Who is RESPONSIBLE

It has been a while since my last post. The main reason I fell behind in posts is because I failed the diet. Who wants to post their failures, not me. I have lost weight since then, a total of 12 solid pounds, with a loss of 15 pounds on a good day. I still need to lose another 10, but am taking my time. But today's log isn't about my weight, it is about MySpace.

MySpace is an online social network. I have been hesitant to join due to the lack of trust I have towards others, but I have finally broke down and joined the bandwagon. Recently MySpace has added more features to make your personal page more secure, allowing me to require others to know my full name to find me. I am not ready to share my page just yet as it is under construction. I have always followed my own path, some would call that unique, so following a predefined layout isn't my cup of tea. When it is ready, in a month or so, I will be sure to share it with my friends and family. Until then, the real issue of today's blog is RESPONSIBILITY.

It amazes me that so many people are willing to share their personal information with strangers, it is even more amazing that strangers want to read about other peoples ins and outs. What people need to realize is that not everyone on the internet has good intent. You need to be careful with the information you share, it is your responsibility to watch out for yourself.

In recent news, MySpace was sued because a child on MySpace stated she was sexually assaulted by another MySpace user. Mind you, someone she agreed to meet with. Is MySpace responsible?

I think that if the child was molested it is extremely horrible and my feelings go out to her and her family. More over, I hope they find and imprison the molester. However, I do not think that MySpace should be responsible. Parents need to monitor their children's internet use. They need to take responsibility for their child's safety instead of pointing the finger. I know that there are a lot of things children do that parents do not know about. But there is a thing called prevention. Before allowing your child access to the internet, parents should warn them of the dangers, the warning should be reiterated from time to time. Real life examples are key here, and with the internet, parents should be able to find plenty of facts and examples. Parents should also place the computer in a public room, a room that the family spends most of their time together in. In addition, parents should lock down the computer by requiring a password, known only by them, so that the child can only use the computer when they are around.

In some cases, locking down the computer is not the best option, especially when parents work late hours and children need access to the internet for school work. So what are some other options? Do a search on MySpace routinely to see if your child has created an account. You do not necessarily need to remove their account, but at least view their comments to see who is getting in touch with them. Or if your child has told you she or he is interested, help them sign up and make sure that you set the privacy settings. I still would recommend checking out their site from time to time to review the comments and make sure your child did not change the privacy settings. If they did, cancel that account immediately because you do not know what else they have been doing. It is also beneficial to teach your child how to handle a situation if it does progress that far. I would even go as far as taking them to a self-defense class. Another option is to install a monitoring tool that allows you to track your child's internet use.

Sadly enough, even with all the preventions in the world, things still happen. Educating your child may not have been enough, but taking the steps to decrease the possibilities will make you sleep better at night and might save your child's life. But again, the responsibility lies in the child and the parents themselves. The internet does have some responsibilities in trying to make their site secure, but there is only so much they can do. They definitely cannot confirm a persons age, which many privacy settings are based on. That does not mean you cannot report a crime or notify the website of indecentcies. If you have suggestions to make a site more secure, be sure to share it with them. And if you are unaware of the dangers, research the internet for articles and statistics. Lastly, stay aware and keep open communication with your children.

What are your thoughts? Is MySpace responsible? Take a survey.

SBD Day 3

Three days of dieting complete. I weighed myself this morning and only lost half a pound. Very disappointing, but it could because I ate too many peanuts and chicken thighs. Supposedly you are only allowed to have 20 peanuts (amount depends on the type of nuts), I probably had about 50. You are only supposed to have two chicken thighs, I had three or four chopped up in a salad with cheese. You are suppose to eat low-fat or fat free cheese, but I did not know that when I purchased the cheese and I do not want to waste food.

I did walk a mile, which is less than yesterday, but I speed walked, feeling the burn much more. Last night I also measured and noticed that I have lost an inch off my chest, not sure what my previous waist size was.

