Once up on a time a man saw a lot of people gathered, full of vigor and waiting to start a race. He immediately went toward them and asked what was going on. Sooner her realized a race which was open to all  and was about to start, which was conducted by the duke and which involves high prize money for it.

Being a very fast runner, he positioned himself for the sprint knowing deep down him that he could win the race with no or little effort. Just as soon as they heard the whistle, the contenders started to leap ahead like rockets, but this man was so far ahead from others that he finished the race ten seconds before the second man who came after.

But soon after when he thought that they were going to announce his name as the winner, he heard, to his surprise, the announcer mentioning the name of the man who came second as the winner. Not able to believe this he asked the announcer “Why”.

“Why!” the announcer said, “you were not “on the track” and that means “you were not racing with others”. You were on the WRONG TRACK  so yours DON’T COUNT”

This small story has an important message with it. The message is,

“To succeed and to emerge as a winner it is of utmost importance to do the things that matter and to avoid things that DON’T COUNT”

Doing the big tasks that are very important and that which would take you forward toward your goal and ensure you are on the “RIGHT TRACK”,  is a crucial step in managing your time wisely and efficiently.

Imagine yourself as a brave warrior fighting a battle in which you were facing many Goliaths and other soldiers of normal size.

Wouldn’t you be better off if you could kill the Goliaths first so that you have overcome the major things first and now could concentrate on the smaller ones?

Had you focused killing the smaller ones first, would you think you would have been left with much energy to fight the Goliaths?

Not much!

Successful people always concentrate on the important tasks and jobs that would take them toward their goal and that which would ensure their success. They always attack the Goliaths first!! Because Goliaths do count!!!

Okay how to attack the Goliaths? That’s next!

Wish you all the riches to come with God’s blessings

Peter Anand

(CFD.net.au – Contract for Difference, Share, Forex, ETFs, Commodities Traders) –

It is one of a raft of harm minimisation measures, including limiting access to ATMs at clubs, in the report released today.

Australians spend about $18 billion a year gambling, including $12 billion on pokies, the report found.

About 15 per cent of Australians gamble regularly, and problem gamblers make up about 10 per cent of those.

But the share of money that problem gamblers feed into the pokies accounts for around 40 per cent of $12 billion figure.

The commission said while progress on problem gambling had been made over the past decade, governments could do more to make gaming machines safer.

It recommends a limit of $1 per bet on all pokies, to limit the amount people can lose each hour to $120, and a $20 cash limit that a person can put into a poker machine at any given time.

It calls for a universal “opt-out” system that allows people to set the amount of money and time they spend gambling.

Cash machines located near pokie machines should only be able to distribute a maximum of $200 per card per day and all prize money should be paid in cheques not cash, the report says.

The commission wants the restrictions in place by 2016.

Source: Commission urges crackdown on problem gambling | Business Breaking News | News.com.au

I was discussing fishing with my bro-in-law last night and he remarked about a fishing derby he had entered this late Summer at Diamond Lake (Oregon). The prize money was sizeable and it was huge success….many fish caught and killed. All this on a lake that was a trophy lake years ago but because of morons introducing baitfish, it has been nuked at least two times to kill off all life and re-stocked in an effort to restore it to a decent fishery…..for ‘put and take…kill the fish derby’s’ apparently.

Kokanee Power Oregon states at their website:

“While bass fishing tournaments have long been a staple on the Oregon angling scene, derbies featuring cold water species like trout and kokanee have been uncommon.

But Kokanee Power is changing that — and providing a boost to fishing in the process.

Launched just 16 months ago, the Medford-based organization has already held six fishing derbies in Oregon. Two more are scheduled this summer — including another kokanee event Aug. 22 at Odell Lake and a trout derby Sept. 26-27 at Diamond Lake.

While its name emphasizes one spe-cies of fish (kokanee are landlocked sockeye saled to be the big-gest trout tournament ever held in Oregon, with a minimum of $5,000 in prize money.”

The expressed mission according to Kokanee Power Oregon:y to boost kokanee, trout and salmon fisheries in inland waters.”

I was sitting there listening to my bro-in-law describe the worthiness of this and said is it any wonder trout fishing in Orgon sucks if this is the means to the end? Even bass tournaments have figured out live wells and C&R for tournaments…but here in Oregon it is still about the meat…The Kokanee is such a plentiful fish in many lakes I guess it does lend itself to a put and take derby mentality. But, Diamond Lake trout…? And, somewhere in this mix of mess is ODFW, the masters of fish management in Oregon…

Perhaps there is an upside to this that I am not aware of beyond KPO donated monies etc. Like what is the real world results in California or Oregon to this good intentioned event?

