tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71244172024-03-12T18:28:13.583-04:00Build Your BoxA collection of ideas, random thoughts, goals and issues. This will generally be technology related, but you will probably find health, fitness, relationship and other chaotic ideas that may pass through my head.TJ Piercehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11840815968684284210noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7124417.post-1138757600340984672006-01-31T20:32:00.000-05:002006-01-31T20:33:20.350-05:00Logoff Script to delete Temporary Internet Files, History and CookiesI've shown my wife on multiple occasions how to do IE maintenance on her computer. She just can't seem to grasp the concept. Her computer is not the fastest thing in the world (It's a PIII 800), but she only uses it for e-computing (Ebay, Email, E-Mule). So instead of just getting angry with her when she complains about her computer slowing down because she has a million files in her Temporary Internet Files folder, I wrote a logoff script and applied it to her computer. This is how I did it.<br /><br />First of all, my Logoff Script includes the use of sdelete.exe from <a onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)" href="http://sysinternals.com/" target="_blank">sysinternals.com</a>. If you don't have this, download it and install the executable in your c:\windows\system32 directory.<br />The Logoff Script deletes everything in the temp folders, the Temporary Internet Files folder, purges the history, and deletes all cookies. It also creates a log file showing when the logoff script was last run. You can download my logoff script from <a onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)" href="http://web.qx.net/tpierce/LogOff_SDelete.zip" target="_blank">HERE</a>. This is basically the same script that I posted earlier in my Secure Desktop post.<br /><br />Take the batch file and copy it in your %SystemRoot%\system32\GroupPolicy\User\Scripts\Logoff directory. You may not have the "Scrpts\Logoff" part of this path, if you don't, create these directories so you have this full path.<br /><br />Now let's edit the Group Policy for this workstation.<br /><br />1. Login as a local Administrator<br />2. Click on the start menu and select "Run"<br />3. Type "gpedit.msc" - this will open the Group Policy Editor<br />4. Under "User Configuration", expand the "Windows Settings"<br />5. Click on "Scripts"<br />6. In the right pane, double click "Logoff", this will open the "Logoff Properties"<br />7. Now we need to add the batch file, click on "Add", The "Add a Script" box will appear<br />8. Click "Browse" and select the batch file.<br />9. Hit OK and then close everything including the Group Policy Editor<br /><br />Your logoff script in now set to run whenever you logoff the computer.<br />Now the problem is forcing her to logoff now and then. My wife doesn't do this, so I created a scheduled task that does it for her. I Create a new scheduled task. I put "C:\WINDOWS\system32\logoff.exe" in the run menu, I scheduled it to run weekly at about 4:00 AM. I also set the job to make sure that the computer has been idle for at least an hour before it tries to logoff.TJ Piercehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11840815968684284210noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7124417.post-1138309507925916392006-01-26T16:05:00.000-05:002006-01-26T16:11:50.323-05:00Installing the winexit screensaver using AD Group Policy<div class="Section1"><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:courier new;">I was asked last week to create an install package that would enforce what my company calls an electronic clean desk policy. I work for a large Business Process Outsourcing company that does quite a bit of data entry – mostly outside the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 /><st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> We have about 20,000 employee doing data entry. Most of the data entry is done from scanned images. Those scanned images can be health claims, insurance claims or credit card applications. We call the images/data PII or Personal Identifiable Information. If the image or data contains a first name, last name and identifying number, then it’s classified as PII. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:courier new;">Our electronic clean desk policy states that PII must be shredded from a workstation after the employee has finished their shift. It also states that the shred should be automatic, if a user fails to do it manually. Our data-entry is done using internet explorer, so the images and data is cached in the user’s profile. This is either in the temp folder or the Temporary Internet Files.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:courier new;">My solution was to create a logoff script that uses SDELETE.EXE from </span><a href="http://www.sysinternals.com/"><span style="font-family:courier new;">sysinternals.com</span></a><span style="font-family:courier new;">. The logoff script will shred everything in the temp and Temporary Internet Files when a user logs off. Data Entry Operators are requested to logoff whenever they leave their workstations.