Unidentified Lying Object

In a repeat of last Tuesday, I took an additional morning walk along the beach. Like last week, I brought my camera, but unlike then, I did not want to photograph the coral I might come upon while walking.

I couldn't resist, however photographing this thing I spotted lying on the shore. I have no clue as to what this is.

Two Dozen Pink Plastic Clothes Hangers

Today was Family Fun Day for the Grade school classes - pre-k thru sixth - at my son's school, St. Paul University Dumaguete.

We won a door prize, shown above. Two dozen pink, plastic clothes hangers.

Further Modifications to the New Work Out Routine

Last Saturday, I wrote a post describing the first week of my new work out routine. Now, two weeks into the new routine, I want to give another update.

As I first wrote in a post from Jan. 11, I've changed my dumbbell work out from a for day a week push/pull program to a three day a week work out. This is allowing me to have much needed rest between dumbbell routines. I've noticed this week that I've made improvements with all the dumbbell exercises - more reps per set, and with some exercises, an increase in weight.

In an attempt to wake up without caffeine, I've begun doing the classic yoga Sun Salutations six days a week. I've been doing a bit more yoga on my dumbbell off days. This hasn't been easy. It's been quite a long time since I did a full blown yoga routine and it's difficult maintaining proper form. I am, however making some progress.

By the end of this week, I've added the Warrior I pose to the Sun Salutations. Just before going on to my ab work out this morning, I began a sequence doing Warrior I and Warrior II poses. My goal is to do an advanced Warrior sequence on Tuesdays, Thursday and Saturdays. Mon that plan at another time.

Random Coral

In an effort to expand my tan, I took an additional walk this morning, this time along the beach in Sibulan. While walking, I'd stop from time to time to photograph random bits of coral. Here are said photos.

View From Rizal Boulevard

The view from Rizal Boulevard in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental Philippines.

The First Week of the New Work Out Routine

As I mentioned in a post written Jan. 11th, Monday, Jan. 15 would be the beginning of a new work out routine. Today being Saturday, I've completed the first week of the new routine.

Monday's work out consisted of dumbbell exercises for back and biceps, to be followed by an abs work out. The dumbbell exercises are as follows:

Dead lift, stiff legged dead lift, bend to opposite foot, wide row, bent over row and one arm row for the back, with alternating biceps curls, inner-biceps curls, hammer curls and seated curls for the biceps.

Wednesday's work out was for chest and triceps - to be followed by an abs work out as well - the exercises being:

Standing fly, lying fly, bench press, bench press with neutral grip, straight arm puller over followed by bent arm pull over for chest. The triceps work out consisted of two-arms triceps extension, triceps kickback, bent-over triceps extension, ending with lying triceps extensions.

Friday was for legs and shoulders. The leg work out exercises are squats, reverse lunge, side lunge, dumbbell swing through, and toe raises. The shoulder work out consists of shoulder press, lateral raises, upright row, front raises (palms in), ending with shoulder shrugs. As with the other days, an abs work out ended the routine.

On Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, the work out was the Sun Salutations.

Rain prevented me from walking on all but two days.

In addition to the exercises, I've been monitoring my blood pressure. In spite of the exercises, medication and renewed meditation, my blood pressure was showing high numbers at times. I believe the increase is due to my consumption of caffeine. During mid week, I decided to limit my caffeine to only one cup of coffee a day. This would be an afternoon cup.

Looking for a non-caffeinated way of waking up, I've decided to do five minutes of sun salutations on the dumbbell days, as well as the off days. I've found that the sun salutations lower my bp almost immediately.

I'll be changing my abs days to the Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday off days.

I've No "Core Canadian Values".

According to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Bieber Justin Trudeau, being pro-life, I am not in-line with the Canadian government nor who Canadians are as a society.

Just what I need.....another reason not to visit Canada.

You Only Dye Twice

Last March, I wrote a post on the brutality of the tropical, Philippine sun on the color of fabrics. I posted a before and after photo of brown cargo shorts that had faded after being frequently washed and hung out to dry in the sun.

Today's photos show a pair of shorts dyed last March - back and front shots of the shorts after nine months of washing and drying and front and back shots of the short after I re-dyed the shorts a day or so ago. This time I used more dye per shorts.

Last year, I used 3 sachets of brown dye, each weighing 2 grams, to dye two pair of cargo shorts. This time, I used eight 2 gram sachets per shorts. Comparing last year's after photos to this week's after photos, last year's finished color wasn't as dark as this time. Much better this time, I think.

Last year, the sachets cost 3 pesos each. Now, the price is 3.5 pesos each. The eight used on the one pair of shorts in the photos here cost 28 pesos - or 56 cents in U.S. currency. Not a bad price, I'd say.

