Brrrrreaking News!

Wow, what a beautiful sight.

Alaskans brace for Redoubt Volcano eruption
By DAN JOLING, Associated Press Writer – Fri Jan 30, 7:32 am ET
NCHORAGE, Alaska – Hardware stores and auto parts shops scored a post-holiday run of business this week as Anchorage-area residents stocked up on protective eyewear and masks ahead of a possible eruption of Mount Redoubt.

Monitoring earthquakes underneath the 10,200-foot Redoubt Volcano about 100 miles southwest of Anchorage, scientists from the Alaska Volcano Observatory warned that an eruption was imminent, sending experienced Alaskans shopping for protection against a dusty shower of volcanic ash that could descend on south-central Alaska.

I love big dramatic natural events. "Disaster" you say? A beautiful natural thing in my eyes.

Windows 7 less annoying, but also less secure? (CNET)
Posted on Fri Jan 30, 2009 6:41PM EST
- Microsoft's efforts to make Windows 7 less annoying than Vista may also be making it less secure than its predecessor.

With Windows Vista, the operating system popped up a warning any time a major change was being made to the system, whether by the OS or by a third-party application. With Windows 7, users can choose how often to be notified, with the current default set to notify only when a third-party application is making a change.

Yaaawn. Every year or so Microsoft claims they've made Windows better. It never happens. They're always six steps behind Apple's Macintosh OS. Skip this one, save your money and buy a Mac.

Michael Steele becomes first black RNC chairman
By LIZ SIDOTI, Associated Press Writer – Fri Jan 30, 6:28 pm ET

AP – Former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele holds a gavel after he was elected the first black Republican …
WASHINGTON – The Republican Party chose the first black national chairman in its history Friday, just shy of three months after the nation elected a Democrat as the first African-American president. The choice marked no less than "the dawn of a new party," declared the new GOP chairman, former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele. Republicans chose Steele over four other candidates, including former President George W. Bush's hand-picked GOP chief, who bowed out declaring, "Obviously the winds of change are blowing."

Cute. Nice try RNC, but it aint gonna work. See, we've been paying attention the past 50 yrs. We know what your record, reputation and platform has looked like for the past 50 yrs. Parade whoever and whatever you want out there, but only that core bunch of bozos(you know, the 23% who still backed MoronMonkeyBoy Bush the Chimp) are going to buy it.

Republican Romney criticizes Obama on abortion
AP –
HOT SPRINGS, Va. – Republican Mitt Romney, a potential candidate for the White House in 2012, accused President Barack Obama on Friday of answering to the "most extreme wing of the abortion lobby." Even if the administration "will say nothing on behalf of the child waiting to be born, we must take the side of life," the former Massachusetts governor told House Republicans at a weekend retreat, according to his prepared remarks.

HAR! Talk about irrelevant! I think there are twelve mormons and four Wall Street wannabe pretty boy pricks who give a damn about what Mitt Romney thinks.

Springsteen calls Wal-Mart deal a mistake
Fri Jan 30, 7:31 pm ET

NEW YORK – The Boss is owning up to a mistake.
In an interview with The New York Times, Bruce Springsteen says he shouldn't have made a deal with Wal-Mart. This month, the store started exclusively selling a Springsteen greatest-hits CD.
Some fans were critical because Springsteen has been a longtime supporter of worker's rights, and Wal-Mart has faced criticism for its labor practices. Springsteen's team didn't vet the issue as closely as it should have, and that he "dropped the ball on it,"

Hello. This guy claims to be the working man's rocker yet goes by the moniker of "the boss."
Gimme a break. . . when you're an advocate for "worker's rights," you don't make marketing deals with Wal-Mart. You don't have to "vet" the idea and it's not a matter of "dropping the ball."
Blow it out your phoney ass "boss." This guy had one good song. He should have been a one hit wonder.
Wal-Mart and Bruce Springsteen says a lot about American tastes.

