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June 29, 2006
June 28, 2006
Earn Some Cash - Get On The Affiliate Bandwagon
Peet's Coffee - It's Good and Good For You
I'm up early enjoying a fresh cup of Peet's coffee this Wednesday morning. It's nice and quiet, a great time to think, reflect, read and write a little.
Sort of...
I overfilled the coffee maker and when I went into the kitchen - the coffee maker, the counter, front of the dishwasher and a big spot on the floor were covered with messy coffee grounds.
Okay - now that I have that cleaned up, things are looking good.
I've been catching little blurbs on the news telling me that coffee is good for you. Might help prevent cirrhosis of the liver and also benefit the heart, fight cancer, diabetes and Parkinson's.
According to an article in the The Daily Record - UK -
"Scientists at the Kaiser Permanente division of research, in Oakland, California, found that, in a study of 125,000 people, the risk of developing cirrhosis (a permanent scarring damage to the liver) was cut by 20 per cent in those who drank one cup of coffee a day.But that figure rose to 80 per cent with four cups a day, and general blood tests showed healthier liver results in those who were coffee drinkers.
So, could coffee, once regarded only as a morning fix, be reborn as the most unlikely health drink?
Here are just some of the ways that coffee has been found to benefit the body in recent years.
HEART DISEASE
WHILE coffee has been negatively linked to heart disease in the past, with large quantities affecting heart rhythms, a study at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee found that coffee drinkers are less likely to suffer heart problems than tea drinkers. While that study was based on patient testimony drinking, and not on laboratory scientific data, it has been proven that the antioxidants in coffee can mop up heart disease-causing free radicals.
CANCER
THE anti-heart disease antioxidants are also very effective at fighting and preventing cancer. They mop up the same free radicals which can damage cells and lead to cancers, and coffee is one of the best sources of antioxidants in the average daily diet. It is said to be particularly effective in preventing kidney cancer, liver cancer and colorectal cancers.
GALLSTONES
THE Harvard School of Public Health found in research into gallstone health that male coffee drinkers, taking two to three cups a day, had a 45 per cent lower risk of developing the condition and females a 40 per cent lower risk. Gallstones are small blobs of hardened matter which form out of liquid in the gall bladder, and can block intestinal tubes, causing painful and occasionally fatal damage. The same benefit that coffee gives was not noted in drinkers of other caffeine drinks like tea or cola.
SEX DRIVE
A STUDY earlier this year at the Southwestern University in the USA found that coffee stimulated the sex drive of female rats. The scientists believe the drink stimulated the arousal parts of the brain, but have not yet verified if the same effect would be true of human females.
DIABETES
STUDIES in the US have shown that coffee intake can be linked to a lower risk of Type 2 diabetes, although scientists in Finland were not able to ascertain which ingredient in the drink was the causal factor. Other research showed that coffee intake led to reduced weight gain.
LIVER HEALTH
THE new report in California shows that regular intake of coffee, from one to four cups a day, can significantly improve the health of the liver, especially following boozing. The research in Oakland showed that cirrhosis scarring was much less evident in coffee drinkers, meaning that the relative intake was related to the ability of the liver to regenerate itself.
ALERTNESS
THE best known symptom of drinking coffee is to help us be more alert. It has been found to aid concentration and awareness, and even to help relieve the sluggish symptoms of the common cold.
PARKINSON'S / ALZHEIMER'S
RESEARCH in the USA showed that those who drink coffee are much less likely to suffer from Parkinson's disease. The research team found that people who drink four or more cups a day are less likely to develop the condition.
There has also been a suggestion, although it has not yet been proved, that there is a link between coffee and a reduced risk of Alzheimer's.
The theory is based on the way that coffee can stimulate brain cells to absorb a material called choline, which is a brain chemical decimated by the disease.
Research to prove this and other potential benefits of coffee drinking are currently underway across the world."
