Journal Entry:
Weight = 174.8 lbs; Money Found = $1.35 (20 pennies, 2 nickels, 3 dimes, 3 quarters). Glass bottles retrieved = 21.
Blog Entry:
It is lunch time, and Mrs. MoneyWalker and I are having lunch. Today’s menu with calories follows:
Water, 12 oz = 0 calories
Hard salami, 3 slices = 100 calories
Fresh orange, small = 40 calories
Activia reg. yogurt, 4 oz. = 110 calories
Potato chips, 16 chips = 150 calories
Total 390 calories
Usually, I don’t count calories, just eat in moderation. But recently I have been counting my calories, and this lunch is certainly calorie sensitive. Notice the salami is consumed without bread or mayo and the yogurt is a type that facilitates regulation. But followers might share my shock at the potato chip data. Sixteen chips are hardly any and yet they contained a whopping 150 calories. Frito Lay’s portion size follows U.S. standards based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Indeed, for those attempting to lose weight, “calories count” says Mark B. McClellan, M.D., Ph.D., Commissioner of Food and Drugs. In 2003 he was asked to lead the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Obesity Working Group (OWG). The OWG was charged to create a plan to stem America’s obesity epidemic. Their web-site contains excellent information:
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/owg-toc.html
Yet, very few of us understand the basic nutrition knowledge for losing weight or maintaining the loss once a target weight goal has been achieved. For example, a 35 year old male weighting 175 lbs, 5 feet nine inches tall, and considered mildly active, what is his daily caloric requirement to maintain his weight? Answer, 2332. For a 35 year old female, 5’ 6”, 130 lbs, and lightly active, 1746 calories are required. Back to the male, let's say instead of 175 lbs, he weighs 225 lbs. To maintain this weight, he requires 2737 calories. Even without a Body Mass Index (a later blog) we know he is overweight, in fact he is obese. If his goal is to drop a lb a week until he reaches his goal of 175 lbs, he must adjust his caloric intake by 500 calories a day. Two good free calorie calculators are as follows:
http://www.hpathy.com/healthtools/calories-need.asp
http://www.dinewise.com/calorie_calculator
The MoneyWalker weighs every day. This morning’s weight was a milestone low of 174.8 lbs. Less than a month ago on February 22nd, the weight was 180.2. What accounts for the success? The MoneyWalker added steps to his walk and began watching the calorie count of the food portions. A one-two punch, fewer calories consumed and more calories expended. It works every time.
MoneyWalker
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Does A Penny Have A Soul? continued
Journal Entry: Weight, 175.4; Money found 48¢, 23 pennies, one quarter; 17 glass bottles picked up and discarded.
Main Entry: The MoneyWalker suggest a visit to the University of Idaho’s Alumni Association home page and read Terry Armstrong’s article on “Levels of Finding Difficulty.” This is a must read for serious MoneyFinders. Terry is the Co-Founder/Co-Director of the Association's “found money fund,” a major fund raiser for the University of Idaho. He and hundreds of U. of Idaho students, faculty, staff, and alumni have been finding and collecting money for twenty–nine years. His URL and other comments can be found at:
http://www.uidaho.edu/idahovandals/programs/foundmoneyfund/historyoffoundmoneyfund.aspx
As for levels of finding difficulty, Terry has developed a five level typology to rate the finding quality of money searchers. We will discuss all of them later, but for now, Terry’s level five has relevance to our theme of the soul of coins. Quoting Terry, “Level five finds border on the metaphysical. Psychic coin sense (P.C.S.) is rare among finding aficionados. Level five finds are common among only a very few. One sees those individuals as the Zen masters of the FMFI. Not only do they find a lot of money, they “sense” impending finds. Examples are “feeling” that one should cross the street to encounter a lost coin or “knowing” a find is imminent. One might characterize those rare people as “holistic finders”. It is the highest state of finding awareness. Some indications exist that it is possible to develop greater sensitivities to the finding mission and thus, develop a Zen rating.”
