Shake Report - Special K

09.06.2012

As previously mentioned, I'm trying alternatives to the Atkins Shakes that I've been drinking for years. Over the past week I've tried a couple of Special K Chocolate Protein Shakes. I waited past the initial "wow this tastes different" until my palate got used to the flavor. The big things I notice in comparison to the Atkins shake are:

• It's thick.
• When first drinking, it's a little chalky.
• The aftertaste only lingers about 10 minutes (and that's good).

Those things may sound negative, but it's not a bad shake. As far as how the Special K shake ranks against the Atkins as far as nutritional value:

Atkins Shake Special K Shake Size : 11 oz 10 oz Calories : 160 190 Fat Calories : 9g 5g Total Carbs : 5g 29g Protein : 15g 10g

So, in 1 ounce less I'm getting an extra 30 calories and 24 grams of carbs, but 4 grams less of fat. Although I was only drinking 1 Special K shake at a time as opposed to the 2 Atkins shakes, so I guess overall I'm coming out ahead on all points.

Next up: Slim Fast shakes!

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Chilled Meleagris

09.01.2012

The phrase "Give Up something Cold Turkey" has been in my head for a couple of weeks now, thanks to a conversation with Gina. I know, I know, you probably want to know what's being given up, but it's just another entry into a long running joke she and I have so in reality those details aren't important. Still, the phrase has me perplexed.

When first brought up, giving up something Cold Turkey sounded like a good idea as I thought I was trading in my vice for Cold Turkey. And I like Cold Turkey, it's scrumptious. A week went by and I received no Cold Turkey.

It was then brought up that I was giving up the vice and Cold Turkey, that being the reason I had received no Cold Turkey previously. I didn't want to give up Cold Turkey! Even though I couldn't remember the last time I had eaten Cold Turkey, I wanted the option to stay open. I had a hot turkey sandwich in support of this idea on Thursday. It was scrumptious.

I wanted to rebel and have my vice and Cold Turkey - if they're joined and I want one, must I have both? This was just an empty threat, though.

This lead me to the inevitable "where did that saying come from" question. According to the Wikipedia:

• A narrowing of the meaning "suddenly or without preparation," from cold turkey being a dish that requires little preparation; originally used for heroin addicts.
• From the American phrase talk turkey meaning "to speak bluntly with little preparation".
• Some believe the derivation is from the comparison of a cold turkey carcass and the state of a withdrawing addict — most notably, the cold sweats and goose bumps.
• Reference to the periods after Christmas and Thanksgiving holidays where cold (leftover) turkey was likely to be eaten, coinciding with the end of those holidays' characteristically high alcohol consumption.

The last explanation, to me, has the best chance of being universally accepted. Quit drinking about the time the cold turkey runs out.

I still want the option to have Cold Turkey, no matter what I'm supposed to give up. The better option to prevent me from doing something would be to replace "Cold Turkey" with "Or Get Poked In The Eye".

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Time for a change in breakfast

08.29.2012

For years my go-to for breakfast has been Atkins Shakes. I got hooked, or maybe I just switched, to them years ago when I was serious and lost weight going low-carb. Each one seems a little high in calories(160) and fat(9g), especially since I'm not focusing on low carbs, so that 1 net carb does me no good! Generally I have 2 shakes, so double those stats for me. As such, I'm going to experiment and see what other shakes are out there that I might enjoy.

The hard part is that I actually like the flavor of the Atkins Milk Chocolate shake. I used to drink Slim Fast shakes, and I tried one years ago, in the midst of Atkins, and found it too sweet to drink. But I'm going to persevere and see what options are available today for my on the go breakfast option.

Today at the grocery store, I picked up 3 alternatives to try over the next week. They are:

• Special K Protein Shakes
• Slim Fast Shakes (going to see how that sweetness thing has worked out)
• Muscle Milk

There may be more options, but these were grouped together at Publix. I got a 4-pack of each, so we'll see if that gives my taste buds long enough to make a decision.

Probable boring updates to come!

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Naswidgey 2012

08.22.2012

After playing through a couple more races I've tweaked the house rules for Formula D that we've leaned toward.

No idea why I'm putting a link up here other than I'll eventually forget where I stashed the silly thing.

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The Charter Update

08.21.2012

My internet connection has been active for almost a week. After my last service call the problem was diagnosed as "water in my cable line". Oddly enough, this kind of makes sense. If I think hard enough I could see where my service would go out after a hard rain. Water would disrupt the connection within the line. Ok, I'll bite, I have water in my line.

The service tech installed a new line outside where the there's a connection between the pole in the back yard and then going into the ground by the house. Where the line connects to the house he applied some silicone to keep the water out. And I got a new modem since the one I've been leasing is a "2.0" model and they use "3.0" now.

After the tech left, I attacked my bill. On the 27th of last month, I downgraded my service to internet only. My old service total was $130.52 (internet, tv, no bundles but some crap from teh last bundle was still on, like the Charter Cloud). My internet only total would be $62.92. At the time I downgraded, I was charged for a partial months service so my total for the last payment was $86.00 instead of $130.52. I was taking care of all of this at the office in Athens and paid with a credit card.

When my new bill arrived in the mail it was for $183.53. This is substantially more than $62.92. On my bill it showed my payment of $86.00, but also showed all of the old services I discontinued. So, I got credit for a partial payment of $86.00, then charged for the remainder, plus a late fee, plus the next month's service of $130.52. If my payment hadn't showed up I would have though something didn't go through, but I paid and downgraded at the same time, and each service tech commented that I only had internet service through Charter.

I make my call through the automated Charter answering flowchart and finally get to a person. I explain that I downgraded my service, but my old service was still showing on my bill. She typed away and told me what my current service was (internet) and the charge on my current bill should have been $62.92. She was sorry for the confusion, but the bill was sent out before my account was updated with the change in my service.

But I did everything at the same time. And my payment showed up on the bill. How does my current service plan not get updated at the same instant?

I didn't ask that. I know better than to think somebody answering calls and (mainly) customer complaints knows anything about the inner workings of the cable company. Complaining to her wouldn't do any good. So I kept my mouth shut. Then I came to the internet and bitched about it.

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