Love thy neighbor: part II

I swiped these tid bits from Huffington Press in an article called; The Era of Not Getting It: The Marie Antoinettes of the Meltdown. Also from tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com and na article called John Thain's Top Ten Greatest Moments.

Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain, the poster child for the era of irresponsibility. The condemnation of his behavior is completely bipartisan (although we haven't heard yet what John McCain thinks of one of his biggest fundrasing bundlers).

The pinnacle of Thain's tone deafness, of course, was his over-the-top makeover of his office in early 2008, just as Merrill Lynch was already hemorrhaging money and preparing to lay off thousands of workers. So to soften the blow (on himself), he spent $1.2 million redecorating. Lowlights include $87,000 for an area rug, and $1,400 for a trashcan.

Area Rug: $87,784
Mahogany Pedestal Table: $25,713
19th Century Credenza: $68,179
Pendant Light Furniture: $19,751
4 Pairs of Curtains: $28,091
Pair of Guest Chairs: $87,784
George IV Chair: $18,468
6 Wall Sconces: $2,741
Parchment Waste Can: $1,405
Roman Shade Fabric: $10,967
Roman Shades: $7,315
Coffee Table: $5,852
Commode on Legs: $35,115

But Thain was far from done with not getting it. Cut to October 2008. Merrill Lynch, after teetering on the brink of failure during September, has just been acquired by Bank of America, in a deal brokered by the government and partially financed by taxpayers. Sleeping through this wakeup call, Thain decides that he deserves a $30 million to $40 million bonus.

Gateway Financial Holdings executives Ben Berry and David Twiddy, who received nearly $1 million in bonuses on the same day their bank received $80 million in bailout money.

Wells Fargo and State Street. Both financial institutions received bailout money ($25 billion for Wells Fargo, $2 billion for State Street), then turned around and increased the amount of money they spent lobbying the government in the last quarter of '08. Not a bad deal: we give them our money, which they use to pay lobbyists in an effort to get more of our money.

Citigroup, which received $45 billion in government bailout funds, and is about to take delivery on a new $50 million corporate jet that features a "plush interior with leather seats, sofas and a customizable entertainment center," as well as advanced temperature monitoring that contributes to a more comfortable passenger experience. Let them eat cake... while sitting on plush leather sofas!

In his Inaugural address, Obama defined what the New Era of Responsibility would entail: "A recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world."

It's astounding to any thinking individual that these captains of industry and finance could act in such a blatantly irresponsible and disconnected manner. How could anyone who is aware of the plight suffered by millions of Americans in these times who continue to pay taxes, accept tax dollar bailouts and then turn around and insult these same tax payers with these recreant acts of personal greed?

The question is; are these people even aware of what's happening? Sure, they hear the news and read the paper, maybe, but what chance do they have to really be aware. Let's face it, most of these people are folks who have never known anything but lavish lifestyle. Oh, I know, there are exceptions, like the poor ghetto kid who becomes a Wall Steet banker, but we're not talking about exceptions here. These are adults, who as kids grew up in rich suburban communities. Many of them around NYC like Westchester Co. and Long Island where the average price of a home might run $500,00 or $1 million. These guys and gals went off to the finest boarding schools and then into America's best colleges all without the slightest regard for what it cost or how they were going to pay for it. We aint talkin about guys like Wally Morris who grew up down the creek from here and had to work his way though the local state college and take out loans that left him in debt for the next 10 yrs after he finally graduated. These guys are the epitome of having been born with a silver spoon in their mouth, or, like their hero GWBush, were born on 3rd base and think they hit a homerun.
So how can people like this possibly have any empathy for folks like us? They've never had to work the kinds of jobs that we have. Even those of us who managed to rise above our lower or working class roots at some point probably worked in a ditch or some other sweating-in-the-sun-for-8-hrs job. Then when we finally got an education we had to work and scrape our way to get anywhere in a corporate culture that looked down on locally grown folks like us. . . but my resentments aside, there is no pathway for these corporate ivory tower dwellers to have any link or connection to the average citizen. Normal for them is penthouse suites and helicopter rides out to the family compound in the Hamptons. They don't pump their own gasoline or set foot in a grocery store. They stop by the local hardware store or even take the kids down to the local burger joint. They've got no clue, so can we hold them responsible for their actions? Should we feel hatred and distain for their callous acts?

