My Computer Fried

I haven't been updating this weight loss blog because my trusty old computer finally fried over a week ago. I got over seven years of daily use out of it. I'm looking at getting a new one. Fortunately, computers these days are cheap and powerful. I'm not much of a gamer, so I am thinking on getting something from Dell for $350.

The temptation to get something better is always there. So, we shall see.

Exercise

I still exercise regularly, doing four-mile walks in the morning before work four or five times a week. I also try biking for an hour once or twice a week. After mid-October, it will be too cold to bike ride. So I've got to get in all I can now while it is still warm. There may be a few days in November when it is warm enough to bike, but that can't be predicted. Anything after the start of October is uncertain.

Weight

The last time I weighed myself I was down to 184 lbs. That's not losing weight as fast as I would like, but the trend is clearly downward.

I should hit 179 lbs. within the first 10 days of Sept. Remember, my original goal was to get down to 160 lbs. But I think I may adjust that downward to 150 lbs. when I reach it. And yes, it isn't a question of if I reach my goal, it's a question of when.

I am determined to lose the fat I accumulated the past decade and I won't rest until I reach my goal.

Still getting computer up to speed

I was still getting my computer back in shape. I put a fresh installation of the operating system on the hard drive. I had to download and install all the little programs I had. That took some time.

The anti-virus and firewall program I had didn't seem to want to work any more. It kept returning errors. So, I did a little research and found a free firewall and free anti-virus that I have installed. They seem to work OK. Sometimes you get what you pay for, though.

Free Firewall - Comodo Firewall Pro
Free Anti-Virus - AVG Free

Both are free for non-commercial use. They seem to be working fine. No complaints as of this moment.

Computer & Internet Troubles

My original intention was to update this blog daily so I could have a document of my progress and share it with others. Unfortunately, the past week-and-a-half have not been good for me computer-wise so I was unable to keep this blog updated.

For a full week my internet service was largely unavailable. Sometimes it would work for a short time, most of the time it would not. So I couldn't post regularly.

Then the day the technician came out to look at the internet problem, my computer failed to boot. No matter what I did, it would not boot. My computer was not usable for three days. I assumed it was a hardware problem, so I removed all my cards like the modem, soundcard, etc. It still would not boot. I had a couple of spare data ribbons that connect the hard drive to the motherboard laying around, so I removed the one I had and put in a new one in a final act of desperation . My computer booted!

My weight

I weighed myself Saturday morning. I weighed 187.6 lbs. Slow but steady progress, you could say.

Exercise

I haven't gotten any exercise today. Just as I hopped on my bike and started down the driveway this morning it started to rain. Within seconds of me sitting on the bike seat the rain started. How's that for luck?

I went for a one-hour walk yesterday and one again on Friday. Even though I wasn't able to post about my exercise, I did still get some.

My back is sore from bending over the computer earlier today, so I'm just going to rest this evening.