Steve's Blog Spot

they are politicians . And frankly, I do not understand how they think (a word used loosely in this context). Victor Davis Hanson has the right idea of a sure-win platform: I don't quite understand why one party or the other doesn't campaign on delivering more energy to the American people to lower costs, keep the world price down, and money out of the hands of terrorists, and to address U.S. debt and the falling dollar. There seems no contradiction between wanting nuclear power, clean coal, tar and shale, more drilling off our coasts and Alaska — and more conservation, more money for hydrogen, biofuels, more solar, wind, etc. Providing both short- and long-term energy policies would be most beneficial to our country's well-being, and we would stop sending billions and billions of our dollars to countries who do not wish us all the best. Come on, politicians, stand up for America for a change and use some common sense! That's the "change" we really need. VDH ...

While walking, I always have my portable FM radio with me and among the stations I listen to, Charlie 106.3 FM plays a really cool, diverse mix, so it occupies the number one spot on my preset list. Well, I guess it was too good to last. It now has been replaced by a local all-talk, formerly AM radio station! What a bunch of horse hockey! I have a bunch of friends who also feel the same way. Actually, if the talk station had moved to a different place on the FM band, I would have listened to both. But now, I listen to neither one. You would think their marketing people would have more savvy. More reason to love my XM radio!

or you are considering taking up walking, a decent pedometer is great to have to track your results. I have calibrated mine with the help of a really neat Google website called Gmap-Pedometer . You can zoom in measure your walking route. I saved a few routes and compared the distances to my pedometer, then calibrated it so the distances were very close. I like to vary my route a lot, plus do some walking on the golf course (now closed until October due to their replacing all their greens), so the distance on the pedo is now pretty accurate. Rufus at Dirty Harry's Place has some very interesting comments on weight loss and walking here . Take a couple of minutes to read it. It's good.

But a little less of me. I have been sliding into a weight loss mode lately, and it's starting to have some results. I'm down about 25 lbs. and 4 inches in my waist. I'm nowhere near svelte , but it's a start. I say "sliding" because I'm taking it a baby step at a time. Back in January, I weighed in at a monstrous lard-ass 312 lbs., (I'm really being honest and open here!) and my 46" waist pants with the 2" extra-stretch waist were maxed out! I went shopping for some new pants, but the only sizes for me were in the Big & Tall department. I found that to be a bit embarrassing. I guess I could blame it all on a divorce, related stresses, blah, blah, but the reality is more calories coming in than going out. It's really that simple. It was time to do something about it. Failure to take corrective steps could not be good. I decided my first step was to start reducing my portion size. A quick retrospection of my eating habits was no so muc...

John McCain is a very lucky man, and I'm sure he knows it. I had wondered about his wife Cindy, as she prefers to stay in the background, and there's not much in the press about her. Maggie's Farm has a great summary about Cindy McCain , based on the Wall Street Journal bio article. You can judge a person by their spouses, friends, and associations, and Senator McCain's wife of 28 years is a gem.

Giggle. Giggle. Especially the recommendation as to where the wedding was to take place. I can't stop laughing!