• Books - Clan: McTiVo

    More Tepid Than Intrepid

    I’d like a mystery heroine to be less of a Mary Sue and more like Harriet Vane. Not like the protagonists in the first two “Aunt Dimity” novels. #fb Amazon.com: Aunt Dimity’s Death (Aunt Dimity Mystery) (9780140178401): Nancy Atherton: Books From Publishers Weekly Despite its buoyant tone, this blend of fairy tale, ghost story, romance and mystery proves a disappointment. First novelist Atherton creates a potentially appealing heroine in bewitched and bewildered Lori Shepherd, but never places her in danger, thus sacrificing suspense. Recently divorced and newly bereaved by her beloved mother’s death, Lori is scraping by as an office…

  • Mini-Posts

    Will I Be The Biggest Loser?

    Weighed myself yesterday, and am at 225. From here it gets harder as I’ve probably lost mostly water but also gained a bit of muscle mass. Fortunately, a “Biggest Loser” contest at work starts Monday. Lifted weights twice this week, worked out Monday, Tuesday, Thursday. The contest runs for 6 weeks, until just before the Christmas juggernaut. Wish me luck!

  • Geek Out!

    Google Reader Goes All Magical

    because apparently they use elves to customize your Reader news item list by your karmic aura. Or something. Official Google Reader Blog: Reading gets personal with Popular items and Personalized ranking Personalized ranking – Only have a 10 minute coffee break and want to see the best items first? All feeds now have a new sort option called “magic” that re-orders items in the feed based on your personal usage, and overall activity in Reader, instead of default chronological order. Click “Sort by magic” under the “Feed settings” menu of your feed or folder to switch to personalized ranking. Unlike…

  • Health And Fitness

    The No White Death Diet Seems To Be Working Actually

    Some time in early August, I decided to 1) stop drinking sugary-sweet sodas 2) stop eating candy 3) start eating more healthfully and mindfully 4) start exercising at the health club at least 3 times a week. I’m not counting calories, although I’m paying more attention to portion size and varying things with more salads and vegetables than before. And I’ve lost 10 pounds – possibly 12, because I can’t remember if my starting point was 238 (ugh) or 236 (somewhat less ugh). Either way, good for me. I seem to have succeeded in making workouts part of my routine,…

  • Food, Glorious Food

    Carnivorous Feeding Frenzy de Brazil

    Oh well, another week or so goes by, how the hell did that happen? We’re working off a bit of a meat hangover here at Chez Geeque, because we met some good friends for dinner at the nearby Texas de Brazil in Schaumburg and ate a large quantity of delicious slow-roasted meat. We groaned contentedly when offered dessert, came home, watched Stargate: Universe and Numb3rs, and fell into bed. This morning we both moved very, very slowly and tonight for dinner – vegetarian! But it was a wonderful meal, and the setting and serving style lent a great sense of…