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Egyptian President Steps Down

Hey there.  I try not post news type stuffs on this blog, since I figured that the same story is posted just about anywhere else on the web, but this one intrigues me.  As you may or may not know, things in Egypt have been bad.  Very bad.  There is so much turmoil between the people of Egypt and their leaders that the people have turned to violence due to the authoritarian ways of their president.  Today, the president finally steps down and the military has taken power.  Can you imagine something like that happening in the States?  Where the people of the US say, "Screw you prez!" and marches, and protests are rampant throughout the States because the people are standing up to what they believe in.  I think that the police force would start taking advantage and use their authority to have their way.  I can imagine that police harassment would be up, similar to the stuff that went down in Orlando, Fl .  Imagine the military coming in and taking control?  That's just an insane thought to me.

I'm glad that the people of Egypt are rejoicing over their president stepping down.  It's good to see that the voice of the people still has a purpose.  What's awful about the whole thing is that the voice used was not only that of reason, but that of violence.  Congrats and best of luck, Egypt.  Your people have spoken, changes are being made and democracy is on it's way.  I hope that all turns out well for you.  Later!

Metallman's Reverie: Blog Income for January 2011

Hey there.  Blogging has not only become a good hobby of mine, it's also become a source of extra income.  I'm a gamer, I'm a techie, and I feel a little on the guilty side when I use personal funds on my gaming and techie needs.  Blogging has provided that extra funding and I am extremely thankful for it.  This is why I'm going to post on my monthly earnings.  So you guys can see first hand where I'm making those few bucks on the side and if you want in on it, please feel free to use the links I provide.  So let's get to it!

MyLikes - $8.03
Blogsvertise - $50.00
SocialSpark - $62.78
Personal Ads - $115.02
Total Income - $235.83

Not too bad for the first month of the year and it's definitely above pace of my $1700 goal for the year.  I received a huge boost from personal ads this month, which includes links, blogrolls, and ad space.  I have other income opportunities that I'm involved in that I didn't mention above and that's simply because I haven't gotten paid on them.  I don't want to include pending stuff since that's money that I haven't seen.  For you bloggers that haven't signed up for SocialSpark, you definitely should.  I have nothing but good things to say about Izea, Inc. and now that's they've added a referral service to SocialSpark, it's just another way that you could earn a few more bucks by blogging.  Also, Blogsvertise makes it easy to write about whatever you want as long as the link required is in the post.  This gives you huge flexibility on the topic to write about to make it flow with your blog.  It's definitely something you guys should check out.  And as for MyLikes, I like how easy it is to use.  You chose your "Like" and send a Tweet.  That's it.  And since you can link up to Facebook, you can easy earn cash with each click you receive. 

I strongly recommend you guys sign up for the above services if you haven't already.  Don't miss out earnings because you don't think you can.  There's some serious cash to be made from blogging and it surprises many people on how easy it is.  Hope you guys sign up and tell em that Metallman sent you.  lol  Best of luck!  Later!

Thoughts on Weight Loss Pills

Hey there.  You know, a few years back, my wife was in the market for some diet pills and was quite surprised by the variety of stuff that is out there.  There were fat burners, metabolism boosters, stuff hoodia, stuff with ephedra, etc. etc. It's not wonder that she pretty much just said screw it and just picked one, tried it, finished it, then tried a different one.  With so many choices, I can see how one can be confused as to what is best.  That's where you guys come in.

What are your experiences with weight loss pills or diet pills?  Good?  Bad?  What did you try and did you have any side effects?  I'm curious to know which ones worked and which ones didn't and I'm pretty sure that I'm not the only one out there wanting to know.  I don't think I can trust many "reviews" of products if they are not coming from blogs.  I think that some reviews may be manufactured by the product to make their product favorable. 

Working Out for a Better Me

Hey there.  So last night was the first night that I have gone to the gym this year.  I'm not a super hard core gym rat, but I know that once I start going, I'll be somewhat of a regular.  I also started keeping track of my "stats".  I'm a geek at heart and love numbers so I figured that if I added some stats to keep track of, I'll be more inclined to continue to better those numbers.  So here we go, these are my beginning stats:

Height: 5'8''
Weight: 171 lbs
Waist: 37 1/2 inches
Chest: 42 inches
Left Bicept: 13 1/4 inches
Right Bicept: 13 1/2 inches

There you have it.  I don't think I'm a big guy, but I'm not small either.  Waaaaaaaaay bigger than my stick thin 118 lbs that used to plague me before getting married.  I was wondering what would be an ideal weight for me.  Some have said 150 lbs, others say 180 lbs so I'm not sure exactly where I should be.  I just don't want to be huffing and puffing after a short sprint.  And I know I'm out of shape when 22 minutes on a treadmill was damn near the end of me.  lol  Here are those stats:

Over 200 calories burned over 22 minutes of running.  Not too bad, right?  I didn't want to go fast but I didn't want to be all slow either so I'm debating whether or not that average 4.7 mph is a little on high side for someone just getting into the swing of things.  I felt like I was ready to collapse on that treadmill so I toned it down.  Maybe I should be going closer to 4 mph? 

