May 17, 2019
Lemon Freezing
If you want lemons or limes when you need them, you can freeze a
few whole and defrost them, including in the microwave for quick
use when needed. The consistency might be a bit mushy, but for
drinks or juicing it is a good solution.
US Recycling Statistics
US
recycling rate is low. Figures from the Environmental Protection
Agency show that America recycles about 34.7 percent of the
garbage it produces. The world's top recyclers, Germany,
Austria, Wales, and South Korea report a rate between 52 and 56
percent.)
Until 2018, China took 40 percent of the US recycled paper, plastic, and metal, but in January of that year, China imposed strict new rules on the levels of contamination. Because of that, and a lack of suitable destinations closer to home, many cities have been forced to incinerate or stockpile recyclables until they can find a better solution.
The nation recycles less than 10 percent of its plastic, compared to 67 percent for paper materials, 34 percent for metals, and 26 percent for glass. China's restrictions have especially affected plastic. Exports of scrap plastic to China were valued at more than $300 million in 2015; they amounted to $7.6 million in the first quarter of 2018, down 90 percent from the year before.
Until 2018, China took 40 percent of the US recycled paper, plastic, and metal, but in January of that year, China imposed strict new rules on the levels of contamination. Because of that, and a lack of suitable destinations closer to home, many cities have been forced to incinerate or stockpile recyclables until they can find a better solution.
The nation recycles less than 10 percent of its plastic, compared to 67 percent for paper materials, 34 percent for metals, and 26 percent for glass. China's restrictions have especially affected plastic. Exports of scrap plastic to China were valued at more than $300 million in 2015; they amounted to $7.6 million in the first quarter of 2018, down 90 percent from the year before.
May 10, 2019
Happy Friday
Life advice is like
airplane advice, "Make sure you have your own mask on before
helping others with theirs."
I am always ready to help others celebrate a Happy Friday!
I am always ready to help others celebrate a Happy Friday!
Asteroids, Comets, Meteors, and Meteorites
Asteroid
is a rocky object that orbits the sun in a circular fashion.
Comet is an icy body object that orbits the sun in an elliptical and possible unstable fashion.
Meteor is an object that has entered earth's atmosphere.
Meteorite is a meteor that has impacted the earth's surface.
Comet is an icy body object that orbits the sun in an elliptical and possible unstable fashion.
Meteor is an object that has entered earth's atmosphere.
Meteorite is a meteor that has impacted the earth's surface.
Chocolate and Your Brain
Italian scientists have found evidence that a
daily dose of cocoa acts as a dietary supplement to counteract
different types of cognitive decline. The team found that
regularly eating cocoa was linked to improvements in working
memory and visual information processing and cocoa could be
particularly beneficial for certain people.
Cocoa is the dried and fermented bean from the cocoa tree used to make chocolate treats. Over the years, it has been found that a range of naturally occurring chemicals in the cocoa bean have therapeutic effects. For example, polyphenols in dark chocolate were found to increase calmness and contentedness and flavanols were able to reverse age-related memory decline. Chocolate also contains theobromine, a toxic chemical, but to be at risk of poisoning yourself, you would have to eat about 85 full sized chocolate bars in one sitting.
In the study, the team looked through the literature for effects of acute and chronic administration of cocoa flavanols on brain activity and, more specifically, what happens if you do this over a long period of time. The studies used to perform the review mainly required the subjects to consume a low, medium or large amount of cocoa in the form of a chocolate drink or bar for a period of between five days and three months.
The scientists found that there was enough evidence to support the health claims attributed to cocoa, and, in particular, the flavanol compounds it contains. They noticed enhancements in working memory performance and improved visual information processing after consuming cocoa flavanols. The benefits varied depending on the demographic being tested.
For the elderly, long term ingestion of cocoa flavanols improved attention, mental processing, working memory, and verbal fluency. It was most beneficial in those who had mild cognitive impairments or the beginnings of memory loss.
For healthy people, without the beginnings of memory loss, cocoa could also enhance normal cognitive functioning and have a protective role on cognitive performance.
For women, eating cocoa after a night of total sleep deprivation counteracted the cognitive impairment associated with no sleep. Promising results for people that suffer from chronic sleep deprivation or work different shift patterns.
"If you look at the underlying mechanism, the cocoa flavanols have beneficial effects for cardiovascular health and can increase cerebral blood volume. This structure is particularly affected by ageing and therefore the potential source of age-related memory decline in humans."
"Regular intake of cocoa and chocolate could indeed provide beneficial effects on cognitive functioning over time," said the researchers.
