David Wells

Today, I was able to walk to my polling location, cast my ballot and walk home in under 12 minutes.  I expected there would be something of a line, since I was voting during the 12:00 hour (when many people cast their ballots on lunch break).  But I walked in and was greeted by three, friendly young volunteers who may as well have been my own personal voting liaisons.  Not a single person was ahead of me. 

The whole process could not have been smoother, unless I had a Segway.

How was your voting experience?  Feel free to blog about it and make sure you check out the voter waiting time poll on our home page.

Some of our bloggers (e.g. tooshortdog, mariposa_xochipilli and richardcheney) have reported issues with the way the blogs are displaying.  Apparently, the footer information is being superimposed over the "Add a comment" input box.

Our blog tech team is aware of the problem and working on a fix.  I'm told this process could take a few days.

We apologize for the problems and appreciate your patience during this setback.

-David Wells

What did you think of the speech? And what are your thoughts on our economy in general? There is also a poll about this on our home page.

A couple of my previous posts have been about food (sushi, falafel).  Perhaps my love of food and the fact that I quit smoking can explain why Wii Fit told me I'm overweight.

Now, I'm trying to make healthier choices when I go out to eat.  I recently tried a veggie burger for the first time, and was pleasantly surprised.  Burger King makes a pretty decent veggie burger, but the best one I've had so far was from Perkins Cafe.

What SLC-area restaurant makes the best veggie burger in your opinion?  What other healthy alternatives to fattening food do you enjoy?  

Okay. I've spent about an hour with Wii Fit so far. Here are my first impressions:

1) I'm overweight (d'oh!). My BMI is 26.53. I need to lose about 22 lbs. to be at my ideal BMI of 22.

2) My balance is way off. Heading soccer balls was quite challenging for me.

3) The Yoga exercises are really cool. I love how they incorporate the Wii Balance Board to measure your center of gravity. On some of these exercises, I reached the rank of "Yoga Instructor" on the first try.

4) How am I supposed to know if I'm doing the pushups correctly if my eyeballs are pointed toward the floor? I know there are audio cues, but I don't yet understand what they mean when I hear them.

5) Based on what I've seen so far, Wii Fit does not deliver the intensity of workouts that I'm getting with Yourself! Fitness (another game console-based fitness program). But, the Wii Balance Board and the "fun factor" of Wii Fit make up for its deficiencies.

6) I'll probably use Wii Fit as a supplement to my current exercise regimen, rather than a replacement. It's also a neat way to keep track of your weight and BMI.

I was watching the season finale of House when I saw a quick promo for a new FOX show called "Fringe." One of the show's executive producers is J.J. Abrams (LOST).

It looks to be my new favorite program, based on what little I've seen. And, it'll have fewer commercials than most 60 minute programs, according to this article. Maybe the science fiction / mythology format of the show will help to fill the void left by The X-Files. Well, the new movie helps to fill that void too.

More Info from FOX.com:

From J.J. Abrams ("Lost"), Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, the team behind "Star Trek," "Mission: Impossible III" and "Alias," comes a new drama that will thrill, terrify and explore the blurring line between science fiction and reality.

When an international flight lands at Boston's Logan Airport and the passengers and crew have all died grisly deaths, FBI Special Agent OLIVIA DUNHAM (newcomer Anna Torv) is called in to investigate. After her partner, Special Agent JOHN SCOTT (Mark Valley, "Boston Legal"), is nearly killed during the investigation, a desperate Olivia searches frantically for someone to help, leading her to DR. WALTER BISHOP (John Noble, "Lord of the Rings: Return of the King"), our generation's Einstein. There's only one catch: he's been institutionalized for the last 20 years, and the only way to question him requires pulling his estranged son PETER (Joshua Jackson, "Dawson's Creek") in to help.

When Olivia's investigation leads her to manipulative corporate executive NINA SHARP (Blair Brown, "Altered States"), our unlikely trio along with fellow FBI Agents PHILLIP BROYLES (Lance Reddick, "The Wire"), CHARLIE FRANCIS (Kirk Acevedo, "Oz") and ASTRID FARNSWORTH (Jasika Nicole, "Law & Order: Criminal Intent") will discover that what happened on Flight 627 is only a small piece of a larger, more shocking truth.

Links:
http://fox.com/programming/shows/new/fringe.htm
Fringe (TV series) Wikipedia Entry

Eagle-eyed Fox 13 viewers who were watching Fox 13 News at Five on Sunday may have noticed a familiar-looking face.