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:courier new;">If a user forgets to logoff, then the computer must automatically logoff. The only way I found to do this was to use the Windows Logoff Screensaver that is included in the 2003 Server Resource Kit.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:courier new;">The screen saver has problems. For one thing, there is no good way to distribute it. It just comes as a .scr file. It would be impossible to copy it to every workstation. The other problem is that it has a significant bug. It requires read/write access to a registry key as described in KB Article </span><a href="http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=156677"><span style="font-family:courier new;">15677</span></a><span style="font-family:courier new;">. I found a way to get around these issues. I created an MSI file that will create the required registry key, and then give all users access to it. The MSI file can be deployed as a package within AD.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:courier new;">I have supplied the installation package which includes the logoff script and install instructions and the screensaver </span><a href="http://web.qx.net/tpierce/Clean%20Desk%20Install%20-%20Instructions.zip"><span style="font-family:courier new;">HERE</span></a><span style="font-family:courier new;">. Before you can deploy this in a domain, you have to edit the MSI file so that it includes your domain name within the MSI. Everything you need to deploy the Windows Exist Screensaver is in the package. It’s a little complicated, but it should only take about an hour to deploy.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:courier new;">The package also includes a group policy administrative template. The template originally came from David Carlin and posted on his blog at </span><a href="http://blog.case.edu/djc6/"><span style="font-family:courier new;">http://blog.case.edu/djc6/</span></a><span style="font-family:courier new;">.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:courier new;">Let me know what you think. <?xml:namespace prefix = o /><o:p></o:p></span></p></div>TJ Piercehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11840815968684284210noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7124417.post-1138246684310582062006-01-25T21:57:00.000-05:002006-01-25T22:38:04.370-05:00Yahoo Mail bug = Yahoo Customer No Service!I use my yahoo account soley for newsgroups. It's convenient because many of the groups and user lists I subscribe to are yahoo groups. I've decided to stop using my yahoo account for this after an unfortunate incident with yahoo mail yesterday.<br /><br />I was going to respond to a post in the eventum users discussion list when I decided I would do it later. Instead of hitting the back button, I accidentally hit the "Send" button to the empty reply. I panicked! I quickly proceeded to hit the "Cancel" button as many times as possible. I hit that cancel button 17 times. I know this because my blank response was posted to the Eventum user discusion list 17 times. Hitting the cancel button in yahoo, after you have hit "send", will actually resend the email. And if you are like me and tend to hit cancel many times, yahoo will graciously send the email that many times for you.<br /><br />I was really embarrassed. There are probably hundreds of people who belong to that list, each getting 17 emails. I probably produced 5000 emails are more by using the yahoo cancel button.<br /><br />So I sent an email to yahoo customer support. They have a difficult to find web form that you fill out. Here is what I entered:<br /><br /><em>Mail-Id: 1138119877-295</em><br /><em>> Name: Travis Pierce> </em><br /><em>> Yahoo! ID: travispierce70> </em><br /><em>> Type of feedback: Problem> </em><br /><em>> Problem area: Composing and sending messages> </em><br /><em>> Error message: Other... (included below)> </em><br /><em>> How often this occurs: Once> </em><br /><em>> Type your feedback here:</em><br /><em>> I accidentally hit send from the compose email page while composing an email, and wanted to cancel. I then proceeded to hit the "Cancel" button on the compose email page. Every time I hit "cancel" Yahoo sent the email that I wanted to cancel. I ended up sending the email 17 times to a support group with over 300 members. This ended up generating 5100 emails. Remove the cancel button if it in fact does not cancel but re-initiate the sending of the email. This does not make any sense. A cancel button should in fact cancel the sending of the email.</em><br /><br /><br />I then got this response from "florence"<br /><br /><em>Hello Travis, </em><br /><em>> Thank you for writing to Yahoo! Mail. We appreciate that you contacted us for assistance, and we would like to help. However, we are unable to understand exactly what the problem is.</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>1. Please describe all of the actions you took that led up to the problem.</em><br /><em>2. Include the exact text of any error messages you receive. It is important that you include the entire error message as this help us to more accurately determine the cause of the problem.</em><br /><em>3. Include how often this occurs and any other relevant information. </em><br /><em></em><br /><em>The more information we have, the better able we will be to investigate this issue.