Perhaps we are to the psychological point of man made impoundments and hatchery fish for stringers and meat…period.The picture is not from a KPO event…no difference in my estimation.

É a prova desportiva com os prémios mais elevados da região.
A prova desportiva tem o nome de Tarzan Taborda (1927-2005), o penta campeão internacional de wrestling, e tetra campeão europeu, natural da freguesia de Aldeia do Bispo, concelho de Penamacor.

Existem 6 escalões diferentes, para as mais variadas idades, e existem prémios monetários até 750€ ( 1ºLugar Séniores Masculinos) ou 650€ (1º Absoluto Feminino).

Mais informação em cm-penamacor.pt/maratona09

You may now submit up to two pairs of haiku for this year’s haiku contest, but submitting a single pair is still most acceptable, indeed, highly desirable.

Get your haiku in! There is only a week and change until the October 22nd deadline.

Plus, in other exciting news, I know have four great judges for the contest including two published poets, the inimitable winner of last year’s contest, and a friend with a love of words and good ear.

Speaking of the winner from last year, Bob is currently blogging haiku in anticipation of the contest. Check out his great haiku and other poems.

 ”Obama The Nobel”….warrior of peace.  And winner of great prize money.

First off, Michelle Malkin has asked:  What should Obama do with the $1.4 million prize money?

Some great ideas from Michelle’s commenters:

• Save or create 28 new jobs.
• (Get) Ego reduction surgery.
• How about taking his Auntie off the backs of us Massachusetts taxpayers and getting his brother a bigger box to live in…?
• Buy rockets and explosives for Hamas.
• Pay Geithner’s back taxes?
• Maybe Spock could get his ears bobbed?
• Aren’t there wounded soldiers he could help? Not ours – you know, the ones on his side.
• That ought to just about pay for a genealogist to ‘find’ Obama’s ancestral connections to Jesus, Mohammed and Buddha

That reminds me of the Barackwell painting…..

origin unknown (I mean the creator of this image, not Obama!)

My own thought was that since this ”prize” money is kind of like a bonus, and Obama himself accepted the ego “stimulus”  from the Nobel committee, shouldn’t he be taxed at like 90% on that money or something?

And, of course, some in near the White House don’t see the humor. DNC Communications Director Brad Woodhouse had this to say about it:

“The Republican Party has thrown in its lot with the terrorists – the Taliban and Hamas this morning – in criticizing the President for receiving the Nobel Peace prize,” DNC communications director Brad Woodhouse told POLITICO. “Republicans cheered when America failed to land the Olympics and now they are criticizing the President of the United States for receiving the Nobel Peace prize – an award he did not seek but that is nonetheless an honor in which every American can take great pride – unless of course you are the Republican Party.

So, add “terrorist” to the list of names conservatives and those who oppose Obama’s weakness and policies have been called…(I think they are running out of names because I could swear that we’ve all been called terrorists before)….

…but in the age of “Obama The Nobel”, aren’t we ALL terrorists now…we are one…kumbaya?

Oh….and with Obama’s undeserved win, according to the WH DNC director, we are just not “proud” of our country, cuz, you know, we should take pride in a leader who trashes our country and even proclaimed himself as undeserving of the “prize”, but will accept that small BONUS “prize” money, nonetheless……

Yet, still…its pretty humorous for a fall Friday….as you can see below:

Commenter RetFireman at Michelle Malkin:

I just found out I won a Golden Globe AND an Oscar, and all I did was imagine writing a script and hope it would get produced.

Just can’t shake this feeling I don’t really deserve this.

And please…don’t laugh. It hurts my feelings, and when you do, the terrorists win.

Commenter BeHiker at Michelle Malkin:

Just saw this on Twitter… “8 year old kid inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in anticipation of getting his first guitar this upcoming Christmas.”

At Ace of Spades, Obama’s other Victories

From Treacheron Twitter (H/T Ace of Spades): “Obama also won the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his groundbreaking work in preventing unneeded amputations and tonsillectomies.”

 Now, from Harry Reid, of all people:

“By ushering in a period of optimism in American politics, President Obama has become a great source of pride and inspiration for many Americans. I congratulate the President on this tremendous honor that he has earned with his dedication to a new type of politics based on hope instead of fear. I am confident that the President will work to continue to live up the ideals of this award throughout his term in office.”

What?  Harry Reid wasn’t kidding?….That is most humorous of all!

UPDATE! THE OFFICIAL CONTEST LINK IS UP! CLICK HERE.

