I doubted that I would lose weight on the No S Diet during November, but I figured that I had to have lost at least a little. Well, I'm glad to report that by averaging multiple weighings at the end of last month and the beginning of this month, it appears that I have lost 9 lbs. since I started about a month ago. Now the exact number, of course, is debatable, because we happened to get a new scale since I last weighed myself back when I started. But the fact remains that the No S Diet is helping me lose weight. It may not be long before I'm out of the "overweight" category. And the best part is, even though I lost all that weight, I still managed to do hardly any exercise at all!

I did start using the shovelglove for 14 minutes on Monday and Tuesday, but due to the pain I had to take some rest. I had to keep my arms -- especially my left -- bent or else they'd hurt like crazy. They only got better today, probably because I'm doing more arm-bend-requiring activities than when I'm in school (where I have to bend my arms to keep them on my desk). In any case, I'll probably feel good enough on Monday to try again. My parents say my muscles were just responding because they're never used that much, but I think pain is your body's way of saying something's wrong. I guess it's worth another shot doing the same routine; I'll just have to be more careful.

With the end of November I've been learning Esperanto for six months (It was at the end of May that I got into it again). I think is a sort of a milestone, because I commonly hear from others who have learned the language that they gained reasonable proficiency in six months. Now, I doubt I'm as good as them, but I read my Esperanto news sites along with English blogs. And I just wrote this article about the Liberty Bell (or, shall I say, la libereca sonorilo) for the Esperanto Wikipedia. I need an opportunity to talk to speakers, and learn more words, I guess. And gain proficiency in listening. In other words, I need help all around.

But, I have gotten an early Christmas present: a youth membership to the Esperanto League of North America, a subscription to "La Ondo de Esperanto" ("The Wave of Esperanto"), a magazine from Russia, and a couple of Esperanto buttons that I intend to wear on Zamenhof Day (December 15), Esperanto's main holiday, if you will. Hopefully these will foster my understanding of the language, like those books which I've finished some of.

Joel A. Friesen used a series of charts and graphs to show his girlfriend "Why You Should Continue to Date Me." After the last slide you can find out how she reacted to the presentation.

The best paper airplane in the world? It's quite possible -- I used to know how to make a similar one that flew rather well -- but I'm not enough of a paper airplane aficionado (or a paper folding aficionado) to find out.

One year ago: "No sleeping style is for everyone. You have to see what works best for you."