A supersized America

If you have looked in the mirror lately and wondered where those extra pounds came from, you are not alone.  A new study today showed what most of us already know… Americans are getting fatter… a lot fatter actually.

Last year the obesity rate in America rose in 23 different states, and did not decline in a single state. We have known for a while that American children are having a hard time with their weight, but adult obesity rates are on the rise as well.

Today’s report shows that adult obesity rates are greater than 25% in 31 of the nations states. This is up from 28 states the previous year. For children, it is even worse, with 30% of children between the ages of 10 and 17 being obese in 30 states. We are definitely becoming a fatter nation.

It is pretty easy to understand how it happens. Try to drive 5 minutes from your house and not pass a McDonald’s. Chances are, unless you are living in the woods, you will have a hard time not seeing the golden arches on your drive. American’s work a lot, and for a lot of us, we just dont have time to worry about eating healthy. It is much easier to grab that Big Mac than to go home and put together a healthy meal. We are a fast food nation, and it is catching up with us.

Of course it is unfair to blame it all on McDonalds. There are so many different fast food joints out there, but McDonalds just happens to be the biggest and most widespread across America and the world in general.

It is not a pretty picture, and with more and more fast food restaurants going up every day, it is hard to avoid the trappings of the fast and easy food. Maybe next time you decide to pull into a McDonalds you will think twice about what you are putting in your mouth.

I am not trying to preach… I love a good quarter pounder with cheese myself, but me and my wife are pretty good about staying away from the fast food, typically only eating it while we are on road trips and do not really have many other options. Having said that, I do realize that there is always a better option to fast food… so the next time you need something fast and easy, try to make it to a Subway instead, where you can at least get something that will not weigh you down quite as much as a Big Mac, large fries and super sized cola.

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Al Franken to be Minnesota Senator

We have finally learned who the newest Senator for Minnesota will be…. Al Franken has been officially announced the winner of the highly disputed Senatorial race from this past November.

The state Supreme Court announced today that it was going to force Republican candidate Norm Coleman to concede the race to Franken. The decision to add Al Franken to the Senate is a big win for Democrats. Franken gives the Democrats 60 votes, which is enough to prevent any Republican attempt at delaying legislation, also known as a filibuster.

Definitely a major blow to the Republicans, and another major win for the Democrat party.

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Michael Jackson dead at 50 from cardiac arrest

Michael Jackson, the King of Pop has died today. Michael Jackson suffered from a cardiac arrest and died today in Los Angeles.

Jackson was 50 years old, and was hoping to rejuvenate his carrer this summer with a comeback tour. The King of Pop was once the biggest thing on this planet, but over the past 10 years he had definitely fallen out of the pop world. The last time Michael Jackson had a serious tour was back in 1997, and he had not released an album since 2001.

Through his musical career, Jackson definitely was on top. He sold more than 750 million albums world wide, and won 13 Grammys for his work.

Despite his amazing musical achievements, his carrer will always be tainted by all the accusations of child abuse that were made against him. In 2005, Jackson was acquitted of child molestation in California, and has rarely made his way into the public eye since.

Michael Jackson was divorced 2 times, and leaves 3 children behind.

Despite all the craziness around his personal life, Jackson was still very famous around the world, especially in Europe. He had scheduled 50 London concerts between July and March… and they all sold out in just a matter of minutes, proving that Michael Jackson was, is, and probably always will be considered the true King of Pop.

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First week as an Apple user

So after a long time resisting, I finally made the jump last week and purchased an Apple laptop. I got the macbook pro, and I have to say that I am completely in love with this Apple computer.

I was a little hesitant on joining the “mac nation” but all my fears turned out to be nothing, and making the transition from PC to Apple has been much smoother than I would have expected.

For me, the learning that was most crucial was learning how to control the computer with hand commands. Using a mouse with only one button was going to be something to overcome, but with a couple little tricks, you will be over that and ready to see just what these popular Apple computers are all about.

After 1 week, I can honestly say that this is my favorite computer I have ever owned. Now I understand why so many Apple users are so die hard about these machines. Everything seems a lot simpler, and more straight forward than on a PC computer.

Still a lot to learn about making the apple switch, but for now things could not be going any better.

Have any tips or tricks you want to share about navigating around on an Apple macbook?Feel free to share!

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Apple iPhone version 3.0

iPhone users out there are getting a very exciting present today… an upgrade to version 3.0. I have been waiting on this one, and as of around 1 PM EST you could get the new 3.0 version iPhone software.

The new software should address some of the major problems that iPhone users have had with the popular cell phones. Cut, Copy and Paste will now be available, and you will find that your landscape keypad will be working with programs that they previously did not, such as mail… which will be nice.

It will have MMS ability to send photos and videos, but that will not be available by AT&T until later in the summer.

There should also be come changes to its Bluetooth, and provides Bluetooth Stereo.

I have my iPhone sync’ing right now with the new iPhone version 3.0, and I will see what improvements really stand out for me. What about you? What do you think is the coolest thing with the new iPhone version 3. software?

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