I have certainly not forgotten the haiku contest (get your haiku in), which is near and dear to my heart. However, for you photogs amongst the readership, this post is intended to be a teaser trailer of sorts to get you thinking and planning and shooting for the next contest, which will be here sooner than you know.

Your assignment, should you choose to accept, is to submit one or two photos which are titled either with the title of or lyric from a Christmas carol. You are free to use a carol that is either secular or sacred, for it to be well known carol or little known (just provide a link to the lyrics), and for your photo to be an ironic riff on the title or straightforward. The successful photo will be the one which interacts best with its title.

Christmas is a time filled with all sorts of visual delights (indoor and out) and emotions (happy and sad), so there is great scope for a diversity of entries in this contest. And, I will be allowing photos from both this and last Christmas for submission.

I am hoping to have the contest up about a week before Christmas and the results out on Boxing Day. Yeah, you know Boxing Day, when the landed gentry in Britain boxed up leftover food and gifts for the peasants, or something like that (Snopes sorts it out for us). At any rate, that date is December 26, the day when Americans regurgitate their excess back to the stores and make room for more ;) Sorry for that last image. Sometimes I get a little exercised, even as I am complicit in the cycle.

Here are some samples which do a little to illustrate the scope this contest allows (I am hoping for both “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” and “Here Comes Santa Claus, Here Comes Santa Claus, Right Down Santa Claus Lane” submissions ), and to get you shooting.

The Crim-Dassler “My Best Friend” photo contest is almost at its conclusion. Please visit the site, view the pictures, and vote if you have not already done so. The results come out this Thursday at midnight. So, make sure to revisit the blog then, though Friday morning will do just fine too Pencil it in. We have a breakfast date.

Also, the annual Dassler Effect “Autumn, Then Winter” haiku contest is now officially receiving entries, on, this, the first day of Autumn. Please read the contest rules and enter. Deadline: October 23rd. Results: November 6th. $80 in prize money). So, start writing.

Many apologies for the long wait in getting this up. Many thanks to Ed Crim of Edward Crim Photography and Forest Park 365 for co-sponsoring this contest and providing the 1st Prize money.

Enjoy! And please vote for the Reader’s Choice Award.

A Quinns Rocks couple in their 50’s have wasted no time coming forward to claim an $820,000 win from last weekend’s Saturday Lotto draw.

The couple said that the prize money is the “icing on the cake” and will allow them to retire earlier than they’d expected.

They have decided to keep the win a secret from all family and friends.

The winning ticket was purchased at Ocean Keys Lottery Centre in Clarkson.

THE ENIGMA WITH GOLF

Golf is said to be better than sex – more “sexiting”!  Why then so

segregated as compared with other sports? Why its popularity?

Two novice women golfers are out on the course one day. The first tees up her ball, swing, and watches as it takes off on a 90-degree angle. It flies about 20 yards, hits a rock, bounces off a cart path, hits a tree, careens off the tree and finally comes to rest in the middle of the fairway.

“Hey!” exclaims her friend, giving her a miffed look. “Why didn’t you tell me you’ve been practicing?”

Is this the scenario to explain why fewer women play golf than men? But then why do so many men play such a frustrating game? Could this be a cultural phenomenon – a past legacy of the alpha males playing at exclusive clubs? Tennis, a traditional country-club sport, however, is now being played by nearly as many women as men. With the availability of the abundant public courses in Australia, a trend should come round to see the number of woman players on the increase.

I guess such drama, no exception with men, makes up for golf as a less action-packed sport. Yet in a typical PGA Championship, the spectators that watch the game amounts to millions including those millions that watch it on television. Golf features no body contact, unlike Aussie football, and no car crashes nor cheerleaders . . . yet men are hooked with golf, making it the most segregated sport by sex than any other.

Frustration or incompetence never seems to deter guys from becoming obsessed with it. Golf is truly a “magnificent obsession”. It is claimed that golf is better than sex. A below par performance is considered good in golf as maintained by David Letterman in his Late Night Show’s Top Ten List. Best of all, if your equipment gets old and rusty, you can replace it.

According to the List, as an encouragement to seniors, you can still make money. Three times a day is even possible and your partner doesn’t hire a lawyer if you do it with someone else. If you live in Perth, as in Florida, you can do it every day – with the exceptional wet days.

I guess nothing sells like sex. With such truism, hefty prize money awards for both men and women, great television promotions drawing an increasing large captive audience, such affordability with the opening of abundant public golf course, and the fact that once hooked you’ll be hooked for life, I dare say no other game can be as popular as golf.

Enjoy it!

