Weird Los Angeles: The Goatsucker!

Source: http://laist.com





Something strange is decreasing the abundant and once bold populations of coyote's in Southern California, and it's not from this planet!

On February 18th 1996 two men travelling on the 101 West Freeway encountered a peculiar 'animal' which was running alongside the vehicle. The weird beast caused such a distraction that the driver veered the motor into a ditch, causing other drivers to stop as they passed. Suddenly, all witnesses involved, saw two odd, goat-like yet bipedal figures walk towards an eerie glowing orb in a nearby field. The creatures were grey in colour, appearing scaly on their backs, but their spine was noticeable as a line of spikes, and their tear-drop shaped eyes were bright red.

Seventy-five miles northeast of Los Angeles lies Hesperia, San Bernadino County. Locals have noticed a distinct drop in local wildlife and one family has had several incidents involving a strange creature which they believe is the cause. It began a few years ago. Always after dark, setting the pet pigs into a frenzy and dogs barking. A dark, smokey grey creature around four-feet tall with large oval eyes, two-short arms and three claws on each hand. The creature has porcupine-like quills on its back, invades back gardens and yards and feasts on local pets and fauna. Carcasses are left almost untouched except for a hole where the blood and innards are drained.

To many, the creature resembles the 'goatsucker' which has been terrorising several U.S. states often relative to Latin-America for more than a decade. They say it is a relative of 'el chupacabras', the same vampire which is said to haunt Puerto Rico and Mexico. It often levitates, striking prey with a straw-like tongue which exsanguinates the corpse of its victim. Other theories suggest that such a nightmare critter is merely a coyote with mange, whilst some paranormal researchers believe such a vampire to be either the product of a covert government experiment, or an extraterrestrial, hence the continued sightings of unidentified flying objects, which apparently, have dropped these apparitions off.

During 1958 at Riverside, a Charles Wetzel was allegedly attacked in his vehicle by a reptilian humanoid whilst driving along the Santa Ana River. And that's where the next episode will lead us...

Manure might be key to kicking cancer

Source: http://fairfield.yourguide.com.au

Farmers can breathe easy after scientists discovered that working with manure can drastically reduce chances of developing lung cancer.

New Scientist magazine reported dairy farmers were five times less likely than the general population to develop the disease.

It found farmers typically breathed in dust that consisted largely of dried manure, and all the bacteria that grew in it.

"As strange as it sounds, epidemiologists are starting to uncover unexpected links between our exposure to dirt and germs, and our risk of cancer later in life."

New Scientist said adults who had a greater exposure to germs than usual might build up a better resistance to bugs, including cancer.

"Some researchers are starting to wonder whether the higher incidence of certain cancers in affluent populations - including breast cancer, lymphoma and melanoma - might also have something to do with sanitised, infection-free living," it said.

"If they're right, the implications are huge. If we can understand exactly what it is about some germs that has a protective effect, we should be able to reduce people's risk of developing certain tumours later in life by exposing them to harmless microbes."

But Mike Berridge of the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research in Wellington said the report might not be very relevant to farmers here.

"I've been aware of some studies on asthma and farm workers but this one is a bit out of the blue. I'd be very surprised if it is the case," he told The New Zealand Herald newspaper.

"It's very different overseas because they keep animals in barns and out of the weather and they don't have outdoor farming. I suspect something like that would be more relevant to European farm workers than New Zealand farm workers."

Virus Threatened to Kill File-Sharers, Creator Arrested for Copyright Infringement

Written by enigmax on January 24, 2008

The author of a bizarre virus which threatened to kill file-sharers has been arrested in Japan. Has he been arrested for making death threats? No! For writing the virus? No! This is the 21st century. He’s been arrested for copyright infringement, of course.
Source: http://torrentfreak.com

Early March 2007, we reported about a bizarre virus circulating on the Winny network. It was quite unique, in that it taunted file-sharers, threatened to report them to the police and even threatened to kill them.

“This is a visit from the prevalent Piro virus! Stop P2P! If you don’t I’ll tell the police!” it exclaimed, while another message threatened: “Ah, I see you are using P2P again……if you don’t stop within 0.5 seconds, I’m going to kill you!”

Graham Cluley, a consultant for Sophos said of the virus: “This is one of the most bizarre pieces of malware we have seen in our labs for quite some time, but it’s data-destroying payload is no laughing matter.”

