First support, then rejection of #BrewDiet

Word of my little experiment is getting around. And even though Untappd declined my request¹ to create a badge for drinking along with me during #BrewDiet, plenty of folks are jumping in with support! Like...

• Brent from PA - This film director mistakenly thought his state had nothing good to offer me in the way of craft beer. I set him straight and he's busy packing up some goodies to send my way!²
• Charlie the Beer Guy from AZ- This man literally taught me to drink good beer. Though his work environment isn't quite as liberal as mine when it comes to consuming alcohol during work-hours, he's got a system he thinks he can stick to. As such, he'll be joining me in the beer-and-sausage-only diet the entire month!
• Chris Miller from OH - Chris recently shed a boat-load of weight. As a fan of beer (and home brewer), people said he couldn't do it. Ha. He showed them. He's modifying the plan slightly to make it more in line with the good stuff he's already doing for himself. For the month of October, he'll subsist on fruit for breakfast, a salad for lunch, and beer for dinner. Whenever possible, he'll work sausage into the salads. Go, Chris!
• Thomas "cmdln" Gideon from MD - Thomas is joining us in spirit, though he's not quite yet worked out what his regiment will be. He is the co-host of the Living Proof podcast, where I'll be a frequent guest next month to document my progress in audio.
• Chooch Schubert from DC & John Taylor Williams from MD - I'm still waiting on firm commitments from these gentlemen, but I know they are in somehow. JTW co-hosts Living Proof with Thomas, so he'll be feeling the pressure!

Thanks for the support, guys! And welcome to the sausage fest! No... wait. That didn't come out right. At any rate, I appreciate you joining me for #BrewDiet.

Want to get involved? OK! Just drop me a line and let me know what you're planning on doing. I'll keep a running list of who's in and to what extent. Maybe do a weekly summary of the #BrewDiet Nation? No wait... #BrewDietitians! Love it!

October 1st hits this Saturday. What should I have for my breakfast beer and the kick-off to #BrewDiet?

 

^{1 - Hey, I can't blame them. They probably get loads of people emailing them all the time with "make a special badge for me!" requests. But I still love the tool Untappd provides and will use it every time I drink a beer on my #BrewDiet.}

^{2 - Yes, you can send me beer. Or sausage! Ship it to:
Evo Terra
1849 E. Guadalupe Rd
C101-186
Tempe, AZ 85283
Be sure and include a note so I know who to thank in a blog post, tweet, Facebook update and more!}

Related articles

• #BrewDiet: The Beginning (funanymore.com)
• Beer and sausage for a month? Are you nuts? (funanymore.com)

Beer and sausage for a month? Are you nuts?

I spent the better part of today answering lots of questions about #BrewDiet. And by "lots of questions", I mean variations on the same theme:

Are you nuts?

No, not in a clinical sense. Though I certainly march to the beat of a different drummer. But nuts? I'll leave that label to those who've earned it.

As I mentioned this morning, I'm doing this under doctor supervision. And not in a condescending "as-your-physician-I-cannot-recommend-this-course-of-action" way you might expect. No, my doctor in in full support. Why? His answer comes in the first paragraph of a blog post about our unorthodox dietary experiment:

My good friend Evo Terra is going on a special one month diet – it was going to be just beer but I convinced him to add some sausages (including my favorite, reindeer sausage).  If you have been influenced by popular press you are aghast at what Evo is doing, and how can a physician supervise such.  The answer is- because we need to know.

And know we shall. I highly recommend you read the whole piece, especially if you have preconceived notions on what good nutrition is or is not. I know I've been led down the wrong path before. It happens. Science isn't immune to data manipulation and just bad work. But it is rather good at self-correction.

October 1st is just a few days away. I'm looking forward to this! Especially if Terry is cooking...

#BrewDiet: The Beginning

Did you hear the one about the guy who's diet consisted of nothing but craft beer and sausage for the month of October?

Me either. But you're about to. Me too, since I'm the guy. That's right. During the month of October, I'm only drinking beer and eating sausage. Yeah. I'm serious. And yes, I'm being monitored by a physician.

