MINI MIKE CLEARS THE FIELD! (in AMERICAN SAMOA)

Yep, it is possible to be one of the world’s richest men and still be a moron. All of the pandering and all of the apologizing and all of the lying about about Trump AND 500+ MILLION DOLLARS spent on field offices, staff and gazillions of commercials catapulted MINI Mayor Mike Bloomberg atop the field on Super Tuesday.

Congratulations mini Mike!

Here is some advice: Make America Great Again - and exit stage left!
SUPER TUESDAY INDEED
But stay tuned... according to the Honorable Joe Biden we are just hours away from...
...SUPER THURSDAY!

HERE ARE YOUR CHOICES IF YOU ARE A DEMOCRAT....
It's SOCIALISM (Bernie) vs. SENILITY (Biden)
Me? I think I will stick with TRUMP!

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I tried the Applebee's Tex-Mex Lime-Grilled Shrimp Bowl for lunch.
It was delicious.
I ate a bit more than usual on Tuesday.
I need to cut that back a bit.

GOODBYE QUID PRO JOE

Let's talk politics... In previous years posting every day, I enjoyed dipping into some political pontificating.... It's time to rediscover that.

President Biden? Perhaps of his condo association, not President of the United States of America

On Tuesday night the State of New Hampshire held a primary which will signal the end of the Presidential aspirations of Joe Biden.  The man deserves to be enjoying his retirement and the many millions of dollars immorally 'earned' by him and his family.

After years of hearing how President Trump was a 'liar'
Here is a whopper of a lie from Vice President Biden:

From the very beginning, Biden claimed that he did not desire the endorsement of President Barack Obama.  This was so patently untrue - that a person would have to be medically brain-dead to believe it.  If it were true that Biden asked Obama not to endorse him - then it would be demonstrably proven that the guy is far too stupid to be President.  So either he is a bad liar or dumber than a box of rocks.
Relax everyone, it is possible that he is both.

Adios Joe.
Adios Pocahontas

Hello Democratic Socialist/Communist nominee for President, Bernie Sanders.

Can Bloomberg snatch the nomination from Bernie?
Maybe...
He is still a clueless Democrat, but at least he is not a communist.

YEP, THE DEMS WANT TO RUN THE WORLD, CAN'T EVEN RUN THIER OWN IOWA CAUCUS

Wow, I was kinda looking forward to watching the returns from the 'First in the Nation' Iowa Caucus on Monday night.  Well, the democrats in Iowa are so inept that the results were still unknown well into Tuesday.  Yep, it's a great idea for these same geniuses to take over everything that they want to take over. Yikes!

Reasons unclear?  How about inept morons responsible?

Me, I am just trying to take over my own life.
Eating health(per) and cutting out chocolate and cookies and ice-cream and all the other garbage the helped me gain pound after pound after pound....

So far, in 2020, things are looking good.

RESULTS!

Sunday morning was the first time I was home and could weigh myself on my home scale.  I suspected that I would be cheered by the results:

On the morning of January 1st I did weight 297 lbs.
On the morning just today February 2nd, I weigh 272.6 lbs

January 2020, the first month of the year, and of the decade ushered in a weight loss of 24.4 lbs.

I did this without starving myself.
I did this basically eating three meals per day.
I did this eating zero unhealthy snacks, and for that matter, zero 'healthy' snacks.
I did not choose the absolute lowest calories choice at restaurants - but always had an enjoyable meal.
I did not forgo the baguette french bread when enjoying soup, but always skipped the crackers.
I did always have a glass of water with lunch and dinner - never soda, never diet iced tea.
I did walk away from free breakfast buffett - thinking I could have eaten more.
I did almost always stop and dine in for lunch and dinner, avoided 'drive-thru' meals.
I did lose 24.4 lbs in the first month of the year.
I did remember that I have done this before, and that I could do it again.
I did remember that the most difficult thing about changing a life pattern is deciding to do it...
...and doing it.
  

OK, now it's time to continue doing what I am doing....

