2 Blowhards led me to this.
Geese, famous for their copious defecation, are less likely to defecate when they are flying.....
But when they do..... imagine a paintball made of crap.
But it has been estimated that depending on diet and season, a goose defecates from around once an hour to once every few minutes, for a total of a pound or more a day of droppings from a large goose.
As a resident of a city where thousands of geese come to spend the winter and make the area around the Capitol a watch-where-you-walk zone, I have no trouble believing that number.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Not Reading Enough?
Mark Morford at the San Fransisco Chronicle mulls over the decline of reading.
See, I love books. Admire and appreciate and adore. Was a lit major at Berkeley, read voraciously, still love to read, still like to consider myself a big consumer of books and deep thinker about bookish issues and ideas and authoralia.
And yet, if I'm painfully honest, I have to admit it: I barely read books anymore. Not nearly like I used to, anyway. Not for a long, long time. And chances are, if you're at all addicted to the new media vortex, neither do you.
I don't read as many books as I once did either, but cable TV, which came into my life in college, was probably the big culprit in that decline. I tended toward magazines and the reference section of the library anyway, so the Internet has actually been a boon to reading in general for me. I still subscribe to several magazines, but I certainly would have never read Mark Morford, or any of the many intelligent and creative people I regularly enjoy online, without the Internet. (An observation; the spellchecker says it should be Internet, not internet.) I think the thrill of the hunt may be part of the enjoyment; finding something interesting amid all the dreck. In that sense it's similar to a trip to the library or bookstore, except that I sit on my lazy rump.
See, I love books. Admire and appreciate and adore. Was a lit major at Berkeley, read voraciously, still love to read, still like to consider myself a big consumer of books and deep thinker about bookish issues and ideas and authoralia.
And yet, if I'm painfully honest, I have to admit it: I barely read books anymore. Not nearly like I used to, anyway. Not for a long, long time. And chances are, if you're at all addicted to the new media vortex, neither do you.
I don't read as many books as I once did either, but cable TV, which came into my life in college, was probably the big culprit in that decline. I tended toward magazines and the reference section of the library anyway, so the Internet has actually been a boon to reading in general for me. I still subscribe to several magazines, but I certainly would have never read Mark Morford, or any of the many intelligent and creative people I regularly enjoy online, without the Internet. (An observation; the spellchecker says it should be Internet, not internet.) I think the thrill of the hunt may be part of the enjoyment; finding something interesting amid all the dreck. In that sense it's similar to a trip to the library or bookstore, except that I sit on my lazy rump.
Mass Eye-Gouging Narrowly Averted
From the Onion, a reason to be glad Hillary Clinton lost the nomination.
.....devoted spouse and former president Bill Clinton breathed a resigned sigh Monday and carefully folded the charcoal silk, fitted sheath dress he had hoped to wear as first lady during next January's inauguration and placed it back in its beautiful box.
.....devoted spouse and former president Bill Clinton breathed a resigned sigh Monday and carefully folded the charcoal silk, fitted sheath dress he had hoped to wear as first lady during next January's inauguration and placed it back in its beautiful box.
No Scents
Elizabeth Zierah has an excellent article at Slate about the misery of losing her sense of smell.
I began searching the Internet like a cyber bloodhound (at least I could sniff virtually) for the trail that would lead to my missing sense of smell. I tried nasal washes, nose sprays, herbal remedies, steroids, acupuncture, antihistamines, dietary modification, meditation, and visualization. A few worked for very brief periods, but nothing lasted.
I lost normal function on the left side of my body from a stroke when I was 30, and although I've had a strong recovery, I still have limited fine-motor control in my left hand, I walk with a limp, and I can't feel much on my affected side. Yet without hesitation I can say that losing my sense of smell has been more traumatic than adapting to the disabling effects of the stroke.
My taste buds are in perfect working order, but without smell, each meal is a variation of sweet, salty, sour, bitter, or vaguely savory cardboard.