Another stat that I'm a little worried about is the 171 lbs.  Is that too heavy for some one of my stature?  Do I need to go look for some weight loss pills and if so, which ones would be the best weight loss pills for some one like me?  You know, some one that doesn't want to lose a ton a weight but just enough to lose the fat while the muscle builds.  I'll have to take a look into that since I'm not sure I want to take that route, but it's definitely an option. 

So what do you guys think?  Too fat?  I'll be checking on my stats every 2 weeks, maybe once a month and we'll talk about my progress.  I guess I should take notes on what kind of exercise I did too, huh.  I'll see what works best for me.  Later!

Super Bowl XLV is in the Books

Hey there.  I know, I know.  I'm late to the party.  The Super Bowl is now 3 days removed and I am just getting the chance to add my 2 cents to the whole thing.  The game itself was awesome, the halftime show was eh, and the commercials were simply hit or miss.  First the game:

The game was great.  I think that the NFL has had a nice 4 or 5 game string of awesome Super Bowls.  I believe they all were close in the end, they all had some sort of theatrics going on, and they all were decided by a single score.  This was no different.  The Steelers, even with their 3 turnovers, were in position to win the game in the 4th qtr.  Down by six point and possession of the ball, the script was written for Steelers QB Big Ben to march down the field and take the win.  But it wasn't to be.  Not this time.  Packers QB Aaron Rodgers played the best game of his life and earned himself the MVP and the Lambardi Trophy.  He can finally emerge from that huge Brett Favre shadow that has followed him ever since Favre left Green Bay.  Congrat to all your cheeseheads.  You guys deserve it.  Now, on to the entertainment.

Christina Aguilera botched the national anthem and the Black Eyed Peas are so outdated I'm extremely surprised they were chosen to play the half time show.  You would expect that Christina would practice the national anthem a billion times considering that this is the biggest of stages in all of sports.  She completely missed a line and added words to the song.  As for the Black Eyed Peas, I'm not the biggest of fan of theirs, but at least their light show was good and it was cool to see Slash on stage.  I feel as if the NFL has gotten the jitters when it comes to their shows and are playing it extremely conservative.  Ever since the "wardrobe malfunction" incident, the half time shows have not stood out like they used to.

As for the commercials, some companies got it right while others completely bombed.  I'm looking at you, Coke.  Really now?  Drink a Coke and you're dragon will start spewing fireworks?  What are you trying to say?  That was one stupid commercial and there was no appeal what so ever.  And considering that it was CGI, I'm sure it was a pricey mistake on your end.  One commercial that definitely got it right was the Volkswagon commercial featuring a young Darth Vader.  That one was awesome.  It was funny, intuitive, and all around fun.  Awesome job WV.  Awesome job.  Check out the commercial below.

All in all a good experience.  Can't complain about the product that the NFL has given us.  The game is as popular as it ever has and it has continued to produce awe inspiring performances.  Great job NFL!

On a side note, I want to give some thoughts on the whole thing being in Dallas.  There is no doubt that the stadium is awesome.  Top of the line, state of the art type stuffs.  However, Jerry Jones greed was a complete embarrassment to the league.  Jones wanted to break the NFL attendance record for the Super Bowl.  That records sits somewhere around 105,000 people.  Jones added extra seats to the stadium in an attempt to break it.  Sold the tickets and everything and then on game day, the fire marshall explained that they were not safe and had to be removed.  You know what that means?  That some 500 people or so were turned away from the game.  TURNED AWAY!  Can you believe that?!  You've just managed to get a ticket to the Super Bowl and have made travel arrangements, got a week off from work and what not only to be turned away at the gate.  What a HUGE black mark on what was an awesome day.  There was a letter that was handed out to those who were turned away but don't you think that letter would have served a purpose a few days before the game?  And even if they knew that they couldn't seat all ticket holders, they should have created an area where those that could not be seated could have hung out, watched the game, and still say that they were there.  The NFL tried to make it right by offering some $2500 to each ticket holder.  I just don't think that's enough.  In my opinion, that's just soul crushing.  Later!