Paul Chong

An Avid Golfer

The Director's Chair

Hummingbird Pictures Announces Tainted Money Video Contest based on a Special News Report from PNN, the Peoples’ News Network.  The Director’s Chair welcomes you and your crew to develop your prize winning entry.  Tainted Money is an opportunity for the undiscovered film maker and his or her crew to show they have what it takes to make the prize winning video.  Somebody has to win.  Why shouldn’t it be you. 

This scenario will be produced by all entrants with opportunity to include distinctive uniqueness of creativity and skill.  The good news is the winner will receive 1/2 of all entry fees up to a maximum cap of $5,000.00.

The Contest Screenplay Scenario follows.  It will be released to all eligible entrants at 12:00 A.M. July 5th, 2009 for submission no later than 11:59 P.M. July 15th, 2009.

Elizabeth Allen is presenting a PNN (Peoples’ News Network) Special Report:

250,000 people have died across America in 9 days.  A weaponized virus is now believed to be the cause of the deaths from Hampton, Virginia to San Francisco, California. 

A panel of experts (from Homeland Security, The Center for Disease Control, The Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Coalition of Paranormal Intuitive) join Elizabeth to provide update information in the special news report of this biological act of terror. 

All entries will create this newscast from the 7 page screenplay entitled, “Tainted Money”.  All entries can add one feature and all must create a background logo for the Peoples’ News Network.

Get ready to have some fun and put your heart to your best work.  Get your eye on winning the prize in the “Tainted Money” Video Contest.

The rules follow.

Oscar Crawford, Director, Hummingbird Pictures’ Production of “Coming of The Red Rain:  The Film and The Documentary” starring Aneliese Roettger, Bill Higgins, and Yonera Murray. 

Visit Hummingbird Pictures at http://hummingbirdpictures.8m.net

Post to this blog or send your email questions to taintedmoney@live.com or hummingbirdpictures@hotmail.com

Oscar Crawford Directing at Agua Caliente Park in Tucson, Arizona

Athletes decide to play a particular sport or pursue an athletic career for various reasons. Those reasons are usually highly personal and are based on things like first-hand experiences, media exposure of sports/athletes, self-image and other influences from friends, family, coaches and others. I played all kinds of competitive sports as a kid growing up in the midwest (Michigan, Kansas, Ohio) including baseball, tennis, hockey, soccer, BMX, basketball and golf. I was pretty good in each sport that I played and thinking back, I could have realistically chased a career in a few of those sports. So, I think it’s interesting then that I ultimately chose the sport of beach volleyball to pursue professionally…perhaps the least lucrative of them all.

Last weekend I was watching an episode of AVP Classics (TV show highlighting volleyball matches from the 80’s - the AVP’s heyday) on the 1988 AVP Hermosa Beach Open. It featured the finals with Sinjin Smith and Randy Stoklos playing against Mike Dodd and Tim Hovland, a classic battle between two of the best teams to ever play the game. While watching, I was reminded why the sport of beach volleyball drew me in so much and began to reflect on what it was that inspired me to play beach volleyball in the first place…and since I’m sharing my “comeback” year efforts via this Blog I thought it’d be fitting to include some detail on why beach volleyball is a good fit for me and personally gratifying as well.

My high school in northern California, Monte Vista, started a men’s volleyball program my sophmore year. My only experience with volleyball at this point was some jungle-ball we played in PE. Even though it was just PE class, I loved being in the middle of everything up at the net and enjoyed blocking balls and of course spiking. I found volleyball to be similar to playing tennis, one of my favorite sports still today, with all the footwork and timing involved with hitting the ball. Similarities also lie with the overhead hitting motion and playing on a court outside where one must content with the elements…the sun and wind in particular.

As a Junior in high school, I injured myself in a ski wreck (from showing off) just before tryouts and the coach wouldn’t allow me to try out when I got healthy a few weeks later. That summer some friends (who did make the team) and I began to play beach volleyball at a nearby sand court in a residential recreational area. The sand courts were right next to the pool…and there seemed to always be an attractive female lifeguard on duty. This was pretty much the perfect scenario for a puberty-driven show-off like myself…and it was cheap to play so we’d spend hours upon hours on that court.

It was at this time (late 80’s) that the AVP was being aired nationally on TV. I remember watching matches like the aforementioned battle between Smith/Stoklos and Dodd/Hovland and thinking to myself, “I’d like to be one of those guys someday!…Make money for being in great shape, show off my athletic skills at the beach and get all the girls too!” – this was waaaaay before I fell in love and got married of course. These guys were not only making good money, they got to live an amazing lifestyle that included traveling to great beach (and non-beach) destinations, working hand-in-hand with sponsors and the tour to promote the sport, and entertaining fans with great volleyball and dialogue in a casual and party-friendly environment. I wanted to be a part of all that!