In case you hadn't heard, I like craft beer. A lot. I've been pondering the idea of a "beer fast" for sometime now and am ready to give it a shot. Oktoberfest seems a good time to try it. And unlike those who've attempted to re-create the monks' habit of fasting with beer-only, I'm playing fully into the spirit of the season, adding sausage to my diet. Hey, my doctor says I need a little protein to retain muscle mass, and who the hell am I to argue with a doctor? Especially when he says I need to eat sausage!

The Plan

My plan is pretty simple and is as follows:

1. Keep the protein intake to about 30 grams daily. That's not a lot. According to MyFitnessPal, that's about one big sausage link.
2. Drink beer. I only drink quality craft beer, and they bring their own protein to the party. Not much, but some.
3. Keep total calories around 1700 per day. With the kind of beer I drink, that roughly becomes 5 or 6 beers, plus a sausage. A day. Every day. Morning. Noon. Night. Oh, and three other times. Life is good.

And I'll keep it up for the entire month of October. Which, with client meetings and travel, will be interesting. But I'm nothing if not tenacious.Yes, I'll drink plenty of water. And I'm rather addicted to my morning yerba mate, so that's continuing. But other foods are out. Call me crazy.

Follow my progress

I'm also reaching out to the fine folks that run Untappd, a beer check-in app that I've been evangelizing for a while. I'm hoping to convince them to make a special badge for people who drink along with me. No, I don't expect you to try and keep up with me. But maybe you win a badge if you drink one beer with me each day, or maybe 5 of the beers I check into each week. Not quite sure how that all works. I'll leave it to them.

Untappd is the best place to keep up with my daily drinking, though I will try and post a daily re-cap of everything here as well. I'm picking #brewdiet as my hashtag and have already secured the domain, pointing it right back here. So if you already follow me on Twitter (hint: I've moved recently) or are my friend on Facebook, you'll see the Untapped postings show up there.

Calling all Magic Fridge supporters...

For those of you who have been following me for a long time, you'll recall something called "The Magic Fridge" from years ago. I'd like to kick that off again, as I have a mostly empty refrigerator just waiting for a chance to shine. Should you wish to contribute to my month-long experiment:

Evo Terra
1849 E. Guadalupe Rd
Suite C101-186
Tempe, AZ 85283

Please be advised that there may be laws against shipping beer from your state. I'm pretty sure there's no law against me receiving beer, as I've had it shipped to me before. Wrap bottles in bubble wrap and pack tight with more wrapping on the box sides (all six of them) and the bottles should make the trip. Please include a note so I can give credit where credit is due. While our grocery bill will go down, our beer bill will certainly go up. Your support -- should you choose to give it -- will be much appreciated.

Someone get a doctor!

And as I said earlier, I am doing this under doctor supervision. I'll see Dr. Terry Simpson (MD, FACS) each and every week. Quite possibly at his place while he's cooking up some sausage dish for me. He says he has reindeer sausage. How can I pass that up? Terry and I are both skeptics, so we're looking forward to gathering some data on this process. Yes, we realize the sample size is a touch on the small side, but a sample size of one will still gather more data than the Paleo diet has acquired.

And speaking of data; here's where I'm starting:

Body Type: Standard
Gender: Male
Age: 43
Height: 5'10" (though my license says 6' even, because I am still a growing boy)
Weight: 199 lbs
BMI: 28.6
Fat %: 25.3
Fat Mass: 50.51 lbs

That's me. Not too shabby. I've never been what you might call a thin or athletic man. Hell, not even when I was a kid. But all things considered, I could be in worse shape.

Weekly, I'll post the new numbers. I don't really have a weightloss goal with this, though Terry thinks I'll shed at least 8 pounds and drop a few percentage points. I suppose that all depends on how well I stick to the plan, right? Here's to hoping.

Wow. A post this long is making me thirsty. Anyone got a beer?

Know someone who should speak at Podcamp AZ? Nominate them!

Yes, I'll be speaking at Podcamp AZ again this year. And yes, you're probably sick of listening to me drone on and on and on and on...

Do you know the best way to combat OverEvo Syndrome? Get your ass up there and speak yourself! What, are you chicken? Then try the second-best way: nominate one of your friends!

