/////////////////////Improve Your Nutrition One Day at a Time
From Shereen Jegtvig,Your Guide to Nutrition.Stay up to date!
About.com Health's Disease and Condition content is reviewed by our Medical Review Board
October 20th
Flax seeds contain oils, fibers, and lignans that can improve your health now, and perhaps prevent diseases like some cancers. Buy whole flax seeds, grind up a teaspoon of flax seeds in a coffee grinder every day and add the seeds to salads, soups, or in healthy baked goods like muffins.
/////////////////////////Use rubbing alcohol to get rid of permanent marker
23 October 2007, 01:00:00 Anonymous
If you have permanent marker stains on any hard surface and you want to get rid of them, all you need to do is put a small amount of rubbing alcohol on a paper towel and wipe the stain.
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Avoid accusatory words to prevent arguments
23 October 2007, 01:00:00 Amy_marie in Blackfoot, Idaho
When discussing things with a spouse, boyfriend or even family never say "You did" or "You don't" or any accusing words, as this instantly makes the other person put up their defenses or shields and turns a discussion into an argument. Always say "I feel...." and tell how the situation is affecting you and making you feel. When the other person doesn't feel like they are being torn down or defensive they will be more willing to listen.
//////////////////////DNCAM=DNA=DO NOT ACCUSE
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Easy meal that kids enjoy and is also healthy
21 October 2007, 01:00:00 melanie in bushkill, pa
Once a week I make a "garbage pile" dish. I cut up either pork or chicken and cook that and then add in brown rice, broccoli, peas, carrots, lentils, green beans, mushroom, and scrambled eggs. Throw in a little soy sauce and you have a healthy meal that the kids will love to eat. You can add in any veggies and even use turkey or beef if you like.
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Add some zest to your food
20 October 2007, 01:00:00 Maria in Knoxville, TN
Before your citrus fruits shrivel or get eaten, take a grater, zester or even vegetable peeler and take off that precious zest. You can wrap tablespoons of zest in plastic wrap and freeze or you can take the strips from a peeler and freeze them in ziploc bags. This way you'll always have some citrus burst to add to your food.
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Easily untwist jar lids
20 October 2007, 01:00:00 James in Worthing, sussex
Having a hard time untwisting a kitchen jar? Simply place a rubber band around the lid to improve your grip. You can also wear a pair of rubber washing up gloves. Both of these tips work great for me.
/////////////DAYTIPPER CRTSY
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Keep a pen and paper on your night stand
19 October 2007, 01:00:00 Lorelei in Cranbrook, B.C.
Brilliant thoughts usually strike when we are at our most relaxed state of mind. That time is usually just before we fall asleep. It is this very brief period when we have nothing essential to do, so we think things out. Keep a pen and paper on your nightstand and you won't lose those all important ideas that come to you.
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Soak feet in salt water before clipping toe nails
19 October 2007, 01:00:00 Lorelei in Cranbrook, B.C.
Before clipping those tough thick nails allow yourself to first soak your feet in a pan of warm salt water for 15 minutes or so. Not only does this soften the toe nails so they are much easier to clip but it is so relaxing.
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Throw away tooth brush after strep throat
18 October 2007, 01:00:00 Dan in Danville, Illinois
When my daughter was little she frequently brought home strep throat. Often the whole family had to take a round of antibiotics. The doctor said that after everyone had taken the antibiotics to throw away toothbrushes and start fresh. We never has a problem again.
///////////////////DITOO=Death is the only option
/////////////////MSE CRTSY
Having long term financial security which comes from owning your own home outright is important - but not that important. Given the historically high levels of house prices at the moment, it is highly debatable whether buying now, as a FTB, without huge amounts of existing equity to offset the risks, is really offering security - on the contrary, it seems that instead of a landlord owning your home, the bank would - and you'd be risking not just a deposit of a month's rent or two, but all the thousands you'd saved for a deposit and the possible prospect of years of negative equity.You say little about your circumstances - if your earnings are secure and very likely to rise, then maybe risking it and buying now makes good economic sense in the long term. But at the age of 32, there are - contrary to what this forum would suggest - more important things than the future direction of house prices. Don't let worries about being homeless when you're 65 be the main criteria in decisions you make about your life NOW. 65 is still a long way away....Renting is fine. If you were 45 or 50, or prices were at normal levels, I would take a different view - but you're not and they aren't. In answer to your question 'should I stress out and overextend just to get onto the ladder when these prices are unrealistic and may well come down gradually anyway?' - DON'T stress out, whatever you do, and if you can genuinely afford it, have a place you really like and want to buy and that would do you for a good few years if the worst happens and you get stuck there by falling prices, then buy. But buying to be a lemming is not a good idea. We all know what happens to lemmings.... Oh, and nicely put, SquatNow....
//////////////TELFAST
How does it work?Telfast 120mg tablets contain the active ingredient fexofenadine, which is a type of medicine called a non-sedating antihistamine. It works by preventing the actions of histamine. Histamine is a substance produced by the body as part of its defence mechanisms. It is stored in cells called mast cells, in almost all tissues of the body. When the body reacts to a foreign substance (known as an allergen, eg flower pollen), the mast cells stimulated by the allergen release their stores of histamine.
/////////////////////The workers are the income generators, the retirees will increasingly be the votors. How that plays out will be key in the very long term.Let us not forget JM Keynes: "In the long term, we're all dead".
//////////////////ILT-WAD
///////////////////Is it really THAT important to own your own home?
In the States and many other parts of Europe, renting is no big deal at all. Having said that, also far more affordable than here, where the rents as well as house prices are sky high. Also seen experiments in some European countries where the long term rentor is eventually better off than the person who has a mortgage, as the surplus cash saved from renting instead of buying is invested instead.But what are the alternatives if you choose not to buy? To stay renting and throwing away "dead money", and then face a search for accomodation into retirement?Briefly explain my situation. 32 years old and never owned a property. Currently renting a flat which is expensive, which also means I am saving less towards a deposit, another thing is I'm self employed so would have to do a self cert mortgage so would need a higher deposit and would end up paying more for a mortgage anyway. Do feel quite anxious in terms of advancing years and lack of long term security about not getting onto the property ladder, and because it is supposedly something which has to be done, but does it really matter that much? Or put another way, should I stress out and overextend just to get onto the ladder when these prices are unrealistic and may well come down gradually anyway?