LET'S TALK ABOUT RESULTS

Friday was the 26th consecutive day that I have curtailed my calorie count to the neighborhood of 1000. Well, here's the deal... If one can consume such a low calorie count for nearly three weeks. WEIGHT WILL BE LOST. IT WILL DISAPPEAR.

Saturday has been traditionally been the day that I weigh myself and I am going to return to that schedule.  

My weight today is 260.7 lbs

I have dropped 22.9 pounds in 26 days.

Twenty-six days ago I had ballooned all the way up to a staggeringly high 283.6 lbs

For the past twenty-six days I have dropped not quite a pound a day.... but close to it...

I feel great.

I am still quite overweight (just less so)

I am going to continue with my aggressive determination.

I have a lot of clothing in my closet that I would like to get re-acquainted with.

It is very hard to outgrow short-sleeve button down shirts - but I had done that.

Now I have them all back.

I have some pants and bluejeans that I would like to recover, that will take a bit longer, but even that has begun.... 

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CAMPAIGN PROMISES and SKEPTICISM

Does it seem to you that Trump has been in the White House for months already? It appears that he just might have been serious about most of his campaign promises. I still will never be convinced that Mexico will be paying for the wall, unless one calculates the cost savings to America that the additional security will provide. In that case, it is easy to make a case that the wall will pay for itself. When Trump promised to nominate a true conservative to the Supreme Court, there were many Republicans who simply did not believe him. I was skeptical. And hopeful. Apparently we will find out next week if this was yet another promise that will be kept. During the campaign, when Trump was spouting off about a myriad of issues and things he wanted to accomplish, I was skeptical because it largely seemed to good to be true. Each day my skepticism diminishes and I become a believer. We are still in the first week of this new administration. I wonder where we will be after the first month. These are interesting days in America.

"The thing about using quotes from the internet is how challenging it can be to confirm their validity." Abraham Lincoln

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Your Food Diary For:

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Generic - Biscuit and Gravy	300	46	33	13	1,035	9
Kroger - Frosted Shredded Wheat	300	71	2	8	16	17
Morningstar Farms - Sausage Patty	200	7	7	25	649	2
	800	124	42	46	1,700	28
L U N C H
Sushi California Roll	500	95	8	15	900	10
	500	95	8	15	900	10
D I N N E R
Subway - Turkey Breast Foot Long	560	92	7	36	0	14
Lay's - Baked - Sour Cream and Onio	140	24	4	2	195	3
	700	116	11	38	195	17
S N A C K S
Met-Rx - Big 100 Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bar	360	52	5	28	150	25
	360	52	5	28	150	25
Totals	2,360	387	66	127	2,945	80
Your Daily Goal	1,973	246	65	99	2,300	74
Remaining	-387	-141	-1	-28	-645	-6
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g

CHICAGO MARATHON 2016

Most people who run the Chicago Marathon, or any marathon, plan and train for months and months in advance. Regular readers of this blog are aware that I am not most people, besides I do not plan to ever run the Chicago Marathon, or any marathon, ever. I like to walk. I can easily be convinced to walk a marathon. In essence, I train for such an endeavor year-round. As midnight approached on Saturday night and I was reminded that the Chicago Marathon would be the next day, I came to the conclusion that this would be a good idea, that is, to walk the Chicago Marathon, again. Last year, I stumbled on the marathon as I was taking a two hour morning walk, and simply decided to walk along the sidewalk of the racecourse until I had logged 26.2 miles. That is precisely what I did one year ago. This year, the only change, was that I walked out my front door 'knowing' that I was going to travel 26.2 miles. I logged nearly 4 miles in nearby Lincoln Park before 'joining' the marathon route from the sidewalk. Just like last year, I did not take a single cup of water, or half a banana or even a cheer from the sidelines that did not belong to me. As far as anyone is concerned who might have seen me, it would appear that I was moving to get a better vantage point to view the event. I was moving along the course for a bit more than 20 miles until my mapmywalk application confirmed that  I had traveled 26.2 miles. I was racing only against myself. I admit that I was a bit perturbed to discover that last year, I completed 26.2 miles four minutes quicker. Let's face it, last year I was a young man of 57 years old, this year, I am now 13 months shy of my 60th birthday - so I am happy that I was able to complete my task. I am one of those people who never knows when enough is enough. As soon as I 'ended' my workout at 26.2 miles, I started a new workout and walked an additional 7 miles to a grocery store near my home and met my family there for a celebratory early dinner.  I walked 33 miles on Sunday. I am a person with an unusual hobby - and I love it.

