James Pearl Thinks Blogging is Dead

jmanic

JORBA Board Member/Chapter Leader
Staff member
JORBA.ORG
Team MTBNJ Halter's
The cost of maintaining 2 is worse.
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The Kalmyk

Well-Known Member
If the second home is in an area that is conducive to weekly renting, its a good way to offset cost.

My folks owned a place in Woodstock when i was younger and rented it weekly. The only season that was meh was the spring. They then went to LBI and did the same thing. Left LBI and dont rent their new home.

Point- renting is logical if you can pull it off.
 
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Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member
If the second home is in an area that is conducive to weekly renting, its a good way to offset cost.

My folks owned a place in Woodstock when i was younger and rented it weekly. The only season that was meh was the spring. They then went to LBI and did the same thing. Left LBI and dont rent their new home.

Point- renting is logical if you can pull it off.

I wouldn't rent a place I actually want to use on short notice. You'd need to block your weekends then the weather sucks. Then the ... .

Just rent, take the $ hit& that ya gotta lug all your crap. Unless you can afford to have a place and have your equipment there so you can just show up, it is I losing situation.

Don't get swayed by how expensive a rental is. There is a reason. Like a boat, you can rent for $1000/wk but it wood only cost $10k to buy. Just rent. Trust me.
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
We're in Canada now. And it is currently about 60 degrees outside.

We'll be here for 8 days total, which consists of 6 days on the ground and a day on each end dedicated mostly to driving. Today is the 3rd day of the trip and things are going pretty well. It's raining here today. But the rest of the week looks pretty good and the high is supposed to be 77 between tomorrow and Saturday.

I've put these days on the WP blog, which I really do for myself but it's open to anyone. Day 1 is here and day 2 is here. The basics of the first 2 days go as follows: We drove up on the first day. Then we did a lot of yard work for D's parents on the second. Today is still in progress but it mostly rained today and I did some chainsaw work this afternoon. Food is plentiful and I don't miss the heat.

I rode so much in the last 5-6 weeks that I'm good with a down week. Trying to use this as an actual rest week, but I get restless so that's hard to come by sometimes.

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jmanic

JORBA Board Member/Chapter Leader
Staff member
JORBA.ORG
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Seeing Simon back there reminds me of the days in the rumble seats of the Country Squire wagon.
Steerage? Luggage? Maybe somewhere in between.
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Still in Canada, still not hot.

Days 3 & 4 in the books, which you can read about here and here if you so desire. Day 3 was a rainy affair and yesterday was a bit better. We went for an easy bike ride yesterday from the house, just hitting some local roads. The trails were probably too wet to ride. It's been wetter here than at home so things are not quite so bone-dry. Also took a drive to the village and did a hike on the mountain. We did not take on the big hike to the top, just a small 2 mile loop. Finished up the day with more ATV & Chainsaw work. The loop still needs a lot of work but the real weak link in this chain is the ATV is acting up, with the CHECK ENGINE light starting up yesterday. Out of my comfort zone other than checking some of the basics.

We may mountain bike proper today. Or maybe go to a boat. Or both. Or neither.

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JDurk

Well-Known Member
Still in Canada, still not hot.

Days 3 & 4 in the books, which you can read about here and here if you so desire. Day 3 was a rainy affair and yesterday was a bit better. We went for an easy bike ride yesterday from the house, just hitting some local roads. The trails were probably too wet to ride. It's been wetter here than at home so things are not quite so bone-dry. Also took a drive to the village and did a hike on the mountain. We did not take on the big hike to the top, just a small 2 mile loop. Finished up the day with more ATV & Chainsaw work. The loop still needs a lot of work but the real weak link in this chain is the ATV is acting up, with the CHECK ENGINE light starting up yesterday. Out of my comfort zone other than checking some of the basics.

We may mountain bike proper today. Or maybe go to a boat. Or both. Or neither.

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I find it to be an effort to nap as well.
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
The weather has turned incredible in the last 2 days. It is nothing short of perfect right now.

