Thursday, October 18, 2007

Speedlinking 10/18/07

Quote of the day:

"Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself."
~ Leo Tolstoy

Image of the day:


BODY
~ New study finds red wine can fight diabetes -- "I can hear the cheers from the streets. All those with type 2 diabetes are celebrating the recent news. A new study has found that resveratrol, an antioxidant found in red wine, may be able to counter type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance." Resveratrol is good, but you won't get enough from Red Wine to help, unless you drink so damn much you'll get diabetes from the alcohol.
~ The Injury Prevention Roundtable -- "Nobody cares about injuries (boring!) until they get one. That's too bad, because sooner or later your knee, shoulder, hip, or back is going to start barking like a coonhound on the hunt. Even babes aren't immune."
~ Survey Identifies Diet Fatigue As A Leading Cause Of Diet Failure -- "Dieters, some of whom have tried as many as 20 different diets, reported "tiring of dieting" as a primary reason for stopping a weight loss program, according to a survey conducted by About.com Health and InsightExpress. More than 30 percent of respondents cited having dieted between three to five times in their lifetime, and a quarter have attempted dieting at least 20 times." That's why we shouldn't diet -- we should adopt a new lifestyle.
~ New Study: Pine Bark Extract Boosts Nitric Oxide (NO) Production -- "A study to be published in the October edition of Hypertension Research reveals Pycnogenol(R), (pic-noj-en-all), an antioxidant plant extract from the bark of the French maritime pine tree, helps individuals by enhancing healthy nitric oxide (NO) production which leads to an increase in blood flow and oxygen supply to muscles." This is the same way Viagra works, and I'll bet this is much cheaper.
~ Low male hormones may predict metabolic syndrome -- "As men age they are more likely than women to develop symptoms of metabolic syndrome, including increased belly size, high blood pressure, and cholesterol and blood sugar abnormalities; and study findings also suggest that low male hormone levels may predict an increased metabolic syndrome risk."
~ Health Tip: Breast Self-Exams -- "Women should give themselves a breast exam each month, beginning at age 20. This exam should be performed at about the same time every month."
~ Raw Seafood Poses Digestive Risks -- "Eating raw or undercooked seafood -- such as sushi and sashimi -- increases the risk of infection by parasitic worm larvae. And such infection can cause severe stomach and intestinal problems such as diarrhea, cramping, and vomiting that warrant a visit to a hospital emergency department, say two cases studies by Japanese researchers."
~ 13 Tips to Actually Enjoy Exercising -- "Is staying in shape always something that gets bumped to the bottom of your list? I know many people that complain about not having enough time to exercise. I think they are lying to themselves. The real problem is that they hate exercising, so it will never be a priority."


PSYCHE/SELF
~ Feminists (and their men) have more fun -- "Feminism boosts sexual satisfaction for both men and women, a new study suggests. Busting stereotypes that peg feminists as man-haters, a new study shows that having a feminist partner is linked with healthier, more romantic heterosexual relationships."
~ Big, Buff and Bad: Police on Steroids -- "Police on tough beats are increasingly turning to steroids to cope with fear."
~ The relationship between money and happiness -- "Newsweek has a brief article on what research has told us about the link between money and happiness. Essentially, more money makes you happier until you're comfortable, and then, it really doesn't do much good."
~ Kids May Benefit from Less Support -- "When children become frustrated or angry, it's only natural that their parents will want to comfort them, but research indicates that parents who provide too much support for their children may actually hinder their emotional development."
~ Dream Symbols 20: Animals in General -- "At first glance, animals in dreams could be interpreted as the instinctual part of our nature; the part that is not yet refined, sophisticated, and conscious."
~ Sentimentality: A Fetish for Firsts -- "Why we love authentic originals."
~ Memories: Sweet Remembrance -- "Nostalgic people have high self-esteem."
~ A Simple Method to Avoid Being Judgmental (yes, that means you!) -- "We are all judgmental. Yes, even you. I certainly am, many times. I think it’s human nature."
~ Family Togetherness at Mealtime Leads to Overall Benefits -- "I've been talking about it for years and so was pleased to see the New York Times dedicate an article to the topic recently. Families that eat together show dramatic results that could potentially mean a lot from the point of view of our global society."