Cocoa is the dried and fermented bean from the cocoa tree used to make chocolate treats. Over the years, it has been found that a range of naturally occurring chemicals in the cocoa bean have therapeutic effects. For example, polyphenols in dark chocolate were found to increase calmness and contentedness and flavanols were able to reverse age-related memory decline. Chocolate also contains theobromine, a toxic chemical, but to be at risk of poisoning yourself, you would have to eat about 85 full sized chocolate bars in one sitting.
In the study, the team looked through the literature for effects of acute and chronic administration of cocoa flavanols on brain activity and, more specifically, what happens if you do this over a long period of time. The studies used to perform the review mainly required the subjects to consume a low, medium or large amount of cocoa in the form of a chocolate drink or bar for a period of between five days and three months.
The scientists found that there was enough evidence to support the health claims attributed to cocoa, and, in particular, the flavanol compounds it contains. They noticed enhancements in working memory performance and improved visual information processing after consuming cocoa flavanols. The benefits varied depending on the demographic being tested.
For the elderly, long term ingestion of cocoa flavanols improved attention, mental processing, working memory, and verbal fluency. It was most beneficial in those who had mild cognitive impairments or the beginnings of memory loss.
For healthy people, without the beginnings of memory loss, cocoa could also enhance normal cognitive functioning and have a protective role on cognitive performance.
For women, eating cocoa after a night of total sleep deprivation counteracted the cognitive impairment associated with no sleep. Promising results for people that suffer from chronic sleep deprivation or work different shift patterns.
"If you look at the underlying mechanism, the cocoa flavanols have beneficial effects for cardiovascular health and can increase cerebral blood volume. This structure is particularly affected by ageing and therefore the potential source of age-related memory decline in humans."
"Regular intake of cocoa and chocolate could indeed provide beneficial effects on cognitive functioning over time," said the researchers.
Chocolate Milk Myth Debunked
Some Internet postings claim that chocolate
milk is made with cow’s milk that was rejected as regular milk
because it contains cow’s blood. Not true. Chocolate milk is
brown because of chocolate. Incidentally, it does not come
exclusively from brown cows either.
Bacon Fad Continues
Archie McPhee has a whole line of bacon products including:
bacon candy canes, bacon frosting, bacon gumballs, bacon
lollipops, bacon floss, and bacon air freshener.
Vosges has a complete line of bacon candy bars.
Tee & Cakes has the cutest bacon cupcakes.
Baconsalt created Baconnaise, bacon mayonnaise.
Burger King introduced their Bacon Sundae, Jack in the Box has a Bacon Shake (that actually contains no bacon), and Denny’s has a Bacon Sundae.
You can smell like the pork product thanks to Bacon Cologne.
There is also Bacon Vodka.
The Wake n’ Bacon alarm clock will hit the spot as the alarm uses real bacon to create a real bacon smell to wake you up.
Vosges has a complete line of bacon candy bars.
Tee & Cakes has the cutest bacon cupcakes.
Baconsalt created Baconnaise, bacon mayonnaise.
Burger King introduced their Bacon Sundae, Jack in the Box has a Bacon Shake (that actually contains no bacon), and Denny’s has a Bacon Sundae.
You can smell like the pork product thanks to Bacon Cologne.
There is also Bacon Vodka.
The Wake n’ Bacon alarm clock will hit the spot as the alarm uses real bacon to create a real bacon smell to wake you up.
Frits and Dots
The black dots on windshields and windows and the black rims
that surround them, are more than decoration.
From the 1950s and 1960s onward, car manufacturers began using an adhesive to hold car windows in place, rather than metal trim.
The black rims around car windows are called “frits.” The frits and the dots that border them are made from ceramic paint. The frits are there to hide the adhesive. These painted rims are baked into the window and hold the glue in place, which in turn holds the windows in place.
The dots are there to make an aesthetically pleasing transition from the thick black lines to the transparency of the window. They are positioned in a halftone pattern, getting smaller and farther apart as the black recedes. This pattern is less jarring to the eye than opaque black paint juxtaposed with transparent glass.
Their other purpose is to provide temperature control. To get the glass of windows and windshields to be bent the way it is, the glass is heated up. The black-painted glass heats up faster than the rest of the window. The dots distribute the heat a bit more even and prevent the windshield from warping in the heat.
From the 1950s and 1960s onward, car manufacturers began using an adhesive to hold car windows in place, rather than metal trim.
The black rims around car windows are called “frits.” The frits and the dots that border them are made from ceramic paint. The frits are there to hide the adhesive. These painted rims are baked into the window and hold the glue in place, which in turn holds the windows in place.