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My Daddy is DyingBy Sophie Borland
Last Updated: 12:01am BST 24/10/2007
When seven-year-old Milly Bell's father was dying of a brain tumour, she began writing a book to try to help herself come to terms with her immense feelings of loss.
In the four months leading up to his death, she carefully compiled stories, drawings, and puzzles in the hope that it would also help other children who were going through similar traumas.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/global/main.jhtml?xml=/global/2007/10/24/noindex/ngrief124.xml
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Anger and Stress Contribute To Coronary Heart Disease
01 October 2007, 10:00:00
Prehypertensive middle-aged men who have high levels of trait anger -- a tendency to experience anger across a range of situations -- are at increased risk of progressing to hypertension and developing coronary heart disease, according to a secondary analysis of a large population-based study.
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Hostile Men Could Have Greater Risk For Heart Disease
04 August 2007, 22:00:00
Men who are hostile and prone to frequent intense feelings of anger and depression could be harming their immune systems and putting themselves at risk for coronary heart disease as well as related disorders like type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, a new study finds. Men whose psychological screening showed the highest level of hostility, depressive symptoms and anger had a 7.1 percent increase in their C3 levels, while men with low levels of these attributes showed no change over the 10-year study period.
/////////////////SCIDAILY CRTSY
//////////////////WITHOUT WATER NO PLATE TECTONICS-NOT IN VENUS
///////////////////CROSSOVER POINT-CRTSY SIMPLE DOLLAR
This concept fascinated me so much that I had to write a post specifically about it when I first read Your Money or Your Life.
In a nutshell, the “crossover point” is the exact point in time in which your income from investments surpasses your monthly income. At that point, you can basically do whatever fulfills you the most and not worry about the pay - you’ve completely destroyed the link between how you spend your productive time and the money you have in your pocket. In a way, this is basically the ultimate definition of financial independence - you can go on living your life whether you’re paid or not.
Some people have different terms for this. Personally, I call it walk away money, meaning that it gives you the freedom to simply walk away from aspects of your life that aren’t personal duties but don’t fulfill you, either - primarily, this refers to one’s job.
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Handling A Child’s Material Wants and Impulses 27comments
October 23, 2007 @ 12:30 pm - Written by TrentCategories: ParentingBookmarks: del.icio.us, reddit
My son is starting to reach the stage where he’s strongly attracted to the toy section when we’re shopping. This has already created a few interesting situations, because he’s getting bright enough that the older distraction techniques no longer work. It’s time to start treating him like a child and not like an infant.
We’ve all seen situations where the parent has an out-of-control child, screaming because they didn’t get the latest toy. I also know that I don’t want this for my child - a child so far wrapped up in consumerism and self-gratification that they’ve lost all control over themselves.
So what’s the solution? Lately, my wife and I have been looking carefully at this issue and we’ve found a big pile of tips for how to handle your child’s material wants and desires in a fashion that doesn’t result in a temper tantrum.
Minimize his exposure to advertisements, particularly those targeted to children. For the most part, this means strictly limiting his television viewing. In fact, he basically doesn’t watch television at all, other than some occasional sporting events (and he barely pays attention to those).
Don’t give into screaming temper tantrums at home. If our son throws a temper tantrum, he must learn that screaming won’t get him what he wants. As soon as I start giving him what he wants when he screams, he’ll equate screaming with successful acquisition of what he wants. Thus, sometimes I have to let him throw a temper tantrum at home. Thankfully, this is rare, and he’s learned it doesn’t work, but sometimes he sees other children doing it and tries it anyway, but we don’t give in to it.
Offer him other choices outside of the situation. If he starts seeming like he’s getting wound up about a toy in the store, I remind him of a few of his favorite toys at home and ask him which one we’re going to play with when we get home. Alternately, sometimes I’ll also throw in a trip to the park as a choice, particularly if one is already planned. This usually makes him think about it a bit, and I use that time to move far away from the toy that’s causing the anxiety.
Give him some small allowance and then allow him to use that to choose an item. We semi-regularly give him quarters, particularly when he does something good for the first time on his own. Then, when we go to the store, we’ll count up his change and see if he can get a new Matchbox car (his toy of choice right now). He has learned that four quarters plus a few pennies means a Matchbox car, so he can almost fish out the money and pay for it himself. This gives him a target in the toy section, something to look for. It’s also a great way to encourage counting skills and sorting skills.
Have a very, very low tolerance for public tantrums. If he actually reaches the point of screaming and yelling, we leave - immediately. He then has a “time out” in his car seat while I stand outside cooling my own heels. After that, if we need to, we may go back inside, but it’s strictly to finish shopping, pay for the items, and leave. Public places are not the appropriate location to throw a temper tantrum, and there needs to be negative consequences for such behavior.
So far, these tactics have worked extremely well in concert. He has only had one notable public tantrum in the last few months, and it was a long while ago - the “time out” in the car really did the trick. He also realizes now that the toys in the store are mostly to look at unless you have money to buy them, a key connection, I believe.
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Related PostsVisiting Williams-Sonoma: How To Avoid Overspending On Something That Stirs Your PassionsHandling Small Cash GiftsWhy You Should NOT Pay For Your Child’s EducationWhat Do A Child’s Earliest Interactions With Money Mean?
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Comments
My kids are a bit older than your son, but we’ve always been very careful about setting expectations *before* we go into a store. I will tell them that I will not be buying toys on a particular day, so don’t bother asking. Or, if we are buying toys, I’ll tell them their budget ahead of time. And, as with so many parenting moments, the trick is to make sure that you stick to it, no matter what. Because, like tantrums, once you give in just one time, you’ve got trouble.
These are all great tips, and ones that I sincerely wish more parents would use (though I’m not exempt from having a child have a tantrum in a store!)fiveberries @ 12:40 pm October 23rd, 2007
Congratulations on being a member of the parental minority that does not regard the world at large as synonymous with your own living room. I thank you for taking your responsibilities seriously. If only your behavior could rub off on more parents.
