Disparate
means different or distinct in quality or kind; disparate
attractions as grand opera and game fishing.
Desperate means arising from or marked by despair or loss
of hope. It also means showing extreme courage; a
desperate cry for help or a desperate criminal.
Dec 11, 2015
Increase Sperm Count
Researchers at the universities of
Manchester and Sheffield found that smoking cannabis can have a
severe effect on male fertility, yet other lifestyle choices such
as drinking alcohol and wearing tight briefs were not considered
to cause problems, despite earlier reports suggesting otherwise.
Sperm quality has been in decline for decades, and scientists are unsure as to the exact causes. Last month a report published by Ohio’s Cleveland Clinic, following analysis of 12 studies conducted by different groups around the world, found that consumption of lycopene improved the quality, mobility, and volume of sperm dramatically, increasing sperm count by up to 70 per cent. Lycopene is an essential nutrient found commonly in red fruit and vegetables such as tomatoes, strawberries, cherries, and peppers.
A 2009 Spanish study by the Andalusian Center of Sports Medicine and the University of Las Palmas found that a prolonged spell on your bike can severely affect the shape and quality of sperm. After monitoring 15 Spanish triathletes with an average age of 33 the study found that "those that systematically cycled 300 kilometers a week, had a fertility problem."
In 2003, researchers from Sao Paolo University in Brazil studied 750 men and concluded that drinking coffee can improve the swimming speed of human sperm, although whether this means pregnancy rates are higher among coffee drinkers is unclear.
In 2012, a research team at the University of California published the results of a study which showed that men who consumed 75g of walnuts each day experienced a marked improvement in sperm vitality, motility and morphology.
Their conclusion was that there is a direct link between an increase in the consumption of polyunsaturated fatty acids (which exist at high levels in nuts) and an improvement in sperm quality among healthy men eating a western diet.
Like walnuts, almonds are rich with arginine, an amino acid that has been shown to increase sperm production. Peanuts contain high levels of zinc, which is also associated with an increase in sperm count and motility.
Sperm quality has been in decline for decades, and scientists are unsure as to the exact causes. Last month a report published by Ohio’s Cleveland Clinic, following analysis of 12 studies conducted by different groups around the world, found that consumption of lycopene improved the quality, mobility, and volume of sperm dramatically, increasing sperm count by up to 70 per cent. Lycopene is an essential nutrient found commonly in red fruit and vegetables such as tomatoes, strawberries, cherries, and peppers.
A 2009 Spanish study by the Andalusian Center of Sports Medicine and the University of Las Palmas found that a prolonged spell on your bike can severely affect the shape and quality of sperm. After monitoring 15 Spanish triathletes with an average age of 33 the study found that "those that systematically cycled 300 kilometers a week, had a fertility problem."
In 2003, researchers from Sao Paolo University in Brazil studied 750 men and concluded that drinking coffee can improve the swimming speed of human sperm, although whether this means pregnancy rates are higher among coffee drinkers is unclear.
In 2012, a research team at the University of California published the results of a study which showed that men who consumed 75g of walnuts each day experienced a marked improvement in sperm vitality, motility and morphology.
Their conclusion was that there is a direct link between an increase in the consumption of polyunsaturated fatty acids (which exist at high levels in nuts) and an improvement in sperm quality among healthy men eating a western diet.
Like walnuts, almonds are rich with arginine, an amino acid that has been shown to increase sperm production. Peanuts contain high levels of zinc, which is also associated with an increase in sperm count and motility.
Another Yosemite Sam
Somewhere in the New Mexico desert, possibly on the Laguna
Indian Reservation outside of Albuquerque, there is a radio
transmitter first noticed in 2004, that occasionally sends a
mysterious burst of transmissions. These transmissions, called
the Yosemite Sam transmission do not appear to make sense.
Spynumbers has a great post that says beginning in December 2004, the FCC began getting reports of the Yosemite Sam transmission, which begins as an 800 millisecond data burst, similar to the sound a Blu-Ray player might make when it makes some horrible error. That is immediately followed by a clip of an arch nemesis of Bugs Bunny’s, Yosemite Sam, announcing, “Varmint, I’m gonna blow you to smithereens!”
Radio geeks/conspiracy trackers/curious people pinned down the phrase from the 1949 Bugs Bunny cartoon, “Bunker Hill.” Why it is attached to a burst of compressed information, often used by intelligence community is mysterious. That it is transmitted in on four frequencies - 3700, 4300, 6500, and 10,500 kHz - for a full two minutes without any missed time mark tends to make it even more mysterious.
These are the numbers stations - radio stations on shortwave that broadcast some sort of repetitive noise followed by strings of numbers. Amateur tech geeks first identified the stations after World War II. No one is sure what their purpose is.