</em><br /><em>Thank you again for contacting Yahoo! Customer Care.</em><br /><em>Regards, Florence </em><br /><em>Yahoo! Customer Care</em><br /><br />So they want a better description. OK. I can do that. I'll do better. I'll show them what happened. I recreated the issue by sending myself an email. I screen captured the video and then sent Yahoo the link. Here was my reply:<br /><br /><em>In order for you to understand, I have created a video clip of the problem that I am reporting. You can view the video at </em><a href="http://web.qx.net/tpierce/Yahoo_Cancel_Button.wmv" target="_blank"><em>http://web.qx.net/tpierce/Yahoo_Cancel_Button.wmv</em></a><br /><br /><em>I click on the "compose" button. </em><br /><em>The compose box comes up. </em><br /><em>I fill out my email. </em><br /><em>I then hit send.</em><br /><em>I immediately hit cancel, prior to the "sent emailscreen" coming up.</em><br /><em>For each time I hit cancel, the email is sent 1 times. </em><br /><em></em><br /><em>In this example, I hit the cancel button nearly 20 times. I subsequently received 20 emails. I can somewhat understand that the cancel button does not work, but for it to send the email each time it is pressed is just down right wrong.</em><br /><em></em><br />Surely, I thought that yahoo would admit that this was a problem. However, their final reply was the following. My only thoughts are that yahoo must be idiots. Here is "Herbert's" reply.<br /><br /><em>Hello Travis, Thank you for writing to Yahoo! Mail.</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>Once you click the "Send" button, your message is fed into our delivery system and cannot be retrieved. Unfortunately, there is no way for us to intervene in this process. Please use the "Cancel" button if you don't want to save/send a message after composing.Even if the message is sent to another Yahoo! Mail account, we cannot delete it for you. </em><br /><em></em><br /><em>Once a message arrives in your mailbox, it is yours. Likewise, email that arrives in others' mailboxes belongs to them and cannot be removed by us.In the future, if you are not entirely certain that you want to send a message, consider saving it as a draft. Clicking the "Save Draft" buttonwill save the message to your Draft folder without sending it, so that you can return to it later to make a final decision on whether or not tosend it. </em><br /><em></em><br /><em>Thank you again for contacting Yahoo! Customer Care.Regards,HerbertYahoo! Customer CareVisit our online help pages at:</em><br /><br />I know that I don't communicate all that well, but surely someone with half a brain would be able to recreated what I'm doing without digging in the garbage for the form letter. I think this is a significant bug. How do you report a bug to yahoo if this is the response you get? Would Google treat it's users this way? I don't think so.<br /><br />One other quick note. Google is not in the yahoo spell check. What's up with that?TJ Piercehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11840815968684284210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7124417.post-1134329695467345042005-12-11T14:25:00.000-05:002005-12-11T15:20:25.616-05:00Mouse Stuck in Laser Printer<span style="font-family:courier new;">A friend of mine sent me these pictures. I guess the mouse decided to settle down for the night in the paper tray of this laser printer. So when the staff came in and printed their first page, the laser printer sucked that poor mouse into the rollers. Ouch!<br /><br />The miraculous thing about this is that the mouse survived. The staff got the mouse out and set it free outside. I think the moral lesson here is to not sleep in strange places. </span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"></span><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/875/423/1600/Mouse_stuck2.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/875/423/400/Mouse_stuck2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/875/423/1600/Mouse_stuck1.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/875/423/400/Mouse_stuck1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/875/423/1600/Mouse_Stuck3.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/875/423/400/Mouse_Stuck3.jpg" border="0" /></a>TJ Piercehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11840815968684284210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7124417.post-1129561284640991632005-10-17T11:01:00.000-04:002005-10-17T11:07:17.856-04:00Finding Your Center<p class="mobile-post"><span style="font-family:courier new;">I had a conversation the other day with my wife about working out. I workout religiously, while my wife goes to Curves once in a blue moon. I told my wife that I like to workout because it makes me feel normal again. After a good workout, I feel alive; I feel really good. </span></p><p class="mobile-post"><span style="font-family:courier new;">Work is usually stressful and not all that fun; it really drags me down. Working out lifts me up and gives me a better perspective on life. I look forward to working out during the day. It's how I find my center, and that's the best way to describe it.