June 19, 2006
Bora Bora - Flickr
June 18, 2006
Paste Magazine
I bought a bag at eBags.com awhile back and got a complimentary trial subscription to Paste
It's a really good magazine if you want to keep up on music somewhat, but don't have time or access to other sources. It's pretty hard to know what's happening musically if all you can listen to is commercial FM and maybe a couple of public or college stations. Paste has articles on all sorts of music from popular to independent, classical, blues, country, jazz, and even some opera. Not only is a good way to keep in touch with what's happening in the music world but some of the articles are quite in depth and well written.
Since I'm plugging things, I'll put in a good word for ebags.com too. Their price was lower than anything I could find locally for the same bag, plus there was no sales tax and shipping was free. Their webpage is very user friendly, the ordering process was easy and they were quick to get me my new bag. If you are shopping for a laptop bag, briefcase, handbag, shoulder bag or luggage, I'd check them out.
Feverish Writing
I'm writing feverishly. Or more precisely I have a fever and I'm writing. I'm surprised that I managed to pick up some kind of bug last week that is causing me to have an intermittent fever. It features a sore throat that's sort of creeping into my ear as a side effect.
Wonderful.
I'm surprised because we are rolling into summer and you wouldn't think it's the cold and flu season. Oh well...things could be a heck of a lot worse.
I replaced an electric mirror on a 96 Pontiac Bonneville yesterday. Two things made it a challenge - getting the door panel off and putting one nut on the mirror mount. Hint - there are three screws that hold a door panel on that model Bonnie, as well as the typical pop-out inserts around the edges. Getting the nut on and tightened was hard because there was only enough room to sort of get two fingers on it and you had to curl your arm up inside the door and over a sharp edge. There wasn't enough room to get a socket on it, but luckily I had a thin wrench from an old motorcycle toolkit that worked. You had to spin the nut on with one finger (don't ding up the threads before hand) and then work by feel with the small wrench to tighten. You also don't want to drop anything because the bottom of the door is a black hole from which nothing will return.
I'm glad it's done. You'd think Detroit's engineers would make something like a mirror that is fairly easily damaged, fairly easy to replace. I have no idea what a mechanic or a body shop would charge for that job, but it took me about 4 hours.
Nacho Libre
I watched "Nacho Libre" yesterday. Jack Black as Nacho is great of course and I liked his sidekick Esqueleto (Hector Jimenez) and the pretty Sister Encarnación (Ana de la Reguera) as well. I'm not surprised to see some critics (Roger Ebert for example) are not giving the movie the best reviews. It's not unusual that a movie the critics love turns out to be one I don't care for or vice versa.
Little things in the movie are funny...
The outfit Nacho wears on his night out - the white pants, white shoes and the baby blue sweater with the dickey-like turtleneck, is hilarious and perfect. The shelter that Nacho made of sticks when he went into the "wilderness" and the fact that he's basically in someone's backyard make that scene funny. His attempt to save Sister Encarnación from the bad guys in a pre-arranged plot he and Esqueleto cooked up to impress her is good for some laughs when he mistakenly confronts a couple of innocent people passing by.
It's a fun summer movie that has some good guy bad guy action, a little bit of a commentary on religion or at least piety, a couple of catchy songs and a leading man who reminds me of a mix of Errol Flynn, Ricardo Montalban, a not quite so manic Jerry Lewis and John Belushi.
The movie is directed by Jared Hess and written by him, his wife Jerusha and Mike White.
June 15, 2006
People Work Better When Surrounded By Beautiful Things
Bryan Corliss from the Everett Herald continues his tour of Boeing 787 key suppliers with a stop in Italy.
When asked about the stylish new Alenia factory in Grottaglie, Italy that will be building parts for the new Boeing 787 the architect said,
"And why not? asked Julian Vertefeuille, proudly showing off his firm's design work, "people work better when surrounded by beautiful things."
June 14, 2006
Home Away From Home
HomeAway.com lists Vacation Rentals, Vacation Accommodations, and Condo Rentals in the U.S. and Worldwide.
You can rent the Seabluff Cottage on Washington state's Whidbey Island for $175 to $250 per night ($1200 to $1500 per week) depending on the season, a cabin in the woods near Noxon Montana for $125 per night ($800 per week), or a cabin beside a waterfall in North Carolina's Stone Mountain State Park for $115 to $139 per night ($625 to $794 per week).
