The Blog

Dear Patillac,

Your a 1st gen MacBook Pro and I think it’s time we accept the truth. Your currently on life support and the prognosis isn’t looking good. You’ve been a dear friend, always there for me when I needed you. We learned things together, had many “firsts” together, and learned each other’s quirky habits so well that we are practically one and the same. In a sense, you have defined me. When your mouse pad starting showing symptoms of uncontrollable shakes, I said, hey I’m going to stick by your side. We’ll just get a peripheral and disable the mouse pad. It’s been ~9 months since we parted w/the mouse pad. And yes, the constant need of the peripheral mouse is quite an inconvenience, but the sacrifices we make for true love are well worth it. Then the fevers got really bad. Your bottom side was burning up like a fire side grill. I couldn’t sit you on my lap like I used to in the good old days when you were younger. The thought and smell of burning flesh were enough to make you desk-ridden for the rest of your life. No worries. Nothing a nice desk and small fan mounted right behind you can’t take care of!! At least we still had each other, right. However, your first stroke really scared me. I trusted that reliable brain of yours so much I never thought of backing you up. External Hard-drive? For what? I have a Mac Book Pro named Patillac that was as reliable as a Cadillac (that’s where you got your name - Me=Pat, You=Cadillac Quality). I was using nearly all 80 GB of your storage capacity…not a byte of which was anywhere else. Some might say that was careless, I just called it trust. But oh that fateful December day was a tough one.

I booted you up like I had everyday for the past few years. I saw the same grey screen I saw thousands of times before. But this time you were showing it to me for longer than you usually had. After about 10 minutes I became a little worried. I did what I thought was the obvious thing to do and forced you back to bed. After giving you a few more hours alone I came back in the room with uber-confidence and pushed the circle of life. Except you were paralyzed again. Something about that grey screen was haunting. It was like a block in the road that we have never encountered before. I hadn’t yet learned of your uncanny ability to share the contents of your brain with another Mac via Target Mode - silly you, that was such a brilliant option you should have told me about that when I first got you. Nonetheless, I spend ~12-15 hours operating on your software and trying everything I could think of. Because we had you at so much capacity the restore option wasn’t an option at all. Sad. So after alot of deliberating I did it. Erase & Install. I lost everything, but the good news was I still had you. You came back to life like a true champ!! I lost alot of important documents, and some photos I’ll never get back. But it’s okay. Memories can be remade and documents rewritten. But I did have to invest in hard drive. The “all my eggs in one basket” approach stung a little. It’s okay, you got along well with the WD 1TB Drive!! I also did a little homework and learned of the Target Mode option to recover all the goodies before giving you the fresh start. FireWire Cable was now on the shopping list!!

Life was normal again, at least for a couple months. One February day you started acting sick. You couldn’t do some of the things we commonly did. Playing with iTunes, Safari, and Mail seemed to exhaust you. No way could we play with all three at the same time. Over the next few days the symptoms got worse. I was usng the right click, force quit medicine many times AN HOUR!!! You used to just let me quit whatever we were playing with. But then it was as if you wouldn’t let me just quit those things we were doing, if one of them wouldn’t respond to me, none of you would. After one of the many forced shut downs you gave me the dreaded gray screen. I knew what it meant. Just to be safe I used the life support cable (FireWire) and saved everything on ur brain. I labeled the folder: Patillac’s Brain - Feb 2009. Like a true companion I walked you through the rescesitation process and brought you back to life. You were a trooper and came back like a star.

Unfortunately, I have four files on that Western Digital that start out “Patillac’s Brain…”. Just a couple days ago you started making a sound I haven’t heard before. Like a purring of sorts. I’ve read about this sound. I don’t want to think about what the next gray screen may bring (you started showing me a “file” with a question mark in it) but I’m afraid the next time you may not come back. I’m okay with the inconveniences. Traveling with a mouse is easy: stuff it in the side of the back pack. The life support cable is small and can fit in my pocket,  but making sure we have access to another Mac is sometimes challenging. The fan is a bit cumbersome and inappropriate for some places, but we find ways to make this one work (I’ve learned that propping your backside up with something keeps you cool a BIT longer…). The western digital isn’t so bad…kind of bulky but knowing you’ll always have a second storage (backup) is reassuring. And the fact that because of the mouse/fan/etc. you’ve essentially become a desktop computer just means no more watching TV and playing with you at the same time - maybe this was a deliberate move on your part!! You were getting jealous huh!! I thought so!! It’s okay, we learned about the wonders of fancast.com so we could do EVERYTHING together!!

