Relieve Eye Strain

Near-point stress can be caused by staring at your computer screen for too long. Here is a simple solution that is cost free. Every few hours close your eyes, tense your body, take a deep breath, and, after a few seconds, release your breath and muscles at the same time. Tightening and releasing muscles such as the biceps and glutes can trick involuntary muscles, like the eyes into relaxing as well.

Patron Saint

St Anthony The Great, also referred to as 'the Abbott' was an Egyptian Christian in the pre-Islamic period, who lived in the desert as an anchorite (religious hermit) for part of his life.

His relationship with pigs and patronage of swineherds stems from his work to treat skin diseases. Skin diseases were sometimes treated with applications of pork fat, which reduced inflammation and itching.

Swineherds took Anthony as their patron, and he thus became the patron saint of charcutiers (pork butchers) and also the patron saint of bacon. St Anthony is normally portrayed in pictures with a pig nearby.

What's in a Name, Listerine

Listerine was invented 133 years ago, first as a surgical antiseptic, but also as a cure for gonorrhea. An article from 1888 recommends Listerine “for sweaty feet and soft corns, developing between the toes.”

During the next century, it was marketed as a refreshing additive to cigarettes, a cure for the common cold, and as a dandruff treatment. In the 1920s the powerful, germ-killing liquid finally landed on its most lucrative use as a cure for bad breath.

Calorie Cutter

You can eat two Egg McMuffins from McDonald's for fewer calories and fat than a bagel with two tablespoons of cream cheese.

Ice Cream is Good For You

Ice-cream is a low GI (glycemic-index) food. This means that it is a slow sugar release food that keeps you satisfied for a longer period of time than a high GI food. For that reason, you are less likely to binge after eating ice-cream.

Nutrients in ice-cream are biotin, iodine, potassium, selenium, vitamins a, b12, D, and K. 75 grams of Ben and Jerry’s Cookies and Cream ice-cream contains only 114 calories compared to a slice of cheesecake with 511 calories.

Party Tip

Use a colander in your ice bucket or a large bowl to put ice in. The water will drop out the bottom and your guests can get at the ice without the mess.

Hiccup Cure

Rub an ice cube on your Adam's apple for a minute. The coldness interrupts the reflex arc from your brain to your diaphragm that causes hiccups.

Food Myth Debunked

The long held myth that milk is the best thing for healthy bones is not true. Many confuse "dairy" with "calcium," and assume they are the same thing. Dairy products contain calcium, but so do dark-leafy greens. Milk is fortified with vitamin D, but bone health goes beyond calcium and vitamin D.

Vitamin K is important for bone health (dark leafy greens have it, dairy doesn't). Magnesium, also missing in dairy products, plays an important role in bone health.

Milk isn't the only, or even the best, source of calcium. If you're looking for good sources of calcium and Vitamin D, consider dark greens, mustard greens, kale, and bok choy instead of milk. Toss in some almonds, cashews, and potatoes for magnesium.

Happy Friday

You can't go back and make a new beginning, but can begin now to make a new ending.

I am beginning to think I will end this week with a Happy Friday!

What's in a Name, TWAIN

TWAIN is a standard for communication between imaging devices (usually scanners) and computers. Because it’s always written in upper case, it’s often assumed that TWAIN is an acronym – with the “AIN” coming from 'acquired image network'.

It doesn’t. According to the twain.org website, the word “twain” was chosen from Kipling’s the Ballad of East and West, which coined the phrase “…and never the twain shall meet…” to symbolize how hard it was to connect a scanner to a computer. It was changed to upper case to make it more distinctive.

The above TWAIN has no relation to Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain), whose pseudonym was taken from the steamboat practice of calling out the depth of the water to make sure it was deep enough for the boat to safely pass. Mark twain meant the depth of the water to be two fathoms. A fathom is about 6 feet. Twain is an archaic word for two.

Bacon Queen 2012

The Feb. 18 Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival is already sold out. Ten women are still competing for the title of Bacon Queen 2012 and will move on to the live Bacon Queen pageant, Feb. 16 at Johnny’s Hall of Fame, Des Moines. The judges will choose and crown the 2012 Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival Bacon Queen.

Might not sound like much, but for a state that raises 30 million pigs a year, pork is a big deal. Des Moines also hosts the annual international World Pork Expo in June.

Bacon Shake

It seems fitting after discussing the Bacon Queen to add this new menu item for Jack in the Box. It is the Bacon Milkshake. The food chain felt the need to create some bacon buzz. It's all part of a new ad campaign that asks: If you like bacon so much, why don't you marry it?

Alas, Jack sold us out, it's just a bacon flavored syrup added to a shake. Word from reporters is that the real taste is Ugh! Oh, well, give them credit for trying to get on the bacon bandwagon. Too bad it doesn't pass the sniff test.