I joined the racecourse before the elite runners came barreling by at their blistering 5mph pace. This photo shows the police escorts on motorcycles who are insuring that the path is clear for those elite runners who will practically finish the race before some of the thousands and thousands of runner behind the starting line actually get started.

I took one picture to try to show the 'zillions' of runners that were passing me all day long.

In my 25th mile, the crowds of runners behind me have thinned out, mostly because so many runners have passed me and  crossed the finish line.

This is the smile of man who has just walked 26.2 miles in  5 hours, 43 minutes and  32 seconds.

This was the second walk of the day. Once I completed my 26.2 miles, I took a more leisurely urban hike 7 miles to Mariano's Market to meet my family for an early dinner.  My pace when I was trying to go as fast as possible during the marathon was 13:06 minutes per mile.  My pace when I was really trying to go much, much slower was still under 16 minutes per mile. 

Your Food Diary For:

Sunday, October 9, 2016

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Quaker - Grits - Instant - Original, 4 packet	400	88	0	8	1,240	0
Apple - Braeburn, 3 medium apples	220	59	1	1	0	44
Quaker - Chewy Granola, 2 bar	180	38	4	2	160	14
	800	185	5	11	1,400	58
L U N C H
Spicy Salmon Maki	350	39	16	14	278	0
Pineapple Melon Mango Grapes Fruit Salad	750	175	0	13	125	163
Bai Antioxidant Cocofusion Coconut Lime	10	18	0	0	70	2
Vitamin Water (Lemonade) Zero	0	12	0	0	0	0
	1,110	244	16	27	473	165
D I N N E R
Polish Kielbasa Smoked Sausage	170	2	15	7	570	1
Enriched Hot Dog Bun, 1 bun	110	21	2	3	220	2
Post Great Grains (Raisins, Dates & Pecans)	800	156	15	15	514	50
	1,080	179	32	25	1,304	53
S N A C K S
Hersheys Dark Chocolate Bar	500	28	38	9	100	11
	500	28	38	9	100	11
Totals	3,490	636	91	72	3,277	287
Your Daily Goal	7,455	932	248	373	2,300	279
Remaining	3,965	296	157	301	-977	-8
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 5,525 extra calories from exercise today

If every day were like today...   You'd weigh 174.4 lbs in 5 weeks.

Your Exercise Diary for:

Sunday, October 9, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
26.2 MILE MARATHON HIKE	344	5,141
7 MILE URBAN HIKE	112	1,131
Daily Total / Goal	456 / 30	6,272 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	1071 / 210	15,405 / 4,130

