For the second day in a row, I received a puncture on my bike in the same location – Tooley Street, SE1, due to the disgusting number of potholes in the road. As I cycle to save money (the trains are revolting, and extortionate in price), paying ~£7/day for the 'privilege' of . . .
→Read More: Complaint to TFL]]> Dear Sirs,

For the second day in a row, I received a puncture on my bike in the same location – Tooley Street, SE1, due to the disgusting number of potholes in the road. As I cycle to save money (the trains are revolting, and extortionate in price), paying ~£7/day for the 'privilege' of cycling is a joke. Coupled with the £10 taxi fair for the remainder of my route as I was out of inner tubes due to using my spare yesterday, I'm out of pocket. Happy Christmas, don't you think?

Where do I submit a claim? Not only has this damaged my bike, cost £24 in tires, gas, and taxis, but could also have caused serious injury.

My number is: 07960 XXXYYY.

Regards,
Jonathan Tullett.

Wonder if they'll be so kind as to provide a response.

• O2 Joggler
• David Clark H10-13.4 1013 Headset
• HTC Desire A8181 – Black (Unlocked) Smartphone

Update: sold

For sale, one black iPad 2, 16G, 3G+Wifi + grey Smart cover case. Purchased January 2012, perfect condition, complete with box and all accessories.

Can get around £300 (probably more due to its condition!) on e-bay which is where it'll be by the weekend. Will . . .
→Read More: For sale: iPad2]]>

Update: sold

For sale, one black iPad 2, 16G, 3G+Wifi + grey Smart cover case. Purchased January 2012, perfect condition, complete with box and all accessories.

Can get around £300 (probably more due to its condition!) on e-bay which is where it'll be by the weekend. Will accept £275 privately. Ping me – j (at) jkt (dot) im – if interested. Can be picked up from Beckenham or City of London.

Without fail, however, I end up being punished. On occasions, it feels like I'm getting a cold . . .
→Read More: Back on the wheat-free wagon]]> Months go by. Months where I'm in denial that I have a problem digesting wheat-based foods, and I go through phases of eating them with abandon: pizza, bread, most baked goods, most ready meals; all candidates for wheat-yumminess.

Without fail, however, I end up being punished. On occasions, it feels like I'm getting a cold or flu shortly after eating, but it's the lack of confidence in the stomach that's the main driver behind the current plan.

When you're fighting intolerances combined with concern that there's been a resurgence in anxiety symptoms, there only way of measuring and monitoring what's happening is to control as many factors as you can while altering (and recording) others one at a time.

So, for now, wheat intake is the factor I'm controlling. I know I don't have Coeliac or Crohn's (thankfully!), but that doesn't make it any more pleasurable – for me, or others around.

It would be easier if wheat wasn't so yummy, or if there were decent 'free from' ranges in the supermarkets, but salads, meat and potatoes aren't such a bad thing.

If there's a significant improvement over the coming weeks as I stop my intake, I'll know for sure it's the root cause. If not, I'll move onto something else in the FODMAP group for analysis.

There's been good progress. I am now below the weight I was . . .
→Read More: Health update, and it's looking good!]]> It's now been four months since Operation Rotund started. I've posted a couple of updates, but nothing since the wedding and honeymoon (read: lots of yummy, yummy food) or the reception (more yummy food) or since I started cycling to work daily.

There's been good progress. I am now below the weight I was at the start of the year, by 2.3kg to be exact (first measurement on the magical Withings Scale was on January 31)!

Proof, as always:

But losing weight isn't always a good thing, and it's no longer my goal. My goal now is to alter my body composition: increase lean mass, decrease body fat. It seems that my method of weight loss (burn more calories than I eat), coupled with extensive exercise (around 1hr / day average, taking into account one-two rest days/week) has been doing most of that work for me.

My lean mass is currently hovering around 86.5%:

Which means my body fat % is just under 14%:

Physically, I'm still not looking as I want – the gut is what I want to get toned more, reduce the frequency of looking pregnant – but composition-wise, I'm heading there. If I can get to 12% fat (while maintaining my correct weight), I'll be delighted.

Why an e-reader? They're small, and they pack a lot of content! Mine currently has about 80 books on it with space for probably . . .
→Read More: Get a Kindle – Life hack #2]]> I say Kindle as that's what I have (and it's fantastic!), but I mean e-reader in general; there's a bunch of different brands available now and they're all pretty similar.

Why an e-reader? They're small, and they pack a lot of content! Mine currently has about 80 books on it with space for probably a thousand more. When I go on vacation, I pack just the one device and I have enough material available to last months.

Just by being able to carry around a selection of books – more on that later – I'm reading more than I did previously, and a much wider variety too. The only downside (if you can call it that), is if you're anything like me, you'll end up reading 5-6 books at the same time, dipping into each one depending on the mood you're in.