Urbain Grandier

In was in the early 1980s that I first learned of Urbain Grandier, a 17th century French Catholic priest who was burned at the stake, after being found guilty of witchcraft in a case involving "demonic possession" of nuns in the town of Loudun, France. One of the cable movie channels (Showtime, Cinemax, or HBO) was running the 1971 Ken Russell film, The Devils. The film was based on the 1952 non-fiction novel by Aldous Huxley, The Devils of Loudun.

Being curious, I went on a search for Huxley's book. A copy of the book was supposed to be available at my local public library, but I was told that the book was frequently stolen when placed on the shelf. There was a copy available behind the main desk, but it could not be checked out. The book could only be read in the library.

Fortunately for me, there was a very nice used book store in town. The owner could find any book - for a price, of course. I purchased a copy from her. I cannot say what became of the book.

I bring this up now because the story of Grandier is told in volume four of Alexandre Dumas' Celebrated Crimes. Sadly, the series could have been entitled Celebrated Crimes by Christians. A good many of the crimes described by Dumas illustrate the horrors committed by some using God's name.

According to a Wikipedia article, the French historian Jules Michelet discussed Grandier in a chapter of La Sorcière. An English translation of La Sorcière is available at Project Gutenberg. That book is now on my list of books to read in 2018.

The Polish composer, Krzysztof Penderecki wrote an opera, Die Teufel von Loudun based on the story. I was unable to find a copy of the opera on Spotify - although many of Penderecki's works are - but a TV version of the opera can be found on Youtube.

A New Workout Routine

I am currently doing a dumbbell routine based around a push-pull approach. Some exercises using free weights involve a pushing motion - like those for chest and/or triceps, while exercises for back and/or biceps involve a pulling motion. I have been doing the "push" workouts on Mondays and Thursdays with the "pull" workouts on Tuesdays and Fridays. There were no dumbbell workouts on Wednesday, Saturday, or Sunday. If there's no rain, I take a morning walk every day but Sunday.

I don't recall when I started this routine, but it's been quite a long time. I purchased these dumbbells in July of 2016 so, I'm reasonably sure that I've been following this basic routine since then. It could have actually been longer - I can't remember my exact routine from the days when I was using the gym in Sibulan.

I've decided to make some changes in the routine starting this coming Monday. This is not part of a New Year's resolution. I feel that this routine has become too stressful on my shoulders (the shoulders are getting work-outs on both the push and the pull days). The morning dumbbell workout can last between 45 minutes to an hour, and I've not been getting adequate rest (recovery) between workout days.

Beginning Monday, I will divide the exercises differently, as well as changing the number of dumbbell days from four to three times a week.

Monday will consist of dumbbell exercises for back and biceps only, followed by an ab workout. Wednesday will be for chest and triceps only, followed by abs. Friday will be shoulders, legs and abs. There will be no dumbbell workouts on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, or Sundays.

I'll continue to walk every morning (except Sunday) when there is no rain.

Depending on how I feel next week, I may begin doing a few minutes of yoga Sun Salutations on the three "off days" (excluding Sundays). It's been several years since I've done a serious yoga routine, and the Surya Namaskara seems like a good place to start a return.

As an aside, the photo is from July, 2016 showing the first set of dumbbells I purchased from Lee Plaza. I have, since that time, purchased addition weight plates and a workout bench.

A Disappointing Development

In July of 2016, we bought our first piglets - naming the two females Peppa and Olivia. Eleven months later, one of the sows gave birth to eight piglets. The second sow should have delivered a couple of weeks later, but instead, she had some sort of bizarre miscarriage and had zero piglets. To cut our losses,we sold her for slaughter, taking what we could get.

As my reliable swine gestation chart predicted last Sept., the sow that had delivered in June, was due to deliver Monday. When my wife's papa arrived at the property this morning, the sow has delivered three piglets. When we arrived two or three hours after her papa, the sow had not delivered any more.

This is very disappointing. I was expecting more than eight in June and now we didn't even get half that number with her second pregnancy. After the failure of the sister sow, it's obvious that these were poor breeding stock. When these three piglets are weaned, the sow will be sold for slaughter, like her sister.

I had hoped to have more breeders from this batch, but that won't happen. These three will be used for food - either for us, or sold. I'll look to buy two or three female piglets from someone else in a few months.

Farewell, VIS

After nearly fifteen years of blogging, my friend Dom Cimafranca has put an end to his blog Village Idiot Savant. I've seen the end coming, but that does not make it any easier. Where once he would post frequently, for the past year - or longer - he has posted less than once a month.

In his final post, Dom writes that blogging is dead and social media killed it. Perhaps. I know that I don't post with the frequency I once did, but I put the blame for that on my own laziness.

I know that I am not the writer that Dom is and his blog has been, over the years, an inspiration to me. It has been difficult doing without his updates, and it will be more difficult knowing that I won't be able to read his thoughts in the future.