Now, the Japanese police say that they have apprehended the three man gang responsible for the creation and distribution of the virus. One man wrote the code, they say, and the others placed it on file-sharing network, Winny.

However, due to Japanese law, it’s going to be tricky for the police to nail someone for creating the malware. They have a trick up their sleeve though, explains Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos: “It isn’t illegal to write viruses in Japan, so the author of the Trojan horse has been arrested for breaching copyright because he used cartoon graphics without permission in his malware.”

The virus creator is a a 24 year old graduate student from Izumisano City in Osaka. It’s claimed he illegally used copyrighted images from an anime television show to create the virus.

The other two members of the group - a 39 year old man from Osaka and a 35 year old man from Hyogo - were also arrested for copyright offenses, unrelated to the virus. The men are suspected of uploading anime episodes onto the Winny network.

One of the images from the virus includes a song about fish-shaped pancakes stuffed with jam, which makes about as much sense as arresting a virus creator for copyright infringement. But hey, this is the 21st century - what did you expect?

F-16s Were in Area Where UFO Reported

Well this article just proves the military is trying to cover up something here! They have back tracked on their earlier statement! How interesting!

F-16s Were in Area Where UFO Reported

By ANGELA K. BROWN – 1 hour ago
Source: Associated Press (http://ap.google.com/article)

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Fighter jets were training nearby the night dozens of Stephenville-area residents reported seeing a UFO this month, Air Force Reserve officials said Wednesday, backtracking on earlier statements.

The announcement did little to satisfy residents of Texas dairy country who swear that what they saw in the sky Jan. 8 was no airplane. Some said it even bolstered their claims, because several people reported seeing at least two fighter jets chasing an object.

"This supports our story that there was UFO activity in that area," said Kenneth Cherry, the Texas director of the Mutual UFO Network, which took more than 50 reports from locals at a meeting last weekend. "I find it curious that it took them two weeks to 'fess up. I think they're feeling the heat from the publicity."

Officials at the Joint Reserve Base Naval Air Station in Fort Worth initially said none of their planes had been in the area, but on Wednesday they said 10 F-16s were there that day. The officials said they were mistaken and wanted to set the record straight "in the interest of public awareness."

Maj. Karl Lewis, a spokesman for the 301st Fighter Wing at the base, declined to comment on the nature of the military training or say whether it took place on other days.

Lewis had said earlier this month that residents might have seen an illusion caused by two commercial airplanes and reflections from the setting sun. On Wednesday, he said he should not have speculated about the reported sightings.

From well-respected business owners to a county constable, several dozen people say they saw a flying object that was larger, quieter, faster and lower to the ground than an airplane. They also said its lights changed configuration, unlike those of a plane.

"I guarantee that what we saw was not a civilian aircraft," Steve Allen, a pilot and freight company owner, said Wednesday.

The planes' training area in the Brownwood Military Operating Area includes Stephenville's Erath County, but Allen said it does not include the airspace where he saw the object. Also, Jan. 8 was not the only day sightings were reported.

Anne Frazor, who owns a fabric store in Stephenville, about 70 miles southwest of Fort Worth, said many in town have seen military aircraft zoom overhead from time to time as part of training operations. But she said that wasn't what she saw Jan. 8.

"I couldn't begin to say what it was, but to me it wasn't planes," Frazor said.

Since the reported sightings two weeks ago, the 17,000-resident city is having fun with the international publicity. Some high-schoolers made T-shirts depicting a flying saucer beaming up a cow with the messages: "Stephenville: the new Roswell" and "They're here for the milk!" Several stores put new messages on their marquees, including "Aliens welcome."

This week Tarleton State University is even hosting a lecture by a UFO researcher on the U.S. government's secret response to UFOs, based on previously classified documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.

The U.S. Air Force says it has not investigated UFO sightings since 1969 when it ended Project Blue Book, which examined more than 12,600 reported UFO sightings — including 700 that were never explained. That program started a few months after the 1947 crash near Roswell, N.M., of an aircraft the government said was a top-secret weather balloon but others have claimed was an alien spacecraft.

"What we want is the government to admit there are UFOs and what they know about them," Cherry said.

Castro's future to be determined in Cuba election

Castro's future to be determined in Cuba election

Updated Sun. Jan. 20 2008 4:39 PM ET

Source: CTV.ca News

The result of Sunday's vote in Cuba will be the first step in determining Fidel Castro's future influence over the country.

