Still doesn't fully explain why yawns are contagious. :D (via Boing Boing)

According to a new research study, yawning may make you more attentive. Psychologists Andrew Gallup and Gordon Gallup of the State University of New York at Albany suggest that yawning cools the brain, increasing performance.

Boing Boing: Yawning may increase alertness

Now that I'm working again, here are some of the most common questions I get asked, along with the answers. The biggest one, "What did you learn?" I'll save for a separate post.

1. Was it worth it? - Hell yes! If you can afford to do it - take a Sabbatical. I realize that it's a bit of a luxury, but the opportunity to travel, spend time with family and clear your head and REALLY figure out want in life is invaluable. Maybe you can't take a year and a half, but even 3 months can make a difference. You'll be surprised at how many assumptions that you've made about yourself and your life are NOT TRUE once you pull yourself out of your working life. Give yourself a month to decompress and "cleanse your palette", and then at least another month to "get honest with yourself." Once you get over the knee-jerk reaction that you "need to work" to feel valuable - you'll have made a HUGE step in your personal development.
2. Were you afraid of "falling off the radar?" - A little bit, but not as much as you might think. These days e-mail, IM and sites like LinkedIn are great for staying in touch with your network. Taking the odd consulting job, or just providing people advice for free keeps the mind limber and the interpersonal skills flowing as well.
3. Did you feel out of touch w/ the industry? - I have a genuine love of the games industry, so for me staying on top of the industry is like reading People magazine. Using Bloglines to get the feeds from Gamasutra and Kotaku gave me a wide breadth of news. Also there's nothing like running a guild of 200 hard-core WoW players to quickly determine what's hot, and what's not.
4. Any Regrets? - Of course, because time and money are not infinite! :D Seriously there are more places I would have liked to travel like the south of France and Australia... oh and Costa Rica, Thailand and Vietnam... the list goes on. But we'll get to them eventually. I wish I'd spent more time with my drawing. Even with no full-time job it was always so much easier to be doing something else... but when I actually did it I loved it. Weird. Lastly, I really really wanted to lose 20 pounds, and I only lost 10 - too much good livin' - if you know what I mean. Still I've found a trainer and a regimen that's working for me and makes me feel like I'm making solid progress so I believe that's in sight too!

That's all for now! Stand by for Part 2!

For all my tech & gamer buddies - we all know we can spend an unhealthy amount of time in front of the PC. Here's a way to at least make it a little healthier.

Link to How To Keep Good Posture When In Front Of A Computer at Ririan Project

This is HUGE! Where NYC goes, can the rest of the US (esp cities like Seattle) be far behind? Fast Food without the trans fat - madness! It still won't make me go on a steady McD's diet - but at least when I do indulge, it'll be better for me! Take THAT Fast Food Nation! 

Today, the Board of Health will hold its first public hearing on a proposal to make New York the first U.S. city to ban restaurants from serving food containing artificial trans fats. Restaurants are scrambling for ways to get trans fats out of their food.

Source: The Seattle Times: Nation & World: KFC will slash trans fat as NYC considers ban

Yeah, Heather is my new trainer at the PRO Club. This is my first step at finally taking up martial arts. She trains in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu AND is very knowledgeable about other martial arts - our first meeting touched on everything from Aikido to Krav Maga. Her training is based on Crossfit, a strength and conditioning program used by many police academies and military units. It focuses on total overall training and making my body capable of short bursts of power. Anyways, today was our first training session and she worked me harder than I've been worked in years. Let's hope I survive the experience.

1. Get Healthy - drop 30-50 lbs and build my strength and flexibility.
2. Get Creative - Explore the drawing & writing that I used to do before I started working.
3. Figure Myself Out - Confirm what really gets me excited in life and pursue it with a passion.

Well after pretty much following our whims as far as travel & entertainment, Sara and I have made a commitment to #1. All the exercise in the world won't help you if you're not eating well - and this has always been our downfall. We loooove the carbs and the fat. So to jumpstart our "eating healthy" efforts we've decided to give ZoneSeattle a try. Monday thru Thursday, every night they deliver a whole day's food to us that's a 40/30/30 breakdown between carbs, fats & protein. It's not exactly sustainable over the long haul, but for the initial month that we're doing this I think it will help break some bad eating habits and maybe we'll learn some new ones. I'll keep you posted.