Author Archives: Cam

Mechanical Watchery

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Mechanical watches are cool.  These fascinating little devices keep time (or attempt to keep it) with no battery. Instead they have a spring that gets wound by either manually turning the crown or by movement of the wearer.

Some of the mechanical watches out there have an exhibition feature. This feature allows part of the watch’s inner working to be seen through the dial or caseback. I’ve been collecting these watches for the last decade or so and I was delighted to see that they have finally become trendy enough for Walmart to knockoff!

I was at Walmart and I ran across this little gem on the left. What at first appears to be a nifty peek inside a mechanical watch is actually a static composition designed to fool the casual observer. This is a quart watch and the visible gears and jewels are fake! I have included a picture of a real mechanical watch with an exhibition back for comparision. And yes, I was being sarcastic when I called the Walmart watch a “gem.”

As an aside I have always loved watches (any kind of watch).  When I was little (think late 1980’s) I probably had a dozen or so watches. My prized pieces were a watch shaped like an Oreo, A Nintendo Zelda watch (you could actually play the game), a Timex sports watch with a light, a FM radio watch from Boy’s Life and a Casio Databank. I was living the good life. I have no idea where those watches disappeared to, but it would be fun to see them again…or maybe not.

Running Away From My Problems.

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May 9th has come and gone, so I thought I’d post a quick update on my progress.

First the bad news: I didn’t reach my weight loss goal- I’m currently at 244. Fun fact: 244 moves me from “obese” to “overweight” on the BMI!

Now the good news: The changes I have made in my life are sustainable. Even “cheating” a little here and there still nets me gradual weight loss. Plus, I can always comfort myself with the “I must have gained some muscle” excuse 🙂 Bottom line: I’m happy with my progress.

Overall I feel really good. I rarely ache or feel fatigued during the day anymore. I also feel like my mental clarity and my moods have improved. Exercise seems to have a balancing effect on the body. I wish I would have realized this sooner.

My next goal is to add significantly more weight training to my regime (build muscles to burn fat, right?). I’m also going to focus more on my nutrition (yes, actual health) in the coming months.

I’ve achieved a couple of fun milestones in the past few weeks. I jogged my first half marathon (treadmill, average speed 5.1mph). I also -easily-ran my first sub 8 minute mile (7 mins, 50 seconds). I’m going to shoot for a sub 7 minute mile in the near future.

I wish I had never given up last year. Who knows where I could be right now? But this time I’m going to stick with it.

Anyway- enough about excercise for now. In a few months I’ll provide another update. Wish me luck.

Posted May 10th, 2011 by Cam

Looking for a Sign

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When we moved to our new building back in June 2009 I remember wondering how long it would take us to put up a sign on our building. The answer turned out to be one year and ten months. After doing some research we chose  Allied Electric Sign from Salt Lake. The were exceptional- reasonable cost, quick production, excellent quality and they came and installed it for us. I would not hesitate to recommend them or use them in the future.

This sign is about four times larger than the sign on our last building. One really nice thing is that we have good freeway visibility (south & north). People seem to have a much easier time finding us. Perhaps this is what contributes to the increased store traffic we’ve been seeing.

And now when customers come in they are greeted with a store, as opposed to the mess from just a year ago. We pushed the counters forward to corral customers in (I’m pretty sure I mentioned this in another post), built out shelves and quickly filled them.

These pictures are a diorama shot of the store as you walk in. There’s a lot of stuff and I think the overall feel is nice. Our cabinets will probably need to be replaced at some point  (pieces of the veneer are coming off and the lightning didn’t survive the move) but they do for now. It’s pretty exciting to see something in your head actually start to take shape.

Overall things are steadily evolving. We separated out some of the departments (i.e. order fulfillment & customer service) and I think that while initially difficult the long term result will be very beneficial. Below you can see our order fulfillment center.  We’ve expanded it a little from last year. Additionally we reorganized our warehouse a bit, but we’re actually starting to feel a space crunch. I don’t know how we would have survived if we hadn’t moved when we did. We’ve still got three years left on our current contract and so we’re trying to acquire the unit next to us so we don’t run out of room.

The customer service center is adjacent to the order fulfillment area. Right now this space is also shared partially by our product department. And we finally started using the space upstairs! We have (part of) our product team, our content & marketing and our programming department upstairs. Indeed, growth has been good (personally I find growth to be quite challenging. That will be a great topic for another post though…). 

I never thought I’d see the day where I could work in my office, but I’ve been spending more and more of my time there. Ive got a great crew, and – with regard to business – we’ve been very fortunate. There’s a lot on our plate this year, but I’m confident that we’ll do it all and then some.


www.bladehq.com, www.bladeplay.com, www.emergencymatters.com

Posted April 17, 2011 by Cam Hughes

Hong Kong Teahouse

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I think I’ve eaten at every Chinese, Thai and Sushi restaurant in Utah Valley. When Fran announced that she wanted roast duck and that we had to go to Salt Lake to get it I was delighted. Nothing like expanding one’s culinary horizons. Her quest took us to the  Hong Kong Tea House in downtown Salt Lake. I have to admit that my initial impression wasn’t overly positive, but I’m willing to try any Chinese restaurant. And then I saw the daily special: ribeye steak stir fry. Fran got her duck, an order of bok choy and some shark fin soup.

The food presentation was captivating and the taste was extraordinary. The ribeye stir fry has been, by far, one of the best meals I’ve eaten in years. I asked about the availability and, sadly, it comes and goes (you can call ahead if you’d committed to this particular dish). If anyone is looking for a new Chinese food experience I’d readily recommend Hong Kong Tea House.