When I dream, I dream big.Kate @ 1:01 pm October 23rd, 2007
Awesome, awesome tips! I don’t have kids, but I definitely hope to remember this stuff when I do (or when I start having nieces and nephews).sab @ 1:01 pm October 23rd, 2007
I really like your tips about ignoring tantrums and not accepting tantrums in public. I have so many friends that just don’t want to deal with the tears and setting clear limits and as a result give in and buy the toy. This sets a bad pattern for life, and one day kids are going to be throwing a tantrum for something larger. Rewarding poor behavior is never a good choice.
The allowance thing is a great tip. I used to hoarde my allowance until I could buy something big, and I knew that I wouldn’t be getting something I wanted until I saved up for it or it was an incentive for good performance in school. It’s been a good life lesson, and I still operate this way in adult life.Jasmine @ 1:33 pm October 23rd, 2007
spankings are highly underrated these days…jm @ 1:44 pm October 23rd, 2007
I’m not bothered by a small child having a temper tantrum in public as much as I am by the parent giving in to shut them up.plonkee @ 1:58 pm October 23rd, 2007
I am so glad you are setting limits and understand that parenting takes time and work.I really wish more people took the time to handle these issues when they are small and not when they are big or never.Kat @ 1:59 pm October 23rd, 2007
Last night I was in Target and I came upon a girl of about 7 in the aisle in front of Polly Pocket. The little girl wanted a $9.99 set and the mom said no. The little brat jumped up and bare-handed her mother across the face and it worked like magic. I was so taken aback by the violent display that I made quick tracks. Shocking.Diane @ 2:10 pm October 23rd, 2007
Great tips, too many parents fear tantrums unnecessarily.
We haven’t encountered a full blown tantrum yet, it will come. And when it does, if we’re at home I’ll clear a ’safe’ space and ignore the proceedings until it ends, I’ll act as if nothing has happened. If we are out I will use your technique, one warning and then we leave, a time out or a serious talking to will follow as we have had to leave.
I too commend a parent for picking a child up and removing them from the situation, or standing firm, there’s no shame in your child having a tantrum until you cave in.Erica @ 2:44 pm October 23rd, 2007
Thank you for removing your child from the store when he has a tantrum. A child’s screaming is one of the worst sounds in the world, especially to someone who’s not used to it and who has no reason to like your kid.!wanda @ 2:52 pm October 23rd, 2007
These are great tips Trent! One funny anecdote that brings home the importance of limiting a young child’s TV watching. When I was little I drove my parents nuts because I thought the news was the filler part where I could talk and that the commercials were the important bit that we were supposed to be watching.Mariette @ 3:17 pm October 23rd, 2007
I threw a tantrum maybe all of about 5 or 6 times in my childhood. Each time resulted it a quick smack and a terse “No!”, followed by an exit from public and a very irate parent the rest of the day. I learned that where I was at had no effect, be it at home or in a store, and I _never_ got what I wanted when I behaved poorly. (In fact it often resulted in my NOT getting what I wanted, even later on, as it became a symbol of my poor behavior.)
My parents smacked me at most a couple dozen times in my childhood, and I never felt I was abused or scared in any way from it. I also don’t recall (nor to they) that I was a problem child, in part because I learned early that bad behavior was followed quickly by a repercussion, with extreme behavior seeing an equally extreme reaction.
There are times (though very rare) when a quick smack or swat on the butt is appropriate for a child. This is such an instance. I’ve never understood the concept of “spankings”, as they tend to be far after the fact and commonly not in proportion to nor well associated with the precipitating deed. But I’ve also never understood the concept of “time outs” or trying to negotiate or argue with a child either. Children lack the tools and development needed to comprehend or comply with either, and wind up feeling tricked or empowered, neither of which is a good thing.
When I have kids, I plan on using many of the same mechanism my parents used. And if someone takes issue with it because it’s not PC to smack your kid in a store, thats fine. I can smack them too… :)Woody @ 4:15 pm October 23rd, 2007
I’ve got four kids, ages 5-12 so I know a few things about what your talking about. Coming up with a plan before hand is awesome but let me tell you they don’t always go as you plan.
In regards to leaving the store for the temper tantrum I think it’s good sometimes but other times wrong to do. One of ours would throw the tantrum just to leave the store since they didn’t want to be there in the first place or sick of being there. We couldn’t very well let them dictate what needed to be done. Each situation was handles differntly but we learned quickly leaving the store wasn’t the solution, only adding to the problem.
My point is to keep an open mind and have guidelines installed but be ready to throw them out the door with a seconds notice.Brent @ 4:44 pm October 23rd, 2007
To add, in no way shape or form was I trying to imply to give in. My kids will stop dead in their tracks when I tell them no. If they want to keep up the fit I have no problems telling my 5-12 yr old kids that they are the one people are looking not me, that they are acting like a 2 yr old and not me.Brent @ 4:53 pm October 23rd, 2007
My oldest daughter is 4 on Friday and I have found that with her approaching birthday she is very aware that there will be gifts involved. As we’ve been shopping the last couple of months she’s told me numerous times about things she wants. My way of dealing with it has been to say that we’ll put it on her wishlist. That seems to help her understand that we don’t get everything we want (I explained that I have a wishlist too). But we’ve also talked about how Daddy works hard to make money for us and we would rather have daddy at home playing with us than working at the office to pay for a new toy.Michele@Philoxenos @ 5:01 pm October 23rd, 2007
I wish all parents took their kids out of the store when they threw a tantrum over getting a toy.
Why are sporting goods and electronics (where I usually am in a store) always within screaming kid distance from the toy section?Danny @ 5:24 pm October 23rd, 2007
We were very lucky in that our son was not given to temper tantrums. But our best friends’ kids had a little more…uhm…zing.
And for sure, the best thing they did was to pick up the little yowler and carry her or him out of the public place, the minute the tantrum started to pick up steam. The kid still screamed out in the parking lot or in the car, BUT: it didn’t take either of their two little folks long to learn that throwing a tantrum for X, Y, or Z didn’t work. Both kids grew up to be responsible, well behaved teens and successful adults.
