Garrison

I occasionally listen to old episodes of Greg Garrison, who has retired.

I especially liked this episode.

https://soundcloud.com/93wibc/garrison5-23-final-1

Galaxy Song - Monty Python Live in O2 Arena.

I was going to write a Facebook post about how absurd it all seems to
me, that we live on a big rock, rotating at 1037 miles an hour (less
as you move away from the equator), going around the Sun at 67,000
MPH, and moving around the galaxy at unfathomable speed, and all of
this is like a grain of sand on the beach of an immense cosmic ocean
that is forever expanding at an ever accelerating rate.

However, this video expresses it much better:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqBThWK8rqE

Star Trek

Around 1989 I was having lunch with coworkers when one person asked what seemed at the time to be a reasonable question, "How does the computer on Star Trek know everything?", like maybe that would be impossible.  

Best wishes,

John Coffey

Intermittent fasting

A friend introduced me to an idea called "Intermittent Fasting." There are different kinds of intermittent fasting, but the easiest is one where all your meals are contained within an 8 hour window. Actually I am using a 9 hour window which is fine. Even a 10 hour window is okay, but maybe not as effective.

To do this, I skip breakfast, eat a good lunch somewhere between noon and one, and the last thing I eat is around 9 PM. That's later than most people, but I keep a pretty late schedule.

I still count calories to the best that I am able. I figured out a long time ago roughly how many calories I need to maintain my body weight, and if I eat slightly less than that then I lose weight slowly without going hungry.

Anyhow, using the 9 hour window seems to be more effective, and I am losing weight, although somewhat slowly.

The point of intermittent fasting is to have more time in the day when your body is not producing insulin. Insulin is the fat storage hormone, and gets secreted pretty much after you eat anything, but especially carbohydrates.  When your body is not producing insulin, that signals your body to use up your fat storage.

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Best wishes,

John Coffey

http://www.entertainmentjourney.com

​P.S.  Also see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llwwKkuy5gI​

chess

I have been physically and mentally off since the state chess championship.   I've had some problems sleeping, but mostly last week. 

​My family

 and I ate Chinese buffet in Columbus on Saturday, which I normally love and it was our third time that week, but I then had diarrhea for 

​4​

days

​.  I'm still feel off and borderline sick.​

My results in the State Championship were good, and just slightly better than I would have expected.  I nearly lost to a 13 year old prodigy who was rated almost as high as me, but my experience enabled me to get a draw.  I also had trouble with another teenager, but my experience allowed me to barely squeeze out a win.  I also beat a chess master and former state champion.

I feel like age is a factor in playing in these long tournaments.   I took a bye in round 4, which you are allowed to do, because I thought that five games of four hours each would be too much in one weekend.  Against the current state champion, I was holding my own, but lost some of my focus about 3 hours into it and lost.  I enjoyed the tournament, but it was so long and so hard that it was also an ordeal.  I told my friends that it would be better for me to play shorter tournaments.

Apparently I have experienced some chess burnout after the tournament.  I have spent 20 months studying chess trying to get as good as I can and only got minimal improvement for my investment of time.  I normally take great enjoyment in going to the chess clubs, and to some extent playing online, but these last few days I felt like I was just going through the motions.  I lacked focus, which for me is normally pretty intense.

I wondered if I was experiencing some sort of personality change, because I wasn't feeling the same level of joy playing this game that I normally would?  Normally I really enjoy playing, but not so much this last week.

I think what is really happening is that I have developed an interest in writing computer code again, and this has been very much in my thoughts.  So my interests are shifting to writing computer code.  I don't want to abandon chess, but for the moment I don't want to give it the same level of intensity.

Best wishes,

​John Coffey​