....not being able to smell yourself makes personal hygiene incredibly stressful.
I'm not only dogged by the fear of stinking; I've also found that life is more dangerous. I've burned food and melted pots so many times I should be declared a walking fire hazard. Like most anosmics, I view any gas appliance as an archnemesis. I've become compulsive about making sure my gas stove is really on when I turn the dial.
I've seen the potential danger once myself. A co-worker at Public TV lost his sense of smell due to nasal spray overuse. One day he put a frozen dinner in the microwave oven at work and it emitted a stench the like of which I've experienced only one other time, when I was near a dead cow that had been in the summer sun for a few days and burst. The dinner must have thawed long enough to spoil at some point, then got refrozen. He didn't notice it at all, and would have eaten at least some of it if we hadn't been there to intervene.
I began searching the Internet like a cyber bloodhound (at least I could sniff virtually) for the trail that would lead to my missing sense of smell. I tried nasal washes, nose sprays, herbal remedies, steroids, acupuncture, antihistamines, dietary modification, meditation, and visualization. A few worked for very brief periods, but nothing lasted.
I lost normal function on the left side of my body from a stroke when I was 30, and although I've had a strong recovery, I still have limited fine-motor control in my left hand, I walk with a limp, and I can't feel much on my affected side. Yet without hesitation I can say that losing my sense of smell has been more traumatic than adapting to the disabling effects of the stroke.
My taste buds are in perfect working order, but without smell, each meal is a variation of sweet, salty, sour, bitter, or vaguely savory cardboard.
....not being able to smell yourself makes personal hygiene incredibly stressful.
I'm not only dogged by the fear of stinking; I've also found that life is more dangerous. I've burned food and melted pots so many times I should be declared a walking fire hazard. Like most anosmics, I view any gas appliance as an archnemesis. I've become compulsive about making sure my gas stove is really on when I turn the dial.
I've seen the potential danger once myself. A co-worker at Public TV lost his sense of smell due to nasal spray overuse. One day he put a frozen dinner in the microwave oven at work and it emitted a stench the like of which I've experienced only one other time, when I was near a dead cow that had been in the summer sun for a few days and burst. The dinner must have thawed long enough to spoil at some point, then got refrozen. He didn't notice it at all, and would have eaten at least some of it if we hadn't been there to intervene.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Encouraging Writers
From her New Statesman blog, Scottish writer A.L. Kennedy:
....what do you say to young people who are trotting (or just ambling, in some cases) off in hopes of becoming professional writers ? Obviously, a part of you does want to simply scream, “DEAR GOD NO ! TURN BACK NOW ! BECOME A POLE DANCER ! SELL YOUR ORGANS ! ANYTHING ! IT’S HIDEOUS ! NO ONE WILL RESPECT YOU FOR IT – STRANGERS WON’T EVEN BELIEVE YOU WHEN YOU TELL THEM WHAT YOU DO ! AND WORKING FOR THE THEATRE, OR TV, OR FILM…? THAT’S LIKE RIPPING YOUR OWN HEART OUT, PARING IT INTO FLAKES WITH A HOT CHISEL AND THEN THROWING THE RESULTANT MESS DOWN A WELL. YOU’LL END UP BOSS-EYED, TWISTED, TICKING, SURROUNDED BY PALS YOU MADE UP EARLIER, SHATTERED RELATIONSHIPS AND CRUDE DRAWINGS OF THINGS YOU’D LIKE TO DO WHEN THE NURSES REMOVE YOUR RESTRAINTS.
But instead you smile, perhaps mention eating more fruit, self-maintenance, plans, hope – because the only thing worse than doing the thing you really love would be not doing it. And when it’s good it really is about as good as it gets – making dreams and wonders – not the worst job in the world.
....what do you say to young people who are trotting (or just ambling, in some cases) off in hopes of becoming professional writers ? Obviously, a part of you does want to simply scream, “DEAR GOD NO ! TURN BACK NOW ! BECOME A POLE DANCER ! SELL YOUR ORGANS ! ANYTHING ! IT’S HIDEOUS ! NO ONE WILL RESPECT YOU FOR IT – STRANGERS WON’T EVEN BELIEVE YOU WHEN YOU TELL THEM WHAT YOU DO ! AND WORKING FOR THE THEATRE, OR TV, OR FILM…? THAT’S LIKE RIPPING YOUR OWN HEART OUT, PARING IT INTO FLAKES WITH A HOT CHISEL AND THEN THROWING THE RESULTANT MESS DOWN A WELL. YOU’LL END UP BOSS-EYED, TWISTED, TICKING, SURROUNDED BY PALS YOU MADE UP EARLIER, SHATTERED RELATIONSHIPS AND CRUDE DRAWINGS OF THINGS YOU’D LIKE TO DO WHEN THE NURSES REMOVE YOUR RESTRAINTS.
But instead you smile, perhaps mention eating more fruit, self-maintenance, plans, hope – because the only thing worse than doing the thing you really love would be not doing it. And when it’s good it really is about as good as it gets – making dreams and wonders – not the worst job in the world.
Still Dead
Trying this takes more than guts; self-delusion is probably necessary.
A Moscow court convicted a man of fraud on Monday for preying on people mourning loved ones by saying he could resurrect the dead.
"He used a special method of influencing people distressed by the loss of relatives or the illness of loved ones," the judge said as he found Grabovoy guilty of 11 cases of fraud.
Whatever that special method is, it hangs on.
Dozens of Grabovoy's supporters crowded outside the scruffy court house in a Moscow suburb.
Despite the guilty verdict his mainly older supporters still believe Grabovoy has powers which can help them and that he has been unfairly persecuted and Grabovoy's lawyer vowed to appeal the ruling.
"We think the sentence is based on speculation and is absolutely unfair," lawyer Mikhail Tsyganenko said.
Hmmm..... It seems to me that raising the dead is something that would be beyond speculation. I would guess that one resurrected person would swing the case quite convincingly. Personally I would think big; perhaps Lenin after all those years on display. Yeltsin would also be a good choice; getting that body functioning again would be a feat.
A Moscow court convicted a man of fraud on Monday for preying on people mourning loved ones by saying he could resurrect the dead.
"He used a special method of influencing people distressed by the loss of relatives or the illness of loved ones," the judge said as he found Grabovoy guilty of 11 cases of fraud.
Whatever that special method is, it hangs on.
Dozens of Grabovoy's supporters crowded outside the scruffy court house in a Moscow suburb.
Despite the guilty verdict his mainly older supporters still believe Grabovoy has powers which can help them and that he has been unfairly persecuted and Grabovoy's lawyer vowed to appeal the ruling.
"We think the sentence is based on speculation and is absolutely unfair," lawyer Mikhail Tsyganenko said.
Hmmm..... It seems to me that raising the dead is something that would be beyond speculation. I would guess that one resurrected person would swing the case quite convincingly. Personally I would think big; perhaps Lenin after all those years on display. Yeltsin would also be a good choice; getting that body functioning again would be a feat.
Big Screen Material
This didn't take long.
Colombian movie director Simon Brand is teaming up with producers in Hollywood and his native country to bring to the big screen the story of last week's dramatic rescue of Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages in Colombia.
It does seem like an obvious idea.
Colombian movie director Simon Brand is teaming up with producers in Hollywood and his native country to bring to the big screen the story of last week's dramatic rescue of Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages in Colombia.
It does seem like an obvious idea.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Variety of What?
Admittedly I don't follow public opinion very closely, but I don't recall a clamor for this.
The Osbourne family are making a return to US television with a variety series, according to a report.
Who would bankroll such a thing? Who else?
