New Blog Name ....

I started this blog during finals as a way to procrastinate and came up with "Geeks Have Feelings Too" in seconds. I decided I liked this name better: "Geek Plight" . It better describes my life and sounds less gay*. I'm sure this matters to all my readers out there.

*Note: Use of word "gay" is not meant as a derogatory term in any way.

X-Files 2 ....

From USATODAY:

Ten years after the first film and six years after the show went off the air, The X-Files returns to theaters with Fox Mulder, Dana Scully — and a lot riding on the bet that fans want more of the FBI's paranormal-investigating agents.

Eeek! I can't wait. I love this show. According to this article the movie will be a stand-alone movie where no knowledge of the X-Files mythology is needed. I honestly don't care, I just want to see it.

Willpower...

So I decided to try continue my reverse new years resolution (where I worked out everyday from Thanksgiving to New Year's) past New Year's. I will allow days off where I cannot fit a gym trip, but for the most part I will be going everyday. At least until I lose too much weight. So far I only missed two days since I got back from Florida. The question now is: how to maintain the willpower to exercise?

The New York Times put out an article suggesting that the foods you eat may affect the level of willpower you have. Basically, restoring glucose levels appears to replenish self-control. In an experiment, people who had sugar water were able to better control their actions than those who did not have sugar water. The article goes on to explain the relevance of these findings to diet and exercise:

Consuming sugary drinks or snacks isn’t practical advice for a dieter struggling with willpower. However, the research does help explain why dieters who eat several small meals a day appear to do better at sticking to a diet than dieters who skip meals. “You need the energy from food to have the willpower to exert self-control in order to succeed on your diet,'’ said Dr. Baumeister.

Well, I guess this means I should snack more often before the gym. Yum!

Boost Your Willpower With a Bite to Eat [Lifehacker]

Heath Ledger R.I.P...

Wow, two death posts in the same month. I'll try to keep it short, but I wanted to pay my respects.

The death of Ledger is all over the news, the coroner's most recent report was inconclusive. At this point it is not clear whether he died from an overdose (accidental or not) or some other cause. No matter what the cause of death, this makes me sad. I usually don't care when some random celebrity dies, but I really enjoyed his work.

I first knew him as Patrick Venora in Ten Things I Hate About You, a modern teen drama adaptation of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew. Having read the play, I was afraid that this teen movie would ruin the plot, but I actually enjoyed the movie very much.

The last thing I saw him in was Brokeback Mountain. I love this movie! I actually ended up seeing in the theater three times (a new record for me). Maybe I like it because of fond memories I associate with it, specially the people who joined me the three times I saw it . Since I own the DVD I will probably be watching it this weekend. Now everyone is waiting for the release of The Dark Night, the new Batman movie opening this summer, where he plays the Joker. I am sure that ticket sales will soar because of his death. I will be watching it for sure.

Anyways, rest in peace. Heath, you will be missed ....

Miles ... Miles ... Miles ....

I have a new credit card and this makes me excited. I know, I have no life. After seeing Lisa and Becky with airline miles credit cards I decided that I wanted to join the fun. I really enjoy traveling, but don't do it that often . In fact, I actually enjoy having a layover somewhere because it let's me explore a new airport, a new place. I love flying. I still remain fixed at the window during takeoff and landing, and often take pictures . But enough of that. The main point is that I want to start earning miles towards free trips or upgrades.

I happen to come across an offer in one of the deal forums I visit. I decide to look into it, specially since I always wanted an American Express card (cool people have Amex). The offer was simple:

--15,000 bonus miles when you sign up

--2,500 for every additional free card you get

--First year fee waived (usually $85)

--All the regular Amex benefits (more of that later)

I went to the Amex website describing all of the Delta cards. Amex has a bunch of cards below the gold (less prestige and benefits), and only one above: the Platinum. This has annual fee of $135, but you get 20,000 bonus miles, free companion ticket on Delta every year, and exclusive offers (not sure what exactly). I decide the fancy card was not worth it, I'll stick with the second best.

So with my card I also get the following benefits standard with most Amex cards:

--1 mile for every dollar I spend

--2 miles for every dollar spent at stand-alone supermarkets, drugstores, gas stations, home improvement/hardware stores, USPS, wireless carriers, and Delta purchases

--Global Assist Hotline

--Car rental loss and damage insurance

--Travel Accident Insurance

--Buyer's Assurance Plan (automatically doubles your manufacturer's warranty, up to one year)

--Purchase Protection Plan (90 days accidental damage and theft insurance for purchased items)

I was stoked, I applied and got approved with an additional card. Of course miles are worthless if it takes a kajillion miles to get a ticket, but Delta seems reasonable. Delta has page that let's you check to see how many miles a ticket will cost you. Coach domestic flights are 25,000, and I am already at 17,500. Upgrades are only 5,000 miles (10,000 if a special fare).

My next goal was to figure out how many more miles I can get. This page was helpful. I got 2,500 for joining Netflix (so far 20K miles on my account!). I also signed up for emiles, they have you fill out short surveys (about 15 mins per day) and you get anywhere from 10-30 miles per survey.

At the end of this I am only 5,000 miles from a basic coach ticket. I am sure I will more deals to get more miles. In theory at least, I am still waiting for the miles to post to my account (8-10 weeks).

Oh yeah .... started a budget just to make sure I don't go crazy with the credit cards.

Best Quote Ever.....

From "Freaks and Geeks"

Guy 1: George Bush is coming to speak to this school.

Guy 2: The porn star?

...........

Okay, maybe not the best ever, but this made me laugh.

New Apple Stuff!

New announcements from Apple today.

New product: Time Capsule, wireless router/hardrive to automatically make wireless backups.

Update Software: iPhone firmware update.

Updated Product: Apple TV take two.

New Product: Macbook Air

Out of the four things that were announced today the most exciting was the new notebook. Too bad I really have no interest in a smaller laptop, specially if the solid state drive update cost an additional $1,300 from the base $1,799, making the total price a whopping $3,100.

No iphone and no apple tv means I didn't care about the other announcements. I still don't like the idea of renting online videos. I like being able to watch the files over and over, and there are "other" places where you can get them for "free". The time capsule looks interesting, but I just discovered Mozy a couple of days ago. This allows me to backup crucial files anywhere I have internet, and does it automatically. The free account limits me to 2GB, which is enough for me. For bigger files I can use my regular external USB drive. So overall, Apple is not getting more of my money any time soon.

I am upset that there was no update to the Macbook Pro. But overall, the new products are good additional to the Apple repertoire.