#3.5 more hours on the desk dealing with THOSE GUYS

[safyresky]

Hmm. Very large group in the study space today. Very annoying. Had to tell them to put away a woter bottle and they are currently in an employee only space.

[womenofcolor15]

Was The Failed Capitol Coup An Inside Job? Here’s Why The FBI (And Everyone Else) Believes It Was

As more details and videos from the day Trump supporters’ attempted insurrection come trickling in, there’s speculation that the event was an “inside job.” Police were seen letting people past barricades and people are questioning how the rioters found the offices of certain Congressman and women. More inside…

On hell literally broke loose when Trump supporters descended on the U.S. Capitol for a coup attempt as Congress was counting up the electoral votes to officially confirm the election results that President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris won. The attack was incited by Trump moments before the attack was carried out.

Now, the FBI – and at least half of America – feel as if the Capitol insurrection was an “inside job” that was orchestrated with some Capitol police and staffers from inside the building. More videos are coming out from the attack that helps make this theory believable.

In several instances, police were caught on video pulling back the barricades to allow the domestic terrorists inside the federal building. Peep one clip below:

THEY LITERALLY JUST LET THEM THROUGH pic.twitter.com/tWMuchly8w

— hermione lovers ONLY (@jihanbit) January 6, 2021

Cops were also seen snapping selfies with the rioters.

Check it

Cops are taking selfies with the terrorists. pic.twitter.com/EjkQ83h1p2

— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) January 6, 2021

Once inside, cops were seen standing to the side and basically ushering in the rioters.

Sources told TMZ the FBI is currently reviewing and examining all of the videos that are being posted online to help prove some Capitol police and staffers were in on the violent attack

Another reason the FBI thinks the attack was an inside job is how easy it was for the #MAGA mob to find their way to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office. Now, they're investigating everyone.

The site reports:

It's not off any main hallway or next to other Congressional offices ... in fact, the path to get to the entrance is maze-like and not open to the public like other parts of the Capitol. The rioters who took it over -- vandalizing it and stealing a laptop -- got there within 10 minutes of entering the Capitol.

We're told the FBI feels someone must have provided a roadmap for them to find it that quickly. Remember, the Capitol has been closed to the public since March due to the pandemic so it's not like these guys could have been casing it to plot their path.

As for suspects -- we're told the FBI is looking at Capitol Police officers and many other Capitol staffers, such as engineers, plumbers and janitors.

Pelosi’s laptop, some mail and her lectern were stolen. The Capitol mob member who lounged atH House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s desk and stole mail out of her office - Richard Barnett of Arkansas - was also arrested. He was charged for “knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful entry; violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds; and theft of public money, property, or records.”

        View this post on Instagram

                      A post shared by CBS This Morning (@cbsthismorning)

  After his photo-op in Pelosi’s office, he spoke with the media outside of the Capitol and said he didn’t break in, he was “pushed in” the federal building and into her office. He also said he didn’t “steal” Pelosi’s mail because he left a quarter. And he also said he left Pelosi a note on her desk that reads, “Nancy, Big O was here, you biotch!”

Sir....

Adam Christian Johnson – the man who stole Pelosi’s lectern – was also arrested and he’s being held on a federal warrant. 

House Democrats also believe the attack was an inside job. During a 3.5-hour caucus call by House Democrats on Friday, Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) told his colleagues he thought the riots were “an inside job,” according to two lawmakers on the call.

House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) noted how rioters made their way to his UNAMRKED, third floor office and stole his iPad. He questioned how the rioters were able to locate that office being that it wasn’t clearly marked as his.

Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.) specifically raised the question of possible collusion among some Capitol Police officers, according to several people listening.

“I am very sad to say that I believe that there were people within the Capitol police and within the Capitol building that were part of helping these insurrectionists to really have a very well-coordinated plan for when they were going to come, how they were going to come,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said on Gray TV’s “Full Court Press with Greta Van Susteren.”

Pressed further on whether some Capitol Police officers were not just looking the other way but actually involved, Jayapal said, “It appears that way, both from what happened, how coordinated it was, how easy it was.” Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) told his colleagues he thought the riots were “an inside job,” according to two lawmakers on the call.

Five people died as a result of the mob attack, including one Capitol police officer.

U.S. Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund has resigned amid criticism of not being fully prepared to deal with the violent mob on Capitol Hill. His resignation is effective January 16th, according to a Capitol Police official.

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Michael Stenger, the Senate Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper, has resigned as well.

It's being reported by several media outlets that a second Capitol police officer, who some reports say was off duty, has died from an apparent suicide.

A Capitol Police officer who responded to the deadly riots in Washington last week died by an apparent suicide on Saturday, according to multiple news reports, as the department struggles to fully recover from the devastating and destructive siege carried out by pro-Trump extremists.

Howard B. Liebengood, 51, worked in the Senate Division and had been assigned with the force since April 2005. He is the son of the late Sergeant of Arms Howard S. Liebengood, who died in 2005.

Liebengood’s father, also Howard Liebengood, died in 2005.

He was the Senate Sargeant at Arms in the early 1980s and then became a powerful lobbyist and an associate of Paul Manafort’s. https://t.co/jdubq9eL0B

— Yashar Ali (@yashar) January 10, 2021

WHOA Howard Liebengood, (the Capitol police officer that just died from suicide) father was associated with Paul Manafort. Manafort’s company, Event Strategies, was involved with the planning of the Trump Rally at the Capitol... stay w me... https://t.co/VQZY7KnMEC

— Venture Capital (@kelly2277) January 10, 2021

Event Strategies was the vendor of choice for Trump events like the Inauguration AND was used in Ukraine for pro Russian Yanukovych ... #CapitolCoup https://t.co/fyt4ShqkcS

— Venture Capital (@kelly2277) January 10, 2021

Why were Roger Stone and deceased Capitol Police Officer Howard Liebengood’s father discussing assassinations of Presidents Given the #CapitolCoup situation w @VP - this is super suspicious. @selectedwisdom pic.twitter.com/XTbciIzLr4

— Venture Capital (@kelly2277) January 11, 2021

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends and colleagues,” the U.S. Capitol Police wrote in a statement issued on Sunday. “We ask that his family, and other USCP officers’ and their families’ privacy be respected during this profoundly difficult time.”