But it’s time. It’s time I accept the fact that your on your last leg. The purring noise may be a signal that the time is near. Your successor will have big shoes to fill. I’ve started looking into it and I think the new iMac 24″ will be the one. But I hope you can hang in there a bit longer. Money is a bit tight and I can’t afford to go pick up the newbie for a while. It’s been a blast and I wouldn’t have wanted it to happen any other way!! If I can get the newbie in here before you check-out for good, I promise to not get rid of you. You’ll just be officially “retired.” Limited use only!! Who knows, I may get brave and open you up and see what kind of surgery we can do…maybe replace some of the problems and get you healthy again!! Time will tell. Until then, hang tough and keep doin ur thang!!

Okay so I can’t be having my favorite jamba juice orange dream machine after my workouts. Apparently they have 120+ grams of sugar. Thats an absurd amount, even following an intense workout. I need to find an alternative post-workout drink/meal. This is what I had tonight and it wasn’t bad. Wasn’t exactly “filling” but held me over!! I’ll keep looking into some healthier alternatives, at the moment I’m thinking a protein shake wouldn’t be bad. Will probably save on the $$ too, those ODM’s add up!!

We’ll see!!

When I am at the gym I often catch myself watching people who run so effortlessly. They make it look easy. Yet when I get on the treadmill I find myself staring down the pause button before I make it to 8 minutes. Last night Steve-O wanted to go to the gym for a “running night.” He happens to be one of those effortless runners. So we get to the gym, stretch out, joyously watch the nuggets beat the lakers and begin to run. I’ve been working out pretty hard with K-Dub, keeping up with the Steve-O boot camp, and really being conscious of what I eat so this was going to be a big test to see how much progress I have made. Now, I wasn’t joking when I said I usually don’t get past 8 minutes without needing a break, and the most I’ve ever ran without stopping is ~2.5 miles, and that was back in high school. So being able to run 4.1 miles without stopping (of course I took walking breaks but never physically stopped moving) was quite an accomplishment, albeit a modest one. Grant it, 4 miles took me just over 50 minutes, but that just gives me a goal to work for…. 5 miles in an hour per se. Either way I was pretty happy with this and I guess it does reinforce that there has been some progress since I started trying to really make some lifestyle changes!!

It’s impossible to lose weight if you intake more than you burn.  It works like this - your body needs energy to function, and it gets that energy from the food (fuel) we put in our body. Sugars, proteins, and like nutrients all have some role in making sure we get up in the morning, get through the day, and eventually get back to sleep. So when you consume your food it gets broken down into different categories, and the excess gets dumped - literally!!! The exception to this rule is carbs (sugar) which our body uses as its primary source of energy. Since energy is so important, our body tends to store the excess sugar “just in case” we ever need it. Problem is, it stores it in the form of fat…so if we just lounge around not using what’s in storage, and we continue to consume more than our body needs (which nearly everyone does) than we will continue to store the excess (fat) and eventually become “fat”. That has been my problem and is what caused me to get up to 315 lbs… Damn it!!

I hate the word “diet.” Mainly because a diet is associated with something temporary, and as soon as someone meets their goal and they quit their “diet” they no longer have a reason to justify NOT eating that extra piece of cake or whatever it may be. In fact, I’d be willing to bet most people never actually meet their goal, and the diet eventually fades away like a bad dream. I really do prefer something that is more of a lifestyle change, and for me that means a change in routine. The purpose of a diet it ultimately to lose weight, but that happens by modifying your intake to ensure you consume LESS than your going to burn in a given day. My problem (and likely most others) is not about the amount of what we take in, it is JUST what we take in. The sodas, chips, fries, deserts, etc. are loaded with sugars and scarce in the good nutrients. Nonetheless a typical unit for measuring intake is Calories - which just so happens to be a unit of measuring….you guessed it - energy!!

A Calorie is the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of one-kilogram of water by one-dgree Celsius. Since we know our body stores energy we can say our body stores Calories. It has been determined that ~3,500 calories are equivalent to 1 pound of fat. So in order to lose 2 pounds a week (which is a healthy goal) we need to create a 3,500 Calorie deficit every week. This can come in a variety of forms, most notably (and healthy) Diet & Excercise. I was eating well over 3,000 Calories per day, and doing little or no excercise during the week.

So for me, in a normal week (incl all 7 days) I was consuming 21,000 Calories a day and not doing anything besides what was happening on a physiological level to burn off the excess. Because there is no way to really quantify exactly how much we are using I think it is saft to just use the 21,000 as a baseline - trust me, I have ALOT to lose, I’m sure my body won’t mind me taking and burning some of that stored up nastyness!! By just changing my routine (cutting out sodas, fastfood, etc.) I can get my intake down to 1,950 Calories per day. And I have started to see a trainer 3x per week. It’s safe to assume I burn ~800 Calories during our 3 workouts. Add it up (1,950 x 7 = 13,650 Calories per week) and minus the working out (800 x 3 = 2,400) give me a net Calories per week of (13,650 - 2,400 = 11, 250). This boils down to ~3 lbs per week weight loss. And I will reiterate that I am 90% certain that I ate well over 21,000 Calories per week. So we will see how this works for me………………………………..

