The Sisyphus Comments

Secure Passwords With KeePad Password Safe

Are you tired of trying to keep up with all of your passwords? Wouldn’t it be nice if you only had to remember one password for all your accounts? Now you can do exactly that with this great little free program, KeePass. It will work with either Windows XP and Vista. They also have a portable app that you can load on a thumb drive and take with you.

KePass stores all of your passwords in an encrypted database and you unlock it with a master password. Of course, once you start using a program like this, you are going to become very dependent on it so make sure you keep an up-to-date backup of your database. Your master password is also going to be critical to the security of you data so make it a strong password. Use a combination of upper and lower case letters, numbers and symbols (for example: iLuvPizza2!)

You can actually use KeePass to help you create strong passwords for all of your accounts. So check out this great little free app.

CLICK HERE:

KeePass

Posted in Computer Advice | 3 Comments »

Fatblogging – Weight Loss Help

When it comes to blogging, Jason McCabe Calacanis is one of the few bloggers who enjoy a loyal daily audience of readers that numbers in the thousands, about 10,000 to be exact. Although his normal list of blogging topics focus on business and tech issues, he has stumbled upon a new phenomenon, fatblogging.

Weight control is a problem for a lot of tech people and the 36 year old Calacanis had seen his 165 pounds body balloon to 207 when he was in the process of selling his company, Weblogs Inc. to AOL.

Although he enjoyed receiving his fat $30-million pay check from AOL, his body fat was another issue. He used a little of his new found wealth to buy a treadmill and then the battle of the bulge began – with a little twist. He decided to make his struggle public by blogging his dieting trials and tribulations and “fatblogging” was born.

CLICK HERE:

On ‘Fatblogs,’ Heavy People Weigh In

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Website: Free Old Time Radio Shows

Are you tired of channel surfing through the trash that is available on television? Why not turn off the television and tune into some quality entertainment. Thanks to the Old Time Radio Link Society you can still enjoy the classic radio shows of days gone by. There are a wide variety of shows available including a host of radio comedies that are still funny today and what’s more they are safe for all ages to enjoy.

The Old Time Radio Link Society is dedicated to the Golden Age of Radio Media and fan’s of the Old Time Radio Shows.

CLICK HERE:

Free Old Time Radio Shows

Posted in Useful Websites | 2 Comments »

Finally – Just Doing It! – Day 4

I was up at 0645 hours but some of my shelter mates were already long gone by that time. I have never been able to take off in the morning without eating breakfast first, preferably a hot breakfast. I would be in a fog for half the day if I didn’t have my morning coffee. These guys roll out of the sack eat a couple of handfuls of Grapenuts, wash it down with a liter of water and head up the trail for a 20 or 30 mile day. It just amazes me, although I have noticed that the older thru hikers are in less of a rush to get up the trail in the morning.

This is my last day on the trail, if you want to call a 3.7 mile hike out a “day on the trail.” I left the shelter at 0730 hours and spent the first hour climbing about 1000 feet to the top of Fork Mountain then it was down hill all the way to Jennings Creek where I met my son for the ride home. For some reason he wanted to keep the windows rolled down and the sunroof open – go figure.

So what was the damage on this 50 year old body. I actually faired pretty well although my calves were a little sensitive the next day. The mosquito bites seemed to pop out all over the place on my arms and legs the next day but that was par for the course. Other than that, the only thing I needed was a lot of soap and water . . . and a strong cup of Mill Mountain coffee.

I hope you have enjoyed this little peek into life on the Appalachian Trail, which I believe is one of our true national treasures. Of course, you don’t have to hoist a backpack to enjoy the AT. Just putting on a pair of walking or running shoes and following the white blazes for a day hike is a lot of fun. For more information contact the Appalachian Trail Conservancy which is headquartered in Harpers Ferry, WV.

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Finally – Just Doing It! – Day 3

I didn’t have any trouble going to sleep last night but I did wake up at zero dark thirty as a result of my uncontrollable shivering. The trick to heating up quickly when you are inside a sleeping bag is to pull the bag up over your head. You lose a lot of body heat through your head, particularly when you don’t have any hair like me. I was able to go right back to sleep once my body temperature raised up above that of a day old corpse. I finally rolled out of the tent at about 0730 hours.

