Great Discoveries: Recommended Websites For You

 Nasa.gov: Nasa has a new content-rich multimedia website  and image gallery.

ICyte.com: stores information off your computer permanently - files, images, mail, webpages,  whatever.

FUTURITY.org: latest research news from universities in America, Canada and the U.K.

healthyimagination.com: sharing health ideas with partners around the web.

realage.com: Find your real age according to your health habits, track your health progress, learn about new research, try new recipes. (a favorite, getting better)

 Royal Magazin: A fun site to browse, if not very practical.

All-Acronymns.com: Growing in popularity, this helpful site lists organizations and meanings connected to initials, e.g. A.M.S., the American Mathematical Society (AMS) has 278 additional definitions.

Is This a Woman Or a Man?

An abaya

Belgium has banned use of the burqa, pictured next. The BBC calls it the "first move of its kind in Europe."

alaffia.com

Amnesty International has reacted; they say it's a "dangerous precedent." Human rights groups say wearing a burqa is "an expression" of identity and beliefs.

This is an extremely controversial topic, and I disagree even with my sixteen year old daughter, who believes in self-expression and is tolerant of these coverings and thinks it is none of my business. It's my turn to react.

To me, these coverings are dangerous pieces of clothing in many ways.

1) The many layers of cloth can get caught in anything moving, such as vehicles, revolving doors, elevators and escalators, and there is a continual nuisance factor.

2) It is very similar to a cloak of invisibility and affords extreme privacy where none is expected, necessary or welcome. Many people can't readily identify someone wearing a full-body covering without years of practice and it can be a security risk in many situations, such as schools and public spaces. It is like a pair of sunglasses that obscures a person, but this object of clothing covers the entire body, and it isn't an efficient coverup from the point of view of the weather.

3) Most importantly, it is associated with countries where the freedoms women can expect to enjoy, and have taken years of hard work to achieve, are ignored.

Liberal Muslims and women's rights groups are advocating for the compulsory enforcement of the Burqa to be stopped so [women] are given the choice to decide if they want to wear the Burqa or not. (relijournal.com).

Turkey and Tunisia prohibit the wearing of hijab [Quran's admonition to women to dress modestly] in government buildings, schools and universities. But Saudi Arabia and Iran and warlords in southern Afghanistan "enforce the dress code strictly with severe punishments through the religious police."

You Know You Wondered: Miss Alaska 1984 Aims for Politics

This is the woman who actually did win the Miss Alaska 1984 title where Sarah Palin placed second. Maryline Blackburn, once of Alaska, now lives in Georgia, and is running for the State Legislature in Georgia.

Maryline Blackburn
ajc.com

To Save Ourselves, Innovations Must Be Developed

Many are discussing the politically sensitive issue of offshore oil drilling off the coast of the United States after the recent destruction of an oil platform off the coast of Louisiana, in the Gulf of Mexico. This oil spill threatens the surrounding coastline with an environmental disaster and guarantees lawsuits against BP for years.

 

Oil Slick off the Southwest Pass of the Mississippi River near Louisiana

newser.com.AP Photo/Gerald Herbert

The big problem is the world's increasing need for oil. While some might accuse the media of distorting the amount of oil being squandered since the current offshore loss is a small percentage of daily oil usage in the United States alone, they miss the big point: oil is a non-renewable resource and when it's gone, it's gone. This controversial resource would almost seem more precious than water and people, although it isn't and must be kept in its place as a tool.

If only the problem of oil-dependence could inspire and reward innovators to act now as the Administration hopes.  If oil runs out completely, Americans and most other nations around the world will be forced very quickly to change the way they conduct and run businesses, heat houses and power landscape equipment. At some point in time, not very far into the future, all forms of transportation will have to rely on alternative fuel.

The world must practice sustainability. America, too, should unify to create new ways to become more energy self-sufficient and less dependent on oil. Native Americans near Cape Cod on the East Coast, specifically two Wampanoag tribes, say the sight of newly-built wind farms there will "disturb their spiritual sun greetings."

redgreenandblue.org

Can Americans help themselves and the world, including China and India with their increasing consumption of oil, and reduce, if not eliminate their oil demands without changing their businesses and lifestyles? Where is the world going to get more oil when natural reserves run dry? Hope is a luxury.  It isn't the correct answer.

