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Sunday Workout - Tri Update
OK, so Sunday afternoon Teri and I went to the Y. Brandon, Liz, Teri and I were supposed to go riding yesterday, but scheduling didn't work out, so Teri and I decided to hit the gym. Earlier in the day we had gone to Sports Authority and I bought my first pair of real running shoes in probably two decades. A nice pair of Asics Gel GT-2130's. So of course I wanted to try them out on the treadmill. I decided to do another 5K. The shoes were damn comfy I must say!So I started out running at 5.3 MPH. At some point I kicked it up to 5.5 MPH and I hit two miles at 22:17. So my 1.9 Miles was probably somewhere around 21:00 or maybe a bit under. I felt really good about that. I did .25 walking at 3.5 then .25 running at 6.0 and then .25 walking at 3.5, then running for .25 at 6.0 and finally .10 walking. Total time for the 5K was 37:42. A full 2+ minutes better than the last time I did it.
Then I met Teri in the pool for a bit. I ended up doing only 450 yards though . . . my arm was REALLY sore from throwing the ball for the dogs at the dog park earlier in the day. But that was well worth wearing out 4 labs! During my workout I did do TWO 100 yard IM's though. Now to just string the two of them together and I'll feel damn good!
I heard from Scott this weekend that when he and Erick worked out on Saturday I think, Erick did our whole triathlon in 1:45, including transitions. EEKS! Erick is ALREADY doing the whole thing! Damn! I wasn't planning on doing the whole thing until next month, but with Erick stepping up this weekend, I may have to push my training schedule up! My hope is that by April 20th, I'm able to do the whole thing in under 1:30, but I think Erick and I are pretty comparable now, so I don't know that I'll be able to shave off a full 15 minutes between now and then. If I take my BEST times for everything, not including transitions, I'm at like: 21:00 for the run, 40:00 for the bike and about 21:00 for the swim, or about 1:22 total. But obviously fatigue will be a factor doing the whole thing together. We'll see what happens. But Erick, nice work man! I'm proud of you!
It's been cool to see how this little challenge I put forth has inspired DaBoyz to step up and give it a shot. Even some of our wives are getting into the mix. Jerry's wife, Theresa, is thinking about doing the indoor tri with us. Scott, Teri and myself are all thinking of doing the Ocean Shores triathlon in July, of course after Scott and I do the indoor tri in April. It's nice to see all my boyz united and working toward a common goal. Kicking each other's ass. :-) I'm proud of you fellas!
Teri and I had a great day yesterday. We took Taylor to the dog park, had some breakfast at Applebees, went to the gym, then watched a couple movies last night. Michael Clayton and I now Pronounce you Chuck and Larry. It was a nice day off. I really appreciated it.
VHS Versus Beta for the new millenium . . .
If you remember the format wars of the 70's ?? or was it 80's?? You'll remember the raging debate over VHS and Betamax as prevailing VCR standards. Beta was clearly the better format, but due to various issues, size, length of tapes, etc., VHS won out in the end.Here in the first decade of the new millenium a similar debate has been raging although it's not as hotly debated (IMHO) as I remember the VCR wars being. The new debate is over prevailing high definition (HD) DVD formats. In one corner you have HD-DVD and in the other, Sony's Blu Ray. Both camps argue their format is better. On the HD-DVD side, supporters will argue marginally better picture quality, advanced features such as direct internet access and picture in picture. On the Blu Ray side, their supporters will argue larger capacity discs and support for advanced features coming with the 2.0 standard. Well apparently the fight is over.
In this article, it was announced yesterday that Toshiba, the largest manufacturer of HD-DVD drives is pulling it's support for the format. With major studios like Warner also pulling out of the HD-DVD game, it looks like HD-DVD will be the betamax of the new millenium. I have an HD-DVD drive for my Xbox 360 and I've got to admit, watching American Gangster last night was a real treat. The picture was AWESOME and the advanced features over a standard def DVD are pretty cool too.
However, that being said, I've been wanting a Blu Ray player since I got my new TV and Receiver. It seems as though I may come into a Best Buy gift card in the near future that could provide me with a new Blu Ray player. So last night I started researching. I'm torn between buying a stand alone BD player or buying a Sony Playstation 3 which comes with a BD player built in. Both retail for about $399, but the PS3 has the advantage of also being a pretty awesome game machine. I'm still primarily an Xbox guy, but if a game came out that I really wanted and was only available on PS3, I'd have the option.
But, as the machine would primarily be used for it's BD drive, I decided to do some research to find out if it was a good quality BD player, or simply an added feature of a gaming system thrown in to bolster sales. After doing the research, it looks like the BD player in the PS3 is actually Sony's flagship BD player. OK, so it's probably not as high quality as their ES line of players, however it does have some advanced features that even the ES players don't. For example, with the PS3 already having an ethernet port, the PS3 BD player is already poised for the 2.0 spec for BD. Simply a firmwear upgrade for the PS3 and you've got the most advanced BD player on the market. No titles currently take advantage of the 2.0 spec, but expect them out later this year.
Many articles I read listed the PS3 to be amongst the best BD players they had tested. Some of the drawbacks they mentioned is lack of Analog 5.1 outputs, a non issue for me as my receiver takes HDMI inputs. They also mentioned that the PS3 will not internally decode some of the newer HD audio formats, again a non-issue because my new receiver will decode them all via HDMI. And the final drawback, which IS a bummer for me, is the lack of an IR port on the PS3 to allow control of the DVD player via a non-Sony, non-Bluetooth remote. Like my Philips Pronto. That would be a big bummer to have to add an additional remote to my current line up of . . . one remote. So fortunately over on AVS forums, I found a delightful work around for this solution that allows you to use standard Sony DVD IR commands to control the BD player.
Debate over, I'm buying a PS3 when/if I get said Best Buy gift card.
The difference between 99% and 100%
OK so this morning after my workout, I really did NOT want another bowl of cereal. I really WANTED a drive thru, but I abstained. So when I got home, I busted out the carton of egg whites, some green onions, salsa, sour cream and whole wheat tortillas. Time for some huevos rancheros roll ups baby! OK, so the carton of egg whites stipulated "99% egg whites" and there was less than a quarter cup left, so I went to the back up carton. It showed "100% egg whites". I poured the 100% on top of the 99% and thought something was wrong. The 99 was yellow and thicker. The 100 looked like cloudy water. I put the cap back on and shook the 100 up more. Same stuff came out. HUH? So I looked at the ingredients on both cartons. On the 100% as you would expect, there was ONE ingredient . . . egg whites. DUH. On the other it was 99% egg whites and then about two dozen other ingredients. Some were vitamins and others were things I couldn't pronounce. When I went to make my second roll up, I poured only the 100% into the pan and what do you know? It actually LOOKED like the white stuff around the yolk of an egg! I had always wondered why they called it egg whites when it came out of the carton yellow? Now I know. It's that other 1% making it yellow!I just thought that was interesting. Now that I type it, not so much. Sorry to put you through my analysis of differnt brands of egg products.
Workout this morning:
Again, really did not want to go to the gym. I stayed in bed until almost 6:30 despite being woken up by a ringing phone at 4:30!!! So my plan was to do 12.4 miles on the bike. I got to the gym, got on the bike and started pedaling . . . it was all I could to to muster 6.2 miles . . . I did it in 20:30 so about on pace for what I normally do, but those damn bikes are so uncomfortable that I just had to get off. I don't know what I'm going to do for the Tri . . . but I've got to get myself comfortable on them for 12.4 miles. And I hate recumbants. Sorry Scott. So feeling like a wuss, one of the stair climber machines was open. You know the ones that look like a scrolling staircase? I've wanted to hop on one for awhile now, but they've always been occupied. So I hopped on. Typed in my weight and age and set it for 30 minutes at level 5. YIKES! Level 5 was a bit much. So then Level 4 and finally settled in at level 3. I eventually went up to 4 and 5 again for short periods of time, but this machine kicked my butt. Literally! I ended up doing 83 flights of stairs (Higher than the Columbia Tower) and 1.73 miles overall. So pretty good workout.
Weight this morning:
A new low - 301.5 WOO HOO! Gotta get a workout or two in this weekend to have a shot at under 300 by next Friday! I've decided I'm going to take a sandwich to eat on the way to the wedding today so I'm not starving by the time the reception rolls around.
5 Circle Goals . . .
OK, the company I get my coaching from, Buffini and Company, has a symbol that is basically 5 circles in a star shaped pattern. That logo relates to your "5 Circle Goals". i.e. you have 5 circles in your life: Spiritual, Personal, Family, Business and Financial. The idea is that if you are "down" in one area of your life, the others suffer or if you concentrate too much on one area, the others suffer. They want you to be a well balanced, well rounded individual. Makes sense to me. So at every Turning Point Retreat, we set goals in all 5 areas of our life. I'm usually pretty good at setting the goals, but then like the Showtime Rotissary Grill, I Set it and Forget it! I rarely look at my goals again and as such, don't make much progress on them. So at my last coaching call, my coach asked me to set 2 goals in each area, then post them where I can see them often. So the first step is setting them, so here goes:Personal
- Weigh Less Than 300 Pounds by March 1st, 2008
- Since that goal is pretty imminent, here is a stretch: Weigh Less Than 280 Pounds by May 15th, 2008
- Complete the First Annual "DaBoyz Fit Club" Indoor Triathlon on April 20th, 2008
- Complete the Dam2Dam 50 Mile Bike Ride in September
- Close a minimum of 23 Transactions in 2008 with an average Gross Commission of $6,522.00 (GCI of $150,000)
- Study for, Take and Pass the Washington State Broker's License Exam on or before June 1st, 2008
- Pay off Business Visa (~13,000) on or before December 31st, 2008
- Pay off personal Visa (~$7,200) on or before December 31st, 2008
- Have 1 or more months of Personal Expenses (~$4,500/month) in Savings on or before December 31st, 2008
- Take Teri on a weekend getaway in early May to celebrate our 1st Anniversary
- Endeavor to work with Taylor on advanced commands off her lead to make her a better all around puppy dog
Spiritual OK, this is really a struggle for me. The first goal here has been the same for five years and I have not yet gotten it worked out.