Overall, my body is still holding up fine but my hips are pretty sore from all that climbing yesterday. I took my time eating breakfast and packing up the tent. The bugs are really bad at the shelter but the rhododendrons are in full bloom so it is almost a good trade off. Unfortunately, I think my arms and legs will still be covered with mosquito bites long after the memory of the rhododendrons fades.

I have a short day on tap today, only 10.4 miles, but the terrain is always the wild card on the AT. I will start out with about a 1.2 mile climb to the top of Apple Orchard Mountain. If you have ever driven on the Blue Ridge Parkway near mile post 75, you probably noticed a large circular object on top of the mountain. It is actually a RADAR station but it looks like the second coming of Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock. Although six miles later, I had to traverse Floyd Mountain, I spent most of my day walking downhill. I know that sounds appealing but when you walk downhill with a thirty pound pack on your back, your knees and leg muscles pay a price, not to mention your running shoes. I quit wearing hiking boots a few years back instead opting for running shoes. The difference between hiking 10 miles in boots versus running shoes is amazing but it also comes with a price, you have no ankle support. However, I had a slightly different problem on this trip. Near the end of today’s hike, the ball of my left foot started to get hot, as though I was developing a blister. Since I was close to the end of my hike, I didn’t bother stopping to put moleskin on the hot spot. When I arrived at the shelter, I removed the shoe to take a look at my sore foot but there weren’t any blisters on the foot. However, when I examined the shoe a little more closely, it was obvious that the mid-sole had collapsed which is what was causing my discomfort. Obviously, this was not a good thing but it was not a game ender either.

On the plus side, today’s hike was much more enjoyable. The deer were plentiful and they weren’t too concerned about a lone hiker. I followed a mama deer and her fawn up the trail for about 300 meters. They just kept trotting ahead of me and then stopping. When I would get within about 15 meters, they would trot ahead but they just stayed on the trail. Finally, they turned left and headed into the forest.

At around 1500 hours, I arrived at my home for the evening – the Bryant Shelter. I have been backpacking for nearly 20 years and I have never seen a shelter that approached the grandeur this one. I almost expected a real estate agent to step out and tell me this was just the model and the other lots were for sale. The shelter looked as though it was designed by an architect and built by master craftsmen. My temporary wilderness home was a two story structure with a wrap around porch, windows and built in benches. This created a bit of a dilemma for me since a shelter this nice deserved to be slept in but I had also humped that tent all day. I decided I could have the best of both worlds by setting up my tent on the porch and it fit like a glove. One of my fellow shelter mates estimated that as many as 20 hikers could easily fit into this shelter and I would tend to agree since it easily accommodated the ten of us who ended up staying for the night.

I had my normal rice and tortilla supper, washed my pots and pumped a new supply of water. Just as my fellow travelers finished their evening meal, the thunderstorm from hell came roaring up the hollow catching four thru hikers about ten minutes from the shelter. The lightning and thunder was a little intimidating but, after the electrical light show subsided, the rain settled in for most of the night, making me glad that I had opted to set my tent up on the porch. However, I did have to put my rain fly on the tent to keep the blowing rain outside but I was warm and dry all night. Check back tomorrow for an overview of “Finally – Just Doing It! – Day 4” and don’t forget to click on the “Comments” link below to leave a comment.

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Finally – Just Doing It! – Day 2

I wish I could say that I woke up refreshed and ready to tackle those mountains I mentioned yesterday. Unfortunately, I would be lying through my teeth if I said I had slept well. The temperature dipped way down and I hadn’t put the rain fly on my tent so I froze half the night and didn’t sleep much at all. I was up at 0600 hours and I hit the trail after a quick breakfast of oatmeal, coffee and a liter of water.

