Posts by oit

IMO the only good supplements are multi-vitamins, or other vitamins and mineral supplements.

I think the weight loss tablets work if you think they will work, i.e the placebo effect.  Sometimes taking a pill that you think does something will help your mind/body to make it so.  For example, if you take a weight loss tablet that says it helps you feel less hungry, and you will therefore eat less as a result, then you think to yourself "this is going to work", and you take it, and your mind thinks you are going to be less hungry, and Voila! you are less hungry!  The reason you are less hungry though has nothing to do with any chemical in the pill you took.

I have heard though, that there are some pills that have some value to help for weight loss (like green tea extract), but exactly how beneficial it really is, is hard to say.

Feeling a bit sleepy after a strenuous workout is not too unusual I think, but the dizzyness is not so good.  I think, as suggested, make sure you have plenty of water.

Are you sure you are getting enought vitamins in your diet?  My wife sometimes has dizzy spells if her Iron intake is too low, so make sure that is good too.

As for the sleeping reducing metablosim, it can actually be that a lack of sleep will reduce your metabolism, it can also increase your appetite!  Fitness coaches even say that if your time is so limited that you have to choose between sleep or your workout, get the sleep and make your workout shorter (but more intense).

Glass can react with metal, i.e. from the sink.  If you have a bucket, I would put it in that to thaw out, at room temp, somewhere that is out of the sun.

I am used to keeping my vodka in the freezer too, and never had it actually freeze up, so that is a bit weird, must be the quality I guess.

As for the age, 18 is old enough for Australia!  :)

Yep, have to agree, any exercise is good exercise!

In terms of how many calories burned, if your budget is up to it, you might want to consider a heart rate monitor.

Also, if you have a bike, and a clear path to ride it (no pedestrians!), then think about giving that a go, you will burn more from that than a walk for the same time period.

Fantastic mate, great job!

Seems you have about the same target as I do, about 85kg is good for me too, although will probably be happy to be around 90 - 95 at this point!  (Currently at 117, down from 126).

As a man, I have to say how sad it is to hear of these terrible stories.

The cat calls and sexist remarks are also pretty sad, but obviously on a much less serious scale!

I have to admit to having complemented a couple of ladies in my time, but not so graphic as to say "nice ass" or anything as infantile.  I have literally done this to only 2 total strangers in my life, on seperate occassions.  To say they were gorgeous, or sexy just didn't do them justice, they were perfection.  The combination of the way they looked, the way they were dressed, and even the expression on their face, was a wonder to behold honestly.

The last one was on a train, we were both on the same platform, boarded the train, and I waited to comment until just before I was getting off.  I said something like "Hi, I hope you don't mind me saying, but you have made my day, you look so beautiful you almost glow, you have been a ray of sunshine in an otherwise dull day, thank you for that."  I am happy to say she smiled rather than looked freaked out!  I told her I was getting off, wished her the best for the rest of the day and got off the train.

That was it.  Too freaky?  I don't know why I felt compelled to say something, it was just that they had such an impact on me.

Original Post by jewelsmcblah:

"Restrictions on personal liberty, on the right of free expression of opinion, including freedom of the press; on the rights of assembly and associations; and violations of the privacy of postal, telegraphic, and telephonic communications and warrants for house searches, orders for confiscations as well as restrictions on property, are also permissible beyond the legal limits otherwise prescribed."

Sound familiar?  A cookie to the first person who guesses who said it.

What about this gem?  It’s a favorite of mine.

“Of course people don’t want war.  But after all, it’s the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it’s always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it’s a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship.  Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders.  That is easy.  All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounced the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger.”

Something to do with current events in the US? 

Related to the war on terrorism?

hmmm....

The first part, if I recall correctly was a decree made by President von Hindenburg, at the "request" of Adolf Hitler.

The later comment is also related, although many years later, from Herman Goering at the Nuremberg trials.

Just to add my 2c in, on the resistance vs pedalling speed thing, I think it is much better to peddle faster than to be pushing hard with a much slower pedal speed.

If the resistance is too hard, you risk damaging your knees more.  A good cycling cadence is between 80 to 100 rpm.  Hard to judge that on your bike unless you have a bike computer, but on a stationary bike it will usually give you that info, so you could get a feel for how fast that is.

I used to ride a lot, then sort of stopped for a few years, but have just recently got back into it myself.

A few of my favourites have already been mentioned I think:

AC/DC - Back in Black

Meatloaf - Bat out of Hell

Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon

Tarkan - Karma

Queen - A Kind of Magic  (loved Highlander!)

The Angels - No Exit

Seal - Seal (1994)

Mariah Carey - #1's

Thanks melkor.  Could you maybe work some numbers so I can get what you mean here?