The backstory about Liebengood, though, is interesting.  His father became close friends with Trump cronie Paul Manafort in 2005.  Why would an off duty officer be at the Capitol on this day, if those reports are true?

   Also…

Trump lies in his new Twitter video. He did not "immediately" deploy the National Guard.

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) January 8, 2021

In the Twitter video Trump posted during the riot, he said he ordered the National Guard and federal law enforcement to secure the building and expel the intruders immediately, but that was a LIE.

Newsweek reports:

In a statement Wednesday, Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller did not mention working with Trump. He said he "spoke separately with the Vice President [Mike Pence] and with Speaker Pelosi, Leader McConnell, Senator Schumer and Representative Hoyer about the situation at the U.S. Capitol."

Reports show that Trump was initially hesitant to involve the National Guard. NBC said Trump "had to be convinced" and that Pence was in contact with the Pentagon and "encouraged a much more rapid deployment."

According to CNN, Trump was less eager to deploy federal forces on Capitol Hill on Wednesday than he had been for other protests, but "Pence played a key role in coordinating with the Pentagon about deploying them, and urged them to move faster than they were." 

So you see, it was Pence who got the National Guard to the Capitol and not Trump. DC Mayor Bowser also said she requested the National Guard several hours prior to no avail.

Now, Pelosi is doing whatever she can to get Trump out of office. In a press release, she wrote: 

In protecting our Constitution and our Democracy, we will act with urgency, because this President represents an imminent threat to both. As the days go by, the horror of the ongoing assault on our democracy perpetrated by this President is intensified and so is the immediate need for action.

Let's get him out of the White House...STAT!

Is a huge cover up going on?

Photo: Alex Gakos/Shutterstock.com

Inside The U.S. Capitol Riot - The Saddest Day For Modern Democracy

[Read More ...] source http://theybf.com/2021/01/11/was-the-failed-capitol-coup-an-inside-job-here%E2%80%99s-why-the-fbi-believes-it-was

[drdiandralp]

Why Use LED Lights at Martinsville?

This Wednesday is the first night race under the LEDs at Martinsville. Let's look at their system and see why they decided to become the first major motorsports facility with a LED lighting.

Illumenating Tracks

In 1998, Musco Lighting revolutionized NASCAR by enabling night racing at Daytona. Racetracks are a huge challenge when it comes to lighting because of safety considerations. Lights must allow drivers and spectators to see and meet the technical demands of television broadcasting, all while minimizing glare.  To light Daytona's Superstretch, Musco had to develop a lamp that was more than 100 times brighter than the high-beam headlights of a passenger car at the time. Lumens are a unit that describes how the human eye perceives light brightness. Our eyes don't detect all wavelengths of light equally. To give you an idea of how big a lumen is, a typical 60-W incandescent light bulb provides around 800 lumens of brightness. I say "around" because the amount of light depends on the brand, the quality of the bulb and whether it's clear or frosted.

Musco's Daytona lighting system used 1932 metal-halide light fixtures and 150 miles of wire to provide 350 million lumens of light. The system used 3.5 million watts of power per hour. To give you an idea of what they were dealing with, take a look at the giant light bulb in the picture below. A parabolic metal shell polished to a mirror-like finish envelopes a huge (I estimate 18,000 lumens or so) light. The mirror focused light onto the track so none of those 18,000 lumens are wasted.

Martinsville, at a half-mile, is far from the challenge of Daytona, but because it is one of the few NASCAR tracks without lighting, it presents a unique opportunity to utilize all the technological advances made in the last 18 years. And there have been a lot of them!

Incandescent Light

Incandescent means "emitting light as a result of being heated." The filament -- the material that glows -- is the part that breaks and forces you to replace it. You can see from the chart below that it took a long time to develop a commercially viable incandescent light bulb.

Incandescent bulbs are cheap; readily available in myriad shapes, sizes and wattages; easy to install; and easy to dispose of. But they are horrendously inefficient. Only around 3% of the electricity that goes into an incandescent light bulb comes out in the form of light. The rest turns into heat.

Efficiency: Metal Halide Lights Win

The best measure of efficiency is how many lumens (brightness) you get per watt of power. The chart below compares common lighting types

Incandescents are the least efficient lights, getting around 14 lumens per watt. Compare that to White LED bulbs, which range from 40 to 100 lumens for each watt of power. That's an efficiency improvement of anywhere from 100% to 680%. Metal halide bulbs can be even more efficient than LEDs. At the time Daytona -- and most of the other race tracks -- were installing lighting, metal halides were the best possible choices.

Why LEDs?

Metal halide lights offer many attractive features, but LEDs have become a better and better choice over time. Lifetime and Light Output The average lifetime of an incandescent bulb is 1000 hours. The bulb maintains the same level of brightness throughout all but the very last moments of its lifetime.LED lights last around 25,000 hours and maintain the same brightness through that very long lifetime.Metal Halide lamps have a lifetime around 15,000 hours, but their  brightness drops off significantly as they age. Halfway or two-third through their lifetime, they are likely to be only 50% as bright as they were when first installed. Metal halide lamps have to be replaced more frequently than LED lamps. Cost LED bulbs are significantly more expensive than other types of bulbs, but if the bulb lasts 25 times longer and costs less to power, you save money with LEDs. LED lights have a higher initial cost of installation, but lower costs in the long run. You also save the cost of having to hire people and bucket trucks to change light bulbs. Evolution LED lights are still making great strides in efficiency and features. Once you install a type of lighting at a track, it's not like you can just switch out the bulbs to change. Don't expect any big changes in incandescent light bulbs (or metal halide) anytime soon. Ease of Use Metal halides take awhile to come on, whereas LED lights are pretty immediately on/off. Because LEDs are basically computer chips, manufacturers build diagnostics into the lights, so the lights provide feedback. That may not be important if we're talking about the bulb in your desk lamp, but when it's in a structure a couple dozen feet above the track, you'd sort of like some advance notice that it's got a problem.

What's a "LED"?