Castro has not been seen in public for nearly 18 months and has said that he is too sick to campaign. He ceded power to his younger brother in 2006, following emergency intestinal surgery.

The 81-year-old is however standing for re-election in parliamentary polls.

More than eight million voters are being asked to back Castro in the election for Cuba's legislature, the National Assembly. A 90 per cent turnout is expected.

Castro bowed out of campaigning on Wednesday saying in an essay published in state-run media that he was not healthy enough to speak to the masses.

"I am not physically able to speak directly to the citizens of the municipality where I was nominated for our elections," he wrote.

In recent columns, Castro has said that he does not intend to cling to power.

Voting started on Sunday at 6:00 a.m. A council will be elected amongst the assembly in February, which will then elect a president. It is then that Castro's official status will be determined.

In an interview with CTV Newsnet, Ken Frankel, director of the Canadian Foundation for the Americas said that the result of the council vote may not be relevant to Castro.

"Whether or not he's elected president at the end of February, which is somewhat doubtful, is somewhat academic at this point because when he handed over the power to his brother Raul in July a year and a half ago, the transition had begun," he said.

"It looks like he's being phased out, or certainly his influence is a little bit waning," Frankel said.

Although he no longer runs the day-to-day government, Castro still heads Cuba's governing body. His re-election to parliament is necessary to retain that position.

Ricardo Alarcon, the National Assembly speaker, is one of Castro's expected successors should the president step down and his brother not be interested in the position.

Alarcon was the country's ambassador to the U.S. for 10 years and has expressed interest in being president.

People at the polling station started clapping when Alarcon arrived to vote on Sunday morning.

CTV's Lisa LaFlamme reported from Havana that the voting, which is all done in neighbourhoods, is not typical of most Latin American countries.

Laflamme told Newsnet that "if this were a referendum on (Castro's) popularity, he's got a lock on it."

Democracy questioned

Any citizen is allowed to run in parliamentary elections but Cuba's one-party policy has long been chided for falling short of the democratic process.

While candidates aren't required to be a member of the party, it's unlikely anyone but a card-carrying comrade of the Partido Comunista de Cuba would assume a leadership role.

Democracy in Cuba generally occurs from the grassroots up, as demonstrated in Cuba's Candidates' Commission's latest numbers.

According to Amarelis Perez, a spokesperson with the candidates' commission, 28 per cent of candidates running in the socialist republic are "workers or peasants" and 43 per cent are women. Only 37 per cent of those running for one of the 614 seats in parliament are incumbents.

Officials expect a high voter turnout on Sunday, estimating at least 90 per cent of Cuba's eligible voters will line up at the polls.

"Every revolutionary has an obligation to vote," Oramis Mirabal, a 26-year-old in Old Havana told The Associated Press, adding that he felt "very represented" by Cuban legislators.

However, many Cubans quietly complain about the country's electoral system.

Oscar Espinosa Chepe, a dissident who was sentenced to 20 years in prison during a crackdown in 2003, said high voter turnout creates the impression of "false unanimity."

Espinosa Chepe, who was freed on medical parole, called Sunday's candidates "carefully chosen, loyal, star-lovers" who put Communist leaders and the party above all else.

Voters are given a list of candidates and are strongly urged to check a single box supporting every name on the ballot. If voters choose not to support certain candidates over others, they can leave boxes blank while marking others.

Candidates who fail to get 50 per cent of the total votes lose, and a special commission would meet to nominate a replacement. However, National Assembly officials said there has not been a need for a commission since Cuba began electing the National Assembly in 1993.

Even extremely disgruntled voters usually show up at the polls as pro-government neighbourhood-watch committees could choose not to support bids for employment, housing or official approval after the election.

Something 'Definitely' Happening In Stephenville

KXAS-TV
updated 7:59 p.m. ET Jan. 19, 2008

DUBLIN, Texas - North Texans shared their stories of supposed UFO sightings at a meeting called by UFO investigators in Dublin. Dozens of people crowded into Dublin's Rotary Club to talk with the Mutual UFO Network, a group of UFO buffs.

Texas MUFON director Ken Cherry said the group "definitely" knows something is going on in Stephenville.

"In an extremely small number of cases will we get a mass sighting like this," he said.

A woman from Brownwood brought a video of bouncing lights that she shot on Jan. 4.

"You can't see through it," Margie Galvez said. "You can't see in it. It just bounces."

She said she shot the video with an infrared surveillance camera at her farm.

"You can't explain it," she said. "I don't know what it is."

