In the last three years, I’ve lived on three continents. Renting, leasing, or owning a home on each.

When hobbies compete against livelihood, hobbies never win. I haven’t forgotten about Noprobo. I’ve been amassing ideas, waiting for the day I can once again post them online.

That’s what’s up with the long pause in posting, in case you were wondering (or emailing me!)

Without feedback, you simply can’t make progress toward a goal. It’s like coding without the occassional compile and run. Non-geek translation: It’s dumb.

Unfortunately, feedback is in short supply for folks looking to improve their posture. To remedy that issue, this article outlines a homebrew solution I developed for measuring spinal curvature at home, for free.

For those of us who spend many long hours at the computer, speed and fluidity of navigation are essential. Every time you move your hands to perform some banal task like minimizing a window, precious time slips away and your flow is disrupted. Frustrating.

The bane of my existence (at a computer, at least) has been minimizing windows. Something is behind that open window, and it’s important! I don’t have time (read: patience) to shuffle around and explore my options for getting to it. I need something immediate.

So I created a tiny Windows program that turns your mouse’s scroll wheel into a minimize button. It’s fast, superlightweight, and does NOT do anything silly like write to the registry or check for updates every 10 minutes.

It’s 2011. I’m in the best shape of my life. I can run long distances, lift heavy weights and out-chin-up anyone in the gym, one-armed! I’m even pretty flexible to boot.

Sorry for bragging, but I’m setting up my point.

I started the last decade an overweight computer geek. I ended it an enthusiastic fitness dweeb. The change was so drastic, I wanted to reflect on what inspired that transition. I realized there was one specific thing accounted for my getting in shape more than any other. When I realized what it was, I was surprised but not at all perplexed.

A debate rages as to whether autism should be considered a disability or a gift. Some autistic people exhibit intense fascination with numbers, words, and patterns. Perhaps they have a neurological distinction that makes them truly special, not just “special” in the subtly condescending sense of the word. Of course, their advantage comes at the expense of social and communicative ability, making their integration into society a difficult one.

One area of potential advantage is hyperlexia, where certain autistic children are able to recognize words at an exceptionally early age. I’d like to examine ways to simulate hyperlexia in those of us lacking the enigmatic factors of autism. While I will never look at words with the same captivation of a true hyperlexic, I hope I can mimic the effect closely. Here are my thoughts and research on the subject.

I’ve been getting into weightlifting in a big way lately, thanks to an obscure weightlifting club here in Switzerland. At this bafflingly affordable club there are two types of client: enormous gorilla men… and me. We let ourselves into the unstaffed workout room, place our things in the lockerless change room, exchange palm-crushing handshakes and pleasantries with the other members, and start lifting weights old-school. I love this place.

Thanks in large part to the spectacular weightlifting equipment there, I’ve put on 7lbs of lean mass in less than 3 months. The results are similar to my Pack on the Sexy challenge, but with workouts that are shorter and fewer.

When I return to Toronto, where gyms are seldom more than profit-oriented rooms of TVs and treadmills, I’ll miss the camaraderie, but I simply can’t sacrifice the equipment. But here’s the problem: A single Eleiko-brand weightlifting bar costs $1000. That’s just the bar!

So I’ve been doing my research. Here’s how to get a serious weightlifting setup at home, on a shoestring budget.

If you ever lived in Canada, you know the name Terry Fox. His name is honourifically attached to schools, parks, roads and just about everything you name after a national hero. Countless humanitarian awards and distinctions have been awarded to him. He is on commemorative stamps and coins. Here’s why…

An extremely competitive and talented athlete, Fox was in a car accident that left him with a sore knee. The pain persisted and when he went to see a doctor he was given some good news, and some bad news. The good news? They found a solution to his knee pain. The bad news? The solution was to amputate his leg. The pain wasn’t from the accident; he had cancer.

So we know that getting good posture is not easy. Forces of gravity are working relentlessly on your body, and your body has been responding in the same lousy way since forever. Improving posture is essentially like breaking a lifelong habit that’s been supported by countless elements from daily life. The height of your countertops, the soles of your shoes, even how often you flip your mattress all play some role. How are we supposed to tackle all that?

The same way you eat an elephant: one bite at a time. Let’s get chewing.