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I went to work out again last night after work. I think I have decided to use the MBNA Fitness Center because it has the best selection of machines, and I have tried to standardize on the Nautilus Nitro equipment because it reads in pounds which is easy for me to relate to. I have also significantly expanded the routine. I think I have all of the exercises the machines will let me do. I am still not including free weights, which the center has a nice selection of, but I will add that when I have a little more confidence.

1. 5 minute warm-up on the Schwinn Airdyne
2. 12 repetitions at 50 pounds on the Nautilus Nitro Compound Row
3. 8 repetitions at 50 pounds on the Nautilus Nitro Overhead Press
4. 11 repetitions at 65 pounds on the Nautilus Nitro Lateral Raise
5. 12 repetitions at 95 pounds on the Nautilus Nitro Lower Back
6. 12 repetitions at 65 pounds on the Nautilus Nitro Abdominal
7. 10 repetitions at 50 pounds on the Nautilus Nitro Biceps Curl
8. 8 repetitions at 50 pounds on the Nautilus Nitro Triceps Extension
9. 8 repetitions at 4 on the Hoist Prone Leg Curl
10. 12 repetitions at 80 pounds on the Nautilus Nitro Leg Extension
11. 12 repetitions at 180 pounds on the Nautilus Nitro Leg Press
12. 10 repetitions at 80 pounds on the Nautilus Nitro Super Pullover
13. 12 repetitions at 105 pounds on the Nautilus Combo Lat Pulldown
14. 8 repetitions at 65 pounds on the Nautilus Nitro Vertical Chest
15. 5 repetitions at 50 pounds on the Nautilus Nitro Incline Press
16. 12 repetitions at 65 pounds on the Nautilus Nitro Seated Dip
17. 8 repetitions at 125 pounds on the Nautilus Nitro Adductor
18. 12 repetitions at 140 pounds on the Nautilus Nitro Abductor
19. 12 repetitions at 2 on the Hoist Rear Delt
20. 12 repetitions at 80 pounds on the Nautilus Nitro Pec Fly
21. 12 repetitions at 100 pounds on the Nautilus Nitro Rotary Torso
22. 12 repetitions at 120 on the Hoist Standing Calf
23. 5 minute cool-down on the Schwinn Airdyne

The standard disclaimer applies. Any set of twelve repetitions is really an indication that the weight was too light. Likewise, any set that is less then eight is an indication that I really need to work on this exercise because my lowball first guess was still too high. I would like to find the weight for each exercise where I can just manage eight repetitions and then work at that weight until I can get back to twelve. Stay at twelve for a few times — maybe three — and then increase the weight again.

Breakfast was a bowl of fresh pineapple slices and a cup of coffee.

I walked over to the HUB at lunch with one of the guys from the office — about three miles, round trip — and had Panda Express orange chicken with mixed vegetables on chow mein noodles with hot and sour soup, and a fortune cookie.

Your character can be described

as natural and unrestrained.

Lucky Numbers 16, 17, 26, 27, 36, 37

Learn Chinese – April

Si-yue 四月

Dinner was a salad with three slices of garlic bread, two Saranac Pale Ales and a bowl of Häagen-Dazs Vanilla Swiss Almond ice cream.

Forbes says that State College, PA is one of the best small metropolitan places in America to work and live (number 9). Forbes is right.

The best metro areas to launch a business or a career often revolve around universities that offer a diverse, educated work force and, especially when they are far from big cities, relatively low costs. Such regions — Raleigh, Austin and Ann Arbor among them — are also attractive places to live, judging by the patterns of migration.

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Kurt Badenhausen. “Best Places For Business.” Forbes. 7 May 2004. <www.forbes.com/2004/05/05/04bestplacesland.html> (20 May 2004).

Breakfast was a bowl of cold cereal, a glass of orange juice, and a cup of coffee. I weighed 157 pounds.

I did the 4⅜ mile town loop over lunch. Along the way I stopped at the IST building and grabbed a Penn State Creamery low-fat strawberry yogurt.

Dinner was a salad with three slices of garlic bread a Saranac Pale Ale and a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.

As anyone in New York knows, the strength of the economy can be measured in small things: long lines at Bergdorf’s and Dean & Deluca, the scarcity of Producers tickets. But the broadest of these indicators is table availability at the hottest restaurants.

That’s why we’re announcing the debut of our NYC Restaurant Index ©, a tongue-in-cheek economic survey, which measures the difficulty of getting a reservation at the City’s most popular restaurants. We’ve compiled the index quietly for nearly a year and the results tracked the upswing in worldwide GDP in 2003. Whether this is a lagging indicator, a leading one, or just a useless one remains to be seen. [Berman]

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Berman, James. “Food for Thought.” Wall Street Journal. 18 May 2004. <online.wsj.com/barrons/article/0,,SB108498904430815903,00.html> (19 May 2004).

Breakfast was a bowl of cold cereal, a glass of orange juice, and a cup of coffee. I weighed 156 pounds.

I had some errands to do over lunch, so I ended up getting something to eat at Taco Bell. I had a Grilled Stuft Burrito, Nachos, and a large Root Beer. Not counting the Root Beer, that is 970 Calories and 104% of the recommended daily amount of sodium!

After work, Gretchen and I sat on the porch and had a Saranac Pale Ale.

