That's strange – my clothes have shrunk!

I think I must be the victim of some strange disturbance in the space-time continuum, because my clothes appear to have been shrinking over the past few months.

Whatever force is causing this effect to occur, it seems to have gained strength over the holidays. I base this observation on the fact that I can barely squeeze into my jeans these days.

Failing a rift in "The Force," the only other possible explanation that comes to mind is that my friends are mistaken when they inform me that (a) anything that you eat using only your fingers to convey it to your mouth has no calorific value whatsoever and (b) any calories found in alcohol (apparently there are a few if you look hard for them) are water soluble and therefore do not cause you to gain weight.


The problem is that Design West is racing toward us like a speeding train. This year Design West is to be held in San Jose, California, on April 22-25, which is less than 16 weeks away as i pen these words. In addition to being the track chair for the Processors and Programmable Devices track, I will also be presenting a couple of papers myself – one introducing Programmable Devices and one discussing the effects of radiation on electronic components and systems.

I obviously wish to look slim and svelte for these presentations. More importantly, of course, we have the Geek Hat Competition, for which I wish to look my very best.

By some strange quirk of fate, there was a discussion on the radio while I was driving into work. Contrary to previous research, it seems that a new report indicates that people who are "a few pounds overweight" may live longer than their (unfortunate) slim counterparts. If this is true, then extrapolating things along the lines of "more is better" -- and based on my ever-increasing weight -- I think there's a batting chance I will live forever.

One doctor on the radio program said that the easiest way to tell if you are overweight is to think back to your early 20s. Assuming that you were not overweight at that time, then that is your ideal weight.


Sad to say, based on the above picture of me from around that time, I think we have to conclude that "That ship has sailed." Looking on the bright side, however, there are still almost 16 weeks to go until Design West, so as of today I've started a New Year's Resolution/Diet … keep your fingers crossed for me and watch this space…

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