I was a good athlete in high school but I was also in a rebellious phase so I didn’t play on any sports teams for my first three years. As a senior, I was healthy and made the varsity volleyball team and started as the middle blocker, and played all the way around, playing middle back on defense. The indoor game was fun and I enjoyed the camaraderie of my teammates but I enjoyed playing the beach game even more. On the beach, there are only two players on a team which means each player gets lots of touches and therefore contributes heavily to the outcome of the game. The beach game also favors athletes who are well-rounded in their skill set because deficiencies or weaknesses can be easily recognized and taken advantage of…again, like tennis.

So, I finally found a sport that hit my sweet spot. Beach volleyball was a team sport that provided a sexy stage to show off on, gave me an opportunity to personally impact the outcome of every point, promoted well-rounded skills and success was dependant upon the efforts of each player on the team versus a lineup the coach put in. In short, the beach game gives me freedom to express myself athletically in every sense from preparation to performance to sportsmanship and to being fully engaged in the moment – I’m getting excited to play again just thinking about it!

As I’ve discovered throughout my years of playing beach volleyball, there is a strong camaraderie amongst players. I think this comes from all the sacrafices we make to play this game and the respect we have for one another. The beach volleyball community at large is an incredibly competitive bunch yet it’s also very supportive in times of need. Even though prize money and celebrity status for beach volleyball players falls well short of the more popular and lucrative sports, there are riches well beyond such things. The friendships and lifes experiences I’ve experienced alone through beach volleyball have provided me with a fulfilling life and has given me stories upon stories to reflect on as I get older.

MIDDLETOWN PA – It took almost three months, but the Pennsylvania Lottery, headquartered in Middletown, announced Friday (May 29, 2009) it finally had its first jackpot winner in the state’s Super 7 lottery drawing. The winner, once checked out, gets to claim $8.26 million … less federal and state taxes, of course.

Super 7 Logo.

Winning numbers in Friday’s drawing, the 23rd since Super 7 was launched on March 13 (2009), were 02-04-09-12-17-19-24-28-41-42-53. The winner needed to match only seven of the 11 numbers selected. Lottery officials say they won’t announce the winner’s name until the prize is claimed and his or her (or their) ticket is validated.

The jackpot started with a $1 million annuity and continued to build Tuesdays and Fridays until won. Now the Super 7 resets at $1 million once more – in cash it’s actually worth about $490,000 – for the drawing to be held tonight (Tuesday, June 2, 2009).

Feelin’ lucky? The Lottery has 39 retail vendors in the Pottstown 19464 zip code. Of those, six are in Sanatoga or Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township: K-Mart, 2200 E. High St.; Getty Mart, 1001 Buchert Rd.; Redner’s Warehouse Market in the North End Shopping Center; Sanatoga Thriftway, 2190 E. High St.; Sunoco, 2177 E. High St.; and Turkey Hill, 3051 E. High St.

Logo image from the Pennsylvania Lottery

Sign up to get The Sanatoga Post delivered free daily by e-mail.
Got news for us? E-mail The Post.

She is not such a beauty but moon shies when she cat walks, she is none other than Deepika Padukone who has given a stunning and gorgeous look at the 10 Kilometer run organized the by Sunfeast in the name of Sunfeast World 10 Kilometer Run. She appeared with the former U.S.Sprinter Maurice Greene who wave to participants in the Sunfeast World 10 Kilometer run in Bangalore, India on yesterday. Both Deepika and Greene are the brand ambassadors for the run that has total prize money of $155,000 USD.

Click to know more news about Deepika

[ More ]

Stop the press, hold the headlines, refresh your browsers. Susan Boyle wasn’t crowned the ‘Britains Got Talent’ winner after all.

Talk about the results not living up to the worldwide hype, or the bookmakers expectations. Despite being the favourite to sing her way to victory, the crown was whipped away from Ms Boyle and handed over to Diversity, a group of 11 incredible dancers from Essesx, aged between 12 and 25.

So why didn’t she win? Maybe the viewers, all 18.5 million of them, felt she had already achieved her place in the spotlight, and others now deserved a shot at fame more. Maybe people assumed she has her money making future in the bag, and no longer needed the prize. Or maybe people just thought the dancers were better.