Meal:
Breakfast: 2 Hard Boiled Eggs
Snack: Peanuts
Lunch: Krafts SBD meal
Snack: Jell-O
Dinner: Chicken Salad with one tomato, cheese, and olive oil
Snack: Peanuts & Jell-O

I have a feeling I am going to be sick and tired of jell-O come the third week, but we will see. I am hoping that tomorrow I weigh at least one pound less than today. I was hoping to lose about a pound a day for two weeks. If I decide to continue this phase for one more week, half a pound a day would be fine. Yes, I should have mentioned, it is recommend that phase one only be done for two to three weeks, depending on how much weight you need to lose. It is not healthy to stay on phase one for an extended period of time.

I wonder what I will weigh tomorrow??????

SBD Day 2

If you read my previous post, you are aware that Monday I did not have a successful first day on the South Beach Diet (SBD).

Recap: Eating right at work was no problem; though I was hungry most of the day, but once home I ate my favorite junk food…chocolate. So as you can see it will be a struggle for me to stay away from the foods I love.

Today fared much better. I went through the entire day without cheating. In fact, I was unable to finish my breakfast, which is a first. I even walked a mile and a half, which I plan to repeat on Wednesday. Don’t get me wrong, I was tempted by the junk food in our home. Jasmine eats animal crackers and gold fish crackers, both of which I love. But I kept thinking about a recent photo of me and it was motivation enough.

Menu:
Breakfast: 1 Hard Boiled Egg and Spicy Mustard Ham
Snack: 20 Peanuts
Lunch: Krafts SBD Phase 1 meal
Snack: Sugar Free Jell-O
Snack: Cheese Stick
Dinner: 2 Lettuce wrapped cheese burgers with tomatoes and pickles
Snack: Sugar Free Jell-O

I weigh myself every morning at 6:30 am. I have heard that it is always best to weigh yourself at the same time, every time, to accurately track your weight. Well this morning I weighted 2 pounds less than yesterday. That is a total of three pounds in two days, one day of which I cheated. Knowing that I lost three pounds is great motivation for Wednesday. I am excited to see how things progress.

I should mention that I drink plenty of water throughout the day. A key to this diet is drinking lots and lots of water. In fact I drank 68 oz of water yesterday. That is just over eight 8 oz cups of water. I drink more during the day than in the evening, which means I need to start increasing my water intake at night, but that should be no problem.

Come back tomorrow for day three (really day 2 since day one was not successful)

South Beach Diet Day 1

The primary reason for this blog is to share my opinions. However, I am on a personal task and want to track my progress. The next two weeks will contain journal entries. No debates or options will be expressed. I will be taking the leap into the world of diet and exercise, noting both my progress and my failures.

Jasmine, my daughter, is going to be 10 months old on May 6, 2006 and I still have to lose 20 pounds before I reach my pre-baby weight. Granted, I did gain 75 pounds during my pregnancy, so I have lost a great deal, but these last 20 pounds have been really hard to drop. Sometimes I lose five pounds, but I always gain it back and it is my own fault. I don’t exercise enough and I eat all the wrong foods, too much junk food and not enough vegetables.

Well, I have finally decided to do something about it, other than just complain. My biggest issue will be giving up chocolate. Some people are addicted to drugs, I am addicted to chocolate, doesn't matter if it is milk, white, dark, or truffle. I like them all, especially high quality chocolates. I can drink water in place of other beverages easily, I can give up potatoes, chips, white bread and white rice, but chocolate...it is going to be hard.

I have been on the Atkins diet before, stayed with it for a year and lost 30 pounds, but I was never really satisfied, and I was emitting this strange odor, which was bothersome. Several of my co-workers are on the South Beach Diet, from this point forward referred to as SBD, or a least a modified version of it. All of them seem to have drops pounds and inches. To find out if this diet was for me I bought the SBD paperback and have read the book from front to cover. Actually, it really isn’t that much reading, a large portion of the book consists of recipes and menus for each phase of the diet.