Days 5 & 6 can be found here and here for those of you following along at home. Yesterday was a mountain bike ride and today was a hike. Both of these gave us great views - pics below. I absolutely love this life right now. Wake up. Have a cup of coffee and relaxed breakfast. Ride the ATV and chainsaw some shit up. Go for a mountain bike ride or a hike. Eat a nice lunch. Ride the ATV more and chainsaw more shit up. Then maybe relax in the hot tub and round the afternoon out before it's time for a big dinner.

Life is pretty good right now. It'll all come to a screeching halt soon enough but I am enjoying this while I can.

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rottin'

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
I absolutely love this life right now. Wake up. Have a cup of coffee and relaxed breakfast. Ride the ATV and chainsaw some shit up. Go for a mountain bike ride or a hike. Eat a nice lunch. Ride the ATV more and chainsaw more shit up. Then maybe relax in the hot tub and round the afternoon out before it's time for a big dinner.

This should be called retirement
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Been a few days.

The last 2 Canada days can be found here and here. Basically we rode mountain bikes, played mini putt, and drove home. In summary, it was a great trip. I would totally retire up there right now if I could, at least some of the time. I already checked out the cost of a snowmobile in trying to wrap my head around the winter season. Real estate is quite reasonable in those parts. I can day dream.

I have moved on to Massachusetts now. That blog can be found here. The recap of this is basically: I rode Vietnam, went to work, then rode Vietnam again when our work dinner was cancelled. In total I rode 3+ hours and 21+ miles. I am starting to understand this place a little more. Tomorrow we'll see how true that statement is.

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Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
On June 1 I got on the scale and it read: 222.7.

The day before I did this, I decided it was time to get my shit together again. As someone who goes up & down over the years, I knew I wasn't sitting at 199 pounds. I had avoided the scale for a while. Every now & again I would get on and not like what I saw. The winter hadn't been especially good. Weight lifting ended up adding 10+ pounds, and I never bothered to take it off. I felt fine. My overall health was good. And I asked myself this question. Am I ok being 225 pounds as a normal weight so long as I'm happy & healthy?

In the end the answer was sure, until the biking season started to ramp up. Then healthy & happy had to take a back seat to, "Dragging an extra 20+ pounds up this fucking hill sucks." So the day before June 1, I decided to get my act together. This was really a 2-part approach. First: keep doing the same amount of activity I have always been doing. Second, start tracking my calories. It was that simple.

Yesterday I woke up at 196.5, which, doing the math, is a 26.2 pounds loss. That's a marathon, if you're into math and numbers and shit.

One might ask how I got back up to 222+ pounds. To this I would say:

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Actually, the correct Sesame Street giphy would probably be this:

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No matter, here we are. Well, there we were and here we are now. I feel great. It's so much easier to get up the hills these days. Funny enough, going down is better too, as it's a lot easier to control my speed. A conversation for another time, but an interesting discussion one day.

I decided not to bring the topic up on this thread, mostly as an experiment, In part, it was because I've been up & down, then up & down, and it's yet another cycle. I would like to think this is a more firm foundation I've built this iteration on. But time will be the judge of that. No, the real reason I decided not to say anything was because of something I read on the Biggest Loser thread. Someone commented they lost a bunch of weight and nobody said anything, for months & months. I was seeing this same phenomenon the past 3+ months. It's been about 100 days and 26+ pounds and up until today, not a single person commented about it. Then today one of the dog walking crew that D goes with made the comment. It was the first thing he said when we saw them.

I wonder, is it not politically correct to say something anymore? I guess I understand that. By saying, "Hey, you lost weight," are you retroactively saying, "Hey, you used to be fat?" Maybe this is what we should say instead. I find it an interesting thought. As a side note, in my previous iterations of weight loss people often commented on it. I guess times have changed.