</span></p><p class="mobile-post"><span style="font-family:courier new;">My wife thought that was just crazy talk. How could anyone like exercising? Well, I do.</span></p><p class="mobile-post"><span style="font-family:courier new;">My Dad finds his center in the outdoors. He loves fishing and hunting. A week on the Kiabab in Northern Arizona and my Dad is a new man. </span></p><p class="mobile-post"><span style="font-family:courier new;">I have a really good friend at work that loves backpacking. That's all he talks about, and I'm sure that is how he finds his center.</span></p><p class="mobile-post"><span style="font-family:courier new;">My conclusion is that everyone has a center. Many people don't know what it is, or don't recognize it. Many people haven't found it yet and that's as good as any reason to try new things. I'm thinking about kayaking, and maybe my friend is right about backpacking.</span></p><p class="mobile-post"><span style="font-family:courier new;">Surely my wife has a center, but just doesn't recognize what it is.</span></p><p class="mobile-post"><span style="font-family:courier new;">What is your center? or do you think I'm crazy too? </span></p>TJ Piercehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11840815968684284210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7124417.post-1128649415422555702005-10-06T21:34:00.000-04:002005-10-06T21:43:35.426-04:00New Dumbbell Rack<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/875/423/1600/IMG_5799.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/875/423/200/IMG_5799.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />I just got a new dumbell rack off ebay. I think I got a really good deal. The rack was $90.00, and that included shipping. My only complaint is that the guy on ebay took 2 weeks to ship the dang thing.<br /><br />I bought the dumbbells sometime ago at Dicks Sporting goods. They were on sale for .49 a pound. I purchased a set of 5, 10, 12, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, and 45's. It came out to be about $240.00, because they gave me some more discounts at the counter.<br /><br />The rack has 4 sides to hold the dumbbells on and a flat top to hold other stuff. It took about 15 mintues to put together. Anyways, this is the new addition to my home gym. I'm really excited about it.TJ Piercehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11840815968684284210noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7124417.post-1127745057934451842005-09-26T10:30:00.000-04:002005-09-26T10:32:51.716-04:00Soda Addiction - Part IV<div class="Section1"><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">Today is day 5 with no Dr. Pepper. It’s now considerably easier to get through the day. The headaches are minimal and don’t really interfere with my day to day activities. I have not taken any diet pills for a couple days now. My mood is much better too; I’m less reclusive and more outgoing. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">Energy levels are still down a bit. I think that is understandable considering the amount of sugar my body was dependant upon. I assume that this will level out, but I’m not really sure. I think the key here is to remember to eat. Before, I could skip a meal or two because I had calories coming in from Dr. Pepper. Now, the only caloric intake I have is from my meals. I eat much more often. I’m eating at least 6 small meals a day. I have a cache of granola bars and energy bars when I need an extra boost. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">I have been a little dehydrated. I noticed that during last night’s cardio, I went through three 20 oz. bottles of water. I usually only go through one. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">I still crave Dr. Pepper, but I think the craving is more psychological then physical. I really think the soda was security blanket of sorts. I always had a soda in my hand, and I think that gave my hands and brain something to do. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">According to the scale, I will loose about 1.8 lbs this week. That’s good news. </span></p></div>TJ Piercehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11840815968684284210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7124417.post-1127704160462305282005-09-25T23:09:00.000-04:002005-09-26T00:17:36.893-04:00Perfect Home Gym<a href="http://web.qx.net/tpierce/david.gif"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 126px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 223px" height="331" alt="" src="http://web.qx.net/tpierce/david.gif" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:courier new;">I bought <em>The Men’s’ Health Hard-body plan – The Ultimate 12-Week Program for Burning Fat and Building Muscle. </em>I haven’t started the workout plan included in the book, but I’ve been reading the book for the last week. The reference section in the back of the book has a section called “How to Create the Ultimate Workout Space – The Perfect Home Gym”. I was really pleased that my home gym nearly meets their approval. </span></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:courier new;"></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:courier new;"></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:courier new;">Click <em><a href="http://web.qx.net/tpierce/Pano_GYM.JPG">here</a> </em>to see a photo of my home gym.