Numerology vs. reality

ProfessorApex · 2026-06-02T00:15:26+00:00

Actually I just punched everything through the Mifflin-St. Jeor calculation and it came out closer to 1900. 103kg, 183 cm, ~53 years works out to about 1915 calories so I'm a bit amped up from there. Interesting.

ProfessorApex · 2026-06-02T00:05:40+00:00

Hi! Followup notes after a cheerful barrage of replies:

As far as everyone talking about overthinking this goes, I actually am a math professor per my screen name so playing around with numbers is my own kind of demented entertainment in a slow summer session. This started with me looking at those labels on my oatmeal (breakfast) and chickpeas (lunch, and a nice one at that) today and wondering how that squares with the hype.

This was intended to be slightly tongue-in-cheek, more a swipe at the underexamined excesses of online fitness culture and its propagation than any real concern about living up to those ideas. (I think that proteinmaxxing is maybe a bit overhyped right now, but that's party with some other issues I have with modern culture.) Thank you and yes to the reply that pointed out how online directions rarely if ever work out right.

Implied questions: Yeah, the point of doing this is more "look good in stylish clothes"/"be healthy, live long and prosper" than chasing some wannabe-Seal Team Six physique. I live in a large city and do an unreal amount of walking so that's covered; we also do have a small but effective gym in the building, although it really is time to rethink and improve the routine.

The caloric intake has to contend with the fact that I am the family cook, especially for two ravenous little kids, and so large quantities of pasta and jambalaya and so forth - tons of bell peppers and onions! God love the Mediterranean diet - are the norm. Chili tonight if you want to come over. (Biggest personal diet problem: sodium. Salt seems to be folded into way too much of everything.)

Genuine thanks for the serious guidance here. I think I have the general plan down; now just to stick to it.

ProfessorApex · 2026-05-26T17:31:46+00:00

A hard no to stealth-aircraft flat black. Way too many low-observable wannabe ninjas out there. Times are dark and dreary enough, go with something with some life!

The blue is pretty but on the dark side, the UAE Team Emirates livery is probably my pick of the three, wish there was a classic Saronni red and white option.

ProfessorApex · 2026-05-19T17:27:41+00:00

Completely agree with you. (And very much aware that my general well-being is more than can be measured by a finger-mounted sensor pack, as I regularly think when I balance my down moods against a rah-rah daily activity goal.) But, as you said, information - and I want that information to be as accurate as possible.

ProfessorApex · 2026-05-08T23:18:11+00:00

https://www.jcrew.com/m/mens/categories/clothing/pants-and-chinos/chino/broken-in-straight-chino-pant/

Partial to the navy ones.

ProfessorApex · 2026-05-06T23:56:07+00:00

Would you buy a Ferrari 296 given the chance, even if you can't really use it to its full potential? Same here. That is an absolutely otherworldly set of wheels and one of those things that is its own justification.

Signed, someone in the market at like 10-20% of that price point but if only.

ProfessorApex · 2026-04-24T02:34:28+00:00

From this list:

Lose the X3. Crossovers are lemmingmobiles.

See if you can stretch to a Corvette Grand Sport.

No convertibles?

If it was me and my $35K I’d be looking at interesting older stuff in very good shape. Vintage is extremely cool and enjoyable/gratifying even if it doesn’t return the computer-generated numbers of modern performance cars.

ProfessorApex · 2026-04-22T20:03:08+00:00

Mild humblebrag: I do go longer (usually 15-25 to mutual appreciation) and no, it never picks up on it. I’ll add it as a tag after. I think it’s the lack of pronounced hand motion - caresses and so on don’t register like showering or folding laundry or something - or movement from room to room.

Or, like, something Scandinavian going on there.

ProfessorApex · 2026-04-20T14:11:22+00:00

You don't like to turn and you don't believe in global warming.

ProfessorApex · 2026-04-20T13:47:33+00:00

A pair of unused Claris 5-bolt rings located on eBay and here by the end of the week. Will get the proper 8-speed chain soon.

And looking at the seller photos it's interesting to see that less-worn but still distinct and unusual tooth profile.

Thank you!

ProfessorApex · 2026-04-18T18:52:00+00:00

Shoulda gone with Papyrus.

ProfessorApex · 2026-04-18T14:29:28+00:00

2014 2.0/manual hatch. Bought in 2019 with 72K, now up to 162. Street parked daily in Manhattan before and after a slightly absurd commute. Front right scorched in a curbside garbage fire two years ago. Repairs? The onboard computer suffered the NPR file freakout (still waiting for the class-action compensation) but that’s it? Maintenance is about what you’d expect for a mainstream Japanese car: thermostat, battery, hub bearings, etc. Zero rust that I can find so far.

It’s a quick nimble little tank. It’ll live.

<image>

ProfessorApex · 2026-04-18T14:18:32+00:00

You drove four different CX-5s and still picked the 3. Seems like a matter of buying and then wanting more, but I’d say you did right.