The Fox network has commissioned the programme and plans to launch it with a Christmas special.
Mike Darnell, Fox's head of alternative programming, said the show was intended to make the concept of the variety show "feel new".
Eugene Young, an executive producer with the show's makers Fremantle, told Variety it would "tap into what the Osbournes do best, which is be themselves".
I saw them "be themselves" on their last TV series, and while they had a certain now-what-will-happen entertainment value, they didn't show anything resembling the type of skill set needed for a variety show. Ozzy is the most talented one - at one time he had a surprisingly good singing voice - but he's always been a flake and he looks like he's breaking down physically. The rest of the family hasn't shown much. Maybe a sketch-comedy format could work, but they just don't have the breadth of talent to handle different scripted material.
The Osbourne family are making a return to US television with a variety series, according to a report.
Who would bankroll such a thing? Who else?
The Fox network has commissioned the programme and plans to launch it with a Christmas special.
Mike Darnell, Fox's head of alternative programming, said the show was intended to make the concept of the variety show "feel new".
Eugene Young, an executive producer with the show's makers Fremantle, told Variety it would "tap into what the Osbournes do best, which is be themselves".
I saw them "be themselves" on their last TV series, and while they had a certain now-what-will-happen entertainment value, they didn't show anything resembling the type of skill set needed for a variety show. Ozzy is the most talented one - at one time he had a surprisingly good singing voice - but he's always been a flake and he looks like he's breaking down physically. The rest of the family hasn't shown much. Maybe a sketch-comedy format could work, but they just don't have the breadth of talent to handle different scripted material.
The Greatest Thing
James Lileks pointed me to this.
On July 6, 1928, in the small US town of Chillicothe, Missouri, the local newspaper broke the story on the front - and carried the advertisement on the back - of its eight page edition. From the following morning the Chillicothe Baking Company would be selling pre-sliced bread at quality grocers in the area, thanks to a powerful multi-bladed machine called the Rohwedder Bread Slicer.
It had been some time coming.
The bread slicer that made it all possible was invented by Iowa man Otto Rohwedder who built his first prototype in 1917 but it was not put into commercial use until 1928 when the Chillicothe Baking Co. took it on.
Thus was the standard for future inventions set. The significance has dimmed with time, but anyone who has attempted to slice bread manually understands why this was a big deal.
On July 6, 1928, in the small US town of Chillicothe, Missouri, the local newspaper broke the story on the front - and carried the advertisement on the back - of its eight page edition. From the following morning the Chillicothe Baking Company would be selling pre-sliced bread at quality grocers in the area, thanks to a powerful multi-bladed machine called the Rohwedder Bread Slicer.
It had been some time coming.
The bread slicer that made it all possible was invented by Iowa man Otto Rohwedder who built his first prototype in 1917 but it was not put into commercial use until 1928 when the Chillicothe Baking Co. took it on.
Thus was the standard for future inventions set. The significance has dimmed with time, but anyone who has attempted to slice bread manually understands why this was a big deal.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Just Stay Single
Maureen Dowd talked to a priest who for 40 years has been giving a lecture to high school kids - mostly girls - on choosing a spouse.
“It’s important to do it before they fall seriously in love, because then it will be too late,” he explains. “Infatuation trumps judgment.”
He cites a lot of red flags, most fairly obvious and sensible. A few snips.....
“Never marry a man who has no friends,”
“Does he have a sense of humor? That covers a multitude of sins.
“Don’t marry a problem character thinking you will change him.
“After I regale a group with this talk, the despairing cry goes up: ‘But you’ve eliminated everyone!’ Life is unfair.”
“It’s important to do it before they fall seriously in love, because then it will be too late,” he explains. “Infatuation trumps judgment.”
He cites a lot of red flags, most fairly obvious and sensible. A few snips.....
“Never marry a man who has no friends,”
“Does he have a sense of humor? That covers a multitude of sins.
“Don’t marry a problem character thinking you will change him.
