JerseySmarts.com

Start the Weekend Right Link Series – Volume #4, Edition #1

Joe — Fri, 11 Mar 2016 20:00:24 +0000

For the first Start the Weekend Right Link Series of 2016 – and nearly one year since the last edition of this series – I decided to post some of the oldest articles that I have saved in my Feedly reader. The articles below are years old, but they are very good and I highly encourage you to read them.

As always, though, before we get to this week’s links I again want to strongly recommend signing up for a free Feedly account. I get absolutely no kickback for promoting Feedly, but I am so appreciative of their product being the best RSS reader on the internet and I encourage everyone to use it. If you are using another RSS aggregator, please consider following JerseySmarts.com at http://www.jerseysmarts.com/feed/. If you are already on Feedly, then you can follow us by clicking here. Thanks!

Your Chair Is Giving You Cancer, Men’s Health
Admittedly, I am one of those folks who dislikes these types of misleading headlines. No, your chair is not giving you cancer. Yes, sitting in one position and living a sedentary lifestyle can lead to increased risk factors related to catastrophic health concerns like cancer. There are some good, quick tips in this article to get up out of your chair and improve your overall health.

Frugality Advice from Millionaires, Get Rich Slowly
Is there a better source to get information on money from than millionaires? Many of the tips in this article are those that you should already know: avoid debt, do not accumulate lots of stuff, put money away for later, etc. For those of you who are looking for financial independence, you might enjoy reading these tips from people who have achieved your dream.

My Primal Transformation: Discovering the Art of Fit, Mark’s Daily Apply
I really enjoy reading dramatic weight loss stories that have accompanying pictures to show the person’s actual weight loss. This is a story from back in 2011 that tells the story of Frank Sabia, Jr. and how he went from 255 pounds down to 167 pounds. Granted, losing 88 pounds is not what I would typically categorize as a dramatic weight loss (I usually reserve that categorization for 100+ pound weight loss stories). However, I think Sabia has a good story and one that is worth reading.

Outfitting a Manly Kitchen, Danger & Play
One of the most important things that all of us can do to be healthier human beings is eat better. In this short, but potent, men can learn about how to outfit their kitchens to improve their overall health. After re-reading this article, I went out and purchased a vegetable steamer on Amazon.

How to Whistle With Your Fingers, Art of Manliness
Even after reading this article, I still cannot whistle with my fingers. I can whistle loudly and just fine without using my fingers, so I am okay with not being able to use this technique. Maybe you will have better success that I did in trying to whistle with my fingers. Good luck!

The 38 Best Methods of Successful Exercisers, Zen Habits
Everyone on the internet seems to have an opinion on how best to lose weight and get into shape. Good for them and their opinions. This article is less about a single person’s opinion and more about what worked for other people. These are the type of weight loss posts that I like to scan through from time to time just to see what worked for people who have actually lost weight (there are a lot of hucksters out there on the internet).

How to fix Final Fantasy, Engadget
You did not think that we would go through one of these link series without some video game fun, right? Even though this article is more than four years old, I still think that there is a gem of relevance in what the author writes in this piece. And since I did not see a comments section on this article, my addition to the discussion on how to improve the Final Fantasy games is to… (wait for it)… make the games about fantasy again! Too many of the recent incarnations of this series have been focused on creating an ultra realistic approach to the classic fantasy role playing game. Stop it. Give us black mages, warriors, and a guy named Cid and we will be happy with Final Fantasy again!

The Pain of the Daily Commute, New York Times: Well Blog
In the “no big surprise” category, this 2011 entry on the awesome Well blog on the New York Times website notes a study from IBM talking about how commuting is actually painful. The pain that most commuters report is increased stress and anger levels. With the pending transit strike here in New Jersey, I thought now was a good time to bring out this link. If this transit strike actually takes place, then it is going to be a stressful time for New Jersey commuters until a resolution is reached.

How Widespread is Student Indoctrination?, National Association of Scholars
I am a critic of any unfair treatment of any student on any campus in the country. I do not care about the color, gender, age, background, etc. of the student – if they are being treated unfairly, then I want to see that unfair treatment stop. One of the biggest criticisms of higher education is that students are being indoctrinated, but is that really true? The author of this piece suggests that perhaps students are not being indoctrinated because, frankly, students just do not have an opinion on the “controversial” issue being discussed. This article is a quick, interesting take on student indoctrination on college campuses and I think you will enjoy reading it.

The Chilly World of Campus Males, Minding the Campus
We are in an interesting time in higher education. On the one hand you have the media, political extremists, and willfully uninformed campus-based employees promoting the false narrative that there are rapists preying on young college women. While every meaningful study absolutely destroys the false statistics being promoted by those with an agenda, there are other folks – like Dr. Warren Farrell, the author of this article – who are concerned about the anti-male environment that colleges have now created for young men. College men are taught that they are dangerous just because they are male – and that is about as inappropriate and unacceptable as it gets. We certainly would not accept that dictum if it was peddled about young women, gays and lesbians, students of certain ethnicities, etc. Why is such a reductive, biased perspective allowed to be propagated against young men who have done nothing wrong besides enroll in an institute of higher education?