- Define what spirituality means to me
- Attend Church with Chad and Tina at least once to explore the possibility of that being a part of my life again
There you have it, a quick cut at my 5 circle goals. Probably not the best idea to post them in such a public forum, but hey, my life is an open book I guess.
Baby Steps . . .
I've detailed here the past two weekend's transgressions as to eating, etc. My low a couple weeks ago was 304.0. I've seen the scale as high as 312.5 over the past two weeks. Now I know that a lot of that is not REAL weight. To REALLY gain 8 and a half pounds would require far more eating that I have been doing. So I don't really pay attention to it, other than to regain focus. This week, that's what I've done . . . regained and resharpened my focus.On Tuesday I did 5K on the treadmill. Yesterday I did 3+ miles on the elliptical and this morning, I did over 1 mile (72 Laps Scott) in the pool. Even though I haven't been doing a fantastic job of tracking what I'm eating on The Daily Plate, I've REALLY been watching what goes into my mouth. No drive thrus so far this week. Breakfast has been at home, lunches have been made (John's Big Ass Ham & Turkey Sammiches) and I've cooked two pretty kick ass dinners at home. (WW Chicken Enchiladas on Tuesday and WW Parmesan Turkey Meatloaf last night). Overall it's been a good eating and working out week. This morning that was reflected on the scale. 302.0 after my workout. Holy crap. Only 2.5 pounds to go (technically 2.000000000000001 pounds, but my scale only weighs in .5 pound increments) to be UNDER 300. (edit: It just dawned on me that that is a full 50 pounds off my high! SWEET!) I need to maintain laser like focus through the weekend. I have a wedding an reception to attend tomorrow afternoon. That will be a good test. I don't think Teri and I have any plans for the weekend, so if I can get a workout or two in over the weekend, I'm hoping by next Friday, the 29th of February, I can claim a major milestone achieved. Wish me luck!
Oh, and here's my workout from this morning if anyone cares:
- 10 X 100 Swim on the 2:15 (22:30 for 1,000 yards)
- 200 Kick
- 200 Pull
- 100 Kick
- 100 Swim, Kick, Pull
Boring workout today . . .
I didn't feel like going to the Gym today (Why did I capitalize Gym? Do I revere it? Hmm strange . . . ) so I got up and worked on taxes for a bit. Made some calls, checked the MLS, did some laundry, just basically being lazy today. So around 10:15, I decided to hop on the elliptical. I did about 3.3 miles in 45 minutes with an avg. HR of 134 . . . pretty boring. But it's something I guess.Stress as a trigger and another 5K
So yesterday I was doing really well eating. I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast, a Zone Perfect bar for a morning snack, a ham and turkey sandwich for lunch and a whole lot of water. Oh, and a Rock Star energy drink in the afternoon. I even wrote a contract for a client of mine. It was a good day. Then in the afternoon, the stress hit. I had a very stressful interaction with another client of mine. I'm hopeful the situation will work itself out this morning, but as of last night, I was pretty stressed. Now I think that number 1, I did not eat nearly enough during the day and by the time I got home between that and the stress, all I wanted to do was eat. I wanted to go out to dinner, but Teri had a long day too, so we stayed in and ordered a pizza. I had two slices, then two more. I was REALLY telling myself I was full. But it didn't work, so I had two more. I could have likely eaten the last two, but I stopped myself. However, SIX slices of pizza is NOT a good thing when one is trying desperately to lose weight. (See self sabotage post from last week!)This morning I decided to hit the treadmill to see if I could work off a couple of those slices. Instead of starting out with a walk, I wanted to jump right in and see how quickly I could do the 1.9 miles (3K) we'd be doing in the triathlon in April. So after stretching a bit, I started the belt and off I went. I set the speed at 5.2 MPH. I was NOT feeling good and quite often my HR went into the "Danger Will Robinson" mode where the little orange LED flashes at you. But I kept on. I really wanted the 1.9 miles . . . I hit it at 22:05 . . . my personal best so far . . . I slowed down to a walk for another .35 miles . . . at 2.25 miles I kicked it up to 6.0 MPH for .25 then back to 3.5 for .25 back to 6.0 for .25 and then back to 3.5 for the last .10 miles . . . 3.1 miles in 39:04. Better than last weeks time, but I felt like throwing up most of the time. However, I do have to say that the 6.0 pace feels really good. I'd love to be able to do that for some distance. My stride feels really natural at that pace.
I did get angry looks from the triathlon training group as I walked past the spin bike room . . . I just haven't been able to get up at 5 to be in the pool by 5:40 on Tuesday to join them.
Kids say the darndest things . . .
Today I went out and showed some homes. I looked fantastic! I had my black dress pants on, black shoes, a caramel colored shirt on and a great looking tie. I've been wearing a shirt and tie about 4 - 5 days a week for the past 6 weeks or so. With my new, slimmer me, my dress shirts fit better, the collars button, and overall I feel better about my looks. I feel like I have more confiedence, I feel like I project a more professional attitude, and it just feels right.While at a model home with my client, her daughters had to use the restroom. They all shuffled off to the restroom, and you could pretty much hear everything they said while in there. Her daughters are 5 and 2 I think. Her 5 year old said "He's fat!" and mom quickly corrected her by saying "Honey, don't say that. We don't say that about people." It completely ruined my mood. Now I know she's only 5. And I know she wasn't being mean. But still, after as far as I feel I've come, it was pretty obvious, I've got a long way to go.
Kids say the darndest things. You're so right Mr. Cosby. They sure do . . .
Who needs a gym?
OK, well I do . . . but I REALLY didn't want to go to the gym today. But I did force myself to get up and get on our fancy Precor elliptical that I haven't been on since . . .- Time: 45:00 (40:00 workout - 5:00 Cool down)
- Program: Random
- Resistance: 7 - 9
- Total Distance: 3.42 miles (PB) Distance in 40:00: 3.1 miles (PB)
- Avg HR: 141
- Max HR: 162 (oops!)
- Time in Zone: 35:37
- Total Strides: 6520 (PB)
- Calories Burned: 750.1
A Tale of Two Scales: OK, so this morning after my workout, I weighed myself on my scale. It's a Pelouze shipping scale. Really, I've thought of all the jokes, so don't bother. I got it because it has a 400 lb. capacity. That's so sad when I think about it. Anyway, it weighed me at 307.0 (yes the doritos and ruffles and tortilla chips are still hanging around). Then, I stepped on our other scale. It's a body fat % scale that Teri and I bought one day at Kohls. I never use it because it always weighed a lot heavier than my scale. But today it read 307.0. I must have gotten down into it's accuracy range or something. It also measured my Body Fat % as 33%. I don't know how accurate that is, but assuming it's close, that means my lean body mass is about 205.69 lbs (307.0 X .67 = 205.69). Well that's good news I guess. That means that if I have a healthy 15% of body fat, I should weigh in the neighborhood of 241.98 lbs. Assuming my math is correct . . . 85X = 20569 . . . solve for X . . . algebra folks . . .the classic IS OF problem . . . 205.69 IS 85% OF What? Now that doesn't sound too bad . . . again, depending on how accurate that scale is. I should really do the ol' dunk tank routine to really measure body fat, but this gives me hope that I don't have to think about 220 really . . . and 242 really sounds doable.
I want to be noticed!
Yes, I am the proverbial attention whore (gigalo?)! Damn it, I've lost nearly 50 pounds and I want someone to just come up to me and say: "Hey John, have you been losing weight? You look really good!" But alas . . . I have to point it out to everyone. Wednesday I had lunch with my favorite lender, Gina Miller at Venture Mortgage (call me if you want her number, she's fantastic), and I had to say "Do I look smaller to you?" It had been about 2 months since we'd gotten together and I've lost about 25 pounds in that time. She said "I thought you did! But I didn't want to say anything in case you hadn't." AUUUUGHHHH! People, SEE ME! Ahhh well when Dave Scott hands me the gold medal for the Ironman championships in Kona . . . maybe then someone will know who I am! :-)My 5K and Self Sabotage
I'll start with the good news, the light stuff first. So this morning, I had it in my head that I wanted to do a 5K . . . or 3.1 miles . . . on the treadmill. I don't know why such things pop into my brain, but they do. I've been meaning to bring my heart rate monitor chest strap to the Y to see if it works on the machines. Rather than grabbing the handles, it would be handy if I could just monitor my heart rate while I went along. So this morning I dug through my desk and found it. I went to put it on and it slid off. WTF? I pulled it back up and it slid off again. AH HA! I weigh about 30 pounds less than the last time I wore this! SWEET! So I had to show Teri. Off to the Y I went.After stretching a bit, I started out walking at 3.5 MPH. I did this for 0.25 (or about a quarter) miles, then kicked it up to 5.2 MPH which felt fairly comfortable. I wanted to see how long I could actually run (jog, whatever!) before having/wanting/needing to walk again. Well I passed our Triathlon distance of 1.9 miles at 23:53 and kept on going. Finally at 2.25 miles, I slowed it back down to 3.5 MPH. I ran 2 miles non-stop. (OK, I paused a couple seconds to re-tie my headphone cord around my iPod lanyard) I felt REALLY good about that. When I'm in shape, I actually LOVE to run. It's an illness, I know. But I really do enjoy it. Mainly I enjoy the looks from people that seem to say "There is no way somone that big should be that fast" I doubt I'll get the "that fast" feeling ever again, but still. I digress . . . so I walked for another .25 miles then kicked it up to 6.0 MPH for another .25 miles and finally walked the last .35 miles for a total of 3.1 Miles or 5K. Total time was just over 40 minutes. I was stoked to do the 3K (1.9 Miles) in under 24:00 though. With .25 of that walking.
