Rex Hudler

QUOTE (WilliamTell @ Jul 12, 2008 -> 07:22 PM) I'm not losing much weight if anything, but my body is looking better so that's a plus. I'm lifting weights and working in a lumber yard so I'm putting on the muscle. Keep at it everyone. I agree its not all about the pounds. Its a great feeling when your clothes start to fit differently and when you start to notice muscle definition where you did not have it before.

I've never had lou's, but I do like Giordano's. Haven't had it in about 4-5 yrs though. Gino's East has a corn meal in the crust that I am not a fan of. I do like Carson's and of course if you want to spend a few bucks Gibson's is cool. My parents just got back from Chicago Thursday and they loved the Field Museum. They bought a Chicago City Pass which gets you, for one price entrance to either the Sears Tower or John Hancock Center, plus the museums and other attractions. You can go to five different attractions for one price which they found easy. I always liked to do a lot of walking just to explore. I agree with Heads about Chicago being the greatest city in the world, with one caveat. This only applies from April - October! Hell with cold, snowy winters.

QUOTE (SleepyWhiteSox @ Jul 12, 2008 -> 10:26 PM) Is there any way to or can wool hats be stretched after shrinking?? If so, how? I got soaked in the rain and my cap shrunk to a much tighter fit than I prefer... yep. Just put both fists inside the cap and push them outwards toward the front and rear of the cap. You will hear a few if the inner threads rip but you will never know it from the outside and it won't affect the cap. Learned this from a New Era sales rep and it will make any hat about a half to one size bigger.

I recommend Priceline. My parents just stayed at the Hotel Sax for $126/night and loved the location. They took buses and the EL everywhere and needed to take a cab. If you are visiting downtown Chicago I do recommend a 3-day visitor pass for transportation. You can use it unlimited for 72 hours on all trains and buses. it costs like $12 each and is worth it for the convenience alone. You can get them at www.transitchicago.com. I've always had good luck with Priceline. Have stayed at the Westin Michigan Ave, the Crowne Plaza and the Midland Hotel (it was being converted to the W Chicago near the Sears tower) all for less than $100/night. Gotta do the name your own price thing though. Be careful to know your areas though.

Better this week. Ate well after the 4th weekend and worked out everyday from Sat thru Thursday. Weighed in at 291 today (5 pounds this week) for a total drop of 71 pounds to date. Only 29 more to go to the century mark!

That was a helluva match. I've not watched tennis much in recent years, but this was excellent. Reminded me of the days when McEnroe, Connors and Borg were going at with amazing matches every major tournament.

Never to early to start...... The University of Evansville has agreed to play a series of 3 games against North Carolina. Evansville will visit Chapel Hill on Dec. 18 this upcoming season. After a year off, UNC will visit Roberts Stadium in Evansville in 2010-2011 followed by a return trip to Chapel in 2011-2012. The Aces can thank Tyler Zeller for this deal. It will be interesting to see at what level UE can compete against the Tar Heels. This year figures to be scary despite returning all 5 starters and adding depth with 5 newcomers. Three years from now, when UNC comes calling, could be more interesting. Before anyone starts crowing, I'm not calling UE the favorite by any means, but Evansville, if it can get to the level I think it can, should be able to compete with the big boys down the road. Still a long ways to go for that to happen, however.

296 on the 4th. Another week, another pound.... like a broken record.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jun 30, 2008 -> 04:25 PM) On a sidenote, I'm surprised at no Family Matters or Step by Step love. As a kid I was a massive fan of those shows. You don't like Seinfeld, but want to profess the comic genious of Steve Urkel???? Ugh

297 today, down just one pound from last week. Ugh

298 today, down just one pound from last week. Ugh

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jun 17, 2008 -> 03:11 PM) I thought that money was coming from the overpriced tolls that we pay on the highway every day? Or the 3 dollars of tax on cigarettes people pay? Or the 10 percent sales tax i pay when i purchase anything in chicago? You could always try Canada or Mexico if you don't like the taxes here. Choose between higher taxes or s***ty living conditions. Or you could hang out in Europe where gas is $5-$6 a gallon? Just a thought

Will keep it short and sweet today. Finally broke the 300 lb mark and weighed in at 299. Set a new goal for Sept 27 to be at 262, which would equal 100 pounds.