Need to back on track with the diet accountability, so this past week: Edit - I will just continue updating this post instead of adding daily posts about what i eat…

M:
B - Nada
L - Arby’s RB Sand + Fries//Tea
D - 2 HB Eggs//JaJu Orig ODM

T: (5/12)
B - 2 eggs, 1 tortilla//OJ
L - Turkey SW + sm portion fries//Water
D - Shrimp Fetuccini Alfredo//Rockstar (2 portions)

W:
B - Beef Jerky (2 pieces)
L - Lean Pocket (2x)
D - Grilled Chicken + 2 HB Eggs//JaJu Orig ODM
**Cooked ~4-5 chicken breasts, hopefully I’ll incorporate them into “healthier” meals over the next few days…

Th:
B - 2 Eggs, 1/2 tortilla, 1 banana//Soy Milk
Sn - Banana
L - Lean Pockets (x2)
D - Grilled Chicken + 2 HB Eggs

F:
B - None
Sn - Banana + 2 string cheese
L - Grilled Chicken SW + Wheat Thins
D - Crab and Linguini Pasta

Sa: (5/16)
L - l/o Crab + Grilled Chicken and Linguini
D - Grilled Chicken Tacos (x3)

Su:
B - Pancakes
L/D - Grilled Cheeseburger (Homemade x2)

M:
B - 2 bowls cheerios + 2 toast
L - 1/2 Quesadilla
D - Grilled chicken tacos (x3)

T:
B - 1/2 Quesadilla
L - Subway 12″ RB SW + Chips
D - Grilled Chicken & Honey Mustard SW + Chips

We: 5/20
B - Oatmeal + 2 Wheat Toast
Sn -  Banana + 2 String Cheese
L - Lean Pockets (x2)
D - Fish Fillet (2) + 1 cup steamed rice + 1 helping asparagus & green beans
**WORKOUT** KW
Sn - Orig ODM w/shot of prot

Th:
B - 1 cup Oatmeal 1 egg 2 wheat toast (365 Ca)
Sn - Banana + 2 String Cheese
L - Lean Pockets (x2)
D - 1 bagelwhich (egg/slice of cheese/turkey)

F:
B -

Sa:
B - Orig ODM, 2 HB eggs
L - Lean Pockets (x2)
D - 2 chicken breast, beans/rice, tortilla
De - 1 piece of choc pie

Su:
B - 3 eggs, Hashbrowns, Bacon + 1 glass OJ
L - Lean Pockets (x2)
D - 1 sq Lasagna, 3 helpings salad (red wine vinagarette)

M:
B - Chorizo & Eggs + tortilla (x2)
L - 1 sm sq of lasagna
D - Orig ODM + Prot

T:
B - 1 bowl oatmeal
L - na
Sn - 1 grilled chicken SW Wendy’s (440 Ca)
D - 1 grilled chicken SW (360 Ca) & Grilled chkn wrap (260 Ca) McD’s

W:
B - 1 bag trail mix 320 Ca
L - Lean Pockets (x2) 540 Ca
Sn - Banana (x1) 60 Ca
D - Banana (x1) 60 Ca
Grapes (1 bowl) 60 Ca

Th:
B - Oatmean (1 bowl) w/Bagel (340 Ca)
Sn - Banana 60 Ca
L - Lean Pockets (x2) 540 Ca
Sn - Granola Bar (x1) 90 Ca
D - Steamed Chicken + Rice

Fri (May 29th 2009):
B - Banana (60 Ca) + Granola Bar (x2 = 180 Ca)
Sn - String Cheese
Sn - Beef Jerky
L - Lean Pockets (x2 = 540 Ca)

Every now and again you come across an article or blog post that really hits home for some reason or another. Earlier this morning I came across such a post. If you know me, you know I have a tendency to talk ALOT about “ewww, that would be a great business idea.” A good friend of mine, Lurch, came to the realization that if half of the thousands of business ideas we had came to fruition, we’d easily have made millions by now. Unfortunately the ideas have always stayed just that, ideas!! So check out this blog post by Mark Cuban at Blog Maverick. And if you have not had the chance to read through his blog, DO IT!! Probably one of the best I’ve followed…

The Sport of Business

Mar 12th 2005 12:58AM

The Sport of Business.

I can’t go more than a week without shooting baskets. There is something about the feel of the ball coming off my hand, and the sound of the ball going through the net. It just feels good.

If I’m just standing in the gym, I can shoot pretty well. Playing in a game. Well it’s not quite what it used to be. I used to have a spin move that would work for me no matter who I was playing against or what level they were at. If I could get a pick and the defender went under, I didn’t have to think about it, I could hit the shot. These days, my mind knows what to do, but my body just laughs at me. Put me up against 20 year olds, and I won’t embarass myself but it’s only because I know how to set a pick and hit an open,a very wide open jumper, and spend the rest of the game getting out of the way.