I have mostly eliminated my transgressions of the previous weekend. I'm embarassed to say that I gained 6.0 pounds last weekend. I've lost 5 or so of those this week. If I can get into the gym tomorrow morning as planned, and keep faithful to eating right, I should be OK for Monday's weigh-in. Which brings me to my next point and is not nearly as light as "Hey everyone, I ran this morning!"
So I had my coaching call yesterday. Really the first call with my new coach, Grace. We chit chatted a bit about my workouts, some of my personal goals, etc. She mentioned my heritage profile and how my domineering trait is "Olympian" click the link to read the rest of this post. (more)
Correlations . . .
Sometimes I'm a bit slow on the uptake. "No!" you say. But I'm afraid it's true, dear reader. You see about 7 days ago, I ran out of my vitamins. About 5 days ago, I started feeling sluggish. About 4 days ago, I started eating like a pig. About 1/2 hour ago, I weighed myself. About 15 minutes ago, after I stopped crying, I said "Ah HA!". So today I'll be going to Super Supplements and picking up my vitamins. Heh . . . a little slow on the uptake.I did get into the pool this morning. I did 1,000 yards. (By the way, big Kudos to Scott for completing 44 laps in the pool the other day! Nice work man! Brandon is going to be soooooo jealous!) I did a 1 X 100 Swim, Kick, Pull . . . then a 1 X 200 Swim, Kick, Pull and finished it off with a 100 IM. It felt horrible. See preceding paragraph. :-)
The Whirling Dervish . . .
Since Teri and I have gotten back from Jamaica in late November, I feel like I've hit the ground sprinting and have not stopped since. I got in the gym a few times in December, was in there more than not in January and started February as I had ended January. I've worked at least a little nearly every day, save Christmas and New Years, since we've been home. For the most part, I've watched what I eat and watched even more closely what I spend.That all went out the window on Sunday. I had set three buyer appointments for Sunday. 9, 12 and 3. Three different buyers, three different parts of the state at three different times. I was out the door by 6:45 (I did mention it was Sunday right?) and didn't return home until after 6:30 that evening. Friday morning I had weighed in at a svelte 304 pounds. I've not been on a scale since for good reason. Sunday morning started out with a trip to Jack in the Box for breakfast. Sometime after one, I found my car BACK in the JITB drive thru for lunch. I finished the evening with some left over pasta and chicken. It was a glorious eating day. Now had it ended there, it would have been fine. But no, the car wanted McDonalds Monday morning and apparently it wanted Greek food last night. It did skip lunch yesterday though. (You see by blaming it on the car, I can feel a little better about myself and tell myself that I'm still 304 pounds, only my car gained weight) Today though, enough was enough and I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast.
I haven't been in the gym since Friday and haven't really felt like going. I think I'm trying to come down with something, but I'm not letting my body win. I've got to get some deals in escrow so I feel better about our trip to Puerto Vallarta in May. I think this Whirling Dervish I've been on is paying off though. Since X-mas I've written up two condos at CitiLife. My listing in Lacey received an offer, we countered and they accepted yesterday. I've got two really solid buyer clients that I'm working with that will hopefully write contracts in the next couple of weeks. AND I've got two really solid leads at CitiLife that may also put offers in on condos there. So with any luck, by the end of the month I'll have 6 - 7 transactions in escrow and be well on my way to my goal of 23 for the year.
The Whirling Dervish shall continue Whirling. The strong shall prevail. I intend to be Whirling and Strong. This was merely a respite from the daily grind. Back at it!
Workout This Morning
Bike and run this morning. 12.4 miles bike in 41:23 . . . for some reason I thought I was doing 12.2 and stopped and was about to get off the bike and said "Crap!" and hustled the last .2 miles. OOPS.Run, I only did 0.95 miles, or half the distance. That was in 12:20 . . . extrapolated to the full distance would be 24:40 . . . if I could keep that pace. So probably 25 and change when all is said and done.
Open Letter to DaBoyz - Fitness Goals 2008
Here's a letter I sent to my boyz today:OK, since we all seem to be on this fitness kick . . . I want to throw a few items out there and see if they stick . . . i.e. who is interested and in what. These are some things I�d like to accomplish this year if at all possible. 2009 is a possibility for some of them too . . . but I don�t think most of them are out of reach by the end of summer if we keep up our routines. So here they are . . . not in any particular order:
1) Rattlesnake Ledge
2) Little Si
3) Mount Si
4) Mailbox Peak
5) Tiger Summit
6) Tiger Summit via the Cable Route (Picture Mount Si without switchbacks)
7) Pebble Creek � Mount Rainier (7,200 feet)
8) Camp Muir � Mount Rainier (10,000 feet)
9) Sprint Distance Triathlon
10) Dam2Dam Bike Ride (50 Miles)
I think it�s reasonable to knock off at least half of these this year. Keep in mind for the Mount Rainier climbs that Paradise, the starting location, is at about 5,400 feet. So don�t be too daunted by the elevation of Pebble and Camp Muir. The route to Pebble Creek will likely be snow bound until at least June . . . but with all the snow we�ve had this year, it could be July . . . from Pebble to Muir is ALWAYS in snow . . . so some extra equipment will be required if we�re to travel on snow. As long as enough people are there on the day we go, the path should be pretty well tamped down and we won�t need snow shoes . . . but up above Pebble it can get icy, so at the very least plastic boots, gaiters, and instep crampons would be a good idea.
Anyway . . . just thinking about being under 300 and what it�ll be like to be able to do some of these things again. I�m dying to get back to Camp Muir. The VIEW is incredible.
John at Camp Muir - July 2002 - Mount Adams in Background
I'm officially down 25 pounds since Teri and I got back from Jamaica! Sweet! Only another 4.5 pounds to go to a Major Milestone! This puts me down 48 pounds from my high of 352 . . . eeks. I'll never see that again! Just a quick 1,000 yards in the pool this morning. I did a 200 swim, kick, pull, kick, swim.Pigged Out . . . but it's OK!
So yesterday my wife got a new job! Congratulations honey! I'm proud of you for setting that goal and achieving it! I know you're going to do AWESOME! Last night I took Teri out to dinner to celebrate. I gave her her choice of anywhere she wanted to go and she picked Applebees? So off to Applebees we went. I hadn't had lunch yet and was STARVING when we got there. Again, not good I know. However with my workout yesterday, I felt pretty confident I could eat pretty much anything I liked and be somewhat OK. I started out with a caesar salad, followed by the club house grill sandwich (Ham, turkey, jack and cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomatoe, bbq sauce on grilled sourdough) with onion rings. I topped it all off with one of their new dessert shooters (chocolate mousse). It was GREAT!This morning, I wanted nothing to do with the gym. In fact, I even went to bed last night at 9PM and slept all the way until about 6:30 . . . up off and on between 5 and 6:30 trying to guilt myself into going to the gym. But I think I needed a day of rest. I was worried about the scale this morning, but stepping on it, I was only 306.5. So only gained 1/2 pound from my low. As I'm skipping the gym today, I've really got to watch what I eat. So I had a bowl of Fiber One cereal for breakfast, I'll have an apple and a zone perfect bar for a snack and a Weight Watcher meal for lunch. Hopefully a sensible meal at home for dinner. Then back in the gym tomorrow morning!
AND today I was able to get into my favorite dress shirt. It's been awhile since I've been able to button the collar and it was a bit of a struggle yet this morning, but it's buttoned and the tie is on! Bring on the buyers!
Tri Training . . . No . . . Really
OK, so a couple weeks ago I mentioned that I had run into Phil Carter at the Y. He was starting a Triathlon training group on Tuesday's at 5:40AM. Well I missed last week, but told him I'd be there this week. So at 5:40, I was in the pool, ready to go. A couple other folks showed up too and Phil got there just after 5:40. He started us out with a quick warm up of a 100 Swim, Kick, Pull. After that was over, he declared it was "Time to have some fun" and that we were going to do 10 sets of 100's. Joy. He then went on to say "Since John swims at a different pace than everyone, John, why don't you do your 100's on the 2:00 and we'll do ours on the 2:30" Great. So off we went. I did the first 4 on the 2:00, the next 5 on the 2:15 and the final one on the 2:00. So technically I did 1,000 yards in 21:15 (if my math is right?). Then finished up with a 50 swim, kick, pull.Next it was off to the spin room . . . after we got changed, we headed for the spin bikes. We ended up doing about 25 minutes of spinning. I did 5.5 miles according to my little spin computer. Bringing my cycling shoes next week.
I really wanted to bail on the run . . . but didn't want to have everyone think I was a total wuss, so I hit the track. I did a mile, but walked about 2/3 of it. I've really got to get my knee better, my weight down and my endurance up if I want to be competitive at all in our Triathlon this April. Or have any prayer of surviving the real deal in Ocean Shores in July.
I hadn't intended to do all three events this morning, but it just worked out that way. It was a good workout! I even ran into an old High School classmate, Kurt Hatch, on the way out. Pretty cool.
An Open Letter to Fatty . . .
As Fatty at the FatCyclist is prone to doing, I'm following his lead and posting the letter I sent to him last week asking him to not sue me and his subsequent response. Thanks Fatty . . . as soon as I get the weight off, get the jersey, and the photo, the link is comin' your way!Letter to Fatty:
Fatty . . . er Elden . . . Um . . . Mr. Cyclist,
I just wanted to let you know that I enjoy very much reading your blog. I even voted for you in the bloggies. I hope you win, by one vote, then you can shower me with gifts. But I digress . . .
I�d like you to know that I too am a fat cyclist. A couple years ago, I weighed 352 pounds. I bought a Specialized Roubaix Elite as a reward to myself for some achievements I made at work. Last year I put about 400 miles on it. Not a whole lot, but about 399.5 miles more than I had ridden the previous 18 years on my 1985 Bridgestone 400. I even attempted a 50 mile ride, the Dam2Dam Thumbs Up bike tour sponsored by Mike Utley and the Mike Utley foundation which is trying to raise money for spinal cord research.