Striking a stressed-out yelling kid, IMHO, is counterproductive and speaks more about the parent than about the child’s behavior.vh @ 5:33 pm October 23rd, 2007
Love your post. I just linked to it on my blog: http://feefifoto.typepad.com/feefifoto/2007/10/fell-through-th.html. I’ve been fighting those same battles for years. I devised a way to alleviate begging and whining while on vacation. I allocate each of my kids a certain amount of money each day of our trip, say ten dollars, to spend on anything they want as long as it’s not dangerous. Whatever they don’t spend rolls over to the next day and they get to keep whatever’s left by the end of the trip. The first time I did this my son spent his entire first day’s budget in an arcade while his sister saved hers; he was quite envious but he got the message. The next day he bypassed the arcade and got to buy himself some souvenirs.FeeFiFoto @ 6:31 pm October 23rd, 2007
I’ll tell you what has worked beautifully for us.
We have three kids and they all have a list of jobs that they do. Some jobs they get paid for if they do them, some jobs they just have to do because they’re part of the family.
We pay them every week, and the amount varies based on how many jobs actually got completed correctly during the past week.
They are required to separate their money into three basic categories.
1. They must put aside 10% to give to some type of charity, church or otherwise.
2. They must set aside half of the remaining dollars into their grown-up money fund - money market, ira or otherwise ( this money is theirs when they leave our humble abode).
3. They must set aside the rest as spending money. They can use this spending money to blow or they can save it for something big.
We use the same system for money earned outside of the home. For example, my 14 year old boy babysits at church and earns 10 dollars per hour doing that.
When we get to the store, and the begging begins, we say: “fine, you can buy that. As long as you brought your spending money and you have enough.”
We never lend money at the store - the child must have the money with them to make the purchase, or come back when they do have the money.
I kid you not, this has virtually put an end to the massive amounts of begging we used to endure.
Our oldest has, since doing this system, saved nearly $2000.00 on his own, purchased his own X-Box 360 and multiple games, and has now almost saved enough for the $500.00 video camera he wants to buy.
Success.
Try it, it works if you stick with it and be disciplined.
~OsweganOswegan @ 6:33 pm October 23rd, 2007
When each of my girls started high school I gave them a monthly allowance. I paid for clothes twice a year (Nov/Mar) we live in Florida so really just 2 seasons), medical bills, cell phone, food etc. The allowance was for any extra clothes they wanted, movies, music, dates, fun, makeup and gas for their cars.
If at any time they felt that the allowance was insufficient they had to document their expenditures for the month and present a proposal.
My youngest is now a senior in college and still gets the same amount we started with in 9th grade.She opted for part-time jobs from 16 on rather than do the budget presentation.
Her older sister never asked for more either ;-) and now has a growing web business.sunny @ 7:53 pm October 23rd, 2007
great post…. but your son goes to daycare right? Good luck with not exposing him to advertising images as he gets older. My son has never ever seen Barney on TV (he’s 3) and yet… he knows of Barney from his best friend’s backpack. And wants one. :sigh:paidtwice @ 8:16 pm October 23rd, 2007
Hey Trent — I am totally with you that television ads are a terrible influence on our kids. But in your zeal to limit your son’s exposure to these, don’t forget about the great programs on PBS. Those can be a great resource for kids and for parents. Cyberchase may become your favorite thing in a couple of years when your son is old enough for it.
However, I will admit that PBS has gone completely overboard in allowing sponsors’ messages to become indistinguishable from commercials. We get around this by zipping through them on the DVR. Still, the other day my six year old son told me that he was “the proud sponsor” of something or other!mamacita @ 1:57 am October 24th, 2007
-Oswegan:
I like your ’split your money into 3 piles’ idea. I think I’ll try to phase something similar in, but it might be tricky, since we havn’t done it so far….
I heard a while ago about giving kids allowance early on (we started at 4 years old, now Louise is 5) - and giving them a dollar for each year of their age. Any less isn’t really enough $$ to do much with, and the parent end up having to buy stuff anything. But now I’ve got a 5 year old that waits for Allowance day so she can but a my little pony EVERY WEEK (4.99 @ Target - she usualy can find the tax money in change around the car & house).
So while she understand that we won’t buy her toys at every store we visit and she needs to buy herself toys with her money, there’s very little deliberate savings going on. But then, she’s only 5….Ken S. @ 6:53 am October 24th, 2007
This is a little different, but my mom always let my brother pick out one thing at the grocery store if he was good all day. Since both my parents worked almost all the shopping for everything was done on Saturday. Grocery shopping was always last. I am 8 years older than my brother, so I wasn’t much of an issue.
If he fussed about getting something during the trip (a toy or whatever) then there would be no special treat at the grocery store. He was allowed only one thing. This put my mom in a bind a couple of times because if he put something back, then she couldn’t use it in the meal. He frequently picked out a veggie. When I was that age, it was most frequently fruit or cereal. But the point is he only got one thing. It didn’t cost my parents much and we were required to eat what we got, even if we decided we didn’t like it after we got it home.elizabeth @ 7:39 am October 24th, 2007
I also have two young kids, ages 4 and 5. We are not into TV so much, so the exposure to commercials are limited. But they do want - mainly anything to do with Thomas the Tank Engine. One solution that has worked for me is I rarely take the kids shopping (especially to Target). My oldest was over 3 years old before he entered a shopping mall. I am not a shopper. I go in, get what I need and leave. Bringing the kids only adds time, stress and the chance to bug me to buy something. I see exhausted parents and whining kids at the grocery store and think “Leave those kids at home. It’s worth paying a sitter for a couple of hours to shop inpeace”.A.M.B,A. @ 7:56 am October 24th, 2007
As my son got older, we turned toy shopping trips into “research trips” He didn’t so very much want to have every transformer in the world, but he did want to be able to talk about them with the guys at school. So we’d pick an evening, which was his to go look at the shelves in toys are us. heaven help me,I started to feel like the kid though, as in MY thinking to myself “I’m tired, any more of this and I’m going to start to whine!” Now that he’s grown, we both have good memories of the trips.Ann @ 10:48 am October 24th, 2007
How about not bringing your child with you to the store? I think this goes along with limiting exposure to TV. Limit exposure to ads and enticements at stores. Get a baby sitter, or one of you stay home with the kid.lcs @ 11:51 am October 24th, 2007
Previous Post: Twelve Tactics For Defeating the Starbucks HabitNext Post: Your Money or Your Life: The Crossover Point
/////////////////////PRAYER=Step 3: AutosuggestionAlthough the title of this chapter screams “scam” to me, I was surprised to find that I actually already use most of the ideas within. Basically, the idea is that if you keep repeating your plan for success to yourself, it has a greater chance of actually coming true. Why? Again, embedding a thought deeply within yourself - and repetition does the trick - increases the chance that the thought will come up at the right time when you need it. Think of it as cramming for a college exam - you study a ton hoping that the right answer will come up when you need it.