Anyway, I don't plan to post a lot about this. But the experiment lasted ~100 days, 26+ pounds, and covered 100s of people over the summer. I'm certain some people noticed, but I'm also certain that people don't know what they're allowed to say anymore. This also brings up an interesting question I pose to you. If someone you know HAS put on some weight, where is the right time and place to express concern for their health?

I don't know the answers to this questions. I'm just curious what is acceptable anymore. In any event, I'm just gonna keep trying to chip away pound by pound and we'll see where it all goes.

Also, we had a great ride at Allaire yesterday.

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JDurk

Well-Known Member
Great work, keep it up. If you've been following along with my Biggest Loser postings, my wife and I have had some pretty dramatic weight loss and the same experiences. From people not knowing who we are, asking if everything's ok, or not saying anything at all. Lately, it's been comments telling us not to lose additional weight.

Not that we're expecting compliments, but when friends of family don't say anything hurts a little more. Another is people questioning us "Are you still following your diet?" My answer has always been, "It's not a diet, just a lifestyle of healthy eating." Unfortunately, in today's world, healthy eating is considered a diet. I usually follow it up with "you can't out exercise a bad diet."
 

Santapez

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
I'll bite with my thoughts.

I'm typically really bad with knowing when people gain or lose weight. And really can't tell when I see people on a regular basis. One of the engineers in my office lost something like 70lbs over 6 months this year and I hardly noticed. But then I had lunch with a sales guy a few weeks ago and immediately started to talk to him about his weight loss as it was the first thing I thought of. Probably wouldn't have mentioned anything if he gained a ton of weight...

No joke but I saw you on the bike this weekend and was thinking of one of the pictures I saw of you many moons ago when you were a fast racer and pretty thin. And was thinking "Man, I can't tell if Norm is thin or chunky. He's way less than he was at one point, and not as skinny as he once was, but can't tell where in that spectrum he is." It was just a weird thought and interesting that you're talking about this. So for me, no, I can't really tell where you are in your weight loss journey, if you are heavier or lighter than you were 6 months ago. However if I start seeing you in 6+ month increments I'll either congratulate you or tell you to put down the muffins.

And with the fat phobia and body acceptance, I do think people don't tell people what they think. Typically improper to talk to people about their weight. There's been a few times I've told people they were getting pretty fat when I hadn't seen them for awhile and I think they appreciated it as it was out of love not disgust.
 

JDurk

Well-Known Member
I'm typically really bad with knowing when people gain or lose weight. And really can't tell when I see people on a regular basis. One of the engineers in my office lost something like 70lbs over 6 months this year and I hardly noticed. But then I had lunch with a sales guy a few weeks ago and immediately started to talk to him about his weight loss as it was the first thing I thought of. Probably wouldn't have mentioned anything if he gained a ton of weight...
This exactly. I've only had a few co-workers mention anything about me losing 60lbs. And now that I think about it, more female as opposed to male co-workers. 2 of them have actually joined the fitness program I've been following and both of their husbands as well. In an office of less than 15 people, and company of around 50 employees, you'd think more than 5 people would have commented.
 

UtahJoe

Team Workhorse
Team MTBNJ Halter's
One might ask how I got back up to 222+ pounds. To this I would say:
usually starts with......just forget about the scale...go with how your pants feel....its all good....Usually some bullshit like that.
 

Magic

Formerly 1sh0t1b33r
Team MTBNJ Halter's
I've noticed from your pictures for what it's worth, but I haven't seen you in person so I don't know about texting somebody you haven't seen in a while "you look thin, eat a pizza". In either case, great discipline. I don't have it. I've dropped some working on the house and having an empty room as a kitchen, but not having food around is more of a shit happens situation. Hope to see you guys soon!
 

stb222

Love Drunk
Jerk Squad
Isn't not noticing what we want? The same as we don’t want people to notice skin color/gender/what you are wearing/if you have short or long socks?

This is obviously not how most people actually are, maybe anyone, but todays environment is we don't, you can’t, say anything.

Kudos regardless
 
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