With all due respect, the MoneyWalker considers himself a coin finding aficionado, a holistic finder. But, before embracing the concept of a “Zen rating” more information is needed about the controversial nature of Zen within the Providential aspects of faith. According to the BBC: “The essence of Zen is attempting to understand the meaning of life directly, without being misled by logical thought, or language. Zen techniques are compatible with other faiths and are often used, for example, by Christians seeking a mystical understanding of their faith.”
Alright then! The MoneyWalker must admit that he does not believe that a penny, other coins, or any inanimate object has a soul. Yet, like with Terry Armstrong, the MoneyWalker often feels “lead” to alter his money searching paths and then, as a result, to mysteriously find a coin or paper currency in an unlikely place. It is if the coin was “lost” and seeking a “savior.” My favorite finds are always along the curbs of my city, and then the ones that have been “walked over” dozens or perhaps hundreds of times while waiting to be saved from the “gutter” of their existence. Incedently, what I call walking the curbs, Mrs. MoneyWalker calls walking the gutters.
Thus, what Armstrong attributes to Zen, another with a more traditional faith orientation might attribute to Divine Intervention. For the MoneyWalker, the term of choice is Providence, and sometimes money is found using extraordinary sensitivities, e.g. hunches, urges, a sudden drawing, unexplained guidance. Indeed, it sometimes seems that the pennies and other coins have a soul waited to be saved.
MoneyWalker
Main Entry: The MoneyWalker suggest a visit to the University of Idaho’s Alumni Association home page and read Terry Armstrong’s article on “Levels of Finding Difficulty.” This is a must read for serious MoneyFinders. Terry is the Co-Founder/Co-Director of the Association's “found money fund,” a major fund raiser for the University of Idaho. He and hundreds of U. of Idaho students, faculty, staff, and alumni have been finding and collecting money for twenty–nine years. His URL and other comments can be found at:
http://www.uidaho.edu/idahovandals/programs/foundmoneyfund/historyoffoundmoneyfund.aspx
As for levels of finding difficulty, Terry has developed a five level typology to rate the finding quality of money searchers. We will discuss all of them later, but for now, Terry’s level five has relevance to our theme of the soul of coins. Quoting Terry, “Level five finds border on the metaphysical. Psychic coin sense (P.C.S.) is rare among finding aficionados. Level five finds are common among only a very few. One sees those individuals as the Zen masters of the FMFI. Not only do they find a lot of money, they “sense” impending finds. Examples are “feeling” that one should cross the street to encounter a lost coin or “knowing” a find is imminent. One might characterize those rare people as “holistic finders”. It is the highest state of finding awareness. Some indications exist that it is possible to develop greater sensitivities to the finding mission and thus, develop a Zen rating.”
With all due respect, the MoneyWalker considers himself a coin finding aficionado, a holistic finder. But, before embracing the concept of a “Zen rating” more information is needed about the controversial nature of Zen within the Providential aspects of faith. According to the BBC: “The essence of Zen is attempting to understand the meaning of life directly, without being misled by logical thought, or language. Zen techniques are compatible with other faiths and are often used, for example, by Christians seeking a mystical understanding of their faith.”
Alright then! The MoneyWalker must admit that he does not believe that a penny, other coins, or any inanimate object has a soul. Yet, like with Terry Armstrong, the MoneyWalker often feels “lead” to alter his money searching paths and then, as a result, to mysteriously find a coin or paper currency in an unlikely place. It is if the coin was “lost” and seeking a “savior.” My favorite finds are always along the curbs of my city, and then the ones that have been “walked over” dozens or perhaps hundreds of times while waiting to be saved from the “gutter” of their existence. Incedently, what I call walking the curbs, Mrs. MoneyWalker calls walking the gutters.