I started up the trail at 0750 hours and when I say “up the trail” I mean “UP”. I climbed for over two hours from the James River basin to the top of High Cock Knob which finally levels out at 3,073 feet. I think I remember what the purpose of the hip flexor muscles is. This is where you really feel the effect of packing those unnecessary items that add weight to your pack. It never ceases to amaze me how much I can sweat just humping a pack up the side of a mountain. There is really no way to prepare for the physical demands of backpacking except to strap on the pack and start walking. I talked to one thru hiker along the trail who told me about a jock-type guy who had started the same day that he had. The guy said he was set to knock out the AT since he had been running, biking and lifting weights to get ready. He lasted four days. I have almost concluded that endurance activities have more to do with mental toughness than physical conditioning. The mind tends to quit long before the body. Unfortunately, by the time I crested that mountain top I wasn’t doing well in either department. That’s when I had my first experience with “trail magic”.

Trail magic is a widely known phenomenon within the backpacking ranks where wonderful things seem to happen for no apparent reason – except magic. I was working my way down the mountain to Petites Gap where the trail crosses the Blue Ridge Parkway when I noticed a white SUV parked in the roadside lot. I could see a guy sitting on a lawn chair feeding sticks into a small fire and his wife appeared to be organizing some equipment in the back of the truck. I reach the parking lot at the same time as a north bound thru hiker and the gentleman called us both over for some ice cold cranberry juice. The couple they were the Washington’s and they hailed from Lexington, VA. They were both in their 70’s but they had thru hiked the AT together in 1987.

Mrs. Washington prepared a picnic lunch for the thru hiker and, as a section hiker, I qualified for a large wedge of apple pie. I rarely take a break during the day but when Mr. Washington pulled out a five gallon paint bucket, flipped it over and refilled my cup with cranberry juice, how could I refuse. The Washington’s spend their time hiking throughout the Shenandoah National Park, checking on the shelters and being “trail angels” to the hikers. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end so I signed their book, took a couple of pictures, hoisted my pack and headed on my way. After crossing over the Blue Ridge Parkway twice and humping five more miles, I reached my home for the night.

I located a fairly nice tent site and erected my home away from home behind the Thunder Hill shelter. Of course the next most important task is always fetching water and cooking the evening meal. As I walked back toward the shelter, I saw some familiar folks. The Washingtons had almost beat me to the shelter. Before you laugh yourself out of your chair, they had driven ahead to the next cross over point and hiked the .3 of a mile back to the shelter. It was a pleasant surprise but they didn’t bring any apple pie along this time – dang! They didn’t stay long but as soon as they disappeared around the bend, Thumper, a northbound thru hiker came in for the night. He was a retired correctional officer from Florida and we spent a few minutes swapping lies.

My mountain cuisine for tonight consisted of Mexican Rice with a tortilla. Dessert was a small pack of Oreos rinsed down with a cup of coffee. Although the company was good, I had to make up for my lack of sleep last night so I was in the tent by 1830 hours. One would think that freezing your ass off the night before would have helped me remember to put the rain fly on the tent! I suppose I could blame it on my aching back or my constant state of dehydration but really I just never gave it a thought. I still can’t figure out how I can drink over six liters of water and still be dehydrated – but I am. Backpacking is definitely one way to totally flush your system. Check back tomorrow for an overview of “Finally – Just Doing It! – Day 3” and don’t forget to click on the “Comments” link below to leave a comment.

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Finally – Just Doing It! – Day 1

After a Friday meeting delayed my departure, I had to make a small adjustment to my backpacking plans so I decided to jump on the Appalachian Trail near Glasgow, VA, where the trail crosses Virginia Route 130. I mean it looked easy enough. The Virginia Scenic Highways map that I have had in the car since George Allen was Governor made it look like all I had to do was go north on the Blue Ridge Parkway and jump off where it intersected with 130. Unfortunately, they apparently made no attempt to accurately depict distances on the map so we spent 40 minutes hunting for the entrance to the AT before I finally broke the “Man Code” and asked for directions at a local campground.

