Bum Rush the Charts is a grassroots effort by bloggers and podcasters to demonstrate the power of independent media by sending one track by an independent artist to the top of the iTunes Music list for a single day (or longer, if possible).

The bum rush begins March 22 at midnight as everyone involved with the effort buys the track "Mine Again" by the band Black Lab. If you buy the track via an iTunes affiliate link on the Bum Rush web site, the organizers will get a cut of the funds, which they're then putting into a college scholarship.

SpaceWesterns.com is a soon-to-be launched online magazine for "space westerns, science fiction westerns, and western science fiction." Watch a few episodes of Firefly and you'll get an idea of the kind of universe they're planning on exploring.

The site is revving up for its formal debut, and is the process of soliciting submissions. Editor (and long-time friend) N.E. Lilly reports:

"We’re currently collecting stories, artwork, and other content for an April 1st launch. Join our announcement list to get an e-mail reminder for when we launch, and, if you’re interested in providing fiction in any from of media then visit the submission guidelines page for information on current rates and guidelines."

After two weeks of being sick and not wanting to eat anything (strep throat has that effect on me) I've managed to reach a new low of 203 lbs. I'm finally feeling better thanks to the amoxicillin and getting my appetite back, so we'll see if it stays off.

I went to the gym for the first time in two weeks, which just proved I'm not 100% yet because I only rode the stationary bike for 20 minutes instead of my regular 30. This week isn't going to be a great one for the gym, but I'm hoping to get there at least twice more ... actually crossing over into sub-200 land is great incentive.