Okay, I have a fun story to tell. My family loves to pull pranks on me and I always fall for them. So this year I was getting anxious about getting a Wii so I got all sneaky and using some tricks I found out that I was getting a Wii. But of course I had to play dumb and act like I didn't. Also more family is coming down later in the week and My Mom was giving off a vibe that I would have to wait until then to get it. So Christmas eve came and I opened present after present and at the end of it all I had a Nunchuck, a Wiimote, and Excitetruck. But no Wii. Then my Mom left for a minute or two and came back with a big rectangular box, my thoughts were "Oh boy, here it is". But then my Mom went on to tell me that I might not have all the gifts I wanted so here's a make-up one for now. I ripped off the wrapping and it was a box that had shipping info on it and written on the box was "Kodak Photo Printer". My Mom has said numerous times that she was thinking of getting a photo printer for me so I thought okay I'll settle for this. I opened the box and removed the tissue paper and there was some Kodak photo paper which seems logical to have with a pinter. I pushed aside the envelope holding the photo paper and there it was. A box that said "Wii" on it. I just went crazy, not Nintendo 64 kid crazy but crazy none the less. So yeah, my family loves to make me the butt of their jokes. And here's a pic of me with the Wii, just moments after being pranked.

Well guys, this is it. My weight loss progress blog. Each Saturday I'll update this with my new measurements and update my total inch loss as well. I think it just wouldn't make sense to post a new blog each week so I'll just update it and post in your comments when I have updated Alright, so here we go... My first measurements I don't remember when I took them, but I believe they were around Febuary: Chest: 54" Waist: n/a Belt: 60" Hips: 62" Thigh: 34.5" Arm: 18" April 15th, 2006. After one week of my program: Chest: 52.5" Waist: 50" Belt: 58.5" Hips: 60.5" Thigh: 33.5" Arm: 18.5" Inch loss for week: 5.5" April 22nd, 2006: Chest: 52" Waist: 50" Belt: 55" Hips: 60.5" Thigh: 33" Arm: 18" Inch loss for week: 5" April 29th, 2006 Chest: 52" Waist: 49" Belt: 55" Hips: 60" Thigh: 33" Arm: 18" Inch loss for week: 1.5" May 6th, 2006 Chest: 51" Waist: 47.5" Belt: 55.5" Hips: 59.5" Thigh: 32" Arm: 18" Inch loss for week: 3.5" May 13th, 2006 Chest: 51" Waist: 48" Belt: 56" Hips: 59" Thigh: 31.5" Arm: 17.5" Total inch loss for week: 0.5" May 20th, 2006 Chest: 50" Waist: 47.5" Belt: 57" Hips: 58" Thigh: 31.5" Arm: 17" Total inch loss for the week: 2" May 27th, 2006 Chest: 50" Waist: 46.5" Belt: 53.5" Hips: 58" Thigh: 31" Arm: 17" Total inch loss for week: 5" June 3rd, 2006 Chest: 50" Waist: 46.5" Belt: 53" Hips: 58" Thigh: 30.5" Arm: 17" Total inch loss for week: 1" June 10th, 2006 Chest: 49.5" Waist: 45.5" Belt: 50" Hips: 57.5" Thigh: 30.5" Arm: 16.5" Total inch loss for week: 5.5" June 17th, 2006 Chest: 48.5" Waist: 46" Belt: 54" Hips: 56" Thigh: 30" Arm: 17" Total inch loss for week: -2" June 24th, 2006 Chest: 48.5" Waist: 45.5" Belt: 51" Hips: 56.5" Thigh: 30" Arm: 16" Total inch loss for week: 4" July 1st, 2006 Chest: 48" Waist: 45" Belt: 54" Hips: 56" Thigh: 29.5" Arm: 16.5" Total inch loss for week: -1.5" July 8th, 2006 Chest: 49" Waist: 45" Belt: 54" Hips: 56.5" Thigh: 29" Arm: 16.5" Total inch loss for week: -1" July 15th, 2006 Chest: 50" Waist: 45.5" Belt: 55" Hips: 55" Thigh: 28.5" Arm: 16" Total inch loss for week: 0" July 22th, 2006 Chest: 49.5" Waist: 46" Belt: 52" Hips: 55" Thigh: 28" Arm: 16" Total inch loss for week: 3.5" [size=24]Total inch loss so far: 32.5"[/size] Well, that's it guys. I'm glad that I was able to end it on a positive note. The past couple of weeks haven't been that great but I seemed to pull it out in the end. I must say I'm really proud of myself for finally taking a step in the right direction. I don't think I've ever gone this far in all my past attempts at weight loss. And I just want to take this time to thank my friends for helping me through this. You guys will never know how much your support means to me. So I'm done with the weekly updating, but that doesn't mean that I'm done with the weight loss, not at all. I'm still gonna keep at it and keep track of my progress. I think I'll do another three months and probably around late October I'll do another update. And hopefully I'll have some great news to tell. It's funny that within six months time or so I could be rid of something that has been plaguing me for 14 years. Hehe, actually last night when I was out walking/jogging the shorts that I usually wear when I do walk almost fell off. And when I started this whole thing I could barely fit into these shorts. I think that just goes to show how far I've come. Once again I just want to thank my friends for helping me through this and for their support. Thank you for reading this and see you in October.