Gretchen made fish and chips for dinner — pan fried tilapia with rosemary roasted potatos and onions — with a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and some Häagen-Dazs Vanilla Swiss Almond ice cream.

The Yukon Gold potatoes have finally started to break through the surface. The Red Pontiacs are thoroughly up and their trenches are nearly filled. The Kennebecs are doing well also, though they are not as far along as the reds.

Gretchen got fed up with the spinach and peas. She replanted the spinach, salvaging the six plants that managed to germinate. She replaced the non-peas with buttercrunch lettuce plants that she got at Peachy’s.

All of the lettuce varieties are doing well.

Gretchen filled in the holes in the onion rows with new seed.

Ed and Verne tilled the weeds off the top of the asparagus bed this past weekend and as of last night there were already enough spears back up to start picking again.

Breakfast was a bowl of cold cereal, a glass of orange juice, and two cups of coffee. I weighed 158 pounds.

I walked over to Borland Lab to check on some networking equipment that we are upgrading. Borland happens to be the building that currently houses the Penn State Creamery. So, while I was there I took the opportunity to pick up a 2¾ ounce bag of Middleswarth Barbecue Chips and a pint of Penn State Creamery Chocolate Milk for lunch. The walk was about 1½ miles, round trip. Over my actual lunch hour, I took a short walk around the block, which was probably another mile.

Dinner was whole wheat spaghetti with marinara sauce, garlic roasted asparagus — which is excellent, by the way — and two Saranac Pale Ales.

Garlic Roasted Asparagus Recipe

• ¼ pound Asparagus (per person)
• 1 clove Garlic, pressed (per person)
• 1 tablespoon Olive Oil (per person)
• Salt and Fresh Ground Black Pepper to taste
• Parmesan Cheese

1. Position a rack in the upper third of your oven and preheat it to 450°F.
2. Trim, clean, break, or cut your asparagus to whatever size you consider to be a spear in whatever way you see fit.
3. Press the garlic into a zip-top plastic bag (that is big enough to hold your asparagus spears).
4. Add the olive oil to the zip-top bag, as well. Seal the bag and squish the garlic around. Then let it sit for a few minutes to infuse.
5. Put the asparagus spears in the bag, seal the bag, and squish the oil, garlic, and asparagus around until the asparagus is thoroughly coated. Then let it sit for another few minutes.
6. Line a half-sheet pan with parchment and spread the now-marinated asparagus spears in a single layer so that there is at least little space between each of the spears. Season with salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste.
7. Roast the asparagus for 10 minutes. Half way through, shake the pan to turn the asparagus.

Serve, topped with grated parmesan cheese.

I went to the MBNA Fitness Center in the White Building after work today, instead of the Athletic Weight Room in Rec Hall that I went to last Monday. MBNA does not exactly replicate the equipment in Rec Hall, but they have more variety and the Nautilus equipment is the newer Nitro line. Not that it matters to me, though the Nitro equipment actually claims to read in pounds, rather than arbitrary units. Here was my workout for tonight.

1. 5 minute warm-up on the Schwinn Airdyne
2. 12 repetitions at 4 on the Hoist Vertical Chest Press
3. 10 repetitions at 80 on the Nautilus Nitro Pec Fly
4. 12 repetitions at 105 on the Nautilus Combo Pulldown
5. 12 repetitions at 80 on the Nautilus Nitro Super Pullover
6. 12 repetitions at 3 on the Hoist Seated Shoulder Press
7. 12 repetitions at 5 on the Hoist Seated Leg Press
8. 8 repetitions at 4 on the Hoist Prone Leg Curl
9. 12 repetitions at 80 on the Nautilus Nitro Leg Extension
10. 12 repetitions at 120 on the Hoist Standing Calf
11. 12 repetitions at 125 on the Nautilus Nitro Hip Abduction
12. 12 repetitions at 80 on the Nautilus Nitro Hip Adduction
13. 12 repetitions at 6 on the Hoist Low Back/Ab Assist
14. 12 repetitions at 100 on the Nautilus Nitro Rotary Torso (both directions)
15. 12 repetitions at 50 on the Nautilus Nitro Biceps Curl
16. 8 repetitions at 35 on the Nautilus Nitro Tricep Extension (Boy, that needs work!)
17. 5 minute cool-down on the Schwinn Airdyne

Again, any set of twelve repetitions is really an indication that the weight was too light. I would like to find the weight for each exercise where I can just manage eight repetitions and then work at that weight until I can get back to twelve. Stay at twelve for a few times — maybe three — and then increase the weight again. Of course, changing machine types makes that a little difficult. I still have not tried the fitness center in the Intramural Building. Unfortunately, the Summer hours for the IM building have the fitness center open only over lunch, so it looks like I am going to stick with the White Building.

Breakfast was a cheese egg white omelette with salsa, a piece of banana cream pie, a glass of orange juice, and two cups of coffee. I weighed 158 pounds. The omelette was made with the whites left over from making the pie filling. For those that have never had an egg white omelette, it tasted to me to be just like a regular omelette.

Over lunch I walked around the downtown area. I measured it to be about 4⅜ miles. After lunch I had a bag of Andy Capp’s BBQ Fries out of the vending machine.

Dinner was a steak salad and two Saranac Pale Ales.