Tony Little Was Right: It's Technique!

I tend to eat "comfort food" over the winter, so all of my hard work of losing 32 lbs last year was completely ransacked by my pizza and ice cream habit. That's changing for good.

For the last five weeks I've been paying attention to what I eat, the amount I eat and the time I eat. Basically, I've made a lifestyle change that won't require a ridiculous diet or some type of shake. Diets don't work anyways ... not in the long run.

Coupling these eating habits with physical activity has proven itself not just manageable, but easy to follow for the rest of my life. Here are my results so far:



I've got about 7 more pounds to lose to reach my ideal weight. If my calculations are correct, I've been losing (on average) .45 lbs per day. Sports science nutritionists recommend you shoot for 2-3 lbs of weight loss per week, otherwise you run the risk of losing lean mass (muscle). So, I'm right on target with the amount I am losing.

Once I hit my ideal weight, I'll have to slightly increase my caloric intake so that I don't lose any more weight. Having 8% body fat was OK when I was cycling 400 -600 miles per week on my collegiate cycling team, but it totally isn't necessary for me any more. There have been numerous studies which show a healthier amount of body fat in men ranges between 12 - 18%. These studies indicate that cholesterol levels are ideal and heart health is optimized during this percentage.

I Mean, We Don't Know If We're the Best ...

Looking through my digital scrapbook, I came across this photo I took on a recent trip to Czech Republic.

Video Break: User Generated Video

My friend Jeff who is from SE VA sent this to me. My folks now live down where the rappers shot this. Visiting my folks has a whole new meaning.

Enjoy.

My 101 List is Getting Shorter

I'm now able to cross off several items on my 101 List.

#18 Own a home.

#31 Own a motorcycle.

#39 Go to an English pro soccer match.

#64 Go to Czech Republic

#71 Go to England.

Over the last several months I have been busy with Traveling (I went to Europe last month for a REAL vacation), designing (Home & Garden Television has nothing on my interior design skillz), playing soccer, getting lost on my motorcycle, playing uncle (my niece and nephew are so cute!) and of course working -- gotta do something to pay for all of this!

Next month I'm taking an advanced sailing course at the Annapolis Sailing School. After I complete the course I plan on buying my first yacht. Perhaps this one will do?

From Gainesville to Hollywood!

One of my best friends from college keeps showing up on my television. Check out some of DJ's acting in these clips. I'm so proud of him!!!

Blogged with Flock

The Twins Are Baptised!

Hey folks, since most of you reading this are family, follow this link to check out all of the baptism photos from this past weekend.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/g8rmni/show/

The Newest Addition to the Family

My sister Carmen gave birth to twins today. Here are some photos of Bryce and Colby:

Above Photo: Uncle Ryan and Bryce.

Above Photo: Uncle Ryan holds Colby while Daddy Matt holds Bryce.

Another Christmas, Another Photo of A Christmas Tree

I spent some time today putting a few digital photo albums together as a supplement to a Christmas gift for my parents (if you must know I bought them one of these, and then filled it with tons of photos; some photos are really old and were recently digitized by yours truely).

Anyway, in my pursuit of finding "family friendly" portrait and landscape photos, I came across several snapshots from Christmas past ...

It seems that each year I always -- without fail -- take a photo of the family tree. The tree isn't anything special: Just your average 7-foot plastic Douglas Fir, adorned with Target Store ornaments and random Christmas-y knick knacks from the past 30+ years. Wow, some tree.

Two Items On My 101 List Can Be Crossed Off

I just realized that I am able to cross off two items on my "101 Life List."

Help me by saying "syanora" to: #50 Watch a professional sport from an executive box and #44 See an NFL game.

A couple of weeks ago I went with my girlfriend to see the Washington Redskins play against the Atlanta Falcons at FedEx Field. We watched the game from an executive suite -- catered with tons of beer, chips, dips, chilli dogs, cheese steaks, cookies and other fatty, but yummy, foods.

An E-Mail From My Mother

Written in her typical tangent thought trail, here is an e-mail from my mother about an entry I made on 9/11:

"I had the same thought yesterday about your calling me on that fateful day because I too had not had my tv on that morning. And you were right, it was the one time Dad had not left me his itinerary so I didn’t know his airline or flight #. I remember making frantic phone calls after you and I hung up to Alicia and Carmen. Alicia is like her Mom so at first she panicked and got tears in her voice. But Carmen remained cool and collected and said she would do some research because I did remember that Dad was connecting through Amsterdam (not Prague). She called me back about a ½ hour later and said there were two flights coming from Amsterdam, so he was probably on one of them. Later that afternoon, he called to say his plane had been turned around and returned to Amsterdam and when they all got off the plane, that’s when they were told the truth. That’s where he had to stay for the extra 5 days until he could get another plane home. I remember leaving you voice mails because the cell phone lines were down/overloaded and hoped you knew he was all right. Scary time I hope no one has to repeat. Have you watched any of the tv specials? Dad did watch the controversial ABC docu drama and thought it was pretty good in the sense it portrayed the amount of territorial egos, pc that ruled the day instead of putting the good of the country first, and the general bureaucracy that hinders real action and decisions from taking place. I didn’t watch it as I find reliving the horror too emotionally draining. I watched a CNN report that Christiane Amanpour did on how we got to where we are. She included the life and rise to power of Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda. She interviewed boyhood friends and others that worked with him and then distanced themselves from him as he became more and more extremist. She tied in how the Taliban was involved, and other interesting connections."

