My exercise log turned 8,000 today

In late December 2014 I had a check up and the scale at Dr. Bush’s office said 170 (which I call 165 on mine).  So I started a log for riding my exercycle and told myself I’d ride to Jeanne’s home in Indianapolis, about 180 miles and back.  When I met that goal I said how about Debbie’s in California (Bob’s other sister).  Meanwhile I started using my Silver Sneakers membership at the Metro next to Panera’s on Bethel road.  So I recorded miles (and for awhile minutes, but that ended in a few weeks) in a small notebook for which I’d had no use.  Today, on the second notebook I logged in 8,000!  My routine usually is to go to Lifetime Fitness on Henderson Rd near by, but I’m down to about 4 miles (3 on cycle and 1 on treadmill), but if it’s nice I walk maybe a mile outside, and occasionally use the treadmill in my office while watching the news. I’d also been doing a resistance routine and some regular stretching, but when we got back from Lakeside on Labor Day, that sort of dropped off.

Looking back through the first log I see I was far more successful at weight loss in 2015 than in 2019.  After 6 months of logging my miles, I’d lost 30 pounds—obviously I also stuck to my tried and true diet plan of “eat less move move” aka ELMM. I’ve put about 13 back on.
I was working on our Spain travel plans then, both saving money and trying to lose weight for all the walking we’d be doing.  Unfortunately, I developed bursitis and did have to carry a cane much of the time in Spain. To save money, I stopped having my hair colored ($500/year), gave up my morning coffee (about $2/day) at Panera’s, sold a piece of pottery for $500, rolled the change in the piggy bank (about $200) and cashed in some points on our Freedom Card, about $200. Saving money for me is easier than losing weight!

Riitta and I on the stairs in Gaudalest September 2015

April 2015 with new exercise outfit

End of year contributions

Our tithe goes to our local congregation, Upper Arlington Lutheran Church, but there are other groups we like to support through the year and especially in December.  By December, they all come calling.  Increasingly, I get appeals by e-mail--in fact on Dec. 30-31, I must have received at least 10 last minute appeals.  We usually stay with organizations we know, although this year there were some new ones.

A presidential candidate (no comment)
National Parks
Coming Home Network
Lutheran Bible Translators
Black Swamp Bird Observatory
Pregnancy Decision Health Center
Lower Lights
St. Gabriel Radio, Columbus
Mercury One Nazarene Fund (for Syrian Christian refugees)
168 Film Project
Lakeside
COCINA (Haiti school)
EWTN
Pinecrest (in memory of my parents)

Still plan to accept more Syrian refugees

By 2017, the U.S. could accept as many as 100,000 refugees from Syria, up from its current annual total of 85,000, according to the Wall Street Journal.  Common sense would seem to dictate caution and more planning on the part of Congress and the President who want more non-vetted immigrants, but then that is in short supply in DC. I don't see this group harvesting crops or writing software for Google and Amazon to satisfy Big Ag or Big Tech lobbyists.

http://www.investing.com/news/world-news/obama-moves-to-accelerate-syrian-refugee-plan-in-wake-of-paris-attacks-371265

4424

CIA Freedom of Information web site

In 2000, before 9/11 and the current war, the CIA prepared a 15 year forecast. [These are scanned, not digitized, so not particularly easy to read.] It is really instructive to go back and see what career government intelligence employees were warning our elected leaders about. Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)were probably the most consistent warning. Russia, China, North Korea, Iran and Iraq were said to have "the capability to strike the U.S. and the potential for unconventional delivery of WMD by both states and nonstate actors." I'm sure this is not the only document in there with this information, because we know a number of prominent Democrats like Kennedy, Edwards and Kerry were beating the WMD drum in the late 90s, but then backed off when a President not of their party took their warnings seriously.

There were erroneous predictions about the global economy, and we were in a down turn then and no one foresaw the incredible boom of the 21st century. Although reading between the lines, they were general enough to be true--such has Europe and Japan needed to manage their aging work force or there would be consequences (well, duh!). If the global energy supplies were disrupted, it could have a devastating affect on the whole world (take that you "it's all about oil" peaceniks!). Also, this interesting tidbit: "Recent estimates indicate 80% of the world's available oil still remains in the ground, as does 95% of the world's natural gas." p. 17

I'd say the report was spot on about information technology and biotechnology predictions, if anything, it is a bit sluggish as those fields blossom like mold in a damp basement. The report was pretty accurate here, too: "Most anti-U.S. terrorism will be based on perceived ethnic religious or cultural grievances." Now, I wonder who plays that up and then asks, "What can we do to regain our place in the world and get along?"

For a 51 page report, the amount devoted to global climate change/warming is extremely modest, or maybe it just seems that way given the constant coverage we have today. It did address the "environmental neglect" of the formerly Marxist countries as a problem, and predicted the failure of the Kyoto Protocol, not because of the danger of a Republican administration, but because of the growing economies of China and India.

But it was soooo on target with comments about religion, I almost couldn't believe it: "Activist components** of [Christians and Muslims] and other religious groupings will emerge to contest such issues as genetic manipulation, women's rights, and the income gap between rich and poor. A wider religious or spiritual movement also may emerge, possibly linked to environmental values." Someone in the CIA spotted the rise of pantheism as a world religion. Good job!

You can do a dual search: first search your topic (Iraq= >1000 documents) then limit by year (2007=26). The date will most likely refer to the year it was "released," so you can easily see what was being said or researched in the 90s and review how that works out today. Check out NIE 2002-16HC, "Iraq's continuing programs for WMD, October 2002" which makes a "key judgement" that Baghdad has chemical and biological weapons as well as missiles with ranges in excess of the UN restrictions. It estimated 100-500 metric tons of chemical warfare agents including mustard, sarin, GF and VX stockpiles.

**"Religious voices are part of a two-week-long United Nations conference on climate change being held in Bali. Delegations from the World Council of Churches, the Vatican, and many Catholic orders are among the participants. The conference plans to develop an international pact to battle global warming. Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and other religious leaders urged the delegates to take aggressive action to protect the environment." Report from Bali