</span></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:courier new;"></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:courier new;">This is what it says: </span><br /><br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><ol><li><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">A few full length mirrors on the walls. I have two. </span></li><li><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">Boom Box. I don’t have this, but I listen to my MD player with wireless headphones.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">Six of your favorite enlivening, make-you-wanna boogie CD’s. I have about a dozen MD disks. </span></li><li><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">Fan. I have an Air Conditioner. </span></li><li><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">Fridge with case of sports drinks. This is not in my gym, but my fridge in my kitchen has this.<br />Hook for towels. Yep. </span></li><li><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">Chair for rest breaks. Yep. </span></li><li><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">Padded carpeting on floor, or rubber gym flooring. Yep. </span></li><li><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">No Phones. Yep. </span></li><li><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">Wall Clock with second hand. I have a large nuclear clock with a digital second display. </span></li><li><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">TV and VCR. I have a 17” TV mounted on the wall with a DVD player and a DISH Network receiver. I workout watching MUN2. This is by far the best workout TV you can find.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">Jump Rope – Yep. </span></li><li><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">Exercise Bike. I have an Iron man 220R.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">Stairmaster. I don’t have a Stairmaster, but I do have a Keys Fitness Health Trainer Elliptical machine.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">Concept II rowing machine. I bought this a year ago. Hands down the best cardio workout you will ever, ever, ever get. Well worth the money and highly recommended.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">Treadmill. This was the first piece of equipment that I bought. It’s now almost 10 years old, but works great.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">Swiss Ball. Yep. If you use the Swiss Ball right, it will really kick your ass. If you don’t have anything at all, I really believe that this should be the first piece of equipment you buy.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">Pull-up Bar. I have a vertical knee raise machine that includes a pull-up bar and a punching bag and Dip Bar. </span></li><li><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">Dip Bar. It’s on the vertical knee raise machine </span></li><li><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">Light posters on the wall. I don’t have anything on the wall. </span></li><li><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">Good Lighting. I have good lighting, but I like to keep it dark when I work out. I have tube lighting running around the floor and walls.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">Whiteboard. Nope. I don’t have this. </span></li><li><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">Air Filter – Yep. </span></li><li><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">Water Cooler – Nope. I always have lots of water in the fridge. </span></li><li><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">Scale. Yep. My scale also measures BFI. </span></li><li><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">Extra workout clothes. Nope. </span></li><li><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">Measuring Tape. Yep. </span></li><li><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">Legal Pad for notes. Yep. </span></li><li><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">Corner Sauna or hot tub. I have a hot tub in the back. I use it almost daily after I work out. </span></li><li><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">Shower. My wife won’t let me use the bathroom connected to the master bedroom. That’s her bathroom. I use the guest bath and it is right next to the room I use for the gym. </span></li><li><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">Towels.</span></li></ol><p><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>Weight Training Equipment:</strong><br /></span><br /></p></span><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><ol><li><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">One Bar. Nope<br /></li></span><li><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">One Set of Weights. I don’t use the bar. I have a body-solid home gym that I use for most of my resistance workouts.<br /></li></span><li><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">One easy curl bar. Yep.<br /></li></span><li><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">Two Collars. Nope.<br /></li></span><li><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">Six Pair of Dumbbells. Pairs of 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35. Yep.