Rugby photos

My camera is not really suited for action shots, but I managed to get a few decent shots at the annual Teapot Dome Rugby Scandal in Marion.
You can see them all by clicking here

dropping again

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There is nothing like success to breed success. Today is weigh-in day for week 24. I am finally tickling 220. The scale read 220.5 this morning. That's a 5.5 pound drop in one week. My body fat percentage this morning was 29.4 percent, down from last week's 29.9 percent. My BMI reading is now31.6, down from last week's 32.3. My progress this week can all be attributed to my yard work over the weekend. I spent most of the weekend moving dirt around in back yard. I worked so much that I barely had time to eat. After a couple of weeks of stagnation, I saw an immediate drop in weight. That made it very easy for me to avoid tempation through the rest of the week. I desperately did not want to see that weight bounce back. ... I have similar plans for this weekend, if the weather cooperates. We had a very tough yoga workout last night. In December, when I started, I knew that yoga would be hard to do, but I thought that would be because of my weight and general unflexibility. Yoga, I have learned, can be as tough a workout as any. It is way more than just stretching.

dutiful spouse

I am always trying to plan ahead and make sure Mary has all the things she needs. Who knows when a pre-dug shallow grave might come in handy.

What the judges said

The Marion Star received an honorable mention in the General Excellence category in the Ohio State Associated Press contest this weekend. It's our first General Excellence placing since I became editor in Dec. of 2004.
Here is what the judges said:

The Marion Star certainly deserves a pat on the
back for the excellent job it does for the
community and readers. Like the other winners
in this category, the judging panel felt this was
a paper all of us would be glad to pick up and
read even if we weren't judging it. Its local
content was strong, nicely written and generally
well presented. The design is clean and employs
a number of layering techniques which help
drive the reader inside and to the paper's
Website. We found it to be extremely well
organized and easy to navigate. Its presentation
of the Virginia Tech shooting was solid,
enhanced by a good local sidebar. One of the
things we particularly liked was the Blue
Ribbons special section showing the winners of
the All Junior Fair. This is the sort of community
journalism that breeds reader loyalty in an era
when far too many papers have lost touch with
their readers. It should be noted that from first
place to honorable mention, the judging panel
felt all four finalist papers in this category were
separated in quality by little more than a hair's
breadth and we hope all of the communities
these papers serve realize how lucky they are.

What was most gratifying is that all of the things the judges mentioned are things were are working hard to do... Hurray for us!

Art imitates life

Crazy week

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It has been a crazy week. I have been very busy at work, my knee has been killing me and my weight is bouncing all over the place. Still I ended up with a one pound loss from Friday to Friday...phew!

motivated?

Usually, I wake up in the morning and I feel great. My knee will be a little stiff and have a little pain, but it is normally the best I feel all day. Today, my knee woke me up. This is the worst pain since I injured it one week ago. I rode the bike trainer last night for 30 minutes, but I kept the resistance low. I worked out with the dumbbells last night, but I have eliminated lunges from my routine and still the pain in my knee gets worse. The doctor didn’t say it when it would start to feel better but did say I could run again, a little bit, in 10 days. My 10 days would be up on Saturday and I don’t see me running then. I have to be at a couple of places today that require walking and I am dreading those. Anyway, injury is inevitable. The question is: How do you cope with injury? How do you keep on your fitness plan? What do you do to keep yourself motivated? Those are the things I am going to have to figure out over the next few weeks.

Deck Destruction

We pulled a lot of nails this weekend

deck demo

We spent the weekend demolishing the deck in our back yard. Now we have to figure out how to replace it. The current plan is for a patio... if only I had some Grove Arcade Marble.

"A damn 15-year-old punk can do it"

Thanks Ash

wrong direction

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Today is weigh-in day for week 22. It has been a bit of a roller-coaster this week. My weight is a bit of a disappointment but that is not the worst news. ... Let’s get the facts out of the way first. The scale reads 227 this morning. That’s up two pounds from last week. My body fat percentage reading this morning is 30.2 percent. Last week I was at 30.7. My BMI is 32.6. Last week the BMI was 32.4. ... I started a running program over the weekend and started working out with dumbbells early in the week. I guess I overdid the running because by Wednesday I was a hobbling mess with pain in my right knee. I ended up in the doctor’s office on Thursday and was told not to run for the next ten days. When I return to running. I am supposed to take it very easy with at least two days rest between each session. My weight seemed to be heading in the right direction. I started a food diary, but it hasn’t helped me curb my late night snacking. I am making better choices about my snacking, but I really shouldn’t be doing it at all. I know there are going to be setback weeks like this. I refuse to let them discourage me. At least not too much. My next running day will be Saturday, April 26. Until then I can still ride the bike trainer if I keep the resistance low. I did yoga last night and didn’t feel any pain, although today I seem to be having a bit more than yesterday.

