So here are my calorie counts (obviously estimated, since I don’t have a bunsen burner to test the accuracy of what’s on the bag/box/wrapper) for my days:

8/26: 2150 (egads that went high- I picked up some ginger snaps from Trader Joes)

8/27: 1950 (had a glass of wine)

8/28: 1500 (maybe 1700, depending on how accurate Outback is with their NFs)

8/29: 1750 (wine again)

And 8/30 I’m up to 795 with a late snack and dinner yet to come.

2 Door car = Coupe (or if you’re in England, “coo-pay”)

4 Door car = Sedan

4 Door car w/o trunk but large storage area = Wagon

Vehicle with sliding passenger doors = Van

Vehicle with a bed = Pick-up Truck

Vehicle based on a Truck w/o a bed = SUV

That’s it. No CUVs, no Crossovers, no FUVs or whatever else “they” are making up to create lame marketing attempts. Plain fact: Anything with four doors that is not on a truck platform or close derivative, is for all intents and purposes, a wagon.

The perception that “station wagons” are unpopular in the US market is bollocks. It’s that no manufacturer makes a decent-looking and affordable wagon anymore. I would love to have an Audi A4 Avant, but not at $35,000 or more. Malibu Maxx? PUH-Leeze.

Breakfast: 1 egg yolk + 3 egg whites = 110; Protein mix = 140; 1 small banana = 90

Mid-morning: Fuji apple = 80; Yogurt = 90

Lunch: 1 Serving of Wheat Thins = 140; Caesar salad w/ chicken and light dressing: 160

Afternoon snack: 1/2 Cup carrots = 40; 1/2 Cup grapes = 52; Protein bar = 200

Dinner: Burrito = 300

Late snack: Protein mix = 140

Total: 1542

Of note: The salad dressing I have is a yogurt-based Classic Caesar that’s pretty tasty. It has 40 calories for a 2 tablespoon serving, which is a lot more than I use. Even today, using the “dip tines first” method, I probably have 1.5 T left. I included the full amount though, in case I decide to use it for dipping my carrots.

Breakfast: Yogurt = 90 cal; Protein bar = 200 (woke up late)

Throughout the day: 2 Fuji apples = 160; Gouda cheese = 120; 1/2 cup grapes = 52; Wheat thins = 140; Baby carrots = 40; Dippin’ sauce = 40; Yogurt = 90

Dinner: Ixtapa Chicken Chalupa (no shell) = ~500; Movie popcorn (no butter, natch) = ~200

After dinner snack: Yogurt= 90

Total =  1722

Breakfast: 3 eggs (2 yolks, 3 whites) = 169 cal; Yogurt (lemon chiffon. mmm.) = 90

Morning snack: Apple with some gouda cheese = 200

“Lunch”: Chicken breast (2) = 300; Wheat Thins = 140

Protein bar = 180

Dinner: Bean burrito (whole wheat tortilla, black beans, mont. jack cheese) = 300; 1/2 cup grapes = 52; yogurt (straw/ban) = 90

Late snack: 1 cup milk = 130; protein bar = 200

Daily total: 1851

I’m going to use this blog as a diary of what I eat and how much I exercise. I’m going to utilize this calorie burn calculator as a baseline. If anyone has one that they believe is more accurate, please post it in the comments and I’ll check it out.

A word on imperfection: I’ll estimate on the lighter side of exercise, and round up on the calories I eat; however, I’ll try to be close as possible. Sources for food calories? Top results in Google search, or I’ll try and stay with a few common ones, like Livestrong.com. Open to suggestions.

Monday:

Breakfast | 3 Eggs (2 yolks, 3 whites) = 169 Calories –  Source

Lunch | Chipotle Burrito Bowl (Chicken, black beans, lettuce, cheese) = 540 – Source

Dinner | Grilled chicken breast w/ light seasoning = 150 (est.) – Source ; Parmesan orzo = 200 (est.) – Source

Snacking | 2 protein bars = 480

Total for the day: 1539

Exercise - Walking 2 miles = 272

Grocery shopping = 125

Total: 397

Net calories = 1142

*Note: I was hungry through most of the day, so I’ll be eating a bit more. Hence the shopping trip.