Posted April 13, 2011 by Cam Hughes

Sesame, the Rat

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Last month we decided to get another Rat. I went to Petsmart on a Wednesday and prescreened the rats (they put them out on Saturday). One of them came right over to take a closer look at my hand and I knew she was the one. We went back Saturday and picked her up. We named the new rat Sesame and she was a blast right from the start.

More than anything she reminds me of a small dog. She’s actually very affectionate and loves to play. Fran has gotten especially attached to her and brings her into our bed to play in the evenings. The other night I asked her, “A month ago if I told you we were going to let a rat run around in our bed would you have believed me?” No way. I’ve said it before, it’s amazing how you can get so attached to a tiny “pest.” We’ve been much more careful this time around and I think Sesame is destined for a long happy life (as far as rat lives go). As weird as it feels to say it, a rat makes an excellent pet.

Posted April 12, 2011 by Cam Hughes

Health Reform Update

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My journey has been filled with many peaks and valleys. Overall, making a lifestyle change has been incredibly challenging. I periodically cope with feelings of detestable donut desirings, incapacitating ice cream indulgences, and buffeting buffet buffoonery.  Last week I managed to injure my back and shoulder (I actually had Jillian Michaels appear in a dream and yell at me!). Bottom line, my efforts have been seriously derailed since my last update.

However, I am pleased to report that not all is lost. I actually met my weight loss goal on Apri l 10th: 249 pounds. I had hoped to be much further along, but I am happy with this small victory (especially considering that I don’t think I necessarily earned it). I think I’m fully healed up now, and so it’s time to put my shoulder back to the wheel. My new goal is 240 by May 9th. 29 days, 9 pounds (I’m secretly hoping I hit 239). Wish me luck!

Posted April 13th, 2011 by Cam Hughes

Going Home

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For nearly the last two years I’ve had my Corvette parked at work. This was a mixture of convenience (not mine), protection (from my kids) and a high novelty factor (that quickly wore off). As I previously mentioned, keeping the car at work had some serious drawbacks (like the fact that I couldn’t use it very often). But work could use the room, the kids are older, and I need access to my car and so the time has finally come to bring my Corvette home.

My  biggest concern having the car at home is my kids. Behind the area where I would park my car is a door that leads to the backyard. That door is the one that the kids use to go in and out of the house all day (this gives them access to to the mudroom we put in last year). In the past walking by my car seemed to necessitate touching it, scratching it, climbing on the hood and other various forms of torture. So before I moved the car home I had to come up with a way to protect it, just in case. Shelves to the rescue.

After careful consideration I decided I could build a wall out of shelves. The wall creates nice wide walkway to the outside door, a cozy protected parking spot for my car and adds valuable storage space. While I was at it, I moved around some other shelves and our freezer. Overall I’d say the flow of our garage is actually enhanced.

I’m really looking forward to using my car more this coming spring. I just hope the weather improves. It seems like we have rain or snow five days out of every week.

Posted by Cam Hughes, April 09, 2011

Healthcare Reform

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Originally written Feb 20, 2011:

Ever tried to lose 70 pounds? It’s tough. I’m sure everyone has heard of The Biggest Looser by now. Every week – with a few exceptions –  the contestants inspire me.  At my worst in 2009, I tipped the scale at right about 300 pounds. In 2010 I worked my way down to 257 but then events in my life overcame my resolve to exercise and I gave up. I slowly worked my way back up to 277.

Enter 2011. Two hundred seventy seven pounds  is a long way from where I need to be.  So… For the last month I have walked a 5K every day on my treadmill. In addition I have being doing weight training every day. Additionally I have reduced my caloric intake to about 2250 calories a day. The net result: thus far I have lost about three pounds each week.  As I write this I currently weigh 265lbs.

Weight loss is about one thing: Using more calories than you consume (“types” of calories is a topic best left for a conversation on health- this post is about intake vs. consumption). Here’s my  math. Someone my starting size (277lbs, 6′ 4″) has a resting (basal) metabolic rate of about 2200. And during the course of my day (7 hours sleeping, 17 awake, super light activity) I burn about 1000 additional calories. Therefore,  my total daily burn is probably somewhere around 3200 (that’s to maintain my current weight). To lose a pound you need to burn roughly 3500 calories. So, over the course of each day I eat (on average) 2250 calories, burn about 700 (exercise) and I have a deficit of 1650. Over the course of a week my deficit total is somewhere around 11,000 and 11,000/3500 = 3-ish lbs lost each week.

There are obvious cardio benefits too. I timed myself in the beginning of my journey. It took me more than 11 mins to puff my way through a mile. Now I can run a mile in under 9 mins (sans puffing). My 5K time was 39 mins and now I can run it just shy of 32 mins. My goal for my birthday is a sub 8 minute mile and a sub 30 min 5K. The body’s ability to heal itself is fantastic.

Update written March 15, 2011:

By the beginning of March I was down to 257 again. I ran a mile in 8 mins 10 seconds and a 5K in 29 mins. I had high hopes for reaching the 240’s by my birthday (March 22nd).

And then the shin splints came. I’m not exactly certain why they started. Possibly bad running form, the increased workout intensity or the fact that I changed shoes (wore my other pair out!). The pain got so bad I could barely walk, let alone run.

But I was determined not to give up this time. I changed my walking technique to compensate for the pain and I adjusted the treadmill incline to maintain the workout intensity. There were days I simply had to skip. Around the same time work and home life got particularly stressful (sorry, no juicy details) and I compromised my diet at times. While there was no further weight loss, I was able to maintain my progress.

Fast forward two weeks. Today I was finally able to run again without pain. I jogged about six miles while I watched the part of the bachelor finale on Hulu. It felt so good to run again! I don’t have any residual pain after my run, so I’m feeling hopeful. It’s back to my diet and regular workout now.

I’ll post another update sometime in April. My new goal is to hit the 240’s by April 10th, since my original plan hit a snag. Wish me luck!