QUOTE (joeynach @ Jun 11, 2008 -> 10:41 PM) The other thing I have always wondered about was the price difference between corporately owned/managed gas stations vs. individual owners/franchisers. Just the same way some fast food restaurants are corporately owned and operated and others are individual franchises the same is true of gas stations. You see this in fast food where there will be a promotion for some items "at participating locations only". Meaning its a corporate promotion and the franchise locations can choose to adopt the promotion or not, but I digress. In terms of gas stations the question is about corporate stations using established area prices vs franchise stations using whatever price they choose. Thus this would lead to frequent price discrepancies, differences from corner to corner, town to town, etc. In terms of right now the question is are the stations that are so quick to change their prices (usually increase) from day to day and from oil price to oil price the individually owned franchise stations. The theory being that the corporate stations would have prices closer to the wholesale price of gasoline since those stations would take longer to change their price due to time it takes for corporate wide price information to filter down and be established for the certain area. Basically my theory is that corporately owned stations are less price volatile then franchised stations. P.S. The trend I noticed for years on gasoline retail vs. wholesale was always about a 50 cent per gallon increase. You can basically see what the general wholesale price of gasoline is by looking at the gasoline futures on wall st. Then just see what the difference is between what you pay at the pump vs. what the companies buy the gasoline at. Historically it was about 50 cent a gallon increase to wholesale is what you paid at the pump, but the marked IMO is out of whack. What you see today is a lot more ups and downs over a short period of time to this usual 50 cent markup. You can check out the wholesale futures price here Its been a long time since I have been in the business, but I worked at the retail level as a DM for a couple of years. Here is how gas pricing worked at that time. Retailers get very little markup per gallon. Ideally, a retailer would make about 10 cents/gallon. Since the prices are higher now, that number may be higher as they may be still looking for the same percentage. Often times, they would get much less. Daily managers of convenience stores drive a local area and take a survey of gas prices from designated competitors. Gas prices are adjusted accordingly. Independently owned stations may not be as dilligent, so they may be slower to change their prices. I do know that gas companies consider their prices at the pump to be very competitive and they will change prices at a given station to react to such competition. What would typically happen is that the cost would continue to rise, yet low cost/bottom grade retailers would hold their prices so all companies would do the same. Often times this would result in a station selling gas at a one or two cent margin or even below cost as I saw many times. One of my stations actually sold gas below cost for a whole month just to remain competitive. At a certain point, larger companies would decide to regain their margins and jump the prices 8-10 cents. This is called a restoration. The low cost retailers would always follow right up with their prices, but they would never lead a restoration. Typically "majors" (Shell, Sunoco, Exxon, etc) would sell a few pennies higher than regional brands (Speedway, Thornton's, 7 Elevens, etc) regardless of the above factors. The money on gas may be made at the wholesaler level of by the middle man, but it is not made at the retail level. Margins are held low and convenience stores are what bring in the cash. Low margins create the traffic, sodas, oil, fast food, etc make the $$.

QUOTE (The Bones @ Jun 8, 2008 -> 06:03 PM) Anyone ever play baseball games with their baseball cards and a pair of dice when they were kids? Pick your players for your teams, set your lineups, and roll the dice to decide the outcome of the game. Certain rolls counting as singles, doubles, homeruns, etc. Anyways it's a game my dad and his brothers used to play as kids and he taught my brother and I how to play and this weekend I taught my nephew how to play. The reason I ask is because I'm trying to tweak the old system that we used to have. I just now realize that there is nothing that counts as a sacrafice fly or a double play and was wondering if anyone had any kind of rules that they go by. Here are the rules that we have always had... 1-6 = Base on Error 2-2 = Double 2-3 = Single, Baserunners Advance 1 Base 2-5 = Single, Baserunners Advance 2 Bases 3-3 = Triple 4-5 = Base on Balls 6-6 = Home Run Everything else is an out. Also, if you wanted to steal a base you announce it before you roll and if the dice rolled add up to less than 7 you are safe, 7 or more and you are out. I'm thinking of making 1-1 a double play. And 4-6 and 5-6 sacrafice flies if the baserunners are on 2nd or 3rd. Also thinking of adding a rule that if you roll a 3-3 you must roll one die and if it is a 1,2, or 3 it's a bases clearing double and only if it's a 4,5, or 6 is it a triple. This game was lots of fun as a kid but I now realize that it's not very realistic. My dad claims they used to have certain rules for things like sac flies but he forgets them. Anyways...anybody have any thoughts on how to improve the game or even know what I'm talking about? I played dice baseball as a kid but have no clue what all the combinations were. We used some for groundouts, flyouts, K's, as well as all the base hits. A flyout with a runner on third and less than two outs was an automatic sac fly. Some rolls were a simple ball, which allowed for walks on occasion.