One consolation is that he and I have become friends and we exchange emails from time to time. He and his wife do, on occasion make it to Dumaguete and my wife and I enjoy their company when they are here.

I'm saddened by the thought he will no longer be a blogger. The blogosphere - such as it is in 2018 - will feel the loss.

Waiting on Piglets

According to two separate swine gestation tables that I've downloaded to my pc, our pig should be delivering this coming Monday. The breeder's record show that she was bred on Sept.16. 114 days later puts the delivery date at Jan. 8.

First VW Beetle Photos of 2018

Driving by the Volkswagen graveyard near the airport on my way to take my son to school, I saw two Beetles setting inside, in an ideal position for my taking a few photos.

These two, numbers 41 & 42 are the first Beetle photos for 2018. The Beetle on the left with the busted headlight looks very much like the first Beetle I photographed in 2017. The color is right and looking at the wheel covers closely, is another sign that the first of 2017 and the first of 2018 are one and the same.

The 2017 Book List Redux

I'm not revealing any arcane knowledge when I state that web pages look differently when viewed on a pc monitor versus a smart phone screen. For the most part, the folks at Google/Blogspot have done a good job making the pc versus phone views compatible.

However, after looking at yesterday's post, I saw that the view of the 2017 Book List on a smart phone is totally unacceptable. To remedy that, I've taken a screen shot of the list and I am now reposting the list as a jpg.

The 2017 Book List

Following a New Year's tradition that I've maintained for a number of years, I'm posting a list of the books I've read - or reread the previous year.

The 2015 book list contained 37 books. The following year, the number of books I had read dropped down to 36. I had hoped to read one book a week in 2017. I was able to keep up the average for most of the year, but I hit a slow point with José Rizal's Noli Me Tangere and I was unable to catch up. The total for 2017 was 45, if you count the audio book I listened to on Francisco Pizarro and the Conquest of Peru. Otherwise, the total is 44.

Highlights of the year for me was my reading everything available by Elizabeth von Arnim,  in addition to the top ten best selling novels of 1917.

The list is as follows:

 Elizabeth and Her German Garden                   Elizabeth von Arnim
The Solitary Summer                                           Elizabeth von Arnim
The Benefactress                                                 Elizabeth von Arnim
The Adventures of Elizabeth in Rügen                Elizabeth von Arnim
Mr. Britling Sees It Through                               H. G. Wells
The Light In The Clearing                                   Irving Bacheller
The Red Planet                                                     William J. Locke
The Road to Understanding                                 Eleanor H. Porter
Wildfire                                                                 Zane Grey
Christine                                                               Alice Cholmondeley
In the Wilderness                                                   Robert S. Hichens
His Family                                                             Ernest Poole
The Definite Object                                                Jeffery Farnol
The Hundredth Chance                                           Ethel M. Dell
Jerusalem                                                               Selma Lagerlöf
The Princess Priscilla's Fortnight                          Elizabeth von Arnim
Uncle Silas                                                              Sheridan Le Fanu
Three Short Works                                                   Gustave Flaubert
Herodias                                                                  Gustave Flaubert
Burmese Days                                                          George Orwell
1984                                                                          George Orwell
The Time Machine                                                     H.G.Wells
The War of the Worlds                                               H.G.Wells
The Island of Doctor Moreau                                    H.G.Wells
The Invisible Man                                                      H.G.Wells
Noli Me Tangere                                                         José Rizal
Fräulein Schmidt and Mr Anstruther                         Elizabeth von Arnim
The Pastor's Wife                                                        Elizabeth von Arnim
Christopher and Columbus                                        Elizabeth von Arnim
Out of the Silent Planet                                              C.S. Lewis
Perelandra                                                                  C.S. Lewis
In the Mountains                                                         Elizabeth von Arnim
The Enchanted April                                                   Elizabeth von Arnim
Fatima in Lucia's Own Words - Vol.1                        Sister Maria Lúcia of Jesus
Fatima in Lucia's Own Words - Vol.2                        Sister Maria Lúcia of Jesus
Hernando Cortez                                                         John S.C. Abbott
Francisco Pizarro and the Conquest of Peru             Frederick A. Ober (audio book)
Memoirs of the Conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo, Vol.1     Bernal Diaz del Castillo
Vasco Núñez de Balboa                                               Frederick A. Ober
Memoirs of the Conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo, Vol.2     Bernal Diaz del Castillo
Americo Vespucci                                                        Frederick A. Ober
By Right of Conquest Or, With Cortez in Mexico         G.A. Henty
The Hermit and The Wild Woman                                Edith Wharton
The House of Mirth                                                       Edith Wharton
The Age of Innocence                                                    Edith Wharton