Now I haven’t been watching the show, but I would have to have been blind, deaf and half way up a mountain not to have heard about the singing sensation that is Susan Boyle. I, along with some 220 million other people, watched her on YouTube back in April, when she first performed “I Dreamed a Dream”, from the musical “Les Miserables”. The video clip flooded our screens and filled inboxes everywhere. And I, along with everyone else, including the open-mouthed judging panel, sat and went – ‘Wow, that came out of that’.

Since then, she seems to have become something of the singing equivalent to Marmite – with her legion of adoring fans on one side, including Oprah Winfrey, Demi Moore and Jon Bon Jovi, and those who couldn’t wait to knock her down on the other. And there goes the fickle fame of fame, and the double edged sword of celebrity. Apparently, some people really don’t like to see a frumpy, middle aged church volunteer do well.

People’s obsession with ‘looking the part’ aside, what seems to me to be the most absurd, and probably saddest part of this whole singing circus, is that the day after losing the competition, Boyle checked herself into The Priory suffering from ‘exhaustion’. Isn’t The Priory the place that all those poor coked up celebrities crawl to, when they simply can’t deal with their charmed life and the negative press anymore?

Surely things can’t be that bad? Surely she can’t have got so bad in just a couple of months that she really feels the need for an ambulance and the assessment of the Mental Health Act – just to reconfirm that she’s tired and stressed? Why not just lock the door, take the phone of the hook and sit down with a nice cup of tea.

All this fame and glory must be a terrible thing to have to endure, it certainly never seems to make anyone happy. Oh well, she may not have won the competition, but at least she has the wealth still to come, with a reported eight million pounds up for grabs in the next year alone, from a record deal, book deal and possible film.

That should cheer her up a bit. It nothing else it will help towards the big black sunglasses, army of bodyguards and weekly sessions on the shrinks couch that she will certainly be needing, when the reality of her new life really kicks in.

I have to say, I was amazed that Susan Boyle didn’t win. Then I watched the clips below, and I could see why. She is without question a brilliant singer, but those dancers, they were just amazing.

htht

Watch Susan Boyle’s FINAL performance.

htht

Watch Diversity’s FINAL performance.

htht

htht

: : : : : : : : : : :

hthtv

fdadf

The Australian ‘Biggest Loser’ final took place the other night, and what can I say but ‘WOW’. What an inspiration these people should be to every person sitting on their sofa-loving backsides in front of the TV.

Whilst most reality shows are all about that 15 minutes of fame, this show actually sets out to achieve a really worthwhile end goal. And that’s not just for the person who wins and pockets the much deserved prize money (well as much deserved as it is possible to be when you have won and not earned it). All the contestants who take part, come out of it better off for having been there.

For while there is money at stake, and a lot of it, for once the show isn’t all about what you get at the end, but what you learn and achieve along the way. There are no record deals or big shiny cars on offer here.  The contestants aren’t expected to battle it out on a deserted island, or pick out a new mate to marry. They don’t have to decorate a room, design an outfit or beat a poly-gram test to do well. The show doesn’t dangle a ‘jump on the celebrity bandwagon’ carrot in front of their nose, or even teach them how to peel one.

No, the ‘Biggest Loser’ gives contestants a little bit more. It allows them to take one big fat foot out of the grave and start looking forward to living a longer, healthier life. A life that they can actually start to participate in, not just observe from the side lines.

Turning someones life around like this is no mean feat. For 3 long months the contestants are made to eat, sleep, think and exercise  ‘healthy’. Life long bad habits are stripped away and their approach to their food intake, mental attitude and body image are rebuilt, from the plate upwards. At the end of every week they face a public weigh-in, and those who drop below the ‘yellow line’ are voted off the show.

fdadf

fdadf

By the end of the 3 months, the proof was very much in the low-fat pudding and the results achieved were nothing short of jaw dropping. Bob Herdsman, the oldest contestant and the winner, lost more than half of his original 167.8kg (26.4 stone) weight. He dropped a massive 87.6 kg (13.8 stone) along the way and now tips the scales at just 80.2kg (12.6 stone). Tiffany, his daughter-in-law, came in at second place with a weight loss of 54.1kg (8.5 stone).

Without a surgeons knife or gastric band in sight, their weight loss was achieved purely through good diet, hard work and a dogged perseverance to be there at the finish line.

fda

fdadf

At a time when the whole world seems to be doubling it’s waist size every time the World Health Organisation release new statistics, this TV programme is certainly trying to do it’s bit to help get the message through.

Something certainly needs to be done before the entire population slips below the ‘yellow line’ and ends up getting eliminated from the race.

fdadf

: : : : : : : : : : :

Saw the Roadies 6.0 finals [part-2]today & I must say the conclusion was REALLY good. The whole show as such was nothing brilliant, but with the ending, it becomes pretty good.