Proof: Slushees Cool The Body Better Than Cold Water Or Hot Tea

Yes, indeed, at least before going outside on a hot day, says an interesting article in the New York Times by science writer Gina Kolata called "To Beat the Heat, Drink a Slushie First." Drinks variously called slushes, slurries, slushies, or slushees, made of crushed particles of ice and syrup are useful at cooling the body on hot days. Best news yet, this advice has the approval of a study in the Official Journal of the American College of Sports Medicine. In the study, "those who drank the slurry " hit a heart rate of 185 beats per minute ten minutes later than those who drank cold water.

While the article mentions how useful these drinks would be for sports team players and exercisers, the advice could usefully extend to anyone who stands outside for an hour on a hot day, or to northerners who arrive in the tropics and experience sudden excessive heat, despite the danger of "brain freeze" or "ice-cream" headaches.

This proof would debunk the erroneous idea that hot tea keeps the body cooler as many believe. It would be nice to have scientific proof that hot drinks likewise warm the body if taken before an hour outside (shoveling snow perhaps) on a freezing cold day. (Certainly it's more welcome to see slush in a tumbler in the heat than unexpectedly on the road in a white-out as happened to me last month!)

www.thepartyrentalcompany.com

Odd the name of such a pleasurable drink is spelled so many ways in English.


 

"Make Yourself Heart Attack Proof": Video review

Did you know that you should try to keep your cholesterol level below 150 mg/dL and your LDL below 80 mg/dL? 

The National Institutes of Health (NIH)  and the American Heart Association guidelines recommend higher levels, such as cholesterol levels below 200 mg/dL, and have for many years. The truth calls for much stricter guidelines. Everyone interested in prevention should take heed.

Cleveland Clinic, home of the Wellness Center

 This highbrow video by Caldwell Esselstyn MD, (former) Chief of Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic discusses studies with charts and images of healthy and unhealthy arteries and how he has successfully reversed heart disease in his patients. A low fat, plant-based diet without oils is key. This is a great video well-worth watching. Dr. Esselstyn makes very important health suggestions through diet therapy. He advocates not just slowing and reducing intake of fats, but eliminating them.

Here's a link to his book called "Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease: The Revolutionary, Scientifically Proven, Nutrition-Based Cure" available at amazon.com. It has many detailed photographs and wonderful recipes.

Wikipedia notes Dr. Esselstyn was an Olympic athlete in rowing competitions and connected by marriage to the founder of the Cleveland Clinic. He and his family practice this diet.

UPDATE: further reading indicates Dr. Esselstyn was the winner of a  Gold Medal at the Olympics and "1st recipient of the Benjamin Spock Award for Compassion in Medicine".

Did You Know Digital Copiers Retain Images on Hard Drives?

wivb.com

Did you know that a photocopier's hard drive might be keeping unauthorized copies of your personal records? The hard drives on almost every digital copier made since 2002 (such as these pictured above) store images of all copies made on them. Anyone can take personal information from photocopiers unless their hard drives are scrubbed clean. This year is the 50th anniversary of the old-fashioned copy machine, yet advanced technology has opened up a hole in data security: copiers are computers that keep data.

Secondhand American photocopy machines are routinely resold around the world through intermediaries. The general public should be aware that copied private information can travel to wherever photocopiers are resold. When private information is copied anywhere by these large digital copiers, it can be kept available years into the future for unauthorized use in unexpected locations. Those photocopiers are sent on to locations around the world where computer hackers and terrorists could conceivably steal or hijack them to obtain personal records.

CBS News bought four used copiers from a warehouse in New Jersey and  none of them had been scrubbed clean. Half an hour after hard drives were removed, investigators had downloaded thousands of previously copied documents using a free software program available on the internet.  The previous owners of the photocopier, the law department within an American city's police department, didn't know that confidential information was retained on the photocopiers they leased. News investigators found hundreds of thousands of documents on these copiers. They found police and medical records, social security numbers, birth certificates, income tax, financial records and other secret information assumed by the general public, and even professional corporations, to be secure and private. 