Since riding my bike, other strange things have started happening. I discovered a weird but wonderful building in my home town. I think they call it a gym? You may have one in your town, I would recommend looking for it. Wonderous things await you there. Many flashy moving objects, vast quantities of water they allow you to submerse yourself in and other cool things. I guess what I�m trying to say is that since I�ve been cycling and gyming (see how I made a verb out of a noun? Cool huh?) I�ve gotten myself down to (as of yesterday) 307.5. Giving your blog 100% credit would really be sucking up, so I�ll give you about 93.33 repeating of course.
The real reason I�m writing (and sucking up so much) is that I�d very much like for you to not sue me. You see I set a goal/reward for myself this morning. That goal is to get under 300 pounds by the end of February. The REWARD is of course to purchase for myself a shiny new 2008 Fat Cyclist jersey. I even threw the gauntlet down to my wife and told her to set a goal and when she achieved it, I would buy HER a 2008 women�s fat cyclist jersey. (I don�t however think she will be nearly as flattered as I will to be called a fat cyclist.) I posted this goal/reward in MY BLOG, which by the way you did NOT vote for in the bloggies, this morning complete with pictures of said jerseys. That�s the �please don�t sue me part�.
Here is the post for your review:
If I have somehow done you wrong, please kindly reply and let me know and I will make the appropriate changes.
Also, I want you to know this is a BIG reward for me. You see, I�m a real estate agent. I�m sure you�ve heard something about the housing market lately on the news or whatnot, so you understand that this will be a major purchase for me in 2008.
Anyway, keep writing, I�ll keep reading, and about that suing thing . . . blood from a turnip and all. :-)
Thanks for adding levity to my day.
John Hurlbut (west coast fat cyclist)
http://johnhurlbut.com/blog - John�s blog
http://hurlbuthomes.com/blog - John�s real estate blog
Fatty's Response:
Sue you? Ha! I should be thanking you for the free advertising!
Seriously, I'm incredibly impressed with the path you're on and how far you've come on it. Congratulations! I'll definitely want to see a photo once you get the jersey. Why don't you post it in your blog, let me know, and I'll link to it?
Again, congrats on the weight loss progress you've made.
Swim Workout This Morning . . .
Wow, another Monday morning workout? What the heck? Who is this guy? Well my arms were completely sore today from my weight lifting on Saturday with Carl, but I managed to get into the pool this morning and do 1,000 yards. They weren't pretty, but they got done. The IM at the end I'm sure was really ugly . . . :- 1 X 200 Swim
- 1 X 200 Kick
- 1 X 200 Pull
- 1 X 200 Swim
- 1 X 100 Kick
- 1 X 100 Individual Medley (IM)
UPDATE! 306.0 This morning! WOO HOO! An actual weekend where I LOST weight!
Carl Hates Me . . .
So yesterday a co-worker and listing agent of CitiLife Condos, Carl Shaw, visited me down at CitiLife to just check in and see how things are going. Carl and I are in the same office and also belong to the same gym. He asked me if I was going to workout this morning and I said "no". He quipped back (as he's so good at doing) and said "Whyyyy because it's Saturday? C'mon dude" So we agreed to meet there at 6:30 this morning. Again, why do I open my big mouth? The idea was to do weight training. Number one, I HATE . . . HATE . . . HATE lifting weights. Number two, (and I think it's directly related to number 1) when I'm lifting weights, I see how friggin' weak I really am. If I happen to work any of my swimming muscles like my latissimus dorsi (lats), pectorals or my triceps, I'm a stud. Biceps, shoulders, not so much. I feel like a total pansy. So today, we did chest, back, shoulders and arms OH MY!. This will definitely aid in my weight loss. Not because I'm building more muscle and increasing my metabloism, oh no . . . simply because I cannot lift my hands to my mouth to eat! Carl hates me.With Every Great Achievement There Should Be Reward . . .
OK, I guess I'm in a blogging mood today, but this hit me while I was in the shower. SO, here's what I'm putting out there. PENDING Wifely approval, when I get below 300 pounds, I want to reward myself by purchasing a 2008 Fat Cyclist Jersey. Fatty in conjunction with Twin Six just released the new design and I love it. I want one. I doubt he'll be making XXXL versions, so I'll buy an XXL version and hope that by the end of cycling season (maybe the Dam2Dam!?) I can fit into it comfortably. OH, I might buy a T-shirt too . . . and maybe a water bottle . . . Here's the jersey (Sorry Fatty for stealing your pictures, but I'm trying to get you more sales, I promise . . . please oh please Fatty, don't sue. Just look at how many times in this one article alone I've linked to your site. That should be worth something right?)2008 Fat Cyclist Men's Jersey - Front
2008 Fat Cyclist Men's Jersey - Back
Furthermore . . . Teri, set a goal, I don't care what it is . . . when you hit it, I will buy YOU a 2008 Fat Cyclist Women's Jersey. Please note that a portion of all proceeds from sales of Fat Cyclist paraphenalia are donated to helping Fatty's wife Susan fight cancer. So it's a good cause, and a just reward for achieving your goals.
2008 Fat Cyclist Women's Jersey - Front
2008 Fat Cyclist Women's Jersey - Back
For those of you that do not read Fatty's blog and are into cycling, I HIGHLY recommend it. His posts are often humorous and even occasionally contain some cycling information. :-)
Starting February out Right
OK, one workout down, 14 (or more!) to go for the month! I got in the pool this morning. My legs are still pretty sore from doing my "triathlon" on Wednesday. I just did a lazy 1,000 yards this morning. Took about 28 minutes with a LOT of kicking, so I feel good about it. Here's my workout:- 1 X 200 Swim
- 1 X 200 Kick
- 1 X 200 Pull
- 1 X 200 Swim
- 1 X 100 Kick
- 1 X 100 Individual Medley (IM)
Update - I looked at pics of Megan Quann I dont think it was her, but the breaststroke style of both girls were similar, so I can't be completely positive it wasn't her.
January Goals Review - February Goals
January 2008 Goals Review:I think I did fairly OK for the month. Still really need to concentrate on my intake and get better at logging stuff in The Daily Plate
- Eat less fast food in January than I did in December. This will mean less than 6 trips to a fast food restaurant. I haven't looked at Microsoft Money yet, but I know I went more than 6 times. Most of it was stress related or just being lazy. I will continue to work on this.
- Drink less soda in January than I did in December. This will mean drinking soda on less than three occasions in January. Yeah, same here. I know I had more than three days of drinking coke. And I tried "cheating" by using a rock star here and there. But I drink FAR less soda than I used to. I am getting better after having a soda, being soda free for the next few days/weeks
- Perform at least 10 workouts in January. This is to include a minimum of 5 Triathlon specific workouts. I Seriously kicked ass on this goal this month! I was in the gym a total of 16 times and every workout was either swim, bike or run. Including one day where I did all three!
- I will weigh less on February 1st than I did on January 2nd. My stretch goal is to lose 18.0 pounds in January putting me UNDER 300. Didn't hit the stretch, but on January 2nd I believe I weighed 317.0. On February 1st I weighed 308.0. 9 pounds for the month. I did hit a low yesterday of 307.5, but that was after my dual workouts the day before. Again, kick ass on this one!
- I will continue taking my daily vitamins AND Fish Oil supplements to the plethora of pills I'll be popping in the morning.Yep
February 2008 Goals:
Again, why fix what's not broken. My goals in February will pretty much mimic my goals in January with some slight modifications:
- Eat less fast food in February than I did in January. This will mean less than 6 (or so) trips to a fast food restaurant.
- Drink less soda in February than I did in January. As I'm not entirely sure how many days I drank soda in January I'll say 5 or less days drinking soda.
- Perform at least 15 workouts in February. This is to include a minimum of 5 workouts where I do at least two triathlon events. (Swim/Bike, Bike/Run, etc.)
- I will weigh less on March 1st than I did on February 1st (308.0). My stretch goal is to lose 8.5 pounds in February putting me UNDER 300.
- I will continue taking my daily vitamins AND Fish Oil supplements.
- Do at least one group workout with some or all of Daboyz training for the Triathlon
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text:
- April 18, 2012
- 2:50 p.m.
- Suggest removal
- Reply to this post
LiketoRead writes:
in response to LadyeDeVere:
What a load of ... misinformation! Totten doesn't want to admit that he messed up, so he dumps the entire mess on Mr. Holden and Mr. Herrera. They are two very fine men, who only cared about helping the city! He doesn't want to admit that he was browbeaten and influenced by what happened in Bell two years ago to inflate his own status by starting an investigation that makes a mountain out of a molehill. Now, because he appears completely incompetent, he throws Holden and Herrera under the bus for what were probably honest mistakes. The $14,000 dollars they're referring to didnt have anything to do with either Holden or Herrera, but this article makes it seem as if it does. Shame on you, Star, for misleading people like this! And, I'm not sure, but I think that businessman's jet thing was because Mr. Holden married two people in Mexico somewhere - it didn't have anything to do with city business at all. Sheesh, you people, do you believe everything the Enquirer says?? Half the time, most of the stuff you see in newspapers and on TV is no better than the Enquirer, but people buy it, hook, line and sinker. Ask before you start screaming recall, will you please? The last time this happened, we went from having a great City Council, to having a City Council that can't get anything done any more. Thanks Mr. Totten, for that. You're too proud to admit that you screwed up, so you're going to throw our whole city under the bus. Nice work.
You should read the report. It is listed under the Timeline on the "Front Page".
Very interesting reading.
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text:
Weddings Nikki Design
107 Stoughton Road, Guildford, Surrey, GU1 1LH
- Tel: 07811 433741
About us
Give your wedding the WOW factor with one of our elegant designs!
Nikki Design specialises in making handmade wedding invitations, offering stylish handcrafted invitations colour matched to your theme and personalised with your guests names. Each wedding invitation is made to the highest quality using textured card and finished with touches of gems, pearls and satin ribbon.