Because white LED lights bright enough to light a racetrack are a very, very recent invention. LED stands for Light-Emitting Diode: a tiny (diode is a device in which electricity flows differently when it goes in one direction than in the other. Some semiconductors can emit light through a process called electroluminescence when a current passes through a diode made of that material. Electroluminescence was discovered in 1907 and the first LED made in 1927 in Russia. These devices weren't very useful. They emitted light in the infrared -- a wavelength of light larger than our eyes detect and not much of it. The first visible-light LED wasn't created until 1962. It was red, very weak and very expensive. You had to use special lenses to make the light bright enough to see.  It was really only useful as indicators, then as seven-segment packages that were used for...

TI used a special plastic lens to make the numbers readable, but you still couldn't see the darn display if it was at all bright. It took ten more years to create yellow LEDs, and even more years before green LEDs followed. It was not until 1994 that blue LEDs bright enough to use for anything were created. The Nobel prize in 2014 went to the scientists who created blue LEDs. (The guy who figured out red LEDs, by the way, was not recognized by the Nobel committee. And he was also not happy about it. Why were blue LEDs so monumental? Because you can't make white light without colors.

The Challenge of White LEDs

There are three ways to make white light using LEDs. The graphic below is from the Department of Energy and explains them. We're interested in the middle one: color mixing

Color Mixing If you mix red, green and blue paint, you get black; however, if you mix red, green and blue light, you get white light. In the first case, you are looking at reflected light. The different pigments absorb all the light, so you see dark. In the second case, you are looking directly at the light, so you see white. Most LED displays work on this principle. Each 'dot of light' is made up of separate green, red and blue LEDs. This is the type of display you'll find at Texas Motor Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway and the Cowboys Stadium. Changing the relative brightnesses of the three LEDs changes the color you see.

Martinsville's System

Martinsville is installing the Eaton Ephesus Stadium Pro 750 Series, which has been installed at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Arizona and Williams Field at Duke University. Each of the Eaton lights (shown below) contains about 144 individual LEDs. To give you an idea of the scale, the diameter of the light is about 20.5 inches and it weighs about 55 lbs. The press release says they will have 750 lights in and outside of the track. Each light puts out 115,000 lumens for 1000 W. The amount of light is equivalent to 144 60-W light bulbs (which would use 8625 W of power!). Compare the output of the LEDs at 115,000 lumens to the 18,000 lumens provided by the metal halide lights at Daytona! The 750 bulbs at Martinsville will provide 8,620,000 lumens.

Special plastic lenses called NEMA lenses perform two simultaneous functions: they help focus and condition the light, plus they seal the lights to protect them from the environment. These lights are also really smart: they provide real-time feedback on their status, so if there's a problem, the track will know precisely what it is pretty quickly. NOTE: This article includes material from a blog originally published in October, 2016. It was updated and cleaned up in 2020. Read the full article

[inbonobo]

Here was the pitch: We want you to write about how middle-aged men have no friends.

Excuse me? I have plenty of friends. Are you calling me a loser? You are.

The editor told me there was all sorts of evidence out there about how men, as they age, let their close friendships lapse, and that that fact can cause all sorts of problems and have a terrible impact on their health.

I told the editor I’d think about it. This is how reporters talk when they’re trying to get out of something they don’t want to do. As I walked back to my desk in the newsroom — a distance of maybe 100 yards — I quickly took stock of my life to try to prove to myself that I was not, in fact, perfect for this story.

First of all, there was my buddy Mark. We went to high school together, and I still talk to him all the time, and we hang out all the . . . Wait, how often do we actually hang out? Maybe four or five times a year?

And then there was my other best friend from high school, Rory, and . . . I genuinely could not remember the last time I’d seen him. Had it already been a year? Entirely possible.

There were all those other good friends who feel as if they’re still in my lives because we keep tabs on one another via social media, but as I ran down the list of those I’d consider real, true, lifelong friends, I realized that it had been years since I’d seen many of them, even decades for a few.

By the time I got back to my desk, I realized that I was indeed perfect for this story, not because I was unusual in any way, but because my story is very, very typical. And as I looked into what that means, I realized that in the long term, I was heading down a path that was very, very dangerous.

Vivek Murthy, the surgeon general of the United States, has said many times in recent years that the most prevalent health issue in the country is not cancer or heart disease or obesity. It is isolation.

I TURNED 40 IN MAY. I have a wife and two young boys. I moved to the suburbs a few years ago, where I own a fairly ugly home with white vinyl siding and two aging station wagons with crushed Goldfish crackers serving as floor mats. When I step on a Lego in the middle of the night on my way to the bathroom, I try to tell myself that it’s cute that I’ve turned into a sitcom dad.

During the week, much of my waking life revolves around work. Or getting ready for work. Or driving to work. Or driving home from work. Or texting my wife to tell her I’m going to be late getting home from work.

Much of everything else revolves around my kids. I spend a lot of time asking them where their shoes are, and they spend a lot of time asking me when they can have some “dada time.” It is the world’s cutest phrase, and it makes me feel guilty every time I hear it, because they are asking it in moments when they know I cannot give it to them — when I am distracted by an e-mail on my phone or I’m dealing with the constant, boring logistics of running a home.

We can usually squeeze in an hour of “dada time” before bed — mostly wrestling or reading books — and so the real “dada time” happens on weekends. That’s my promise. “I have to go to work, but this weekend,” I tell them, “we can have ‘dada time.’ ”

I love “dada time.” And I’m pretty good about squeezing in an hour of “me time” each day for exercise, which usually means getting up before dawn to go to the gym or for a run. But when everything adds up, there is no real “friend time” left. Yes, I have friends at work and at the gym, but those are accidents of proximity. I rarely see those people anywhere outside those environments, because when everything adds up, I have left almost no time for friends. I have structured myself into being a loser.

“YOU SHOULD USE THIS story suggestion as a call to do something about it.”

That’s Dr. Richard S. Schwartz, a Cambridge psychiatrist, and I had reached out to him because he and his wife, Dr. Jacqueline Olds, literally wrote the book on this topic, The Lonely American: Drifting Apart in the Twenty-First Century.

