The August Vegan

August as in the month, not its other definition, that is.

I decided that, for the month of August, I'd go animal-product free.  The decision was impromptu, nudged along by a week in Dallas during which I was so sick of heavy, meat-filled meals.  With a cruise coming in September, I knew I'd be eating lots of heavy, rich foods on the ship, so I figured I'd give it a whirl.

I've done a vegan diet for a week or two here and there, which is honestly no problem at all.  I wondered at the beginning of the month if I'd crave anything specific and if I'd be able to stick to my goal.  I did, and without much effort or unmanageable cravings.  The most difficult of the four weeks was the second week, after I'd become bored with my newly-limited choices in the cafeteria at work and the month seemed to have so many days left in it.

I can't say that I really felt any different or lost any weight.  But, then again, I didn't weigh in to check, nor did I adopt any other lifestyle changes I would if I try this again.  I incorporated no exercise and I made no changes that I know would help me (like going to bed at a regular hour).  And, the kitchen at home wasn't really ready for my snap decision, which makes a huge difference.

If I go animal-free for a period in future, I will have a plan together and try for a couple of months to see what changes I notice.  I'd be sure the kitchen was well-stocked with the right foods, have recipes ready, take my lunch to work every day, set aside time to exercise, and force myself to bed early enough to ensure eight full hours of sleep every night.  Perhaps those changes are more of a challenge than the diet!

The Sky Is [Not] Falling

Hurricane Irene is headed north and we're all doomed!

Good grief, there's been nothing on the news for days except reporting about this storm and how it's going to get us all.  We'll be wind-blown, flooded, skewered with debris, and so on and on and on.  I haven't heard this much doom saying since ... since ... well, since Tuesday afternoon when the earthquake turned us all into idiots.

I watched the weather this morning.  Some reporter was on the beach at Ocean City admonishing that nobody in their right mind would be on the beach at Ocean City this morning (that's true), and telling us that it was getting bad.  "Let me check the windspeed for you back there in the studio.  ...  We're having sustained winds of 14 MPH.  This storm is getting cranked up!"  14 MPH?  Really?

I don't doubt that we'll get some wind, a good bit of rain, and that Old Town Alexandria, Annapolis and other flood-prone areas will flood.  But, is the world to come to an end tonight?  I doubt it.

I like to watch the news to see what's going but it becomes just a comedy when the reporters get sucked into their self-created vortex of doomsaying.

Here the rain has just begun and the wind is picking up a little.  Maybe it'll gust up to 14 MPH soon!  LOL

The first photo below is of the Washington Monument, which looked black.  The camera doesn't capture that very well, but it looked black against a gray sky.  The second picture is of the first rain bands of the storm.  It was neat that we could see them on the horizon about five minutes before the rain arrived here.

Whirlwind Week of Travel

I'm on my last day of twelve days of travel.  In that time I've been to California--twice--and Texas, and made connections in Salt Lake City often enough that the check-in gal at the Sky Club there recognized me.  I've had a surprisingly good run on this trips, with no misconnects, no canceled flights, and no flights that stood out as being unpleasant.

On the hotel front, I've overnighted in four different Hilton properties and a Crowne Plaza.  The standout among them was the Hilton Burlingame, near SFO airport.  Quite nice.  (I've written reviews for them over on Trip Advisor, http://www.tripadvisor.com/members-reviews/quequedub).

Now, time to head home, and back to the heat after a nice one-night break from it here in San Diego.  So hard to leave 70s when one knows 100 degrees is staring straight at me.

106 Degrees

The high today in Dallas was 106.  At ten o'clock at night it was still in the mid- to high-90s!  It's supposed to cool down to 83 degrees tonight.  I'll have to throw an extra blanket on the bed!

More Balcony Produce

The balcony garden is having a productive year.  Today's harvest was about a half dozen jalapenos.  Photos of the peppers, part of the garden, and the beautiful, green mid-summer view:

Miss USA: Turning Fact Into Theory

I'm amazed at people who can turn hard science and fact into a "theory," at how you can question that which can be proven.  How long before we have to start teaching in school the theory that the earth is flat?  After all, in spite of all of the facts to the contrary, there are those out there who believe that.

If you operate in a fact-based world, this video will leave you slack-jawed.  It's all sweet and pretty and cuteness, but get beyond all of that nonsense and think about what they're saying and the pride with which they tell us that they don't believe what has been proven.

Hotter Than Hell...

...then all hell breaks loose.  Heat index of over a hundred today, with crazy humidity and zero breeze.

Then, all of a sudden, at about half past six, the sky became black, the wind came up, rain came in torrents, and there was tons of lightening, with some strikes so close that they shook the building.  Thankfully it cooled things down significantly:  temperature in downtown DC went from 92 to 68 in fifteen minutes!

Photos from the balcony, which don't really do the storm justice: