Web updates

I added more local bloggers, created a separate blog role for those that are politically oriented, an embarrassing picture from last summer and added a search feature. Whew, my fingers are tired...

Lose Weight without pills, surgery, or dying

My wife and I were talking the other night about negative calorie foods, and guess what?!?! I found this bit of information:

Negative Calorie Foods: 15 foods that actually burn more calories than they contain

By Laura Milligan

No, we’re not advocating the battle to see how few calories you can consume each day or promoting crash diets in any form or function; however, if you’re a snack-o-holic who can’t stop munching and crunching in between meals, try snacking on one of these negative calorie foods instead of gobbling down a cupcake or big bag of chips. Your body can burn more calories just by chewing and processing the snack than the food contains already. In other words, you’ll be able to keep eating throughout the day without packing on extra pounds.

1. Celery: A staple on most party veggie trays, celery (without the ranch dressing) is a crispy snack that you can enjoy without worrying about taking in any calories. It is high in sugar and sodium, but still much healthier than pigging out on brownies or salty peanuts.
2. Oranges: Before you leave for work in the morning, toss an orange into your bag for a mid-morning or late afternoon snack. An orange typically contains only 45 calories, so feel free to eat the whole thing!
3. Strawberries: Strawberries are a popular negative calorie food because of their natural sweetness and juiciness. Sprinkle a few on your breakfast cereal to give your metabolism an extra jumpstart early in the day.
4. Tangerines: A smaller, more tart version of the orange, tangerines are another negative calorie food that’s both tasty and portable. Enjoy one or two for a snack throughout the day to stimulate your taste buds without having to dig through the candy drawer.
5. Grapefruit: As big as it is, grapefruit –without the extra sugar on top– is a surprisingly negative calorie food. One-half of a grapefruit only contains 36 calories but a whopping 78% of your daily value of potassium.
6. Carrots: Carrots don’t just make your eyes sparkle; they also let you snack guilt-free. Snack on baby carrots instead of chips and salsa while you make dinner, or keep a bag in your office refrigerator when you feel the need to eat due to stress.
7. Apricots: Indulge in nutrient-rich apricots for a sweet snack with negative calories. Your higher metabolism and thinning waistline will thank you.
8. Lettuce: There’s a dirty little rumor in the magazine industry that the girls at Vogue keep lettuce in their desks to snack on when the hunger pains strike, but they can’t afford to compromise their stick thin figures. We’re guessing you’re not about to go through the day dizzy with starvation, but you can make yourself a hearty salad with lots of lettuce (and other negative calorie veggies!) once you get home. Don’t forget to take it easy on the dressing.
9. Tomatoes: Chop up a tomato to give your sandwich, salad or egg whites omelet extra flavor without adding any calories.
10. Cucumbers: Your salad can’t survive on lettuce alone. Cucumbers are another negative calorie food that are great for crunching on when your mouth is getting bored. Check here for tips on growing your own cucumbers.
11. Watermelon: A traditional summertime treat, enjoying a watermelon is almost fun and delicious as eating candy because of its super sweet, super juicy nature. Plus, you’ll burn off all the calories crunching, digesting, and of course, spitting out the seeds.
12. Cauliflower: Another party platter vegetable, raw cauliflower is naturally low in fat and of course, calories, so don’t be shy about piling up your cocktail napkin.
13. Apples: An apple a day keeps the doctor away, but when eaten as a snack instead of candy bars or chips, apples will also keep the calories at bay. With only 81 calories per apple, your body also works a lot harder and longer to digest the fruit many other snack options.
14. Hot Chili Peppers: Excess seasonings and dressings pile on lots of fat and calories to otherwise healthy meals. To avoid gaining weight simply because you’re a condiments junkie, experiment with more natural seasonings like hot chili peppers, which is a negative calorie food.
15. Zucchini: Zucchini is a versatile, negative calorie food that can be baked, steamed, fried (not recommended), or prepared in many other ways. With just 15 calories per 100g, make zucchini your new diet staple.

Implementing negative calorie foods into your daily diet doesn’t just help you lose weight by cutting calories; it also speeds up your metabolism and introduces healthier items like fruits and vegetables into your regular food choices and favorite recipes. So no matter how you look at it, you’ll come out ahead.

So what is this internet thing all about?

Go here to see a video that is posted on the SoundBite Back Blog that will not only answer the question, but hopefully provoke action.

And one of the leading stories on the news in Fort Wayne this week had to do with transcribing video taped city council meetings?!?! Click For the Record... and see it for yourself

How to create a free virtual office

Please check out the update regarding Microsoft Office here.

In my continuing desire to stay organized, productive and take advantage of technology, I have been trying different systems that are internet based and free. You can click on the links and see them for yourself.

First of all, I have settled on Zoho to manage my appointments and to do lists using the Zoho Planner. There are a lot of on line tools that Zoho offers and I may play with more of them as time goes by. It appears that Zoho offers many of the same features that Google also offers, but I like the layout of the Zoho planner.







Other online organization tools that you might prefer are listed here.






I also am moving to online storage for audio files of radio shows, and other non-sensitive paperwork that I don't need access to on a continuous basis. First I tried DropBoks, then I discovered Xdrive, which I prefer because it appears to be faster and offer more storage organization. Xdrive is an AOL service, and gives 5 GB free storage. Xdrive is a little more complicated to set up, but once you do, it is easy to use. DropBoks is a simpler system if that's what you prefer.




When I bought my latest laptop, which is the only computer I use for work and personal use, it came with Windows Vista Home Premium which I like. I did not buy the Microsoft Office suite, instead I have Open Office which is free and compatible with all my Microsoft Office documents that I created in Excel, Word, and Powerpoint. (Google and Zoho have online substitutes, but I do not always have internet access). Please check out the update regarding Microsoft Office here.







I use Firefox instead of Internet Explorer, and Thunderbird instead of Microsoft's Outlook for email. And what started out as a backup to my Favorites and Bookmarks, is Del.icio.us which saves your bookmarks on line.





Finally, I want to mention that I need to edit audio files at times and there is a free program that I have been using for the past year, Audacity.





Check these out and increase your productivity without spending a dime!

Updates on my other Blogs

As I wrote earlier today about keeping blogs current with updates, I updated the Political ScLoHo a few minutes ago, and added a few more pictures to the Picture Blog.

Of course the Collective Wisdom site is updated daily. (5 or more times a week).

And the Book Blog now has a new post

Cleaning out the trash

A quick search on Blogger.com for "FORT WAYNE" turned up 1,300 blogs. Most are not active. This could be that there was nothing posted ever, to nothing since December 31, 2007. If you own one of those blogs, let your readers know if you are still around, (or the other concept would be to delete your blog.)


I'll be reviewing the list of local blogs this month and adding and subtracting some from the list.

And if you have any suggestions for my list, let me know!

Sad news Sports fans...

Superbowl Champs the Colts, are one and done.

So, I'm off to my first Komets game in about 30 years.

Time to take off the blue shirt and put on an orange shirt.





UPDATE: Komets won 3-Zip. Thanks to my friend Ron Latham who explained the game to me recently in a comparison to basketball. And thanks to Rachael & Brandon for getting me tickets and reminding me about another fun reason to live in Fort Wayne.