Author Archives: Raoul

About Raoul

With a fairly unusual first name, this is where I have to stress VERY STRONGLY that these posts are my personal opinions and in no way reflect anything at all to do with my employer. For employer-approved content, take a look at my work blog.

How I Lost Thirty Pounds

Posted on June 29, 2020 by Raoul

After 15-20 years of trying to exercise my way to weight loss; I discovered that, for me, that’s not a viable path. After a few false starts, I have found that the boring basics work. Weigh yourself everyday at the … Continue reading →

Posted in Fitness, Life | Leave a comment

Overthinking

Posted on June 23, 2020 by Raoul

Thanks to the guy who yelled at me and Roxy on the beach. (You were wrong, by the way, dogs are allowed on the beach after hours) It’s now three days later and I still think about how I could … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged beach, musings, random | Leave a comment

Optimism

Posted on June 15, 2020 by Raoul

It seems like modern (western?) society is at some kind of inflection point. The worldwide pandemic which has hit the UK and US particularly hard has had a massive knock-on effect to economies around the world. Here in the US … Continue reading →

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Zipcar fail

Posted on January 28, 2016 by Raoul

I’ve been a user / member of zipcar for 5 or more years. I don’t think I’m a heavy user by their standards, but I probably rent from them 1-2 times a month and there were periods when I was … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Travel, WTF? | 2 Comments

Evolution of New York City, in context

Posted on June 17, 2015 by Raoul

I was listening to an “In Our Time” (my new favorite podcast) episode on the history of the city and was struck by the discussion on the impact of development on pre-existing cities. Most of the discussion was on European … Continue reading →

Posted in Home, Life | Leave a comment

Pixies at the Beacon – first in a series

Posted on June 3, 2015 by Raoul

It’s turning into the summer of live music for Kim and me – starting with the Pixies at the Beacon last week.I love the Beacon Theatre as a venue – I’ve seen Van there twice and saw Eddie Vedder there … Continue reading →

Posted in Family, Life, Music, Photography, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The wretched state of “healthcare” in the US, part 279

Posted on February 20, 2015 by Raoul

I have high blood pressure – well under control – but whenever I have to deal with the various health insurance layers of obfuscation I’m sure it spikes to dangerous levels. The latest is whether or not when BlueCross BlueShield … Continue reading →

Posted in #100HealthyDays, Fitness, Life, WTF? | Leave a comment

Fitbit Charge HR

Posted on February 17, 2015 by Raoul

I finally broke down and got the Fitbit Charge HR last week (AT&T had a 15% off sale) and so far I am liking it. The trouble with the market being saturated with wearables right now is that there is way … Continue reading →

Posted in #100HealthyDays, Fitness, Life, Tech | Leave a comment

New pics on my photo blog

Posted on January 16, 2015 by Raoul

Go check them out

Posted in Photography, Travel, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Goals for this year