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**Books I'm Reading**
Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer
by Tracy Kidder
Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes
The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason - by Sam Harris
Contents Copyright © 2003-2008 by Brent Zupp — All Rights Reserved.
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How to Avoid Jet Lag - A New Rule-of-Tum
Avoid jet lag - According to a Harvard animal study, the sleep-wake cycle can be reset by fasting for 12-16 hours. So to avoid jet lag, the researchers offered this rule-of-tum...
- Figure out when breakfast is served in the new timezone
- Don't eat for 12-16 hours before that time
Avoid eating for 12-16 hours - The Harvard study suggests that delayed eating helps reset the sleep-wake cycle, which could help reduce jet lag or adjusting to working a swing shift.
Evaporative (Swamp) Coolers - Research
Evaporative or swamp coolers are an energy efficient alternative for cooling air during a summertime heatwave. They work on a simple principle: when water evaporates, it takes a little bit energy (heat) away with it. This creates a cooling effect like the one we experience when our sweat evaporates.
Evaporative or swamp coolers use this cooling effect to create and distribute cool air in a room or home. However, as those on the U.S. East Coast know only too well, evaporative cooling doesn't happen when the air is already saturated with water vapor--a condition we call high humidity. And high humidity doesn't just occur outside; a home, room, or even the inside of a car (during an amorous escapade) can become highly humid. Because of this, rooms cooled by evaporative coolers need to be well ventilated. Without ventilation, evaporative coolers will turn your home or room into a humid sauna. Below are more tips and info...
Wade Davis TED Talk - Worldwide Web of Belief & Ritual - Video
Wade Davis TED Talk - Riveting talk by anthropologist Wade Davis about the "worldwide web of belief and ritual." Davis is such passionate advocate for all cultures, maintaining that no culture is a "failed attempt at modern life." Instead, each is a unique, creative expression that strives to answer life's questions of why? and how? If anything, Davis considers these ancient and ongoing cultures (Mayan, Inuit, etc.) as much richer and complex than the culture(s) of our modern industrial age. After hearing Davis' talk, he certainly has good reason to feel that way.
Get Rid of Ants - Without Pesticides or Poison
Get Rid of Ants - Superb article on Associated Content describes How to Get Rid of Ants Without Using a Pesticide. Below is a summary.
How Long to Boil Water - So It's Safe to Drink
How Long to Boil Water So It's Safe to Drink - It's a critical issue when hiking in the wilderness or traveling in some foreign lands. Filters and purifiers can work well, HOWEVER:
The ONLY 100% reliable method for killing waterborne pathogens is boiling.
According to the Wilderness Medical Society...
- water temperatures above 160° F (70° C) kill all pathogens within 30 minutes and
- water temperatures above 185° F (85° C) kill all pathogens within a few minutes.
So by the time water temperature goes from 160° F (70° C) to the boiling point (212° F or 100° C), all pathogens have been killed, even at high altitude.
Why Men Have Better Friends
Friendship between Women
A woman didn't come home one night. The next morning she told her husband that she had slept over at a friend's house. The man called his wife's 10 best friends. None of them knew anything about it.
Friendship between Men
A man didn't come home one night. The next morning he told his wife that he had slept over at a friend's house. The woman called her husband's 10 best friends, eight of which confirmed that he had slept over, and two said that he was still there.
Why Men Have Better Friends - Source
Trekking / Hiking Poles - Pros and Cons
Pros - Advantages of Trekking Poles
- Reduce impact on knee joints and leg muscles - Arm and shoulder muscles take some of the load off the leg muscles and joints. 1
- Increase hill climbing power - Legs and arms can contribute to the climb.
- Reduced swelling in hands - Hands-above-heart position and arm motion used with poles prevents blood from pooling in the hands.
- Aid balance - When balance is thrown off due to terrain or middle ear problems.
- Regular breathing and increased stamina - Because using poles creates a consistent, steady walking rhythm.
- Useful for testing areas for snakes, stability, etc.
GoLite Jam 2 Ultra-Lite Backpack - Review
GoLite Jam 2 Ultra-Lite Backpack - Fantastic! Never go back to the bulky, heavy packs. This pack rocks, though you have to be into the ultra-lite approach to make it work as a true hiking pack. But I also use it for day hikes--at 22 oz., it's lighter than my other dayhike packs.
