🦚 Humans don’t have feathers
Ep. 66: Kissing a cow, the benefits of transposing from time to time, and straight talk inspired by blubber.
We’ve been making the most of these colder days, participating in the Finger Lakes Runner’s Club’s scavenger hunt and this week had us seeking out a cow, which we cozied up to at Cornell’s Dairy Bar.
Alas, the bar was closed the day we ran, so we had to make do by having a Honey Stinger waffle before heading back up Cornell’s libe slope.
A Tip for the Modern Worker
Seek understanding first. Are you the type of person who shoots first and asks questions later? You’re going to end up with a whole lot more injured colleagues and far fewer answers. Try to seek understanding without judgment first. Once you understand, judge away if it’s warranted.
This tip is one of 365 in my Handbook for the Modern Worker. I think this was a dark week at work the year I wrote these tips. Yeah, that’s it. Knee-jerk reactions are bad in any venue, and they can contribute directly to a hostile environment at work. Lead with empathy, get the facts, and respond accordingly.
#365DayDraw
I drew this and wrote the accompanying annotation as part of my #365DayDraw project 7 years ago today.
Bred in captivity and released, Paul was sad to ditch his hat and scarf. Now he learned he'd have to catch his own fish, too.
Aw, he’s so cute! ‘Tis the season to be thinking chilly thoughts, so this little penguin was on my mind. I think we have a ceramic penguin with this garb, and I wonder who first thought of making penguins warmer with what we wear as humans. It’s their thick feathers and blubber that keep penguins warm, after all, and we humans don’t have feathers (blubber is debatable, see below).
Commentary
Okay, blubber is a bit of a harsh word as a segue to this week’s commentary, but I’ll take it.
Seasonal weight gain is a genuine issue. I wrote about it briefly with my scale drawing in this post, imploring my future self to set an intention to destress, get moving, and stay away from those holiday cookies. In 2018, Amy and I started to take advantage of our smart scale by tracking our weekly weight in a spreadsheet. The scale’s app makes it difficult to zoom out and gain insights. So, every Sunday I record and average the prior week’s weights. This has a smoothing effect on the weekly highs (cheat night?) and lows (post-hot yoga). The result is a pretty cool chart that shows my trend for each year.
I’m not focused on weight loss per se, and a physical trainer I met with on the Explora cruise suggested I gain 5 pounds in muscle weight. Regardless, I find each year’s trajectory quite interesting. There’s a gradual decline throughout spring and summer when I am more active outside, and a commensurate rise in early winter that erases – and then some – those gains. The effect is more pronounced with this version that concatenates each year.
I wish I had this data going back to my 20s, for I remember weighing 185 reliably when I was a bachelor living on Long Island. The overall trend line has been upward for the last 5 years, but the cool thing about the recent months is there’s been no upward swing in weight, despite running fewer miles each week. I’ve been reliably cross-training, focusing on yoga, and BodyPump, and generally being active with hiking and work around the house. But I don't think that’s what’s driving this new flattening trend.
I think it’s what I’m not eating.
Amy and I are being intentional about not buying things we know will hurt us in the midsection, specifically, heavily-processed foods. Our Animal Cracker jar is filled with homemade trail mix, for example. It doesn’t seem to mind. Most of our meals are heavy on vegetables with a reasonable portion of protein. Most of the things you’ll find in our pantry that come in bags, boxes, or cans are things like pasta, beans, and nuts. When midday cravings hit, we have things on hand that will satisfy but not destroy: that aforementioned trail mix, a bowl of fresh fruit, and refrigerator staples like cottage cheese and yogurt.
We subscribe to Dr. Mirkin’s newsletter, in which he typically summarizes his recommendations at the end of most posts:
I think it is more important to work on your lifestyle:
exercising every day
working actively to control excess weight
eating a healthful, primarily plant-based diet that includes a variety of vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains, beans and other seeds
avoiding smoke
restricting alcohol
trying to avoid harmful pollutants and industrial chemicals
We’re working on it, doctor! Especially during these last three weeks of the year.
Miscellanea
☢️ We watched Leave the World Behind this weekend, and this review’s description of it as fascinating and interesting is apt. A movie that makes you go, “Hmm.”
🧩 I always start Wordle with the same two words. If there ever was a day to transpose them, yesterday was it!