Yes I said phases, there are three phases of the diet, similar to Atkins, the difference is that you can eat good carbohydrates and are not limited to portions on most of the acceptable foods. As with Atkins, the first phase is the strictest; you have to cut out all fruits, sugars, baked goods, breads, rice, and some of my favorite vegetables. This phase last two weeks and will be the hardest for me, but I am suppose to be able to lose up to 13 pounds, which is very appealing.

Phase two allows you to start introducing fruits and whole grain products slowly and with more portion restrictions. I will continue this phase until I lose the desired weight amount, which means I will be on it for a while because you lose only 1 to 2 pounds a week.

Phase three is for life and is more of a life style than a diet. Moderation and portions are important here, but you are allowed to bring back most of your favorites. I can even have chocolate, not as much as I would have eaten before, but at least I get a taste.

Monday, April 24, 2006 was my first attempt at the diet. I was hungry most of the day even though I was constantly eating some type of acceptable food. Still, it was easy to stick to, well that is until I got home. I saw chocolate and down it went. Bad me.

Menu
Breakfast: 2 hard boiled eggs
Snack: 20 peanuts
Lunch: Krafts SBD Phase 1 meal
Snack: Cheese stick
Dinner: 2 pieces of chicken thighs
Snack: Chocolate (BAD)

In addition to the dieting, which I did not stick to for the entire day, I am also exercising. Today I walked a mile. I need to increase that to one and a half miles to ensure I am getting at least 30 to 40 minutes of exercise a day. Still I dropped 1 pound, which of course could be water weight, but we will see.

Come back tomorrow to see my progress!

Illegals boycott services May 1, 2006

If you have watched the news lately, you are well aware of the Continental Immigration Bill at http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/258438961#body. If passed, the bill would "enforce corporate responsibility in the hiring of illegal immigrants with fines, incarnation, and loss of business licenses. It will secure the northern and southern borders in cooperation with the adjoining nations. It will establish a system of documentation, checks and balances and privileges for immigration. It will establish burden and cost reimbursement to the adjoining countries in the processing and punishment of illegal immigrants and smugglers. It will supersede all outsourcing bills and will put limits on outsourcing of American jobs."

In protest of the bill, people have been protesting throughout America. Let’s start with the student protesters. Do they really know why they are protesting? Even with the benefit of doubt, it is probable that only a handful of students know the details of the bill and why they are protesting. It is also probable that most of them are more interested in skipping school than protesting for a cause. The worse part of this situation is that the protesting students were not disciplined. If I "skipped" work, I would have to take a personal day or no pay at all. The school officials should have treated the skippers the same as any other student who skipped school and at least handed out detention slips. What is this country coming to?

Ah, but alas, the students are only a small piece of this jigsaw puzzle. The real issue here is the thousands of protesters protesting across the continent. Has anyone noticed who the majority of the protestors are? You got it, Mexicans, and can you guess how many of those protesters were illegal. I am guessing that at least 70 percent of the protesters were illegals, married to an illegal, have family members that are illegal, or have family members that plan on entering America illegally. Some of you may say that this is stereotyping, but let’s be realistic here, over a million illegals currently live in America. Is it really far fetched to think that most of them make up the protesting parties?

To further their “cause”, Illegals plan on boycotting work and services on May 1, 2006 to show Americans that we cannot survive without them. You know what I say to that...march on with your bad selves, right out of our country and we will show you we can make it on our own. President Bush and many others say that the Illegals are doing jobs that Americans refuse to do. Let us think about this for a minute. Is it that our fellow Americans refuse to do these jobs or is it because they expect to receive minimum wage for their services? Personally I lean towards the second, what is your vote? What it comes down to is employers of illegals want to hire cheap labor and be able to pay them under the table. So what happens to the tax dollars that are suppose to be paid by both the employer and the illegals? That is another blog all on its own, as is the fact that up north (of San Diego) they plan on using tax dollars to build a complex that would house illegals. How about using our tax dollars to build shelter for the homeless Americans living on the streets. How disappointed I am.

