Feb 13, 2010
Feb 10, 2010
Religious Customs
Many religious customs were borne from necessity, such as Lent or no meat on Fridays for millions of Catholics. In olden times, there was a shortage of meat, so the church declared Friday as meatless days, that way the poorer populations would not be singled out for not having meat as part of the daily meals and they could offer their hardship as penance (to receive blessings).
Lent was that time of year after winter storage was running low and spring harvest was still months away. Fasting was a way to accept the hardship as an offering to please God, rather than to endure because there was little food available.
Lent was that time of year after winter storage was running low and spring harvest was still months away. Fasting was a way to accept the hardship as an offering to please God, rather than to endure because there was little food available.
Iran Banknotes
The picture shows, "Don’t believe what a government says if that government is the only entity that has the right of expression."
Since Iranians can't display opposition publicly, they are writing on the money. Their government tried to have the bills all confiscated, but there were too many of them.
What a novel idea to get the word out. Maybe we should do our own "vote non-incumbent' on our bills this year.
Since Iranians can't display opposition publicly, they are writing on the money. Their government tried to have the bills all confiscated, but there were too many of them.
What a novel idea to get the word out. Maybe we should do our own "vote non-incumbent' on our bills this year.
Pull Out all the Stops
Means to make every possible effort. The popular belief is that this phrase derives from the manner of construction of pipe organs. These instruments have stops to control the air flow through the pipes and pulling them out increases the musical volume.
Prior to the introduction of pipe organs the word 'stop' had, in a musical context, been used to mean 'note' or 'key'. That usage is recorded as early as the late 16th century. The word 'stop' later came to be used for the knobs that control the flow of air in pipe organs, by pushing them in or pulling them out.
Prior to the introduction of pipe organs the word 'stop' had, in a musical context, been used to mean 'note' or 'key'. That usage is recorded as early as the late 16th century. The word 'stop' later came to be used for the knobs that control the flow of air in pipe organs, by pushing them in or pulling them out.
Healthy Patch
Japanese venture firm WIN Human Recorder Ltd is set to bring a health monitor patch to market that is capable of keeping tabs on all your vitals. The HRS-I is a small (30mm x 30mm x 5mm) lightweight (7g) device that adheres to your chest and relays the data it collects to a computer or mobile phone via wireless connection.
While the HRS-I only directly monitors electrocardiograph information, body surface temperature, and movement (via accelerometers), it can connect to sensors for heart rate, brain waves, respiration and many other important health indicators.
WIN is selling the HRS-I for around $330 and providing monitoring software for around $110. It moves from clinical trial to market in the next year or so.
While the HRS-I only directly monitors electrocardiograph information, body surface temperature, and movement (via accelerometers), it can connect to sensors for heart rate, brain waves, respiration and many other important health indicators.
WIN is selling the HRS-I for around $330 and providing monitoring software for around $110. It moves from clinical trial to market in the next year or so.
Overweight is Good For You
Moderately overweight elderly people may live longer than those of normal weight, an Australian study suggests, but being very overweight or being underweight shortened lives.
The study of 9,200 over-70s found that regardless of weight, sedentary lifestyles shortened lives, particularly for women. The report, published in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society, said dieting may not be beneficial in this age group.
The team tracked the number of deaths over 10 years among volunteers who were aged 70 - 75 at the start of the study. It found that those with a BMI which classed them as overweight not only had the lowest overall risk of dying, they also had the lowest risk of dying from specific diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, and chronic respiratory disease.
Overall death rate among the obese group was similar to that among those of normal weight, but those who were very obese had a greater risk of dying during the 10 year period.
The conclusion of this study is that being overweight may be less harmful for elderly people and it corroborates the findings of previous research.
However, sedentary lifestyles shortened lives across all weight groups, doubling the risk of mortality for women over the period studied, and increasing it by 25% for men. I think I need to go fix a bacon, bacon, bacon and cheese sandwich with potato chips on the side.
The study of 9,200 over-70s found that regardless of weight, sedentary lifestyles shortened lives, particularly for women. The report, published in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society, said dieting may not be beneficial in this age group.
The team tracked the number of deaths over 10 years among volunteers who were aged 70 - 75 at the start of the study. It found that those with a BMI which classed them as overweight not only had the lowest overall risk of dying, they also had the lowest risk of dying from specific diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, and chronic respiratory disease.
Overall death rate among the obese group was similar to that among those of normal weight, but those who were very obese had a greater risk of dying during the 10 year period.
The conclusion of this study is that being overweight may be less harmful for elderly people and it corroborates the findings of previous research.
However, sedentary lifestyles shortened lives across all weight groups, doubling the risk of mortality for women over the period studied, and increasing it by 25% for men. I think I need to go fix a bacon, bacon, bacon and cheese sandwich with potato chips on the side.
Health and Wealth
Whether you think health or wealth is more important depends upon which one you have lost.
Popeye's Chicken
Did you know the name came from Popeye Doyle, from The French Connection, not Popeye the Sailor Man. Now you do.
Google Buzz
This week Google announced Buzz. It is the Google answer to Facebook and it is incorporated right in Gmail. If you have a Gmail (free) email address check it out by clicking on Buzz on the left side of the page. Very easy to add comments, pics, videos, etc. Easier than Facebook. I'm buzzed about this.
Feb 5, 2010
Rainbows
A rainbow is not the flat two-dimensional arc it appears to be. It appears flat for the same reason a spherical burst of fireworks high in the sky appears as a disk-because of a
lack of distance cues. The rainbow you see is actually a three-dimensional cone with the tip at your eye.
Consider a glass cone, the shape of those paper cones you sometimes see at drinking fountains. If you held the tip of such a glass cone against your eye, you would see the glass as a circle. All the drops that disperse the rainbow's light toward you lie in the shape of a cone of different layers with drops that deflect red to your eye on the outside, orange beneath the red, yellow beneath the orange, and so on all the way to violet on the inner conical surface. The thicker the region containing the water drops, the thicker conical edge that you look through.
Your cone of vision that intersects the cloud of drops that creates your rainbow is different from that of a person next to you. Everybody sees his or her own personal rainbow.
If the Earth were not in the way, a rainbow would be a complete circle. This is why you will never find the golden pot at the end of the rainbow.
lack of distance cues. The rainbow you see is actually a three-dimensional cone with the tip at your eye.
Consider a glass cone, the shape of those paper cones you sometimes see at drinking fountains. If you held the tip of such a glass cone against your eye, you would see the glass as a circle. All the drops that disperse the rainbow's light toward you lie in the shape of a cone of different layers with drops that deflect red to your eye on the outside, orange beneath the red, yellow beneath the orange, and so on all the way to violet on the inner conical surface. The thicker the region containing the water drops, the thicker conical edge that you look through.
Your cone of vision that intersects the cloud of drops that creates your rainbow is different from that of a person next to you. Everybody sees his or her own personal rainbow.
If the Earth were not in the way, a rainbow would be a complete circle. This is why you will never find the golden pot at the end of the rainbow.
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