I share a lot of opinions on this blog, but haven't done such a bang up job covering the breadth of issues that matter to me.  Or sharing about me. 

I've been working pretty hard to get into shape.  I think I already wrote about it.  I'm using the website www.sparkpeople.com to track my nutrition and fitness, as well as get some general support.  I'm using the EA Sports Active for regular workouts, especially now that swimming has ended for the year. 

But I've hit the dreaded plateau. For five weeks, I've gained and lost the same pound over and over again.  I'm still eating approximately 1200 calories and I work out 6-7 times per week with a variety of exercises to avoid stagnation.  My next step is to really increase the intensity of my work outs, but I'm in the midst of a the 30 day challenge on EA Fitness and I hate to quit.  Fitting in another 30 minutes per day is challenging, but I am very lucky that Ledcat is 100% supportive.

Don't get me wrong.  I'm stronger, healthier and in better condition than I've been for years.  I'm just feeling stuck.  A lot of the energy I used to devote to blogging is poured into managing the fitness program.  So I need to find a way to feed my activist side and my "break the plateau" side. 

I turn 40 in about five weeks.  I want my forties to be a healthier decade for me, both physically and mentally. 

It was hard at first.  I bought the Wii Fit Plus in January and used it sporadically because it felt silly.  Then in April my employer started a health initiative and I started using it 3-4x/week and then 4-5x/week.  I did a simple free step to music of my choice.  I did some strength training and a little yoga.  Nothing major.  Then we hit the swimming pool in June and I treaded water like my life depended on it which burns a lot of calories.  That got me more invested in the Wii and eventually led me to EA Sports Active. 

With regard to food, I also started simple.  I gave up soda which wasn't terribly hard for me personally.  Then I focused on incorporating fruits and veggies which was challenging, but also filled me up - yeah.  I started using SparkPeople which gave me a clear picture of what I am consuming as well as a sense of what combination of calories/carbs/fat/protein were good for my goals.  Plus, it is a social media site, so fun!  Took me several weeks to get the right balance and I was onto a new goal.  Well, an old goal b/c my obsession with protein had led me astray with fruits and veggies. 

See ... it is a lot of work, but it is doable if you bite things off in small bites (pun). 

As for other interests, I've been quite interested in religion lately.  Frankly, I'm very drawn to evangelical churches because of the good experiences I had back in the 1990s.  So I discovered Jim Wallis, the "liberal" evangelical who basically says people are saved to do good in the world, not sit around waiting for the rapture. 

I know.  So weird for me.  I even joined a Bible study.  Don't worry -- there's a pagan in our group.  It is all good.

What to do next?  I guess keep plugging away at the improvements I want to make in my life.  They include getting back into the political/news groove.  I guess I had a summer vacation. I'm not particularly concerned what I missed.  I just want to roll up my sleeves and contribute, but I promise not to capitulate to the powers that be.

I think I'll burn more calories being a pain in the ass anyway.

Gay Activism and Government Crackdowns Live On in Russia.

The GLCC has a new movie night. $2.  Popcorn.  More info here.

More debate on the impending promised vote to repeal DADT.  Some, like Pam Spaulding, aren't buying it.  Others fear it may be the last chance to do anything before we lose the Congress to the Republicans.  I'm sort of the the Dems aren't doing such a hot job anyway mentality.  Which I know according to some makes me the enemy.  But I didn't fail. I rallied the troops for over four years. I laid out background information and contact information and general information.  Don't bring the "if you aren't with us, you are against us" aka social conservative Democrat position crap to me. 

The pissing contest about who gets credit for this potential vote is pretty funny.  Lady Gaga staged a PR bonanza (wearing meat nonetheless) at the VMA awards with a powerful statement for the repeal of DADT then "exchanged tweets with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid" ... for God's sake.  Let's just make some calls.  Casey and Specter are on board as of my last peek. 

That's it for tonight.  Flexing the blogging muscles takes some time ... and there's so much to digest ... new City websites, parking plans, preservation debacles, the failure to remove the tree stump in front of my house and on and on and on. 

For the sake of all that's holy and good about Pittsburgh, can someone from CMU please go down to the Post-Gazette and fix their damn search engine?  Try searching for "gay" and see all the 2009 articles that come up at the top even when you sort by date.  The fine writers and editors have offered up some wonderful pieces over the years, many since 2009.

This frustrates me to no end b/c I literally have to read the paper cover to cover every day to catch LGBT news and sometimes that isn't possible.  Plus, it is very difficult to find older stories.

Maybe we should start a "Chip In" to pay for technical support for the PG?

could jokingly refer to bad interior design choices or the election of pro-gay elected officials.

Here's what it apparently means to the Rendell Administration:

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