My car gets 36-ish miles per gallon and is fun to drive
I get extra money for working graveyard and it’s more than enough to cover my gasoline expenses
I’m traveling at times of day when there is no traffic, so my commute is about an hour each way
My weekend begins on Tuesday morning at 7:30am and I don’t have to go back to work until Thursday night at 11:00pm, so the way I’m looking at it I get three days off
Most of my commute is through the countryside, in the shadow of Mt Diablo, and is quite nice
In the morning when I’m driving home I’m heading East, with the sun in my face, and it’s glorious

So I’m really liking my new shift. I’m a night owl by nature, so it didn’t take long for me to get used to staying up all night.

Feels good, man.

Last time I worked graveyard was 20 years ago, when I was on temporary duty due to injury, in the Navy. So this shift isn’t completely new to me.

I start work at 11pm and end my shift at 7:30am. If you’ve never worked these hours then you won’t know how badly it can mess with your head.

Here are some examples:

I go to work one day and go home the next
When entering dates on the computer, the day changes in the middle of your shift
When entering times on your computer, particularly if you’re used to working days, the PM to AM shift can get confusing
Instead of going to sleep and waking up when it’s dark, you’re doing it during daylight
Concepts like “tomorrow morning” and “last night” occur during your 8 hour shift
I’ll go to sleep, and when I wake up it’s still the same day

So you can imagine I’m pretty messed up right now. It’s been about a week, so I’m still getting used to the hours. I got my first solid 8 hours of sleep yesterday afternoon.

I still don’t know what day it is.

I have a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 that I bought week one. It’s thin and light. But I’ve never been truly satisfied with the device. The performance has always been lacking. When I launch apps they are sometimes quite slow to respond. When I scroll up and down web pages they stop and stutter. These might seem like little nitpicky things, but over time they become quite annoying.

I’m tired of watching every good mobile game come out for Apple devices first. Maybe later they do an Android port. But more and more, this just isn’t happening. For example, one of my good friends works for a video game company and they have made some iOS games but no plans for Android devices. I don’t expect this to change any time soon.

I still love my Android phone, an HTC Incredible. I’m tempted to get a Nokia Windows Phone. That said, my next phone will probably be another HTC Android. I really like that HTC One X, and I hope it comes to Verizon this year. But enough about mobile phones.

I use my Android tablet less and less these days. The performance sucks and there are no good games. And I want a larger screened portable gaming platform. I’ve looked at Nintendo and Sony and I’m just not impressed.

So I guess that’s it, then. I’m going to get a new iPad.

I feel so defeated right now. I feel dirty. I hate Apple. And here I am, ready to buy an iDevice.

But this summer when I’m playing Baldurs Gate on my new iPad? It’s going to feel sooo good.

So it’s true what they say: Resistance *IS* futile.

There are not many places I can eat in Manteca. I try to be as paleo-primal as possible. I avoid grains and other starches, legumes, and refined sugars. And this is a big problem here.

Manteca restaurants are mostly taquerias and chain restaurants. We’ve got Chilis, Applebees, Panda Express, and all the common fast food joints. These places put flour and sugar in just about everything.

So I’m looking for dishes that don’t contain the foods that I’m avoiding, and this is extremely difficult here. So where do I go? I can think of three establishments in Manteca, CA.

Chipotle is my go-to restaurant of choice in Manteca. The service and the portions are hit-or-miss but the quality of the food is always good. It’s easy for me to eat gluten-free, grain-free, and sugar-free at any Chipotle. I just get a bowl and skip the tortillas, rice, and beans.

In-N-Out is my budget restaurant. I get Double-Doubles without the bun, and skip the fries and soda. There are lots of other burgers in town, but I like In-N-Out the best. I think their burgers have the most fat–tender, tasty, juicy, and always delicious.

And finally, there is just one affordable restaurant here in Manteca where I can sit down and get some good ol’ traditional American food. And that is Johnny’s.

Johnny’s serves typical diner food. They close at 8:30pm every night. On Sundays they are full of people from various churches. Johnny’s is open early enough for truckers, seniors, and other early-risers to come in for breakfast. All the omelettes are good. For dinner I like the liver and onions with chopped bacon.

And then there’s the hot wings.

OB’s in Truckee (now closed) used to have the best hot wings I’ve ever tasted. But now that OB’s is closed, that award goes to Johnny’s. The sauce is perfect, not too hot. And the wings aren’t too greasy. I think they bake the wings instead of fry them, but they won’t tell me.

So that’s about it. Chipotle, In-N-Out, and Johnny’s. If you are trying to eat paleo, primal, or low carb in Manteca these are your best choices. You can just about skip everything else here.

“Oh shit!” I think. I’m sitting on the couch in my old t-shirt and boxers. If Yum is ready to go, I’d better get dressed quickly.

Which I do, indeed.

One pair of shorts and some flipflops later I’m shoving my wallet and cellphone into my pockets and walking out the door with my keys.

Now outside, I turn to put my key in the door. Except… where is Yum?

I take a step inside and look around. I don’t see Yum. It was then that I heard it.

The sound of running water. And then the shower flowing.

What the fuck?