I love to compete. I always have. Playing basketball was just something I had to do no matter how good I was and its something I will always do, no matter how old I get. It gives me a chance to blow off steam. It gives me a way to refocus.

But no matter how much I love to play the game or how involved and competitive I getduring aMavs game, it’s only a minor release. Real competition comes from the sport of business.

In sports, you know who your opponents are. You know when you are going to play a game. You know pretty much how long the game will last. It’s mentally and physically exhausting if you are at the top of the game, but it still pails at the effort required to be successful in business.

The sport of business isnt divided into games. It’s not defined by practices. It doesn’t have set rules that everyone plays by.

The sport of business is the ultimate competition. It’s 7×24×365xforever.

I love the sport of business. I love the competition. I love the fire of it. It’s the feelingof the clock winding down, the ball is in your hands, and if you hit the shot you win…all day, every day.

Relaxing is for the other guy. I may be sitting in front of the TV, but I’m not watching it unless I think there is something I can learn from it. I’m thinking about things I can use in my business and the TV is just there.

I could take the time to read a fiction book, but I don’t. I would rather read websites, newspapers, magazines, looking for ideas and concepts that I can use. I spend time in bookstores because 1 idea from a book or magazine can make me money.

I’m not going to go to dinner with you just to chat. I’m not going to give you a call to see how you are. Unless you want to talk business. Other guys play fantasy sports. I fire the synapses to get an edge.

That’s what success is all about. I’ts about the edge.

It’s not who you know. It’s not how much money you have. It’s very simple. It’s whether or not you have the edge and have the guts to use it.

The edge is getting so jazzed about what you do, you just spent 24 hours straight working on a project and you thought it was a couple hours.

The edge is knowing that you have to be the smartest guy in the room when you have your meeting and you are going to put in the effort to learn whatever you need to learn to get there.

The edge is knowing is knowing that when the 4 girlfriends you have had in the last couple years asked you which was more important, them or your business, you gave the right answer.

The edge is knowing that you can fail and learn from it, and just get back up and in the game.

The edge is knowing that people think your crazy, and they are right, but you don’t care what they think.

The edge is knowing how to blow off steam a couple times a week, just so you can refocus on business

The edge is knowing that you are getting to your goals and treating people right along the way because as good as you can be, you are so focused that you need regular people around you to balance you and help you.

The edge is being able to call out someone on a business issue because you know you have done your homework.

The edge is recognizing when you are wrong, and working harder to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

The edge is being able to drill down and identify issues and problems and solve them before anyone knows they are there.

The edge is knowing that while everyone else is talking about nonsense like the will to win, and how they know they can be successful, you are preparing yourself to compete so that you will be successful.

That’s what makes business such an amazing sport. Everyone plays it. Everyone talks about how good they are or will be at it. Just a small percentage are.

Every single day someone has an idea. Every day someone talks about some business they want to start. Every day someone is out there starting a business whose entire goal is to beat the hell out of yours. How cool is that.

Every day some stranger from any where in the world that you have never met is trying to come up with a way to put you out of business. To take everything you have worked your ass off for, and take it all away. If you are in a growing industry, there could be hundreds or thousands of strangers trying to figure out ways to put you out of business. How cool is that.

The ultimate competition. Would you like to play a game called Eat Your Lunch. We are going to face off. My ability to execute on an idea vs yours. My ability to subvert your businessvs your ability to keep it going. My ability to create ways to remove any reason for your business to exist vs your ability to do the same to me. My ability to know what you are going to do, before you do it. Who gets there first? Best of all, this game doesn’t have a time limit. It’s forever. It never ends. It’s the ultimate competition.

It’s the sport of business. It’s not for everyone, butI love it.

I’m fortunate. I have done well enough financially thatI don’t have to play 24×7×365. I can and have cut back to 18×7×365. Family first now.

But in those 18 hours, you can bet I’m competing, and loving it.

But that’s me. You have to figure out what works for you.

I have come to accept that Philly is my home away from home. Since Bonster has been back there in school I have spent ALOT of time in the “City of Brotherly Love.” I had meetings in the Bay Area on Wed. and Thurs., and following Thursday’s meetings I found a computer to see how much ticket prices were - low and behold a round trip ticket (literally leaving in a few hours) was less than $200…so I decided to be spontaneous and flew across the country!! I had my overnight bag that I took to my meetings and not much else. But I knew we would make the most of it…and we did. It was the perfect weekend getaway!! Below I posted some of the things we did - and ALWAYS do when I’m in Philly…basically - EAT!!! The cheesesteaks are to die for!!

Notice the whiz, it’s THAT critical!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!