A few weeks ago I was shaving and looked deeply in the mirror and thought to myself "Who is that fat guy in the mirror and why is he stretching my face all out of shape?" Just how fat do you have to get before you realize that you have gotten way too fat? I guess that I figured that one out. Candy and I are dieting and participating in the OKC Weight Loss Challenge. We started this program a couple of weeks ago, I weighed in at a whopping 264 lbs.! So now everyone knows how fat you have to get before you do something about it. This is the most that I have ever weighed in my life. Today I weighed in at 246 lbs., I have been living a sedentary lifestyle since just before Christmas, no more. I am taking my health and life seriously now, we are eating right and walking for exercise. The challenge lasts for 12 weeks and I am hoping in that time to lose at least 35 lbs. My ultimate goal is to get down below 200 lbs. I'm a big guy and I will always be a big guy, but, I refuse to be huge any longer. In less than a year I went from 222 lbs. to 264 lbs., that goes to show you what sitting on your big fat butt can do for you.
Sitting here at my desk I just looked over at my bookshelf, funny thing there sit 8 cookbooks and 6 of them are based on healthy eating. Guess that I should have been looking at them long before now. I just scanned through one of them called Fat Free Living, sure enough, there are foods that you can eat that have no fat in them, amazing. My past philosophy would have been to eat whatever Candy cooked out of there with a big ole spoonful of lard or butter to grease the way down for it. Funny thing, I have noticed lately that food doesn't need grease to slide down your throat. So now I found out that you can read on food packaging and there is nutritional information printed right on the packaging. The information is not always easy to decypher, they get sneaky and give you information based on serving size. The answer to the serving size question was not one that I found particularly great. For your information the serving size for ice cream is not a whole carton, I didn't care for that little piece of knowledge. Serving size for potato chips, 8 chips. I'm here to tell you that is just about enough to piss off a fat guy. The big one is bread, I love bread. Better leave the bread alone, a sandwich has as many calories as a four ounce portion of grilled chicken, 2 cups of steamed vegetables and a salad undressed. I don't know about you, but, the chicken and vegetables sound a lot more filling.
I should have taken notice when all of my clothes shrunk up too small for me to wear. I just thought that the dryer was malfunctioning. My recliner kept going ugh! when I sat down! My shoes got to difficult too tie so I bought slip-ons. Isn't it amazing how a fat guy can rationalize away being fat. Through out the years we have been referred to as Stout, Big Boned, Hefty, King Sized, Tubby, Chunky and Pleasingly Plump. It is time to put away the nicities, if you see me sitting at a table stuffing my face with pie just yell out "Hey, fat ass, push away from the table." That type of comment will do me more good than bad. If left alone I can and will eat myself into a big fat coffin. I charge everyone with loved ones who are fat to help them get control of their lives. Eat healthy with them, walk with them and force them to push away from the table. You will save their lives.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Premeditated
This week the trial portion of the Jerome Ersland case came to an end. This was the trial of a Pharmacist who protected his pharmacy and employees by killing a gun toting underage junkie theif. The verdict, Guilty of Murder in the 1st Degree...Murder that was Premeditated. I for one do not agree with the verdict or even the trying of the case. In my opinion when a thug approaches you with a gun during a robbery, you should just about have Carte Blanche in the way which you handle the matter. I do not believe that you should handle this issue with kid gloves just because the person holding the gun happens to be a minor. The only requirement to use a gun in a robbery is that the perpetrator be strong enough to lift the weapon and pull the trigger. Being underage does not prevent that theif from killing you. Another key issue approached in the constitution is the right to bear arms. This right implies the right to use those arms to protect you and others for whom you are responsible. Once again a lower court has infringed upon one of our basic freedoms. Do I think that it was in the best interest of those rights for Mr. Ersland to kill the theif? Yes, without a doubt. Had the roles been reversed I would still feel that killing the theif would have still been the proper choice. You should always end a situation by completely removing yourself from danger, in this case by making sure that the robber would not be able to retrieve his weapon and use it on you or anyone in your employ.
A Premeditated Murder by rough defination is causing a wrongful death by any means with forethought and planning. The entire incident took place over a time span of 50 seconds, not even a full minute. Give me a break, no one can think about and plan a murder in the time alloted here. He didn't even have time to know what he was doing, he only reacted to the situation. The man received his military training to react and acheive a goal without thinking, this was simply a spontaneous reaction to a dangerous situation. There was no time for premeditation. Instead of receiving a guilty verdict Mr. Ersland should have been given a commendation for his actions, one life was taken and no telling how many were saved. Had this thug accomplished what he came into the pharmacy for, all members of the pharmacy staff could have been killed or left dying on the floor. Untold numbers of civillians and police officers could have been killed by an insuing chase, sacrificing many more innocent human lives just so that some junkie could get high.
Finally, the reaction of the friends and family of this thug, theif and criminal was apalling. A celebration of the fact that an innocent man who simply went to work one morning, was going to prison for killing an armed scumbag that tried to hold him up at the point of a gun, for the rest of his life. If I had my way the friends and family of this piece of garbage would be paying restitution to the state for the waste of time spent in trying a hero. Yes, to me Mr. Jerome Ersland, Retired LtC. USAF. is a hero and has been falsely accused, falsely arrested, falsely adjudicated and falsely convicted. There is the true crime in this case.