PodCamp AZ is for anyone who wants to talk about "relevant media". 7 years later, new media isn't all that new. It's expanded in some areas, changed in others, and even gone through a bit of contraction. But in every area, it's become more and more accessible. To anyone. People like you, for example.

So come on up and talk. It's PodCamp AZ time very soon, and I'd love to see you there. Up on stage. Engaging with everyone. It's fun! Trust me.

 

 

Debut novelist kills first-time sushi chef

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="240" caption="Image by evo_terra via Flickr"][/caption]

I engaged in an interesting experiment today. And now that I'm done wanting to bang my head against the sharp corner of my desk, I find  the results interesting.

This started with me seeing an ad for a terrible-looking book with a terrible-sounding title with terribly-written teaser copy and a terribly-illustrated cover¹. And if that wasn't enough, the words "DEBUT NOVELIST" were proudly on display.

Ugh.

By now you know that I'm deeply involved in yet another publishing initiative, this time focused on training/educating authors on the new digital publishing landscape of today. Glutton for punishment? That's me.

And it was with that eye that I realized: authors and publishers have imbued the word debut with legendary status. I've seen that word -- or heard that word -- associated with new books by new authors countless times.

The amazing debut novel from... Ground-breaking  work by debut novelist...

The marketer in me² couldn't let it go. Was that word somehow a trigger that publishers and authors have learned enhances the purchasing response? Would adding the word "debut" to a book somehow increase the chance of someone deciding to purchase the book?

So I did the only logical thing that a skeptic would do: I ran the most unscientific test I could devise in the 3.4 seconds I thought about it. I asked FACEBOOK!

My first attempt was met with abject failure. I asked the following question:

Dumb-ass me. I of course got plenty of answers like "A" and "B". [sigh] So I resolved to re-write the question in somewhat of a less ambiguous way. Hence my new missive:

This time I learned an interesting and valuable lesson: People don't fucking read! Not that they don't read books, mind you. They just don't read questions well. Or rather, they try and anticipate some hidden meaning behind your question. Worse still, they play out a whole conspiratorial scene in their head, crafting their answer as to somehow keep them in good graces with whatever group might read too much into the answer.

Just. Answer. The. Fucking. Question!

Yes, I had an answer I was trying to get to, you idiot! But it was not whether or not I see value in a new authors work. Nor was I trying to infer that you should only stick to the books you know. Nor do I give a shit about how many new authors you discovered because you took the chance on an unknown. News flash, dipshit: I've done the same fucking thing! As I said before:

Just. Answer. The. Fucking. Question!

So I decided to show just how inane the answers were. Because really, in no other purchasing decision I can think of is it ever, EVER, beneficial to shout out to the masses, "Holy hatshit, folks! Hurry up and give me all your money while I'm new, clueless and PERFECT, 'cuz I'll be worth dick-squat when I take a second swing!"

That just doesn't happen. And to prove my point, I sent out this slightly tweaked question to the Facebookers who have the bad sense to follow me:

Yes. That is the point I was trying to make. You dumb-ass, you. And to drive it home more, there's this:

Authors and publishers: Please, pretty please, with sugar on it. Stop adding the word "debut" to your books. I already know I don't know you. You're not helping things telling me it's your first book. You may think that is somehow a buying signal, especially if you read the comments left on my status updates. But I assure you this: all of those people are lying. Through their teeth. Don't get me wrong. They have the best intentions at heart and do not even know that they are lying. Kinda like many psychics. But it's a lie none the same.

Write. Get better. Write again. Rinse. Repeat. Publish as soon as you can, for a back-catalog is key. But stop putting a barrier to entry on me trying out your book. It's great that it's your first book. Impress your mom with that shit. Me? I just want you to be a decent writer. Telling me you're new at this doesn't tempt me to buy. It just makes me think you probably suck. So icks-nay on the oobie-nu-ay, OK?

 

^{1 - No, I won't put you through the trauma of showing you the book. I've wiped it from my memory. You are welcome.}

^{2 - Don't hate, motherfuckers. It puts food on the table and I'm not evil.}

7th time's a charm: Ignite Phoenix After Hours #2 recap

I love Ignite Phoenix. I've never missed one, and have had the extreme pleasure of presenting at seven various permutations therein. Last night was no exception, and I'm still coming down from the high that I always get.