After locating my starting point on the north side of a foot bridge across the James River, having my son take the obligatory start pictures and hoisting my 32 pound pack, I was off on another one of my masochistic journeys. Fortunately, I only had about 2.2 relatively flat miles to cover before reaching my first campsite. It had been quite some time since my last trip so the internal pack frame will take time to mold itself to my back. It also takes a lot of fiddling around with the straps to get the pack to ride in just the right position. Unfortunately, when I got into camp, I adjusted my waist belt in the opposite direction that I should have in order to ease the pressure on my shoulders. I did finally figure out my error late the next day – after a painful morning of hiking.

The best thing about the AT is the people that you meet. They are always an eclectic group from diverse locations with lots interesting stories to tell. AT hikers use “trail names” which are similar to the “handles” used by CB radio operators. It is not unusual for a group of hikers to spend days, weeks or months hiking together without ever knowing each other’s actual names. I usually go by “Cobbler”, which of course is synonymous with shoemaker.

When I arrived at the Matt Creek Shelter, my campsite for the night, I was greeted by three other hikers who were already enjoying their evening meal. I did a quick site reconnaissance and found a relatively level tent site on the other side of the creek. I set up my little two person North Face Tadpole freestanding tent, rolled out my self-inflating sleeping pad and spread out my sleeping bag. It is always tough to decide whether to bring along my tent since it weighs in at 4.5 poinds – roughly the same weight as two liters of water. This time of year the bugs can be terrible and the tent provides luxurious protection against those little nasties but that extra weight exacts a toll on my old legs as I hump those mountains. In addition, I opted for a fleece sleeping bag as opposed to my normal goose down bag. I prefer the $9.00 Walmart fleece during warm weather since it whisks away and absorbs moisture. I also have to admit that I brought along one “total” luxury item – a Thermarest pillow that I got for Christmas – and I loved it! A few years ago, I would have made fun of anyone who humped a pillow on the AT. However, time and older muscles have sure changed my attitude about such things.

After I finished getting my living quarter set up, it was time to replenish my water supply. Drinking water directly out of a spring or creek is a risky proposition so I filter my drinking water with a Sweetwater (now owned by MSR) hand pump filter. After about 8 – 10 minutes of pumping, I had three liters of potable water. The term “potable” actually comes from the Latin term pōtāre which means “to drink.” That is the extent of my Latin knowledge but I like to use “potable” since it is a neat word and it makes me sound like a backpacking veteran.

Next I had to fire up my MSR Whisperlite, white gas backpacking stove to heat up some water to make some instant coffee. Personally, I am addicted to Mill Mountain coffee and, outside of the woods, I firmly believe that “instant coffee” is an oxymoron but you take what you can get. Since I had already eaten supper before I started the hike, a Nutri-Grain bar and a cup of coffee was all I needed for the first night.

As I was enjoying my evening snack, I introduced myself to my camp mates. First there was “Meatwad’, an astro-physicist that is in the process of moving from a job with a university in Wisconsin to a position with an observatory in Tuscon, AZ. He was just stopping in for a meal but he did leave me with his philosophy on government intervention into our personal lives. He categorizes such things as mandatory helmet and seatbelt laws, abortion rights and drug use as areas where the government intervenes in “things that don’t hurt anyone.” I just let him vent but it never ceases to amaze me how people can have so much education and still be ignorant. He eventually packed up his gear and headed out to the next shelter.

My other two camp mates, Pundit and Rich (he hadn’t come up with a good trail name yet) were middle age section hikers from Pennsylvania. Section hikers are guys like me who just do sections of the AT when they have an opportunity. We are a little lower on the backpacking food chain than the hikers who are “thru-hikers” or “GAME.” In other words, they started at Springer Mountain, Georgia and are in the process of walking to Mount Katahdin, Maine – over 2,000 miles. Pundit is a newspaper journalist in Allentown, PA and Rich works in a Dixie Cup Factory in the same town. They were just good guys and we just sat and talked for over an hour until the mosquitoes became unbearable and I retreated to my tent. They did mention that I had a tough day of mountain climbing ahead of me the next day. Of course, almost every day on the AT includes a lot of mountain climbing so I wasn’t surprised. Check back tomorrow for an overview of “Finally – Just Doing It! – Day 2” and don’t forget to click on the “Comments” link below to leave a comment.