The dots are there to make an aesthetically pleasing transition from the thick black lines to the transparency of the window. They are positioned in a halftone pattern, getting smaller and farther apart as the black recedes. This pattern is less jarring to the eye than opaque black paint juxtaposed with transparent glass.
Their other purpose is to provide temperature control. To get the glass of windows and windshields to be bent the way it is, the glass is heated up. The black-painted glass heats up faster than the rest of the window. The dots distribute the heat a bit more even and prevent the windshield from warping in the heat.
Honey Hack
Sticky ingredients, like honey, syrup, molasses, etc. are
difficult to accurately measure. You pour it into the measuring
cup and then into the bowl or pot, and a thick coating is always
left behind.
A quick solution is to use cooking spray. Spray the inside of the measuring cup or measuring spoon with nonstick cooking spray and it will slide right out. It also makes for easier cleanup.
A quick solution is to use cooking spray. Spray the inside of the measuring cup or measuring spoon with nonstick cooking spray and it will slide right out. It also makes for easier cleanup.
Windsor and the Royal Family
The royal family changed its name from
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha in 1917 so it would sound less German and
chose Windsor because they had ties with the English town. The
House of Windsor was named after Windsor Castle. Welcome to
the newest member Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.
Palliative Care vs. Hospice
Palliative care is attending to the physical,
emotional, and spiritual suffering of patients and families who
are dealing with a serious illness. Palliative care is available
at any stage of an illness.
Hospice is a type of palliative care that is provided during the last six months of life. Hospice is also distinct from end-of-life care, which is the care of patients in the last days and hours of their lives. In the US, hospice is overwhelmingly provided in a patient's home or in a nursing home.
Studies show that for patients with, for example metastatic lung cancer, if they received palliative care with their cancer treatment, as opposed to receiving cancer treatment alone, the patients actually lived longer and had better quality-of-life scores.
When we think of disease as a battle to fight, we tend to divide people into winners and losers, which does not benefit them. It is better to frame it as you may be a fighter, but your body cannot fight this anymore. The distinction is between the person not being a loser and the natural limits of their body.
Hospice is a type of palliative care that is provided during the last six months of life. Hospice is also distinct from end-of-life care, which is the care of patients in the last days and hours of their lives. In the US, hospice is overwhelmingly provided in a patient's home or in a nursing home.
Studies show that for patients with, for example metastatic lung cancer, if they received palliative care with their cancer treatment, as opposed to receiving cancer treatment alone, the patients actually lived longer and had better quality-of-life scores.
When we think of disease as a battle to fight, we tend to divide people into winners and losers, which does not benefit them. It is better to frame it as you may be a fighter, but your body cannot fight this anymore. The distinction is between the person not being a loser and the natural limits of their body.
May 3, 2019
Origin of Raisins
During 2000 BC, people found dried grapes on vines. These
raisins were used for decoration, before becoming popular
trading items, prizes at sporting events, and even medicine.
Strange Laws
For chicken lovers in Gainesville, Georgia, “finger-lickin’” is
not a suggestion, it is mandatory. Thanks to a 1961 law added to
the city code as a publicity stunt, it is illegal to eat fried
chicken in “the poultry capital of the world” with anything
other than your fingers.
In Japan, over-the-counter allergy/sinus medications that contain the ingredient pseudoephedrine such as Vicks inhalers and Sudafed are banned under Japan’s strict anti-stimulant drug laws.
It’s an offense in Florence, Italy to eat or drink while sitting on church steps or within a church courtyard. The same law applies to eating near public buildings.
In Wisconsin, public schools, jails, and hospitals are not permitted to feed margarine. Per state law, these groups may not be fed butter substitutes unless the substitution is necessary for their health.
You can buy caskets at Walmart and Costco, or direct from the manufacturer and save money. You can also rent a casket for the ceremony. You are not required to be embalmed.
In Japan, over-the-counter allergy/sinus medications that contain the ingredient pseudoephedrine such as Vicks inhalers and Sudafed are banned under Japan’s strict anti-stimulant drug laws.
It’s an offense in Florence, Italy to eat or drink while sitting on church steps or within a church courtyard. The same law applies to eating near public buildings.
In Wisconsin, public schools, jails, and hospitals are not permitted to feed margarine. Per state law, these groups may not be fed butter substitutes unless the substitution is necessary for their health.
You can buy caskets at Walmart and Costco, or direct from the manufacturer and save money. You can also rent a casket for the ceremony. You are not required to be embalmed.
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