QUOTE (DBAH0 @ Jun 8, 2008 -> 08:34 PM) I'm living in New York for a year on a internship / exchange sort of program. Having an awesome time really. Cool. Enjoy your time in the US.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Jun 7, 2008 -> 12:20 PM) He's bashed MMA at every oppurtunity and with his hands so brittle and there being way more money in boxing, I would doubt he would retire to go to MMA. Personally, I think Oscar needs another month in training, and he, being the great promoter he is, had the Pretty Boy do this for some promotion. I don't buy it for a second Floyd turning down this payday. Mayweather is partnering with Mark Cuban to promote MMA, not fight in it.

QUOTE (DBAH0 @ Jun 8, 2008 -> 10:23 AM) Biggest fall from grace I have seen. 1 minute everyone is cheering for him, and then when they run into the home straight everyone started booing. Quite hilarious really. He was gone when they started going round the final turn. I did manage to see Shaq as well, and was pretty close to him. Someone asked him who was going to win the finals, he said Boston. Pretty funny. DBAHO, how do you get from Australia to the Belmont Stakes?

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jun 5, 2008 -> 11:28 AM) What about Buster Posey? Sounds like the newest teen pop star or something.... Sounds like a bad porn name to me

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jun 4, 2008 -> 11:41 PM) Rex, just want to say thats an impressive accomplishment you've made and your definately headed in the right direction for your next goal. Keep up the amazing work!!! Thanks Jason. I've lost weight and gained it back several times over the years. It has been a constant battle and quite frankly I had pretty just given up the past few years. It got to the point where good food gave me more comfort than being disciplined. Short term pleasure (food) overrode long term pain (lack of health). I've thought about and talked about trying to lose weight for a long time but never made the commitment. I'm not sure what triggered my current situation, but I do know that The Biggest Loser added fuel to it. I just know that in January, I was approaching 40 and something made me tell myself that enough was enough. This time I have changed my lifestyle and not just done the lastest diet or workout program. I've learned to eat foods that are better for me that I like. I'm a picky eater and I think that was part of my crutch before. I take the time to take food to work and plan what I eat rather than just having somebody pick up fast food and bring it back to me at work. I still cheat at least a meal or two weekly. Some weeks I am better than others, but that's how real life is. I don't beat myself up over it if I eat something I shouldn't, I just recognize it and immediately plan to get back on track. That way one bad meal doesn't turn into 2,3 or 4 in a row. The changes really haven't been all that drastic. It's just about making better choices and really looking forward to cheat meals, rather than giving in to temptation everytime I smell good food or pass a drive-thru. For those that are struggling, my suggestion is simple. Commit to yourself the time to plan what you eat throughout the day a bit better. Snack on nuts, fruits, veggies, etc. Eat often rather than starving yourself. Simple changes like that will make a huge difference.

Had a surprising week all things considered. Ate horribly over the holiday weeked, the worst I have eaten since I started this thing. Have been under the weather since Memorial Day with sinus and chest congestion so I have do zero exercise since last Thursday. Still, I lost two pounds this week to take me to 306. Obviously, I am not going to meet my initial goal of 299 by June 1, but at this point I can be happy with having lost 56 pounds since Jan 5th. I haven't set a definite new set of goals yet, but two I am looking at would be to get to 262 by Sept 26th (cousin's wedding) and possibly running a 5k race in October or November. Still a long way to go, but I think those are realistic #'s. I can honestly say that I never thought when I started that losing 100 pounds by the end of September would possible, but I think it is. So far I have averaged losing 2.95 pounds per week. To get to the century mark, I need to lose 2.58 pounds per week until Sept 26. It can be done!

Lost 4 pounds this week. Was kind of hoping for me. Had a really good week. Looks like I have 9 pounds to lose in 8 days to get to my goal of 299 by June 1. I'm going to bust my arse to get as close as I can, but I won't get down if I miss it. It was a lofty goal and to come this close has me very confident I can keep going.

I was kinda getting used to watching 1 vs 100 and Las Vegas on Friday nights. Sad life, I know......

Diet Dr. Pepper is easily the best diet drink made. Diet Cherry Coke is a solid #2. But these days, I drink 90% water.

Gained a pound this week, which I kinda figured might happen. A wedding certainly did not help, but I also didn't eat as well as I should have this week either. Still have three weeks to meet my initial goal and it will certainly be a challenge. I seem to be having a problem lately of being consistent week to week. I'll have a great week and then take a step back. Need to figure out how to break that pattern. I just know that the constant vigilence is not easy. It's easy to slip up. That's the reason that I have been so consistent about reporting here every week. I am also keeping week to week results in a database, but coming here and reporting in a public forum, even though I haven't met any of you here, helps keeps me accoutable. Thanks to all for the encouragement.