If you are looking for something a little more affordable the Snohomish County Washington - Kayak Point yurt camping is a possibility for $40 to $45 per night during peak season (less in winter). They also have a large house for rent at Kayak Point for $73 to $147 per night depending on season and time of week.
NWsource has an article on yurts, tepees, a covered wagon and small cabins available on the Washington coast and in Oregon's state parks.
If you tend toward the solitary lifestyle maybe just throw one of these in your pack or on your bike and hit the road...
June 11, 2006
Boeing - Around The World in 160 Hours
Bryan Corliss from the Everett Herald is Seeing Boeing's World on a public relations trip to key suppliers for the new 787 airplane.
Stops include Charleston South Carolina, Grottaglie Italy and Nagoya Japan.
You can read about his experiences at Heraldnet.com and on his Blog beginning today.
June 10, 2006
Beautiful Evening
I took a long nap today and when I woke up and went outside late in the afternoon it was warm, sunny, and just slightly humid. I rode my bicycle to the park and looked out on the sound while sipping a Diet Coke. The water was shimmering and there was just a hint of haze. A few other people were around sitting on the benches, playing games, walking dogs and just hanging out.
On my way home I saw a family sitting in their front yard eating dinner at a dining room type table. It looked like they were wrapping up a garage/yard sale. It appeared very sociable. I was thinking it would be interesting if people made a habit of setting their dining room tables in the front yard on nice evenings. People could stroll around, sit down and have a drink or a bite to eat, talk to people across the street...visit...laugh...watch the kids running around.
A little further up the road I saw a guy who reminded me of El Kabong. It looked like they were having a family reunion or some sort of celebration in the little park by my house. El Kabong was carrying a small guitar and using it as a play sword to mock fight with another guy. I think he was supposed to be Elvis.
As the sun went down a big yellow full moon came up over the horizon and I went inside to listen to Natalie Merchant sing and tap on my laptop keys.
It was a beautiful evening.
YouTube - Must Love Jaws
Ari Eisner and Mike Dow's cool funny example of video remix using scenes from the movie "Jaws" and the James Blunt song "You're Beautiful" from his album Back to Bedlam
June 08, 2006
Boeing Blogging With Movable Type and Textura
Movable Type News article Behind the Scenes of Boeing's Blogs is an interesting interview with D.L. Byron from Textura Design, a Seattle based company, about Boeing moving into the blogosphere....trying to find ways to become more "bloggy".
Boeing has several blogs that have been created using Six Apart's MovableType blogging platform including this Flight Test blog about development of the 777-200LR, a general-interest Boeing Blog called Randy's journal, written by Randy Baseler V.P. of Marketing (check out the comments - some are pretty interesting), as well as internal blogs on the company's intranet - mentioned in a recent Business Week online article in which Boeing is given high marks for their willingness to innovate in the area of blogging.
June 06, 2006
Nacho Libre - In Theatres June 16th
June 01, 2006
New Interactive Poker Game STACKED™ with Daniel Negreanu to be Featured on MTV and MTV-2
From the press release -
"MTV Presents: STACKED Poker is a half hour special premiering on Friday, June 2nd at 9 PM on MTV2 and Saturday, June 3rd at 9 PM on MTV.
The program gets inside the breakout phenomenon of professional poker and highlights the launch of STACKED™ with Daniel Negreanu.
Negreanu stars in this half-hour special with his unique brand of strategy, intuition and charisma. Shot on location at The Aladdin Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, MTV Presents: STACKED Poker takes viewers through an explanation of the video game, STACKED, an introductory game of poker with Negreanu, then he faces a group of college age competition, competes against some of the world’s top ranked poker players and ends the show by sitting down at a table with special celebrity guests, Ryan Cabrera and Benji from Good Charlotte, to pass on some of his poker expertise.
Throughout, Daniel will occasionally “freeze frame” and address the audience with his unparalleled insights into poker strategy, player tells and insider tips."