knee still sore

There will be no running today. I overslept and when I rose to get out of bed I felt like I could barely walk. The pain has subsided some, but there was no way to complete the Couch-to-5K workout today or even do my regular walking route. ... I did do a little bit of yard work last night and while I could feel the pain in my knee it was not debilitating. ... I rode a hard 60 minutes on the bike trainer because it felt good. My knee was a no more sore after the workout. This morning, is a different story. ... I have yoga tonight and I know I can get through that. Walking around the office should be an adventure. I think I will be OK if I keep moving. My job, however, has me sitting in one place for long periods. It takes a few minutes for the knee pain to diminish enough for me to walk normally or maybe I just get used to the pain. ... The plan right now is to continue on the bike trainer, do yoga tonight and keep working the dumbbells. I guess how it feels through the weekend will have oodles to do with my plans for next week.

sore knee

I fell asleep on the couch waiting for the new season of “Deadliest Catch” to start. My big plan was to ride my bike during the first hour of the show. That never happened. This morning, when I got out of bed the pain in my knee was diminished considerably. I started taking ibuprofen shortly after coming in from my Couch-to-5K workout yesterday. I had trouble walking throughout the day, but it did get better towards evening. Today is supposed to be an off day from the 5K workouts but I was going to walk anyway, just to see what would happen with my knee. Instead of satisfying that curiosity and possibly making things worse, I did a dumbbell workout while watching “Sportscenter”. I am still looking for a good workout that does not require a bench. I have glommed together a bunch of exercises for a sort of routine, but I would like to have something scientific to follow. If anyone knows of a good one let me know. Hopefully the knee will continue to feel better today. I had my knees checked last fall because of things that happened during my cancer treatment and the doctor said they looked about right for someone my age, so I am thinking it is a matter of getting used to the running and the new shoes. I guess we will see.

more video coming

hilarious, seriously

what a classic!

Our traveling kin

Lucy's cousin Bill enjoying himself in Costa Rica.

Mayhem fun

Lucy attempts a two-fingered whistle at the Marion Mayhem indoor football game Saturday night.

Marion Mayhem quarterback Stanley Jackson goes back to pass on his way to a 52 to 12 loss to the Rochester Raiders.

Some mascots get the girl.

Some just get each other.

Of course The Marion Star is a big sponsor

Vultures return

The turkey vultures have returned to our neighborhood. I spotted this guy while walking Lucy to school.
You have to click on the photos to really appreciate them.

Finally, something useful on the Internet

How to order a beer in fifty languages.

How I spent my sprink break

Note the sandy, white beaches.

ten days

I have been on vacation for the last ten days. I ate like the old days and even had a night of too much wine. I did not exercise at all. And still, after all that, I remain at 225 pounds. Hurray! Now to lose some more.

Get your own graph at skinnyr

Lucy and her cousins

Lucy and Pete play on the floor at the farm after Easter dinner.


Lucy was part of a big Uno Tournament in Syracuse with cousins Alison, on left and Ellen, wearing glasses. I think it ended in a tie.

March is colorectal cancer month

Here is an editorial published in the Marion Star this week.

Everyone can be a hero

There are many ways to become a hero, but the most direct route to hero status is to save a life.

You might think that most people never have the opportunity to save a life. You would be wrong.

All of us have the ability to save a life and it is ridiculously easy.
When you start to get close to your 50th birthday start asking your doctor if you should schedule a colonoscopy.

A colonoscopy can save your life.

During the procedure, pre-cancerous polyps can be identified and removed, thus cancer is prevented and a life is saved.

Colon cancer is the third most prevalent cancer in the United States in both men and women and it is the most preventable.

The American Cancer Society estimates that there will be about 108,070 new cases of colon cancer and 40,740 new cases of rectal cancer in 2008 in the United States. Combined, they will cause about 49,960 deaths.

That is an alarming number for a cancer that can be so easy to detect and prevent.

In addition to screening for the disease you can lower your risk by eating right and exercising.

It is important to eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grain foods and to limit intake of high-fat foods.

You should exercise at least for at least 30 minutes, five or more days per week.

It's all very simple and it's all live saving.

Are you a hero, just because the life you saved was your own? We think so. The longer you hang around the better your chances are getting the opportunity to save someone else's life.