He agreed that my story was very typical. When people with children become overscheduled, they don’t shortchange their children, they shortchange their friendships. “And the public health dangers of that are incredibly clear,” he says.

Beginning in the 1980s, Schwartz says, study after study started showing that those who were more socially isolated were much more likely to die during a given period than their socially connected neighbors, even after you corrected for age, gender, and lifestyle choices like exercising and eating right. Loneliness has been linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke and the progression of Alzheimer’s. One study found that it can be as much of a long-term risk factor as smoking.

The research doesn’t get any rosier from there. In 2015, a huge study out of Brigham Young University, using data from 3.5 million people collected over 35 years, found that those who fall into the categories of loneliness, isolation, or even simply living on their own see their risk of premature death rise 26 to 32 percent.

Now consider that in the United States, nearly a third of people older than 65 live alone; by age 85, that has jumped to about half. Add all of this up, and you can see why the surgeon general is declaring loneliness to be a public health epidemic.

“Since my wife and I have written about loneliness and social isolation, we see a fair number of people for whom this is a big problem,” Schwartz continues. But there’s a catch. “Often they don’t come saying they’re lonely. Most people have the experience you had in your editor’s office: Admitting you’re lonely feels very much like admitting you’re a loser. Psychiatry has worked hard to de-stigmatize things like depression, and to a large part it has been successful. People are comfortable saying they’re depressed. But they’re not comfortable saying they’re lonely, because you’re the kid sitting alone in the cafeteria.”

I’m not that kid. I’m gregarious. I have family around me all the time, or I’m around “friends” at work or elsewhere. I comment on their Facebook posts. They comment on mine. My wife and I also have other couples we like and see often. It’s easy to fall into the trap of believing that’s good enough — and for many men it is, at least until their spouse gets the friends in the divorce.

I’m hesitant to say I’m lonely, though I’m clearly a textbook case of the silent majority of middle-aged men who won’t admit they’re starved for friendship, even if all signs point to the contrary. Now that I’ve been forced to recognize it, the question is what to do about it. Like really do about it. Because the tricks I’ve been using clearly do not work. I’ve been on “guy dates” with people I like — maybe I met them through my kids or on an assignment or whatever — but all too often those are one and done. It’s not that we don’t hit it off. We’ll go have that beer, and we’ll spend that beer talking about how we’re overscheduled and never get to hang with our friends, vaguely making plans to do something again, though we both know it’s probably not going to happen — certainly not the grand “Let’s hike the Appalachian Trail” ideas that start getting thrown out after the third beer. It’s a polite way of kicking the ball down the road, but never into the goal. I like you. You like me. Is that enough? Does that make us friends?

IN FEBRUARY AT A CONFERENCE in Boston, a researcher from Britain’s University of Oxford presented study results that most guys understand intuitively: Men need an activity together to make and keep a bond. Women can maintain friendships over the phone. My wife is capable of having long phone talks with her sister in Virginia or her friend Casey (whom she sees in person almost every day), and I kind of look at it with amazement. I hate the phone. My guy friends seem to share my feelings, because our phone conversations seem to naturally last about five minutes before someone says, “All right, I’ll catch up with you later.” Dudes aren’t going to maintain a bromance that way, or even over a once-in-a-blue-moon beer. We need to go through something together. That’s why, studies have shown, men tend to make their deepest friends through periods of intense engagement, like school or military service or sports. That’s how many of us are comfortable.

When I was talking to Richard Schwartz, the psychiatrist told me something that had me staring off into the distance and nodding my head. Researchers have noticed a trend in photographs taken of people interacting. When female friends are talking to each other, they do it face to face. But guys stand side by side, looking out at the world together.

But in the middle years of life, those side-by-side opportunities to get together are exactly the sort of things that fall off. When you have a gap in your schedule, you feel bad running off with the fellas and leaving your partner alone to look for the shoes. And the guys I’d like to spend time with are all locked in the exact same bind as me. Planning anything takes great initiative, and if you have to take initiative every time you see someone, it’s easy to just let it disappear.

That’s why Schwartz and others say the best way for men to forge and maintain friendships is through built-in regularity — something that is always on the schedule. This worked well for me over the past year (however unintentionally) with a college buddy named Matt. We signed up to run last April’s Boston Marathon together, and even though he lives in Chicago, we were in regular contact about our training, his trip to Boston, etc., and our relationship became stronger than ever, even though our best and deepest conversation occurred during the four-plus hours it took us to get from Hopkinton to Boston, side by side. We repeated the process with the Chicago Marathon in October, this time in less than four hours (thank God for the flat Midwest), but we haven’t had much contact since then, because we’re no longer going through anything together. I texted him to congratulate him after the Cubs won the World Series. He did the same for me after the Patriots won the Super Bowl. But I can’t remember the last time I talked to Matt since. We have no further plans. That would take initiative.

WHENEVER THE POWERBALL or Mega Millions gets over $100 million, I’ll buy a ticket. My wife thinks I’m nuts, that I’m just wasting our money. I tell her she’s missing the point. I know I’m not going to win, but in that time between when I buy the ticket and the TV news trucks do not show up outside my home, my fantasy brain answers a question for me: What would I really do if I didn’t have to do all this other stuff?

For a while, this was an escape fantasy that involved loading my family into an old Volkswagen bus, hitting the road, and setting off to look for America. That ended when I actually managed to save up enough money to buy an old Volkswagen bus, an endeavor that did not lead to a tour of this country’s national parks but of its auto repair shops. The bus is gone. And so is the escape fantasy. I’m very happy in my life. If I need someone to confide in, I have my wife. All the pieces are here, except one — the guys. I’d like to think they’re also missing me and are just locked into this same prison of commitments. But I don’t want to wait until we’re all retired and can reconnect on a golf course. It feels silly to wait that long, and thanks to this stupid story, I know it’s quite dangerous. So I’m ready to steal a simple concept that doesn’t require lottery money.

A few years ago, shortly after I’d moved from the city to Cape Ann on the North Shore, I took a kayaking class run out of a shop in Essex. At some point, the man who owned the place, an older guy named Ozzy, said something in passing about how he couldn’t do something because he had “Wednesday night.” Slightly confused, I asked him what he was talking about, and he explained an idea to me that was so simple and profound that I resolved one day to steal it . . . when I got older. I think it’s time to admit I’m there.

