Weight Watchers, Wii Fit and EA Sports Active for Wii

My family bought me EA Sports Active (at my request) for Mother's Day.

I have been exercising almost every day for the past two and a half months using the Wii Fit and felt that I had outgrown the Wii Fit and become a little bored with its activities. For the past month, I've been exercising almost an hour every morning for 5 to 6 days a week. I counted it as 5 Weight Watchers points because I usually began sweating between 10 and 15 minutes after exercising.

Here are some notes on my first morning with EA Sports Active:

• I planned on beginning EA Sports Active this morning when I would have time to learn my way through using the Leg Strap and the Resistance Band. This morning I put together the Resistance Band, figured out the best place on my thigh to secure the Leg Strap, and began my first morning exercising with EA Sports Active.
  
• It takes some getting used to holding both the Resistance Band straps, the Wii remote and the Nunchuk all at the same time. I also had the Nunchuk facing to the left to begin with and it needs to face to the right in order for your movements to be tracked correctly.
  
• I was worried about running because I have Plantar fasciitis and running irritates it but I found that I could do a brisk, high-stepping walk and still receive receive credit by the game for performing the moves properly.
  
• The boxing part was a breeze because of my months of boxing with the Wii Fit.
  
• After 2 to 3 minutes, I was SWEATING which was great. Even though my workout lasted about 25 minutes, I earned 6 Weight Watchers activity points because it was a high intensity workout!
  
• I miss the Yoga cool-down from the Wii Fit but I did a bit of browsing in the game after my workout and found that there are some Yoga workouts in addition to the 30 day challenge.
  
• The 30-day challenge has two built-in rest days which will take some getting used to as I'm a creature of habit (a bit obsessive) and find that if I don't exercise almost every day, I tend to let the rest days accumulate.
  
• I wondered if it would weigh me as the Wii Fit does but it only asked for my weight and uses that to calculate calories burned. I will continue to use Wii Fit to weigh myself weekly even though it will ask me where I've been all week :)
  

I had high hopes that EA Sports Active would ramp up the level of my exercise and I wasn't disappointed on my first day. My thighs are upper arms are still a little sore!

Which Discworld Character Are You?

You scored as Gytha (Nanny) Ogg, You are Nanny Ogg! A talented witch, able to make yourself at home wherever you are, and insist that Greebo is just a big softie. You enjoy drinking, a lot, and singing about a hedgehog. You have a huge family, and get your daughters-in-law to do most of the housework. You are kind and gentle, and help put people at ease. Gytha (Nanny) Ogg 94% The Librarian 75% Commander Samuel Vimes 69% Carrot Ironfounderson 63% Esmerelda (Granny) Weatherwax 63% Lord Havelock Vetinari 56% Death 50% Cohen The Barbarian 44% Rincewind 38% Greebo 38% Which Discworld Character are you like (with pics) created with QuizFarm.com

Benny Comes to Visit

We had a visitor yesterday who came to visit - Benny the rooster. Yes, we had a rooster stroll into our backyard. Fearing the predicted foul weather, I fed the rooster some whole grain bread and some cereal in a trail that led to our screen house.
Benny is now safely ensconced in our screen house. We located the owner who will come and pick Benny, a miniature rooster, up tomorrow.

Interesting Links - Science Fun

Peter Ash, of Lawford, Somerset, attached a generator to his hamster's exercise wheel and connected it to his phone charger.

I told this story to my son, John, yesterday and he assured me that using a hamster wheel to generate power was not new and he's right.

Here are few links I found through a quick Google search:

• Hamster-Powered Night Light


• A hamster-powered car that looks like a ladybird.

Simon Greenwald from the MIT Media Lab demonstrates Installation, in which virtual forms are created and placed into real space via a viewing window and a stylus. See the demo and then read more about Installation.

 

 
First it was the radio, then the television, then the computer; next it will be the robot. We are moving closer and closer to household robots, thanks to most of the work being done in Japan.

Kenneth Parker, Buy One Share and more

Incan Ruins by Kenneth Parker

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Buy One Share of Stock in Your Favorite Company - I would choose Pixar amongst others.

3D Street Paintings

I love Julian Beever's 3D Street Paintings!

GW Bush Got High + Accrues Vacation Record

"...I attacked Iraq and no one knew why because I got high..."

Heartfelt congratulations to President Bush, who on Friday August 19th breaks Ronald Reagan's all-time record for most vacation days.

Fake Mud

The quest for money often results in humor. Take for example SprayOnMud, a product to simulate mud splashes on your auto. Their explanation of the product is "To give your friends, family and neighbours the impression that you’ve just come back from a day’s shooting / fishing / off-roading / visiting friends who live on a farm / looking for a country retreat / anything but driving around town all day or visiting the retail park!" I'd love to hear from someone who has purchased this product! View it for yourself.