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Finally – Just Doing It!

If you don’t recognize the sign that accompanies this entry, you probably are not going fully appreciate how much I am looking forward to the next few days. I will finally be taking the time to do one of the activities I really enjoy – hiking on the Appalachian Trail. I was just looking at the pictures from my last long backpacking trip when Scott Schwarzer and I took seven days to hike the 100+ mile length of the Shenandoah National Park. I was shocked to see that it was back in 2003 that we completed “Rich and Scott’s Big Adventure.” Funny how life tends to get in the way of the things one enjoys. Note to self – take a break a little more often.

So what is so great about backpacking? Well, if you are a hunter, you have gotten a taste of the benefits of spending time in the woods alone. Just keep in mind that, when you go backpacking, you are not supposed to kill stuff. This is a very important distinction between the two activities. However, if your idea of “roughing it” is staying in a Holiday Inn instead of a Sheraton, this type of vacation is probably not for you. The Appalachian Trail, or more affectionately the AT, is a 2000+-mile marked hiking trail in the eastern U.S. It is maintained by thirty-some trail clubs and multiple partnerships starts at Springer Mountain, Georgia and ends atop Mount Katahdin in Maine. The trail, which is marked by white paint blazes, passes through the states of North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire. We are very fortunate to have approximately 550 miles of the trail that running through Virginia. In fact more of the AT is contained within Virginia’s border than any of the other states. If you have ever walked on a wooded path along the Skyline Drive or the Blue Ridge Parkway in Shenandoah National Park, you were probably walking on part of the AT.

Although, by starting in Georgia and walking north, “thru hikers” are supposed to “walk through all four seasons”, Virginia is a bit of a wild card. Many hikers think Virginia is the wettest, most difficult part of the hike for northbound hikers because of the spring weather. It is not uncommon for it to rain 20 out of 30 days during the spring, although that has not been a problem this year. Of course, on the AT your efforts are often rewarded with beautiful views and Virginia has some of the best on the trail. I have always throughly enjoyed the physical challenges of hiking the trail and I hope to “thru hike” when I retire in five years. In the meantime, I have to steal opportunities to do nearby section hikes.

Unfortunately (or maybe not), I won’t be able to bring a computer along on this hike, I will keep a journal of any interesting experiences that occur during the next few days so I can do a follow-up entry when I return. No work, no phone and no computer – this may take a little getting used to but I am sure I will adjust.

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Random Philosophical Observations

I believe it was Plato who said that only a man who is just can be loyal, and that loyalty is a condition of genuine philosophy. Then it was Josiah Royce, a philosopher, who said loyalty was the supreme moral good, and that one’s devotion to an object mattered more than the merits of the object itself. Finally, who can forget “Semper Fidelis”, which is Latin for “Always faithful.” This phrase has served as motto or title for several entities, including the U.S. Marine Corps, although it appears that this philosophy is a dying character trait in our society.

Could this be why we are experiencing the unprecedented turnover rate that we are currently seeing? It is probably a factor in this and other teamwork/trust related problems. It is sort of difficult to trust the guy who is supposed to have your back when he may be holding a knife to it instead (figuratively, of course). Now if only Plato were still around to muster up a solution.

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Website: American Dietetic Association

The American Dietetic Association is the nation’s largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. The ADA has created a very nice website that is loaded with tools to help you manage your diet. In addition to general nutritional tips, there are brochures containing nutritional facts and even some recipes to help you prepare healthy meals.

Be sure to check out the new MyPyramid page to determine your personal nutritional needs. Check it out!

CLICKE HERE:

American Dietetic Association

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Mac Scroll Wheel Tips

This is one of those articles that you run across every now and then that makes you think – now that’s cool. If you happen to be a Mac user like me, you are probably using some of these mouse scroll wheel techniques already, others you may have heard about but forgotten and I bet you will discover a couple of new ones. The article is just full of tips that will make your computing a little easier.