CHICAGO BANK OF AMERICA 2016
MARATHON RESULTS

Top 30 Men

Finish	Name	Town	Age	Time
1	Kirui, Abel (KEN)		34	2:11:23
2	Chumba, Dickson (KEN)		29	2:11:26
3	Kipketer, Gideon (KEN)		23	2:12:20
4	Lonyangata, Paul (KEN)		24	2:13:17
5	Sambu, Stephen (KEN)		28	2:13:35
6	Ayele, Abayneh (ETH)		28	2:13:52
7	Fukatsu, Takuya (JPN)		28	2:13:53
8	Estrada, Diego (USA)	Flagstaff, AZ	26	2:13:56
9	Gokaya, Koji (JPN)		28	2:14:34
10	Kibet, Elkanah (USA)	Fountain, CO	30	2:16:37
11	Young, Tim (USA)	Fredericksburg, VA	29	2:16:43
12	Epperson, Andrew (USA)	Golden, CO	25	2:16:54
13	Overall, Scott (GBR)		33	2:18:21
14	Matsuo, Ryoichi (JPN)		25	2:18:50
15	Migliozzi, Tony (USA)	North Canton, OH	27	2:19:39
16	Anderson, Tom (GBR)		26	2:19:52
17	Wallis, Daniel (NZL)		28	2:19:56
18	Kogo, Micah (KEN)		30	2:20:03
19	Puskedra, Luke (USA)	Eugene, OR	26	2:20:18
20	Mott, Jonathan (USA)	Babson Park, FL	29	2:20:22
21	Nilsson, David (SWE)		29	2:20:25
22	Chu, Meng-Tsung (TPE)	Colorado Springs, CO	34	2:21:02
23	Dandena, Kiya (USA)	Flagstaff, AZ	27	2:22:14
24	Carrera, Mizael (USA)	Chicago, IL	25	2:22:25
25	Ishida, Kazuya (JPN)		32	2:23:02
26	Morrison, Travis (USA)	Hoffman Estates, IL	24	2:23:28
27	Mcmillan, Connor (USA)	Provo, UT	20	2:23:28
28	Emerick, Dustin (USA)	Evansville, IN	27	2:23:58
29	Eustance, Tyler (USA)	Binghamton, NY	24	2:24:07
30	Wells, Clint (USA)	Boulder, CO	41	2:24:10

Top 30 Women

Place	Name	Town	Age	Time
1	Kiplagat, Florence (KEN)		29	2:21:32
2	Kiplagat, Edna (KEN)		36	2:23:28
3	Kipketer, Valentine (KEN)		23	2:23:41
4	Rionoripo, Purity (KEN)		23	2:24:47
5	Melese, Yebrgual (ETH)		26	2:24:49
6	Baysa, Atsede (ETH)		29	2:28:53
7	Burla, Serena (USA)	Stafford, VA	34	2:30:40
8	Mierzejewska, Agnieszka (POL)		30	2:32:13
9	Crouch, Sarah (USA)	Moorehead, KY	27	2:33:48
10	Gray, Alia (USA)	Boulder, CO	27	2:34:00
11	Knowles, Laurie (USA)	Charlotte, NC	38	2:36:01
12	Ross, Freya (GBR)		33	2:37:50
13	Philbrook, Lauren (USA)	Auburn, AL	29	2:38:00
14	Chrisman, Caitlin (USA)	Mountain View, CA	30	2:38:47
15	Heckert, Kristen (USA)	Bolingbrook, IL	29	2:39:37
16	Polley, Emma (USA)	Seattle, WA	26	2:40:56
17	Scott, Amanda (USA)	Boulder, CO	28	2:42:45
18	Roman-Duval, Julia (USA)	Columbia, MD	34	2:42:49
19	Andre, Stephanie (USA)	Bixby, OK	33	2:43:07
20	Sawyer, Julie (USA)	Cardiff, CA	33	2:45:25
21	Ino, Mitsuko (JPN)		33	2:46:23
22	Ryan, Sophie (AUS)		29	2:46:56
23	Bauer, Caroline (USA)	Columbia, MD	33	2:47:17
24	Mendoza, Salome (BOL)	Cochabamba	27	2:47:40
25	Anderson, Mallory (USA)	New York, NY	25	2:47:41
26	Snyder, Kati (USA)	Chicago, IL	33	2:48:12
27	Drynan, Allison (CAN)	Toronto, ON	40	2:48:50
28	Kelly, Harriott (USA)	New York, NY	29	2:49:19
29	Maranzano, Jennifer (USA)	Washington, DC	44	2:49:21
30	Selert Faraud, Kir (USA)	Brooklyn, NY	29	2:49:30

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The weather in Chicago for the marathon was spectacular.  It is hard to believe that the elite runners who started at 7:30AM were crossing the finish line by 9:41AM.