RU-2

The resolution update at the end of week 2:

I was doing so bad, even the update is delayed by 2 days! Work was so hectic last week that everything went to hell. This week, I'm getting more used to being overworked, and still managing to do some other stuff.

- Running: I've run only once last week. I couldn't even manage 13 minutes this time. I took 4 mins to warm up at 4 mph and then increased the speed to 6 mph - and could only run for 10 minutes at 6 mph. Maybe I should try a strategy of alternating 6 mph and 4 mph runs and try to push the total time run at 6 mph first. Then I could try to reduce the 4 mph intervals gradually until I am running at 6 mph for the entire duration.

- Weight: Has gone up from 199 to 201 lbs. This always happens to me. I gain and lose weight faster than I am apparently supposed to. When I start losing weight, it is not as a result of something drastic. I just cut down on some of the junk food and I start dropping a few lbs each week. But when I get down to around 190 lbs, I get stuck there. The same holds for weight gain. Last week I was working late into the night a few times, and munching on chips and salsa a lot more than usual while also guzzling coke, and the pounds just added on.

- Book: Have completed the first chapter on variation under domestication, and am now on to variation in the natural environment. I loved how thorough and methodical Darwin's thinking is. But the verbosity is something I am having to plough through and endure. Also, there is something about Victorian obsequiousness that I find incredibly irritating. It may have something to do with the role excessive deference plays in ossifying classism. I also had to cringe at every use of the word "Savages", and am bracing myself for more references to "Savage" races. My wife pointed out John Whitfield's blog to me over the weekend. I remember reading about it on Bora's blog post on the topic, but hadn't checked out John's blog earlier. Good thing, coz I don't think I would've been able to keep up with the pace being set. But I do agree with John's suggestion on modernizing the language. In fact, if I was a biology major, this would've been an extremely fun project to do!

- Textbook: Did not touch it.

- Blog: Have not made any progress on the ones I had drafts for. But I really do want to put a post together for the Carnival of the Arid. I realize that it is already the 20th and I have less than 10 days to do that. I also realize that I need to do it this week if Chris is to have enough time to add my entry to the carnival. The way I am used to doing things, the only way I may get this done is if I sit and hammer it out in one stretch.

- Comments: Still doing good on this front. But this is probably the easiest one to keep.