“Wednesday night,” Ozzy explained, was a pact he and his buddies had made many years before, a standing order that on Wednesday nights, if they were in town, they would get together and do something, anything.

Everything about the idea seemed quaint and profound — the name that was a lack of a name (such a guy move); the placement in the middle of the week; the fact that they’d continued it for so long. But most of all, it was the acknowledgment from male friends that they needed their male friends, for no other reason than they just did.

I tried to reach Ozzy, but he takes the winters off to go skiing in California and the number I had was disconnected. When I tried to get an e-mail address from a mutual friend, I was told he didn’t do e-mail. This guy seems like he has some things figured out. So, Ozzy, I’m stealing Wednesday night.

Obviously, it’s not going to work every time, but experts say that even the act of trying to increase your friendships can benefit your health, so consider this the beginning of that. I’m OK with admitting I’m a little lonely. Doesn’t make me a loser. Doesn’t make you a loser.

Fellas, what are you doing this Wednesday? And the one after that? And the one after that? Consider it a standing invitation. Let’s do something together.

(via bg)

[welcometomyweightlossjourne-blog]

How Fast Will I Eliminate Excess weight on Keto? What to Expect Dieting on Keto

Weight reduction is one of the most well-liked uses of the ketogenic diet program these days.

In case you’re applying keto to fall lbs ., that you are almost certainly wanting to know how fast you could assume to discover outcomes.

Given that everyone is different, it’s not easy to get an actual response, but this article will address the average weightloss fee it is possible to hope, t,tips for properly losing bodyweight on keto, and how to prevent widespread fat loss errors

Weight Loss on Keto: Absolutely everyone differs

Everyone’s physique is different, which suggests the weightloss fee for each person differs also.

Your particular person weightloss amount could vary determined by 4 key variables:

Your health and fitness condition. Are you currently overweight? Do you have thyroid problems? Do you may have insulin resistance? Is your metabolism rapidly or sluggish? Your Over-all wellbeing establishes how fast you reduce weight. For illustration, When you've got any hormonal or metabolic concerns, the method could be slower than envisioned. That’s ok.

The body composition. Just how much Unwanted fat do You should drop? What’s your muscle mass? What’s your BMI? For illustration, For those who have loads of extra excess weight you’ll possible working experience more quickly fat loss at first.

Your everyday habits. Your everyday patterns make or crack your weight loss endeavours. Are you taking in clear keto foods or substantial Fats junk foods? Are you presently viewing out for hidden carbs? Are you presently performing exercises? The Electrical power you commit each day and the caliber of your meals impression how effectively Your entire body burns fat.

Your unique Body fat adaptation period of time. Keep in mind your body desires time to be Unwanted fat-adapted and that point relies on your metabolism. For instance, when you’re coming off a typical American Diet program (Unhappy) as well as your Grownup overall body hasn't run on ketones in advance of, your adaptation period may consider a little bit for a longer period. You’ll only working experience the genuine weight loss results of keto when your body is actually managing on ketones.

For instance, an individual by using a slow metabolism and plenty of Fats tissue to get rid of who doesn’t workout sufficient will acquire for a longer period observing weight loss on keto in comparison with anyone with a normal metabolism, a little bit overweight, who commences performing exercises four-five occasions a week together with doing keto.

The important thing is to remain regular and deal with having wholesome keto-welcoming foods. Treat the keto diet as what it is actually — not simply just a food plan, but a lifestyle and metabolic change as part of your overall health.

With that being mentioned, what we will let you know is the way to start out on the best foot.

Location By yourself UP FOR Weight reduction Accomplishment

Before you decide to embark in your keto weight loss journey, it’s important to get the fundamentals correct.

Some individuals Believe cutting carbs is sufficient to enter ketosis, but this isn’t constantly the case. It’s crucial that you make sure you’re in fact functioning on ketones as opposed to carbs, otherwise you’re not going to melt away Body fat or reduce bodyweight so you’ll get discouraged.

So How will you ensure that your cells are functioning on Excess fat?

Find out your keto macros. Make use of the keto calculator (Positioned at the end of this put up!) to have your own keto macros. Using a nutritional target based upon One's body composition is likely to make it quite a bit easier to enter and keep on being in ketosis (and eliminate fat!)

Give The body the perfect time to get in ketosis. This generally usually takes any place between two-7 times. Just before then, you gained’t be certainly dropping bodyweight on keto.

Take a look at your ketones. Testing your ketone concentrations is solely The obvious way to keep track of in the event you’re in ketosis or not, no less than initially.Essentially the most exact Software can be a blood ketone meter. If the amounts remain higher than 0.5 mol/L, Then you certainly’re in nutritional ketosis.

Eat a clear ketogenic eating plan. The caliber of your foods issues, not only your macros. Guaranteed, you could stay in ketosis by eating processed cheese singles and ham slices, but that’s not going to nourish you. Deal with excellent keto foods like avocado oil, refreshing leafy greens, and grass-fed beef alternatively.

Transfer extra. You’ll drop pounds a lot quicker in the event you enhance your day by day Actual physical activity. Have in mind you don’t must go to the health and fitness center 6 moments every week or jog each and every morning, just shift more with your everyday life. For example, consider a short 2-moment crack from sitting in the chair every hour, take the stairs instead of the elevator, wander to create errands if you can, receive a standing desk, or acquire cell phone calls standing up and pacing all-around. These smaller calorie-burning movements insert up at the conclusion of the working day.

For those who tick these bins when starting up keto, you’ll have the top fat loss outcomes.

Which delivers us to…

Regular Fat reduction Within the KETOGENIC Diet plan

As you are aware of by now, not All people loses weight at the exact same rate, but listed here’s what you can be expecting according to the standard success individuals get when using keto for weight-loss:

Initially 7 days: Speedy Water Fat reduction (2-10 lbs)

Usually, in the very first week from the keto food plan folks see an exceedingly speedy drop in weight — between a couple of lbs . to about ten! That’s since at the outset, keto helps make The body launch a great deal of h2o pounds (not Body fat) owing towards your decreased carb consumption.