I propose that we should not. They are products of their environment like anyone else. Can they help it if society has accepted them in their positions as being valid? Can they help it if there is no culture in their life that demands that they understand and have some experience in the real world? We as a society have let them get away with their life. Who's to blame for that?

I say we need to have the same compassion for them that we are appalled that they lack. I'm told that I should recognize my connection to all living things and especially to all human beings. At the core of our existence, we are all the same. We are born alike and will die alike. In the end we will all become rotting flesh, so I need to treat all human beings with compassion and a universal feeling of love.

When I begin condemning someone I need to feel the compassion and love for them that I am condemning them for not having.


Low carb veggie recipe:

Fry up a couple pieces of bacon then saute some onion (1/2 cup shredded) lightly in a pan. Remove both, chop the bacon and add to the onion. Clean out the pan but save some bacon grease. Shredd a cup or so of cabbage and start frying in some bacon grease and salt, pepper, garlic powder, celery seed to taste. When it's beginning to get translucent, but still crunchy, add the onions and bacon and a dash of vinegar. Mix it up good while frying for another minute or so then remove from heat.

Throw that down next to a good piece of meat and you've got a low carb meal and still get some veggies/roughage.

Love thy neighbor as thyself

93-year-old froze to death, owed big utility bill
BAY CITY, Mich. – A 93-year-old man froze to death inside his home just days after the municipal power company restricted his use of electricity because of unpaid bills, officials said. . .
Neighbors discovered Schur's body on Jan. 17. They said the indoor temperature was below 32 degrees at the time, The Bay City Times reported Monday.
"Hypothermia shuts the whole system down, slowly," Virani said. "It's not easy to die from hypothermia without first realizing your fingers and toes feel like they're burning."
Schur owed Bay City Electric Light & Power more than $1,000 in unpaid electric bills, Bay City Manager Robert Belleman told The Associated Press on Monday.
A city utility worker had installed a "limiter" device to restrict the use of electricity at Schur's home on Jan. 13, Belleman said. The device limits power reaching a home and blows out like a fuse if consumption rises past a set level. Power is not restored until the device is reset.
The limiter was tripped sometime between the time of installation and the discovery of Schur's body, Belleman said. He didn't know if anyone had made personal contact with Schur to explain how the device works.

Schur's body was discovered by neighbor George Pauwels Jr.
"His furnace was not running, the insides of his windows were full of ice the morning we found him," Pauwels told the newspaper.

Belleman said city workers keep the limiter on houses for 10 days, then shut off power entirely if the homeowner hasn't paid utility bills or arranged to do so.
He said Bay City Electric Light & Power's policies will be reviewed, but he didn't believe the city did anything wrong.

"I've said this before and some of my colleagues have said this: Neighbors need to keep an eye on neighbors," Belleman said. "When they think there's something wrong, they should contact the appropriate agency or city department."
Schur had no children and his wife had died several years ago.
Bay City is on Saginaw Bay, just north of the city of Saginaw in central Michigan.

What a sad, sad end to an old man's life, but what really astounds me is the fact that this person "Bay City [electric company] Manager Robert Belleman" could be so cold and callous in touting the company line.
He actually said he didn't think his company did anything wrong and basically blamed the neighbors for not "keep[ing] an eye on" the old man. I'm sure that makes the neighbors who went into Mr. Shur's house and discovered his frozen body feel good. Apparently they noticed frost on the inside of his windows and entered the dwelling. This was only four days after the electric company had installed a "limiter" on Mr. Shur's electric service.