Thus, what Armstrong attributes to Zen, another with a more traditional faith orientation might attribute to Divine Intervention. For the MoneyWalker, the term of choice is Providence, and sometimes money is found using extraordinary sensitivities, e.g. hunches, urges, a sudden drawing, unexplained guidance. Indeed, it sometimes seems that the pennies and other coins have a soul waited to be saved.
MoneyWalker
Monday, March 9, 2009
Spiritual Wellness
The MoneyWalker will occasionally tweak the blog’s format. Starting today, March 9, 2009 each entry will begin with the MoneyWalker’s current weight and note the amount and denomination of the found money.
Weight 175.4; money found, $1.10 (85 pennies, 1 nickel, & 2 dimes). After a year of money walking, this was a first; the one dollar threshold was broken without a quarter in the tally. My so called weight set-point is any amount between 175 and 180. Mrs. MoneyWalker worries when I drop below 175 (I look poorly) and I fret when the weight jumps above 180 (I look chunky).
Today’s theme is spiritual wellness and contemplation if a penny possesses a soul. The MoneyWalker has a firm conviction in the power of the scientific method, but he also believes in the importance of spirituality. The MoneyWalker will not allow politics or religion to be a defining aspect of this blog, but incidental references will be allowed.
Some textbooks and scholarly journals now include aspects of spirituality into their discussion of wellness. The Medical Wellness Center of the University of Miami depicts wellness with eight themes: Physical, social, spiritual, intellectual, environmental, emotional, cultural, and vocational. The Wellness Center defines the spiritual component thusly: “Spiritual Wellness is the quest for meaning, value, and purpose resulting in hope, joy, courage and gratitude.” Further, “It encourages one to develop a personal faith and to seek God in all things. It is the discovery and incorporation of a personal set of values and beliefs that defines the person, places the individual in relation to the larger community, and engages a faith that promotes justice.”
But what God? Whose God? For members of Canada’s “First Nations” post-secondary students, God may be a Catholic God or an Ancestral God, or both. In her thesis, Angelina Weenie reported that first nation students with a reported spiritual awareness and a reported spiritual growth were “resilient individuals.” She found that spirituality has been highly predictive of positive life adaptation with this population.
But does a penny have a soul? Sorry about this cliff hanger but the MoneyWalker must ask you to wait until tomorrow’s blog for the answer. Your attention and my writing time are past. In the mean time, ask yourself, "Is spirituality an aspect of my wellness agenda?"
MoneyWalker
Weight 175.4; money found, $1.10 (85 pennies, 1 nickel, & 2 dimes). After a year of money walking, this was a first; the one dollar threshold was broken without a quarter in the tally. My so called weight set-point is any amount between 175 and 180. Mrs. MoneyWalker worries when I drop below 175 (I look poorly) and I fret when the weight jumps above 180 (I look chunky).
Today’s theme is spiritual wellness and contemplation if a penny possesses a soul. The MoneyWalker has a firm conviction in the power of the scientific method, but he also believes in the importance of spirituality. The MoneyWalker will not allow politics or religion to be a defining aspect of this blog, but incidental references will be allowed.
Some textbooks and scholarly journals now include aspects of spirituality into their discussion of wellness. The Medical Wellness Center of the University of Miami depicts wellness with eight themes: Physical, social, spiritual, intellectual, environmental, emotional, cultural, and vocational. The Wellness Center defines the spiritual component thusly: “Spiritual Wellness is the quest for meaning, value, and purpose resulting in hope, joy, courage and gratitude.” Further, “It encourages one to develop a personal faith and to seek God in all things. It is the discovery and incorporation of a personal set of values and beliefs that defines the person, places the individual in relation to the larger community, and engages a faith that promotes justice.”
But what God? Whose God? For members of Canada’s “First Nations” post-secondary students, God may be a Catholic God or an Ancestral God, or both. In her thesis, Angelina Weenie reported that first nation students with a reported spiritual awareness and a reported spiritual growth were “resilient individuals.” She found that spirituality has been highly predictive of positive life adaptation with this population.