Unlike the last Roadies final, this one was full of emotion, passion & the best part…only the deserving guys were in the finals, again, unlike the last Roadies [ come on!! Aashu & Nihaal? ughh *gags*]. Thankfully this time Raghu was fair enough to give the eliminated, but deserving roadies, another chance, esp. Sufi. I agreed with him that some good contestants had been eliminated, just due to his twists. The last chance was just. There was this speculation that Sufi had won & this unwittingly helped to add more twists in the already knotted game. Unfortunately, when the rumor spread the finals had not even been recorded!!

Naumaan had performed admirably in the last stages, enabling his survival. I don’t know why everybody was biased against him. Agreed, sometimes he did look like a sissy, but ridiculing him & not Palak[Gurmeet]? Why was everybody [the other roadies/ex-roadies] rooting for her? She was the one who swore, who hit & was in everybody’s face…the moment anybody retaliated she would burst into tears, causing Samraat to go “Main PAGAL ho jaaunga…”! I was jumping with joy when Raghu slammed her in the part-1 of the finals! She deserved every bit of it…And did anybody believe her “Respiratory Distress”  act when she stormed off & collapsed?? [The medical term is the result of watching too much "House MD" ] Was jubilant when Palak was “chopped”. That chick [am being polite here...] was just:crap.Period.

Nauman & Kiri were both great. Both had been eliminated, but made their way back when given the chance. I was kind of cheering for Kiri…nice guy. Liked his open demeanor & apolitical stand throughout the game.
The final task was INTENSE. It had everything that a riveting final should have. I already knew the winner but even then I was tense & awaited the conclusion with bated breath. You must watch it to feel the thing. Superb.

Naumaan Sait is the winner of Roadies 6.0.The prize money finally stood at Rs.3,62,000.
HH Karizmas were given to:Naumaan, Kiri, Sufi, Samraat, Palak

Congrats to Naumaan on a well deserved victory!

P.S:
I saw the results here: http://mtvroadies.xaapa.com. I loved how they stated the it!!
Winner:Naumaan
We Respect him:Kiri
Loser:Gurmeet! [Hah!]

Yesterday morning (my rest day), I woke up at 6:45am without the aid of an alarm clock. This was not expected, and I wasn’t very happy about it…especially since I didn’t go to bed until midnight the night before. Apparently this 6:30am wake up routine is really becoming just that…a routine. I realize I should be happy about this because it means (theoretically, at least) that the 6:30am wake ups should be getting easier. But sometimes you just want to sleep in.

So today I was back at it. 20-minute bike workout followed by an upper body weight workout. I also ran a quarter-mile again. It still felt mildly uncomfortable, but I think it may have felt a smidge better than on Saturday. Hopefully Wednesday will be even better and my PT will clear me to run farther (PT appointment is on Thursday).

After my workout and shower, I tuned in to my web browser to follow the Boston Marathon. I was supposed to be able to watch live video, but it wasn’t working on my computer for some reason. The two American favorites, Kara Goucher and Ryan Hall, both came in third. No records were set, but the male winner ran it in 2:08:42, and the female winner ran it in 2:32:16. Geez, that’s only about twice as fast as I would run it . 

Did you know that the Boston winners received $150,00 each in prize money? (This is for elite runners only, not age-groupers.) I knew that professional athletes got prize money for winning, but I had no idea they could win that much! That’s significantly more than my salary. Maybe I’m in the wrong profession.

NOT YOUR FATHER’S BUSINESS PLAN CONTEST
Entrepreneur Magazine’s College Entrepreneur of 2009 Contest for Undergraduates
presented by The UPS Store^®

(Irvine, CA) April 8, 2009 – Maybe you’ve seen how ‘secure’ corporate America is, maybe you’ve wanted to do things your way, since you were like five – or maybe you just can’t stand the idea of working for the man knowing you’ll make a bigger difference in the world as your own boss. Whatever your motivation, entering this contest is a no-brainer when it comes to getting you closer to what you want.

It ultimately comes down to that big idea you’ve been batting around. All you need to do is tell us your inspiration for it, what makes it viable and different from the millions of ideas already out there, and where you see it going. In return we’ll show the winner $2,500 in seed money – and more importantly, thousands of dollars worth of publicity that money can’t buy.