CLICK HERE:

TidBITS Mac Scroll Wheel Tips

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Immigration Reform – Its Simple Economics

When I woke up this morning, I turned on the television and there was Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) discussing the proposed immigration and border control legislation. I would be willing to bet that Senator Reid had more than one wedgie when he was in middle school. I don’t know how a national party goes about selecting its “leaders” but it might time to reassess the process. For instance, how did they select John Boehner (R-OH) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY) as the minority leaders for the House of Representative and Senate respectively? Better yet, did you even know they were the leaders of the Republican party? Never mind – let me get back to the immigration issue.

Senator Reid was trying to explain why the proposed legislation, which originally granted legal status to 400,000 criminal aliens (its down to 200,000 now), is a good solution to the illegal immigration problem. By the way, according to one recent poll most Americans don’t agree with the Senator’s opinion. In fact, 48% of the respondents in a recent survey disagreed with the proposed amnesty plan while only 26% thought granting legal status to the criminal aliens who entered this illegally was a good idea. Of course the remaining 26% were probably so busy trying to guess who would win American Idol that they haven’t taken the time to form an opinion on the immigration issue. It is important to keep our priorities straight.

Proponents of the proposed legislation base their argument on two points. First they say that we do not have the resources to secure our southern border and deport all of the criminal aliens. The prevailing thought is that we will need to use a multifaceted approach to securing the border, including the construction of approximately 700 miles of fence. My opinion is the sooner we get started the sooner we will be finished. Sometimes I think people lose sight of the fact that this is the county that put men on the moon and built an interstate highway system that stretches from border to border in all directions. I am sure we could build a fence if we decided to make it a priority. In addition to stemming the flow of criminal immigrants, our new fence might even help slow down the drug traffic from Mexico. Of course we would also need to increase the number of border patrol agents and the number of electronic monitoring systems, but all of this is doable – if we make it a priority.

The second argument is that we need the labor that is provided by the criminal immigrants because the agriculture industry can’t find people to do the work. It seems to me that if you are running a business and you can’t find people to do the work, one option would be to pay higher wages. According to Diggerrealm.com, it apparently worked for Swift and Company after they lost most of their employees after an ICE raid. In fact, if the proposed legislation passes, the farmers may have an opportunity to experience the concept of unintended consequences. How long do you think these criminal immigrants will continue to work in the fields and orchards once they receive legal status. Maybe they will just be so happy to be legal that they will continue to labor at these jobs that “no one wants to do”! Of course if that doesn’t prove to be the case, I wonder where will the farmers are planning to find their replacement workers? Remember, the criminal immigrants that are in this country right now are the strongest, most able bodied of the immigrants since they had to survive tough conditions just to get here. What do you suppose the next wave of immigrants will be like?

If you are not a farmer and you are having trouble seeing how the immigration issue is going to impact you personally – think social services. Once these criminal aliens are granted legal status, they will be able to take advantage of our social services. Next, after they get settled in, surely they will want their families to join them. Of course, being the humanitarians that we are, we will be obligated to educate their children and provide for their medical care.

If you listen to Senator Reid and the other proponents of this legislation, they would like you to believe that our only options are to immediately deport all of the criminal immigrants or give them amnesty. The flaw in their argument is they are attempting to limit the options to just those two and to force an immediate decision. My question is, “What’s up with this sudden sense of urgency?” Did Senator Reid wake up one day, look at his Getting Things Done list and discover that his next action was “end the criminal immigrant problem?”

Try to look at it this way. If a water pipe burst in your basement, wouldn’t it be wiser to shut the water off before you grab a bucket start bailing the water out of basement? The same philosophy can be applied to our illegal immigration problem. Why not focus our energy and resources on securing the border to stem the flow of criminal aliens. Once we have effectively stopped the influx of illegal immigrants, we can turn our attention to identifying and deporting those who are already in our county illegally.

There is one more problem that needs to be addressed if we are truly going to get a handle on the illegal immigration problem and we can use the war on drugs as a model for the solution. We have structured our drug laws so that the dealers are punished much more severely than the users. We need to adopt a similar philosophy to stop illegal immigration. If we raise the stakes for the people that are employing illegal immigrants by aggressively prosecuting and punishing them, the economics of hiring criminal aliens will no longer make sense. As a capitalist nation, we know that when the demand dries up the supply will also eventually drop off – its simple economics.