CULTURE/POLITICS
~ Brownback to Drop Out -- "The AP is reporting and First Read has confirmed that Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) will withdraw from the presidential race tomorrow in a speech in Topeka, Kan."
~ Report warns of ethnic cleansing in Baghdad -- "U.S. officials in Baghdad fear that violence between Sunnis and Shi'ites in some areas will erupt into "ethnic cleansing" with the departure of U.S. forces, a government watchdog said on Thursday."
~ 'Slam': Witty tale of a teenage skateboarder brought down to Earth -- "Nick Hornby specializes in movingly hilarious tales of emotionally neutered man-boys grappling with unwelcome adult problems...."
~ Naomi Wolf: Finally, Action! Ron Paul Introduces Bill to Defend Constitution! -- "On Monday, Rep. Ron Paul, the outsider Republican presidential candidate who has long upheld these values and who was an early voice warning of the grave danger to all of us of these abuses, introduced the AFA's legislative package into Congress. (The mainstream press has an irrational habit of disparaging outsider candidates -- as if corrupt money and machine endorsements equal seriousness of purpose -- even though the Founders hoped that the system they established would lead citizens, ideally those unembedded in the establishment, to offer their service to the nation.) It is the American Freedom Agenda Act of 2007 [PDF], and you should read it in its entirety: just as accounts of the recent abuses send chills down your spine, this beautifully argued document feels historic and has the ring of great power to correct great injustice."
~ War on Iraq: Report: Iraqis Years Away From Autonomy -- "In Congressional testimony, USIP officials say the country needs years of 'engagement.'"
~ The trouble with indie rock -- "New Yorker pop critic Sasha Frere-Jones has often indicated boredom and annoyance with a lot of the critically acclaimed, music-blog, and/or NPR-approved "indie rock" of this decade. This week, in an article, a couple of blog entries, and a podcast, he tries to articulate why. His answer?"
~ The Dems' Post-Veto Vote Plan -- "Their attempt to override Bush on children's health care is just the start of a campaign to dare the President to veto other bills."


HABITATS/TECHNOLOGY
~ Dioxin pollution leads to more baby girls -study -- "More girls than boys are born in some Canadian communities because airborne pollutants called dioxins can alter normal sex ratios, even if the source of the pollution is many kilometers away, researchers say." Xenoestrogens are nasty.
~ China reveals space plans -- "China on Thursday revealed its plans for space -- including space walking, spacecraft docking and the setting up of a space laboratory before 2010, state media reported."
~ When Ants Go Sweating: Zoologists to Study Climate Change Effects -- "A North Carolina State University zoologist is the lead researcher on a five-year, $3 million study that will turn up the heat on a number of ant species to learn more about the effects of climate change."
~ US climate bill calls for emission caps -- "Compromise bill set to be first to move through US legislative process."
~ Moonlight Inspires Corals to Spawn -- "By the light, of the silvery moon, corals get in tune, and soon, it's a spawning delight. While their silvery moon was written about people, songwriters Ray Noble and Snookie Lanson understood the motivation. Now, scientists think they may have found out how reef-building corals manage to coordinate their sex lives in moonlight bay."
~ Sticky mussels inspire biomedical engineer yet again -- "Mussels are delicious when cooked in a white wine broth, but they also have two other well-known qualities before they`re put in a pot: they stick to virtually all inorganic and organic surfaces, and they stick with amazing tenacity."


INTEGRAL/BUDDHIST
~ Fundamentalism -- "In writing the previous post, I was reminded of how we are all fundamentalists. What we usually recognize as fundamentalism is the crude form of taking certain religious or political views as absolutely true and beyond what can be questioned."
~ Buddhism and the Use of Force -- "A recent post by US military chaplain candidate Malasri [aka, somya] to the blog Buddhist Military Sangha raises an interesting question: Can a Buddhist Join the Army? And, it raises further, related questions of what role we should expect for “force,” from the military or police, to play in society."
~ The Crossroads, Oh Yes, Yet Again -- "It would be easy to say something like "Life was good but I knew it wouldn't last" but that wouldn't be truthful. It was more that I understood that "the robot was happy", that soon enough Things of The World would come round that would make the robot unhappy, and that dang skippy if I wasn't going to enjoy the heck out of whatever Happy was allotted to me this go around."
~ Integral Shamanics -- " SHAMANIC HEALING is an ancient, effective way to address and remedy core causes of illness in the body, heart, mind, and spirit. It assists in the release of emotional and physical pain, old patterns of behavior, and blocks that stand in the way of a life lived with strength, clarity, and meaning. It can help relieve symptoms of depression, fatigue, anxiety, anger, confusion, and stress."
~ Replacing The Need to Be Right with The Desire to Share -- "This post about judgmentalism at zen habits made me think hard. There’s nothing wrong with judgment per se; we have to utilize judgment every day in order to survive. The problems come about because human beings are horrible at detaching our judgment of specific ideas and actions from the person behind them. We may start out believing that we’re “loving the sinner and hating the sin”; bust the majority of the time, we end up judging the person - and enjoying the feeling of moral superiority we reap from it." It's good to have Jay blogging again!
~ Roundup on October 17, 2007 -- "Five quick items for today: Eric in Baghdad; a monk nowhere; the world all around us; Justin in conflict; and Radiohead in your DVD player."


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