I gotta tell ya, I used to feel nothing but contempt and anger for heartless bastards like this Mr. Robert Belleman from the Bay City Electric Company, but today I feel nothing but sorrow for them in their predicament. They are trapped inside a mind so unconscious of the real world around them that they have lost all compassion for their fellow human beings. People like him don't feel the universal love and compassion for other human beings. They don't relate to every other human being as being just like them. They don't realize the total joy that such feelings give to those of us who do.

So the lesson here is not that people like this manager and companies like Bay City Electric are scum. The lesson is that we as human beings need to nuture our love for our fellow human beings and encourage others to pursue a path that will lead them to such feelings and the freedom and the joy that it provides us on this short trip around planet Earth.

Spend less, buy locally

In the news today is a story about retail chains shutting down and going through severe downsizing. Perhaps we don't need to be looking at this as an economic horror. When I say it's a whole new world out there today, I'm not just talking about how America treats it's fellow inhabitants of the Earth or whether or not we torture. This new world will be had through personal change as well. Us western human beings have GOT to put down our addiction to consumerism and begin showing some restraint and a respect for the resources of the world. As long as Americans, who are a small minority of the world's population, are consuming a vast majority of the world's resources, we're going to continue being a gluttonous scourge upon the Earth. We gotta stop. That doesn't mean we can't dress nice, but do we really need 257 outlets for high priced fashion? Hell no. That doesn't mean you've gotta buy that cheap ass made-in-China shit from Wal-MArt, it just means we don't need the $195 shirt from Abercrombie-Fitch or Eddie Bauer. Let em close down. Spend less buy locally. Hell, I could employ a local tailor to make my shirts for a lot less than some places charge and a big chunk of my money would go into a local market. It's interesting that I can go down to a local neighborhood electronics retailer and get the same deals or close that I get (used to) at Circuit City. Let em close down. I'll take my money and put it in a local merchant's pocket.
Have you visited your local farmer's market lately? Do you have a freezer? Spend less, buy locally. Spend less, buy in bulk and freeze or can.
We all need to cut back our spending. Sure, it'll be tough on the economy for a while. Some companies will adjust and others won't. Yea, it'll be tough for all of us. I've watched my small retirement savings dwindle to a shadow of what it was six months ago and had to take on some jobs outside the farm, so I know it's gonna be really rough on some folks. Sorry, but it's gotta happen.
Folks, stuff is not going to make you happy, fix your life or give you salvation. The only thing you have is the moment of now and right where you're standing. You can move, but you can't run from it. The now is always there. Embrace it, live in it, be a part of it. Stuff aint gonna get you nowhere.


Just in. . . brrrreaking news. . .
Yes, that seemingly insurmountable barrier has been broken. This morning the reading on the fat-o-meter was 209.6.
210, you can kiss my fat white ass.

A delicious low carb breakfast delight

This can be a breakfast lunch or dinner recipe, but I created it for breakfast this morning. . . it's a whole lot like a crab cake, but without the carbs.

break a couple eggs in a bowl. . . mix em up.

pour them into a hot pan and let em cook for about 15 seconds.

dump a couple heaping table spoons of good crab meat onto them and mix it all up.

when the eggs are still bubbling, gather them all up in a pile and lay a nice thick piece of swiss cheese on top

On a dish, mix up some mayo and hot sauce and spread all over the dish.

pick up the egg/crab mass with a spatula and place on plate.

This is really fucking good!



I'm stuck at 211. Gotta quit drinking the 50% caffeinated coffee. Caffeine is a no-no in low carb diets and I've been drinking 'low-caf' ever since the weekend.

Hope

Yes we did. YES WE DID!!!

Feel it. Feel the hope. Go ahead, it's ok.

Things are going to change.

Get past your fears. It really is change we can believe in.

"As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers... our founding fathers, faced with the perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake."



It's over. They have lost. The bigots, the ignorant racists, the KKK the white supremists have lost. You stupid pieces of shit are irrelevant.
Yes, there will always be struggles and there will always be stupid fools to deal with, there will always be room to fine tune ourselves, but the war is over.
The dream has been realized.
We HAVE overcome.