“Some of today’s biggest business ideas are coming from college students, but with today’s economic woes, getting started may seem next to impossible,” says Amy Cosper, VP/editor in chief at Entrepreneur. “So we’re offering a chance of a lifetime to an undergraduate – and I emphasize undergraduate – because there are hundreds of business plan competitions out there for B-school students but very few are exclusively designed for undergraduates.”

“In its 31 years, Entrepreneur has literally helped hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses,” says Cosper. “We’re the authority. Any savvy entrepreneur – whether they’re 10, 20, 30 or 40 – knows that being featured in the magazine is like winning the lotto in terms of getting the national exposure needed to take their business to the next level.”

To enter the contest, submit your online form and video now at www.entrepreneur.com/e2009college, where you’ll also be able to watch a video message from Amy on how to win. Entrants must be undergraduate students between the ages of 18 and 25.

An expert panel of judges, including representatives from Entrepreneur’s editorial department and Mail Boxes Etc., Inc. (MBE, franchisor of The UPS Store), will choose the finalists. The panel’s decision will be based on the mission statement for the business idea, the proposed structure of the business idea, and the goals for the first and third years of the business.

“College students embody the true entrepreneurial spirit,” says Stuart Mathis, president of MBE. “We’d like to give them a chance to make their ideas real with the College Entrepreneur of 2009 search.”

$2,500, Publicity Money Can’t Buy, and Even More Cool Prizes

In addition to the start-up capital for the College Entrepreneur of 2009, the winner will also be profiled in the January 2010 issue of Entrepreneur magazine and be honored at an awards luncheon and ceremony in Miami, Fla. The winner will also receive two roundtrip tickets within the continental U.S., a gift certificate for $500 in free services at The UPS Store, a three-year subscription to Entrepreneur magazine and a selection of Entrepreneur Press books.

Entry criteria and the complete rules can be found on www.entrepreneur.com/e2009college. The deadline to enter is June 15.

About Entrepreneur Media Inc.

Entrepreneur Media Inc. is the premier content provider for and about entrepreneurs. Our products engage and inspire every day with the advice, solutions and resources that fuel the bold and independent way entrepreneurs think.

After 31 years, nobody reaches more growing businesses. As the original magazine for the small and midsize business community, Entrepreneur continues to be the definitive guide to all the diverse challenges of business ownership. Entrepreneur.com is the most widely used website by entrepreneurs and emerging businesses worldwide. Entrepreneur Press publishes the books that turn entrepreneurial skills into business success.

To learn more, visit www.entrepreneur.com.

To advertise, please contact us at www.entrepreneur.com/mediakit.

About The UPS Store

###

It seems to be the case that the more I find opportunities (and take them), the more they seem to occur.

Yesterday I was informed of a competition called The Young Jazz Players’ Competition.  It’s a local competition, first prize is $1000 and second prize (or rather, “Encouragement Prize”) is $500, so definitely nothing to be sniffed at.  I was told they hardly ever get any reed players or singers, so as I am a singer I would be in with a good chance.  I am very much interested in this – not just for the prize, but for the opportunity of performing to a large audience.  Here’s the site of the competition:  http://www.ccc.tas.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=690

Rehearsals for the Southern Gospel Choir are pretty important right now, as we are nearing our end-of-year concert and have a lot of new material to get up to scratch.  Unfortunately, I’m going to be missing a lot of rehearsals!  This week we have our excerpts test, so no real rehearsal.  The week after that we’ve been given a break.  The week after that I have Tempest rehearsals so I can’t go to choir… the week after that I’m going to see CATS so I can’t go to choir…. the week after that the choir has another break… ditto for the week after that… then finally, on the 7th of November, we have a big rehearsal and I can attend.  Phew… I sure hope I can be up to scratch with the songs having missed so much rehearsal time.  Well, we’ll see on the 7th of November I suppose.

The Ogilvie Old Scholars’ Choir are rehearsing this week.  That is enjoyable.  We are performing on the 28th of October… and then again on the 31st at some important event at Wrest Point, which the Governer will be attending.  It’s a formal event, dinner and everything, and it seems we are expected to make up a table and get money in for the dinner.  The problem is, although it is a generous 3-course meal, I just can’t afford to pay $75 for a dinner – living on my own, and Centrelink is not quite that generous.  I can’t afford to spend $75 on food in a fortnight, let alone one night!  So I’m not sure what I’m going to do… sit on a chair at the edge of the room perhaps?  Or maybe we’ll be singing right at the start and then I can leave?  But I would like to spend the time with the other choir members.  But I can’t afford the dinner, and I’m sure it would make the other ladies uncomfortable if I sat at a table with them and just watched them eat.  Ah well, I’m sure something will be worked out.