Smoking Simpsons

A crusty Australian public health specialist Guy Eslick examined instances of smoking in the cartoon show The Simpsons.

He watched 400 episodes and found that smoking was depicted 795 times over the 18-season period, featuring in a negative context 35 percent of the time, neutral 63 percent and positive 2 percent. He determined that the show may promote smoking with its frequent depictions of references to cigarettes.

He concluded that while smoking may be responsible for Krusty the Clown's heart condition and sisters Patty and Selma's raspy voices, the show may actually promote tobacco use by showing it so often. I would like to know who the heck pays these people to watch hundreds of hours of cartoons and come up with these crusty conclusions.

Quotable

Facts are stubborn things, but statistics are more pliable. - Mark Twain

Smithsonian Institute

There are approximately 143,500,000 objects, works of art, and specimens in the Smithsonian. One of them, the Hope Diamond, is 45.52 carats. It glows in the dark after exposure to UV rays and is semiconductive, too.

Quotable

Government is the great fiction through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else.

Father's Day or Mother's Day

This is actually for sale, $29.95. Here is a gift for the person in your family that might have a, uh, problem. Under-Ease are underwear for protection against bad human gas (malodorous flatus) and are made from a soft air-tight polyurethane-coated nylon. To maintain the air-tightness, elastic is sewn into the material around the waist and both legs.

A triangular "exit hole" for the flatus to be expelled is cut from the back of the air-tight underwear, near the bottom. This "exit hole" is covered with a pocket made of ordinary porous fabric sewn over the "exit hole". This unique design forces all expelled gas (flatus) out through the "pocket". Inside the pocket is a high-functioning, replaceable filter. The ad says nothing about sound deadening.Caveat Emptor.

Depression Diagnoses Drop

Depression diagnoses drop after FDA issues drug warnings about the risks of using antidepressant drugs, especially for young people, has resulted in a decline in the number of people newly diagnosed with depression, a study found.

An analysis of data from nearly 100 managed care plans covering more than 55 million patients found the rate of new depression diagnoses among children declined from 5.2 per 1,000 patients in 2004 to 3.5 in 2007. A smaller decline was found among adults. Isn't it amazing how a drug warning causes the disease to drop? Since they can't prescribe this solution - you don't have the problem. Hmmm.

McNugget Martini

Here is an interesting summer treat.

2 McNuggets
1 tub McDonalds Barbeque Sauce
1 large Mcdonalds Chocolate Milkshake
1 bottle Vanilla Vodka

Mix four shots of vanilla vodka in the McDonalds Chocolate Milkshake, followed by two shots directly into your mouth.

Rim each martini glass with McDonalds Barbeque Sauce, and pour milkshake/vodka mixture into the glass. Garnish with a McNugget and swipe along barbeque sauce rimmed glass after the milkshake has been consumed.

Quotable

Curiosity is one of the permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous mind.

Smart Phones?

A new Apple iPhone application called Email 'n' Walk from Phase 2 Media takes a live feed from the phone's camera, which is mounted on the rear of the device, to show the user what's in front of them as they type.

The text of your email appears as white lettering superimposed on top of the video feed - and is more than clear enough to read without blocking the view of the path or road ahead. Let's not let reality get in the way of email, duh!

But Wait. . . There's More

Now I have heard it all. Billy Mays, of OxiClean and other famous late night products is slated to do the commercial for Zune, the portable media device.

Products Billy usually pitches fill voids in the marketplace, but the Microsoft Zune HD is attempting to go up against established competitors, the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch.

Hi folks, Billy Mays here for Friday Thoughts. It slices, it dices, it crawls on its belly like a reptile. . .

Chocolate Lovers

Soccer players and exercise enthusiasts now have another reason to reach for lowfat chocolate milk after a hard workout. A study from James Madison University showed post-exercise consumption of lowfat chocolate milk was found to provide equal or better muscle recovery compared to a high-carbohydrate recovery beverage with the same amount of calories.

After two and four days of intensified training, chocolate milk drinkers had significantly lower levels of creatine kinase - an indicator of muscle damage - compared to when they drank the carbohydrate beverage. The results indicate that lowfat chocolate milk is effective in the recovery and repair of muscles after intense training for these competitive soccer players.

Debunking Photo

The source of this photo remains unknown, but is very probably fake. Although a woman will often see her belly bulge when a baby thrusts out a limb, the abdominal wall is too muscular and thick to allow a footprint to be seen with this clarity. The only way a fetal footprint could be seen in this way would be in the rare case of an ectopic pregnancy, which involves a fetus developing outside the uterus. This condition can be life-threatening for both mother and baby, but this photo does not appear to show an ectopic pregnancy. In addition, the footprint seems disproportionately large for a fetus.

Bush Upside Down Book

An unknown hoaxer horizontally and vertically flipped the image on the back of the book in Bush's hands. In doing so, he made a mistake. The picture on the right-hand side of Bush's book has been vertically flipped in the wrong direction. This original version of the photo was taken in the Summer of 2002 while Bush was visiting George Sanchez Charter School in Houston. It was distributed by the Associated Press.

Bees

Keeping bees in New York City is illegal, so for years beekeepers have keept their hives on roof tops or in community gardens. If a neighbor makes a complaint, the owners must disassemble their hives or face steep fines and exterminator fees. Recently a city council bill was introduced to legalize beekeeping. That will certainly help with the billion dollar budget shortfall the city faces.