Perplexed, I step back inside to see what’s going on. I make my way to the bathroom and find that Yum is taking a shower.

Wait. Didn’t she just tell me she was ready?

Sigh. I should know better.

When Yum says that she’s ready what she REALLY means is that she’s ready to start THINKING about getting ready.

Yum might announce that she’s ready 3 different times in 30 minutes. None of these announcements actually mean that she’s ready to go. Each announcement of “I’m ready” is accompanied by a shower, getting dressed, and/or putting on makeup. But none of them actually mean that she’s ready to walk out the door.

On the other hand, when *I* say “I’m ready” it’s because I’m actually ready. I’ve showered, dressed, grabbed the essentials, put on my shoes, keys in hand. When I say “I’m ready”, I’m walking out the door.

Sadly, I’ve fallen for “I’m ready” many times. I’ll be standing outside the front door, keys in hand, personally actually ready to go, and I’ll hear the blow dryer in the other room.

So from now on, whenever Yum says “I’m ready” I’ll believe it when I see it. Until I see her walking out the door I’ll remain on the couch in my boxers, watching TV, and drinking a beer.

“OK, I’m ready!”

Uh huh. Sure, babe.

I never thought I would feel healthy again. I never thought I would feel good again. But I do. It’s amazing. Giving up grains and refined sugars was the best thing I’ve ever done for my health.

I’ve lost over 60 pounds, despite conventional wisdom. I don’t exercise any more now than I ever have. I’m as active as ever. I walk daily, hike hunt and fish in my spare time. I have never counted calories, measured portions, or starved myself.

All my unpleasant digestive issues are gone, and have been gone for a really long time. I’m off all my medications. No more heartburn, GERD, acid reflux, bloating, gas, burping, IBS, etc. No more proton pump inhibitors, Prilosec, Tums, or Pepto Bismol.

My blood sugar levels are consistently in the normal range. In the last six months I’ve rarely seen it over 100, and never over 109. Diabetic levels are over 125 (12 hour fast) and 200 after eating. Pretty easy to do when you don’t eat foods that spike your blood sugar, like grains and refined sugars!

My clothes fit better now, actually they are baggy. At some point I should buy new clothes, but I’m still losing weight. So that will have to wait a bit longer.

For the first time in my life I didn’t gain a single pound over the holidays. In the past I have typically gained anywhere from 10-20 pounds in the October-January timeframe. This year, zilch.

I’m still not hungry in the morning, so I don’t eat breakfast. However, I do drink coffee with heavy cream.

For lunch I eat stuff like bacon double cheeseburgers without the bun, piles of meat at Chipotle, assorted Italian cheese and cured meats, leftover steak and chicken from the night before.

Dinners vary, but are always heavy on the meat and vegetables.

If I’m craving something sweet after dinner I’ll have a bowl of berries and heavy cream.

I turned 40 last month. Feels weird to be 40. Two years ago I was sure I’d be 400 pounds by my 40th birthday and miserable. Boy was I wrong! I weigh less than 300 pounds for the first time in over 10 years and I feel healthy.

Life is good. I can’t complain =)

PS: fuck you, gluten. You made my life miserable for years. Never again!

Basically it’s punitive legislation that would effectively end the Internet as we know it. It would allow copyright holders to go after website owners for any infraction.

It might sound like a good idea, but what about this scenario? Let’s say I run a large website with billions of users, something like YouTube. I can’t possibly police a billion people. Now let’s say that one of my users uploads a webcam video diary with Miley Cyrus’ Party In the USA playing in the background. Miley Cyrus can now sue *ME* for copyright infringement. I’ve got nothing to do with this, I just run a website. Ms Cyrus should be going after the user who uploaded the video.

That’s SOPA. It’s a poorly written law being debated in Congress right now. If this thing passes, the Internet shuts down.

One of the many companies that supports SOPA is the web hosting and domain name registrar GoDaddy! There are many reasons to hate GoDaddy! So not only does GD support SOPA, they also helped write it. This was enough for me to cancel my GD services and find a new web host.

There was a bit of downtime yesterday as I moved things over to HostGator but everything seems to be running smoothly now.

If you use GoDaddy! for anything, please consider moving to a new registrar or web hosting company.

Now that I’ve gotten that done I can start writing my Congressman (Jerry McNerney, Democrat, California’s 11th district) to let him know how I feel about SOPA.

Who’s your congressman?

I got an incredible email today from a Penny Arcade reader. Dave shared with me an email chain between him and Ocean Marketing (the folks behind the Avenger controller) Trust me when I tell you that this is one wild ride. I’m serious, Mr. Toad would look at this ride and just give a slow clap while shaking his head. I have tried to arrange this as best I can in chronological order. I’ve also removed email addresses and other private information. So let’s just jump right in, here is Dave’s first mail to Ocean Marketing:

Unbelievable story. Read the entire email chain at Penny Arcade here:

http://penny-arcade.com/2011/12/26/just-wow1

I think it’s safe to say that I will NEVER, EVER do business with this company: Ocean Marketing and their representative Paul Christoforo.

So here’s my update, and this will probably be my last PRK update unless something crazy happens.