So here’s a pic of a car that’s, in my opinion, well-balanced and looks very good. And millions of yuppies/software developers/businessmen aren’t wrong. It’s the Audi A4 (S4 in this instance). The picture is not ideal because of the angle, but it provides the desired effect. Introducing the Audi S4:

A car’s front and back end, when looked at from the side (or profile), are the balancing ends of the car’s design. Each end needs to be the same visual “weight” as the other. Interior designers understand this- how a small, dark object balances a larger, brighter object. Think a dark vase and large flowers.

In automobiles, there’s a point in which the car balances itself through design. Somewhat constrained by the wheels, the front and back sections of the car are designed to look quite differently, as they have different purposes, but should have similar visual weight. I drew some lines on the S4 picture that give an indication of what I mean.The white lines that center on the wheel center are the indication of front and rear overhang. The wheels are the anchor point of reference. The perceived balance is hinged from the wheels and length of the hood. The cyan vertical lines with blue arrows indicate the visual overhang length. The yellow horizontal lines with red arrows indicate the visual height of the front and rear. Ideally, the picture would be a perpendicular profile shot, as this one skews the car to make the back end longer and the front end shorter.

While I don’t have the resources to research this, I would suspect that some of the best auto designs have a mathematical formula for figuring out the proper measurements to design within. For example, the rear height must be no more than 25% taller than the front height at the rear of the hood, or no more than 40% taller than the front height at the front of the hood. Or that the rear overhang must be 50% shorter than front overhang if rear height is 30% or more of front height.

Basically, if the car has a long hood, the back end can be fairly high, but short in length. If the car has a tall front end, it has to have a short front overhang and the back end can be tall and fairly long. The Chrysler 300 is a good example of that.

If I’m confusing you, that’s ok. Sometimes I confuse myself. But I think there might be a loose mathematical solution for finding the optimal visual weight of the cars. Some companies have it, others clearly do not. If the car is slightly unbalanced, designs can be “fixed” by the use of body lines down the side, which direct your eyes to a different end. Some designers make ornate front ends with vents and bulbous headlights. Or the addition of spoilers or different colors. Some cars have dark grey or black plastic at the bottom of the rear overhang, which gives the illusion of a higher overhang.

Here are some “balanced” cars for reference:

And some cars that aren’t balanced:

Take a look at that last picture- the Chevrolet Malibu. A 3-inch or so lift on the back would help it. Like so:

The worst offenders of upsetting the balance are the crossovers and SUVs. Acura MDX and RDX, GMC Envoy, Buick Rendezvous, Nissan Rouge and Murano, and Toyota Land Cruiser.

But that’s just my opinion.

Photos from Dieselstation.com (check it out), which are really automaker-sent press pics.

1. Driving 70+ in the far-right lane. Fast lane is on the left. Hold your arms out, hands bent back, with palms facing away from you (like you’re leaning against a wall being arrested). With fingers straight up, point your thumbs at each other. You’ll notice that your left hand forms an “L” with the index finger/thumb arrangement. That’s your left. That’s the lane you go fast in.

2. Driving <65 in the left lane. Even more annoying than the speeder in the right. I’m going to get a megaphone/speaker system in my hamster-driven Scion that will announce your ineptitude of driving. If you’re being tailgated by a Scion, pull the F#$% over.

3. Smart cars. They DO NOT belong on a freeway. Sure, crash “tests” may prove safe due to the data collected by the test dummy, but he’s in better shape than you. 300 pounds of fat collapsing on itself will kill you.