///////////////////Giant impact hypothesis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• Ten things you may not know about Wikipedia •
Jump to: navigation, search
"The Big Splash" redirects here. For the book, see The Big Splash (book).
The Big Splash. View from the south pole.
The giant impact hypothesis (sometimes referred to as the big whack, or, less frequently, the big splash) is the now-dominant scientific theory for the formation of the Moon, which is thought to have formed as a result of a collision between the young Earth and a Mars-sized body that is sometimes called Theia[1] or, on rare occasion, Orpheus. The name of Theia (IPA: /ˈθiːə/) is derived from Greek mythology, as Theia was the Titan who gave birth to the Moon goddess Selene. The hypothesis was first proposed at a conference on satellites in 1974 and then published in Icarus in 1975 by Drs. Bill K. Hartmann and Donald R. Davis.
/////////////////FISH,THE FIRST VERTEBRATE
/////////////////////Learn how to live frugally. This enables two things: first, you start saving money now because you’re spending far less than you make, and second, when you go to make a big life change to follow your dreams (or a big life change is forced on you), you’re already prepared with the frugal living skills you’ll need.
Turn off the television. This is the single best move I’ve made in terms of giving me the freedom to work towards my dreams. Instead of draining my brain in front of the television for a few hours each night, I instead do other things that are more fulfilling and much more in line with my big dreams.
Stop caring what others think. The sooner you do that, the better. The only people whose opinions should matter to you are the people you truly care about. For me, that means keeping clean, but not dressing to keep up appearances. It also means not being ashamed in the least of a giant compost bin in the backyard or of the fact that I may be driving the oldest vehicle in the neighborhood. Let the neighbors enjoy their Lexus and look funny at my older truck - I’m deeply contented with the things I have in my life and the path I’m following.
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Anger at scientist's 'whites more intelligent than blacks' comment
17 October 2007, 18:00:00 newsfeeds@nzherald.co.nz
One of the world's most eminent scientists was embroiled in an extraordinary row last night after he claimed that black people were less intelligent than white people and the idea that "equal powers of reason" were shared across racial...
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Steve Connor: Race and intelligence so much more than black and white issue
18 October 2007, 18:00:01 newsfeeds@nzherald.co.nz
There is, perhaps, no brew quite so heady as that which mixes race, genes and intelligence. The history of the 20th century is replete with examples of how people with deep-seated racist views have misappropriated the science of genetics...
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Elephants see red as a risky colour
19 October 2007, 18:00:01 newsfeeds@nzherald.co.nz
Elephants mourn their dead and engage in long-distance communication using barely audible, low-frequency growls. Now they have been shown to be able to distinguish between different human tribes based on the smell and colour of their...
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Nobel prize-winning scientist suspended
19 October 2007, 21:15:00 newsfeeds@nzherald.co.nz
Prominent New York scientific institution the Cold Spring Harbour Laboratory suspended Nobel Prize-winning geneticist Dr James Watson yesterday over racially insensitive comments he was quoted as making in a newspaper interview. Last...
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23 October 2007, 18:00:00 newsfeeds@nzherald.co.nz
A few dozen genetic changes can help explain why people of European descent have so many different shades of hair, eye and skin colour - but it is still impossible to tell the colour of someone's eyes or hair based on DNA alone, researchers...
NZHERALD CRTSY
/////////////////////PINATHERTON-IST REPTILE TO WALK ON EARTH
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10 Foods That Fight Prostate Cancer
24 October 2007, 04:25:18 editor@healthdiaries.com (Tracy)
There is strong evidence that eating certain foods can significantly cut a man's risk of prostate cancer. Here's a list of ten powerful prostate protectors:
Cruciferous VegetablesEating three or more servings of cruciferous vegetables like cauliflower, broccoli, kale, mustard greens, and Brussels sprouts per week may reduce the risk of prostate cancer by almost half.
Pomegranate JuiceResearch shows that pomegranate juice slows the growth of prostate cancer in mice.
Turmeric Studies show that turmeric may prevent prostate cancer and slow its progress, especially when eaten with cauliflower.
FlaxseedsStudies in mice indicate that flaxseeds may prevent and slow the spread of prostate cancer.
Green TeaIn several studies, green tea has been shown to significantly reduce the risk of developing prostate cancer.
Brazil NutsBrazil nuts are one of the best natural sources of selenium, a mineral that is strongly preventative against prostate cancer. Experts say that taking an extra 200mcg of selenium per day will reduce the risk of prostate cancer by 50 percent. Just a handful of Brazil nuts per day will meet this requirement.
GarlicGarlic has been shown in several studies to cut the risk of prostate cancer by as much as 53 percent. Garlic also contains a good amount of selenium.
ScallionsOne study showed that eating just 1/10 an ounce of scallions per day cut men's risk of prostate cancer by as much as 70 percent.
Tomatoes Tomatoes are one of the best sources of lycopene, a powerful antioxidant which has been shown in several studies to have a protective effect against prostate cancer. Though one recent study has created some doubt about the protective effect lycopene has against prostate cancer, the National Prostate Cancer Foundation says the earlier studies are still valid and continues to recommend that men eat plenty of foods containing lycopene. They explain the results of the studies here.
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11 Health Benefits of Pomegranate Juice
20 October 2007, 03:21:47 editor@healthdiaries.com (Tracy)
Pomegranate juice has become popular in the past few years, but does it really live up to the hype? It looks like it.