“After I regale a group with this talk, the despairing cry goes up: ‘But you’ve eliminated everyone!’ Life is unfair.”
Wake It Up and Kill It
This could be good news for a lot of people.
They discovered that a mysterious gene carried by the herpes simplex-1 virus — the one that causes cold sores — allows the virus to lay low in the nerves it infects.
It may be possible to "wake up" the virus and then kill it with standard antiviral drugs such as acyclovir, said Jennifer Lin Umbach of Duke University in North Carolina, who worked on the study released Wednesday.
This could treat more than cold sores.
Herpes simplex 1 or HSV-1 causes cold sores, HSV-2 causes genital herpes, while varicella causes chicken pox and returns in middle or old age as herpes zoster to cause shingles.
The potential market is large. An estimated one in five Americans have genital herpes, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, while 100 million have the HSV-1 virus that causes cold sores.
The CDC estimates there are a million cases of shingles every year in the United States alone.
They discovered that a mysterious gene carried by the herpes simplex-1 virus — the one that causes cold sores — allows the virus to lay low in the nerves it infects.
It may be possible to "wake up" the virus and then kill it with standard antiviral drugs such as acyclovir, said Jennifer Lin Umbach of Duke University in North Carolina, who worked on the study released Wednesday.
This could treat more than cold sores.
Herpes simplex 1 or HSV-1 causes cold sores, HSV-2 causes genital herpes, while varicella causes chicken pox and returns in middle or old age as herpes zoster to cause shingles.
The potential market is large. An estimated one in five Americans have genital herpes, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, while 100 million have the HSV-1 virus that causes cold sores.
The CDC estimates there are a million cases of shingles every year in the United States alone.
Leave on a High Note
At least one band knows to stay retired.
Swedish supergroup Abba will "never" perform on stage again, two of the band's members have said.
Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson told The Sunday Telegraph there was "simply no motivation to regroup".
"We would like people to remember us as we were, young, exuberant and full of ambition," Ulvaeus told the newspaper.
Praise be. Admittedly money is a motivation for many groups to try to recapture the old magic, but I wish more would be deterred by the embarrassments of past attempts, especially by those that were marginally talented at their peak.
Ulvaeus added: "I remember Robert Plant saying Led Zeppelin were a covers band now because they cover all their own stuff. I think that hit the nail on the head."
It sure did, but Plant still can't resist the urge, and I can understand it a little bit when you still can get awards. But most groups are closer to this than to Led Zeppelin, and when you've gotten to that point, maybe it's time to stop.
Swedish supergroup Abba will "never" perform on stage again, two of the band's members have said.
Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson told The Sunday Telegraph there was "simply no motivation to regroup".
"We would like people to remember us as we were, young, exuberant and full of ambition," Ulvaeus told the newspaper.
Praise be. Admittedly money is a motivation for many groups to try to recapture the old magic, but I wish more would be deterred by the embarrassments of past attempts, especially by those that were marginally talented at their peak.
Ulvaeus added: "I remember Robert Plant saying Led Zeppelin were a covers band now because they cover all their own stuff. I think that hit the nail on the head."
It sure did, but Plant still can't resist the urge, and I can understand it a little bit when you still can get awards. But most groups are closer to this than to Led Zeppelin, and when you've gotten to that point, maybe it's time to stop.
Test of Time
Mark Vernon, while recommending reading the work of the first quantum physicists, posted this quote....
'A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it.' Max Planck
That has been true of a good many ideas. For some reason it immediately brought to mind the unconnected, yet somehow cosmically related, death of Jesse Helms and success of Barack Obama.
'A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it.' Max Planck
That has been true of a good many ideas. For some reason it immediately brought to mind the unconnected, yet somehow cosmically related, death of Jesse Helms and success of Barack Obama.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Next, An Ice Cream Truck and A Chocolate Syrup Tanker
Well, they have gotten expensive....
