I hate self-absorption

A quick clarification for last post:
When I pay out money, I expect to receive something for that investment. This is true even of my taxes, which go to the benefit (so I hope and believe to the limits of rationality) of the society I live in. That is, my money is exchanged for things that benefit myself, my country (as in the support of cradle-to-grave social security, a cause I believe in fervently) or the world at large (such as development investments abroad or government charitable partnerships).

This is why I claim the right to "pirate" music. When I purchase blank CDs (do they impose this tax on tapes as well? Ah.) I am charged a hefty chunk of money--think of it. Do you think Canadians will buy 1 million blank CDs this year? If so, then that's $210,000. Where's that going?

More importantly--what am I receiving for my investment? My theory is that since I am being charged this money to recoup the losses supposedly entailed by the music industry by the growth of digital downloads, then what I'm really buying is a sort of user license. Therefore I feel free to use.

In fact, what we're paying for is the failure of the music recording industry to take advantage of the digital revolution in music. If the music companies had embraced the technology and participated in the distribution of digital versions of copyrighted tracks, they could have made as much as they get out of radio play while saving a ton on packaging. They could have been the good guys.

They'd also have had reasonalble moral authority to do this.

As it is, they are usually displaying meanness and pettiness more than anything else, and the blank media levy is simply tangible proof.

Do you think they'll toss the levy once outfits like Puretracks etc. start making them serious coin? Of course they will--their goodness and generosity know no bounds.

Oops. Sorry--that's these people.

Here's the self-absorbed stuff

Before you read on, I'd like you to understand that I usually loathe people whining about diets, health, and related matters.

It's petty and short-sighted. Your health is of concern primarily to you, the individual. Only you can be responsible for it, and while I'm glad to hear you're in good health, don't waste my time describing what treatment, fad diet, or surgery you've recently undergone unless I ask, please.

So I ask for no sympathy as I delve into my own health problems. Besides, my problems, just like my children, are far more interesting than yours. Are you sitting comfortably? Then we'll begin.

I'm part of the "epidemic". I'm fat--not "big", not "big-boned"; Fat. I'm carrying something approaching 235lbs (107 Kg) on a six-foot (185 Cm) frame. Much of this is abdominal fat.

Some of this fat is heredity--I got it from my folks.

My dad was almost brained with a large pot by my mother when he announced that he'd gained five pounds over the past year. Mum's been on one diet or another since she was 26 or so.

Some of this is beer, and I have fond memories of building the portion of fat concerned.

But most of it is food and idleness.

And at the age of mumble-mumble, there's a pressing need to devote some time to the maintenance of my health in order to:
1) Avoid an early and unsatisfying death.
2) Be a good citizen and avoid draining the socialized health care system I so believe in.

Being overweight is a bad thing. The question is how to ditch it?


I've noticed through the years that I lose fat best when working. Evolutionarily this makes sense to me. My ancestors and probably yours, but almost certainly not his were hard-working people. They wrung their living from the earth with the sweat of their collective brows. This meant being able to hew wood and draw water all damn day long.

While touring Oz, I walked, not ran, most places. Sometimes spent whole days walking. In my last truly physical job, I lifted garbage cans all day. On that job I lost twenty pounds in under three months.

The problem is that there are only so many of these jobs to go around, not to mention that I don't really want to make my living by hard, dirty, underpaid and dangerous labour anymore--and if you don't believe garbage is hard dirty, underpaid and dangerous I suggest you try it for a summer--go with a private company, not a city crew--they've got unions.


So what to do what to do what to do?
The answer, from a broad perspective, is simple: Eat less, exercise more.

To this end I've started running--irregularly but hard. Period.

Eating habits? Uh. . .

I have yet to determine what to do about eating. I suspect the "nothing after six rule" will help, as I tend to retire with a good book and snack at night.
Of course not everyone agrees.

That last is one major reason I hate hearing about peoples current fads in health. There is usually little agreement on anything among self-styled "experts". One person swears by Atkins, another by South Beach. And next week they'll be delving into "forgotten secrets of our ancestors". Really, if our ancestors had it so good, why was infant mortality so disgustingly high?

Of course, some people are getting ready to remedy that. They'd be much more credible, in my opinion, if they actually announced their agenda on that page, but as far as nutjob sites go, it's not too bad--even reasoned in some places.

Lately one of their pet cause has been related to this. But here's a fairly reasoned perspective.

Point is, that historically, in all the time since we've been looking at fat from a health perspective, only one thing has been proven to work:

Eat less, exercie more. Simple, yah?

That's all I can stand of blogging on this. It's gonna continue to be an issue, but it's my issue. Sorry for putting you through this.

And no, I'm not interested in your surgery. Cool!