A Dublin man showed video of a strange object in the sky that he shot last summer in Stephenville.

"That's why I'm here," he said. "I want someone to tell me what it is."

Most people didn't have any pictures.

"What I saw was a very large blue light," Cleburne resident Jason Greywolf Leigh said.

Stephenville resident James Huse said he saw big, round objects in the sky.

"I would estimate they were the size of an aircraft," he said.

Glenda Jackson, another Stephenville resident, said she also saw something strange in the sky.

"It looked like two plates upside down, like a saucer," she said. "It was at least as wide as a football field."

The meeting also drew people who just wanted to see what the hoopla was all about.

MUFON members said their work could take a year. Even then, there may be no explanation for the phenomenon, they said.

The investigators said it was way too early to rule anything in or out. But with so many people coming forward, the group said it is convinced people saw something.

Boy stuck in potato machine for two hours

http://www.nzherald.co.nz

A 15-year-old Auckland boy is lucky to be alive after he was dragged into a potato sorting machine up to his hip. It took emergency services two hours to rescue him.

Rielle Koni was one of five "graders" sorting potatoes at 9am yesterday on the back of the machine when his left leg became stuck between two rollers.

His colleagues on the sorter on a farm at Pukekawa, south of Auckland, hit the emergency stop button and tried to prise the rollers apart with a piece of wood until emergency services arrived.

St John Ambulance paramedics gave Rielle morphine and fluids for shock while 20 firefighters from four brigades began taking the machine apart.

Rielle was conscious during the two hours it took them to unscrew the parts.

He was taken to Middlemore Hospital by the Westpac rescue helicopter where he had surgery last night for deep cuts to his leg.

He had upper leg and pelvic injuries but no broken bones.

Rielle waved and said goodbye to his colleagues as he was stretchered away.

Paul Coppock, health and safety co-ordinator for Wilcox, the company contracting the graders to harvest the potatoes, said Rielle was part of a team on a short-term casual contract.

It was too early to confirm how the accident occurred and an inquiry was being held. The company was doing all it could to help the Department of Labour in its investigation. Wilcox took the matter very seriously and would not use the machine until the matter was resolved, he said.

"For the company's sake we don't want this to happen so we'll have to look and see why it happened and, if we can change anything on the machine or anything, the training of staff, we have to do that before we get that machine going again."

His thoughts went out to Rielle.

"We hope that he gets well soon and makes a full recovery. He's been a lucky guy."

Mr Coppock said he was impressed with how well the emergency services worked together.

"It was great to see the services that we've got in New Zealand rally around and get this young chap out of this machine."

Sergeant Shane Drury of Pukekohe said he had taken statements at the scene but the Department of Labour was handling the matter.

"He's a very lucky boy to be alive actually. He's extremely lucky not to have more serious injuries.

"The Fire Service had to unbolt the machine from around him and cut parts of it out. He was right up inside all the works of it."

The Department of Labour said it could be up to six months before the outcome of the investigation would be known.

HOW IT WORKS

* A potato harvester is a machine similar to a large tractor, with a driver and several "graders".

* Potatoes are dug up and sent along a roller table for the graders, who pick out any bad potatoes and dirt and put them into a reject chute.

The Giant Killers take out the Cowboys!

I just watched the game and couldnt believe it myself!!

Manning, Toomer lead Giants over Cowboys
Dallas crumbles in playoffs again; G-Men headed to Green Bay
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com



updated 7:50 p.m. ET Jan. 13, 2008

IRVING, Texas - Tony Romo can go wherever he wants with Jessica Simpson now. Eli Manning and the New York Giants knocked him and the Dallas Cowboys into the offseason Sunday.

Having to wait out long, slow drives by Dallas, Manning made his few chances count, throwing two touchdown passes to Amani Toomer and getting a 1-yard touchdown run from Brandon Jacobs for a 21-17 victory that put New York into the NFC championship game for the first time since the 2000 season.

Cornerback R.W. McQuarters intercepted a pass into the end zone with 9 seconds left, ending the Cowboys’ final drive and marking Romo’s second straight last-minute goof to cost Dallas a playoff game. His flubbed hold of a short field goal in Seattle ended the Cowboys’ season last year.

Manning is heading to his first NFC championship game, at Green Bay next Sunday. Manning had a much better day than his brother, Peyton, whose Indianapolis Colts were stunned by the San Diego Chargers.

