This is a great visualization of the colonization and occupation of North America from 1750-2008 by Non-Native Americans. I found this graphic while doing ancestral research on wikipedia. It does a fantastic job cycling you through 79 frames that show how North America was colonized and by whom and when. It is a shame you can show this in a book, perhaps eBooks will one day support this sort of thing.
I’ve been on a diet for several months now and when I travel it always presents a challenge in terms of having the proper discipline to eat light. Nothing like cold fish soup to help out a diet right? But seriously, this is simply the best Ceviche I have ever had. If you are ever in Ventura California take the Vista Del Mar exit and head towards the beach. In about 3 blocks you will find Dukes on your left. They make the worlds best Ceviche fresh each morning and it is to die for. You MUST try it!
For those of you with the Ceviche itch to create your own. You can find a pretty good Ceviche recipe on allrecipies.com.
Sorry for the blurry iPhone photography. 
I need an iPhone upgrade.
I finally broke 180 lbs!! Never thought I would get there. New Goal – 175 by end of May.
End Weight: 179.6
Previous Weight: 181.8
Loss: -2.2 lbs
Net Loss: 30 lbs
BMI: 23.04
Percent of Goal: 100% Complete
I got inspired to post this recipe this morning after making them for the family. Enoy.
A Dutch Baby pancake is a German Pancake that is a cross between a soufflé, Yorksire pudding and an omelet – it is a light, airy pancake with sides. It is made with eggs, flour and milk, and usually seasoned with vanilla and nutmeg, although occasionally sugar is also added (but I don’t recommend it, they are much better with no sugar in the batter). It is baked in a iron skillet and falls soon after being removed from the oven. It is generally served with fresh squeezed lemon, butter, and powdered sugar or fruit toppings or syrup. The lemon and powdered sugar should be applied liberally in my opinion.
New Goal – 175 by end of May. I hope by going down to 175 it will be easier to ratchet up my calorie intake and level out at 180. But first I have to break the 180 barrier which I intended to do in the next 2 weeks. Notice the spike and weight gain last week on Vacation, but mmmmmmmmmmmmmm was all that food good.
End Weight: 181.8
Previous Weight: 182.8
Loss: -1.0 lbs
Net Loss: 27.6 lbs
BMI: 23.34
Percent of Goal: 94% Complete
Back on Track. Goal was to be at 180 lbs. by the end of March. I’ll probably be short of that by 1 lb. Not bad, if I do say so myself.
End Weight: 182.8
Previous Weight: 185.8
Loss: -3.0 lbs
Net Loss: 26.6 lbs
BMI: 23.47
Percent of Goal: 90% Complete
Watch this video and learn some very interesting statistics I bet you didn’t know.
You can’t win em all. At least, I can’t anyway. I’m hoping for a better round 3 and 4. Go Cats!
Traveling again this week put the hurt on my weight loss. I had to estimate my weight for Friday based on my actual weight Saturday morning. This is the first time in 11 weeks I have regressed and gained weight. Yuck.
End Weight: 185.8
Previous Weight: 185.4
GAIN: +0.4 lbs
Net Loss: 23.6 lbs
BMI: 23.85
Percent of Goal: 80.3% Complete
I’ve gone out a limb and filled out my brackets for the record. And yes that’s right, I’m ever hopeful that youthful athleticism of The Cats and experienced coaching of Calapari will bring home the banner this year. Caroline’s Crimson Tide brought home the football title, perhaps The Cats will be able to do the same on the Basketball side of the Scifres houshold.
Watch this video and learn some very interesting statistics I bet you didn’t know.
It’s judgment day again and time to step up on the scales of truth.
Wow, things really slow down once you start getting close to your goal. I’m working harder and harder to get the weight loss each week. I’m convinced that working out while I am on a serious diet is causing me to gain muscle mass as I lose fat and therefore slowing the pace of my progress. This is probably a great thing but it is destroying the nice classically conditioned Pavlovian worm fuzzy I get when I lose 2+ pounds a week on Judgment day. Those weeks are clearly long gone. I thought I would hit my goal by the end of March and at this point I’m not sure that will be possible. I am however at the lowest weight I have been in 15 years and on the shortest, and last, belt loop on my oldest belt (if I don’t tuck in my shirt 
). Progress!
End Weight: 185.4
Previous Weight: 186.4
Loss: 1.0 lbs
Net Loss: 24 lbs
BMI: 23.80
Percent of Goal: 81.6% Complete
End Weight: 186.4
Previous Weight: 187.8
Loss: 1.4 lbs
Net Loss: 23 lbs
BMI: 23.93
Percent of Goal: 78.2% Complete
A couple years ago I read a great book, from the New York Times Best Seller list, called “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team – A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni“. Lencioni uses a fictional setting to discuss very real issues that anybody in Middle and Upper management would immediately recognize assuming they had any degree of perception during a typical staff or team meeting. The issues are not clear cut (again realistic) and can easily favor one function or department over another. The team leader patiently takes them through a team building process.
In this fable Kathryn Petersen has been tapped as the new CEO of DecisionTech, Inc. This start-up company is well funded and well staffed with quality personnel, but for the past two years has been unable to produce meaningful results. Sound familiar? As if that task wasn’t daunting enough, Kathryn has to deal with the complexity of working directly with the former CEO. He is now heading up business development and is an integral member of her team. I’m sure you have similar dynamics going on at your level of management don’t you?