Several recent studies have shown significant potential health benefits from drinking pomegranate juice. Here are eleven:
Fights Breast CancerStudies in Israel show that pomegranate juice destroys breast cancer cells while leaving healthy cells alone. It may also prevent breast cancer cells from forming.
Lung Cancer PreventionStudies in mice show that pomegranate juice may inhibit the development of lung cancer.
Slows Prostate CancerIt slowed the growth of prostate cancer in mice.
Keeps PSA Levels StableIn a study of 50 men who had undergone treatment for prostate cancer, 8 ounces of pomegranate juice per day kept PSA levels stable, reducing the need for further treatment such as chemotherapy or hormone therapy.
Protects the Neonatal BrainStudies show that maternal consumption of pomegranate juice may protect the neonatal brain from damage after injury.
Prevention of OsteoarthritisSeveral studies indicate that pomegranate juice may prevent cartilage deterioration.
Protects the ArteriesIt prevents plaque from building up in the arteries and may reverse previous plaque buildup.
Alzheimer's Disease PreventionIt may prevent and slow Alzheimer's disease. In one study, mice bred to develop Alzheimer's disease were given pomegranate juice. They accumulated significantly less amyloid plaque than control mice and they performed mental tasks better.
Lowers CholesterolIt lowers LDL (bad cholesterol) and raises HDL (good cholesterol).
Lowers Blood PressureOne study showed that drinking 1.7 ounces of pomegranate juice per day lowered systolic blood pressure by as much as 5 percent.
Dental ProtectionResearch suggests that drinking pomegranate juice may be a natural way to prevent dental plaque.
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10 Health Benefits of Pumpkin Seeds
15 October 2007, 02:15:40 editor@healthdiaries.com (Tracy)
This Halloween, don't forget to save those pumpkin seeds after you scoop them out. Pumpkin seeds are not only delicious but also provide many health benefits. Here are ten:
Prostate ProtectionThey promote overall prostate health and alleviate the difficult urination associated with an enlarged prostate.
Improved Bladder FunctionIn some studies, pumpkin seed extracts improved bladder function in animals.
Depression TreatmentThey contain L-tryptophan, a compound naturally effective against depression.
Prevention of OsteoporosisBecause they are high in zinc, pumpkin seeds are a natural protector against osteoporosis. Low intake of zinc is linked to higher rates of osteoporosis.
Natural Anti-InflammatoryPumpkin seeds effectively reduce inflammation without the side effects of anti-inflammatory drugs.
Prevention of Kidney StonesThey prevent calcium oxalate kidney stone formation, according to studies.
Treatment of ParasitesThey are used in many cultures as a natural treatment for tapeworms and other parasites. Studies also show them to be effective against acute schistosomiasis, a parasite contracted from snails.
Great Source of Magnesium1/2 cup of pumpkin seeds contains 92% of your daily value of magnesium, a mineral in which most Americans are deficient.
Lower CholesterolPumpkin seeds contain phytosterols, compounds that that have been shown to reduce levels of LDL cholesterol.
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Chocolate Cravings May Be All in Your Stomach
13 October 2007, 03:10:25 editor@healthdiaries.com (Tracy)
A new study has found that chocoholics have different bacteria in their stomachs than people who do not crave chocolate.
22 men were studied, 11 who were "chocolate indifferent" and 11 who were "chocolate desiring."
Researchers studied their blood and urine for byproducts and found that the plasma metabolic profiles of the two groups were different. For example, the chocolate indifferent men had higher LDL cholesterol levels while the chocolate desiring men had lower LDL cholesterol and higher albumin levels. Urine samples showed different intestinal flora in the two groups.
All of this suggests that the body can be "imprinted" by the diet one eats and can adapt its metabolism accordingly. The trick for researchers is to learn how this works so they can learn how to adjust people's diets in order to manipulate their metabolisms.
This particular kind of research is called "nutrimetabonomics," a technique that examines the ways in which one's diet affects one's metabolism and overall health.Nestle SA funded the study and Sunil Kochhar, one of the co-authors of the study, works for the Nestle Research Center in Lausanne, Switzerland. He says, "At the end of the day, metabolism is the key."
The study was published today in the Journal of Proteome Research.
/////////////////////Potatoes are good for you as long as you prepare them in a healthy manner. Boiled and baked potatoes are good for you, French fries and potato chips are not.
Potatoes got a bad reputation due to the popularity of low-carb diets because they are high in starchy carbohydrates and low in protein. That doesn't mean that potatoes are bad for you, though.
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Identity: who am I?
Every year 98% of the atoms of my body are replaced: how can I claim to be still the same person that I was last year, or, worse, ten years ago? What is (where lies) my identity? What is "my" relationship to the metabolism of my body?
Derek Parfit once proposed a thought problem: what happens to a person who is destroyed by a scanner in London and rebuilt cell by cell in New York by a replicator that has received infinitely detailed information from the scanner about the state of each single cell, including all of the person's memories? Is the person still the same person? Or did the person die in London? What makes a person such a person: bodily or psychological continuity? If a person's matter is replaced cell by cell with equivalent cells is the person still the same person? If a person's psychological state (memory, beliefs, emotions and everything) is replaced with an equivalent psychological state is the person still the same person? The question eventually asks what is "a life": is it a continuum of bodily states, whereby one grows from a child to an adult, or is it a continuum of psychological states? Or both? Or none?
The most obvious paradox is: how can reality be still the same as we grow up? Do two completely different brains see the same image when they are presented with the same object? If the brains are different, then the pattern of neural excitement created by seeing that object will be completely different in the two brains. How can two completely different brains yield the same image in the two brains? The logical conclusion is "no, the tree I see is not the tree you see, we just happen to refer to it the same way so it is not important what exactly we see when we look at it". But then how can we see the same image yesterday, today and tomorrow? Our brain changes all the time. Between my brain of when I was five years old and my brain of today there is probably nothing in common: every single cell has changed, connections have changed, the physical shape of the brain has changed. The same object causes a different pattern in my brain today than it did in my brain forty years ago. Those are two different brains, made of different cells, organized in different ways: the two patterns are physically different. Nonetheless, it appears to me that my toys still look the same. But they shouldn't: since my brain changed, and the pattern they generate has changed, what I see today should be a different image than the one I saw as a five-year old. How is it that I see the same thing even if I have a different brain?