Spynumbers has a great post that says beginning in December 2004, the FCC began getting reports of the Yosemite Sam transmission, which begins as an 800 millisecond data burst, similar to the sound a Blu-Ray player might make when it makes some horrible error. That is immediately followed by a clip of an arch nemesis of Bugs Bunny’s, Yosemite Sam, announcing, “Varmint, I’m gonna blow you to smithereens!”
Radio geeks/conspiracy trackers/curious people pinned down the phrase from the 1949 Bugs Bunny cartoon, “Bunker Hill.” Why it is attached to a burst of compressed information, often used by intelligence community is mysterious. That it is transmitted in on four frequencies - 3700, 4300, 6500, and 10,500 kHz - for a full two minutes without any missed time mark tends to make it even more mysterious.
These are the numbers stations - radio stations on shortwave that broadcast some sort of repetitive noise followed by strings of numbers. Amateur tech geeks first identified the stations after World War II. No one is sure what their purpose is.
Lawyers and Law School
Well-known American lawyers who did not
go to law school or who did not finish
Patrick Henry (1736-1799) governor of Virginia
John Jay (1745-1829) first chief justice of the Supreme Court
John Marshall (1755-1835) chief justice of the Supreme Court
Daniel Webster (1782-1852) secretary of State
Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) president, did not go
Stephen A. Douglas (1813-1861) representative, senator from Illinois
Clarence Darrow (1857-1938) defense attorney in Scopes trial of 1925, dropped out
Benjamin N. Cardozo (1870-1938) justice of the Supreme Court
Strom Thurmond (1902- ) US senator, governor of South Carolina
John Adams
Thomas Jefferson.
Patrick Henry (1736-1799) governor of Virginia
John Jay (1745-1829) first chief justice of the Supreme Court
John Marshall (1755-1835) chief justice of the Supreme Court
Daniel Webster (1782-1852) secretary of State
Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) president, did not go
Stephen A. Douglas (1813-1861) representative, senator from Illinois
Clarence Darrow (1857-1938) defense attorney in Scopes trial of 1925, dropped out
Benjamin N. Cardozo (1870-1938) justice of the Supreme Court
Strom Thurmond (1902- ) US senator, governor of South Carolina
John Adams
Thomas Jefferson.
Dec 4, 2015
Happy Friday
"If one were to build the house of happiness, the largest space
would be the waiting room." -Jules Renard
I never wait to be happy, especially on a Happy Friday!
I never wait to be happy, especially on a Happy Friday!
Christmas Books
If you were thinking of picking up a few books for Christmas
presents, Bacon Orgazmia and Amazing Facts II - Tons of Trivia now
have "look inside" on Amazon, which offers a free peek inside to
see what you are getting before you buy. To see some of the other
books, just type shubnell in the search box and my Amazon author
page comes up. PS - if you do read any of the books, please leave
a review. I appreciate it.
Bacon Orgazmia LINK
Amazing Facts LINK
Bacon Orgazmia LINK
Amazing Facts LINK
Happy National Cookie Day today, December 4, 2015
The English word
"cookie" is derived from the Dutch word "koekje," which means
little cake.
Dutch bakers used to test oven temperatures with small
amounts of batter so that they would not waste the entire cake
mix if the temperature was not right. Soon, they discovered these
tiny pieces of cooked batter were actually quite tasty.
Happy Hanukkah
Hanukkah 2015 begins at sunset on Sunday, December 6, and
ends on Monday, December 14.
Hanukkah is the Festival of Lights. It commemorates the victory of the ancient Israelites over the Syrian Greek army, and the subsequent miracle of restoring the menorah in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. The miracle of Hanukkah is that only one vial of oil was found with just enough oil for one day, and yet it lasted for eight full days.
Some celebrate Hanukkah at home by lighting the menorah (candelabrum with nine branches) each night, light one additional candle to the number from the previous night, playing dreidel (spinning top), and eating special foods unique to Hanukkah. Some people also sing Hanukkah songs or exchange gifts after lighting the menorah.
Many Hanukkah foods are deep-fried in oil, symbolizing the oil from the menorah used in the Temple. These include latkes, or potato pancakes, and jelly doughnuts. Many also make the Sephardic delicacy bimuelos (deep fried dough balls) and use applesauce as a topping. If anything is deep fried, it must be good .
Hanukkah is the Festival of Lights. It commemorates the victory of the ancient Israelites over the Syrian Greek army, and the subsequent miracle of restoring the menorah in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. The miracle of Hanukkah is that only one vial of oil was found with just enough oil for one day, and yet it lasted for eight full days.
Some celebrate Hanukkah at home by lighting the menorah (candelabrum with nine branches) each night, light one additional candle to the number from the previous night, playing dreidel (spinning top), and eating special foods unique to Hanukkah. Some people also sing Hanukkah songs or exchange gifts after lighting the menorah.