That is why that takes place:

Carbs need drinking water to remain in One's body. When Your system doesn’t use glucose promptly, it merchants it as glycogen as part of your muscles and glycogen binds to drinking water. Every single gram of glycogen is saved with two–3 g of h2o. [*]

If you initially swap to keto, Your entire body will melt away each of the glycogen reserves very first just before working with Unwanted fat. At the time it runs from glycogen, the h2o which was required to retail outlet it gets eliminated and that’s why the weight in your scale alterations so substantially.

While this isn’t Fats decline, it’s a sign that the human body is Doing the job its way into ketosis: Fats burning method.

This rapid h2o decline might also produce dehydration and constipation, so consume more water than you Generally do on a daily basis to keep items shifting.

Quick and Medium-Expression: Steadier Weight Loss (one-two kilos weekly)

After a 7 days or two, weight reduction will occur at a slower and even more steady speed. This really is also the stretch of time whenever you’re receiving fat-tailored as your body switches from burning carbs to burning fat, which implies you’ll in fact be shedding Unwanted fat now.

A secure, ordinary reduction from Here's close to 1-2 kilos (0.5-1 kg) per week.

Below’s what study states about weight loss within the ketogenic diet regime:

One particular study identified obese clients dropped thirteen.6 kg (30 kilos) right after 2 months within the keto diet program and over 88% of patients lost more than ten% of their initial bodyweight by the top of your research, although lean mass was nearly unaffected.[*] That’s 3.5 kilos each week.

A review observed that obese clients weighing one zero one kg dropped 10 kg (22 lbs) following eight months. They misplaced an additional 2 kg (four.four kilos) by week sixteen and three more kilograms (6.6 lbs .) by 7 days 24. In here complete, they lost fifteen kg (33 pounds) in 5.5 months.[*] That’s one.3 kilos every week.

how fast will i eliminate fat on keto

One particular analyze on volunteers with being overweight and sort two diabetes who weighed 108 kg dropped 11.1 kg (24.five pounds) in 24 weeks.[*] That’s 1 pound a week.

One analyze identified 120 overweight hyperlipidemic patients misplaced nine.4 kg (20.seven kilos) of Body fat mass in 24 weeks. [*] That’s 0.eight kilos a week.

A person meta Examination that took knowledge from 13 studies observed people regularly dropped far more pounds over the ketogenic than on the very low Fats diet regime.[*]

As you can see, fat loss varies depending on how long you’re around the keto eating plan, how much weight you’ve received to lose, as well as your health problem. Persons seem to drop one of the most Extra fat on the 1st two-3 months on the keto diet plan, although weight reduction is sustained for so long as folks follow the eating plan.

Extensive-expression: Slower Weight-loss

As you get closer on your target fat, weight-loss slows down. It's because as your fat decreases, your whole daily caloric desires lessen too. So, even if you carry on with a deficit of energy to get rid of body weight, it will now create a smaller difference.

You could have some months where It appears you haven’t dropped something, Then you definately’ll weigh per week or two later on and become down three-4 pounds. The real key is usually to keep on with it instead of get discouraged; just make sure you’re still in ketosis and give your body time and energy to do its matter.

One particular study located that immediately after one particular yr on the keto diet regime, Guys and girls between thirty-sixty nine several years who weighed involving ninety-100 kg missing a complete of 14 kg (30.eight pounds).[*]

Having said that, a lot of that weight was dropped during the early levels of keto. They…

Lost 7 kg (15 pounds) after 4 months.

Lost One more 5 kg (eleven lbs) between weeks 4 and 12.

Didn’t experience big adjustments changes from 12 months to 12 months (barely 1-two kg).

This suggests the keto food plan is powerful for speedy and sustained Unwanted fat decline. You will see the greatest modifications for those who keep on with it for your several months, and you received’t attain the load back again.

Prevalent KETO WEIGHT LOSS PITFALLS

If you really feel such as you are going through a fat reduction plateau immediately after sticking With all the keto diet for just a couple months, there could be practices or foods hindering your development. Down below are frequent fat reduction issues and how to proceed about them:

Slip-up #one: Not Becoming In Ketosis

This 1 may possibly seem obvious, however it’s quite popular that individuals come out of ketosis without realizing it whenever they quit monitoring their ketone ranges. So, amongst the most important reasons people don’t see fat reduction outcomes on keto is that they’re not basically on keto.

What to do:

Don’t quit monitoring your ketones whenever you’re wanting to reduce bodyweight. A wonderful strategy to maintain your ketone concentrations up is using exogenous ketones. Just place a scoop in your preferred consume to acquire back again into ketosis — it’s uncomplicated and delightful.

[raagrich]

Bharath International Travels/ Uniglobe BIT, Mysore - Not a pleasant experience. A Review

Thank You for taking time to go through my blog. My first posting is, unfortunately, an experience I have to post to educate people, to not fall into the trappings of a Travel Company, as the one mentioned above.

So, the story...

I was reached out by Mr. Murali from BIT (Bharath International Travels) on March 30th, 2018 promoting the ‘Himachal Deluxe package’ saying that this package was built for a a very short group of only 12 people and that is a Deluxe package, where in 3.5* hotel accommodation would be provided. I asked him to send across the Itinerary. The trip was scheduled for April 26th.