Sharp's 2008 survey said that 60% of Americans don't know, or had forgotten, that copiers store images on hard drives. Only one brand, Sharp, has a photocopier with an automatic deluxe feature that scrubs hard drives clean.  The  CBS  News  investigation video says only one business in America, in San Diego, scrubs hard drives. Small home copiers should be all right, says an expert.

There should be a law banning the sale of photocopiers with any content whatsoever on their hard drives, but it's not going to happen anytime soon. What do you think?

Have you unwittingly copied information on photocopiers you wanted kept private anytime since 2002?

Here's the video at CBS Evening News.

A Beautiful American Concerto: "American Coastlines"

"American Coastlines: Concerto for Piano, Orchestra and Choir" would make beautiful background music for a movie.

It is rare indeed to find such beautiful music born and bred in the United States by an American composer. Reminiscent of the music of some of the greatest and most ambitious American movies past and present, these songs on the piano are clearly discernible and majestic. The added overlay of the orchestra adds fullness and richness of texture. The entire performance is marvelously imaginative and innovative, truly an American masterpiece of which to be proud.



It is rare indeed to find such beautiful music born and bred in the United States by an American composer.  Reminiscent of the music of some of the greatest and most ambitious American movies past and present, these songs on the piano are clearly discernible and majestic. The added overlay of the orchestra adds fullness and richness of texture. The entire performance is marvelously imaginative and innovative, truly an American masterpiece of which to be proud.

Haunting and mellifluous melodies interweave with background music of an orchestra and choir composed and conducted by Tim Keyes, with piano music by Darlene Popkey. This stunning performance was recorded live at the Richardson Auditorium in Princeton, New Jersey in four movements.

1. Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey: July

2. Long Boat Key, Florida: October

3. Galveston Island, Texas: January

4. Big Sur, California: April

Darlene Popkey, for whom the concerto was written, has enjoyed numerous international  musical awards and honors. Darlene has played with the Tim Keyes Consort such masterpieces as Dvorak's Symphony no. 9 (From the New World) and Saint Saens Symphony no. 3 as well as other new symphonic compositions.  In this 79 minute-long concerto called "American Coastlines" musical notes blend and continuously melt into each other. Dignified, memorable melodies take after Chopin and Rachmaninoff and show off her command of glissando. Darlene's schedule continues with live virtuoso solo and orchestral musical performances.

Tim Keyes is a New-Jersey-based composer, conductor and director of his eponymous orchestra of instrumentalists from Central New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania.

It is really quite extraordinary and refreshingly reassuring to be able to hear soothing and majestic new American compositions.

It's wonderful to play on the computer or in the car. This would also make wonderful music for ecclesiastical settings, school plays and would be a terrific present to buy as a gift. Everyone would love it. It is available from Amazon and iTunes.

Here is video link to a description of the CD on Youtube.

Darlene Popkey has an audio CD called "Small Town" also available at Amazon.

Aggregate Demand

The intimidating Icelandic word Eyjafjallajökull rather aptly sounds a lot like the English word "awful" and that's what I would call it as a consequence of a volcanic eruption that has grounded  16,000 flights today.

Eyjafjallajökull wikipedia.com

Such a beautiful place, too. Many millions are impacted from the fallout of this exogenous shock as this map of airports impacted in northern Europe shows:

nytimes.com

and so soon after earthquakes in Haiti, Peru, Mexico and China, too.

At least Americans don't have the problems Europe has now, at least specifically Greece's debt problem, not yet.

A panel at Princeton University today featured a spectacular sprinkling of eminent Economists. Alice Rivlin, sunny, optimistic Christina Romer, and the uniquely humorous Uwe Reinhardt talked about current issues. A post here covers  some of the main points.

UPDATE: a description of air conditions that explain plane cancellations from CNN:
Guy Gratton, head of the Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements at Britain's Cranfield University, flew into the skies Thursday and saw "a really strange and complex set of layers of ash," with a layer of perfectly clear air suddenly giving way to a layer of ash, he told CNN. If particles of ash enter a jet engine, when they come out they can solidify on turbine blades, he said.