This thought experiment almost seem to prove that "I" am not in my brain, that there is something external to the brain that does not change over time, that the brain simply performs computations of the image but the ultimate "feeling" of that image is due to a "soul" that is external to the brain and does not depend on cells or connections.
On the other hand, it is easy to see that what we see is not really what we think we see.
We have to keep in mind that when we recognize something as something, we rarely see/feel/hear/touch again exactly the same thing we already saw/felt/heard/touched before. I recognize somebody's face, but that face cannot possibly be exactly the same image I saw last time: beard may have grown, a pimple may have appeared, hair may have been trimmed, a tan may have darkened the skin, or, quite simply, that face may be at a different angle (looking up, looking down, turned half way). I recognize a song, but the truth is that the same song never "sounds" the same: louder, softer, different speakers, static, different echo in the room, different position of my era with respect to the speakers. I recognize that today the temperaturs is "cold", but if we measured the temperature to the tenth decimal digit it is unlikely that we would get the exact same number that I got the previous time I felt the same cold. What we "recognize" is obviously not a physical quantity: a image, a sound, a temperature never repeat themselves. What is it then that we recognize when we recognize a face, a song or a temperature? Broadly speaking, it is a concept.
We build concepts of our sensory experience, we store those concepts for future use, and we matched the stored concepts with any new concept. When we do this comparison, we try to find similarity and identity. If the two concepts are similar enough, we assume that they are identical, that they are the same thing. If they are not similar enough, but they are more similar than the average, then we can probvably establish that they belong to a common super-concept (they are both faces, but not the same face; they are both songs, but not the same song; and so forth). We have a vast array of concepts which are organized in a hierarchy with many levels of generalization (your face to face of you and siblings to faces of that kind to face to ... to body part to ...). A sensory experience is somehow translated into a concept and that concept is matched with existing concepts and eventually located at some level of a hierarchy of concepts. If it is close enough to an existing concept of that hierarchy at that level, it is recognized as the same concept. Whatever the specific mechanism, it is obvious that what we recognize is not a physical quantity (distribution of colors, sound wave or temperature) but a concept, that somehow we build and compare with previously manufactured concepts.
Add to these considerations the fact that experience molds the brain: I am not only my genome, I am also the world around me. And I change all the time according to what is happening in the world. "I am" what the world is doing.
Identity is probably a concept. I have built over the years a concept of myself. My physical substance changes all the time, but, as long as it still matches my concept of myself, I still recognize it as myself.
The importance of being warm
When speculating about consciousness, identity and free will, it is important not to forget what bodies are and how they work.
Among the many bizarre features of living organisms, one is often overlooked: each living organism can live only within a very narrow range of temperature. Temperature is one of the most crucial survival factors.
Temperature also happens to be an important source of "identity": water and ice are made of the same atoms, it's the temperature that determines whether you are water or you are ice.
It's the temperature that determines whether your body is dead or alive, and it's the temperature that determines whether you are lying and shivering in bed or are playing soccer outside. Our identity does change with the temperature of our body (from no identity to "regular" identity to delirious identity).
Most of what our body does has nothing to do with writing poems or making scientific discoveries: it is about maintaining a stable temperature.
Free Will
Some scientists (and Albert Einstein with them) have argued that consciousness must be fabricated by reality, that what we feel is simply an unavoidable consequence of the state of the universe, that we are simply machines programmed by the rest of the universe.
Other scientists believe the opposite, that consciousness fabricates reality, that we have the power to alter the course of the events. They believe in free will.
Do we think or are we thought?
The question, while popular, is misleading. The question is, in a sense, already an answer: the moment we separate the "I" and the body, we have subscribed to dualism, to the view that spirit and matter are separate and spirit can control matter.
A free will grounded in matter is not easy to picture because we tend to believe in an "I" external to our body that controls our body.
But, in a materialist scenario, the "I" is supposed to be only the expression of brain processes. If that is the case, then "free will" is not about the "I" making a decision: the "I" will simply reflect that decision. What makes the decision is the brain process.
This does not mean that free will can't exist. It just needs to be redefined: can a brain process occur that is not completely caused by other physical processes?
In a materialist scenario, free will does not require consciousness: consciousness is an aspect of the brain process that "thinks". The question is whether that brain process has free will.
If consciousness is indeed dur to a physical process, if consciousness is ultimately material, does this preclude free will? For centuries we have considered free will an exclusive property of the soul, mainly because 1. we deemed the soul to be made of spirit and not matter, and 2. nothing in Physics allows for free will of matter.
If we now recognize that consciousness is a property of matter(possibly one that occurs only in some special form and configuration of matter, but nonetheless ultimately matter), the second statement must be examined carefully because the possibility of free will depends on its truth: if motion of matter is controlled only by deterministic laws, then free will is an illusion; if matter has a degree of control over its own motion, then free will is a fact.
The question is not whether we have free will, but whether the laws of our universe (i.e., Physics) allow for free will.
Purpose
Why do living things do what they do?
The purposiveness of living organisms is simply a consequence of evolution by natural selection. Living organisms have a fundamental goal, survival, and have inherited a repertory of behaviors to achieve that goal. But the concept of "survival" can be better qualified as self-regulation.
The 19th-century French psychologist Claude Bernard "discovered" the self-regulating nature of living organisms. Bernard realized that each living organism is a system built to maintain a constant internal state in the face of changing external conditions. The regulation of this "mieliu interieur" is life itself, because it is this stable state that gives the organism its independence from the environment, its identity. This is the dividing line that separates animate and inanimate matter: inanimate matter obeys Newton's laws of cause and effect, animate matter tends to maintain its state no matter what external forces are applied. Unlike objects, whose state is changed when a force is applied, the state of a living organism is not changed by an external force. The living organism, as long as it is alive, maintains its state constant.
