Kaizen Day 33, May 13 2017

This post is part of my daily kaizen routine, this is day 33 of that routine


It was a really crappy day today with lots of rain, I did not go for a run and didn't go to the gym either

For breakfast my daughter made some pancakes, I had 2 of those

I decided to use some of the chicken bones we had frozen to make a chicken bone broth. This bone broth will be used as a stock for a risotto which we will eat for dinner





After 8 hours, here is what it looked like when I put in in jars. I froze 3 jars and put 2 jars in the refrigerator to use this week

For lunch I had a chickpea/while bean salad with tomatoes, onions and spring mix lettuce

I also discovered a new podcast and started listening to it from episode 1: STEM-Talk

The most interesting people in the world of science and technology. STEM-Talk is an interview podcast show produced by the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition, a not-for-profit research lab pioneering ground-breaking technologies aimed at leveraging and extending human cognition, perception, locomotion and resilience. Twice a month, we talk to groundbreaking scientists, engineers and technologists. Our interviews focus on the science that our subjects are engaged with, as well as their careers, motivations, education, and passions. Think of them as “profiles in science.” 

Dinner as mentioned before was risotto with peas, chicken and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

Had a little bit of ice cream for dessert

Activity for the day

Total steps:  10,407

Total floors: 6

Total distance: 4.9 miles

Kaizen Day 31/32, May 11/12 2017

This post is part of my daily kaizen routine, this is day 31/32 of that routine


May 11

Worked in NJ today, did the 2.2 mile walk to the train station.   No running or gym workouts today.

Had a sandwich for breakfast

Had General Tso's chicken for lunch

Walked a around while having meetings on the phone where I was mostly in listening mode

Walked the 2.2 miles back to home from the train station

For dinner, we had  turkey bolognese with string beans on the side


Activity for the day
Total steps:  18,432
Total floors: 6
Total distance: 9.5 miles






May 12

Got out of bed ad 5:10 AM today, had my coffee and listened to some podcasts. Left the house around 6:20 AM and ran for about 40 minutes. Midway my phone ran out of juice.... arghhhhh. It was kind of nice to run the way back with silence actually

Worked from home today

Had a cheese sandwich for lunch

For dinner, we had the same as last night since we made it for two days, we had  turkey bolognese with string beans on the side

Activity for the day
Total steps:  12,170
Total floors: 4
Total distance: 6 miles

Kaizen Day 30, May 10 2017

This post is part of my daily kaizen routine, this is day 30 of that routine

I woke up at 4:30, had my coffee and then rode my bike to the gym. I did a chest, shoulder and tricep workout.  I then rode my back back home. I was back home by 7:00 AM. I went earlier to the gym today because I had to watch my daughter while my wife drove the youngest son to school because he had to go on a class trip.

For breakfast I had a couple of eggs and some bread

I worked from home, had a bunch of meetings and did a fair amount of troubleshooting. I took 1/2 a vacation day because I wanted to watch the Champions League semifinal between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid

I watched the Build 2017 conference keynote, there were some interesting things shown, it was mostly focused on Azure

Watched the Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid game. The first 20 minutes were insane, once Isco scored however Atletico faded away.  The final will be great: Juventus vs Real Madrid


Lunch was a burrito and some cabbage salad

For dinner, I had minestrone again

Dessert was some yogurt and blueberries

Activity for the day

Total steps:  8957

Total floors: 20

Total distance: 4.0 miles

Kaizen Day 29 May 9 2017

This post is part of my daily kaizen routine, this is day 29 of that routine

I woke up at 5, had my coffee and then rode my bike to the gym. I did a back, bicep and leg workout. I then rode my back back home. I was back home by 7:30 AM

I listened to the triangulation podcast with author Daniel Suarez while biking to and from the gym

Daniel Suarez is the author of five books, including Daemon, Freedom(tm), and Influx. His latest book, Change Agent, depicts a near-future world where genetic editing technology has become commonplace. Daniel talks to Leo Laporte about how he writes, how biotech like CRISPR is poised to create the next industrial revolution, and what it will be like when your steak is grown in a vat instead of raised in a pen.