4. People who think the “Soup Nazi” from Seinfeld is a funny exaggeration of a quirky guy. It’s not. People are busy. Food joints make money on volume. So don’t chit-chat in a mile-long line then finally get asked what you want and then read the menu. Don’t change your order five times, deciding if you want turkey or go vegan for the day. You’re going out to lunch, so obviously you’re there for food; it’s not like it was a surprise survey outside a grocery store. Order, pay, and most importantly- MOVE. Go to the end of the line where the food is going to be. And keep your personal bubble. Don’t touch the person in front of you or behind you. Some people are aware of the “Soup Nazi” system and are so afraid of messing it up that someone entering their own little bubble might just send them over the edge.

5. Internet trolls posing as bastions of truth and unbiased opinion. Bonus points for those idiots who spout off an ignorant and profanity-laced tirade that covers none of the points of contention, and conclude their “opinion” with the infamous Internet phrase: “Your a idiot.” I would accept “ur an idiot,” even with the shorthand. But to completely mess up a simple 3-word sentence, you’ve completely invalidated your argument. Not that you really had one, because your seeing-red fingers just typed some nonsensical, all-caps-laden, punctuation-deficient post on how Apple products are far superior to Microsoft’s, even though the mountain of data against your position is verified and accepted by other Apple owners, effectively defeating your opinion.

6. XBox Live players who think they are completely anonymous and forget they’re playing a game. And not realizing they suck at the game. When little Johnny’s world comes crashing down when he realizes just because he beats the game on co-op with his friend, he can’t actually keep up with the Live group. And then he ends up being a vocal version of #5, instantly becoming the funniest thing, and sadly the saddest, when his alto voice is screaming how everyone targets him, everyone is cheaters, all the while inserting words that no 10 year old should (way to go, parents). Kid, maybe you just suck at the game.

sup·posed adj.

1. Presumed to be true or real without conclusive evidence.
2. Intended: medication that is supposed to relieve pain.
3. 1. Required: He is supposed to go to the store.
   2. Permitted: We are not supposed to smoke here.
   3. Firmly believed; expected: You’re supposed to be my friend.

sup·pos’ed·ly (-pō’zĭd-lē) adv.

Supposably:

sup·pos·a·ble adj.
That can be supposed or conjectured: a supposable outcome.
sup·pos’a·bly adv.

In looking at these words, they look pretty similar. However, a little deeper look shows that the word “supposably” is pretty much an American English word. Meaning only Americans use it. It doesn’t “exist” in other English-speaking regions. Not only that, it just sounds kinda dumb. Like a 5-year-old trying to say “supposedly.” There is only one instance where “supposably” is to be used (and you can substitute it for “supposedly” and still be correct), which I can’t really come up with an example. Mainly I don’t want to, as the word is pointless. Heck, even people at WSU know better: http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/supposably.html.

Luckily, I know few people who use this word “supposably” and just assumed they were kind of an idiot for mispronouncing it. Not like I’ve ever mispronounced anything, like on an instructional video for software developers. No, never.

So if you use “supposably” come back to the proper side of English and stop using it.

Driver training in Finland takes 3 years to go through. That is awesome. We need that type of program in the States. Most accidents happen because someone does something stupid. And it would be nice if new drivers could experience the danger threshold of situations, rather than going past it and not recognizing when they’re in trouble.

Related- the other day I noticed that a lot of carpoolers dash across the lanes of traffic, trying to get to HOV as soon as possible. Now, I’m not saying all carpoolers do this, but obviously the ones that do stick out to me. These drivers end up messing up traffic even more, because instead of waiting for an opening, they push into the lane, making the new lane stop. This ends up snarling traffic and irritating drivers. If it wasn’t such a pain in the ass from an insurance perspective, I would drive a beauty- 1970′s Monte Carlo- that could handle a not-so-gentle bump. I’m not saying I’d purposely hit these idiots on the road. I just wouldn’t slam on my brakes when they decided to drive with their head up, you know.