Our luxury range of wedding invitations includes: Pocketfold or Wallet invitations,
Flat Card invitations and Classic Fold invitations.
To accompany each collection we have a beautiful range of matching wedding stationery including: Save the Date Cards; Reply Postcards; Information Cards;
Order of Service; Table Plans; Place Names; Menus; Table Numbers and
Wedding Fans.
Bespoke Design Service
If youre looking for something a bit different from the collections we offer then why not try our Bespoke Design Service?
Please get in touch and see what Nikki Design can do for you!
Services and products
- wedding invitations
- invitations
- stationery printing
- wedding cards
- wedding services
- digital imaging
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- colour printing
- card
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- personalised stationery
Tell customers about your latest offers and promotions
Reach customers looking for discounts by adding a deal to your page.
Payment methods
- Paypal
We accept Cheque, BACS, Cash
You can also find us on
Show customers your opening times
Add opening hours to keep customers up-to-date with your availabilty.
Is this your business?
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text:
100 search results for Ghostbusters
Photo Results
Just Dance 2014
The sequel to the best-selling dance game "Just Dance 4."
20 movies we're still waiting for
Checking in on the status of some long-delayed sequels, reboots and remakes
15 of the biggest summer movie letdowns of all-time
Find out which blockbusters disappointed us the most
10 stories you might have missed: Will 'Transformers 4' feature an all-new cast?
Also: The latest 'Ghostbusters 3' and 'X Factor' rumors
All Results
Is 'Bad Boys 3' a sign of what's ahead for Sony under Mike De Luca's leadership?
If so, let's hope this is only part of the story
Asgard and 'Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.' come together in a special 'Thor' related episode
The tie-in wasn't what we expected, though
Sales Report: 'Walking Dead' is king in October; 'Zero Year,' 'Infinity' next in line
10th Anniversary storyline sends 'Walking Dead' over 310K; four more titles break 100K
Morning TV Round-Up: 'New Girl' and 'The Mindy Project'
Coach tries to whip Nick into shape, while Mindy has a sleepover at Danny's
Rumor: Emma Stone and Jonah Hill offered roles in 'Ghostbusters 3'
Another report has Cleveland pegged as a possible shooting location
Ghostbusters 1 & 2 Gift Set
Includes:Ghostbusters (1984), MPAA Rating: PG Ghostbusters 2 (1989), MPAA Rating: PG Ghostbusters Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson star as a quartet of Manhattan-based "paranormal investigators". When their government grants run out, the former three go into business as The Ghostbusters, later hiring Hudson on. Armed with electronic paraphernalia, the team is spectacularly successful, ridding The Big Apple of dozens of ghoulies, ghosties and long-legged beasties. Tight-lipped bureaucrat William Atherton regards the Ghostbusters as a bunch of charlatans, but is forced to eat his words when New York is besieged by an army of unfriendly spirits, conjured up by a long-dead Babylonian demon and "channelled" through beautiful cellist Sigourney Weaver and nerdish Rick Moranis. The climax is a glorious sendup of every Godzilla movie ever made-and we daresay it cost more than a year's worth of Japanese monster flicks combined. Who'd ever dream that the chubby, cheery Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man would turn out to be the most malevolent threat ever faced by New York City? When the script for Ghostbusters was forged by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, John Belushi was slated to play the Bill Murray role; Belushi's death in 1982 not only necessitated the hiring of Murray, but also an extensive rewrite. The most expensive comedy made up to 1984, Ghostbusters made money hand over fist, spawning not only a 1989 sequel but also two animated TV series (one of them partially based on an earlier live-action TV weekly, titled The Ghost Busters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide Ghostbusters 2 Ivan Reitman's sequel to the phenomenally successful Ghostbusters is looser and more self-assured than the original. The film opens with a title reading "Five Years Later" and finds the ghostbusters living in hard times. A restraining order has forbidden the boys to partake in paranormal warfare, and as a result they have had to seek other lines of work. Ray (Dan Aykroyd) and Winston (Ernie Hudson) spend their time performing at children's' birthday parties, and Egon (Harold Ramis) is busy conducting experiments investigating the effect of human emotions on the environment, leaving ghostbusting behind. Venkman (Bill Murray) and Dana (Sigourney Weaver) have split up. Venkman now hosts a local cable show called "The World of the Psychic." Dana, now divorced and the mother of a little baby named Oscar, works as an art restorer in a museum -- and this is where the plot kicks in. While Dana is restoring a portrait of a 16th-century tyrant by the name of Vigo the Carpathian, the portrait becomes hexed. The evil Vigo wants to return to life by taking over the body of Dana's little child. Vigo has enlisted Dana's boss, Janosz Poha (Peter MacNicol), to compel Dana to cooperate. Soon dirty sludge and slime flow through the streets of Manhattan, and the ghostbusters have to reunite to save the city from a funky paranormal evil. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
Ghostbusters (Mastered in 4K) (Single-Disc Blu-ray + Ultra Violet Digital Copy) [Blu-ray]
Completely remasterd in 4K HD TV
A Haunted House - DVD
When a young couple move in to their dream place, they soon discover they're not alone
A Haunted House (Two-Disc Combo Pack: Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy + UltraViolet)
A young couple move in to their dream place and they soon discover they're not alone


text:
Ive been playing this game for a while now and im a level 58 force blader and wanted to know if im heading in the right direction in terms of Skill level and equipment ?
I am on level A. Expert (49) on Sword and A. Expert on Magic (30)
I have adept titanium armour and adept orb.
So am i at the right skill level for my rank ?
And how is my equipment ?


text:
Hi, im gonna make it straight. I love penguins and am clearly going to do my best in order to make a penguin possible in this game, and the perfect host of an alt avatar would be Pollywog of course.
Credits go to Akufuji on the image.
Its easy. Im gonna explain all his animations and such.
Electric Jolt: He simply uses his staff and weaves it around, while shooting lazers, possibly in the color white, and kills things.
Morph: He transforms the enemy into fish.
Tongue Tied: Uses tongue, duh.
Voodoo Wards: Now this is the tricky part. The voodoo wards of COURSE need an overhaul, no question. I was thinking this:
Looks good, doesnt it? They do however need to have a beak and be of the icy theme.
On move
Gliding away!
Free fish for the one who gets there first!
On attack
Freeze em'!
Beak em' down!
Strike from below!
On click
Smells like fish here!
Youre gonna love our fish!
On too many clicks
They told me i could be anything, so i became a plane. Then they told me that that was a bit weird, so i became a priest!
Im like a biird!
Im like a flying bomberman!
Youre the next in line!
Not as good as fish, but still very good!
Last edited by Elune_; 12-19-2012 at 07:02 AM.
This thread is missing something, where's Pandaroohoo
Scarecrow Madman http://forums.heroesofnewerth.com/sh...arecrow-MadmanRe-voice El Gauntelete:http://forums.heroesofnewerth.com/sh...telete-s-Voice
Reminded me of Happy Feet. You get get some ideas from there.
I was kinda more hoping for getting a penguin hero
Forum Moderators are not S2 Games employees. My posts in no way represent the view of S2 Games or any of its staff.
Please use the report post function to have me review a post that you believe is breaking the Forum Rules.
Check the Sticky Threads for additional information on this sub-forum and the Announcement Threads for more information about Heroes of Newerth as a whole!
Bump dat pointless water.
Looks great. Want it.
Vote for my Suggestions:
UI Update for HoN based on Strife Elements
Bumpedy bump
I honestly would instantly buy any penguin hero or alternate avatar. I already have the penguin courier and this idea is just great!
Hope that Skyve's above post was a hint to a penguin hero coming soon!
Scarecrow Madman http://forums.heroesofnewerth.com/sh...arecrow-MadmanRe-voice El Gauntelete:http://forums.heroesofnewerth.com/sh...telete-s-Voice
Omg i love happy feet
S2 Games: Dedicated employees serving dedicated gamers. Continuous development. Never-ending improvement.
Jonathan "Pandaroohoo" Ly | Creative Game Designer
Scarecrow Madman http://forums.heroesofnewerth.com/sh...arecrow-MadmanRe-voice El Gauntelete:http://forums.heroesofnewerth.com/sh...telete-s-Voice
Bump and thanks for the support!


text:
Since 184.108.40.206 you can switch from the account you're logged in with to the very same account.
Steps to reproduce:
- Log in with an account that has no Sub-Accounts but is in a Clan
- Click your name in the top bar
- Click your name without the Clan-Tag in the dropdown menu
- The game asks you if you want to switch accounts
- Click OK to log out and log in to the very same account
Confirming then
S2 Games: Dedicated employees serving dedicated gamers. Continuous development. Never-ending improvement.
Tech Support and Customer Support: https://www.heroesofnewerth.com/support/
Look for my highlighted text (important information) and grey text (interesting but not required information).
Tidied up this a bit, however, you will still be able to (re)log in to the same account as this behavior is intended.
Thanks to Elkano for his help with this.


text: What's Hot 2013 Gift Ideas Craft Whiskey Remembering Mandela GALLERIES Brody Jenner Pics 0 26 Back to Top ▲ Brody Jenner Pics Brody Jenner Pics AskMen Editors The dawn of reality television has given pop culture a new set of celebrities who have earned their 15 minutes of fame almost exclusively by appearing in these shows. The esteemed Brody Jenner is one such individual. A true reality television veteran, who is best known for his "work" on The Hills, he has taken full advantage of the pieces in life that he's been given -- wealthy parents,... Continue reading Brody Jenner's profile. Next Page


text:
I've taken some WIP photos of my Dark Age chapel. As i lack the modelling talent of many others here i'll confess that it is a brought one from Grand Manner, but is no less lovely for that. I'm really quite excited about it and thought i might do a bit of a walk through of the process if it goes well.
I'm aiming to have a sort of sandstone look to it -so i painted up a carved stone as a test - if all goes well i'll base it properly tonight, but comments and ideas are more than welcomed.