If you're black, you don't have to get back
If you're brown, you can stick around
If you're yellow, you can be mellow
If you're a red man you can get ahead man
If you're white, you can embrace what's right.

Thanks for that Rev. Lowrey. It was incredible and awe inspiring to see and hear you up there.

On the wagon in the moment of now

One thing that has helped this hillbilly follow the straight and narrow is focusing on the moment of now and not getting all caught up in the 'what ifs' of life. I try to not worry about things that haven't happened and make plans that are only consistent with probability for the things that might happen.
This morning I was thinking about the 'what if' of my reaching my weight goal. Will I just turn around and balloon back up to 225? What kind of diet will I be able to enjoy? How often will I be able to eat really fattening things that I do so enjoy? The reality of all this is that I haven't even dropped below 210 yet, but here I am all caught up in the future and things that are not part of my moment of now.
But ya see, I've got reason to worry about these things (not). I've never done anything that felt good to me that I didn't get almost immediately addicted to. Sometimes I mention that I don't drink or take drugs. Well, that's because 12 yrs ago I quit doing that stuff because it was destroying my life and I know that if I start doing them again, I'll go right back to where I was. MY life is too good for that. I don't smoke tobacco anymore either. Haven't touched the stuff in over 5 yrs. If I do, I'll go right back to it full-time and I don't know if I can go through the pain of quiting again. . . I know my wife and family couldn't.
My basic rule for staying clean of these bad addictions is; No matter what happens, no matter how bad it gets, no matter who effects me, I don't go near drugs, alcohol or tobacco products. <---period. Simple.
If only it were so easy with food. Give up food? Can't do that. Give up something that gives me great pleasure but can and should be regulated? Naaaaw. I've given up enough. I've got to take this addiction and reach a compromise. Exactly what that compromise will be, I dunno. See, today I just have to focus on sticking with the diet. When I hit a weight I'm comfortable with and want to maintain it, then I'll worry about what, where and how often. Today I'll just focus on the moment of the now and see where I end up.

I really am back on track. This morning I was back where I was Fri. morning, so while I did have a slight but enjoyable little relapse, things are still progressing well.
BTW: If you're working recovery from some other addiction like drugs or alcohol, there are no "compromises" and I don't suggest you try any "slight but enjoyable relapses." They never turn out that way.

HEY! What an incredible week it's gonna be! I've witnessed one or two truly historic events in my life and tomorrow will be another one of those times. One of those times that make me actually feel good about my country and proud and grateful to be living in this time. I'm so glad I've lived (hopefully) to savor this stunningly wonderful event.
Remember, people will someday ask, where were you when Barack Obama took the oath of office and became President of the United States?

Slacking, buffets and getting back on the wagon

It was an ugly day. A spectacle of culinary debauchery if there ever was one.
After 10 days of nothing but protein and fat and none of the carbs that give me that warm feeling and that rush of human energy and motivation I decided it wouldn't be so bad to head down to the capital city and enjoy lunch with my wife and daughter at one of the best Indian buffets you'll ever taste. It was time to indulge after going 10 days on such a diet and losing 10 lbs. It went well. Sure I got that bloated feeling from eating too much curry and masala dishes. The sag paneer was as good as ever so I sorta focused on it, it being low carb, of course. Not bad, just a little rice, no nana and I survived and figured it wouldn't take too much to get back on path.

Then it happened; our best friends suggested we join them for a "seafood buffet" that evening. OK, I can eat a bunch of low carb seafood. Not a problem. The problem was, there was little low carb seafood and lots of high carb "seafood" dishes. Then of course, the dessert portion of the buffet caught my eye and it contained some fairly nice looking chocolate items. . . by the time it was all over I felt like I couldn't eat "just one small thin wafer" or I'd explode.

No, 10 days of hard fought work is not in vain. I've been back on the wagon again today and will hit the proteins and fats hard for another 10 days. See you at 180.