Upon reviewing the Itinerary, I noticed they had mentioned ‘Rohtang Pass’ in it, as a one-day sight-seeing location. I questioned him about the timing of it! He assured me that the Pass will be open and he went on to give me all the details about it; about how we are to book a separate vehicle and that the rates ranges from 4K-7K depending on season! I went to the Internet to do research and it was indicated at many places that the Pass is normally open beyond end of May! I brought back this information to him! He assured me again, that the Pass was open. #FirstWrongInformation

And, so, initial booking amount was sent across! And then came the first shocker! They played some drama about saying another party also paid money and they wanted to be also on board this package. So, to accommodate them, they increased the party size to 14! And, before you know it, the group size had already expanded to 18 people! #SecondWrongInformation

Later, he came back saying, to keep us all happy, they will be providing two Tempo Traveller for comfort of all. Besides, the terrain also would not be ideal for the big bus. #ThirdWrongInformation

Calls came for the balance amount to be transferred, which was paid promptly. Once, the amount was paid in full, requests for a call back was not prompt. And when they did call back, the reason for the delay was attributed to sending another party overseas, a training session etc etc.��

On April 23rd, a revised Itinerary was sent to include ‘Solang Valley or Rohtang Pass’. Upon calling Murali, he explained that people can choose to go to either Solang or Rohtang. Again, on this day also, no mention of #RohtangPass being closed was conveyed to any of us. #FourthWrongInformation

Finally the day came for us to travel, April 26th. We were received at the Chandigarh airport by the Tempo Traveller guys (outsourced to some company Mountain Mysteries) (#MoutainMysteries) . Our TT was clean and new and the driver, young, helpful and energetic (name, Banty; thats his spelling). 

The other TT sent was not the one the Travel agency had sent information about and it was old and rickety, The other 9 passengers travelling in it, complained about it and only the next day was it replaced. 

We had lunch in #PinjaraDhaba enroute Shimla and the food was delicious and owner friendly too! 

In Shimla, we were put up in Clarks Inn #AshianaRegency; decent hotel but construction was going on and it disturbed us, with the noise and dust! Food served at the Buffet was good and right! Rooms comfortable!

#Day2 We set off for Sight seeing but were delayed because the second TT had not arrived yet. One batch of TT had to move ahead and the second TT caught up later after about 4 hours. 

Evening showers messed up the program little bit and we could not visit the Grindlays Bank, Mosques,  and the Scandal Point. 

#Day3 Shimla to Manali. We were put up at #SnowRetreat. Close to the Shopping area and the Hidimba temple. One downside of this hotel is there are no elevators. With couple of Senior Citizens in our group, the Agency should have taken a step further and booked their rooms in the lower floor. We were all given top floor (3rd) and had to climb up and down for the meals and room. An issue was encountered with one of the Waiters and the Front Desk staff (being rude) which was resolved when the Owner was contacted. 

We enquired about the status of the #RohtangPass and was informed that it was closed and has not been opened at all. It probably will not open for couple of weeks. We were disappointed!

#Day4 Solang Valley excursion.

#Day5 Since #Rohtang was closed, we hired 2 Tata Sumos to take us to #Hamta Pass instead. The hired TT were left at the hotel idle and was utilized only in the evening by some ladies for some shopping. 

#Day 6 Before we headed out to Chandigarh, we stopped at the Manu temple and stopped at one of the Shawl outlets. Enroute, the second TT had some problem again; it was taken to the Service center, a driver changed also. The estimate to reach Chandigarh was incorrect and we checked into the hotel around 1 AM.

Enroute to Chandigarh, Murali calls up to find out about the trip and me, along with one co-passenger conveyed over the phone, that the group was disappointed with the #Rohtang being left out. 

#Day7. Had breakfast and checked out of the #HotelSwan at around 0930 to catch the flight back to #Blr.

Upon returning to #Blr, I brought up the issue with Murali again. He referred the issue to Mr. Syed who was to call me in 2 days. The call, as expected, did not come through. I called Mr. Manish Salian (#Salian), Owner and he listened to me that day only (Later on, we would not pick up my calls through the reception!). 

Later that evening, Mr. Syed calls me up and I had to repeat the whole ordeal and the real issue we have had with #Rohtang. Mr. Syed contacts #MountainMysteries, based in #HP and gets an email that it was shut down only during that time because of excessive snow. 

I contacted the HP Tourism Development Offices at Chandigarh, Delhi and Ahmedabad and got confirmation that the #Rohtang was not opened on those dates and that it has NEVER been opened since winter began. I forwarded those details to Mr Syed and Mr Manish via email, along with the Phone numbers requesting them to get the accurate information. No response for couple of days; reminders sent and then a standard response comes along saying, we have tried our best and that there is nothing more that can be done and that they rely on their travel partner in HP!

I escalated the issue to #Uniglobe. After about six reminders, Mr Andrew Harry connects me with Ms. Ritika Modi (#RitikaModi), VP for India Ops. It was a standard bureaucratic response from Ms. Modi as well. 

What upsets me to this day, is that Mr. Modi choose to merely connect me with the #BITMysore office via email and informs me that they have communicated to me everything. Both, #Uniglobe and #BharathInternationalTravels did not own the issue or take accountability for the same. Mr Manish chose to just ‘close’ the issue from their side. 

Agreed, the #Rohtang pass is highly unpredictable because of weather conditions. But why publish it in the first place when you would know, historically, it will not be open? #AmountsToCheating 

And second, to modify the itinerary, couple of days ahead and still not inform the passengers that the Pass is closed is just not acceptable. Just shows, how shady they work! #NotEthical

The competitor Travel agencies, specifically, note in the Itinerary that the Rohtang pass opens only after mid-May! I strongly believe these guys included it in the first place, to entice people like me and then send us off to a different place. 

Through this post, which will serve as a reminder for myself, I want to educate the folks on what to watch out for when dealing with #TravelAgents. Be wary, especially, when you are dealing with #BITMysore. I have communicated to them that I am never doing Business with Uniglobe or UniglobeBIT and will ensure my friends and family members do not do business them as well. 

I have saved all the communication from them in this regard and ready to publish that too. 

Best wishes and Godspeed!

[randomnised-this-travels]

And then it rains. Day 0.

Please be caution that this post will be rather long and may contain disbelief filled laughters. I have no intention of offending anyone.

How do I even start this. How about a flashback scene?

