The thought of terrorists armed with hand-held surface to air missiles has many people justifiably nervous as hell. The Laughing Wolf, who is no stranger to flying and writing about things aeronautic, has some interesting thoughts on the subject of anti-missile defenses, including the undeniable importance of a vigilant and engaged public.

Amidst its budget woes, which are spawning pink slips and closed firehouses, New York City has funded a study to determine just how fat its residents are. Hey, it’s New York. Go figure.

Anyway, the study revealed that 53% of New Yorkers are either overweight or obese, with the Bronx (home of the Yankees) having the most folks classified as obese (24%,). By contrast, Manhattan (home of many high-powered, salad-eating beautiful people) has the lowest rate (13%). In between were Brooklyn (21%), Staten Island (18%), and Queens (16%).

Before you get the idea that more than half the people in New York City walk around looking like Haystacks Calhoun (I wonder how many of you recognize that name?), “overweight” was defined as a body mass index between 25 and 30. If your body mass exceeds 30, welcome to the world of obesity. (Body mass index equals body weight divided by height in inches squared, and then multiplied by 703.)

What that boils down to is this. According to the study criteria, if you are a 5’9” male, and you weigh more than 170 pounds, you are overweight, and if you weigh more than 204 pounds, you are obese.

I’d like to find the shithook who came up with those criteria and smack him up side his farookin’ head with a pepperoni pizza.