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So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

Category: Health Page 1 of 2

Happy 71st to me!

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On September 24, 2026

In Family, God, Health

My seventieth year was a spectacular year for me. We spent most of it in Virginia. It was particularly nice to have been able to meet the kids in Washington, D.C. at Kelly’s apartment and for them to easily run down from DC and NYC (Christian) to spend a few days with us. When Kelly moved out of Washington, D.C. we decided to downsize a good bit back in Texas to be a little closer to Grandma Conchita in Monterrey and still be an easy plane flight to connect up with the kids from/to DFW airport.

Lorena and I went on a health kick at the beginning of 2026. Both of us are down a good chunk and are excited to continue down to our target weights, hopefully, God willing, before we move into the new house here in Texas. I personally, have about 30 lbs. to go, need to stay consistent on my weight-lifting, and increase my walking/cardio.

In some ways, I have been going through a late-life crisis trying to figure out what to do with the years I have left. This (new) blog reflects some of that angst. I figured out I did not want really want to do a second PhD, not because it would not have been a rewarding enterprise, but because of the general toxicity and politicization of the higher education around the world. My short term plan (and my long term plans are getting shorter with the years) is to keep working for Thrive Bioscience in the job that I love and continue supporting the GRIME Lab with software over the next few years. Not only can I live with that, I love that I still have a job where I am needed and an avocation that I love.

We are still working on our houses down in San Pedro. That turned into much more of a longitudinal project than we expected, but it is going extremely well. We hope to have a spectacular apartment completed by the end of 2027 that we can visit for a few weeks a time and to which we can invite friends and family to that spectacular city.

Above all, Lorena and are at more peace in our walk with Jesus than ever before. There are so many people who share that with us and we are truly grateful for it.

New glasses help a lot

By

On September 3, 2026

In Health

My new glasses came today and I love them. They are almost exactly the same as my old glasses–maybe a tad bigger in diameter. I have learned people do not take it well so I have happily decided to try to get round tortoiseshells until I die.

Weight loss: new low after the move gain

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On August 20, 2026

In Health

This post is just mark my progress. I gained a few pounds on the move from Virginia, but have now lost all that and am just a little lower than I was before we made the change. I fluctuate enough day-to-day that I might move back up before I am below that for good, but God willing, I am back into the slow, steady weight loss I have experienced since the beginning of the year. Another new milestone is that I was under 200 lbs. for the first time at night before going to bed.

New gym, new day

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On August 19, 2026

In Exercise

We found a new gym here in Granbury that is closer to our house and that we like more than the YMCA. It is a serious weightlifting gym with its only defect being the really cheesy rowing machines they have compared to our Concept 2. We started at the gym yesterday and went mid-morning when there was hardly anyone there. We had no waiting to get onto any piece of equipment we wanted. I am looking forward to getting back into a good workout rhythm, add some walking to the mix when the temperature drops down into the 80’s and 90’s later this fall, and continue my trajectory down to a more reasonable weight for my age and build. My next intermediate goal is still 27 pounds away.

Signing and the new Baked

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On August 7, 2026

In Food, Texas house

Lorena and I ran over to Glen Rose, about thirty minutes from our apartment to do the signing. We were surprised that we had to sign so many pages for what is quite a smaller loan than much larger loans we got when we bought our first few homes. It felt good though, so we ran over to the new Baked Restaurant there and agreed it was great. The one in Granbury is still our favorite, but if we are ever over there again at lunch time, we will definitely not hesitate to stop in.

Up and running in Texas

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On July 30, 2026

In Family, Health, Texas house

Christian flew down to Virginia to help us drive to Texas and get into our apartment. It is a great little apartment with a view of the lake within walking distance of a ton of good restaurants. James, Jan and our builder and his family cooked hamburgers for us the night after we arrived and it just felt like home. We definitely made the right choice in coming here. Christian was really the champion of the whole affair. He drove Lorena and navigated a ton of minutiae. We ate way to much food and sat in the car with no way to get any exercise for way too long. Our health program took a hit, but now we are here.

Goals: Half way to target weight

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On July 18, 2026

In Exercise, Food, Health

After 26 weeks and 6 days of healthy eating and weight lifting, I have hit my intermediate goal of under 199 lbs. for my weekly average weight, measured daily. That is an average of about 0.8 lbs. lost per week. I still have a good amount of hard belly fat and my girth is quite a bit more than what is considered healthy so I am pretty sure 170 lbs. will be my end goal.

Doctoring

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On July 14, 2026

In Health

Olecranon bursitis is often called “students elbow.” If anyone should get it, our son Christian is definitely a prime candidate because hard study at a desk or table is his livelihood. He had to go get that taken care of at the urgent care clinic yesterday. It reminded me I am going to have my own procedure or two coming up here in the next couple of months. Getting stuff dealt with in a timely fashion is something my mother, Sarah, instilled in us. With all the craziness in the establishment medical system around the world, it is harder to figure out how to do it judicially than when the world was ignorant of their machinations.

Weight progress: Month 6

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On June 24, 2026

In Health

I am almost six months in on my weight loss and health improvement program. I am averaging about a pound a week so far. My intermediate goal is to get to 199 lbs and my end goal is somewhere between 170 lbs. and 180 lbs depending on how I feel when I get there. That final weight seems very high, but every place I look tells me the same thing–I need to plan on weighing a good bit more than when I was 30 years old to stay healthy. I am writing this post as a help to stay on course to get to 199 because this last five pounds seems to be taking a lot longer than what came before although the graph says that is not so.

Leg press breakthrough

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On June 23, 2026

In Exercise

I finally got back up to 405 lbs. on the leg press. God willing, I want to start squatting again after we get to Texas. I would like to dead lift and bench, too, but my glory days of lifting are pretty much over now, not that they were so glorious even back in the day. Still, felt pretty good to be over 400 as my working weight–3 sets, 10 reps each.

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