I caught the ultra-lite bug while reading Ray Jardine's Beyond Backpacking, which is infused with the ultra-lite philosophy Jardine preaches. Indeed, hiking the "Ray Way" has become something of a religion among ultra-lite purists. I just think the guy makes sense. Why lug 50 pounds of redundant gear on a hike and make yourself miserable? When done right, traveling lighter is safer and more enjoyable. Amen.
Effects of Carbs and Sugars on Heart Disease - Research Review
Merrell Moab Ventilator - Lightweight Hiking Boots
I LOVE THESE BOOTS! - Lightweight, comfortable, durable. These Merrell Moab Ventilator lightweight hiking boots are great! I'm using them to hike around a local steep trail with lots of gravel and rocks. I feel very stable and, since they are so lightweight, my legs and feet don't feel so tired as compared to other, heavier boots. I'm very happy with my purchase, and would recommend them to friends and family.
I've tried waterproof (Gortex) boots. But the problem with waterproof boots is that they are hot to wear, and if they do get wet (from water entering over the boot's cuff), then it takes forever for them to dry out (a guy did a test, and the boots took 4 days to dry). In moderate conditions, these Merrell Ventilator boots should dry out overnight (again, a guy did a test).
Low-Carb Diet Plan - Gary Taubes
Low-Carb Diet Plan - Found this list in Gary Taubes' book Good Calories, Bad Calories to be about right. He culled it from Herman Taller and and Robert Atkins. More-or-less how I am eating. I'm basically avoiding any processed carbs, though I do eat Leo Galland's Omega Blast Granola in the morning. In fact, I really love many of the recipes from Leo Galland's Fat Resistance Diet.
Why Fat People Always Feel Hungry
Why Fat People Always Feel Hungry - I've been reading a lot about diets and obesity, and I've finally come to some conclusions which have been corroborated in Gary Taubes' paradigm-shattering book, Good Calories, Bad Calories.
The body regulates fat metabolism very precisely in ALL people--fat, lean, and in-between.
In a few sentences - Digestion of carbs and sugars leads to insulin secretion. Insulin secretion tells your body to store fat in fat cells. Insulin secretion also prevents your body from releasing fat from fat cells. You cannot lose weight (burn fat) with insulin in your bloodstream.
In other words - Insulin prevents your fat cells from releasing fat. So if you reduce your blood insulin levels (through low-carb eating), you enable your body to burn fat. But if you keep insulin levels high (through high-carb eating), you absolutely CANNOT burn fat.
The model 1 below explains why people get fat and why fat people constantly feel hungry.
Dog Diary vs. Cat Diary
The Dog's Diary
8:00 am - Dog food! My favorite thing!
9:30 am - A car ride! My favorite thing!
9:40 am - A walk in the park! My favorite thing!
10:30 am - Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!
12:00 pm - Milk bones! My favorite thing!
1:00 pm - Played in the yard! My favorite thing!
3:00 pm - Wagged my tail! My favorite thing!
5:00 pm - Dinner! My favorite thing!
7:00 pm - Got to play ball! My favorite thing!
8:00 pm - Wow! Watched TV with the people! My favorite thing!
11:00 pm - Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing!
Fisherman Meets Harvard MBA - Who Finds More Meaning in Life?
Found this parable in various places. Nice story.
A boat docked in a tiny Mexican village. An American tourist complimented the Mexican fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them.
"Not very long," answered the Mexican.
"But then, why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?" asked the American.
Five Rules for Mastering Leptin
Five Rules for Mastering Leptin - I found this a ready summary of Byron and Mary Richards' book Mastering Leptin. The book itself contains an enormous amount of detail, as the authors present their findings from a thorough research review on the recently discovered appetite controlling hormone leptin.
Ben Stein Gets Expelled - Commentary
Ben Stein
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed
Ben Stein hosts a documentary called Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. I have not seen the film yet, and at first I was quite critical about the film's position, as I saw it, of supporting creationism. But as I read more, I realize that while I don't agree with Stein's position on creationism, I do agree that those who support the hypothesis should not be persecuted--IF indeed they are exploring a hypothesis of intelligent design scientifically and not simply foisting or promulgating religious beliefs.* But if people, scientific or not, want to explore the idea that there is an intelligence behind the creation of the universe, more power to them. It's an hypothesis worth exploring scientifically. However, it is not dogma that should be accepted without evidence...or taught in our schools. As dogma, such a belief is personal and/or religious. As a hypothesis, it's worth exploring.
Regarding the film's production, I've heard accounts that some of the scientists who criticize creationism (Dawkins, etc.) were mislead by producers as to the film's intent and how their participation would be used. If true, that's really offends me and greatly reduces my interest in seeing the film.