One more time before you go – for those of you who love reading online articles, I strongly recommend considering a free Feedly account. You can follow JerseySmarts.com on Feedly or you can add us to your existing RSS aggregator. Enjoy!

An Awesome Infographic On Whether Your Commute Is Killing You

Joe — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 02:16:46 +0000

How many times have I written about how much I can’t stand my commute? And if you haven’t gotten those updates from me, then you must not be following my ranting and raving via my Twitter feed @JVince81. Well, for those of you who are looking for some great information about how our commutes impact our daily lives, take a look at the following graphic which is provided by the good folks at College@Home. Enjoy!

Created by: College At Home

Pretty amazing, right? Makes you look at your commute in a whole different light (and not necessarily a good one)!

Getting Ready to Get Yelled at By the Doctor this Morning…

Joe — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 13:00:23 +0000

Later this morning I’ll be heading to the doctor for my quarterly blood tests. Since I’ve been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes I’ve had to head over to the doctor once each quarter to have my blood tested. They look at the glucose levels and some other stuff that tracks the level of my blood sugar over a longer period of time.

However, I think that the doctor will probably not be pleased that I’m weighing in at about 350 pounds. During my last quarterly blood test I went in there and weighed 347 (might have been 348, I don’t remember clearly). Since I graduated from Rutgers University’s Bloustein School back in May 2006, I’ve had a harder than usual time keeping my weight down in the mid to high 200’s (where I feel most comfortable). As I’ve said on this blog before, I attribute this problem to the fact that I spend at least two hours each day in a car commuting into Trenton and then back to Tinton Falls. It’s annoying and something that I think students should be told about in their life skills courses in college (they teach that stuff now, right? I don’t know).

Some people think that the way out of this problem is to get a different job. Frankly, that’s a dumb choice given the fact that my job is great and I’m building a stellar professional resume at my current company. At 29 years old I’m doing the same work (with ease) that folks in the middle of their careers struggle to understand. Plus, my current job has allowed me to take on teaching gigs at the local college and the state’s online college that really help me out in terms of incoming cash. Who doesn’t want extra money coming in, right?

Other folks might suggest that I absolutely have to make working out a part of my daily schedule. Well, I’ve been doing that to some degree and I think it’s helping. Though it’s just the Wii Fit, I’ve managed to work out on it for at least 30 minutes each day for over a month now (I missed working out on those days that I was in Boston, obviously). The Wii Fit has helped me drop about 15 – 20 pounds from my recent peak of 365 – 370 (that was a few months ago). The Wii Fit is a great tool for those of us that are generally running around like crazy people and just don’t have the time to work out.

Anyway, according to my bathroom scale, this morning I’m weighing in at 349.6 so I’m not really that far off from my last quarterly visit to the doctor. However, the truth is that I need to be going DOWN in weight during each visit – not up! If anything crazy happens during today’s doctor’s visit, I’ll let you know!

Have I Mentioned That I Hate My Commute?

Joe — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 13:33:38 +0000

Even though I’ve said it on here before, I have to repeat the fact that I absolutely hate my commute to work each morning. Driving from one side of New Jersey to the other is not appealing at all. Granted, the commute itself is relatively easy since I just jump on 195 and go all the way from Tinton Falls into Trenton. However, I hate my daily commute with a passion.

I work in community development and one of the big discussions when considering how to best develop a community always revolves around the idea of smart growth. In other words, how do you arrange a community such that the people who live there also work there or very nearby. As a related side note – everyone who works in Trenton for the state has a similar discussion, yet most state workers live far outside of Trenton. Weird. Anyway, nothing would make me happier than going to work within a 5 – 10 minute commute of where I live.

For starters, I don’t like this part of the state. I’m not sure what it is about Trenton or this part of Mercer County, but I’m not a big fan of the area. I couldn’t see myself ever living over here. I could live in Morris County because I have family up there and I could live in Monmouth County because it’s where I’ve been for ten years and I like it down there. But Mercer County? No thanks. So moving closer to my office isn’t an option to eliminate the commute.

Also, there is a strong possibility that my office is going to move to New Brunswick in the next few months. I couldn’t live in New Brunswick, either. It’s too congested and the places where a guy like me could afford to live aren’t nearly as safe and secure as where I live now. At almost 30 years old and having rented in a variety of arrangements over the past 10 years, I can’t see myself downgrading my living quarters just to be closer to my 9-to-5. That would be completely ridiculous and a sure way to increase the misery level.

I like my job. My only issue with my job is that they unknowingly hold down young talent so I (nor anyone else my age or younger) have not been able to advance professionally at this place. However, the pay is good and the benefits aren’t bad. Plus, the flexibility at this place is phenomenal. It’s just the miserable commute that gets me – and it’s “getting” me in an increasing frequency it seems.

