get a chuckle, and don’t give them a second thought. This one was good enough that I took a picture of it when we came to the stop light, just because I thought it worth remembering. The bumper sticker was green with white letters, and only two words long. It said simply “Eschew Obfuscation”.

Alas, I love the irony.

This had me chuckling all the way to work, where I thought that I might share this bit of humor with some of my co-workers. The chuckling soon stopped as I shared this and was met, more often than not, with blank stares of decided incomprehension. How sad is it that we no longer use language to its fullest? Is the art of a well-turned phrase simply something of the past? Am I expecting too much from people? I think that it is the result of something far more sinister. I think I am witnessing in microcosm the effects of dumbing-down society. Of the people I told, only about one in twenty got it. And I believe that half of those were just laughing at the right spot by chance.

Now, I am not advocating obfuscation by engaging overlong or complicated words for their own sake, far from it. But I am reminded of a person trying to correct me when I used the word ‘inane’ to describe a task I was doing. I was informed that the word was ‘insane’ and I should know what I mean before I start talking. Excuse me? Inane is a word:

in•ane ɪˈneɪn - Show Spelled Pronunciation[i-neyn] 

 –adjective

      1. lacking sense, significance, or ideas; silly: inane questions.

       2. empty; void. –noun

       3. something that is empty or void, esp. the void of infinite space.

            [Origin: 1655–65; < L inānis ] —Related forms in•ane•ly, adverb

inane. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Retrieved November 11, 2007, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/inane

Gee, next we’ll have to make people resign because of the language they use – oh, wait. That happened in D.C. already, didn’t it? I think that it is pathetic that the use of our language has diminished to such a point that people actually have to resign because others are too limited in their vocabulary, and take offense. For those that don’t remember, I am referring to staff member David Howard’s resignation over the use of the word ‘niggardly’ in a staff meeting. (http://www.adversity.net/special/niggardly.htm for more info). Had to be let go by D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams. Sorry, I guess we can’t have a staffer that uses the big words. Especially those that bear similarity to a racist word. Let’s just look that one up, shall we?

nig•gard•ly ˈnɪg ərd li - Show Spelled Pronunciation[nig-erd-lee]

–adjective

1. reluctant to give or spend; stingy; miserly.

2. meanly or ungenerously small or scanty: a niggardly tip to a waiter.

niggardly. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Retrieved November 11, 2007, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/niggardly

Oh, I must have missed the racial connotation somewhere. How silly of me, to actually check the definition of words; especially words I am unsure of. Much easier to have someone lose their job than admit I don’t know the meaning of a word and took it wrong. Language is the art of expressing ones ideas to others so that meaning can be conveyed. Having a larger vocabulary makes one more clear, although some obfuscate through verbosity. The more words you know, the better the idea and meanings can be conveyed. Just make sure they don’t sound racist.

Please, comment back, but use small words –

Yea, verily yea. I have decided to start up my own weblog, where I can post the errata that issues forth from my grey matter. I will almost guarantee that there will be items on here that will offend, and all interlaced with my sardonic and evil humor.

Be fearful, cautious reader, for I believe that the free exchange of ideas is one of the better things this country and the internet provide. Understand that I will not tolerate any name-calling and threats in this blog. Do so and I will do my best to ban you permanently. This is for the exchange of ideas and viewpoints, and to give me a place to spew nonsense if I so desire. I encourage disagreement, but arguments need thought and not just ‘You’re a poo-poo head’.

Anyhow - this is the advance fair warning. You’re off the map now - here there be monsters.