I was a disc jockey in the eighties and this speaks to me

quick mix

Seldom seen cat

In my book, a seldom seen cat is the best kind of cat. Scaredy, however, takes elusiveness to a ridiculous level.

St. Patrick's Day gear

Lucy had been telling us for over a week that despite her school banning pinching she needed to wear green on St. Patrick's Day.
So, Mary laid out a very nice muted forest green "Life is Good" t-shirt for Lucy to wear on March 17.
Lucy took one look at it and said, "That's not my kind of green. It has too much gray in it."
Something more garish is what she wanted. As always, she got it.

Funny because it is true

I got this here

Lucy cartwheels

Lucy has been to two gymnastics classes. She is liable to bust out a cartwheel at any moment. You always have to be on guard. Aside from the penultimate snap, these pix are awful. They do, however, give you an idea of what is going on. The leotard was just purchased. She slept in it that night.

weigh-in day for week 17

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Today is weigh-in day for week 17. I am at 223 pounds. That's two pounds less than last week and 27 pounds less than my starting weight. I am three pounds away from my short-term goal and 24 pounds away from my long-term goal (which, I suppose, will soon become my next short-term goal). I am averaging a loss of 6.35 pounds per month, which is 3.35 pounds ahead of my goal. My body fat percentage is 30.8 percent. That's down from 31.4 percent last week. My BMI is 32. Normal BMI is below 25, which now seems possible. ... When I started out 17 weeks ago I didn't think I would get this far. Especially using my plan, which was basically nothing. I believed that I could lose weight if I made just small changes to my life. So, I started exercising on a regular basis. I walk for three miles as often as I can (most of the time five days a week). I bought a bike trainer ($95) to make sure I had something to do on horrible weather days. I started talking a yoga class ($40 for seven weeks). I only moderated my eating. I tried to eliminate "seconds" eating between meals and eating after dinner. I have also limited my beer consumption to special occasions. I really didn't think it would work. I was hoping it would and I was hoping that I would be able to show people that it wasn't that hard to do. And, it hasn't been. Sometimes I am proud of my success and other times I feel like there is nothing to be proud of because it was so simple (and because I have so far to go). Controlling one's weight and becoming fit is the easiest, cheapest and most important thing you can do to improve your health. I had to have three doctors lecture me (all but one very nicely) before I got it. If I had listened to the first one eight years ago, I would be a lot further along.

Things only change a little

When I started out at the Malone Telegram back in 1991 it seems like I went to a barn fire just about every week. I always had my camera, a Pentax K1000 with me. Wednesday morning the phone rang at 3 a.m. and just like the old days I was on the road and out to a fire. This time it was a building downtown in the little hamlet of LaRue just west of Marion. I have a digital camera now A Fuji FinePix S700. This was the best image I shot that morning.

More Snow pictures

My Talented Friends

The creator and I worked together at WEAV back in the day ... Way back in the day.

Our traveling friends

Our friend Dirk from Germany was in the United States this winter with his family. Wisely they visited the desert.

Bei unserem Las Vegas Trip machten wir auch einen Tagesausflug ins wunderschöne "Valley of Fire". Wir waren von den in der Sonne glühenden Felsen sehr begeistert. Ach ja - am Lake Mead waren wir dann auch noch.

Translation (with help from Babel Fish)During our Vegas Trip we made a day trip into the beautiful "Valley OF Fire". We were very much inspired by the sun on the glowing rock. Oh - We also went to Lake Mead.

My Talented Kin

Niece Ellen and a short film about travel.

snow cat

Sunny is wondering why we moved him here from North Carolina. Frankly, we are thinking the same thing.

snow photos

step one in snow angel creation.


The car is there for scale. But, it doesn't work. The house is a lot bigger on the inside than it is on the outside.


You can see how the snow drifted around on the roof.

Lucy and Tom

We had so much fun there was a little snow on the lens.

snow photos coming

here is a taste.

Here's the snow

Lots of shoveling and walking to work in my future. Looks like we might end up with about 12 inches. This is what the shrubbery in my front yard looked like at 4:30 a.m.

My antenna topper weather gauge was reading "snow" this morning.

16 weeks of weight loss

I have dropped 25 pounds or 10 percent of my former body weight - somebody do the math for this journalist. I am now 25 pounds from my goal for this year. I think I might make it. ... If I don't fail.

Another long election day

I went outside three times to scrape ice off my car. Each was an act of futility. Much like the rest of the day.

I started at 9 a.m. and got home at about 3 a.m. I got up this morning at about 5:55 a.m. to monitor the weather. The weather sucks and the election was inconclusive. The answer to all of this might indeed be 42. Or, maybe I am a little punchy.