<br /></li></span><li><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">Good Quality Bench. Yep.<br /></li></span><li><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">Set of Squat Racks. Nope<br /></li></span><li><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">Smith Machine. Nope<br /></li></span><li><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">Hyperextension Machine. Nope.<br /></li></span><li><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">Incline board. Yep.</span></li></ol><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">I don’t have the heavy weights, but in place of that I have the home gym which enables me to duplicate almost all bar workouts with. It’s not the best, but I’m not a body-builder. I just want to look good and stay in shape. The machine works well for my needs. The dumbbells and easy curl bar meets my needs in regard to free weights.</span>TJ Piercehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11840815968684284210noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7124417.post-1127623471638081032005-09-25T00:44:00.000-04:002005-09-25T00:44:31.643-04:00Mom and Lung Cancer<span style="font-family:Courier New;">I’ve been thinking about my Mom today. My mother had a fast and furious bought with cancer. She passed away 3 weeks ago today. She was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer 39 days before she passed. </span><br/><span style="font-family:Courier New;"></span><br/><span style="font-family:Courier New;">If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with Non-Small Cell lung cancer, my heart goes out to you. The only sign that she had cancer was her voice had changed an octave or two higher than normal. Her first doctor had told her she had pinched a nerve in her back. She went in a few days later, and the emergency doctor referred her to an oncologist after he had taken some X-rays. </span><br/><span style="font-family:Courier New;"></span><br/><span style="font-family:Courier New;">My mother chose not to fight the cancer using standard chemo and radiation treatments. I know that there were family members that thought this was the wrong decision. My mother sought homeopathic treatments instead. My mom was always eccentric, and had to do things her way. </span><br/><span style="font-family:Courier New;"></span><br/><span style="font-family:Courier New;">My mom made the right decision in this, because it was her decision to make. It is what she wanted. It made her feel more in control. In the end, all you have is your dignity.</span><br/><span style="font-family:Courier New;"></span><br/><span style="font-family:Courier New;">It was important to me to support her in this decision. I encouraged my brothers and sisters to support her as well. In her presence everyone was always positive. </span><br/><span style="font-family:Courier New;"></span><br/><span style="font-family:Courier New;">How can you be positive when facing immanent death? You do this one day at a time. Today we can help you with your pain. Today we can get you more comfortable. Today we can make you laugh. Today… That is all you can count on.</span><br/><span style="font-family:Courier New;"></span><br/><span style="font-family:Courier New;">Stage 4 lung cancer will kill you. I repeat this to express my point. Stage 4 lung cancer will kill you. The average life span of untreated stage 4 lung cancer is about 4 months. If you treat it, the average life span is 7 months.</span><br/><span style="font-family:Courier New;"></span><br/><span style="font-family:Courier New;">If you know someone who is going through this, make sure their today is as good as you can make it. </span><br/><span style="font-family:Courier New;"></span><br/><span style="font-family:Courier New;"> </span>TJ Piercehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11840815968684284210noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7124417.post-1127621770351129892005-09-25T00:16:00.000-04:002005-09-25T01:13:36.036-04:00Soda Addiction - Part III<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/875/423/1600/dr-pepper.gif"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/875/423/320/dr-pepper.gif" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">This is day 4 with no <a href="http://web.qx.net/tpierce/DrPepper-Wrestling.mov">Dr. Pepper.</a> I have to say that it is getting better. The headaches weren’t so bad today; I only took one diet pill. I was not as hungry today, as I have been in the last few days. I think my body is adjusting to the lower caloric intake. I started my cardio workout tonight, but my muscles hurt almost immediately. This usually tells me that I need more energy. I stopped and ate a granola bar, waited 15 minutes, and then started back up again. That gave me the energy I needed and I was able to do the 45 minutes of cardio with no problem. I do notice that I’m drinking a lot more water. I’m going through about six 21oz bottles a day. </span>TJ Piercehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11840815968684284210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7124417.post-1127485158076754442005-09-23T10:19:00.000-04:002005-09-23T11:39:51.073-04:00Soda Addiction - Part II<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/875/423/1600/NormanRockwell.