Fat Resistance Diet - by Leo Galland - Review
Fat Resistance Diet by Leo Galland - After working with the Rosedale Diet - High Fat, Moderate Protein, Minimal Carb Eating Plan, I found that I loved Rosedale's ideas but felt something was missing. Then I bumped into the Fat Resistance Diet by Leo Galland, M.D. Fat Resistance Diet focuses on recovering leptin sensitivity by avoiding systemic inflammation in the body. Leptin is a key hormone in the body that controls appetite, among other things. Like insulin, many people are insensitive to leptin levels in their blood due to chronic inflammation. The Fat Resistance diet is designed by Galland to reduce that inflammation and recover leptin (and insulin) sensitivity.
The book is well written and quite profound in its analysis of the diet's own principles and those of other, competing diets. The meals and recipes included in the book are excellent, and the diet as a whole seems much more sustainable than Atkins, South Beach, Rosedale, etc. The focus is on whole foods as a way to obtain good proteins, good fats, AND good carbs, as well as many micro- and phyto-nutrients. The more I read Galland, the more he made sense and further he refined what I had read before. Control systemic inflammation and you control leptin, insulin, and health.
Cholesterol Myth - Evidence Refuting Cholesterol Causes Heart Disease
Cholesterol Myth / Heart Disease Myth - I've become suspicious of the current model that high blood cholesterol (LDL) is directly related to coronary heart disease risk (CHD). Operating from this belief, doctors prescribe drugs which reduce blood LDL levels thinking this effect also reduces the heart disease risk (CHD). Specifically, I'm referring to the widespread acceptance of statin drugs (Crestor, Zocor, Lipitor, etc.).
Statins clearly reduce LDL, but they carry with them other effects that may be more relevant to reducing CHD risk than their impact on LDL levels. It's like thinking that if we can stop gray hair, we can stop aging. Gray hair is a symptom of aging, but not likely a cause. Similarly, LDL may be a symptom of CHD risk, but NOT likely a cause.
However, as I make clear below, I don't think high LDL is necessarily a symptom of high CHD risk.
Work in progress. I hope to have study citations to support each assertion listed below in what I hope will be a more comprehensive model of coronary heart disease (CHD).
Stroke of Insight - Jill Bolte Taylor at TED - Video & Transcript
Stroke of Insight - Jill Bolte Taylor - One of the most profound presentations I have ever experienced....WATCH THIS!
Pastor Jeremiah Wright - In Context
Barack Obama and Jeremiah Wright
Pastor Jeremiah Wright - In Context - With all the controversy about Pastor Jeremiah Wright's words, I wanted to get a bit closer to the context. I concluded that the news hysteria is misguided. In context, the sound-bites make perfect sense and don't justify the inflammatory response generated by the out-of-context sound-bites repeated ad-nauseum by our shameful media.
When we adopt the opinions of the media, accepting as proof a sound-bite, we risk being mislead. We risk public opinion being corralled by a minority with an agenda. Again, we've been fooled.
"A More Perfect Union" - Barack Obama Speech - Video & Transcript
- Barack Obama - A More Perfect Union
- Obama delivers a brilliant, no-BS speech on race in the America.
Transcript below...
That Inner Warmth - Self Portrait by Leanne Lim-Walker
That Inner Warmth - I absolutely love this Leanne Lim-Walker self-portrait, which was featured on a Popular photography magazine cover. Something about the composition, light, and beautiful face keeps pulling me back to this image.
Marc LeRoy Roach - Obituary
My cousin Marc Roach was a kind, gentle, and adventurous man--the kind of person who, after you met him, you'd say, "Damn, I want to get to know that guy better!" Sadly, none of us will have that opportunity. Below is the obituary written by his father LeRoy--with kibitzing/editing from his brother Mike.
Tips For Handling Telemarketers
"" | Received via email. I've edited the original. Some good tips.
Tips for Handling Telemarketers - Three Little Words That Work!!
- Answer phone.
- If no one is there, press the # key 7 or 8 times rapidly.* Otherwise...
- Say: "Hold on, please..."
- Put down your phone (instead of hanging-up) and walk away. This makes your call time-consuming and costs the telemarketer.
- When you hear phone company's 'beep-beep-beep, hang up phone.
US Adults Shifting Religions
U.S. Adults Shifting Religions - Catholics are leaving the church in record numbers (with recent scandals, no surprise). But an "influx of Catholic immigrants" balances out the losses. Nondenominational Protestants are up, and the number of adults unaffiliated with an organized religion are way up. Buddhist, Muslims, and Pentecostals are the only growing populations, with Pentecostals leading that race.