At the core of the book is a model related to creating high functioning teams. The pyramid below summarizes the 5 key areas that you need to address starting at the bottom and over time, working your way up in order to build a high functioning project or management team.
Dysfunction 1: Absence of Trust
These quotes of Kathryn’s, the CEO, seemed to clearly define this dysfunction:
Dysfunction 2: Fear of Conflict
“If we don’t trust one another, then we aren’t going to engage in open, constructive, idealogical conflict.” Failure to do so results in:
Dysfunction 3: Lack of Commitment
Essentially this is failure to buy in to decisions.
Dysfunction 4: Avoidance of Accountability
The pyramid continues to build on itself. There must be commitment before there can be accountability.
Dysfunction 5: Inattention to Results
“Our job is to make the results that we need to achieve so clear to everyone in this room that no one would even consider doing something purely to enhance his or her individual status or ego. Because that would diminish our ability to achieve our collective goals. We would all lose.”
If there is going to be ego, it should be collective ego that is greater than the individual egos. Similarly, people are going to look out for their own interests. However, the team’s interests (results) should be more important than individual interests.
Id’ recommed this book to any senior leader or person responsible for a group of people tasked with meeting a common set of goals. It doesn’t matter if you believe the group is currently dysfunctional or not, it would help you take that group to the next level either way.
I hate traveling and dieting. I spent the week in Ventura California and I have to say, it makes it almost impossible to lose weight. I did manage to take of 1 pound this week so I won’t complain but it wasn’t at all easy.
End Weight: 187.8
Previous Weight: 188.8
Loss: 1.0 lbs
Net Loss: 21.6 lbs
BMI: 24.11
Percent of Goal: 73.5% Complete
In my Leadership MBA class we have been studying many of the issues put forward by the Global Strategy Institute. In particular I liked this visualization or mapping of the future that they presented. Click on any node on the map to read more information about a particular event that the future has in store.
The CSIS Global Strategy Institute is dedicated to promoting long-range thinking about the big global issues that loom before us. To this end, they created a “map of the future” for the years 2008 through 2012. Public and private sector leaders across the country (and the globe) will have to contend with certain inevitable events, unstoppable trends, and predictable developments over the next four to five years. GSIS’s goal is to paint a picture of what the landscape will look like and to identify the major signposts we can anticipate. They have grouped these coming events into seven categories: science and technology; politics; major conferences; forecasts; construction; sporting and culture; and important dates.
Today’s leaders function in an environment marked by rapid change, ever higher levels of complexity, and ever shorter decision time frames. This map is the CSIS Global Strategy Institute’s modest attempt to help us all elevate our thinking beyond today’s headlines and to anticipate the competing obstacles and opportunities we can expect to navigate in the future. As we retreat to higher ground, the hope that we gain clarity and a sense of direction for the years ahead.
Alright, I just don’t understand weight loss at all. I busted my *** this week with exercise which reduced my Net Cals substantially. AND I ate poorly just one day. I started lifting more so perhaps that has come into play or maybe the effort required to reach your goal just grows in magnitude the closer you get to it. Ugh.
End Weight: 188.8
Previous Weight: 189.4
Loss: .6 lbs
Net Loss: 20.6 lbs
BMI: 24.24
Percent of Goal: 70% Complete
Brining the chicken is a MUST because it seems to help make the chicken juicier. To brine, first mix 4 cups of cold water with ¼ cup of kosher salt and ¼ cup of brown sugar. Stir until dissolved. Wash and put the boneless, skinless chicken strips in a gallon size zip-lock bag and pour the brine mixture in the bag and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours. Now, it is time to make the marinade.
Marinade ingredients:
- 1-1/2 cups of apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- Juice from one lemon or lime (whichever you prefer – mixing both is tasty too)
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 8 tsp of minced garlic
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 cup of Heinz 57 sauce
- 1/2 cup of Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 cup A-1 Marinade
- Tabasco to taste
- 4 tsp flaked red pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
Remove the chicken strips from the brine and rinse and pat dry with a paper towel. Submerge the chicken strips in the marinade (you can use a Tupperware type bowl with a lid, a zip-lock bag or for best results a Vacuvin Marinater) and refrigerate a minimum of 4 to 6 hours. Please note it is best to let them soak overnight. You should set aside some of the marinade to baste the chicken breasts when cooking. Remove and grill. And that’s pretty much it. Good luck!
Alright, I “boom” kicked it up a notch. I did cardio three times this week, played basketball and worked out 3 times. Oh, and sit-ups every day. I broke the 190 barrier. 9.4 pounds to go!! Exercise really does make a big difference.
End Weight: 189.4
Previous Weight: 192
Loss: 2.6 lbs
Net Loss: 20 lbs
BMI: 24.31
Percent of Goal: 68% Complete
Well, my diet has obviously taken a serious turn. I have resorted to trying low calorie beers. I don’t really understand why flavor seems to be tied directly to calories. I wish somebody could explain that. Why is it that Jello brands can make tasty and flavorful Dulce de Leche pudding-y goodness in a 60 calorie treat, and both Budweiser and Miller failed to deliver the flavor. I want micro brew flavor in a low calorie package. I’d give Select 55 the edge after trying both.