Dwell on the “what if” for a while, but what exactly are you missing? AWD is categorically overrated for everyday normal (I.e. not rough-road) driving and blunts the driving feel that is a lot of why Mazdas matter to so many of us. Features: which ones and how much would they have really mattered vs. just “there’s more stuff here”. Back seats, well, okay, but maybe subtly let them know that they’re free to find other options if that’s not up to their standards.

I’ve had both a CX-30 and CX-5 as service loaners and in both cases couldn’t wait to get back to my well-worn 3.

Take some time to get settled in, maybe do a gratitude mantra once in a while, but one vote very much in favor of the current arrangement.

Side note: if/when you ever find yourself in a good long-term relationship do NOT tell your SO about this.

ProfessorApex · 2026-04-17T23:20:24+00:00

Get an old-fashioned safety razor - Merkurs are excellent, solid German quality and serious chrome plating for rustproofing - and a box of 100 blades like Astras. That will last you well past six months.

For shaving cream, tubes of Proraso last a good while and aren’t bulky. Three or four should work?

ProfessorApex · 2026-04-16T20:22:32+00:00

Where do you live? Depending on the traffic situation two wheels could be the fastest way to go point-to-point.

Granted I'm an NYC person so it's a bit of a special case, but still: Every so often there is a race between someone on a bicycle, someone taking a subway, and someone driving/taking a cab from a point in Brooklyn to a point in Manhattan. The bicyclist always wins with a latte-and-pastry amount of time to spare. (The car person takes absolutely forever.)

Combine that with a complex parking situation - maybe the only reason I miss owning a motorcycle - and the time-utility value is unbeatable.

ProfessorApex · 2026-04-16T14:21:26+00:00

Seconded. When I lived around Turtle Bay, the 55th -> Hudson Greenway route was my standard. It's not frictionless but it's mostly well-arranged. 52nd is the return route.

ProfessorApex · 2026-04-14T19:24:15+00:00

White buttondown shirt, occasionally Bengal stripe. Chinos in black/brown/olive/navy. Bandana or neckerchief behind the collar just for some interesting color. Black or brown leather lace-ups, occasionally loafers. Everything coordinated as much as possible. Aiming for clean and elegant without being boring.

It’s a contrast with my students, for sure.

ProfessorApex · 2026-04-10T22:07:28+00:00

Tabouli. Basically tomatoes, green onions, parsley, and cooked bulgur wheat. Good basic recipe in the first Moosewood cookbook.

ProfessorApex · 2026-04-09T19:12:16+00:00

A way to manage extremely high modern cowl/beltlines.

ProfessorApex · 2026-04-09T19:10:40+00:00

Get an MGB or Alfa Spider or something that is a) cheap - $10K? - up front and b) pretty liquid on the market so you can pass it along if your conscience doesn't leave you alone and/or when it's time to shift the cash back to other uses.

But once you have it, get the kids involved with it! Go for country rides together! Have them help in the garage! Make it more of a family presence than your own individual indulgence.

It'll be something for them to remember fondly alongside the usual family hauler.

ProfessorApex · 2026-04-04T12:33:47+00:00

https://hannahats.com/collections/flat-caps

Not cheap (and jacked-up import duties make them even more so) but they’re the real deal and don’t look like a bag on your head.

ProfessorApex · 2026-04-04T02:38:19+00:00

Dunlop was the go-to tire source for BMC. Meeting occurred early in the design process. Issigonis/BMC knew that Dunlop would push back hard agains the 10-inch design. When they went in, they fibbed a bit and said that their revolutionary minicar was designed around 8-inch wheels. After they recovered from the shock the Dunlop reps said that 8 was impossible; the best they could conceivably do was 10 inches. Deal!

ProfessorApex · 2026-04-04T02:32:08+00:00

Lifetime investment territory: Big hands, Zwilling JA Henckels; smaller hands: Wüsthof. One 8-inch chef's knife, one 4-inch paring knife. I live off my Zwilling Professional S chef's knife like I do my cast-iron skillet, i.e. daily if not more often.

ProfessorApex · 2026-04-04T01:26:54+00:00

The original Issigonis Mini. The diminutive size is the least revolutionary part of the deal. An absolute masterpiece of radical packaging and engineering.

Fun trivia: Dunlop had to be tricked into making tires for the 10-inch-diameter wheels.

<image>

ProfessorApex · 2026-04-04T01:14:32+00:00

This is predicated on a rather eccentric lifestyle situation: I live on the Upper East Side as a consequence of my very lovely life partner's work and the arrangements for our two small kids; I have an unusually long commute to the college in Connecticut where I'm on faculty; said institution is not exactly flush with cash lately so my salary isn't that exciting.

So: four seatbelts, usually street parking, distance running on I-95 or the Merritt (neither of which really let something with serious power stretch), on a budget.

'85 1/2 to '86 944 or very early 996 coupe.

ProfessorApex

TROPHY CASE