What's this all about?

OK, so- this is me. I'm 50 years old. Don't think I'm having a mid-life crisis, but some might argue with that. I've been a computer geek since elementary, which makes me one of those "into computers almost before we had them" kind of guys. I both love and hate them. I went to some college, but didn't finish a degree. Went to a technical school for electronics, and finished that (non-degree) program. Never could decide if I liked hardware or software better, so kept working in a little of both. Enjoy science fiction in books, TV, and movies. In other words, I'm a fairly stereotypical computer geek.
   To go with that, I have been overweight since around the sixth grade. I had always been a skinny, weak boy, and I got picked on a lot.  I fought back mostly with words. The adults around me would keep saying, one of these days, if you keep eating your dinner, you are going to grow up to be big and strong. In sixth grade, I got tired of waiting. I started going through the lunch line at school twice each day, so I'd eat more and get bigger, and wouldn't get picked on so much. And I started eating without any connection to whether I was hungry or not.
  Serious history of heart disease in my family- my father and his brother both died from heart attacks in their 40s. Had always been told that I probably would have inherited that "bad heart", so I better take care of it. Nevertheless, I've been quite a bit overweight (classified "obese") for my entire adult life, and it just kept creeping higher. Finally, one day, I stepped on the scale and realized that I was on the threshold of 300 pounds. Somehow, 200-anything was not noticeable to me, but 300 seemed like too much. I'd been thinking for several years that I really needed to do something about that, but this seemed to push me over the edge to actually begin.
   That was in the fall of 2008. I put in a half-hearted effort for a little while, then started in earnest at the beginning of May 2009. Now, in June 2010, I have lost almost 100 pounds, and have made a lot of changes in my day-to-day lifestyle. I'm trying to live a new, healthier life. I'm starting this blog to record that story. I'll post some things about what I did in the last year or so while I've lost all of this weight and become much healthier. I'll also post things about what I'm still doing now, trying to finish the job I started. I hope I can work some things out for myself in the process of telling this story.I also hope that I can tell some others about the things I've learned along the way- and point you to resources that might help you if you are trying to do something similar.
   I'm definitely not an expert, so keep that in mind. I'm just offering up the information and opinions that I have gained through my own personal experience. Please don't take anything I say as expert advice- research it yourself, check with your own hired experts (doctors, etc.) and decide for yourself what's right for you.
   And the name? The people at work, commenting on the drastic change in my shape, have given me that nickname- "Beard on a stick". Seemed appropriate for the blog, so here we go. More when I have a chance.