Two trailers loaded with bananas have been stolen from the Port of Wilmington.
Two trailers loaded with bananas have been stolen from the Port of Wilmington.
Too Valuable to Use
Via Arts and Letters Daily:
Oil has gotten too expensive even for the oil producers.
.....the state-owned Oman Oil Company signed a memorandum of understanding with two Korean companies on the construction and operation of several coal-fired power plants. Dubai, for its part, is initially planning to build at least four large facilities with a cumulative output of 4,000 megawatts. Abu Dhabi also wants to get into the act. Even Egypt is thinking of constructing its first coal-fired plant on the shores of the Red Sea.
Oil-rich Russia is planning the construction of more than thirty new coal-fired power plants by 2011.
They are currently able to sell their oil at record prices on the global market (currently over $140 a barrel). At the same time, they are able to satisfy their own energy needs at a much lower cost with coal shipped in from overseas.
Oil has gotten too expensive even for the oil producers.
.....the state-owned Oman Oil Company signed a memorandum of understanding with two Korean companies on the construction and operation of several coal-fired power plants. Dubai, for its part, is initially planning to build at least four large facilities with a cumulative output of 4,000 megawatts. Abu Dhabi also wants to get into the act. Even Egypt is thinking of constructing its first coal-fired plant on the shores of the Red Sea.
Oil-rich Russia is planning the construction of more than thirty new coal-fired power plants by 2011.
They are currently able to sell their oil at record prices on the global market (currently over $140 a barrel). At the same time, they are able to satisfy their own energy needs at a much lower cost with coal shipped in from overseas.
Or Are You Just Glad to See Me?
Criminal stupidity in New Hampshire.......
....when Trooper John Hennessey asked about the bulge in Belmont's pants, he refused to cooperate and had to be physically restrained, police said.
Police searched him at the Seabrook Police Department, and approximately one pound of cocaine, packaged in a plastic bag, was found in his underwear.
....when Trooper John Hennessey asked about the bulge in Belmont's pants, he refused to cooperate and had to be physically restrained, police said.
Police searched him at the Seabrook Police Department, and approximately one pound of cocaine, packaged in a plastic bag, was found in his underwear.
Kung Fu Panda - Freedom Fighter?
I haven't seen this movie, but based on the ads it seemed to be a decent bit of fluffy entertainment with a standard success-through-hard-work-and-determination plot. I didn't imagine this....
....animated Hollywood comedy "Kung Fu Panda" has led Chinese artists to find fault with their own film industry and call for fewer government controls on culture.
"The film's protagonist is China's national treasure and all the elements are Chinese, but why didn't we make such a film?" Wu Jiang, president of the China National Peking Opera Company, was cited as saying by Xinhua news agency on Saturday.
Lu Chuan, a young film director, applauded "Kung Fu Panda" as a fresh and rich take on Chinese culture, mixing references to martial arts films with classic legends.
Lu said the government was stifling the creativity of China's filmmakers, explaining how he had been asked to make an animated film for the Olympic Games, which will be hosted by Beijing in August, but decided to walk away from the project. "I kept receiving directions and orders on how the movie should be like," he said.
Artists aren't the only ones talking.
A standing committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Congress said that, though there was no secret ingredient to filmmaking success, the government ought to relax its oversight. Opening more space for Chinese artists would allow more innovation, ultimately giving China greater cultural influence abroad, they concluded.
Chinese moviegoers have expressed their opinions as well.
The comedy had earned $16 million at the Chinese box office as of Wednesday, according to its distributors. Any film that grosses $15 million is considered a big hit in China.
It really is hard to predict what can have an effect on a totalitarian regime, especially a free-market hybrid like China,which as far as I know hasn't previously been tried. Perhaps the people who say that free trade will eventually change things there are right.
....animated Hollywood comedy "Kung Fu Panda" has led Chinese artists to find fault with their own film industry and call for fewer government controls on culture.