I used to be quite big about 5-10 years ago, then I lost a LOT of weight, so went from about 310 lbs down to 175lbs.  However, I had a skiing accident that really took its toll on me and I went back up to 280lbs.  I on my way back down again, and am currently at 258lbs, so still have quite a bit to go to get back to a weight I am happy with.  If it also helps, I am male, 39, 178cm.

So, if I assume that 175lbs is a good weight to be, and I am currently 258, I still have 83lbs to lose.  Based on what you have mentioned, this means I can have a daily deficit of up to 83*31= 2573 cals?

As always, appreciate your help!

Absolutely you are NOT overreacting!

These people are taking way too long, and have provided no reasonable excuse as to why.

It is a shame your paypal and CC recovery options seem closed.  If you have to go through the BBB to try to get a resolution, while you are talking to them, it couldn't hurt to ask about PayPal's stance of 45 days from time of entering into the transaction as opposed to being from the agreed upon delivery date.

I wish you the best of luck.

I guess you said you would give them until Saturday, so maybe that is ok to start with, but if nothing by then, you don't need to go to BBB, start with PayPal, go to their "Resolution Center" and open a "Dispute".

This just gets Paypal officially involved and basically forces the seller into action.  If they do not resolve the dispute satifactorily, then PayPal will refund your money.

EDIT: I am not sure of the amount of your purchase, and there may be a limit, but anyway check on the paypal site for the fine print there - there is a tutorial there on lodging a dispute and other info.

Also, I would be rejecting their 45 day limit argument as now being too late - if you buy something that has a declared delivery time of 2 months, it makes sense that your 45 days should start from the time that the promised delivery date has passed.

If PayPal will not budge, then I would ask how you normally pay your paypal bill - do you have funds in the paypal account, or is it automatically paid from your credit card?  If from your credit card, and paypal refuse to help, contact your credit card company and stop the payment to paypal citing failure to deliver goods.

Do not give this company more time than the deadline you have set, your options for getting money back get less and less the more time is allowed to pass.

Good Luck!

Violence of any kind, and I don't just mean of a personal nature, I mean ALL violence against mankind.   There would be no need for military in ANY country, there would be no need for missiles, no need for nuclear weapons, virtually no need for guns at all (just by farmers, wildlife control etc).  Governments would not have any power to allow even police to be violent.  Criminals would be apprehended by robots that shoot tranquilizer drugs with perfect precision.

My contribution is this, just make sure you take off and do your exploring before you buy a property!  Once you have the monthly loan commitment for years and years, the idea of dissapearing globe trotting is virtually non-existent.

Original Post by spirochete:

Original Post by oit:

Spiro, it sure seems there is that one group that bugs the crap outta you, but please do try to consider that most of us, even if we do wear spandex (although never could bring myself to wear it sans-jocks, and the pic of the polish team reinforces my habit!), try to be considerate, and hope to be treated likewise.

 It's more than one group; it's the cycling community as a whole where I live. While I can understand the confusion, no where was it EVER stated I didn't drive around cyclists with their safety in mind.

In fact, most of what irks me is I go out of my way to make sure I do not come anywhere near them, startle them with my car or do anything that would remotely endanger them. As I'm doing that, they are driving around doing one stupid thing after the next.

 As a cyclist, I felt the need to defend against your attitude, but also, I stand corrected, happy to see your behaviour is much different than your attitude towards cyclists.

I basically agree with pretty much all of what atech said.

As a cyclist that rides on the road all the time, and always in a defensive manner (i.e. almost ALWAYS assuming that I am virutally invisible to cars, and therefore trying to be prepared for anything), I would probably also be horrified and angry at cyclists behaving in a manner which not only puts there own lives at risk, but also unneccesarily inconveniences the drivers on the road.

I mentioned before that I never use bicycle paths, but I think I also need to explain what a bicycle path is here in Japan.  From an earlier post above, it seems a bicycle path may be "part of the road" rather than "part of the footpath", i.e. the road is wider and there is a line marking the bike section?  In Tokyo, the bike path is part of the footpath, which just means the footpath is a wide one with a line roughly down the middle marking one side for pedestrians and one side for cyclists.  Never works, people always walk on the whole of the path.

In terms of the laws of the road relating to stop signs and red lights, there are actually benefits to drivers of cyclists treating all intersections like "give-way" signs.  Providing cyclists always check to make sure there is no cross traffic, it can be better for cars if cyclists get going before the rest of the traffic to clear the intersection for drivers wanting to turn.  Drivers should also feel more comfortable passing a bike that is already in a relatively predictable straight motion than one that is rather slow getting started, and not so predictable as to what they are doing.  What is worse for you (just a generic "you", not aimed at anyone specific), your annoyance at seeing a cyclist go through a red light (safely), or actually being inconvenienced by having to wait for a cyclist to get out of your way?

I am not the most law-abiding cyclist about, but I am pretty sure I am one of the most responsible, safety-conscious, motorist friendly one.  I guess I am also annoyed by those that act in ways that give cyclists a bad rap.