Apr 13, 2012
Tax Extension
You probably already know this, but if not, here is a reminder. Taxes do not have to be paid until April 17 this year, because April 15 is on Sunday and Emancipation Day is April 16 in Washington D.C. Wow, I feel emancipated for one more day.
Chocolate is Good For You
People who eat chocolate regularly tend to be thinner according to new research. The findings come from a study of nearly 1,000 US people that looked at diet, calorie intake and body mass index (BMI). It found those who ate chocolate a few times a week were, on average, slimmer than those who ate it only occasionally.
Even though chocolate is loaded with calories, it contains ingredients that may favor weight loss rather than fat synthesis, scientists believe. Despite boosting calorie intake, regular chocolate consumption was related to lower BMI in the study published in Archives of Internal Medicine.
The link remained even when other factors, like how much exercise individuals did, were taken into account and it appears how often you eat chocolate that is important, rather than how much of it you eat. The study found no link with quantity consumed.
Other studies have claimed chocolate may be good for the heart and linked to some favorable changes in blood pressure, insulin sensitivity, and cholesterol level. Chocolate, particularly dark chocolate, contains antioxidants which can help to clean harmful free radicals, unstable chemicals that can damage our cells.
Dr Golomb and her team believe that antioxidant compounds, called catechins, can improve lean muscle mass and reduce weight. Nice to hear after the Easter chocolate binge.
Even though chocolate is loaded with calories, it contains ingredients that may favor weight loss rather than fat synthesis, scientists believe. Despite boosting calorie intake, regular chocolate consumption was related to lower BMI in the study published in Archives of Internal Medicine.
The link remained even when other factors, like how much exercise individuals did, were taken into account and it appears how often you eat chocolate that is important, rather than how much of it you eat. The study found no link with quantity consumed.
Other studies have claimed chocolate may be good for the heart and linked to some favorable changes in blood pressure, insulin sensitivity, and cholesterol level. Chocolate, particularly dark chocolate, contains antioxidants which can help to clean harmful free radicals, unstable chemicals that can damage our cells.
Dr Golomb and her team believe that antioxidant compounds, called catechins, can improve lean muscle mass and reduce weight. Nice to hear after the Easter chocolate binge.
Chocolate Reduces Coronary Heart Disease
Eating high levels of chocolate could reduce the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke. Data from 114,009 patients suggested risk was cut by about a third, according to a study published on the BMJ website.
The analysis, conducted by scientists at the University of Cambridge, compared the risk to the brain and heart in groups of people who reported eating low levels of chocolate, fewer than two bars per week, with those eating more than two bars per week. It showed that the "highest levels of chocolate consumption were associated with a 37% reduction in cardiovascular disease and a 29% reduction in stroke compared with the lowest levels". It also found chocolate is known to decrease blood pressure. They recommended people should avoid binge-eating and eat small amounts of chocolate on a regular basis.
The analysis, conducted by scientists at the University of Cambridge, compared the risk to the brain and heart in groups of people who reported eating low levels of chocolate, fewer than two bars per week, with those eating more than two bars per week. It showed that the "highest levels of chocolate consumption were associated with a 37% reduction in cardiovascular disease and a 29% reduction in stroke compared with the lowest levels". It also found chocolate is known to decrease blood pressure. They recommended people should avoid binge-eating and eat small amounts of chocolate on a regular basis.
What's in a Name, Jim Beam
Jim Beam didn’t actually start the distillery that bears his name. His great-grandfather Jacob Beam opened the distillery in 1788 and started selling his first barrels of whiskey in 1795.
In those days, the whiskey went by the name of “Old Tub.” Jacob Beam handed down the distillery to his son David Beam, who in turn passed it to his son David M. Beam, who passed it to his son, Colonel James Beauregard Beam, in 1894.
He was 30 years old when he took over the family business and ran the distillery until Prohibition shut him down. Following repeal in 1933, Jim built a distillery and resurrected the Old Tub brand and also added a bourbon simply called Jim Beam.
In those days, the whiskey went by the name of “Old Tub.” Jacob Beam handed down the distillery to his son David Beam, who in turn passed it to his son David M. Beam, who passed it to his son, Colonel James Beauregard Beam, in 1894.
He was 30 years old when he took over the family business and ran the distillery until Prohibition shut him down. Following repeal in 1933, Jim built a distillery and resurrected the Old Tub brand and also added a bourbon simply called Jim Beam.
Apr 11, 2012
Hans Christian Andersen
He was born on this day in 1805 to a poor family. His father, a shoemaker, died when Hans was 11 years old. When he was just 14, Hans left his hometown of Odense, Denmark and traveled to Copenhagen where he became a starving actor, singer, and dancer. It was there that he met the man who became his lifelong friend and benefactor, Jonas Collin. With Collin’s help, Andersen received a royal scholarship and completed his education.
By his 25th birthday, Hans was on his way to a writing career that would make him one of the most widely-read authors in the world. His first recognition came for his many plays and novels. Five years later, he penned his first of 168 fairy tales.
Among them are The Tinder-Box, Little Claus and Big Claus; tales that made fun of human faults: The Emperor’s New Suit, The Princess and the Pea; tales based on his life: The Ugly Duckling, She was Good for Nothing, and The Snow Queen, The Red Shoes, The Little Mermaid, Thumbelina, The Marsh King’s Daughter.
As Andersen’s popularity rose in the 1840s, he found himself rubbing shoulders with kings and queens, famous composers, poets and novelists. He became wealthy enough to visit throughout Europe, writing about his experiences as he traveled. In Sweden is often considered his best travel book.
He wrote his own story in 1855, The Fairy Tale of My Life. Hans Christian Andersen died a lonely man on August 4, 1875, but his stories and fairy tales live on, entertaining children and adults.
The Hans Christian Andersen Award is presented every other year to an author and an illustrator of children’s books. The ‘Little Nobel Prize’, as it is often called, is the highest international recognition bestowed on an author (since 1956) and to an illustrator (since 1966). It is presented by the International Board on Books for Young People.
By his 25th birthday, Hans was on his way to a writing career that would make him one of the most widely-read authors in the world. His first recognition came for his many plays and novels. Five years later, he penned his first of 168 fairy tales.
Among them are The Tinder-Box, Little Claus and Big Claus; tales that made fun of human faults: The Emperor’s New Suit, The Princess and the Pea; tales based on his life: The Ugly Duckling, She was Good for Nothing, and The Snow Queen, The Red Shoes, The Little Mermaid, Thumbelina, The Marsh King’s Daughter.
As Andersen’s popularity rose in the 1840s, he found himself rubbing shoulders with kings and queens, famous composers, poets and novelists. He became wealthy enough to visit throughout Europe, writing about his experiences as he traveled. In Sweden is often considered his best travel book.
He wrote his own story in 1855, The Fairy Tale of My Life. Hans Christian Andersen died a lonely man on August 4, 1875, but his stories and fairy tales live on, entertaining children and adults.
The Hans Christian Andersen Award is presented every other year to an author and an illustrator of children’s books. The ‘Little Nobel Prize’, as it is often called, is the highest international recognition bestowed on an author (since 1956) and to an illustrator (since 1966). It is presented by the International Board on Books for Young People.
Ig Nobel Awards 2011
MATHEMATICS PRIZE: Dorothy Martin of the USA (who predicted the world would end in 1954), Pat Robertson of the USA (who predicted the world would end in 1982), Elizabeth Clare Prophet of the USA (who predicted the world would end in 1990), Lee Jang Rim of KOREA (who predicted the world would end in 1992), Credonia Mwerinde of UGANDA (who predicted the world would end in 1999), and Harold Camping of the USA (who predicted the world would end on September 6, 1994 and later predicted that the world would end on October 21, 2011), for teaching the world to be careful when making mathematical assumptions and calculations.
PEACE PRIZE: Arturas Zuokas, the mayor of Vilnius, LITHUANIA, for demonstrating that the problem of illegally parked luxury cars can be solved by running them over with an armored tank. VIDEO
Six Operations Now Unpopular
New on the list of operations that have fallen into disfavor is appendectomies. Four trials involving 900 patients with appendicitis found almost two-thirds of them (63 per cent) were successfully treated with antibiotics, and avoided the complications of surgery.
* Tonsillectomy, the removal of tonsils to prevent repeated sore throats. More than 200,000 were carried out every year in the 1950s, but only 49,000 in 2009. There is no evidence that it works.
* Grommets, or valves inserted in the ear drum to treat inflammation of the inner ear. Most children grow out of it naturally.
* A mastectomy for breast cancer. Today, many surgeons remove only the lump, and survival is just as good.
* Hysterectomy for fibroids or benign growths in the womb can now be treated by an injection.
* Surgery for stomach ulcers can now be treated by an over-the-counter drug.
* Tonsillectomy, the removal of tonsils to prevent repeated sore throats. More than 200,000 were carried out every year in the 1950s, but only 49,000 in 2009. There is no evidence that it works.
* Grommets, or valves inserted in the ear drum to treat inflammation of the inner ear. Most children grow out of it naturally.
* A mastectomy for breast cancer. Today, many surgeons remove only the lump, and survival is just as good.
* Hysterectomy for fibroids or benign growths in the womb can now be treated by an injection.
* Surgery for stomach ulcers can now be treated by an over-the-counter drug.
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