Heroic performances

Most folks live mundane lives and don't really develop any extraordi9nary skills. Others have those skills and could be heroic, but never get the chance. Today, someone got the chance to use their exceptional skills and perform heroically.
Congrats to the USAir pilot who brought that plane down perfectly on the Hudson River. He/she kept the wings perfectly level and made a perfect landing without spinning out and with no power. That's an awesome and heroic performance.

Oh, and bravo AirBus for building a plane that after a hard landing on water, with all the doors and emergency exits open, is still floating an hour later.

6PM
Just watched the mayor of NYC Bloomberg at a press conference. This moron was going to run for prez? He's an idiot. . . a totally self promoting moron.
How does this dickwad get away with talking like he's talking to a bunch of school children? What a little know-it-all punk.

Crustless Quiche, cold weather, and hope

You don't have to include a high carb crust when you make quiche.

1 package chopped spinach, chopped some more
1 1/4" slice of ham diced
3 Crispy slices of bacon
2 tbl chopped onion
2 tbl chopped jalapeno
1 clove minced garlic
4 or 5 fresh from the hen house 100% organic eggs
<1/4c cream
goat cheese, finely grated parmaisan cheese (I use a micro plane), shredded sharp cheddar

2 tbl mayonaise
1 tbl butter
1 tbl cream cheese

Heat the butter and cream cheese in the micro for 15 second or so and blend together. In a separate little bowl, whip the mayo till it's creamy. Mix butter and cream cheese with mayo till it's thoroughly mixed and creamy.

Sweat the onions, jalapeno, garlic, ham and bacon in a pan w/ olive oil. . . just for a minute or two to make the onion barely translucent.

Separate the yolks from the whites putting the whites into a larger bowl. Whip the whites with a wisk until they're foamy and just beginning to show signs of peaking. You're just wanting to get some air into them, not make a merengue.

Mix the cream into the yolks, now mix all the other ingredients except the cheddar together with the yolks and cream. Break the goat cheese into little pieces a 1/4 inch or smaller before mixing. Add the mayo mixture.

Now pour this mess into the whipped egg whites and gently but thoroughly fold together. Pour the whole thing into a casserole or pie pan and bake at 350. After about 20 or 30 minutes, depending upon the depth of your pan, sprinkle the cheddar over the top and let bake another 10-15 minutes. Times may vary.

Buen provecho

Now the battle begins. The pound come off slowly from here on out. No more one or two pounds a day. The easy stuff has been burned. Now I've gotta show some real restraint and eat less of all these low/no carb foods. No slacking or back sliding. No, "I'll just have this one little piece of cake" bullshit. Once you give yourself permission to have one, it's a downhill slide back up to 225 (don't ya just love conflicting metaphors? or is that just a Yogiism?).


The temp around here is down in the low teens. Brrrrr. It's fucking cold. Hard to believe I was in Florida 10 days ago cruising in my boat with beautiful women in bikinis on the bow. This sucks.
Condolences to MacDaddy up there in Minneapolis where it's REALLY cold and my poor son who just this past Mon. temporarily moved to Milwaukee and will be leaving for Eau Claire, WI for a couple of months in the next couple weeks.
SonnyBoy, Go buy some warm clothes!


Hurry January 20th. I can hardly take another day of the MoronMonkeyBoy Bush the Chimp as president of the United States. Who could have believed that an administration could fuck up the United States of America as bad as this one did. Who could have believed that after the first four year, the ignorant proles would have elected him again. It makes me realize what a vile, ignorant, bunch of low dwelling morons make up a solid core of the electorate.
But who knows, maybe it's exactly what we needed to get to where we are today with perhaps one who will be one of the greatest presidents ever about to be inaugurated. A man of African-American descent. . . holy shit, it really happened!!!!
Savor this wonderful time.
REJOICE!

Lead him out in chains!!!

After watching that snide smirking snot nosed punk yesterday I was left enraged that this spoiled little prick has so far gotten away with the treason and war crimes that he has perpetrated.

