Channels look to weight loss war to beef up ratings

Channel Nine's Excess Baggage is to go gut-to-gut with Ten's The Biggest Loser in a 7pm TV weight loss war. Herald Sun
EXCESS Baggage contestants are more likely to achieve long-term weight loss than those on The Biggest Loser.
Channel Nine’s Baggage is to go gut-to-gut with Ten’s The Biggest Loser in a 7pm TV weight loss war, starting this month.
http://www.escapefromcubiclenation.com/2010/12/24/a-christmas-tale-i-have-never-forgotten/
It was Christmas Eve, 1956.
My Dad was leaving the office of his first job as reporter/photographer/sports editor/weatherman at the Roseville Press-Tribune, driving his 1954 Mercury Sedan to his parent’s farm house for dinner.
It was bitter cold outside.
He had a freshly-cut $25 bonus check in his pocket, a fortune for his $57.50 weekly salary.
He was going 40 or 50 miles an hour down the road just outside of Roseville when he saw a couple huddled by the side of the road, hitchhiking. The woman was clutching a small bundle that he realized when he sped past was a baby.
About a thousand yards after passing them, he pulled off the side of the road, hung a u-turn, and went back to get them.
They climbed in his warm car gratefully, and snuggled against the back seat.
“Where are you going?” my Dad asked.
“To Oregon,” the father said. “They are still picking fruit up there, so we are going to get some work.”
My Dad looked out the windshield at the frigid night, and started the car back down the road.
He pulled in the parking lot of a bowling alley where he knew the owner.
“Stay here for a second, I will be right back,” he said.
He went inside and cashed his bonus check at the bar.
He got back in the car, and drove to the Greyhound station, where he purchased two one-way bus tickets to Portland. The tickets came to just about $25.
With some spare bills in his pocket, he got some food at the snack bar and brought it to the couple.
The mother was overwhelmed with emotion.
He waved goodbye, and drove to his parent’s house with a good feeling in his heart.
“Although that $25 was a lot of money at the time, I didn’t really need it,” he told me years later. “I was on my way home to a warm house and big Christmas Eve dinner.”
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Merry Christmas from my family to yours! May you receive the help you need just when you need it the most, and may you give help at the moment in which it is most needed.
Dr Jan’s Take on Valentines Day
Valentines Day: Helpful or Humbug?
Is Valentines Day a commercial farce or an opportunity to truly celebrate a relationship?
I think Valentines Day is both – – It’s a win/win. Why not let retailers make a commercial success of a good idea to remind folks of the importance of their relationship? But don’t try to live up to or compete with the commercial hype. Plan to have a lovely day – it does not have to be about money – just about thinking how to be loving. Be ready to show that you care .That should be easy – a phone call, a card and flowers are all easy ways of acknowledgement. Let’s focus on the celebration part! Those in a good relationship can celebrate with a bonding experience. Having a special dinner or staying overnight somewhere is a way of saying “you are special and we are special”. Is there a danger in placing too much expectation and emphasis on creating romance on that one day of the year? Of course not! It’s not just about creating romance – it’s about validating each other and the partnership.
Heidi addicted to plastic surgery
Reality star Heidi Montag has admitted to People magazine that, at the ripe old age of 23, she is addicted to plastic surgery. Undergoing 10 procedures in one day, the starlet says the painful journey was in a bid to become “the best me”. NW chats to clinical psychologist Dr Janet Hall about the underlying motives for going under the knife repeatedly.