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Easy Personal Fitness Techniques

Are you among the 68 percent of baby boomers who believe exercise is an important consideration in their lives but are having trouble fitting it into your life?

Denise Austin, physical fitness expert and member of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and BoomerTowne.com, a website for baby boomers are teaming up to help boomers work physical fitness into their daily lives. Austin says you don’t have to dedicate hours a week at a gym or constantly watch what they eat to stay fit.

Here are some of Austin’s suggestions for fitting fitness into an active lifestyle.

Watch what you drink
Many people don’t think about it, but every time they drink a soft drink, gourmet coffee, fruit punch or an alcoholic beverage, they are adding on substantial calories. A recent study by the American Institute for Cancer Research found that about 20 percent of the average adult’s daily caloric intake comes in liquid form. An easy way to reduce these calories is by switching to low calorie drinks, such as diet sodas, unsweetened teas or water.

Water is one of the healthiest things you can put into your body. Increasing water intake helps the body set fat cells free and clears out other impurities. If it is difficult to drink eight glasses of water a day, try eating things with a high water content. Fruits and vegetables such as watermelon, strawberries, squash and cucumbers are excellent starters.

Increase your metabolism
Some people have naturally high metabolisms. But by altering eating habits, anyone can naturally increase their body’s calorie burn-rate. Eat small meals throughout the day to help keep your body running at a steady pace, instead of being slowed down by digesting big meals at fewer intervals. Avoid skipping meals and small snacks. Skipping meals or eating too little throughout the day activates the body’s starvation response and actually slows the metabolic rate.

Multi-tasking fitness
With work hours getting longer, many Americans can find it hard to fit fitness in their schedules. But there are simple exercises people can do in their everyday lives that won’t take up as much time.

For example, while talking on the phone to a friend after a day at work, instead of sitting on the couch, try “pretend sitting.” Simply find a wall and lower your back against the wall until you are in a sitting position. Hold it for as long as you can, or for up to 60 seconds and you will firm your thigh muscles, all while catching up with your friend.

Elevators are a great invention, but they don’t help burn calories. Whenever possible, take the stairs instead of the elevator. At work, instead of sending an e-mail across the office, take a break and walk over to update your co-worker. Choosing to walk instead of taking the easy way out will help boost your physical and mental health.

To learn more fitness tips from Denise Austin, visit http://www.BoomerTowne.com.

(ARA contributed portions of this article)

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Dividing By Zero In Excel – Problem Solved

If you are in charge of preparing the budget for your agency or administering a grant, you may have to set up or enter data into a Microsoft Exel spreadsheet. If your spreadsheet involves a division formula, you may experience a problem if the you try to divide by a cell containing 0 (zero). When you divide by 0 (zero) or a blank cell, Excel displays the error value “#DIV/0!” as the result of the calculation. You can use the IF worksheet function to suppress the #DIV/0! error value.

Suppress #DIV/0 Error Value

To keep #DIV/0! from appearing, use the following formula in place of the standard division formula:

=IF(denominator=0,””,numerator/denominator)

“Numerator” refers to the cell to be divided. “Denominator” refers to the cell that is the divisor.

This formula checks to see if the denominator equals zero (or is blank); if so, a blank cell is displayed. For example, if you want to divide cell A1 by cell A2 and put the result in cell A3, the formula in cell A3 would be:

$A$3: =IF(A2=0,””,A1/A2)

Cell A3 appears blank if cell A2 is blank or contains a zero. Otherwise, A3 contains the result of the expression A1/A2.

To display other information in the cell if the divisor is blank or zero, type the necessary information in the formula where the quotation marks (“”) appear. If you want to display text, type it between these quotation marks. If you want to display anything else (values), type it instead of the quotation marks. Of course, If the denominator is a nonzero value, the division is calculated.

You probably won’t use this tip everyday but when you run into this problem just visit the The Sisyphus Comments and type ‘Excel” in the search box to find this article. Remember, you can also use the search box to find any article you have read in the blog.

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