I Am a Loser

Posted by Todd Porter on April 26, 2008

Marko of Youth Specialties started a Biggest Loser competition with youth pastors. The challenge was to be a bigger loser than Marko. You can see his final results here.

The youth pastor at my church decided to encourage his volunteer staff to join in as well. At that point I had already lost 25 pounds so I only joined up for our local competition for an iPod Shuffle, even though I knew I wouldn’t win it. The contest started 12 weeks ago and ended yesterday. Here are my results from the contest….

Starting weight- 210
Current weight- 192
Total percentage lost- 8.57%

Here are my total results since I started losing weight….

Starting weight- 237
Current weight- 192
Total percentage lost- 18.99%

I also posted my before and after pictures below along with a before from when I was 235+.

Before (210) & After (192)- Front

Before (210) & After (192)- Side
Before (235) & After (192)- Front

Name Meme

Posted by Todd Porter on April 25, 2008

Here are the rules. Follow the instructions below and then tag four people, but not the one who tagged you.

1. WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother & father’s middle name)
Ann Douglas

2. NASCAR NAME: (first name of your mother’s dad, father’s dad)
Ross Oscar

3. STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name)
Porto

4. DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)
Blue Wolverine

5. SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)
Douglas Warren

6. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd fav color, fav drink, add “THE” to the beginning)
The Yellow New Castle Brown Ale

7. FLY NAME: (first 2 letters of 1st name, last 2 letters of your last name)
Toer

8. GANGSTA NAME: (fav ice cream flavor, fav cookie)
Bubble Gum Chocolate Chip (not much of a gansta)

9. ROCK STAR NAME: (current pets name, current street name)
Zoey Metz

10. DANCER NAME: (name of your fav perfume/cologne, fav candy)
Cool Water Reese’s

11. STRIPPER NAME: (1st pet, street you grew up on)
Mopsy Surow

I tag Matthew, Adam, Len and Kimmy.

Happy Earth Day

Posted by Todd Porter on April 22, 2008

Today is Earth Day, so why don’t you take this opportunity to pick up a new green habit and do something to help make our planet stay around a little bit longer. I know that today I will be mowing my grass using my new battery powered Neuton Lawn Mower and this morning I happily put my trash and recyclables out to the curb with a smile on my face knowing that I put more stuff out for recycling than I did for the trash dump.

So I ask what is it that you can do today to start reducing, reusing or recycling today that will help benefit our planet for our generation and generations to come? Today is a great day to start. Just think of one simple little thing that you can do and start making it a habit. You will feel better about yourself and the planet will feel much better as well.

“Why Do We Have to Legislate Kindness?”

Posted by Todd Porter on April 20, 2008

That was the line that got me in an article I read in the Detroit Free Press that was entitled State Won’t Answer Nature’s Call. Have you ever been in a store and had to use the bathroom really bad only to find out that they don’t have a public restroom? I am sure most of us has, but for most of us it isn’t such a big deal. However, if you are someone that suffers from Crohn’s Disease, which is a chronic, debilitating inflammation that makes a person’s bowels move suddenly and urgently, then it is a big deal. And for the woman in the story that is indeed an issue she has.

I won’t rehash the article here for you, but instead encourage you to read it for yourself. But I do want to emphasize that if you live here in the State of Michigan then I want to encourage you to talk with your state senator (you can find your’s here) to encourage them to pass Michigan House Bill 5046. You can also read more about it here. There is really no reason for businesses to not open up there bathrooms to people that suffer from this or other similar types of diseases. It is really sad that we have to legislate kindness.

More Nostalgic Movies

Posted by Todd Porter on April 13, 2008

With all of the recent movies from old TV shows or video games like Transformers, X-Men, and even the upcoming Wolverine movie, it is neat to see some other ones getting the same treatment.

Like Zelda….

And Pacman

I don’t know about you, but I am excited to see these movies. Of course, if you believe that they are real I am some property to sell you.

New Blog Look

Posted by Todd Porter on April 13, 2008

I am trying out a new look for my blog. Let me know what you think about it. And if you are having any issues with it please let me know also, so I can hopefully get them corrected.