Inefficiencies Responsible For Illegal Immigration

Immigration laws in America are outdated if southern border-crossers do find actual work in America, albeit of a seasonal and temporary nature, yet are not awarded real legal cards to do so. For those who care about human rights, personal dignity and integrity in the developed world, American immigration laws should keep up to business demands. The importance of the business and social value of illegal migrants was recently highlighted in America where border guards did not notice 80,000 "fake border-crossing cards" as Michael Ferraresi said in the Arizona Republic today:

"An elaborate human-smuggling network that ferried tens of thousands of illegal immigrants into Arizona using shuttle vans was broken up Thursday during a series of raids, federal authorities said.
In what officials called the biggest operation of its kind targeting illegal-immigrant smuggling, 47 people were arrested at five companies in Phoenix, Tucson and Nogales during sweeps involving more than 800 federal agents and local police."

..."The organization targeted in the raids is accused of illegally transporting more than 80,000 immigrants into the U.S. in the past 10 years. They brought daily van loads of undocumented migrants into the country, using Phoenix as a primary hub." 

  ..."The shuttle businesses named in a federal indictment provided immigrants with phony $30 bus tickets and fake border-crossing cards to avoid raising suspicions at U.S. law-enforcement highway checkpoints, authorities said."

One ponders personal circumstances motivating these admirable, self-improving individuals to risk their lives and money to obtain fake cards instead of real ones. The mind-boggling number, 80,000, that slipped through the border in the last ten years, dangerously, surreptitiously, invisibly and illegally, should be internationally embarrassing and shameful to American citizens.

The American immigration system has not in the last thirty years, and maybe never has, kept up to business demands with efficiencies in legal immigration paperwork.

I do not wish to sound anti-government; what's needed is a government system that works. This issue sounds like governmental neglect  and inefficiency on a giant scale. Aren't American immigration policymakers kidding themselves and not being realistic since these border-crossers do in fact find jobs in America? If  work permits cannot be legally, peacefully and swiftly available to them, they face a future of abiding within America illegally for as long as they can get away with it. Wouldn't it be safer for all Americans to at least pre-screen southern border-crossers for criminal histories?

Donations Needed for Newly-Built Congo Hospital Foundation

Dikembe Mutombo wikimedia commons

If you've ever wanted to make a small donation to help eradicate disease in Africa, please read on. Congo is a country bigger than Western Europe, according to Dikembe Mutombo. One of ten children, he played professional basketball in America from 1991 to 2009 and became a basketball legend. In his long career, he played with the Denver Nuggets, Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia76ers, New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks and the Houston Rockets. 

Dikembe Mutombo wikimedia commons

The seven-foot-two-inch four-time N.B.A. Defensive Player of the Year loved to play soccer and run as a young student, and was tapped to join the Georgetown University basketball team in his second year at the University and in America. The rest of his legendary career has led him to develop a new passion to help his own people in the Congo.

He created the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation and built a hospital in Massina near Kinshasa, Congo, where he was born and raised. He dedicated the Biamba Marie Hospital and Research Center, named after his late mother, on June 17, 2007. This is the first new major medical hospital in Congo in forty years and is a major achievement of its kind. Your generous support can make a difference. The founders hope to improve health, quality of life, mortality rates and the economics of the entire region and  country.

Mutombo is currently raising money for the hospital through speaking engagements. Today in Pennington, New Jersey, the legendary pro ballplayer answered questions from the audience, such as whether the government is supporting him.  The Congolese government does provide security guards, Mutombo said, but online donations of any size will help the underprivileged served by the hospital. Secretary Hillary Clinton recently visited and praised the new hospital.

congoplanet.com

Congo is certainly troubled with atrocities of various kinds.In this disturbing article about Congo in The Daily Beast yesterday: "The Congolese population is pleading for the United Nations to conduct a more thorough assessment of how U.N.-backed military operations risk civilian lives. We hope for concrete action by the U.N. and Congolese government to mitigate such risks, with specific attention to protecting women and girls from rape."