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/875/423/320/NormanRockwell.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div class="Section1"><p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-family:courier new;">It is now Day 3 without Dr. Pepper. Here are some of the side effects experienced and how I have dealt with them.</span></p><p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>Headache:</strong></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-family:courier new;">The headaches are caused by the caffeine withdrawals. When the headaches get really bad, I take a single diet pill. I took Zantrex-3, because that’s what I have around the house. Each capsule has about 160mg of caffeine. I take them like aspirin; if the headache gets bad, then I take the pill. The first day I took about 3 capsules; yesterday I took 2. I’ve seen on other posts were people have taken Excedrin, which has a caffeine in it too. The goal is to take fewer and fewer tablets until the headaches are gone. Just don’t get addicted to diet pills or Excedrin. <?xml:namespace prefix = o /><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText"><strong><span style="font-family:courier new;">Moodiness:<o:p></o:p></span></strong></p><p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-family:courier new;">This hasn’t been too bad, but it does seem like it’s easier to push my buttons. My wife tells me that I seem distant. I think I’m staying away from interactions that might cause me to get uptight. I am hiding out a little. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText"><strong><span style="font-family:courier new;">Sleep:<o:p></o:p></span></strong></p><p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-family:courier new;">I couldn’t get to sleep the first night. I finally got to bed at 5:00 AM. The 2<sup>nd</sup> night I slept fine, but it was REALLY hard to get out of bed. I ended up being 45 minutes late to work. This sleep behavior wouldn’t be too unusual for me anyways, but I think it’s compounded by the caffeine withdrawal.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText"><strong><span style="font-family:courier new;">Hunger:<o:p></o:p></span></strong></p><p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-family:courier new;">I’m Hungry all the time. I never gained any weight drinking Dr. Pepper, so that means that my body was burning those 800 calories a day as fuel. I have to replace those calories with something. I bought a box of energy bars to eat when I get hungry. I find that I’m eating a bar midmorning and a few hours after lunch. This seems to help out quite a bit. I’m also eating larger meals when I do eat. My body seems to know that it needs more caloric intake.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText"><strong><span style="font-family:courier new;">Loss of Energy:<o:p></o:p></span></strong></p><p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-family:courier new;">I do at least 45 minutes of cardio workout every day. I usually do this in the evening before I go to bed. The workouts are going well, and my distance/rate/times are the same as before. However, my body feels weighted down. Again, I think this is due to the fact that I have much less sugar in my bloodstream. I ate a small meal about 30 minutes before yesterday’s workout. That seemed to help out a lot.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>Fuzzy Thinking:</strong> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-family:courier new;">On top of the headaches, it seems like my thinking is a little slower. That may not make much sense, but it seem like I’m just not as quick on my feet as usual. In High School, I used to drink a <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 /><st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">Mt.</st1:placetype> <st1:placename st="on">Dew</st1:placename></st1:place> right before a test. I was told that this would help my test scores, and in fact it did. Caffeine must do something to put your brain in high gear. I’m not sure that there is anything I can do about this. I know that there are natural supplements that claim to do the same thing. I’ll look around and give something a try.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-family:courier new;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:85%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p></div>TJ Piercehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11840815968684284210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7124417.post-1127423069822605572005-09-22T17:01:00.000-04:002005-09-22T17:04:29.826-04:00Soda vs. PopI was thinking that my previous post shows that I'm not from Kentucky. I was raised in Northern Arizona saying Soda or Soda Pop. My Grandma came from Oklahoma, where she calls everything Coke. <a href="http://www.popvssoda.com/">Statistics </a>show that most people in Kentucky would just say Coke too, but I couldn't label the post Coke Addiction, now could I?TJ Piercehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11840815968684284210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7124417.post-1127401277538688602005-09-22T11:01:00.000-04:002005-09-23T11:39:32.000-04:00Soda Addiction<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/875/423/1600/DrPepperModel1.