Wethington Family Blog

Ditching Dish

Posted on 8 December 2010 | No responses

So, it’s been about 2 months since we removed Dish from the house and we didn’t replace it with cable or DirecTV. Instead, we moved to an internet only solution. It’s taken some time, but all in all, we’re pretty happy. Not only has our monthly bills gone down (Dish was almost $70/month), but we watch a ton less commercials, and a ton less garbage. There are 2 main issues so far; 1) little to no live sports. NFL, NBA, UFC… 2) Constant upkeep.

First let me layout the setup.

• Vizio HDTV: 2 HDMI, 1 RGB/VGA, 2 Composite, 2 Component
• XBox 360: Component connection 1
• Wii: Component connection 2
• MacMini (2.26GHz, 4GB): RGB/VGA connection
• All sound to Yamaha 5.1 DTS capable Pre-amp.

The important thing here are the MacMini, all the rest can be edited to your liking/setup.

So how does having a MacMini let us watch TV? Well, on the Mac, we’re using Plex! Plex is a Home Theater Media PC (HTPC) interface. Simple to control via a remote (mac remote works great), many audio and video plugins, and a media manager that just keeps getting better. All my DVD’s, UFC’s and downloaded content is stored on an external USB drive. Plex not only makes all the content available, it utilizes the interwebs to provide meta data about the content, including images and music.

The plugins allow me to watch the shows I want to watch via CBS.com, Hulu.com, ESPN3.com, ComedyCentral.com. This way, we never miss an episode of The Daily Show! For those few items that aren’t avail, I utilize bit torrents to grab the show and add it to my library. And that’s where the work starts.

See, even though I utilize an RSS Feed scanner to grab shows, sometimes, things don’t work perfectly. Also, Plex is still in beta and is often updated. I also use a program called transpRAR to automatically make RAR’d files available to the media manager without having to uncompress them. All these things work together to keep me involved on a daily basis. Something I didn’t have to do with Dish. Even this level of involvement isn’t the worst part.

The worst part of this setup is the professional sports leagues. None of the sports leagues are making it easy to watch their content on the internet. The NFL is just a blank. Unless you’re a DirecTV Sunday Ticket sbscriber, you’re out of luck! That’s $220 on top of your normal DirecTV bill. The NBA offers the ability to watch some games using League Pass… those that aren’t blacked out or nationally televised. As a Lakers fan, I’m pretty much screwed. The UFC does makes fights available, even in HD. I haven’t tried it yet, but the costs are higher than a fight available on Dish/Direct/cable.

I hope, someday, the professional sports leagues will “get it” and start making content available, but until then, I’ll spend time with friends watching the important games.

Have you made the switch? What have you done to solve some of the issues? What is your setup?

In the Eye of the Beholder

Posted on 6 December 2010 | No responses

Look, I’m all about art and it’s many interpretations, but this is not art. Sorry.

Invisible Painting

Nor is this:

Anyone out there think this is art and can defend?

Do Cameras talk?

Posted on 28 May 2010 | No responses

Thought this was an interesting link. The guy has a series of images he leaves on his camera so that it can be returned. Would you return the camera after seeing images like this?

Smokin’ Crazy

Posted on 26 May 2010 | No responses

Yeah, I’m all about respecting different cultures… but always to a point. This passes that point.

What do you think?

Running, Lakers, and Work! Oh My!

Posted on 24 May 2010 | No responses

It’s true, it’s been a little crazy. I was going to start off saying “It’s obvious I’ve been busy as I haven’t posted in over a month,” but then I looked at my post history and it’s not so obvious… at least not yet. I’ve tried to keep the posts coming, and I’m sure if I looked back over the month, there were opportunities, but time to write hasn’t been as easy to come by this past month. Running has been pretty key to keeping me sane, the Lakers are in the playoffs and I got to go to a game, and work… well, work has been tough.

Read more

Week 7&8 – C25k

Posted on 21 April 2010 | No responses

I realized I’ve been so focused on the 10k and bees that I failed to post my week 7 & 8 C25k experience. Here’s the recap.