Step one - the chapel cleaned up and basecoated.


text:
Add Button to a Python Plugin for XBMC on the Home Screen Menu?
Junior Member Posts: 14 Joined: Sep 2009 Reputation: 0 |
2010-01-16 02:19
Post: #11
find quote |
Donor Posts: 183 Joined: Jan 2010 Reputation: 1 Location: UK |
2010-01-22 22:56
Post: #12
Many thanks for this thread - really nice having iplayer at the top level. To make this complete tho is it possible to get the channels / categories on the submenu?
p.s. - anyone got any better background images up for grabs than the one earlier in this thread? I scoured google and flickr for something better and drew a big blank... Cheers! Shoesy x Check out my stationery blog- http://www.tailormadeinvites.co.uk |
find quote |
Junior Member Posts: 22 Joined: Feb 2010 Reputation: 0 |
2010-02-05 00:12
Post: #13
I've tried to follow what was posted here by editing my home.xml, but I can't seem to get it to work at all, could you please post your home.xml here? Or if possible give a little more detail on how you got this to work? Im running xbmc9.11 with no mods btw. When I edited my home.xml to include your code: <!-- Custom Button --> <control type="button" item id="12"> <label>iPlayer TV</label> <onclick>ActivateWindow(24,plugin://video/IPlayer/?tvradio=tv)</onclick> <icon>/home/pictures/backgrounds/iplayer.jpg</icon> </control> XBMC would not let me re-enable the aeon skin. (I changed the iplayer.jpg path to the correct location for my pc) What do type="button" and item id"=12" correspond to? |
find quote |
Fan Posts: 546 Joined: Oct 2009 Reputation: 0 |
2010-02-05 01:45
Post: #14
Why the hell would you be enabling the aeon skin? You're in Confluence section...
find quote |
Junior Member Posts: 40 Joined: Nov 2009 Reputation: 0 |
2010-05-05 22:14
Post: #15
Shoesy Wrote:To make this complete tho is it possible to get the channels / categories on the submenu? I'd like to do this as well. I've got the submenu sorted out, but I have no idea how to activate, say, the live BBC One stream on click. Is this possible? So the same way to code previously mentioned in this thread, "ActivateWindow(24,plugin://video/iPlayer/?tvradio=tv)" tells XBMC to go straight to the TV section, is it possible to go TV -> Watch Live -> BBC One?
(This post was last modified: 2010-05-05 22:17 by Jimcando.)
find quote |
Junior Member Posts: 40 Joined: Nov 2009 Reputation: 0 |
2010-05-12 02:02
Post: #16
find quote |
Senior Member Posts: 286 Joined: Jun 2008 Reputation: 127 |
2010-05-17 23:36
Post: #17
Try this. Add the live stream to favourites. And look in favouries.xml to find the code .........\XBMC\userdata\favourites.xml.
find quote |
Junior Member Posts: 40 Joined: Nov 2009 Reputation: 0 |
2010-05-19 15:46
Post: #18
That's worked. For anyone interested the command is: Code: <onclick>RunPlugin(plugin://video/iPlayer/?pid=0&label=bbc_one_london)</onclick> |
find quote |


text:
Posted by Shmully Schwartz
Being the resident expert on Medicare for the Los Angeles public libraries is more exciting than the job title suggests. I get to meet all types of people, see many unique and diverse areas of Los Angeles, and run into the occasional crazy person who yells at me for ruining Social Security. I love it.
A few months back, at the start of the summer, I was giving a talk on Medicare (I call them Medicare 101's) to a small group at the Marina Del Rey library. Yaakov, (name has been changed) was the oldest in the group and wore cowboy boots, a snake skin belt and a ten gallon hat. He was fairly quiet the entire talk and when I started explaining why Medicare only pays 80% he piped up mourning his situation that he hadn't seen a doctor in 4 years because he couldn't afford the coinsurance. He needed a hernia operation, heart medications, dental, and the gamut of what an 84-year-old person may need when reaching that age.
Yaakov literally could not believe it when I told him I could get him a plan that didn't cost a penny and would cover all his doctor visits, operations and medications at no cost. After thoroughly explaining how Medicare Advantage works – that even my wealthy clients have it - and how he could get Extra Help to pay for his meds, he was grinning from ear to ear and thanked me profusely. I told him this is why I give these talks and that he had made my trip worth it.
A few days ago I saw Yaakov and he told me he had all his operations done, loved his doctor, and was starting a new business.
Many seniors ask me if I enjoy what I do. The answer is always very much.
11.3.13 at 12:03 pm |
4.24.13 at 5:04 pm | Exciting information on the ins and outs of group. . .
3.13.13 at 12:19 pm | Thoughts on the respective opinions of both. . .
2.14.13 at 9:22 am | So I've heard that there are insurance carriers. . .
2.3.13 at 2:14 pm | Many of you have heard about a new place to buy. . .
1.14.13 at 12:27 pm | In our previous post we spoke about Obamacare,. . .
11.3.13 at 12:03 pm | (2)
4.24.13 at 5:04 pm | Exciting information on the ins and outs of group. . . (2)
2.14.13 at 9:22 am | So I've heard that there are insurance carriers. . . (1)
April 24, 2013 | 5:04 pm
Posted by Shmully Schwartz
Q. What advantages are there by belonging to a group plan?
Well for one, in most cases, your employer will pay most of your monthly premium if not all of it. More money in your pocket is good… You'll still be responsible for copays and coinsurance but your definite costs are being paid for by the group policy.
Secondly, group plans are guaranteed issue. Meaning, the insurance carrier can't deny one particular employee due to a preexisting condition. This is good as well.
Therefore, group plans are ideal for businesses that want to attract talented employees by offering them health insurance at no cost. It entices the potential employee to your company over someone else's.
Q. What disadvantages are there in a group plan?
Some companies will deduct money from your payroll in order to pay for your health insurance policy. Though, if it is only part of the cost, you're usually better off staying in the group.
In addition, some group plans don't have the rich benefits that Medicare has. This means that not only is it a lot cheaper for employees over the age of 65 to be on a Medicare approved plan (instead of the group plan), but the monthly premiums, deductible, copays and coinsurance can be a lot more expensive with a group plan. Essentially, you're paying more and getting less. For this reason many seniors who are still working will disenroll from their group plan and enroll into Medicare along with a Medicare Advantage or supplemental policy (see my blog relating to Medicare Advantage vs. Supplement - or email me directly).
Q. What is the definition of a group health insurance plan?
A group health insurance plan is a policy for two or more people who are connected not for the sole purpose of getting a group health policy. They either belong to a club or, in most scenarios; they work for the same company.
Anyone in the group can apply. It is illegal to discriminate against anyone in the plan for any reason. All must be afforded the option.
Q. What is the SHOP?
The SHOP is the Small Business Health Options Program. It is a government exchange that will go live three months before 2014 so that small businesses (under 50 employees) can shop for group health insurance plans. Some businesses may get a 50% tax credit for going through the exchange!
Q. Who in 2014 must provide a group health plan for their employees?
In 2014 any company with more than 50 employees must provide AFFORDABLE health insurance to their employees. If they do not provide affordable health insurance the company will be penalized for each employee after their first thirty employees.
Please comment with any questions or feedback you'd like to share…
All the best,
March 13, 2013 | 12:19 pm
Posted by Shmully Schwartz
Medicare, Obamacare, Paul Ryan and President Obama are going head to head on the budget, and they are refusing to budge on entitlements.
Is it November? No. I just checked my calendar and it's March 13, 2013. President Obama was inaugurated in January and the elections happened over four months ago. So, why all this déjà vu?
I think it's becoming obvious. America has a major problem. That problem is our health. Moreover, it's our healthcare system. We've all heard the statistics, America ranks 37th on the World Health Organizations performance ranking worldwide, but we rank #1 on expenditures on healthcare. That's quite the gap. Just to put this in perspective, I want to show some companies that rank higher than us: Singapore ranks 6th on performance and 34th in expenditures, UK ranks 18th and 26th on expenditures and Columbia ranks 22nd and 49th on expenditures. COLUMBIA.
How could this happen? How could the greatest country in the world allow this to happen? We are being beat by Columbia and Singapore. A country that still does public beatings for littering is beating us in taking care of their sick, keeping their people healthy and keeping down costs at the same time! This is ludicrous!
Right now public opinion is split between two competing schools of thought. First is the Obama administrations point of view, and the other moves more in line with the points of view of Congressman Paul Ryan. I'd first like to explain both of their points of view, so we can get a handle of how the current debate is facing the issue. I would then like to explain my point of view, which is that we are looking at the wrong issues! We are tiptoeing around what is really hurting us, and until we tackle these issues, we are going to break ourselves more than we already have!
The Obama plan addresses what and who pays. One of his goals is to reduce payments to hospitals and drug companies. Medicare currently doesn't have negotiating power with drug companies, which is why Medicare Part D programs (which is the stand alone prescription drug plan of Medicare) arguably provides weaker drug coverage than commercial plans and Medicare Advantage plans. Additionally, he wants to decrease payments to hospitals and doctors for certain procedures, claiming they need to be more in line with other comparable costs. He also wants to reduce readmission rates by incentivizing hospitals to nip issues in the bud, thereby reducing the risk that patients will keep coming back and costing us more money!
The president's plan then goes on to address who is going to pay for this! Guess who, the wealthy and new enrollees! According to an article by Tami Luhbi, in CNN Money, they plan on increasing premiums on drug plans and doctors visits to high income seniors by 15% in 2017 and they want to make sure that 25% of beneficiaries are subject to these premiums. Additionally, Tami mentions that there will be a 30% surcharge on Part B premiums of anyone who enrolls in a comprehensive Medigap policy. By the way, most people aren't aware of this, but Part B premiums go up already with income. Here in Southern California someone making 90k a year is FAR from wealthy, but they are still charged a higher premium on their Part B.