I figured that since YMX was changing their look that I might do it as well. Actually, I just happened to see this design template and liked it. But I wanted to give YMX a shameless plug.

What Movies Have You Seen?

Posted by Todd Porter on April 5, 2008

This is the American Film Institute’s 2007 list of the top 100 American movies; I’ve put the ones I’ve seen in bold. I have seen 34 of the 100. There are even a couple on there that I want to see that I just never got around to seeing. How many of them have you seen?

1. Citizen Kane, 1941.
2. The Godfather, 1972.
3. Casablanca, 1942.
4. Raging Bull, 1980.
5. Singin’ in the Rain, 1952.
6. Gone With the Wind, 1939.
7. Lawrence of Arabia, 1962.
8. Schindler’s List, 1993.
9. Vertigo, 1958.
10. The Wizard of Oz, 1939.
11. City Lights, 1931.
12. The Searchers, 1956.
13. Star Wars, 1977.
14. Psycho, 1960.
15. 2001: A Space Odyssey, 1968.
16. Sunset Blvd., 1950.
17. The Graduate, 1967.
18. The General, 1927.
19. On the Waterfront, 1954.
20. It’s a Wonderful Life, 1946.
21. Chinatown, 1974.
22. Some Like It Hot, 1959.
23. The Grapes of Wrath, 1940.
24. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, 1982.
25. To Kill a Mockingbird, 1962.
26. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, 1939.
27. High Noon, 1952.
28. All About Eve, 1950.
29. Double Indemnity, 1944.
30. Apocalypse Now, 1979.
31. The Maltese Falcon, 1941.
32. The Godfather Part II, 1974.
33. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, 1975.
34. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, 1937.
35. Annie Hall, 1977.
36. The Bridge on the River Kwai, 1957.
37. The Best Years of Our Lives, 1946.
38. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, 1948.
39. Dr. Strangelove, 1964.
40. The Sound of Music, 1965.
41. King Kong, 1933.
42. Bonnie and Clyde, 1967.
43. Midnight Cowboy, 1969.
44. The Philadelphia Story, 1940.
45. Shane, 1953.
46. It Happened One Night, 1934.
47. A Streetcar Named Desire, 1951.
48. Rear Window, 1954.
49. Intolerance, 1916.
50. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, 2001.
51. West Side Story, 1961.
52. Taxi Driver, 1976.
53. The Deer Hunter, 1978.
54. M-A-S-H, 1970.
55. North by Northwest, 1959.
56. Jaws, 1975.
57. Rocky, 1976.
58. The Gold Rush, 1925.
59. Nashville, 1975.
60. Duck Soup, 1933.
61. Sullivan’s Travels, 1941.
62. American Graffiti, 1973.
63. Cabaret, 1972.
64. Network, 1976.
65. The African Queen, 1951.
66. Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1981.
67. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, 1966.
68. Unforgiven, 1992.
69. Tootsie, 1982.
70. A Clockwork Orange, 1971.
71. Saving Private Ryan, 1998.
72. The Shawshank Redemption, 1994.
73. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, 1969.
74. The Silence of the Lambs, 1991.
75. In the Heat of the Night, 1967.
76. Forrest Gump, 1994.
77. All the President’s Men, 1976.
78. Modern Times, 1936.
79. The Wild Bunch, 1969.
80. The Apartment, 1960.
81. Spartacus, 1960.
82. Sunrise, 1927.
83. Titanic, 1997.
84. Easy Rider, 1969.
85. A Night at the Opera, 1935.
86. Platoon, 1986.
87. 12 Angry Men, 1957.
88. Bringing Up Baby, 1938.
89. The Sixth Sense, 1999.
90. Swing Time, 1936.
91. Sophie’s Choice, 1982.
92. Goodfellas, 1990.
93. The French Connection, 1971.
94. Pulp Fiction, 1994.
95. The Last Picture Show, 1971.
96. Do the Right Thing, 1989.
97. Blade Runner, 1982.
98. Yankee Doodle Dandy, 1942.
99. Toy Story, 1995.
100. Ben-Hur, 1959

HT to Matthew.