It was nice to hear good news in person today and find a way all of us can help out. Donations to the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation would be appreciated to help fight diseases almost unknown in the developed world, such as malaria and polio. The medical community hopes to improve infant-mother mortality rates and HIV AIDS in this inspiring new location. We commend and congratulate courageous Mr. Mutombo for spearheading and providing major funding to build this worthwhile project.

Happy Family

My fave photo so far of one happy family!!! 

Whoever voted for someone else should realize this President won fair and square in a popular vote. He was elected democratically and deserves to enjoy his success. America and the world are very fortunate to have such a level-headed  and efficient President  (who even tweets) in this time of speedy communication and difficult world challenges. It's patriotic and co-operative to get behind the President. Co-operation helps him get work done faster and will help Americans in the end.

Why not simply enjoy the advantages this President can offer? Relax. America has done well and this President is doing fine. So far not a single critic has advocated impeachment, to my knowledge. And whatever else happens, he got the Nobel Peace Prize. Congratulations, Mr. President!

UPDATE: At the time this was written, I didn't know the Office of the President had completely stopped having news conferences in the White House since July 22, 2009, almost a year, as this article states in no uncertain terms. That's still what many of us want. President Obama has eschewed the traditional question and answer session in favor of shows edited to show off his best. Perhaps it's time to take the questions, too, Mr. President.

Effective Company Leadership Causes Stock Prices to Rise

While I write posts for my other blog "Grow Your Dollars" I often wonder exactly what makes a company thrive. So often, it is the leadership.

A CNBC interview today of a psychologist and long-term investor drilled into what to look for in a good stock purchase, because not all great CEOs make businesses with rising stock prices.

Chuck Akre, of Akre Focus Fund, said that managers must have "an equal part of integrity and skill". Most importantly, they must compound "economic value per share."  He cites Berkshire Hathaway, insurer Markel, and American Tower as three companies with strong leadership that have been good long-term holds.

The psychologist and business advisor Dr. Susan Battley, interviewed by David Faber and Erin Burnett said that a company with great management is a wise choice, so you are "investing in the artist not the painting." She said we often make the mistake of what psychologists call "confirmation bias" where we confirm, "we overweigh first impressions" and should weigh those powerful first impressions against reality. She also said that leadership effectiveness is the "ability to attract and retain talent" and "the bench to execute consistently over time."

It has always been thus with business.

This fine interview can also be seen here.

Happy Just To Be Alive

I would love to be able to thank the Good Samaritan who drove my SUV to the side of the road while I slowly stopped Pennsylvania Turnpike traffic all by myself, just by waving my arms in the late afternoon of Tuesday, March 30, 2010. There were no police or plows to help us out. It all took fewer than ten minutes and then we were off again. If only I could thank him and his girlfriend in their black SUV for saving my life, I would love to. He really risked his life to drive my car to the side of the Turnpike. I admired him so much. He was extremely brave. But I have no idea who he is. Hope he emails me. Here's the context:

Since my last post, I have been thrown off course by the double whammy of a death in the family - my mother was in her 93rd year - and an almost fatal car crash on the day-long drive home from the funeral. We thought it would be a clear day, with a little drizzle in spots, but we ran into wind and saw a few snowflakes.

Most unexpectedly somewhere between Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, my Lexus RX350 SUV spun more than 360 degrees and slid to a diagonal stop in the middle lane of the mighty Pennsylvania Turnpike, no less, in a wintry mix just over a week ago. But it stalled and I couldn't start it to get it out of the middle lane immediately. Really the vehicle spanned all three lanes. Imagine my fear of other cars and transport trucks sliding and spinning where mine did and wiping us all out. Luckily, traffic was light. I got out and stopped all traffic, except a couple of trucks (which slowed) while the Good Samaritan drove my car to the side of the highway for me. This was in elevated mountain terrain, more than we knew, and the highway itself was elevated fifty feet. It was snowing like this, but this is not my photo or the spot where it happened:

Courtesy: farm4.static.flickr.com

White-out conditions then began and prevailed until we could reach the next exit over an hour later where we stopped unexpectedly for the night at a Best Western three miles seemingly straight down the mountain in six thick inches of snow. Everyone agreed the snow was a surprise, and nothing had shown up on the weather radar that morning, and we weren't warned of the severe weather until after it had happened. My recently-tuned SUV had only 17,000 miles on it. That area of Pennsylvania doesn't get the weather attention Philadelphia gets, where reporters stand outside six hours before a flake drops! The white-out was even worse than this:

Courtesy: celebratecanada.files.wordpress.com

After escaping completely physically unscathed with the car, I found myself in unexpected need of rest. I feel refreshed now with many new ideas for blog posts. That, at least, is positive. I'm happy just to be alive.

Please be careful when you drive in a "wintry mix" and don't be worried to wave your arms around to stop traffic if you have to. And if you see someone waving their arms, try to help. It could save not just your life, but also prevent a catastrophic pileup on the highway.

"If the love fits, wear it" - Listening Link

This unforgettable classic is dedicated to the memory of my mother, Sybil MacDonald, June 27, 1917 - March 22, 2010. May she rest in peace.

Sugar Is Preferable to Corn Syrup

A new study at Princeton University explored the relationship between high-fructose corn syrup and weight gain in lab animals, and found that corn syrup causes far more weight gain than regular table sugar.

High-fructose corn syrup is found in a "wide range of foods and beverages, including fruit juice, soda, cereal, bread, yogurt, ketchup and mayonnaise."

Psychology Professor Bart Hoebel, who specializes in the neuroscience of appetite, weight and sugar addiction said that "when rats are drinking high-fructose corn syrup at levels well below those in soda pop, they're becoming obese -- every single one, across the board." 

Consumption of high-fructose corn syrup led to belly fat increases with a rise in circulating blood fats called triglycerides in lab animals in one six month experiment.

The second experiment showed that high-fructose led to greater weight gain than table sugar in lab animals. Animals gained a whopping 48 percent in total weight if they had access to high-fructose corn syrup.

This work sheds light on the factors contributing to obesity trends in the United States. Abdominal fat and circulating triglycerides are risk factors for metabolic syndrome, high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, cancer and diabetes.

These results published March 18, 2010 are now online in Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior.

American Healthcare Reform ~ Historic Quotes From President Obama and Speaker Pelosi

“Every once in a while a moment comes where you have a chance to vindicate all those best hopes that you had about yourself, about this country, where you have a chance to make good on those promises that you made ... And this is the time to make true on that promise. We are not bound to win, but we are bound to be true. We are not bound to succeed, but we are bound to let whatever light we have shine.”   -President Barack Obama

President Barack Obama

“We will go through the gate,” [Nancy Pelosi] vowed in late January. “If the gate is closed, we will go over the fence. If the fence is too high, we will pole vault in. If that doesn't work, we will parachute in. But we are going to get health-care reform passed.”    -House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

America's Most Critical Issue?

Healthcare Overhaul: This Weekend

Financial Reform to End "Banks Too Big to Fail"

The National Debt: "The most critical issue facing our country, Christopher Buckley

 Immigration Reform: Rally Today in Washington

War with Al-Qaeda: See bedrooms of boys, fallen soldiers killed in action.


This high-density resolution (HDR) photo site has beautiful photos to browse while, or instead of, despairing of all these problems.

Healthful Food at Movie Theaters? If Only ~

While refreshments at movie theaters can easily double the cost of movie tickets, most  theaters do not allow customers to carry in as much as a pre-owned bottle of water, let alone healthful food. What's a caring, health-conscious movie-goer to do?

Movie houses sell captive audiences ever-larger paper cups of soda and oversize packages of popcorn. With monopolistic power, they sell sodas, popcorn, tacos and cheese, hot dogs, chocolate bars and crispy dry chips to customers bereft of healthy alternatives. These are not good foods for employees or kids or for movie aficionados.