Now Paul Ryan's plan addresses the issues of cost to the system. His plan, according to Rick Newman of US News and World Report, is "to solve the problem by giving seniors a federal subsidy they can use to purchase health insurance of their own choice. The catch is that the subsidy would only cover part of the premiums, forcing seniors to pay the difference, which would be a sizable expense." For all intents and purposes, it's a voucher system that would allow the seniors to go to a public market place for the insurance coverage, similar to what we do prior to Medicare. The difference would be Guaranteed Issue policies that could not be denied on issue of previous conditions. Ryan is basically saying, let the market take care of itself, let the seniors handle their own care and everything will work itself out in the free market economy.
Here are the primary issues that neither party is confronting head on, LACK OF TRANSPARENCY and FRAUD.
Let's first talk about transparency. Today if I go to my primary care physician and get a physical and blood work, I have no idea what the cost of the procedure is going to be. I know that I have a $25 co-pay and that's it. I also know that I may get a bill in the mail for differences that may or may not be covered by my insurance company. Actually, many people aren't aware of these potential expenses until the bill comes in the mail! Now let's go a step further. My PCP's office is going to send a bill to the insurance company. The insurance company will then reimburse the PCP based on their scale (rate), which may differ from the PCP's scale and ironically, may differ from all the other insurance companies scale. Imagine if you went to the grocery store to buy an apple. That apple doesn't have a price tag on it and you are forced to negotiate the price of this apple at the cash register. That effectively is what's happening behind the scenes with our healthcare expenses.
Here's the final kicker, a doctor, who goes to school for more years and puts themselves into more debt than most people would care to ever go into, is the only professional that doesn't get paid up front for their service! Could you imagine going to your attorney and walking out the door paying $25 after they perform a service for you? And that attorney isn't taking care of our most basic need, our health!
In a transparent system, within an open market, we should know what procedures really cost. One shouldn't need an associate's degree in medical billing to understand how we are charged for a procedure! Have you ever seen an Explanation of Benefits from your insurance company? I use them when I have insomnia because they are enough to shut down your brain! This lack of transparency creates an uneducated consumer and puts the consumer on the losing end of the battle, or even worse, America at the 37th position.
The other major problem we aren't addressing is FRAUD. Medicare FRAUD, Medicaid FRAUD, insurance FRAUD! I hope what I'm about to say is going to make you sick. I have clients, in Beverly Hills, whose zip code is 90210 who are on Medicaid. That's right, the insurance program for the poor and disenfranchised. They can rack up millions of dollars of bills, on our tax dollars and there is ZERO consequence to them. They live with their kids in multi-million dollar mansions; they drive a Mercedes, yes, because you are allowed one car with Medicaid, even if that car is a Bentley! They have diamond rings and are far from struggling, but because they technically have no cash in the bank, they qualify for Medicaid. IT IS DISGUSTING!
I propose doing something now that is slowly starting to happen. If you are on Medicare and Medicaid together, you should be moved from being able to go to whatever doctor you want to, whenever you want to, which is how the system currently works. We need to move these people onto HMO's stat! They need to be forced into a limited network of providers that can manage their care, monitor their drugs, limit their effect financially on the system and limit the ease in which they can allow some of the fraudsters out their to further fraud the system.
Why haven't we done this yet? I'll tell you why, because it's a system that makes money for a lot of people and they are in the state capitals and in DC lobbying against it with every dollar they can put into it.
I feel by addressing fraud and the lack of transparency in our medical system, we can effectively start moving in the right direction with bringing down the cost of healthcare and putting it more in line with our friends around the world.
In the next installment, I'll explain our take on Obamacare, the Republican plan and the reality of where they both lead us!
Jesse Hendon is the president of Simpler Horizons Insurance Solutions. They focus on helping people on Medicare and with their health insurance needs. They also consult with doctors and medical groups throughout southern California. Shmuel Schwartz is one of their senior agents.
February 14, 2013 | 9:22 am
Posted by Shmully Schwartz
So I've heard that there are insurance carriers that will cover the 20% of your healthcare costs that original Medicare doesn't cover. Is this true?
Yes. Medicare will pay insurance companies upwards of $1,000 a month for managing your Medicare. This means that the insurance carrier will replace, or takeover, your Medicare Part A and Part B and will add additional benefits to entice you to join their plan. This is called a Medicare Advantage plan or Medicare Part C. Some of these plans do not have a monthly premium and many of them are an HMO type plan where you have a primary care doctor who refers you to specialists as needed. The most alluring element of this type of plan is that it usually has a $0 monthly premium. Free.
I've also heard that there is something called a Medicare supplement insurance policy. What is that?
Medicare supplement insurance will actually cover the 20% that original Medicare (parts A and B) doesn't cover. So when you go to the doctor, for example, you show your Medicare card and your supplemental insurance card. Instead of the insurance carrier taking over your original Medicare and filling in the gaps, the supplement will leave your Medicare as is and add additional insurance. The benefit of this plan is that it allows you to see any doctor that takes Medicare as opposed to the Advantage plan that usually requires you to be in a network. The drawback of this plan is that it can be quite expensive and isn't affordable for a lot of folks.
Well which one is better: A Medicare supplement or Medicare Advantage?
There are many insurance carriers and types of plans out there and there is no absolute best. There is only what's best for you, and that depends on a few factors such as your prescription medications, your doctor, how often you travel etc.
As you well know, this is a complicated subject for a lot of folks but I'll continue to try and keep it simple and shed light on any upcoming changes in Medicare.
February 3, 2013 | 2:14 pm
Posted by Shmully Schwartz
Many of you have heard about a new place to buy health insurance starting at the end of this year called the exchange. As part of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), starting in 2014 ALL Americans must have a minimum amount of health insurance or be taxed by the government. The law also requires each state to have a health insurance exchange where people can buy health insurance.
Let's think of the exchange for a minute as an airline ticket search engine. You enter your information based on family, age, geography and tobacco use, instead of airport city and date. The search engine then brings you plans based on four different metallic tiers, bronze, silver, gold and platinum. From the lowest premiums and least amount of coverage for the bronze tier, to the highest premiums and highest level of coverage on the platinum tier: A higher level of coverage means a lower deductible, lower out of pocket maximum, and more prescription drugs covered.
The bronze tier will cover 60% of your healthcare, silver – 70%, gold – 80% and platinum – 90%. Additionally, all of these plans are "guaranteed issue" meaning the insurance carrier can not deny your application due to any preexisting conditions. Furthermore, the government will subsidize the cost of your insurance based on your income. The less money you make the more credits and subsidies the government will give you.
If all goes as planned, exchanges will open for enrollment on October 1, 2013 and coverage effective dates will begin January 1, 2014.
The government will also offer another type of exchange where employers can buy group health insurance for their employees. This exchange is the Small Business Health Options Programs, or SHOPs, for short. Tax credits will increase for employers with 25 or fewer employees and the credit will cover up to 50% of the employer's cost. Employers will be eligible for credits in the first two years they offer coverage through an exchange.
Now if an employer with a large group (50 or more employees) does not offer minimum coverage to full-time employees, and at least one employee gets subsidized coverage through an exchange, then a $2,000 penalty is assessed for each employee (after the first 30).
So starting in 2014 there are three ways for folks to get health insurance. 1) Get coverage through their employer, if available. 2) Buy a plan through either: The individual market exchange or the traditional market. 3) Go uninsured and pay a penalty.
The penalty in 2014 for going without health insurance is $95 annually or 1% of taxable income whichever is greater. In 2015 the penalty will be $325 or 2% of taxable income. In 2016 the penalty will be $695 or 2.5% of taxable income.
As the year progresses and more information is available, we will in turn keep you informed!
Have a great week! Please post comments below.
January 14, 2013 | 12:27 pm
Posted by Shmully Schwartz
In our previous post we spoke about Obamacare, the Pros and the Cons. As we prepare for the insurance exchange and the employer mandate, I've had a lot of time to reflect what would be the best position for our clients. As I was thinking about how to best help our clients, both group clients and individuals, my thoughts began to drift to the balancing act of folks who were self-insured versus folks with high deductible plans versus folks with "Cadillac Plans". Each one of these groups can make a strong argument for why they believe they are in the right for their current situation. Today, I'd like to focus on the numbers when buying health insurance.
We should first focus on what a deductible is; it's the out of pocket amount of money you must put towards a claim before your insurance company puts in a dime. I think of it as the amount of risk you are willing to put into the game before your insurance company covers the risk. As you can imagine, the more skin you are willing to put in the game, the more reward. Most people only focus on deductibles with their car insurance and think $1,000.00 dollars is a high deductible. With health insurance, most high deductible plans reach $5,000 with some as high as $8,000 or $16,000 for a family. That makes $1,000 laughable!
In addition to deductibles, many plans expose patients to Annual out of Pocket Maximums. What is this extra money? It is money a patient must pay in co-pays and/or co-insurances. So once you've hit your deductible, you now must pay these extra charges until you've hit your max. Once that happens, your insurance company goes to work!
So why would someone of sound state and mind want to put $5,000 of their hard earned dollars at risk? The answer: the difference in premiums between a Cadillac plan and a high deductible plan. A very popular high deductible plan is the Anthem Tonik plan. It's one a lot of younger folks buy as the premiums are not so high, it covers dental and vision and allows a patient 4 doctors office visits throughout the year. For a healthy 35 year old, single male, the monthly premiums are going to be around $220 a month. The deductible with this plan is $5000 and the annual out of pocket maximum is $0. Let's then look at a PPO plan with a $1,000 deductible from the same company. This plan is going to run that same healthy 35 year old, single man, $403 a month. The biggest strength of this plan is unlimited office visits at $30 and $50 co-pays. The price difference reflects the deductible difference. However, the plan also exposes the patient to an annual out of pocket maximum of $4,500 bucks. The client is now exposed, if something were to happen, to 403 x 12 + 1000 + 4500 = $10,336. This is versus a client being exposed to 220 x 12 + 5000 = 7,640.