<My then current thoughts>

For a flight that was supposed to be departing at 6.45pm, it is currently 8.52pm and I unfortunately am still waiting for Emirates to tell me and estimated boarding time. This has been the longest wait I have had to endure and mind you I have been on a few retarded airlines. Apparently there is some engineering problems with the plane. I wonder if I offer my help (not that I know how to), would they finish their work faster? They should intend to give me an upgrade seeing how I am most likely going to miss my connecting flight to Denmark. Sigh. By missing my connecting flight to Denmark, not only do I not have anyone to meet me at the airport and prevent my unwanted travels to Sweden aka wrong direction in a bid to find DTU but I would lose an accommodation for the night due to the office closing for the day. Just my luck I guess, but hey maybe something good will come from it and hopefully I can get a nice upgrade and all of my luggage will arrive safely in one piece with me in Copenhagen. But seriously Emirates… get a new plane. If my flight leaves after upcoming flight around 11pm (and is heading direct to Dubai, mine’s a stopover in SG) I will not be a happy customer. I want 3 deck of cards please. I am thankful for that Melbourne airport has decent free wifi that keeps it bearable. NEWSFLASH. Uh oh. I think the air stewardess and flight stewards just came off the plane and went to the airline lounge… Looks like I might be in for a long night =.= 2 hrs and counting.

Update: I thought they gave me a time 10.30 pm but Mr. Receptionist said disregard it. Truth be told, I am so over it. They might as well build an engine from scratch in the time that they have taken. 3.5 hrs and counting...

Update: HAHAHAHA the direct flight was delayed till 11.30 pm. They started calling the names of certain passengers on my flight and getting them to go “near the TV screen”. Mhmmmm I wonder if this is code for getting them to another plane. On the other hand, disgruntled passengers are on the rise. The looks of acceptance of the hopelessness and purely pissed off is keeping me satisfied. Here are a few from my collection. Enjoy.

`NO! Pink is a better colour than blue`

`Bloody Emirates, can’t even afford to buy us Maccas`

`I wonder if they will serve us alcohol`

I actually got the chance to talk to this guy who was heading to Brazil as his final destination. He had 3 connecting flights and missed every one of them. 

`I hope I placed my knitwear in the right box before I left`

`Gluuug`

This man’s facial expression embodies the best of what everyone was feeling. Anger, annoyance, distrust, ceebsness, weary, on edge aka ooohhh he’s gonna snap or as others call it, the constipated `he just pooped in his pants` look. Also he is known as the Tallman as he is very tall. 

So after nearly 5 hours of waiting. MY FLIGHT WAS CANCELLED. Thank you Emirates so very much for doing such a crappy job of communications. I would have very much preferred for you to cancel the flight earlier such that I would have been able to switch to the other planes that works. Also, making me wait for 5 hours then be like soz you have to go pick up your luggage and re-book your flight is not cool. I had to enter immigration once again, enduring the quizzical faces of the immigration staff.

The mob started getting real mad. I thought they were bad before but woah did it escalate. Whilst near the luggage collection area, an SuitAfrican(SuiA in short) dude was yelling at the baggage staff as the carousal was only producing luggage that were tagged to Singapore and not Dubai. I suspected he was going to Dubai and too had a connecting flight. Poor staff had no idea what was happening and tried his best but the SuiA man was belittling the staff for the lack of information provided and the whereabouts of his suitcases. A fellow passenger that was carry a 4 year old child in his arm(4arm shall be his name) decided to step in to help defuse the situation. He too saw that it was not the carousal staff that were at fault as they were just as clueless as we were. NOTE: If you want to defuse an escalating situation, remove the ignition from the fuel or spark. Do not give in to the antagonist or join in and further escalate the argument. Despite his good heart, 4arm stupidly ended up becoming a catalyst to the argument. 2 grown up men shouting F you with a child caught in the middle was not a pretty scene. You would think that one of them could be the greater/better man and step away from the scene and be like I know you’re making me mad and I am easily triggered as I have been through an eventful night but I will stop and ignore your words so there is no fight. I was glad I stepped in and somehow managed to stop it using please and thank you in addition to tons of reminders that a 4 year old was terrified and had to be looked after. Seriously....adults need to be treated like children sometimes. PS. I THANK SCKC FOR TEACHING ME THOSE SKILLS

I am proud of myself for the #sucessfullybreakingupanintenseargumentthatcouldhavegonebad and probably more so since they were adults. 

In addition to that drama, people got so mad with the wasted night that a lady flew into rage and walked right out of customs without her luggage. She was truly seething with rage and wanted Emirates to deal with everything. I was interesting to realise that most people felt the same but were too tired and was over it. I know I was. A man that i met, his name is David. He’s from Hamburg. Poor guy had his both flights cancelled on him twice in one day - 6 am and then 6.45pm- thus spending an entire day in the airport.  I felt so bad... it must be his worse day ever. He had even bought his mom a wine for her birthday celebration on saturday. However, with the current status of a cancelled flight, I am unsure as to if he had gotten the flights that met the requirement. The only good thing that he had out of the horrible situation was that he was on a paid business trip and it meant that he had a few additional days of “stressful holidays” as i put it. I went on meeting and talking to multiple other strangers, someone who was going to Africa, Denmark (like me), Brazil and even Pakistan. But everyone had a connecting flight in Dubai which we all missed. BUMMER.

We were then taken up to the “front desk” of the departure hall to sort out our new tickets. Or so we thought. Turns out there was a number provided on the “apology letter” to contact for reservations and new bookings. So not only did they not issue new tickets over the counter or rearrange your new flights but they were unable to find accommodation for majority of the travelers. Despite a paid transportation to your overnight location, accommodations were still only discounted. 

However, my pain lies with the people on the phone that were meant for booking and flight allocations. Turns out, the flight was not cancelled according to their database and was postpone to 1.30 pm. Except, the letter given to us by emirates addressed the CANCELLED flight. Annoyed, I passed the phone to the lady at the counter/ Within seconds, she was yelling to the phone guy about how the flight was cancelled and that there was no 1.30 pm flights and that he should speak to his supervisor. All the passengers were furious with the outcome and soon chaos swamped. Fortunately, Emirates counter dealt with the phone people. Its ironic seeing how they are the same company and they share the same data bases but when It comes to cancelled flights, no one knows. 

UPDATE: I managed to snag a seat and now I will attempt once again to leave Melbourne tomorrow, at night 10.20pm. Moreover, I shall attempt to get an upgrade if possible. and am home(MELB) and heading to bed. Goodnight eventful night. 

PS. It was storming when I got out of the departure gates towards freedom and home after 6 hours. Oh what a stormy day it has been for me but to sum the night: 

I feel ya lady, I feel ya.