Well, if you read my first blog post you know that I'm quite tubby and have been that way for some time. I have been trying for years to get this excess baggage off but to no avail. Every year my New Year's resolution is the same thing, to lose weight. And just like the majority of people that do New Year's resolutions, I fail miserably. That is until about a week or so ago. Something just switched inside my head and I just got determined to nip this thing in the butt more than I have ever done before. And thanks to family and friends, both old and new, I have been getting a great deal of support from others and I feel like I really can't let them down. Also, I took some measurements of my bod right before I started a failed attempt to lose weight. Well I just remesured last night and so far I have lost 5.5" overal. Sure that may not sound as much but from the time that I took the first measurement to when I started working out again I was the old, lethargic me not really doing anything and just adding to the problem. So if what I have done so far has brought those kind of results, there's no stopping me now. I have a tentative goal set (don't want to set anything in stone) for my 21st birthday, which is July 23rd by the way, and I don't plan to be a "Mr. Studmuffin" or anything like that. I just want to be able to live a carefree life when it comes to my life. I don't want to have to pull on my seat belt for almost the entire lenght just so that it barely clicks. I want to go to any clothing store and be rest assured that they have clothing in my size. I want to be able to not worry about getting stuck in a chair (unfortunatly, it has happend). I dont' want to be panting and have a flushed face right after going up a flight of stairs. And most of all, I just want to live without fear that I may keel over the next day because of a heart attack. I'm not saying that people with more rotund features have it the worst. I'm just saying that I'm finally fed up with all the small things that I have to go though everyday b/c I'm large. And this is something that I want to tell everyone that reads this (all two or so of you). If you're fed up with something, do something about it. You can make a difference. Just because things were like that the day before and the day before that doesn't mean that it has to be that way tomorrow. Well, I think I'm done with my rambling. I just want to thank everyone that is helping me get though this (you know who you are). And hopefully come next New Year's, I'll have a brand new resolution to make after all these years. ~Matt

Funny short video by Austin Public Access show called The Reel Deal. It's a parody of Pokemon mixing in pimpin' all the pocket monsters. The Reel Deal

Done by Ku on the GoNintendo forums.

Why do I even bother?

Whenever you go buy a movie on DVD. And then six months later they come out with a Special Edition DVD that has tons more features and commentaries than the little dinky DVD that you purchased. That's why I'm putting off buying any Star Wars movies on DVD. You just know that there will be a box set soon that will have all six movies in it will even more special features that some how they scrounged up. beget beget

So, how did your New Years go? Mine went fine, nothing special just hanging with friends and family. On New Years Day we did the typical southern thing and eat some cornbread and black eyed peas. I hope everyone's 2006 will be a great one, videogame wise it looks pretty good.

Here's a nice editorial from Joystiq that I think everyone should read. Hardcore today, arcade tomorrow Posted Dec 5, 2005, 6:30 PM ET by Vladimir Cole No, that headline is not a prescription for your weekend in Las Vegas. It's what happens to video games over time. There was once a time when you could not get any more hardcore than a game of Pac Man. And then Ms. Pac Man came along and amped the whole Pac Man formula up to 11. It was insane! It was fast! More than a few gamers gladly blew their salaries supporting a debilitating Power Pellet addiction. It was about as hardcore as hardcore gets. Pac Man today has been tossed into the "Retro" bin and is avoided by teens who think it lame, slow, boring and ugly. May as well call Akira Kurosawa's films crap because they're 20 years old, or write off all black-and-white movies because they lack "realistic" coloration, right? There's still hope. Most of us who grew up with classic arcade titles are now in our 30s and are-despite the best advice of those who know better-having children. We owe it to our kids to make sure that they do not evaluate games in a vacuum, to educate them on why the classics are classics so that they don't arrive at Joystiq 10 years from now send us hate mail like this: "for JS to say [Geometry Wars] is their fav is a slap in the face to 360 buyers. Pd0 is 100 times better playing online then this silly game. And so is just about every other 360 launch title." I forgive the kid, because today's teens grew up in a cultural vacuum. Their parents are generally too old to have grown up with Atari and Nintendo and therefore failed to pass on any understanding of what makes a good game a good game. These kids have failed to inherit cultural or critical literacy. Just as school children must read Dickens, Hemingway and Salinger as part of a proper education, so too should a proper diet of game classics be required playing. During summer breaks and by force, if necessary.
My Mom is a rare breed. She played all the classic arcade games and the 2600 back in the day, she also played the NES before I was born and she and my Dad gave me one of my own when I was 5. Now almost 15 years later I still have my NES hooked up to my TV and if I didn't start off playing on an NES I don't think I would know what true games are on the inside and to truly enjoy the classics and the history of gaming. So, in a nutshell.... later

Well, I don't know if it's the cold weather or me playing a lot of games lately. But I've just got a major case of carpal tunnel. So I'll probably won't be gaming for a week or so and get some icy-hot patches for my wrist and hand. This isn't the first time this has happened either, but I'll recoup and I'll be ready come Christmas and my game haul and I'll school you all with Mario Kart DS. And at least it isn't as bad as my injury from DDR a couple years ago, I sprained it really bad and it kinda looked like this. So, when you guys get your game on stay safe and don't do any crazy moves in DDR. later