"The film's protagonist is China's national treasure and all the elements are Chinese, but why didn't we make such a film?" Wu Jiang, president of the China National Peking Opera Company, was cited as saying by Xinhua news agency on Saturday.
Lu Chuan, a young film director, applauded "Kung Fu Panda" as a fresh and rich take on Chinese culture, mixing references to martial arts films with classic legends.
Lu said the government was stifling the creativity of China's filmmakers, explaining how he had been asked to make an animated film for the Olympic Games, which will be hosted by Beijing in August, but decided to walk away from the project. "I kept receiving directions and orders on how the movie should be like," he said.
Artists aren't the only ones talking.
A standing committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Congress said that, though there was no secret ingredient to filmmaking success, the government ought to relax its oversight. Opening more space for Chinese artists would allow more innovation, ultimately giving China greater cultural influence abroad, they concluded.
Chinese moviegoers have expressed their opinions as well.
The comedy had earned $16 million at the Chinese box office as of Wednesday, according to its distributors. Any film that grosses $15 million is considered a big hit in China.
It really is hard to predict what can have an effect on a totalitarian regime, especially a free-market hybrid like China,which as far as I know hasn't previously been tried. Perhaps the people who say that free trade will eventually change things there are right.
Friday, July 4, 2008
Wonder Drug
The applications never end.
Athletes looking for a performance boost are increasingly turning to a little blue pill more usually taken for its off-the-field benefits: Viagra.
The drug works by increasing the effects of nitric oxide, which makes blood vessels expand. That should theoretically allow blood cells to travel to the lungs more efficiently and to also receive more oxygen. It may also improve heart function.
Viagra is also approved to treat pulmonary hypertension, a condition where the lungs' blood vessels tighten. Doctors have used the drug experimentally to treat pregnant women with high blood pressure and to ward off jet lag.
But whether Viagra makes athletes faster, higher or stronger is uncertain.
Not all athletes benefit.
Viagra is only likely to help athletes like runners, cyclists or skiers — sports where endurance and speed are key.
Hmmm...speed and endurance......It seems to me that increasing those would benefit anyone engaging in the most popular activity involving that drug. However, I can also imagine how it's best-known effect could be a hindrance to a male athlete should it kick in during competition.
Athletes looking for a performance boost are increasingly turning to a little blue pill more usually taken for its off-the-field benefits: Viagra.
The drug works by increasing the effects of nitric oxide, which makes blood vessels expand. That should theoretically allow blood cells to travel to the lungs more efficiently and to also receive more oxygen. It may also improve heart function.
Viagra is also approved to treat pulmonary hypertension, a condition where the lungs' blood vessels tighten. Doctors have used the drug experimentally to treat pregnant women with high blood pressure and to ward off jet lag.
But whether Viagra makes athletes faster, higher or stronger is uncertain.
Not all athletes benefit.
Viagra is only likely to help athletes like runners, cyclists or skiers — sports where endurance and speed are key.
Hmmm...speed and endurance......It seems to me that increasing those would benefit anyone engaging in the most popular activity involving that drug. However, I can also imagine how it's best-known effect could be a hindrance to a male athlete should it kick in during competition.
Marriage - Good, Bad and Indifferent
Jon Carroll.....
My obstinacy with regard to remodeling or, indeed, any change anywhere in the house is the despair of my wife. It's gotten so she starts proposals with, "OK, don't say no right away, think about it" or "I know you're going to say no, but ..." So I say "yes" once and I'm a hero, which is a kind of creepy conditioned behavior, but marriage is just creepy conditioned behavior with kissing, in my view.
From a New English Review article.....
“Woman inspires us to great things," remarked Alexandre Dumas, "and prevents us from achieving them.”
“Certainly the best works, and of greatest merit for the public, have proceeded from the unmarried or childless men,” wrote Sir Francis Bacon (not a bachelor, but perhaps wishing he were).