Dallas’ failure is huge, much bigger than last season’s flop in Seattle when Romo botched the hold on a go-ahead field goal in the final minutes.

The Cowboys just wasted a 13-3 season, which matched the best in team history. They’re the first No. 1 seed in the NFC to lose in this round since the NFL went to the 12-team playoff format in 1990. They also became the seventh team to lose a playoff game against a team they’d beaten twice in the regular season — joining Dallas’ 1998 club.

Worst of all is the extension of all the skids: Romo now 0-2 in the playoffs, coach Wade Phillips 0-4 and the team 0-for-the-postseason since winning a wild-card game in 1996. The Cowboys have dropped five games since then.

The Cowboys might be headed into a stormy offseason. Team owner Jerry Jones said Thursday he would keep Phillips regardless of what happened in the playoffs. Now that will be tested, especially with highly valued assistant coaches Jason Garrett and Tony Sparano interviewing for jobs elsewhere.

Critics may point to Romo’s trip to Mexico last weekend with his latest celebrity girlfriend as a disruption, but the problems went a lot deeper. There were all kinds of penalties that hurt Dallas drives and helped New York’s, sloppy tackling on defense and special teams, dropped passes and wasted timeouts.

The Giants loved every bit of it.

New York gave up 45 and 31 points in the first two meetings, in part because the defensive front that produced an NFL-best 53 sacks went hard after Romo but missed and wound up allowing big plays. This time, the Giants were content to give up short yardage, and the Cowboys accepted the invitation.

Their first three scoring drives took nine, 20 and 14 plays, burning a total of 23:32 off the clock. Dallas converted eight straight third downs in that stretch, yet came away leading only 17-14 midway through the second quarter.

Toomer turned a short pass into a 52-yard touchdown on the game-opening drive, breaking free from two tackles and running away from everyone else. New York hardly had the ball the rest of the first half, but got it back at its 29 with 47 seconds left and Manning turned it into another touchdown to Toomer, a 4-yarder on a drive helped along by a 15-yard face mask penalty.

Marion Jones's fall from grace

By Sarah Holt
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk

Marion Jones
Jones admitted she used drugs on her way to three golds in Sydney
At the 2000 Olympics sprinter Marion Jones raced into the history books as the first woman to claim five medals in a single Games, three of them gold.

Overnight she became athletics's golden girl, appearing on the cover of Vogue and piling up the cash to become one of the sport's first female millionaires.

Eight years later, Jones is headline news again - sentenced to serve six months in jail for lying to investigators after admitting her golden achievements in Sydney were fuelled by steroid abuse.

After years of vehement denials, Jones, flat broke and stripped of her gold medals, came clean at last and paid the price.

"I have no-one to blame but myself for what I've done," she said after her confession.

"Making the wrong choices and bad decisions can be disastrous."

As a naturally gifted athlete, Jones did not knowingly choose drugs at first. Then drugs seemed to dog her throughout her career.

As five-time Olympic gold medallist Michael Johnson put it, "the people she has surrounded herself with have been involved in some of the largest drug scandals in the sport".

Even back at her California high school in 1992, the 16-year-old Jones missed an out-of-competition drugs test but escaped punishment at a hearing.

Her mother had seen to that by hiring Johnnie Cochrane, who successfully defended OJ Simpson on a murder charge.
After storming to her first global 100m title at the 1997 world championships in Athens, Jones married shot putter CJ Hunter.

Hunter, who first met Jones at the University of North Carolina, then introduced the sprinter to a new coach Trevor Graham.

Graham's technical improvements paid dividends and Jones, now a double world 100m champion, went to the 2000 Olympics on a wave of hype and in peak form.

But just one day after winning her first gold in the 100m final, news surfaced that Hunter, who had already withdrawn from the Games, had tested positive four times for banned steroid nandrolone.

The marriage between the triple Olympic gold medallist and Hunter quickly disintegrated, but Jones carried on working with Graham and new nutritionist Victor Conte.

To supplement her training for the 2001 Worlds, where she won 100m silver and 200m gold, Jones was slipping tablets provided by Conte's Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (Balco) under her tongue.

At first she thought she was taking flaxseed oil but during her District Court confession Jones told the judge, "By November 2003, I realised he was giving me performance-enhancing drugs".

Conte holds up a signed photograph of disgraced sprinter Marion Jones
Victor Conte served four months in jail for supplying steroids to athletes

By then it was too late.