The "purposeful" behavior of a living organism is the reaction to environmental forces: the organism needs to act in order to continuously restore its state. A body seems to "want", "intend", "desire" to maintain its internal state (either by eating, moving, sleeping, etc), a state that, ultimately, is a combination of chemical content and temperature. Living bodies appear to act purposedly, but they are simply reacting to the environment.
For Bernard "freedom" is independence from the environment. Control of the internal state allows a living organism to live in many different environments. The living organism is "free" in that is not a slave of its environment.
Bernard's idea of self-regulation extended to all living organisms. Humans are not the only ones to have "goals". Animate behavior "is" control of perception.
Will, not necessarily free: a materialistic view of free will
The problem with free will is that it does not fit too well with the scientific theories of the universe that have been developing over the last three centuries. While those theories are fairly accurate in predicting all the natural phenomena we deal with, they don't leave much room for free will. Particles behave the way they behave because of the fundamental laws of nature and because of what the other particles are doing; not because they can decide what to do. Since we are, ultimately, collections of particles, free will is an embarassment of Physics.
On the other hand, a simple look at the behavior of even a fly seems to prove that free will is indeed a fact and is pervasive. Free will is a fundamental attribute of life. A robot that moved but only repeating a mechanical sequence of steps would not be considered "alive". Life has very much to do with unpredictability of behavior, not just with behavior. Or, better, behavior is behavior inasmuch as it is unpredictable to a degree; otherwise it is simply "motion".
Whether it is indeed "free" or not, "will" (the apparent ability of an ant to decide in which direction to move) appears to be an inherent feature of life, no matter how primitive life is. A theory of life that does not predict free will is not a good theory of life. Somehow, "free" will must be a product of the chemistry of life, at some very elementary level. In other words, obtaining the right chemical mix in the laboratory would not be enough: that mix must also exhibit the symptoms of free will.
The origin of free will, therefore, appears to be life itself.
Free will and randomness
Free will is often associated to randomness: a being has free will if it can perform "random" actions, as opposed to actions rigidly determined by the universal clockwork. In other words, free will can exist only if the laws of nature allow for some random solutions, solutions that can be arbitrarily chosen by our consciousness. If no randomness exists in nature, then every action (including our very conscious thoughts) is predetermined by a formula and free will cannot exist.
In their quest for the source of randomness in human free will, both neurophysiologists like John Eccles and physicists like Roger Penrose have proposed that quantum effects are responsible for creating randomness in the processes of the human brain. Whether chance and free will can be equated (free will is supposed to lead to rational and deterministic decisions, not random ones) and whether Quantum Theory is the only possible source of randomness is debatable.
Since we know that a lot of what goes on in the universe is indeed regulated by strict formulas, the hope for free will should rely not so much in randomness as in "fuzzyness". It is unlikely that the laws of nature hide a competely random property; on the other hand, they could be "fuzzy", in that they may prescribe a behavior but with a broad range of possible degrees.
Free will and Physics
Whether we exercise it or not we do have free will: at every point in time we can choose what to do next.
Do animals also have free will? Or are they mechanisms, machines, that move according to formulas?
There is no evidence that at any point in time one can predict the next move of a chicken or an ant. No matter how simple and unconscious animals seem to be, their behavior is still largely unpredictable. You can guess what the chicken will want to do, but you can never be sure, and you can never guess the exact movements. There are infinite paths an ant can follow to go back to the nest and the one it will follow cannot be predicted. At every point of that path the ant can choose where to do next. Two ants will follow two different paths. Each ant seems to have its own personality.
Even the movement of mono-cellular organisms is unpredictable to some extent. No matter how small and simple the organism, a degree of free will seems to be there. Free will seems to be a property of life. What triggers the next move of bacteria, ants and chicken is not just a Newtonian formula. If they are machines, then these machines do not obey classical Physics. There is a degree of freedom that every living organism seems to enjoy. And it doesn't require a sophisticated brain. There is a degree of freedom that just shouldn't be there, if Newton was right.
If these are machines, they are machines that cannot be explained with our Mechanics because at every point in time there are many possible time evolutions and all seem to be possible, and none can be exactly predicted, pretty much like a quantum wave.
There is something missing in our Mechanics to account for free will of the machine.
Free will and choice
As usual, some misconception may arise from vague definitions. Is free will the consciousness of making one action out of so many possible ones, or is free will the ability to select one action out of so many possible ones? Why do we claim that a machine has no free will? Usually, because a machine can solve only the problems that we program it to solve. We, on the other hand, can solve novel problems in unpredictable situations (or, at least, give them a try). And that's because we can make actions that we have never done before and that nobody ever told us to do, whereas a machine can only do what it has been programmed to do.
This narrower definition of free will is interesting because it actually refers to the "architecture" and not really to the awareness or any other special property of human minds. Machines are built to solve specific problems in specific situations, simply because that is what humans are good at: building machines that solve specific problems in specific situations: we humans like to "design" a machine, to write the "specifications", etc. This is not the way nature built us. Nature built us on a different principle and it is no surprise that we behave differently. Since in nature we never know what the next problem and situation will be like, nature built us a "Darwinian" machines: our brains generate all the time a lot of possible actions and then pursue the ones that are "selected" by the environment (the specific problem and situation). Nature built us on a different principle than the one we use to build machines. The main difference between our mind and a machine is their archectures.
The lack of free will in machines is not a limit of machines: it is a limit of our mind. If we built a machine the same way nature builds its cognitive beings, i.e. with the same type of architecture, it would be a rather different machine, capable of generating a huge amount of random behaviors and then picking the one that best matches the current problem and situation. One can even envision a day when machines built with a "Darwinian" architecture (descendants of today's genetic algorithms and neural networks) will "out-free will" us, will exhibit even more free will than we do. After all, most of the times we simply obey orders (we obey publicity when we shop, we obey record labels when we sing a tune, we obey our mother's education all day long), whereas a machine would have no conditioning. And it may be able to generate a lot more alternatives than our brain does. Free will is simply a folk nome for the Darwinian architecture of our mind.
The substance of our brain may not be the reason that we have free will and machines do not. It may be possible to build machines that also exhibit free will, even if they are built out of electronic components.
Do we think or are we thought?
CRTSYhttp://www.scaruffi.com/science/freewill.html
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