Get the Most From Your Statin
Get the Most from Your Statin - Everyday Health reports that when and how you take your statin can influence its effectiveness and absorption.
- Mevacor - Take with food. This almost doubles the amount of medication absorbed into bloodstream.
- Mevacor, Pravachol, Zocor, Lescol - Take with your evening meal. These statins block a one of the liver's key cholesterol-making enzymes, and that enzyme is most active at night.
- Crestor, Lipitor - Take at any time, as these statins stay in the body and bloodstream long enough that you can take them any time.
- Pravachol - If on other medications, try Pravachol, which is less likely to interact with other medications than other statins.
South Beach Heart Health Revolution - by Agatston - Notes
Calcium score - Also called Agatston score, measures the amount of calcified plaque inside the coronary arteries. Higher the calcium score, the higher the chance of heart attack. Excellent predictor of future heart attack risk.
Computed tomography (CT) or electron beam tomography (EBT) - used for imaging heart. Scans provide a calcium score?
Atherosclerosis - When artery walls gradually filled with plaque (cholesterol, inflammatory cells, scar tissue). Different kinds of plaque. Heart attack caused when soft cholesterol rich plaque bursts, resulting in blood clot. Blood clot blocks blood flow to heart. News to me. I thought plaque, not a blood clot, that caused artery blockage and heart attack. But this clot model makes sense, given sudden nature of heart attack. A slowly developing plaque blockage should give the heart time to grow collateral vessels.
Better model of heart attack - Heart attack not caused by plaque blockage in the tube of the vessel (old school). The culprit is plaque depositing in the inner lining of vessel walls, like pimple filled with cholesterol. When pimples bursts, an injury site is created. To heal the injury, a clot will form. If the clot is big enough, it blocks the artery, causing heart attack.
Where Does the Money Go? - Moyers Interview with Bittle & Johnson
Where Does the Money Go? - In their book Where Does the Money Go - Your Guided Tour to the Federal Budget Crisis, Scott Bittle & Jean Johnson explain in understandable terms where the U.S. government spends YOUR tax dollars.
In an interview with Bill Moyers, Bittle and Jean reveal that the U.S. Government has spent more money than it received in taxes for 31 of the last 35 years. Meaning, that in good times and bad, the U.S. Government is spending more than it brings in. No company, no household, no government can spend more than it receives without consequences. Companies and households go bankrupt (or get a government bail out). The government simply borrows and prints more money, which eventually leads to a financial crisis (inflation, currency collapse, etc.)
Some think the spending problem would be solved if we left IRAQ. Not so....
Closed Caption Missing on HD Channels - Solution Found!
Caption Missing on HD Channels - After installing Comcast cable box, we lost the closed captioning for HD TV channels.
The HD problem - Caption controls exist on two separate menus: one for the TV, and one for the cable box. To display captions for HD channels, you need to enable captioning through the cable box's caption menu. The TV's caption menu will NOT enable captions for HD TV channels.
The hard part is figuring out how to access the cable box's caption menu. Here's how we accessed the cable box's caption menu and restored the captioning for ALL channels, HD and non-HD.
Avoid Hospitals on Weekends!
Avoid Hospitals on Weekends!
In the past decade, studies have found that patients treated at hospitals on weekends have inferior outcomes when compared with those receiving care on weekdays. In some cases, researchers have found, that can also mean a higher death rate.
~ If Possible, Avoid Hospitals on Weekends
Support Our Troops ≠ Support the War
Support Our Troops - I see it on bumper stickers, though less often than a few years ago. And I've heard many people assert that if you don't support the Iraq war, you don't support our troops...though, again, less often than a few years ago. I guess we are finally separating the ideas of supporting a policy of war and supporting our troops. We realize we can support our troops and not support a war.
It's like supporting students but not supporting the school.
Sometimes the best way to show your support is to pull the students (or soldiers) out.
Cave Bookcase - Design by Sakura Adachi
Cave Bookcase by Sakura Adachi - I love this idea and image. It does look like a cave in a bookcase--not that it looks that comfortable, but it's a visually jarring image because the smooth curves interrupt the straight vertical and horizontal lines. Sakura Adachi has designed a winner cave bookcase...expensive...but a winner.
Raspberry-sized Turtle - Cool Photo
Raspberry Sized Turtle - Too cute...and somehow I don't think this is photoshopped, but perhaps I'm naive. Love the image in any case...