But does a penny have a soul? Sorry about this cliff hanger but the MoneyWalker must ask you to wait until tomorrow’s blog for the answer. Your attention and my writing time are past. In the mean time, ask yourself, "Is spirituality an aspect of my wellness agenda?"
MoneyWalker
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Zooming and Looming
Good news from the MoneyWalker. Weight recorded this morning was 175.6 lbs., just above the low margin of my 175/180 “setpoint.” The MoneyWalker hasn’t been in the 175s for several weeks. One reason is the “zooming” walking pace. The 1.0/1.25 hour walk is a fast paced blur of walking action which elevates the heart rate from a resting 65 bpm to a personalized target HR of 125. This pace (load) maintained for this time (duration) will definitely result in weight loss.
Yet, a zooming MoneyWalker, intent on finding lost money will experience events that compete for one’s attention. Safety is an ongoing aspect of money walking. Many coins are lost between the street’s curb and the areas designed for off-street parking. That is where I walk. In addition to moving automobiles, there are tree limbs, parked cars, construction dumpsters, bicycles, and countless other obstactles that must be avoided. Thus, MoneyWalkers should be aware of the visual reflex of looming. Research by Lin, Franconeri, and Enns from the Vision Lab, Department of Psychology, U. of British Columbia have demonstrated that looming serves the important role of capturing attention for the avoidance of “collisions.” Looming is a visual reflexive tendency that causes objects to expand “as if they were looming towards us, presumable because this signal indicates an impending collision.” The looming reflex triggers our attention capacity with a level of urgency to select a collision avoidance strategy.
So, as the MoneyWalker zooms in the coin-rich zone of off-street parking, eyes rivited on the asphalt for the pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters left behind, he fully heeds his zooming reflex as a cue to shift attention from coin searching to a protective mode of avoiding a tree branch, a biker, another pedestrian or worse, an approaching car that might be veering into the car-park zone. Although looming is reflexive and below the level of conscious control, I have found that when we can articulate and define our reflexes, we can better use them.
Today was not a great looming and zooming day. The MoneyWalker’s take was 54¢, but yesterday the take broke the dollar barrier, $1.15 plus a residual walk netted an additional 31¢.
So, keep those lbs under control and within your optimum “setpoint” with your own zooming and looming behavior.
MoneyWalker
Yet, a zooming MoneyWalker, intent on finding lost money will experience events that compete for one’s attention. Safety is an ongoing aspect of money walking. Many coins are lost between the street’s curb and the areas designed for off-street parking. That is where I walk. In addition to moving automobiles, there are tree limbs, parked cars, construction dumpsters, bicycles, and countless other obstactles that must be avoided. Thus, MoneyWalkers should be aware of the visual reflex of looming. Research by Lin, Franconeri, and Enns from the Vision Lab, Department of Psychology, U. of British Columbia have demonstrated that looming serves the important role of capturing attention for the avoidance of “collisions.” Looming is a visual reflexive tendency that causes objects to expand “as if they were looming towards us, presumable because this signal indicates an impending collision.” The looming reflex triggers our attention capacity with a level of urgency to select a collision avoidance strategy.
So, as the MoneyWalker zooms in the coin-rich zone of off-street parking, eyes rivited on the asphalt for the pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters left behind, he fully heeds his zooming reflex as a cue to shift attention from coin searching to a protective mode of avoiding a tree branch, a biker, another pedestrian or worse, an approaching car that might be veering into the car-park zone. Although looming is reflexive and below the level of conscious control, I have found that when we can articulate and define our reflexes, we can better use them.
Today was not a great looming and zooming day. The MoneyWalker’s take was 54¢, but yesterday the take broke the dollar barrier, $1.15 plus a residual walk netted an additional 31¢.
So, keep those lbs under control and within your optimum “setpoint” with your own zooming and looming behavior.