I’ll figure something out. I’m not sure what I’m going to do at this point, but with less than 6 months left to my 30th birthday and having just “celebrated” 4 years working for this company, I’m not sure how much longer I’m going to keep this silly commute up each day…

Causes of Exhaustion: Commuting in a Torrential Downpour

Joe — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 16:30:13 +0000

Last month I made note to myself to write an entry about how much it sucked commuting during a torrential downpour. While more than a month has gone by since the original cause of this exhaustion took place, I have some memory of it all and I think I can remember what happened.

There was some point in early December where the Jersey Shore and Central Jersey areas were battered with two or three days of rain in a row. At certain points in the day, it was a torrential downpour. Well, as you all know – rain doesn’t mean that you don’t have to go into the office. However, when you commute an hour to work and an hour back home, driving in a torrential downpour is more than just hitting the gas and brake pedals.

To begin with, driving an hour anywhere presents some wear on the body – driving an hour twice a day, everyday for at least four days each week is a major cause of exhaustion no matter what. Who wants to sit stationary for an hour while having to be 100% alert to all of your surroundings? Now imagine the exhaustion of having to drive that commute in the middle of a rainstorm. Pretty bad, right? Now imagine having to make that commute in the middle of a torrential downpour so bad that cars are pulling over to the side of the road.

Ugh…

What made this particular commute so much worse was the mixture of a hammering rainstorm and some of New Jersey’s worst drivers. I’m one of these people that believes you can tell a lot about a person by the way they drive, especially during inclement weather. Someone who drives with their body about an inch from the wheel as their hands are stuck at the 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock positions is someone who is probably a bit anal retentive. Those people who have their windshield wipers going 100 miles per hour during a light drizzle are probably very panicky people – the type of person very prone to being constantly concerned and anxious all of the time.

Well, I remember that on the night when I drove home during that downpour last month the road was filled with people who are constantly jamming on the brake pedal. Okay, given the road conditions I can understand why this might be necessary. However, a better way to deal with bad weather is to not drive like a maniac when visibility is near zero in the first place! Come on, people!

And that’s my story of exhaustion from last month that I made a note to tell everyone about on my blog. Mission accomplished.

I Absolutely Hate My Daily Commute

Joe — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:30:04 +0000

Each day I drive an hour to Trenton and then an hour (or sometimes longer) back home to Tinton Falls. Once a week, I go from Trenton right to West Long Branch for the class that I take in communication. Some people who make a similar commute may suggest that it really isn’t an hour from Tinton Falls to Trenton and back, but rather that it’s more like 45 minutes – which is true, assuming that there is no traffic and you’re going 75mph the entire time. However, like all morning and rush hour commutes, it is rare that you don’t hit traffic on the road.

In particular, there are three things that I hate about my commute. First, I hate the length of time that I’m in the car because it really is wasted time. Second, I hate the additional expenses in fuel and maintenance costs for traveling so much. And third, I hate the fact that the commute completely exhausts me every morning and every afternoon.

It would be great if I could find a job that was similar to the one that I have now, but located in Monmouth County. However, that’s very unlikely to happen any time soon so I’m out of luck. I’ve always been taught that you typically change careers several times in your adult life and there is a possibility that I could be ready to change careers. Yet, I’m making okay money where I’m at and doing a job that I somewhat enjoy, so I don’t see the need to switch careers at this point. Plus, the only other occupation that I’d rather have right now is to be a college professor. In order to do that, though, I’d need to go back to school and get a doctorate degree and I’m not overly interested in going through that at this point in my life.

My job is somewhat flexible in terms of the commute in that they let me work from home each Friday. This is a great feature because I can run errands in the morning and do tasks in my home in the afternoon, but it still means that I’m wasting more than 8 hours each week by sitting in a car. And it’s not like I can even be productive during those 8 hours because the cell phone that I currently have has a broken 3.5mm ear jack port. Sure, I could use a Bluetooth connection, but it seems to me that no one can ever hear you clearly on the other end of those things.

So, if you have any tips on how to hate my commute less, I’m all ears…

Bubba the Love Sponge Stays on Sirius XM

Joe — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 16:12:21 +0000

In some news that might have been missed last week, Bubba the Love Sponge has renewed his contract with Sirius XM for the next two years. As a fan of the Howard Stern channels, I’m glad that Bubba is coming back through the end of 2010. For many, Bubba and his crew of miscreants are the only reason to listen to Howard 101.

One of the early draws for <Sirius and XM subscribers was the fact that they could not only get commercial free music, but they could also listen to some great uncensored content. For the adult crowd this means that you get to listen to guys like Howard Stern and Bubba the Love Sponge without constant bleeping or cuts to commercials. It’s pretty sweet.

The details on Bubba’s deal with Sirius XM are obviously being kept private, but it’s good to know that the company is listening to what their fans want. Hey – today is the last day before Christmas and I’m telling you that Sirius XM is a great gift for anyone with a long commute or who spends a lot of time traveling. It’s great for music in the office, too!

Shameless pre-Christmas promotion – success!

The point of this entry, really, though is to congratulate Sirius XM for keeping Bubba the Love Sponge on board and thus making their fans happy. Good work!