In addition to the numbers there are also some very important points one must consider when looking at their health insurance options. First, what insurance plans do your physicians accept? Do you want an HMO or a PPO? One important point, many HMO's have zero deductible, but you pay for that $0 deductible in the premium difference! Are there well-being assessments available to reduce my premiums? What companies seem to raise their premiums versus a level premium history?
Remember, you only have one heart, two lungs and one brain! Take care of these over time and they'll take care of you! Until next time, be well.
January 7, 2013 | 4:39 pm
Posted by Shmully Schwartz
OBAMACARE!!! It's a word that strikes fear into some, smiles onto others and confusion onto most! What is The Affordable Care Act? Who does it affect? Is it good? Is it bad? One blog isn't enough to tackle these questions, but we'll try and answer a few of them today!
Is there really a 716 billion dollar raid on Medicare to fund Obamacare?
No, plain and simple. Let me explain the dollars and cents of what's going on with this magic 716 billion-dollar number. Medicare Advantage plans and hospitals are paid capitations (a set monthly dollar amount per beneficiary) and bonus dollars. Obamacare has a provision in place starting 2013 that will only pay these bonus dollars if the plans and medical providers meet minimum quality standards. That means if an Advantage plan doesn't meet minimum star ratings, and medical providers don't meet the standards in place, they won't get a bonus. Those dollars are then spread out over ten years and that's how we answer the 716 billion dollar question.
Do all men really have maternity coverage on their health insurance?
Yes. Although science shows I will never be able to have a baby, I have that coverage on my health insurance. That's whether I want it, or not...
I've heard that I can get health insurance with a pre-existing condition now, is that true?
Yes and no! Today if you are under 19 and have a pre-existing condition, the health insurance company cannot turn you down. If you are over 19, this starts for you in 2014. According to healthcare.gov, "The law implements strong reforms that prohibit insurance companies from refusing to sell coverage or renew policies because of an individual's pre-existing conditions. Also, in the individual and small group market, it eliminates the ability of insurance companies to charge higher rates due to gender or health status."
Are my health insurance premiums going to go up?
Yes. There's going to be no way around this. Health insurance companies are here to make a profit. I know this sounds counter intuitive to the quote written above, but let me explain. Health Insurance companies aren't going to be able to charge higher rates to a select few due to gender or health status. This means they will simply charge higher rates to all of us! I say this as fact, because it is.
My Doctor said that Obamacare is going to drive him out of business?
A trend that we see coming down the road is the end of the private practice. Medicine is moving in the direction of managed care, for better or for worse. Let me explain. My doctor once told me that he's the only professional that goes to school for 8 years and doesn't ask you to pay him at the time services are rendered. That's a great point! We know we are going to be gauged when we see a lawyer, we expect to be bamboozled by a contractor, but if a doctor asks us to pay him, we're insured, we don't need to pay him! Private practice physicians are getting increasingly lower payouts from insurance companies. Additionally, they need to fight to get what they're promised. Have you ever gotten an explanation of benefits from your insurance company and read it? The insurance company screws the doctor! Now let's look at your doctor who works for UCLA, HealthCare Partners, Kaiser or Cedars. These guys and gals get paid a pretty great salary and most of their bonuses are based on quality measures, not quantity measures. Don't get me wrong; if they're not seeing patients, they're out the door! However, the trend is more and more physicians are now working with big medical groups to avoid the pitfalls of private practice. Is Obamacare driving the private practice doctor out of business? Maybe not, but it sure isn't helping them to stay in business either.
I agree that something needs to be done, but is forcing everyone to get health insurance the answer?
We tend to agree with that statement. The bigger issue is the medicine for profit system we live in today. Most people agree that healthcare should be free, but how? At the expense of higher taxes, my pocketbook doesn't seem to like that answer! Doctors go to Med school and drive themselves into 100k plus debt in hopes to make it big. Medical billing is so complicated; they have 2-year programs dedicated to it. Nurses go to school for six years and dig themselves holes similar to the doctors. Hospitals are run for profit, for the most part, and the ones that are not-for-profit still need the money to keep the lights on and the staff paid. Finally, there are the good old insurance companies! If there's ever a nuclear disaster there are two things that will survive, termites and insurance companies!
Over time, we are going to address the issues that are a concern to many people both in the Jewish community and abroad related to healthcare. All we ask is, if you like something we have to say, be a mensch and pass it along. If not, well, go ahead and say something anyways, there's no such thing as bad press!!!
Simpler Horizons is an Insurance Brokerage firm specializing in health insurance and related lines. If we are not your trusted advisor, speak to your trusted advisor before reacting to anything we write!


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Welcome! Explore this area to access resources including Pastor Rick Warren's Daily Hope free email devotional, 42 audio messages for you to learn your purpose, and leadership courses that will take you deeper into a purpose driven life.
The most basic question everyone faces in life is Why am I here? What is my purpose? Self-help books suggest that people should look within, at their own desires and dreams, but Rick Warren says the starting place must be with God and his eternal purposes for each life. Real meaning and significance comes from understanding and fulfilling God's purposes for putting us on earth.
The Purpose-Driven Life takes the groundbreaking message of the award-winning Purpose-Driven Church and goes deeper, applying it to the lifestyle of individual Christians. This book helps readers understand God's incredible plan for their lives. Warren enables them to see the big picture of what life is all about and begin to live the life God created them to live.
The Purpose-Driven Life is a manifesto for Christian living in the 21st century...a lifestyle based on eternal purposes, not cultural values. Using biblical stories and letting the Bible speak for itself, Warren clearly explains God's five purposes for each of us:
This 10th anniversary edition, with emphasis on the question What on Earth Am I Here For? is the life-message of Rick Warren, founding pastor of Saddleback Church. Written in a captivating devotional style, the book is divided into 42 short chapters (six weeks) that can be read as a daily devotional, studied by small groups, and used by churches participating in the nationwide 40 Days of Purpose campaigns.
Click to learn more about the Church Wide Campaign and Small Group Study, What on Earth Am I Here For?
Free resources mentioned in The Purpose Driven® Life
Welcome to the free resources section of The Purpose Driven Life. These resources are designed to support you on your journey to live a purpose-driven live.
"It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ...he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone." Ephesians 1:11 (Msg)
How Can You Know God Personally (PDF) Here's how you can know God personally; there are four main points.
Your First Steps to Spiritual Growth (PDF) This will help you plan out a meaningful daily Bible study time and give you encouragement to get started.
Find a helpful list of books, both classic and current, listed by each of the five purposes, for further study.
Personal Daily Bible Reading Plans (PDF) 30 Days | 90 Days | 1 Year Sometimes it helps to know where to read in the Bible. These are daily Bible reading plans that will chart your way through the New Testament in 30 days, a little more manageable plan through the New Testament in 90 days, or for you long-term plodders, a plan that will have you finishing the whole Bible through in one year of daily readings. Choose the plan that suits you best!
How to Pray for Missionaries (PDF) This link is a helpful guide for those who want to pray knowledgeably for missionaries to other cultures and countries. It contains information about the typical needs of missionaries and even has a suggested weekly prayer plan.
Keep On Praying (PDF) Why be persistent? How come my answers sometimes don't come immediately? Why should I keep on praying when the answer doesn't come in my time table?
The Purpose Driven Life Health Assessment (PDF) Want to find out how your life measures up to the five purposes of the Purpose Driven Life? Take this simple test. Also helps you create a plan to help grow.
Sample Life Purpose Statements (PDF) Sample some of the tools Rick uses to create his own personal life statements and evaluations in the areas of mission, family, vocation, and community ministry.
Celebrate Recovery This link takes you to the Celebrate Recovery home page where you can find everything you need to know about this unique Christ-centered recovery program for purpose-driven churches, including finding a CR program near you.
HIV&AIDS Initiative Compelling stories from individuals living with HIV/AIDS and practical ways to get involved in caring for those who come face to face with HIV on a daily basis.
Orphan Care Connection You are God's hope for the orphan! Saddleback Church has made Orphan Care a signature issue of our church because it is clear in God's Word, God never forgets the orphan. God cares for the orphan. God wants us to care for the orphan. You can get involved in your local community.
The PEACE Plan Ordinary people empowered by God making a difference together wherever they are.
Learn more about participating in the What on Earth Am I Here For? Small Group Study that includes six video session taught by Pastor Rick Warren, as well as a Study Guide with extras and discussion questions.
"Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away." (Luke 21:33 NIV)
Many times we wonder if an idea that came to us is instruction from God, a deception from Satan, or just something we want to do. It is extremely important to know the difference and how to discern God's voice, because it can have eternal consequences.
A lot of evil gets blamed on God when people say, "God told me to do it!" The Bible says in 1 John 4:1, "Don't believe every message you hear just because someone says it's a message from God. Test it first to see if it really is" (LB).
Does the idea you've got in your mind right now agree with the Bible? Because God's will never contradicts God's Word. God doesn't say one thing and then change his mind and say another thing. If he said it, it's true, and it will always be true.
God is consistent. He isn't moody. He doesn't change his mind. He will never tell you to violate a principle that he's already given in his Word, the Bible.
So the first question you need to ask is, "Does this thought line up with what God has already said?" If what you have in your mind contradicts something that God has already said in the Bible, then you know it's wrong.
Jesus said in Luke 21:33, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away" (NIV). God's Word is eternal, because truth never changes. If something was true 5,000 years ago, it was true 1,000 years ago, it is true today, and it will be true 5,000 years from today.
People might say, "God said it; I believe it; that settles it." No! God said it, and that settles it — whether you believe it or not!
If God tells you to do something, then he's never going to contradict it. The first question you must answer is, "Is this idea in harmony with the Word of God?"
Talk It Over
Rick Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., one of America's largest and most influential churches. Rick is author of the New York Times bestseller "The Purpose Driven Life." His book, "The Purpose Driven Church," was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th century. He is also the founder of Pastors.com, a global Internet community for pastors.
Purpose Driven © 2012