In June of the same year, Graham had blown the lid on Balco when he anonymously sent a syringe of previously undetectable steroid THG to the US Anti-Doping Agency (Usada).

That September, raids on Balco's headquarters in San Francisco linked Jones's name to doping schedules, purchases and blood test results - and clouds of suspicion around the sprinter grew.

But when Jones appeared in front of a federal grand jury investigating Balco for distributing steroids in November, she claimed she had never taken performance-enhancing drugs.

Despite her own resolute position, the federal investigation continued to bring nothing but bad news for Jones.

Her boyfriend Tim Montgomery, the father of her son Monty and at that time the world 100m record holder, was accused of doping violations based on the inquiry.

Montgomery and Jones had already raised eyebrows by training for the 2004 Olympics with Charlie Francis, the coach of Ben Johnson, the Canadian who had been stripped of the 1988 Olympic 100m title after testing positive for steroids.

Jones left Athens with no medals to her name, and just before Christmas 2004, Conte appeared on national television claiming he had watched Jones inject herself with human growth hormone and that he had given her five different performance-enhancing drugs before, during and after the 2000 Olympics.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) immediately launched an investigation into doping claims against Jones based on Conte's revelations.

Suspicion gathered tighter around her, but safe in the knowledge she had never failed a drugs test, she held her head high - and sued Conte for defamation.

By March 2006, Conte was out of prison after serving a four-month sentence for supplying steroids, Graham would soon face charges of lying to federal agents, Montgomery, now estranged from Jones, was serving a two-year ban - and Jones was on the comeback trail.

Tim Montgomery and Marion Jones
Jones's lover Montgomery was banned for steroid abuse in 2005

In her first appearance in 11 months, the 30-year-old ran the 100m in 11.06 seconds in Veracruz in May, won the US championships and stated her greatest desire was to compete at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

In August, Jones's comeback came to a grinding halt when news leaked that for the first time in her career - after more than 160 tests - she had failed a drugs test.

Jones had tested positive for blood-boosting drug EPO at the US trials in June. Jones said she was "shocked," but her luck appeared to have run out.

As it was, a negative "B" sample saw an ecstatic Jones cleared. Life went on; Jones married Barbadian sprinter Obadele Thompson and the couple had their first child in July 2007.

But in October of last year, an emotional Jones pleaded guilty to lying about her steroid use to US investigators, admitting that she had taken steroids ahead of the Sydney Games.

The IOC stripped Jones of her five Olympic medals and erased the American's results dating from September 2000.

In 1984, a nine-year-old Jones had written "I'm going to be an Olympic champion" on her bedroom blackboard.

But for jailed Jones her Olympic dreams, past and present, are well and truly over.

Fat to fitness instructor: Boot camp helps man lose 120 pounds

By Jackie Adams
CNN
Source: http://www.cnn.com

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Two years ago, Tim Lenczowski dreaded walking from the parking lot into his office.
Tim Lenczowski

Tim Lenczowski had heart problems before losing 128 pounds in Operation Boot Camp.

Weighing 335 pounds, Lenczowski suffered constantly from pain in his knees and ankles. Everyday activities such as walking and even traveling on an airplane had become difficult.

At the age of 39, he was diagnosed with a heart condition and hypertension (high blood pressure). He knew it was time to make a change and his doctor agreed.

"It was a chore to get to work. I had to park and then walk," says Lenczowski. "By the time I got to work I was sweating and I would have to time things so I could cool off before I had a meeting."

The extra weight not only took a toll on his physical health, but also was chipping away at his self-esteem. Lenczowski, who worked as a fundraiser for a nonprofit health organization, felt like a hypocrite. Video Watch Tim's incredible weight loss success story »

"People would see me then ... they didn't respect me," remembers Lenczowski. "How could I ask for money to support [the foundation] without practicing what I preached?"

Lenczowski struggled with weight for most of his life. He tried just about "every diet imaginable" and though he lost weight on some, he would always gain it back. A sedentary lifestyle and fast-food diet had caught up with him and as his 40th birthday approached, he'd become fed up and realized he didn't want to live out the next half of his life as a fat person.

Not knowing where to start, Lenczowski started walking because it was low impact. He walked a marathon and though it took him nine hours to complete, Lenczowski says he made some great friends in the process. After the race, the same friends asked him to try kickboxing.

"The thought of going to a gym was intimidating enough, but kickboxing?" Lenczowski recalls. "My friends kept on me until I caved and reluctantly decided to try it."