I only have one thing to say to the democratic congress.

Make this happen!





Let's watch the scumbag smirk during his trial. . . first in a US court and then in a world court. Let justice be done and let this corpo-fascist piece of shit rot in jail.

Eggs and Cheese - 100% carb free

First go down to the hen house and grab four or five fresh 100% organic eggs. . . what? I thought everyone. . . well, get four or five eggs from wherever you get your eggs.
chop up a couple tablespoons of onion, a couple tablespoons of chopped jalapeno peppers, preferably the ones you picked and pickled fresh from the garden last fall and about twice as much diced ham. . . I said diced, not chunked, little pieces. You can also crumble up a few strips of cooked bacon.
Pour some olive oil into a hot pan and sizzle the onions jalapenos and pork product just enough to sweat the onions.
Now pour the eggs in that you've already cracked and beat in a bowl. Salt, pepper, whatever to taste.
When the eggs are about 1/2 done, take about three table spoons of goat cheese and drop small pieces into the eggs. When the eggs are almost done, lay a couple slices of swiss cheese on the top and turn off the heat.
Oh man, that's some good eggs n cheese.

Nobody said this diet was fat free, just very low carb.

That carb craving

I'm gettin tired of this diet and I've only been on it for a week. What I really crave are some mashed potatoes with lots of butter, salt and pepper. . . maybe some garlic and onion mashed in with them. Yea, I need a big dose of carbs. Unfortunately, if I take a big dose of carbs, it will knock my system out of whack and it'll take a couple days to get back into the groove I'm now in where my body is burning fat at an incredible rate to make the carbs/ simple sugars that I'm not getting. So what do I do?
Well, I have a semi-satisfying solution.

Mashed cauliflower. . .
If you don't like cauliflower, this dish aint for you cause it does taste like cauliflower. If you can stand cauliflower, you might actually like this one. If you already like cauliflower, you're gonna thank me for this:

Take one head of cauliflower, cut it up and steam or boil until very tender. I like to steam or cook mine slow to keep the nutrients from leaching out into the water a little less.
Drain well. No, really, drain well otherwise your dish will be water logged. I actually press it all flat on the bottom of the pan with a masher to get some of the water out. . . I know, I'm losing a lot of nutrients when I do, but this dish really does have tendency to come out too wet.
Add salt and pepper and then mash the hell out of it. I use a hand mixer. . . one of those boat motor type things. After it's good and creamy, add some blanched onion bits, garlic and crumbled bacon along with a couple table spoons of cream cheese. Put just enough small onion pieces in to give it some taste (onion is high in carbs). Now mash it all together some more.

What you've got now is a white creamy goodness that will satisfy that urge for mashed potatoes to go along with your fried pork tenderloin or any other piece of meat you decide to cook. Go ahead, cover it with butter. There aint no carbs in butter!

One head of cauliflower contains ~25 gms of carb. Add to that the onion and a couple grams from the cream cheese and you might hit 30 grams of carbs for this whole pot of delish. Don't eat the whole damn pot full and you'll be well below the 20 gram per day carb limit I keep to when I'm doing this diet.

One medium sized potato, which is hardly big enough for a serving of mashed potaoes weighs in at almost 40 grams of carbs.
I'd be eatin two of those in a decent serving of mashed up taters.

I'm tired and too damn fat

So it's time to do something about it.
The only way I've ever been able to lose weight is doing the Atkins Diet. It works for me.
So I've decided that I need to get down from 225 to 180 or 190 in the next few months and I'm going to bust all over the Atkins plan. . . my way, cause that's how I do things.
The Atkins Diet is all about low or no carb consumption. The cool thing about that is that meats and most dairy products don't contain any carbs, just lots of cholesterol. My doctor tells me that since I always have good cholesterol numbers and I'm pretty healthy for an old dude, I can do it for a short while. I'll probably do it longer than he recommends.
To make this interesting (to me, I don't care if I bore YOU), I'm going to post some of my low/no carb recipes. I'll also post my weight loss numbers on my sidebar so that you can call me a loser if I give up next week and gain it all back.
Ok, the pressure's on.