If you feel the same way as I do, help support the bill by signing the petition at http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/258438961?ltl=1144770894

The Minute Men

Controversy is on the raise in regards to the Minutemen. They are a group of civilian men and women who claim their role is not to be "bias towards people from another country, but rather feel our government owes the citizens of the United States protection from people who wish to take advantage of a free society" To read more about them, go to www.minutemenhq.com.

They patrol our borders in a peaceful manner, though there has been debate from the opposition on that claim.

In the 18th Century, Minutemen was a small hand-picked elite force which was required to be highly mobile and able to assemble quickly. Today it is made up of mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters, attempting to help protect our borders.

There have been many protests against them, from left-party supporters and performers to activists and government officials. People have launched websites claiming the Minutemen are causing more harm than good. What do you think? Here are my two cents on the issue...

Our boarders are overrun. The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) estimates that in 2000 there were seven million illegals in America, with a potential growth of one million by 2003. Washington Times stated that the number of annual illegal immigrants out number the annual number of legal immigrants with 110,000 illegal aliens entering the United States in 2004. Both Times magazine and the Washington Times indicate that the majority of illegals crossing the border come from Mexico, with Washington times stating "Mexico is the largest source of immigrants, sending at least 500,000 persons per year during the peak."

The Minutemen are doing something our government should have done a long time ago. Our borders need to be protected from criminals. Criminals entering our country range from drug dealers to rapists to murders to terrorists. Remember 9/11? World Net Daily assert that "at least 51 people who crossed the border illegally have been arrested on suspicion of terrorism since such tracking began 14 months ago, according to figures released to Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., by the Department of Homeland Security."

What will it take for our "protectors" to protect us? I have never watched the Minutemen in action, but from what I read and the limited material I watch on the television, I am a 100% supporter of the Minutemen....March on Minutemen!

Touchy Subject - Illegal Aliens

So yesterday was just a tease. The subject on whether mothers should stay at home or work is a touchy subject, but since I do not object to either one, the debate itself was not much of one. Of course it doesn't help the matter, to debate that is, when no one else read my blog but me.

Today I am writing about something very touchy, and I apologize in advance if I offend anyone, but the purpose of this blog is for me to share my opinions, and I have an extremely strong opinion about illegal aliens. I am going to discuss just one fraction of the issue...Health care.

It is against the law for hospitals to turn away illegal aliens, nor can they be asked to see some type of valid identification. In turn the illegal aliens receive free health care benefits, while low income Americans rack up high hospital bills. Many of whom cannot afford to pay the bills, putting them more in the hole. How is that fair to our fellow Americans? I am not saying that if an illegal comes in with serious conditions, they should not be helped, they should be treated, but once better, they should be escorted out of the country. It won't fix the health care problem, but might help. All the activists who believe illegals should be allowed so stay here and continue to receive benefits should start up funding to help alleviate the financial burden illegals are causing.

Illegals receiving health care does not affect only the low income and homeless, but affects employers and employees who are having to pay higher health care rates. This is an epidemic that needs to be addressed before illegals over run our country...Oh wait, they already do.

So what are we going to do about it? Our government, the government who is suppose to look out for our best interests, needs to start thinking about its own people. We as Americans can help out by writing to our senators. Those with deeper pockets could start non-profit organizations that help cover medical bills for low income families and the homeless. Health facilities could offer to host an open door event once a month, where persons with valid IDs, who are low income or homeless, could receive basic health care for free. If health care facilities cannot afford to do this, they should get sponsors to help out.

In short, it will take all of us to get the ball rolling and many years to mend health care costs. But with patients and dedication, we could turn the health care issue, in regards to illegal alien, around!