Tips for Christians Battling Evil Atheists
This appeared on a Google group Atheism vs. Christianity under the title: Christians: Tips To Doing Battle With Evil Atheists. I actually thought this was pretty compassionate advice...Am I whacked?
- Remember that they are people, just like you are. Contrary to what you may have been led to believe, they are not some lower life form we share this planet with.
- More than likely, they are smarter than you are. This can be difficult to come to grips with, but it does appear to be true and is a claim that is actually supported by the Bible (1 Corinthians 1:18-31)
- Statistically, they are also as moral, if not more so than you are. While it is a good thing that they generally are highly moral, it is a shame that we, who often times claim the moral high ground, seem unable, or unwilling, to match our words with our lives.
Men Not Needed to Create Sperm
Men Not Needed to Create Sperm - Finally, proof that the male of the species is superfluous: scientists at the University of Newcastle have created human sperm cells from female embryonic stem cells. Coming research....I didn't intend that pun...will focus on creating sperm from female bone marrow, a less controversial source.
But this technique would only produce a female egg, right?
Actually, current efforts won't produce a viable egg at all. Before that can happen, the researchers must figure out a way to induce the cells to undergo meiosis, which would give the diploid cells the correct amount of genetic material.
Where Does Money Come From?
Permit me to issue and control the money of the nation, and I care not who makes the laws.
~ Mayer Anselm Rothschild, Banker
I sincerely believe that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies, and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale.
~ Thomas Jefferson
Where does money come from? - As best I can tell, money is literally created from debt. So when a bank is established, it makes a deposit into a Federal reserve bank. The amount they deposit determines how much money the bank can (initially) loan. So if a bank puts $10,000 into the Federal reserve, they can loan something like 10 times that, or $100,000. In other words, the act of depositing into Federal reserve gives them the right to loan $100,000. Where does the extra $90,000 come from?
That's the sleight of hand that no one talks about.
Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS USM AF Lens - Research
Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS USM AF Lens
I want to upgrade the main lense on my Canon SLR. This looks to be the best candidate.
Excellent review from Amazon Customer
108 of 118 people found the following review helpful:
By L. T. Beasimer "LB" (Dallas, TX)
I first bought the Canon EF 28-135mm IS lens to use with my Canon 10D along with the Canon EF 75-300mm f/4.5-5.6 Zoom Lens. About four years later I have sold all my original purchases. The Canon EF 28-135mm was my most used lens, and I still had it until March 2006 when I replaced it with the Canon EF 24-105mm IS f/4L.
Being an L lens, the dust and moisture resistant construction of the Canon EF 24-105mm IS f/4L is sturdy. The lens consists of eighteen elements in thirteen groups including one Super-UD glass element and three aspherical lenses to minimize chromatic aberration and distortion. With a standard twist zoom focus, this lens permits for auto or manual focusing depending on how the switch is set.
Iraq Reckoning - Peter Oborne - Documentary
Dispatches - Iraq Reckoning - Wow! Iraq Reckoning is an absolutely riveting analysis/critique/documentary of Iraq war from British reporter, Peter Oborne.
In Iraq Reckoning, Oborne reports how Bush/Blair went into Iraq without a plan for post-war Iraq. Interviews with former officials confirm this. The opinion that Saddam was "evil" seemed justification enough to invade the country for both Tony Blair and George Bush.
Oborne then describes how soldiers fought a losing battle with local insurgents and terrorists for control of the country--or more accurately, regions of the country. At first Baathist party members were shunned, thrown out because of their ties to Saddam. Now they are being welcomed back into the governing fold, at least in Baghdad. Why?
Unix Commands for Sex
Unix Commands for Sex - If you're not doing it right, try this...
gawk; grep; unzip; touch; strip; init, uncompress, gasp; finger; find, route, whereis, which, mount; fsck; nice, more; yes; gasp; umount; head, halt, renice, restore, touch, whereis, which, route, mount, more, yes, gasp, umount, expand, ping, make clean; sleep
Favorite Atheism Quotes
Atheism Quotes - Absolutely love the Top 50 Atheism Quotes from LeftOfZen.com. Here are about 20 of my favorites:
With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.
~ Steven Weinberg
"It ain’t those parts of the Bible that I can’t understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand."
~ Mark Twain
Properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for atheism ever conceived.
~ Isaac Asimov
The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one.
~ George Bernard Shaw
Men never commit evil so fully and joyfully as when they do it for religious convictions.
~ Blaise Pascal
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