A Premeditated Murder by rough defination is causing a wrongful death by any means with forethought and planning. The entire incident took place over a time span of 50 seconds, not even a full minute. Give me a break, no one can think about and plan a murder in the time alloted here. He didn't even have time to know what he was doing, he only reacted to the situation. The man received his military training to react and acheive a goal without thinking, this was simply a spontaneous reaction to a dangerous situation. There was no time for premeditation. Instead of receiving a guilty verdict Mr. Ersland should have been given a commendation for his actions, one life was taken and no telling how many were saved. Had this thug accomplished what he came into the pharmacy for, all members of the pharmacy staff could have been killed or left dying on the floor. Untold numbers of civillians and police officers could have been killed by an insuing chase, sacrificing many more innocent human lives just so that some junkie could get high.
Finally, the reaction of the friends and family of this thug, theif and criminal was apalling. A celebration of the fact that an innocent man who simply went to work one morning, was going to prison for killing an armed scumbag that tried to hold him up at the point of a gun, for the rest of his life. If I had my way the friends and family of this piece of garbage would be paying restitution to the state for the waste of time spent in trying a hero. Yes, to me Mr. Jerome Ersland, Retired LtC. USAF. is a hero and has been falsely accused, falsely arrested, falsely adjudicated and falsely convicted. There is the true crime in this case.
A Good Place to Start is at the Beginning!
This will be the first of my ramblings, hopefully there will be many to follow.
I am, first and foremost an American. I have belief in the fundamentals of the constitution and will always support that document to the extent of my life. Many times people forget what it takes to keep a nation operational, that it requires work and a concerted effort by the citizens to make it function. Modern day America is heading away from the foundation that our forefathers established. We as a people have become so concerned with our own little existence that we have forgotten who we are. We are the United States of America, not just America. We each have our own history and we each have our own beliefs. The places from which we come have a regional commonality. Different areas of our country have basic differences. We can't all have the same outlook, but, we all can have the same fundamentals. From these basics we can all draw our own conclusions and group ourselves into like minded segments of society.
Those people who have sectarian religious beliefs can each pursue their own group of common thinkers. Those who are agnostic can pursue their own search for answers and those who have no belief in a God are free to their opinion. We are not all the same, we must realize that we are all entitled to our beliefs. Nothing angers me more that someone trying to force their will on an individual who is not like minded. One of the basic philosophies of our nation was Freedom of Religion, followed by Freedom of Speech and the Pursuit of Happiness. These things all point to the fact that we are all allowed to think as we please, state our beliefs and be left alone by those who would try to impose their will upon us. So, if you are one of those who think that they are the only ones with rights you will not care for the things I say. To you I say, "Have a nice day." To the rest of you I say "Read On!"
Tomorrow is Memorial Day, do not forget the things that we should memorialize. This day was established to pay homage to those who gave up their lives to provide us with the freedoms that are implied by our constitution. For each soldier who puts his life on the line to protect our personal freedom and the rights of others to their own freedom, I salute you! Know this, I will always support this nation and those who defend it. I would love it if everyone else would do the same. I as well as many of my friends have served their time as an "American Fighting Man", some have passed on, others have just slipped away. To these people, I love you and you will not be forgotten! To those of you who did not serve, you will never understand the pride that each soldier has in his heart, so, find one and tell him or her the pride that you have in you heart for what they have done. Don't just think that Memorial Day is the day that you put dead flowers on the graves of relatives. Memorial Day is the celebration of the lives of those who protect and have protected our Great Nation.
I am, first and foremost an American. I have belief in the fundamentals of the constitution and will always support that document to the extent of my life. Many times people forget what it takes to keep a nation operational, that it requires work and a concerted effort by the citizens to make it function. Modern day America is heading away from the foundation that our forefathers established. We as a people have become so concerned with our own little existence that we have forgotten who we are. We are the United States of America, not just America. We each have our own history and we each have our own beliefs. The places from which we come have a regional commonality. Different areas of our country have basic differences. We can't all have the same outlook, but, we all can have the same fundamentals. From these basics we can all draw our own conclusions and group ourselves into like minded segments of society.
Those people who have sectarian religious beliefs can each pursue their own group of common thinkers. Those who are agnostic can pursue their own search for answers and those who have no belief in a God are free to their opinion. We are not all the same, we must realize that we are all entitled to our beliefs. Nothing angers me more that someone trying to force their will on an individual who is not like minded. One of the basic philosophies of our nation was Freedom of Religion, followed by Freedom of Speech and the Pursuit of Happiness. These things all point to the fact that we are all allowed to think as we please, state our beliefs and be left alone by those who would try to impose their will upon us. So, if you are one of those who think that they are the only ones with rights you will not care for the things I say. To you I say, "Have a nice day." To the rest of you I say "Read On!"
Tomorrow is Memorial Day, do not forget the things that we should memorialize. This day was established to pay homage to those who gave up their lives to provide us with the freedoms that are implied by our constitution. For each soldier who puts his life on the line to protect our personal freedom and the rights of others to their own freedom, I salute you! Know this, I will always support this nation and those who defend it. I would love it if everyone else would do the same. I as well as many of my friends have served their time as an "American Fighting Man", some have passed on, others have just slipped away. To these people, I love you and you will not be forgotten! To those of you who did not serve, you will never understand the pride that each soldier has in his heart, so, find one and tell him or her the pride that you have in you heart for what they have done. Don't just think that Memorial Day is the day that you put dead flowers on the graves of relatives. Memorial Day is the celebration of the lives of those who protect and have protected our Great Nation.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)