My Garbage

Believer Article 
The garbage that my friends and I produce is anything but responsible.  After nearly every weekend my house is littered with disposable cups and cans.  In fact we purchase paper plates to avoid dish duties.  I've always intended to recycle cans but never have, I don't exactly know why.  I typically buy bottled water or a to-go coffee if not both daily.  I think the believer article has changed my opinion, and I am going to try to use coffee mugs and water bottles from home rather than continuing to contribute to the already extensive garbage collection.  As well as starting a recycling bin at home.

Brewing...

I have chosen to write my paper on sustainable brewing.  Why is it important for local brewers to buy local ingredients?  How many breweries and wineries incorporate sustainability into their brewing?  Are there ethical ways of brewing?  Also how Missoula/Montana breweries have used their resources well in terms of ingredients and recycling. 

Atkins Diet

Bud Light Real Men of Genius- Carb Counter

Dr. Robert Atkins calls his low carbohydrate diet the revolution of American dieting.  After his book was published this diet became the in-thing for many Americans who saw an effective weight loss plan that allowed them to eat virtually as much meat and cheese as they wanted.  Leaving exercise in the dust, a new generation of carb counting dieters was born.

Atkins believed that fructose sugars and high carbohydrate meals was the cause of obesity in most people and put the blame on the governments food pyramid and its stress on consuming pasta, rice, and breads.  According to Dr. Atkins by eliminating carbohydrates, your body would get its energy by burning fat and calories.  Though this diet has shown results for the majority of the individuals who have practiced it, my question; is what else is it doing to your body?

Eating red meat and cheese is delicious and all but isn't cholesterol already one of the number one problems in Americans?  This lazy thought that you don't need to exercise as long as you don't eat carbohydrates sounds down right unhealthy to me.  I suppose there is a way to have low cholesterol and low carbohydrates through white meat and vegetables, but I feel that is rare among the Atkins followers.  Obesity is clearly an issue in America and if it’s getting people skinnier I'm for it, but I hope dieters make sure they're educated on what they are consuming and how it will affect their own body.

If you're going to do this diet try eating a grilled chicken salad on romaine lettuce.  Blue cheese dressing is low in carbohydrates and you can add most vegetables into the equation without cheating, but no croutons.  Breakfast is easy; you can cook eggs topped with a fresh vegetable salsa and some form of breakfast meat like sausage or bacon; just make sure you're conscious of the sodium content.  Snack on string cheese or pickles and you're set.  I personally wouldn't recommend this diet but who cares what I say, good luck.

Me and a Good Read

My name is Dylan Dufner but all my friends call me Duff.  I graduated from Sentinel High School in 2008 and went to school afterward for one semester then took a year and a half off, which brings me to now.  My roommates and I usually watch about three movies a night during the school weak, and any one of us could tell you more about an actor/director then you would ever really want to know, we kinda think we're film critics.  I love music, I play guitar, make hip-hop beats, and will listen to just about any genre.  My biggest guilty pleasure is partying, but after the hangover of an eighteen month bender I'm back in school at last.  

I like to read as long as I don't get the tedious vibe of dull literature.  One of my favorite books I have ever read is "The Last Picture Show" by Larry McMurtry. It is a semi auto-biographical novel which always makes for a fun read because the author has the ability to display visuals through experience.  It's about high school grads in an extremely small Texas town and their struggle with the post high school world in a run down farm town.  It has elements of humor but is over all a sort of adventure/romance/drama that will keep you wanting more after you close the book.  It was also made into a movie which I have yet to see, but I strongly encourage you to read the book first.