The first time he went to the class, Lenczowski says he sat in the parking lot for a while trying to muster up enough courage to walk into the gym. But once inside, he says everyone welcomed him. In eight months of kickboxing, fat burning classes and watching his diet -- he'd lost 60 pounds.

Lenczowski says he was ecstatic and his friends began pushing him to take the next step to get in shape -- boot camp.

"They pushed me into boot camp and I loved it," Lenczowski says. "It's the hardest thing I've done."

Lenczowski joined Operation Boot Camp which offers a one month program to increase fitness through exercise and proper diet. With the support of his friends and by pushing and challenging himself each month to move from the back of the class to the front, he started to see results.

"When I went to boot camp, I couldn't run a mile. I set that goal for myself and the instructors helped," Lenczowski says. "I thought, 'If I can run a mile, can I run a half-marathon?' "

Eight months later he had lost a total of 120 pounds. To date, Lenczowski has run five full marathons and 12 half-marathons, accomplishments he would have thought impossible five years ago.

How has his life changed?

Achieving various fitness goals was a tremendous boost to Lenczowski's self-confidence. The physical accomplishments began to have a positive affect on other aspects of his life as he realized he could do anything he set his mind to. Since losing weight, he's become more outgoing, happier, moved closer to a park, changed jobs and become a fitness instructor. He recently bought his own boot camp franchise.

"I encourage people to take that first step. I know it's hard, but you have to find the right program," Lenczowski says.

The dramatic weight loss and healthier lifestyle has also improved Lenczowski's physical health. He's no longer on heart medication and his doctor has greatly reduced his blood pressure medicines.
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Lenczowski says the biggest key to his success was his network of support from friends, doctors and fitness instructors. As he approaches his goal weight, he's set a new goal of passing his experience on to others who want to lose weight.

"I meet new people and they don't look at the old Tim. They look at the person sitting here now -- more confident, funny, loves to give back and that's what I want to be remembered for."

Homeland Security to press ahead with Real ID

January 11, 2008 6:52 AM PST
Homeland Security to press ahead with Real ID
Posted by Anne Broache
Source: http://www.news.com

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Friday plans to take the next step in getting its controversial Real ID plan off the ground, despite opposition from numerous states and privacy groups.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff
(Credit: U.S. Department of Homeland Security)

At a midday press conference in Washington, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff is scheduled to take the wraps off final regulations for the electronic identification card mandate and to make another pitch for the scheme's perceived importance in keeping Americans safe from terrorist threats.

The new rules, which are a few months behind schedule, are supposed to build on a draft version released last March for public comment.

Chertoff himself has been mum on the details ahead of his public appearance Friday. But according to anonymous sources cited by the Associated Press and The Washington Post, the department has made at least one significant change to its earlier plans: pushing back the deadlines by which the new identification cards will be required to board airplanes and enter federal buildings.

Before, Homeland Security had envisioned requiring the IDs to be in place, starting May 11, 2008--and no later than 2013--unless states had applied for an extension.

But under the new rules, Americans won't be expected to present Real ID-compliant identification cards until 2014. Even then, the mandate will apply only to Americans younger than 50 at the time, in an apparent effort to give some disgruntled state motor vehicle departments more time to issue the licenses. The requirements would be broadened to all Americans by 2017.

"We've worked very closely with the states, in terms of developing a plan that I think will be quite inexpensive, reasonable to implement, and produce the results that...are a part of the core recommendation of the 9/11 Commission, which is secure identification when driver's licenses are presented," Chertoff said Thursday, according to a transcript of his remarks, at a meeting of departmental advisers.

Largely because of the price tag, 17 states have already enacted legislation rejecting the Real ID requirements, which Congress passed as part of an emergency spending bill in 2005, and several others were considering such a step, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, one of the most prominent voices against the plan. But according to the AP and the Post, federal officials have somehow devised a way to reduce the expected $14 billion in costs to states to $3.9 billion under the revised rules.

It's unclear how the department plans to assuage security and privacy concerns about the cards, including whether data encoded on their two-dimensional bar codes will be encrypted to guard against misuse. The AP reported that states will have a "menu" of security options from which to choose but will not be required to embed "microchips"--ostensibly a reference to radio frequency identification, or RFID, technology, which, depending on the type, could be read either from a distance or close-up.

Check back with CNET News.com later on Friday for more about the new rules--and, of course, what states and privacy groups have to say about them.
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Politics, Security

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