MoneyWalker
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Friendship and the Friendship House
The MoneyWalker met a new friend on this morning’s walk. The neighborhood’s 8-bay car wash is a money hotspot and I visit it often. This morning one of the money-yielding vacuum stations was occupied—dang! Weary of violating his personal space, I ventured as close as discretion might allow. Too close, he said, “Good morning, talking your walk?” “My name is Greg,” he said. Forget fast paced walking, I was engaged. I admitted that I was a MoneyWalker and what that meant. “What do you do with the money?” he wanted to know.
I answered that the MoneyWalker’s money is donated to the Baptist Friendship House of New Orleans. Just outside of the historic French Quarter, the Friendship House provides a host of services including a transitional housing program for women and children. Programs include: GED preparation, literacy classes, computer classes, English as a Second Language, job readiness classes, and spiritual guidance. They also have a program for girls which features help with academics, field trips, arts/crafts, and dozens more. The girls learn how to become a self-sufficient woman by receiving instruction in Violence Prevention, career development, self-esteem, responsible sexuality, community service, and accountability.
Yesterday the MoneyWalker made a donation to the Friendship House. “Shock and awe” were registered on the face of unsuspecting Assistant Director Karina America as she received 78 rolls of pennies ($39.00), five rolls of nickels ($10.00), five rolls of dimes ($25.00) three rolls of quarters ($30.00), 14 one dollar bills ($14.00), and two fives ($10.00) for a total of $128.00 dollars. The container of coins weighted more than 50 lbs. I wish that I could see the expression of the business manager when this "donation" is delivered.
First was fitness walking, then finding money, after that blog management, and now a charity cause, where is this bizarre hobby going next? Stay tuned!
MoneyWalker
I answered that the MoneyWalker’s money is donated to the Baptist Friendship House of New Orleans. Just outside of the historic French Quarter, the Friendship House provides a host of services including a transitional housing program for women and children. Programs include: GED preparation, literacy classes, computer classes, English as a Second Language, job readiness classes, and spiritual guidance. They also have a program for girls which features help with academics, field trips, arts/crafts, and dozens more. The girls learn how to become a self-sufficient woman by receiving instruction in Violence Prevention, career development, self-esteem, responsible sexuality, community service, and accountability.
Yesterday the MoneyWalker made a donation to the Friendship House. “Shock and awe” were registered on the face of unsuspecting Assistant Director Karina America as she received 78 rolls of pennies ($39.00), five rolls of nickels ($10.00), five rolls of dimes ($25.00) three rolls of quarters ($30.00), 14 one dollar bills ($14.00), and two fives ($10.00) for a total of $128.00 dollars. The container of coins weighted more than 50 lbs. I wish that I could see the expression of the business manager when this "donation" is delivered.
First was fitness walking, then finding money, after that blog management, and now a charity cause, where is this bizarre hobby going next? Stay tuned!
MoneyWalker
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
President Obama and a Coin Tender
Beginning August 1, 2008 and ending Feb. 28, 2009, the MoneyWalker has found $112.51. The exact amount is known because the loose coins have been processed through a new MMF Coin Tender. This inexpensive contraption (Office Depot under $15.00) stores, counts, and wraps pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. Before the coin tender, the coins were piled inelegantly in plastic drink containers throughout the house. Mrs. MoneyWalker was not happy. Doing the math, $112.51 represents 2,431 pennies, 200 nickels, 225 dimes, 138 quarters, 12 one dollar bills, and two five dollar bills, all picked up over a seven month period by one person. That is 2,991 coins rescued from an unlikely future, possibly out of circulation forever. President Obama, as you follow the MoneyWalker’s blog, know that these coins are now neatly wrapped and ready to be put back in circulation for the good of the ‘ol USA. Also, all that walking, bending, reaching, and mentally searching is helping with another of your projects, cutting down on the Medicare costs by keeping the MoneyWalker hip and healthy. We MoneyWalkers are good citizens.