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/875/423/200/DrPepperModel.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/875/423/1600/DrPepperModel.jpg"></a><br /><div class="Section1"><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Courier New;"><span style="font-family:'Courier New';">I decided last week to stop drinking Dr. Pepper. I have not had a Dr. Pepper for 24 hours now. It doesn’t sound like much, but it is a real accomplishment. Last week I had cut down to just 2 or 3 cans a day. Prior to that, I was drinking a 6-pack a day. That has been my normal intake of Dr. Pepper for 6 years now. Here are some numbers to consider on my own soda addiction:<?xml:namespace prefix = o /><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Courier New;"><span style="font-family:'Courier New';"><strong></strong></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Courier New;"><span style="font-family:'Courier New';"><strong>Calories:<o:p></o:p></strong></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Courier New;"><span style="font-family:'Courier New';">1 can = 150 calories</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Courier New;"><span style="font-family:'Courier New';">6 cans = 900 calories of soda consumed a day<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Courier New;"><span style="font-family:'Courier New';">900 calories X 7 days a week = 6300 calories a week<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Courier New;"><span style="font-family:'Courier New';">6300 calories X 52 weeks = 327600 calories <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Courier New;"><span style="font-family:'Courier New';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Courier New;"><span style="font-family:'Courier New';">One pound of body weight = 3500 calories. If my metabolism wasn’t so off the charts, then I would have gained 93 lbs. this year by drinking this amount of soda. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Courier New;"><span style="font-family:'Courier New';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Courier New;"><span style="font-family:'Courier New';">If I wanted to drop a few pounds by stopping the soda intake; I could loose 1.8 lbs a week.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Courier New;"><span style="font-family:'Courier New';"><strong>Quantity:<o:p></o:p></strong></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Courier New;"><span style="font-family:'Courier New';">1 gallon = 128 oz<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Courier New;"><span style="font-family:'Courier New';">1 can = 12 oz<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Courier New;"><span style="font-family:'Courier New';">((12oz x 6 cans) x 356 days)/128 oz = 200 gallons of soda a year. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Courier New;"><span style="font-family:'Courier New';">I can’t believe I was drinking 200 gallons a year. I’m no Doctor, but I’m really surprised I have not become diabetic. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Courier New;"><span style="font-family:'Courier New';">Soda manufactures are creating enough soda so that every man woman and child can consume 56 gallons of soda each year. I was way over the average. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Courier New;"><span style="font-family:'Courier New';"><strong>Goals:</strong></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Courier New;"><span style="font-family:'Courier New';">Before I quit, I had to come up with good reasons to quit. Here are my reasons:</span></span></p><ol><li><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Courier New;"><span style="font-family:'Courier New';">I currently have 15% body fat (BFI). My goal is to have 8%. This will be impossible to obtain by continuing my soda intake.</span></span></div></li><li><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Courier New;"><span style="font-family:'Courier New';">I want to improve my image. At work, I’m always carrying a can of Dr. Pepper. I don’t want to be the guy that always has a Dr. Pepper in his hand. I think this image is about as attractive as the chain smoker.</span></span></div></li><li><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Courier New;"><span style="font-family:'Courier New';">I want whiter teeth. </span></span></div></li><li><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Courier New;"><span style="font-family:'Courier New';">I want to be in control of my moods. I really think that the caffeine intake has a negative impact on my general mood.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div></li></ol><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Courier New;"><span style="font-family:'Courier New';">Well, I just thought that I would share this. I will update this throughout the week.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Courier New;"><span style="font-family:'Courier New';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p></div>TJ Piercehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11840815968684284210noreply@blogger.com1