Why I am against the death penalty

I finally got around to writing my opinions on the death penalty. It's kind of political, but very personal. It's posted on the Rocker Politics page. You might be surprised.

Linked goodness.

The Fantastic Four movies. At least they didn't make a third.

A few weeks ago, I caught “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer” on FX. For a Saturday night with nothing else on, it was entertaining. I thought, well, I guess I should see the first movie. Well, I did.

Recipe Overhaul: Hamburger Helper Chili Macaroni

Lately, we've turned into a food nation. I swear, some days that's the only thing Instagram was for: posting pictures of your dinner. News flash: If you've got some fancy, delicious looking dinner on your plate, how about telling the rest of us how to prepare it. Oh yeah. Pinterest. Never mind.

Well, today I'm going to tell you how to prepare a different type of meal.

A Long Overdue Overhaul

Life is cyclic, whether you want to admit it or not. Remember that one thing you really,really liked when you were in your mid-20s? No, no, no. Not that. The other thing. I've always enjoyed writing. Hopefully, I've been good at along the way. It's time to get back into it.When blessed with a lot of free time, don't waste it. Time is the most valuable commodity God gives us. Use it wisely.

Living Cheaply, Edition 1.0

It's been quite a while since I posted anything here. Previously, I was blogging about my health, weight loss, and so on. A lot has changed in my life since then, so it's time to turn a new page here as well, and possibly blog more often, about simple everyday happenings.

Lesson 1: Money.

Graduation Overkill

It's that time of year, where kids become older kids, some kids graduate and move on to bigger, better things, and some kids just keep on being kids. But lately it seems that every kid graduates. Not just the seniors from high school, I'm talking about every age.

The New Old Clothes and Progress

It's an annual tradition in the Rocker household. Get the kids clothes out of the attic to see what does or doesn't fit for the upcoming season, be it winter or summer. Well, the same was done for this dude. Because this dude needed some new clothes.

The Big Shoutdown

Yesterday, good friend, fellow blogger, and all around good human, Andy posted a link to Scott Adams's (Dilbert creator) blog. Adams posited that by writing something, and then not posting it was a form of self censorship.

So why do we writers do that? Are we afraid of the backlash? Or are we just too fed up to deal with defending our own position, no matter how much evidence and facts we have to prove we're right?

It's a little of both, I imagine. And I say that based on my own experiences as a sports blogger for the last two years.

If you've paid any attention to my sports blog sight (http://www.thesportsrockers.com), you'll know that I haven't written much as of late. There are a few reasons.

Break on through - to the other side

February was starting to look like a bad month. By bad month, I mean no significant weight loss. And by no significant weight loss, I mean I was staring at a possible zero loss for the month. Ugh. Then along came yesterday morning.

Down off the bounce

Finally, my body seems to have gotten itself together. "Bad, body, bad!" I say that as if other forces other than what I did contributed to the bounce I went through within the last week and a half.

January and the wagon

If I was an alcoholic, I would have this to say of the last two weeks: I'm off the wagon. The wall. It hit back. But I soldier on.

The weight bounce and new highs

Everyone who attempts to lose weight, and tracks their progress, notices one thing: Their weight may go down, but it also goes up, then down, then up again, then down again. Insert sighing noise.

Making progress, finally.

When  I started this journey, it seemed like I wasn't making any noticeable progress. I would lose a pound here or there, but nothing substantial in a short amount of time. For those that struggle with their weight, that is probably one of the biggest mental hurdles we have to overcome. Sometimes, we just don't lose weight quickly enough to think the effort is worth it.

Get the paddles!

I feel like I'm on a hospital drama, and am laid out on a gurney, and the doctors and nurses are trying to resuscitate me. That would be nice, in a weight-loss sort of way.

I weighed myself again at the gym, and I was at a comfortable 286.5, which is the lowest I've been since I started this journey. The reason I say comfortable is because I used the gym scale, which seems to have a margin of error of +/- 1/2 pound. The needle this morning, though, was comfortably in the middle at 286.5.

The Problem with Scales

For the first time in almost forever, I got on the Wii Fit balance board last night. Let's just say the results were about what I expected, which is in the "How in the Hell did I let it get this bad?" range. Which leads me to another problem. Scales. Scales suck, but not because of what they tell you  - hey, dude! You're fat! - but because they all seem to tell you something different.

Time for Saban to get his due

Nick Saban is successful. Very successful. And to some, that makes him an easy target. But we should praise his accomplishments and his style of play before piling on.

Read more at The Sportsrockers.

Calorie Shock?

Something strange is happening. I've noticed recently that my body seems to be getting hungrier before lunch than it used to. Let me explain. I don't have my lunch break until 12 noon, which is completely normal. But I seem to be getting hungry about 10:30ish. This didn't happen when I went to the gym in the afternoon. Why so?

What's for breakfast? Volume I

One of the things I've struggled with is what to eat for breakfast. Before I started going to the gym in the morning, I would typically grab a pop-tart, or something to eat on the way. The best, and possibly healthiest scenario would be to eat some oatmeal before I left. Possibly worst would be the drive-through option. More on that later, I'm sure.

And cereal hasn't been a viable option over the last few years due to a developing lactose intolerance issue. And having one's gall bladder removed only exacerbates the issue. Therefore, no milk.

But now that I'm going to the gym in the morning, what are the options for an easy breakfast?

The effects of a lazy day

Today's weigh-in is a lesson. Remember when I said on New Years (and the day before) that it was like a soda, finger-food binge? So, yesterday for lunch was some barbecue meatballs. Nothing else with it. Crunchy granola bar for breakfast. The killer was dinner at church. Chicken and rice soup with deserts. Sorry, the apple pie looked awesome. And it was. Still, only water to drink. Unfortunately, that probably says more than is required about church meals.

A day after the New Years lunch feast

After the morning weigh-in, you can definitely tell yesterday was an off day. Per New Years day tradition, it was black-eyed peas, ham, soda, and lots of bread. Corn bread, biscuits. All good and tasty, and lots of carbs.

The New Diet Plan

Anyone that knows me knows I've been fat for some time. Yeah, I was one of those kids wearing husky size pants. It's just the way it's always been for me. Even in high school, I ran cross country, track, and played baseball. I could maintain the weight, but couldn't get it off.