Dream On

I love to dream. I even realized the other day that I do dream in color. I just wish I could remember the dreams better.

This morning I was awakened by my lovely wife Barb in the middle of a dream. Wouldn't it be nice if there was a way to have a "Do not disturb - dreaming" indicator that would delay an alarm clock from going off or your spouse from awakening you until the dream is over? Dreams can't last that long...can they?

While we're on the topic of dreams, it would be fantastic to have the ability to record and playback dreams. Just think what it would be like to share some of those great dreams with others, and maybe a few nightmares as well.

Sleeping My Way to Weight Loss: Dream On

Maybe you didn't buy in fully to my initial theory on sleeping your way to weight loss. Perhaps this one will be a little more convincing.

Have you ever had a dream, possibly even a nightmare, where you were physically active and awoke exhausted? Your body exhibiting attributes of what you would expect if it had actually happened. Let's say you're fighting a fire breathing dragon. It's a dream. We need a little fantasy. You battle the dragon with all your might. Imagine the amount of calories you would burn fighting a dragon. Well, It's my theory that you actually did burn those calories. Calories burnt = weight lost. All we need to do now is to harness what it is we dream about. Some of you may opt to actually dream about exercising. Boring. Me, I'm going to dream about flying, soaring high and then swooping down and pulling up just before reaching the tree tops. This will be my warm up during my first REM period. I'll slay a dragon and rescue a damsel in distress for my main work out. For my cool down, I'll ski the virgin slopes of a snow covered mountain.

Disclaimers:
I am not responsible for any injury incurred during dreamercise.
Please consult your wellness program before recording points for exercise during dreamercise.
Nightmares could occur.

Sleeping my way to weight loss

I need to loose a few pounds. How I do that is the problem. We all know that to loose weight you must exercise more and eat less. What a choice. I think though, that I have discovered another way, sleep more. I have observed on a consistent basis that each night I loose about two pounds while I sleep during an eight hour period. The problem is that I gain those two pounds back during the day. Here's my plan. If sleeping eight hours causes me to loose two pounds, then sleeping an extra 4 hours will cause me to loose an extra pound. That will be a loss of three pounds per day and then my normal routine will at the most cause me to gain back two pounds providing me with a net gain of one pound per night. I might even loose more since I've less time to gain it back during the day. Now, if I could just combine listening to books on CD while I sleep, I'll be smart and fit.

Do not disturb.

Fin de la Fruit Fly

Recently a number of fruit flies decided to show up uninvited. We couldn't identify any specific reason they were there, but they were not welcome.

Had they been chipmunks, they would have quickly met their demise pursuing what they thought to be a bucket of seeds. Moles, the Juicy Fruit worm or loop trap. But fruit flies? How do you get rid of fruit flies? A quick internet search provided a possible solution. A paper funnel leading into a jar with red wine vinegar. Before long, there were fruit flies in the jar...but they were still alive. And when I went to dispose of them, they outwitted me and made their escape.

It was Barb who arrived at the successful solution. A small jar with a bit of apple cider vinegar and a drop of dish detergent to break the tension of the vinegar. They flew in, landed on the liquid and soon drowned. Much like my chipmunk trap. If I was a fruit fly, I would have found the jar appealing to the eye as well as the nose. Do fruit flies have noses? They must. They smell. Unless of course they smell with a different part of their anatomy.

Beware all ye varmints who enter here.

Big Oil Conspiracy

I like the convenience of having my oil changed by someone else. I like it better when it's only $9.95. That's what Gates Chevy World charged me the last time I got my oil changed, which happened to be the first time I got it changed there. I had heard that they offered a great deal on oil changes. I imagine they make up the difference in finding other things to do with your vehicle like...changing your disk brakes. Anyway, my philosophy on oil changes is 3 months or 3,000 miles, which ever is longer. Well, the 3 month's ended a week ago. So did the 3,000 miles. On the same day. That has never happened before. Usually the 3,000 miles is longer. I'm beginning to get a little suspicious. Ten dollar oil change, 3 months and 3,000 miles arrive on the same day. Maybe this is a dream, or reality is being controlled by ... the auto industry? No, it must be BIG OIL. It's not possible that it's just a coincidence that gas is currently $3 a gallon and that September is the 9th month (3x3=9) and that the oil change is now $9.99. Something big is about to happen! It's all coming into alignment! That's why I'm delaying my oil change. Maybe I can disrupt the forces.

_{(Okay, I fudged when I just said that the oil change was now $9.99. It just seemed to work so well into my conspiracy theory. But it doesn't mean that my conclusion is wrong. Right Dan? Or would you rather not say?)}

Labor Day

Labor Day. For many it's a day away from labor. That's what I had intended. Sleep in a little, go for a 13 mile bike ride, relax. For the most part, that's what I did. That's what I had hoped for my lovely wife Barb as well. She started her day with a three mile run. Then she went with me for a 13 mile bike ride. Then we were to return home and work for an hour doing some reorganization in the basement. Saturday evenings washer malfunction made this a good time to begin working on organizing the storage room in the basement. Friday night on my way to bed, I noticed that there was water on the laundry room floor. I quickly got some towels to clean up the water. I also noticed that it was going down the floor vent. A trip to the basement showed me where the rest of the water went. The discharge hose on the washer had come apart so instead of going down the waste pipe. It went on the floor and into the basement. Barb's hour turned into four or more hours. For her, it was indeed a Labor Day.

Blast From the Past

This is a photo from the mid 70s while I was at Bethel. As a commuter I sometimes would play a little table tennis between classes. This was in the Acorn which was then located in the basement of Shupe.