Pizza Pentek
Since starting my new job in early August, I’ve had much less time for activities like this newsletter. There’s a big difference between “40 hours in the office” and “40 hours of work”. I’m really enjoying the work that I’m doing and the people I’m doing it with, but there’s just not as much down time in my life as there used to be.
One negative side effect of getting so busy is that my diet hasn’t been as good. With less time to cook, I started eating more takeout. Fridays have been especially bad, because that’s when many of us celebrate Pizza Pentek. What is Pizza Pentek? Pentek is Hungarian—as is one of my coworkers—for “Friday”, so it’s just Pizza Friday. The alliteration adds a little something though, don’t you think?
It’s been almost two months now, and I gained 10 pounds! Disgusted with myself, I’ve managed to shave back off 5 of those pounds. When my old routines and schedules got disrupted, it was too easy to fall into easy but unhealthy behaviors. But I’m putting my focus back on staying healthy. I’m getting back to planning meals for the week and making sure I’ve got the time and energy to cook them. I’m also going for more walks again, and even attending a group online exercise class with some of my coworkers. Won’t be long before I’m back in shape.
I’ve got a new toy to help me with my fitness goals: a continuous glucose monitor. Originally developed for diabetics, they’re becoming more common as wearables for people like me at the intersection of health-conscious and nerdy. The plan is that I’ll use the data I collect from my CGM over the coming months to gain a better understanding of how different foods and activities affect my blood glucose. This will go beyond diet advice—I’ll actually see real data on whether my body can handle particular foods or not. I’ve only had the device for two days now, which isn’t much time to learn anything. We’ll see what insights come with more time.
I Bought an NFT
I wrote about NFTs back in my very first newsletter, which made it all the more annoying when I told my wife I bought one and she was confused and asked what an NFT was.
I still think NFTs are weird and the economic incentives don’t entirely make sense, but it’s too interesting not to play around with. Lots of NFT projects I come across look…crappy. Just ugly knockoffs of CryptoPunks or Bored Ape Yacht Club. But some are artistically and technically interesting. I bought a piece from a collection called Nah Fungible Bones. I didn’t know what I would get until I minted the token, but I’m quite happy with this piece. Every time I watch it loop, I think, “Yeah, this skeleton definitely writes code for a living.”
The NFT market is still hot and nonsensical, so I’m only buying things I like and would be happy to hold onto. But I think the technology behind it has a lot of promising potential applications and that we’re only just beginning to see what’s possible to build on top of it.
Obligatory Oreo
Last weekend we visited the National Arboretum and let Oreo run around in a field. She loved it!