H.L. Mencken....
“Bachelors know more about women than married men; if they didn’t they’d be married too.”
“If you are afraid of loneliness,” warned Chekhov, “don't marry."
On the other hand.....
Sir Francis Bacon maintained that, “wife and children are a kind of discipline of humanity; and single men…are more cruel and hardhearted (good to make severe inquisitors), because their tenderness is not so oft called upon.”
George Gilder likewise notes that "Men need durable ties to women to discipline them for civilized life, or they become a menace to society and themselves… and tend to live short and destructive lives." Men, he argues, need marriage for psychological stability. Marriage/monogamy increases your chances of surviving and reproducing, which is what our genes demand of us. And he commonly lives a happier and longer life. Without women men revert to packs, and spend summer nights chawing tobacco, swilling moonshine, and baying at the moon.
My obstinacy with regard to remodeling or, indeed, any change anywhere in the house is the despair of my wife. It's gotten so she starts proposals with, "OK, don't say no right away, think about it" or "I know you're going to say no, but ..." So I say "yes" once and I'm a hero, which is a kind of creepy conditioned behavior, but marriage is just creepy conditioned behavior with kissing, in my view.
From a New English Review article.....
“Woman inspires us to great things," remarked Alexandre Dumas, "and prevents us from achieving them.”
“Certainly the best works, and of greatest merit for the public, have proceeded from the unmarried or childless men,” wrote Sir Francis Bacon (not a bachelor, but perhaps wishing he were).
H.L. Mencken....
“Bachelors know more about women than married men; if they didn’t they’d be married too.”
“If you are afraid of loneliness,” warned Chekhov, “don't marry."
On the other hand.....
Sir Francis Bacon maintained that, “wife and children are a kind of discipline of humanity; and single men…are more cruel and hardhearted (good to make severe inquisitors), because their tenderness is not so oft called upon.”
George Gilder likewise notes that "Men need durable ties to women to discipline them for civilized life, or they become a menace to society and themselves… and tend to live short and destructive lives." Men, he argues, need marriage for psychological stability. Marriage/monogamy increases your chances of surviving and reproducing, which is what our genes demand of us. And he commonly lives a happier and longer life. Without women men revert to packs, and spend summer nights chawing tobacco, swilling moonshine, and baying at the moon.
Safe Driving = Free Gasoline
Sometimes I'm just not paying attention. I had to find this via Marginal Revolution.
Residents in Sioux Falls, S.D., continued to top the chart as the safest drivers in the U.S., according to the fourth annual “Allstate America’s Best Drivers Report™.” The average driver in Sioux Falls experiences an auto collision every 14.6 years. Compared to the national likelihood of a collision every 10 years – Sioux Falls motorists are 31.6 percent less likely to have an accident than the national average.
This is a bit amusing because I know many people who dread driving in Sioux Falls due to the traffic (which at it's worst would be considered a divine gift in many cities).
They gave away free gasoline as a reward. It wasn't easy to get....
The free gas is available from 5:30 this morning until 8:30. You can line up at the Get 'n Go at South Louise and South Shirley Avenue to get 10 gallons of free gas per car or truck.
Residents in Sioux Falls, S.D., continued to top the chart as the safest drivers in the U.S., according to the fourth annual “Allstate America’s Best Drivers Report™.” The average driver in Sioux Falls experiences an auto collision every 14.6 years. Compared to the national likelihood of a collision every 10 years – Sioux Falls motorists are 31.6 percent less likely to have an accident than the national average.
This is a bit amusing because I know many people who dread driving in Sioux Falls due to the traffic (which at it's worst would be considered a divine gift in many cities).
They gave away free gasoline as a reward. It wasn't easy to get....
The free gas is available from 5:30 this morning until 8:30. You can line up at the Get 'n Go at South Louise and South Shirley Avenue to get 10 gallons of free gas per car or truck.
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