MoneyWalker’s finds for the first three days of March, $1.61, 96¢, and $1.34 respectively. The coin tender is already filling up. You will want to get one of these handy gadgets for your loot.
I wonder if President Obama is a MoneyWalker?
MoneyWalker
MoneyWalker’s finds for the first three days of March, $1.61, 96¢, and $1.34 respectively. The coin tender is already filling up. You will want to get one of these handy gadgets for your loot.
I wonder if President Obama is a MoneyWalker?
MoneyWalker
Sunday, March 1, 2009
The MoneyWalker and High Blood Pressure
The MoneyWalker has completed a medical check-up. “110 over 60” she said. “Is that good?” I said. “Oh, very good” she said.
One of the benefits of a sound repeating walking/nutrition regiment is a healthy blood pressure, or the absence of hypertension. One is said to be hypertensive with a blood pressure reading of 140/90 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) or higher, or 140/90 for short. But hypertension numbers can be much higher. With the 140 number or greater, you are at risk! A normal reading is 120/80 or lower.
The top number is the “systolic” number and is a measurement of the pressure against the walls of your blood vessels when the heart is pumping blood to the body’s organs. The “diastolic,” the low number, is the same measure but taken when your heart is resting between beats. Of the two, the systolic provides the most important data. A good commercial web-site for essential facts is:
http://www.diovan.com/info/treating/high_blood_pressure_treatment.jsp
A person with persistent high blood pressure must be concerned with strokes, heart attacks, heart disease, arterial aneurysm, chronic renal failure among others. In addition to medical treatment, health experts have demonstrated that weight reduction and regular aerobic exercise including walking significantly lowers mild to moderate hypertension. Other smart practices include the dietary reduction of sugar and salt. In fact, it seems that most of the fun stuff must be curtailed or eliminated completely including smoking and alcohol. And don’t forget stress (will the market ever stop its free fall?) And what is worse, the dastardly condition has no symptoms. We can have seriously elevated blood pressure and be totally unaware.
So you MoneyWalkers, do what I do and get a medical check-up. If your blood pressure is higher than 120, then get busy—fruits and vegetables, lower the booze amount, quit smoking, and join me as a MoneyWalker.
MoneyWalker
P.S.: My find this morning was $1.61, 4 quarters, 2 dimes, 1 nickle, and 36 pennies--yippee!
One of the benefits of a sound repeating walking/nutrition regiment is a healthy blood pressure, or the absence of hypertension. One is said to be hypertensive with a blood pressure reading of 140/90 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) or higher, or 140/90 for short. But hypertension numbers can be much higher. With the 140 number or greater, you are at risk! A normal reading is 120/80 or lower.
The top number is the “systolic” number and is a measurement of the pressure against the walls of your blood vessels when the heart is pumping blood to the body’s organs. The “diastolic,” the low number, is the same measure but taken when your heart is resting between beats. Of the two, the systolic provides the most important data. A good commercial web-site for essential facts is:
http://www.diovan.com/info/treating/high_blood_pressure_treatment.jsp
A person with persistent high blood pressure must be concerned with strokes, heart attacks, heart disease, arterial aneurysm, chronic renal failure among others. In addition to medical treatment, health experts have demonstrated that weight reduction and regular aerobic exercise including walking significantly lowers mild to moderate hypertension. Other smart practices include the dietary reduction of sugar and salt. In fact, it seems that most of the fun stuff must be curtailed or eliminated completely including smoking and alcohol. And don’t forget stress (will the market ever stop its free fall?) And what is worse, the dastardly condition has no symptoms. We can have seriously elevated blood pressure and be totally unaware.
So you MoneyWalkers, do what I do and get a medical check-up. If your blood pressure is higher than 120, then get busy—fruits and vegetables, lower the booze amount, quit smoking, and join me as a MoneyWalker.
MoneyWalker
P.S.: My find this morning was $1.61, 4 quarters, 2 dimes, 1 nickle, and 36 pennies--yippee!
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