Fried Pork Tenderloin
This is a great dish and cheap and easy to prepare. Pork tenderloin is $2.99/lb at my grocery store.

Cut a 1" slice from a pork tenderloin. Pound it with a meat hammer (tenderizer) until it's really, really thin. Yea, it'll get really big around too, at least doubled in size. HEY! Don't beat the hell out of it or it will break apart. Pound gently and patiently, it'll flatten out over time.
Get a frying pan good and hot with some good oil covering the bottom. I like to use bacon grease or a mixture of butter and olive oil.
Coat the tenderloin with lots of salt and pepper and any other spice you like. I like mine to taste like sausage.
Now drop it on the frying pan with the coated side up. Fry until it's got a nice crispy (carmelized) coat and flip and do the same on the spice side. It should take but a couple minutes on each side.
Mmmmm mmmmm good. You'll think you're from Iowa when you bite into that little piece of ZERO carb hog heaven.

Doing the next right thing

Let's get back to consciousness and being present, shall we? This politics which I have no control over beyond my own personal vote and my own will to write letters to my representatives is not something that I need to dwell on even though my mind will take me there and push me through the political sea of shit and vermin despite my wishes to stay conscious of my now and NOT wade through that muck, devastation and stench.

So let's talk about positive things that maybe, just maybe, one person reading this will contemplate for 30 seconds.

I've discussed being conscious in previous posts and talked about being present in another.
Once we become conscious and learn to be present in the moment of now, what do we do then? How is our life different and how do we go about our daily routine?
It's very simple; we take a look at everything in front of us, and only that which is in front of us, and we do the next right thing.
Do the next right thing.
How difficult is that?
No matter what the circumstance, no matter who is involved, no mater the time of day or night, just look at the situation, all of the situation and do the most positive action you can to deal with the situation. Think of the common good, think of people's feelings, think of the survival of all involved.
You usually know what's right and wrong. Very rarely are we in situations that are overly complex and require extensive sorting out of what's right and what's wrong. Most human beings, if they have the slightest bit of moral fiber or good ethics know the difference between right and wrong. Apply that to all your actions and interactions.

You see, once you learn how to be conscious of what is around you and begin living only in the moment of now, you become capable of seeing the world clearly. Your level of situational awareness becomes acute and real. It's no longer some paranoid bubble of resentment and suspicion, but true awareness and with that, understanding.

But Hillbilly, sometimes it's just a clutter of confusing information in my brain and the moment of now confuses me. How do I 'do the next right thing' then?
I hear ya and my ADHD brain feels your pain.
The great thing about life is that the vast majority of us don't have to go through it alone. We've got friends and loved ones. Don't have any friends or loved ones? Make some. Go to church. Join a civic organization. Tell somebody you're lonely.
Now that you are in the moment of now and conscious, you will attract others. You simply need to put yourself out there.
But back to your good question. . .

You've got support. You've got peeps. Give a shout-out to one of them. ASK FOR HELP!

You might say; "I don't ask nobody fer nuthin." Yea, been there, done that and it never got me anywhere but alone and confused. Sure, I thought I was tough and able to handle any situation, but I wasn't, I was just goat headed and ignorant. . . Brother James Foster used to say "He's got da goat head" when some young buck would come along who thought he knew everything. I don't have to have the goat head no more. I've got friends and family that love me and are really glad when I call them up and ask them what they think of this or that situation inquire as to what the best path of procedure might be. I'm not alone anymore.

The other option to dealing with a confused mind is: walk away. Yea, do nothing. How often does the present situation really require your action? Really, how often? Most of us let our egos tell us that we need to be involved and we need to add our two cents, but more often than not, a smile and a nod is sufficient and we need only WALK AWAY.

Give it a try. Put your ego aside, forget the past and don't concern yourself with the future and just do the next right thing.

MacDaddy, Thanks for having me think about this.