Had a checkup recently and my results are pleasing. 20/20+ in my left eye and 20/20- in my right eye. That means that I can read a couple of characters on the 20/15 line with my left eye, and I missed a couple characters on the 20/20 line with my right eye. I’m satisfied with these results.

I was hoping hoping hoping that I’d get that bionic eagle eye solid 20/15 vision in both eyes but I suppose that’s a little unrealistic. Even with contacts or glasses my vision was never that good. Right now I’d say that my vision is slightly better than it ever was. My doctor says that this is a great result.

I still have the slightest, smallest astigmatism in my right eye that couldn’t be corrected with PRK or LASIK. And that’s what causes a bit of distortion, just enough to mis-read a couple of characters on the 20/20 line.

So I think another procedure is out of the question. Not unless my eyes take a turn for the worse. But, there is no indication that would happen. I’m not worried.

I turn 40 later this month. Every time I go to the eye doctor they tell me that I’ll need reading glasses soon. I feel like the PRK procedure hustled that along. Before my surgery my close-up vision was incredibly good. I could focus with absolute clarity on very small items–I’d have to hold them inches from eyes. Now when I try to do something like that it’s blurry, like tie a fly fishing knot or read very small text on a package.

Went deer hunting last month and I was able to see things clearly far away. I was very happy with that. I’m also a sport shooter, and I’m also able to focus clearly on targets downrange with clarity. I also did a lot of fly fishing last month, and let me tell you, it was soooo nice to be able to see without correction.

My night vision has markedly improved as well. The first month after surgery I had some halos and starbursts and fogginess while night driving. Now all of those things have gone away. No more halos, no more starburst, and I can see things very clearly. I feel very safe driving at night.

So I think that’s about it. My vision has stabilized lately. I’m very happy with the results. I would do it again. And I recommend it to anyone considering laser eye corrective surgery.

Thanks, PRK.

I have made a conscious effort to be non-political on this blog, so I will not discuss things such as universal healthcare or social security or political beliefs. But from time to time I will discuss gun ownership, as this is something that is extremely important to me.

As a gun owner, I am often asked why gun ownership is necessary. Today I stumbled upon a thread on Reddit that pretty much sums up my experiences with anti-gunners and my pro-gun ownership stance.

http://redd.it/mfmbc

The question posed is “…what is the point of owning a machine gun or other advanced weaponry? I am genuinely interested in understanding this perspective on the right-to-bear-arms debate because I am of the opposite view…” asked by Reddit user FenrirIII.

And the most eloquent response I’ve ever heard or read to this question is as follows, quoted in its entirety, by Reddit user TerminalHypocrisy:

The main issue of not understanding the Second Amendment is a matter of context….one which both the anti-gun lobby and even the pro-gun lobby propagate. The Second Amendment has nothing to do with hunting…it has nothing to do with sport shooting….it has nothing to do with collecting firearms. At it’s heart, the Second Amendment is simply putting in writing your right as a human being to defend yourself against threats to your life, liberty, and your pursuit of happiness…..whether that threat comes from a criminal element or the very government the Constitution established.
The Founders understood, and many of us (current Americans) have never learned or forgotten that the right to arms undergirds every other right in the Bill of Rights, including those spoken of but not named specifically (as covered in the 9th Amendment). What good is the Freedom of Speech if the government has the only means of force and is able to repress it? How can the citizenry demand the government respect their rights if their voice is the only weapon in their arsenal?
When the Amendment was written, America had just loosed herself from the yoke of a tyrannical government, and wanted to ensure that We, the People had the ability (not the right….a right is inalienable and cannot be taken from you unless you willingly give it up) to do so again if the need arose. The Declaration of Independence states:
“that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”
Arms grant the citizenry the final say in how they are governed. Such a thought seems anathema to most modern citizens because we have all lived in relative prosperity under a government that only recently began a rapid assault on individual liberty. Thomas Jefferson understood gun control back in 1774-76:
“Laws that forbid the carrying of arms. . . disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. . . Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.” — Jefferson’s “Commonplace Book,” 1774-1776, quoting from On Crimes and Punishment, by criminologist Cesare Beccaria, 1764
Have laws against guns kept guns out of the hands of criminals? Have laws against murder….rape….theft kept criminals from committing these acts? A person that breaks the law will not be deterred by yet another law….how does that make sense to anyone?
In short, George Washington summed up the meaning of the 2nd Amendment best:
“A free people ought to be armed. When firearms go, all goes, we need them by the hour. Firearms stand next to importance to the Constitution itself. They are the American people’s liberty teeth and keystone under independence.” –George Washington, Boston Independence Chronicle, January 14, 1790

I commonly respond to anti-gunners with something along the lines of “Criminals don’t obey the law. Anti-gun laws only affect law-abiding citizens. You can make all the anti-gun laws you want, and in the end only criminals will have guns.”

My right to bear arms is a right that the Constitution guarantees, and is one that the government cannot take away. It is necessary not only as protection but as a deterrent–and not just criminals but also from a government may one day try to take my liberty and property.

Thank you, TerminalHypocrisy, for eloquently writing what I have struggled to articulate for years–something I have always instinctively felt in my gut.