You can also use them to subscribe to magazines and newspapers and have them delivered wirelessly to the device overnight, ready to read on the train in the morning. Saving trees and and reading about the world, is there a better combination?

"This may look like a long speech, but it's not really. It's just really big writing.

You’ll have to excuse me – I’m not accustomed to public speaking, and I’m nearly as nervous . . .
→Read More: My wedding reception speech]]> Raechel and I didn't have a traditional wedding, but I wanted to make a speech. Here it is, in its entirety.

"This may look like a long speech, but it's not really. It's just really big writing.

You’ll have to excuse me – I’m not accustomed to public speaking, and I’m nearly as nervous as when I proposed…but at least I'm not giggling like a school girl this time around!

On behalf of Raechel and myself, I'd like to thank you all for coming here today to help us celebrate getting married. I know that some of you have travelled a long way to be here and that means a lot. It would not be the same without you all.

For those who don't know, Raechel and I met through mutual friends; I think Jo and Anu are still fighting for that crown.

When Raechel thought my wanting to wear brown corduroy trousers, a bike helmet wrapped in silver foil while carrying a lunchbox full of crayons to her fancy dress party was funny, rather than a warning sign, I knew we'd get along well.

Since then we've trekked the Himalayas, camped with thirty thousand hippies in Hungary, moved house twice, organised a wedding and today's reception. It's been an amazing adventure.

Though the wedding day itself was a few months ago, It certainly was a day we'll never forget.

I'd like to thank Reagan for being a fantastic best man, keeping me calm and helping me wind up the maid of honour, Jo, in the morning. And I'd like to thank Jo for not hitting me when she saw me ten minutes later.

As for seeing Raechel in the dress for the first time, and again today, as I'm sure you'll agree…just…wow.

I intended for this to be a short speech, and so it shall be.

Raechel, every day with you, I'm smiling. Thank you for wanting to marry me.

If everyone could raise their glasses and join me in a toast to my wonderful bride, to our friends and family who have made today, and to future adventures!

Cheers!"

There are many areas in my life which I strive to improve. My to-do list is always far longer than my life expectancy, but if . . .
→Read More: Switch off notifications on your phone – Life hack #1]]> Life hacking, in my opinion, is an interesting hobby to have; identifying ways of hacking things in your life so you get an overall improvement in one or more aspects.

There are many areas in my life which I strive to improve. My to-do list is always far longer than my life expectancy, but if there is something I can do which helps me strike off even one more thing, then I'm interested. This is the first in a series of posts, each with a single 'hack' I've implemented which has improved my life in some measurable way. First up:

Switch off notifications on your phone

Mobile phones are great – people can call you when you're out and about and send text messages when the statement isn't something which requires an immediate response.

The world, however, has changed since mobile internet became 'the norm'. Most phones now have push notifications on (or polling), alerting you when someone sends you an email, updates Facebook or tweets while taking a crap. None of this matters, and the constant interruptions are bad for you^{(citation needed)}! Do yourself a favour: switch off *all* notifications – sounds, flashing lights, anything. If it's important, they'll call. This alone improved the quality of my life substantially. No more waiting for the next alert (and deny it if you want, but subconsciously you're on constant alert for that little 'beep'); deal with things when you want to, when you are ready to.

I think a combination of exercise – cycling to and from work along with some additional cardio in the evenings – and lack of sleep, had been getting to me. As part of my self-quantifying project I, of course, have sleep graphs: . . .
→Read More: A good night's sleep]]> This past week, I've been feeling absolutely exhausted.

I think a combination of exercise – cycling to and from work along with some additional cardio in the evenings – and lack of sleep, had been getting to me. As part of my self-quantifying project I, of course, have sleep graphs:

That little (3-6 hours) combined with at least 60 (now more like 90) minutes of exercise a day isn't a good combination.

Another issue has been food. Exercising that much burns a lot of calories; I'm burning between 1100 and 1800/day. With a BMR of 2160kcal, in order just to maintain my weight, I need to be consuming at least 3100kcal, sometimes closer to 4000. That's a lot of food!

Now splitting into five meals a day, along with 2-3 protein shakes and calorific lunches and dinners, I'm approaching what's necessary to maintain weight (though still 600-ish short); it's an improvement over last week, anyway.

After feeling like death when I arrived home yesterday, I cooked a huge shepherds pie (enough for 2 people, but had it to myself), half a plate of peas and then went to bed at 2130. Asleep within fifteen minutes (a record for me – I usually have to ready for 30+ before I start stressing about not being able to sleep), I woke once before the alarm went off at 0600.

The result? Feeling bright as a button! Feeling much happier within myself; the ride in, despite being cold, was a pleasure, and the whole-body ache and associated headache has passed.

It's amazing what a good night's sleep can do to a man.