Many Hanukkah foods are deep-fried in oil, symbolizing the oil from the menorah used in the Temple. These include latkes, or potato pancakes, and jelly doughnuts. Many also make the Sephardic delicacy bimuelos (deep fried dough balls) and use applesauce as a topping. If anything is deep fried, it must be good .
Did You Know
December is the month with
the shortest daylight hours of the year in the Northern
Hemisphere and the longest daylight hours of the year in the
Southern Hemisphere. December starts on the same day of the
week as September.
Apple Brandy vs. Calvados
Fall is the time when apple harvesting is at its
peak. Along with
that comes fresh apple cider (and usually fresh warm
doughnuts). Apple cider is a drink made from
crushed apples, and sometimes fermented (hard cider).
Brandy is distilled from fruit, but if it is made from anything other than grapes, it is specified so, like apple brandy. US guidelines say this drink must be made from at least twenty percent apple brandy that has been stored in oak for no less than two years. To create a lighter profile, apple brandy is blended with a neutral spirit.
Like tequila and champagne, the French have Calvados, a legally protected appellation, which means that it must come from a specific geographic location, this is the Lower Normandy region of France. It also must be aged in oak casks for at least two years. Calvados tends to taste 'oakier' and slightly less apple than its American counterpart.
Brandy is distilled from fruit, but if it is made from anything other than grapes, it is specified so, like apple brandy. US guidelines say this drink must be made from at least twenty percent apple brandy that has been stored in oak for no less than two years. To create a lighter profile, apple brandy is blended with a neutral spirit.
Like tequila and champagne, the French have Calvados, a legally protected appellation, which means that it must come from a specific geographic location, this is the Lower Normandy region of France. It also must be aged in oak casks for at least two years. Calvados tends to taste 'oakier' and slightly less apple than its American counterpart.
Dust to Dust
Several companies
offer environmentally friendly coffins. Some are biodegradable and
made from recycled paper or bamboo. I wonder what kind of
sinkholes this might cause when the practice becomes widespread.
Grocery Store Tricks
If meat is packaged under the watch
of federal inspectors, supermarkets cannot change the date on the
package, but if retailers butchered and packaged the meat
themselves, they can change the label any time they choose. In
fact, 30 states do not regulate the expiration dates for most
items.
Some stores use special lighting to make bananas look more appealing. They filter an ambient light to highlight the bananas so they appear more yellow. Water sprayed on produce makes veggies look fresh, but keeping them wet actually makes them rot faster. It also makes produce heavier and therefore pricier.
Some stores use special lighting to make bananas look more appealing. They filter an ambient light to highlight the bananas so they appear more yellow. Water sprayed on produce makes veggies look fresh, but keeping them wet actually makes them rot faster. It also makes produce heavier and therefore pricier.
Salty Fact
Morton Salt is the US leader in salt sales.
Initially, salt was sold in bags, then boxes. There was a problem
with the salt clumping, because of moisture. Morton discovered
that adding magnesium carbonate to absorb moisture solved that
problem, but, salt tended to get stuck in the corner of boxes, so
the company came up with a round container. It costs more and that
cost gets passed on to the consumer. All other salt companies have
copied the round shape to sell salt. Morton sells salt in bulk, in
other kinds of containers to institutions.
Egg Terms
There are many terms grocers use to sell us
eggs and many of them do not mean much. The one that most strikes
me is 'vegetarian diet'. Since chickens are omnivores, feeding
them a vegetarian diet is unnatural.
- Farm fresh: Means nothing and is only used to make the eggs sound more appealing.
- No hormones: Means nothing and is completely misleading, because it is illegal to give poultry hormones.
- Free-range: Means the hens are cage-free, but only have "access to the outdoors." Usually a small screened off patio or enclosure.
- Pasture raised: Pasture-raised birds spend most of their life outdoors, with a fair amount of space, plus access to a barn. Many are able to eat a diet of worms, insects, and grass, etc.
- Cage Free: The hens do not live in cages. They usually live in aviaries: massive industrial barns that house thousands of birds. Each bird has, on average, 1 square foot of space.
- All Natural: This phrase has no real meaning, because [conventional chickens] are raised in the least natural conditions.
- No Antibiotics: Antibiotics are rarely used in the egg industry. However, chickens raised for their meat do commonly get antibiotics to fend off disease and increase animal growth.
- Vegetarian Diet: Chickens are not vegetarian. They are omnivores and in the wild, get most of their protein from worms, grasshoppers and other insects. Hens that are fed a "vegetarian diet" are probably eating corn fortified with amino acids.
- Omega-3: Hens are likely given a bit of flaxseed mixed in with their corn feed. This could possibly lead to higher levels of omega-3 in their eggs.
- Organic: This means something more specific, and egg producers who use it are subject to USDA regulation. Organic eggs must come from hens that are free-range, fed organic feed (no synthetic pesticides), and receive no hormones or antibiotics (most do not get these anyway).
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