Week 7 is considered by many to be the hardest transition week for the C25k as there are no more interval runs and I must say, it was certainly difficult for me. I am often not the smartest guy, and for being in the 200+ club, deciding to cut a week off of the 9 week plan did not show tremendous intelligence. Oh well.

Tuesday was a run outside for 2.5 miles. I had a basketball game but played like 2 minutes, so I needed to get out. This is what came of it. Not bad. I’m consistently having a tough time breathing the first 10 minutes or so, and everything past 2.25 miles is just plain tough. I have to push through I guess, but mentally I’m struggling.

Thursday I bumped to 2.79 miles and it was the first time I ever felt like just stopping. I hurt, plain and simple. My quad was sore, my calf was sore and I just wanted to stop. I didn’t and I’m proud of myself now. Playing basketball on off days is starting to cost me. I’m only getting one day of rest and I’m not sure it’s enough.

Saturday, after talking with a few of my coworkers who run, I decided to head to the gym and run on the treadmill. It’s not my favorite. I much prefer running outside where it’s cooler and the scenery changes. The idea was that my breathing problem is due to my pace, especially in the beginning. When I look over my GPSd runs, the first minutes are always faster then the rest and the longer the run, the slower my pace gets. Taking their advice, I started off slower and increased my pace until I finished with a 2.77 mile run. My breathing was better, but it didn’t make running the total run any better.

Week eight was odd. Tuesday, I, again, had a city league basketball game Tuesday, but this time played a significant amount, so running wasn’t really an option. I was really bummed as this was my first miss. On top of missing the run, this was supposed to be my first 3 mile run and is the last week of running before the 10k.

Thursday I made sure I got back on the treadmill and ran 3 miles. It was extremely difficult. Again, the first 2 or so miles were fine, but that last mile was darn near impossible. I keep hearing about a runners high, but it just hasn’t happened for me. 36 minutes in and I just wanted to die. I know I’m not ready to run a 10k, but I am ready for a 5k 🙂

Miracle Miles 4 Kids was my Saturday “run”

2010 Miracle Miles 4 Kids

Posted on 19 April 2010 | No responses

This past Saturday was the 2010 Miracle Miles 4 Kids 10k benefiting the Family Care Network, and my first ever 10k. First, I want to thank the people who sponsored me to run and the generosity each showed in giving to this cause: LEVEL Studios, John, Christie, Rodney, and Traci. I was great to not only show up and run, but to be able to contribute.

It was a beautiful day in Morro Bay and over 1900 people showed up to run from The Rock to the Cayucos Pier. Thanks to my coworker Tim who helped me plan my run, I ran for 4 minutes and then walked for 1, until the race was over, as my training only has me at about 3 miles currently. My goal was to run the 10k in 80 minutes and I completed in 81:02. All in all, I was pretty darn happy. Congrats to all who ran and gave.

The SWARM!

Posted on 19 April 2010 | No responses

No, not that really bad movie from the 70’s! However, it did occur right outside our backdoor, so it felt like the movie. Looking at the pictures, what are your thoughts?

Luckily, there are people who come and take care of them. Due to declining bee (honey) populations, I wanted the bees to be taken care of and not just destroyed. The first swarm (the first picture) was taken care of by a local apiarist. After a few days of waiting for the left over bees to go away, it seemed like all was well. Then on Saturday another swarm showed up (second picture). This second swarm decided our vent made a better home than the exposed over hang, which prompted a call to a bee removal specialist.

It’s swarming season, and if one decides your home makes a good new hive, deal with it responsibly. Your fruits and vegitables will thank you.

Gluten Free Chicken Fingers

Posted on 14 April 2010 | No responses

Heather has some fun dietary needs and cooking dinner can sometimes be an adventure. In times past, it was a little easier when we were vegetarians for about 12 years. We later added fish to our diets and were “pescetarian” for an additional 4 years. However, a little over 2 years ago Heather found out she was allergic to wheat and dairy and the road back to eating meat began.