Former Fox 13 reporter John Klemack was in town Saturday to participate in the half marathon. We couldn't let him go back to California without making him say "It's Runge Time!"

Click on the video window below to watch it:

It was good to see you again, John. Even though it was only on TV.

I recently discovered falafel.  And I have to say: I LOVED it.  I tried the falafel wrap at Brewvie's after a friend recommended it.  It was exactly as my friend described: crunchy and delicious.

I seem to recall reading something in one of the newspapers recently about a street vendor that serves falafel, but I don't remember who/where it was.

Do you know of any other Salt Lake City or Bountiful-area establishments that serve falafel?  Whose is the best, in your opinion? Answer quickly, please, because I need to find something good for dinner tonight!

Utah's David Archuleta is well on his way to becoming the next American Idol.  We've set up a special web page, the David Archuleta Tracker, devoted to this amazing young singer.

If you have a moment, please help us get the word out by Digging It too.    Thanks!

I've always wanted to try SCUBA diving.  Do any of you SCUBA dive?  Where can I get certified?  What can I expect to pay for the certification process?  Are there any cool places to SCUBA dive in Utah?  (That may be a silly question. I don't know.) 

I know there's a SCUBA dive shop on 500 South in Bountiful (don't remember the name).  I live in Bountiful, so the location is convenient.

Any advice from people with SCUBA diving experience will be most appreciated.

Some of our users have reported problems watching the news story found at this address:
http://www.myfoxutah.com/myfox/pages/ContentDetail?con
tentId=5769985

So, I'm posting it here.

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Bill Would Allow Unmarried Gay Couples to Legally Adopt
Gay and straight couples who are living together but not married are pushing for passage of a bill that would allow partners to legally adopt in Utah. Bill 318 would allow two unmarried people in a joint living arrangement to become legal parents of the child. Opponents of the bill worry it would diminish marriage and pave the way for gay marriage. Fox 13's Hope Woodside has more.

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If you're reading this, and you have a minute, try clicking this link:

http://www.myfoxutah.com/myfox/pages/ContentDetail?con
tentId=5769985

Does the video load for you? Please leave a comment below and let me know.

I thought Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson were supposed to perform at the half-time show on Sunday.  But I turned on my TV and it was Tom Petty.  What gives?

We want to thank everyone who has blogged and/or e-mailed us about the new graphical changes on FOX 13 News.  We are reading these and taking them seriously.

As Kirk Yuhnke mentioned in the comments section of this blog by sarahp1025, we've had some growing pains with this transition. But there is good news. For those of you watching Good Day Utah and Live at 11, the time and temperature will now be displayed more often.

We appreciate all of your feedback. It is great to know that so many of you depend on FOX 13 News to keep yourselves up to date. Please let us know if there is anything else we can do to improve your TV-viewing and web-surfing experience.

I'm celebrating an important milestone today.  I have now gone five years without smoking cigarettes.  It was hard, very hard, at first.  I used a Nicotrol inhaler for several months after quitting to get my nicotine fix. 

I remember thinking: "What am I going to do on my breaks?  What am I going to do after I eat?  When I get in my car?"  My whole life, it seemed, was different as a non-smoker.

But I learned to deal with it.  I still liked the smell of cigarette smoke for the next year or so.  After that, though, it became revolting to me.  Now, I can hardly stand to be in a bar where smoking is allowed.  I find it very irritating. 

So, if quitting smoking was your New Year's resolution, stick with it.  It's tough to break an addiction like that.  I've read that nicotine addiction is more severe than heroin addiction.   

Get help, if you need it.  There are several aids for smoking cessation.  I'm sure you've heard all about the patches, gum, antidepressants, etc.  I tried most of those without much luck.  But the Nicotrol inhaler was effective, in my case.  The most important thing is getting into a non-smoking mindset.  Your life will certainly be different, but remember you're doing yourself a huge favor.  It's the best thing you could possibly do to improve your health (not to mention your finances.) 

The cycle CAN be broken.  I'm living proof. 

The MyFOX Candidate Matchmaker is online!

Use the link below to see which presidential candidate is most likely to support your political views. You may be surprised with the results!

Click here to watch a MyFOXDetroit story about the Candidate Matchmaker.

Visit election.myfoxutah.com for more political news and campaign coverage.