09.11.01

I spent most of my day with 9/11 on my mind.

Driving into work, I listened to the Howard Stern show on Sirius. Instead of treating today like any other day, Howard decided to rebroadcast the recordings of his show from five years ago on this day.

The show brought back vivid memories of where I was when the planes hit the Trade Center and the Pentagon.

It made me feel numb again.

I spent the whole day at my desk listening to the show while working -- six hours of archived recording.

Right now I am at home watching President Bush address the nation about today's meaning ... what we're still doing in Iraq ...

Every once in a while I feel like I did five years ago -- a temporary feeling of not feeling safe; scared.

It can all still happen again. I think that is what makes me scared the most.

A Smattering of Photos

Click on a photo to get a closer look.

Moonlight Blog Entry

Right now I am sitting on the deck of my parent's sailboat under a moon lit sky. So far the July Fourth weekend has been a hot familial one.

My sister Carmen and her husband Matt drove down from Jersey to spend the weekend with us. They are having twins.



My dad and I continue to butt our heads with one another ... over simple, meaningless crap ... I think this has a lot to do with our strong personalities -- not the best way to communicate between the two of us.

Sailing on the York River

Self Portrait at Sail
Originally uploaded by ryanmorrisc.

I went sailing this past weekend with my parents. I took this photo of myself on Father's Day.

Memorial Weekend Sail

I went sailing this weekend with my parents. I've been trying to take advantage of my free time and spend it with them. They aren't retired yet, but they soon will be. They aren't elderly either, but time flies and I want to spend as much time with them as I can.

My folks have an LCD television with built-in DVD player on their boat, so I was able to watch Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room.

It is revolting what the executives and Arthur Andersen did to the Enron employees. To sum it up, one employee had worked at Enron and was ready to retire with just over $300,000 in his retirement fund. A few months before the employee was going to retire, the company folded. He was left with a $1200 check.

Disgusting.

In a better light, I used the sailing trip to start reading a book that has been on my shelf for quite some time; Winning, by Jack Welch (you know, the guy that breathed new life into GE). So far it is pretty good.

... About Those Bugs

I forgot to mention the movie binge I went on in my previous post.

Because I was stuck at home in bed riding out a stomache virus, I was able to keep the local Hollywood Video store in business. Here is the movie debauchery:

• Downfall Hitler and half his cabinent blow their brains out. His secretary gets giddy when she's around him.
• The Weather Man Nicholas Cage proves that my life is way cooler than that of a weather man.
• Two For the Money Picking who is going to win the Superbowl is way cooler than actually betting on it.
• The Transporter BMW 745i takes on human traffickers.
• The Transporter II Audi A8 takes on kidnappers. Double pistols rule.
• A Murder of Crows Cuba Gooding needed a quick pay check -- I'm pretty sure that is why he did this movie. Not a bad flick, but he was much better in Jerry Macguire. Unfortunately the movie will haunt me since I bought it a year ago at a truck stop for six bucks.
• Lord of War Guns don't kill people; People kill people.
• Torque Worse than a Vin Diesel movie. The bikes are hott.
• Sideways Pretty funny. The main characters remind me of some friends of mine.
• The New World Horrible. Very slooooow. Watching Colin Farrell get drunk at his local pub would have made a better plot.
• Ladder 49 Joaquin Phoenix reflects on his life as a firefighter while trapped in a burning building. Pony ending.
• A Few Good Men The truth? You can't handle the truth!
• North Country Tag line: All She Wanted Was To Make A Living. Instead She Made History.

Bugs and Traveling

I haven't posted in a while ... I know-- not the proper way to "build an audience."

I've got a good reason for my absence; I got some weird stomach bug and was out of town.

1-2, punch.

Purpose

I guess the reason I am writing all of these stories down ... the reason I am trying to recollect everything that has happened in my life, is because grandma isn't around anymore.

Grandma Morris was the reason I know who I am -- who my family is.

Helen Morris recorded the Morris family history through scrapbooks. Every time we visited her (my family) in Waveland, Mississippi, I looked forward to an evening where everyone would pull out a scrapbook and take in almost 100 years of history. Fourteen volumes of Black history. Our family history.

She would tell stories about my dad's cousins, and who his childhood friends were; why she was dressed to the nines in one photo and smiling ear to ear in another.

I miss her.

She passed away several years ago when I was still in college.

I remember the last time I saw her. I remember talking to my dad's uncle Andrew.

I remember thinking, "I am so blessed to have such a strong and beautiful family."

It is those memories of family gatherings that make me feel a responsibility to stay strong ... to accomplish great things ... to be a rock for my (God willing) future children.

Grandma is gone, but the recording of our family history has not passed with her.

My fingers are the new orator. My blog, the family griot.

I invite you to share in my life's achievements. My failures. My moments of joy, and times of sadness.

A Correction to My Last Post ...

... I now have a del.icio.us account.

My username is 'morrisryanc'. Now I just need some people to give me some tags.

Random Technology Observations

I think I am obsessed with my laptop -- and everything that it can can't do.

I just spent four hours screwing around with an OS shell called Litestep. I still haven't figured out how to get the fricken thing to allow me to use my shortcut keys.

Two confessions:

1. I am addicted to RSS feeds.
2. I don't have a del.icio.us account.