Anyway, there are meat dishes that are still off limits; burgers on a bun, meat lover pizza or deep fried foods, like chicken fingers. While there’s GF bread to use as a bun, even GF pizza crust, there’s just nothing to work in the deep fried area of the food pyramid. So I fixed that!

Using some gluten free biscuit mix as the breading, I cut up the chicken breasts into better sizes and took care of business. I “floured” the chicken, dipped in an egg wash, and re-dipped into the “flour.” After some sitting, I let the chicken bath in a pot of 350 degree oil until done.

I hope this helps some other gluten free people who have been missing chicken fingers, I know it did Heather.

C25k – Q&A

Posted on 5 April 2010 | 1 response

There’s been some questions about my C25k experience and methods. Instead of answering each independantly, I’ll make one post and refer to it. I hope this helps.

Q: What the heck is C25k?

A: C25k is the shortened version of Couch to 5k. The idea is a training program to take non runners from the couch to running a 5k (3.2 miles) in 9 weeks.

Q: Are you following the C25k program exactly?

A: No. As a guy over 270# and rapidly approaching 40, running is not something I can just decide to do. I’m lucky enough to have been playing basketball over the past 3 years, so my cardio wasn’t horrible to start, but running is really difficult on my joints (as if basketball isn’t?). For other people in my general fitness category, I recommend starting by doing 2 weeks worth of walking. Others have recommended this as well. Other than that, my only modifications have been for ease of remembering the run while on the road. To stick to the exact plan, get the podcasts that have the intervals in the audio. I’m also one to push myself a little, so I did make some runs a little longer. Be very careful with this as it is the easiest way to hurt yourself.

Q: How do you track your runs?

A: If you go back through my runs  you can see that I struggled in picking out a time keeping method. There’s a couple of options. If you only want to use an iPod (or mp3 player) you can download a podcast for each run at the C25k site. They actually have the intervals in the audio. I currently use RoadRunnerGPS on my Blackberry. It tracks time, mileage, everything. And like the Nike+ posts the results to Facebook. If you have an iPhone/iTouch, there is an app you can download for C25k, but there are also GPS apps specifically for running. Then there’s the Nike+. All have +’s and -‘s and you almost have to try each one and see what works best for you. My current method; Timer for my warm-up/cool-down, RoadRunnerGPS for the run and Pandora for music.

Q: Did you go out and buy new shoes?

A: Shoes are really the only equipment that is a must have for a runner, and the quality of equipment can make or break your ability to keep going and stay away from injury. I bought new. I went to a place to do a running analysis to make sure I got the right shoes. If you’ve never really run before, I recommend it as bad shoes will cause you to fail before you really begin. Expect to pay anywhere from $60 to $150. I am also, due to my weight and previous running experience, researching and trying to do forefoot/midfoot running. Again, I have more info in my previous posts.

Q: What is this forefoot/midfoot running you keep talking about?

A: Some of my co-workers who run a lot had informed me about forefoot/midfoot running and I decided to research it. You might remember in the ’84 Olympics a runner Zola Budd who ran barefoot. The idea is that barefoot running forces you to the balls of your feet. The normal style of running is heel strike. For a guy my size and even some normal runners that is a high impact issue and causes pain especially in the knees and back. I did some research and decided to give it a try. You’ll have to make your own decision though.

Q: Do you run the same route everytime?

A: My routes normally have the same starting and ending point, but they change from week to week. It tends to be similar, but I do change it up. There are also days like this past Saturday where I run on the beach, or travel to a trial, but most often it’s just around the house. Click on the links for each run and you can see a map of my run. The big thing is keep your runs fresh. Running is very mental and if you’re bored it’s really hard to keep going.

Q: How do you stay motivated?

A: Goals. Like anything in life, set yourself a goal (World DOMINATION!). If you’re gonna start the C25k, I suggest finding a 5k that takes place soon after your training is done and register for it. Don’t try to win, don’t even set a time expectation, just make a commitment to finish it.

If you’re starting a C25k or using my experience as motivation, let me know, I’d love to hear about your experience. Now, go get em!

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