[caption id="attachment_1718" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Me, at IPAH #2. Taken by Joseph Abbruscato"][/caption]It was Ignite Phoenix After Hours last night, an evening that tends to get a little raunchier and rawer (more raw?) than the "normal" Ignite Phoenix evening. Kids aren't allowed, and the whole point is to present topics that blow past the idea of "family friendly". I went very blue last time, and decided this time to stick to my skeptical bent.

My talk was well received.

OK, my talks typically are pretty well received. I bust my ass to make a great Ignite presentation, then I rehearse like a madman. Even though it's just 5 minutes, I feel that if someone is taking time out of their busy schedule to watch me perform, I owe it to them to knock it out of the park. There are plenty of things in life I take the half-assed approach to. This is not one.

Back to my skepticism. My four prior "normal" ignite presentations have been crafted with critical thought in mind. But they've been a soft-sell. They've been setting the foundation, if you will, for last night's talk. Where before I simply helped people understand that they've got a problem with scale, this time I gave it teeth. I showed, if the accolades I received were any indication, that our ignorance and scientific illiteracy are having dire consequences. Were I Phil Plait, I'd have a picture of a cat and with DOOMED written on it. But yeah... he's spot on. Me? I said the word "fuck" and associated it with religion. Hey, we play to our own strengths.

Borrowing heavily on groundwork laid (lain?) by George Hrab, a fellow fan of science like myself, I aimed squarely at fundamentalists (less fun, more mental) and their inane assertion that the world is 6,000 years old. It's not. You know this. I know this. And my goal last night was to arm people with three overly obvious ways to really know this by examining the world around them. Not necessarily as a scientist, but by having an understanding of science and critical thought.

So that's what I did. And rather than keep writing about it (I tend to ramble), I'll just direct you to watch the video of Parables vs Facts: Why we know the earth is older than 6000 years. Because the audio of the video isn't fantastic, I spent the time (cripes, and what an amount of time it was) to add in closed-captions. Or, if you want less crowd and more of me reading from a script, you can check out the SlideCast I recorded the night before as I was rehearsing. Heck, might as well watch them both.

Parables vs Facts: Why we know the earth is older than 6000 years

View another webinar from Evo Terra

Thanks to everyone who watched and cheered at the right spots. And an extra helping of thanks to those of you who sought me out afterward to say thanks or just hello. I never, ever grow weary of that happening. So please, keep it up. :)

I can't take this shit no mo'...

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Image via Wikipedia"][/caption]

So as it turns out, I'm in a shit mood tonight. And against my own better judgment, I'm gonna blog about it.

I've let my shit mood overtake me tonight in all the things I do. That means I've dropped the filter. Any missives sent tonight are pure, unadulterated Evo. In charge tonight is the guy who's not in the mood for any bullshit. He won't budge an inch. And he'll probably relish in telling you this.

Does that offend you? Tonight, I couldn't care less. Hell, to speak the truth, I probably never could care less. It's this fucking "social contract" we're mired in that causes me to think I should care more. But in reality I don't. And I think deep down inside, many of you probably don't either.

So why do we do it? Why do we continue to play along with the game when we know there's no desirable outcome for us? Why do we play nice when the ex-crackhead comes to the door schlepping magazines? Why do we say things like "how are you?" when we don't give two dogs' dicks what your answer is? Why do we pretend not to notice when the slob next so us is farting up a storm?

We're pussies. That's why.

We're so caught up in propriety and playing nice so much that we just can't say what we really feel. What we really think. Because we're afraid we might offend someone. That we might show our true colors, and those colors will clash with others.

Well, not me. Fuck all that. I'm giving you me, with both barrels, whether you like it or not. I'm calling it like it is, you to the carpet, a spade a spade... and other metaphors I don't care enough to recount right now.

...for tonight, at least. Tomorrow? Yeah, I'll probably re-engage with the social contract. After all, it's what keeps our society running. And who am I to judge?