I read all Daniel Suarez's books so far, I loved Daemon and Freedom, will have to check out Change Agent

For breakfast I had a couple of eggs and some bread

I worked from home, had a bunch of meetings and did a fair amount of troubleshooting. I took 1/2 a vacation day because I wanted to watch the Champions League semifinal between Juventus and Monaco

Lunch was a burrito with some tomatoes

For dinner, I had a minestrone with beans

Dessert was some watermelon

Activity for the day

Total steps: 14,223

Total floors: 15

Total distance: 6.6  miles

Kaizen Day 28 May 8 2017

This post is part of my daily kaizen routine, this is day 28 of that routine

Got out of bed ad 5 AM today, had my coffee and listened to some podcasts. Left the house around 5:30 AM and ran for about 40 minutes. On the run I listened to the Tim Ferriss podcast episode: The Savant of Speed — Ryan Flaherty.  I noticed that the runs are getting easier than when I started, it is actually not that bad the last 2 minutes or so. I am thinking of either adding some distance or maybe running faster, not sure yet, I will give it a week or so,

Cooled down, took a shower, walked the 2.2 miles to the train station

At work I had a slice of pizza for lunch as well as an apple and an orange

Played 5 games of 9-ball at work, managed to beat my buddy Vlad 3-2, even though he lead by 2-0 and he also put in the 9 ball from the break in the first game. In the end, I had a little bit of luck and managed to win the last game,

Today I Learned

I finished the Ancient World podcast, I started to listen to a new podcast (new for me), this is the Stuff You Should Know podcast. I started all the way from the beginning, the first 20-30 podcasts are around 10 minutes each so I am blazing through it. So there was an interesting episode, I have never heard of this before, it is called Guerrilla Gardening

From wikipedia

Guerrilla gardening is the act of gardening on land that the gardeners do not have the legal rights to cultivate, such as abandoned sites, areas that are not being cared for, or private property. It encompasses a diverse range of people and motivations, ranging from gardeners who spill over their legal boundaries to gardeners with political influences who seek to provoke change by using guerrilla gardening as a form of protest or direct action. This practice has implications for land rights and land reform; aiming to promote re-consideration of land ownership in order to assign a new purpose or reclaim land that is perceived to be in neglect or misused.
The land that is guerrilla gardened is usually abandoned or perceived to be neglected by its legal owner. That land is used by guerrilla gardeners to raise plants, frequently focusing on food crops or plants intended for aesthetic purposes.

You can also check this site out if you want to see pictures and get more information http://guerrillagardening.org/

For dinner I had the same exact thing as yesterday: Italian Wedding Soup

For dessert I had some yogurt with fruit

Activity for the day

Total steps: 27,224

Total floors: 5

Total distance: 13.9  miles

Kaizen Day 26/27, May 6/7 2017

This post is part of my daily kaizen routine, this is day 26/27 of that routine

May 6

Got out of bed ad 5:10 AM today, had my coffee and listened to some podcasts. Left the house around 6:20 AM and ran for about 40 minutes.

Had a combination of breakfast and lunch today around 11, I guess I can call it lunch, it was a cheese sandwich and some tomatoes

For dinner we had burgers, sweet potatoes and salad

Total steps:  20,038
Total floors: 4
Total distance: 10.2 miles




May 7

Went for a nice 2 hour walk between 5 AM and 7 AM. I shot this 4 minute video around Blair Hall in Princeton at the university



For breakfast I had some eggs, an English muffin and some tomatoes

For lunch, I had some rice, zucchini, onions and tomatoes. I added a little soy sauce and sambal oelek to give it some flavor and heat



Dinner tonight was Italian wedding soup.  Dessert was a little bit of ice cream


Total steps:  14,310
Total floors: 10
Total distance: 6.5 miles

Kaizen Day 25, May 5 2017

This post is part of my daily kaizen routine, this is day 25 of that routine

I woke up at 5, had my coffee and then rode my bike to the gym. I did a chest, shoulder and tricep workout. During the workout I decided that between each set I would go up and down the stairs twice. By the time I was done with the workout I had climbed 56 floors.  I then rode my back back home. I was back home by 7:30 AM

For breakfast I had a couple of eggs and some bread

I worked from home, had a bunch of meetings and did a fair amount of troubleshooting

Before work I installed CTP 2 of SQL Server 2017, I checked out the new SELECT INTO FileGroup functionality and wrote a short post about it: SQL Server 2017: SELECT INTO File Group

I didn't eat lunch but I had some fruit and cheese during various times of the day

For dinner we made Mexican food since it was Cinco de Mayo. May 5th is also Bevrijdingsdag in the Netherlands. Bevrijdingsdag is celebrated each year on May the 5th to mark the end of the occupation by Nazi Germany during World War II.

For dessert I've been a bad boy and had cookies and cream ice cream...


My goal was to climb 100 floors, I ended up with climbing 101 floors. I did 45 of them at home, most of them were done during phone calls with work (backlog grooming, story closing and daily stand up)

Here is what the rest of the activity looks like

Total steps:  15,837

Total floors: 101

Total distance: 7.6 miles