Movie theaters would benefit society if they would at least offer smaller soda cups and popcorn without fat as an option. It's a well-known societal problem in America that oils and sugars contribute to child obesity. Hot dogs and pretzels may be among the more healthful foods at movie houses now, but many customers often won't buy them for religious or personal reasons. Bottled water and nuts are the most healthful choices, nutritionists say.

It's time for movie theater owners and managers to wake up and take responsible initiative and work harder to offer us all a greater variety of healthful comfort foods. They're late to the party, in fact. If they offer good food, it will be bought. They should look at the popularity of juice bars. It is a disservice to overcharge customers for basic snacks and under-deliver healthy choices. If they continue to equate junk food with "fun food" they aren't helping improve nutritional challenges.

If only movie theaters would modernize snack bars and offer bananas, whole wheat sandwiches and sandwich wraps, bean dips, granola bars, oranges, clean apples and vegetables wrapped in plastic, dried vegetables and fruit, real fruit juices, yogurt drinks and dairy products. What a dream!  Starbucks could be a positive example to them.

Movie houses, especially big ones in the northeastern United States, have nothing less than a societal responsibility to offer foods with better nutritional value. Not everyone eats at home before a show, at least not in this busy, rushed society. Customers would prefer to make healthful choices. They occasionally watch movies during dinner hours and would welcome the opportunity to choose wholesome organic fare. Movie theaters should react positively since they are in the business of purveying food. Please let me know in your comments if you have noticed any movie theaters with healthy food snacks.

Lipton's Blog - A Must-Read For Computer Scientists et al.

Have to recommend a blog by Richard 'Dick' Lipton called "Godel's Lost Letter and P=NP." Lipton is Professor Emeritus at Princeton University now at Georgia Tech in Atlanta.  One of his posts, called "Is it time to stop malware - forever?" outlines the history of email, which is fascinating. Here's an excerpt:

In the beginning there was ARPANET. Of course before the beginning there was nothing, but thanks to Bob Kahn and his colleagues the ARPANET was created about fifty years ago. This was the first time computers could send and receive messages and files from each other—it seems so obvious today, but then it was a ground breaking application.

I recall watching with envy my colleagues, like Anita Jones, check her ARPANET account for messages. Since at the time I was not funded by ARPA, I was not able to get an account; hence, no messages for me.

Eventually, those of us on the outside, those of us without ARPANET accounts, decided to act. The key event happen during the summer of 1977, when Rich DeMillo and I spent two month visiting Larry Landweber at Madison. Larry wanted to get out of theory, he was trained in recursion theory, and get into some more system area of computer science. After many discussions, we converged on the project of creating an ARPANET type system that would connect US theorists together.

DeMillo, who is a great and fast writer, sat down and wrote a draft of the proposal in a day or two. For a variety of reasons, Larry became the PI of the proposal: he submitted it to NSF, he got the project funded at Madison, and TheoryNet was born. This became successful quickly, and led NSF to create NSFNET. Thus, we went from email for few—those who worked for ARPA—to email for some theorists, to email for all NSF scientists, to eventually email for everyone.

I have no doubt we would have email today even if Rich and Larry had not started TheoryNet in 1977, but they did create TheoryNet. And it led directly to NSFNET, and so on.

In case you want to know more about recent directions in theoretical computer science, you would do well to check out his blog when he posts. In it, you can read through fascinating entries to learn more about current and historical breakthroughs in computer science from an expert. This email pioneer humbly subtitles his blog "a personal view of the theory of computation" although he could say "Theory of Computation from an Inventor of Email, the world-renowned Computer Scientist, Richard Lipton"  but that would be far too flashy for his style. Reading it makes us all smarter about computer science.

New Dreamboat

What a nice dinghy! At $USD 160 million, this float costs more than the most expensive house in America, or is comparable if only in price.

The Oscars, Mitt Romney, Independent Directors, Healthcare, Inelegant Words

Maybe The Oscars are like books - "they can please some of the people some of the time, but they can't please all of the people all of the time." Congratulations to Kathryn Bigelow.


Kathryn Bigelow  AP photo

Haven't you ever disagreed with significant others on the "best" movies of the year? Best might not mean favorite or most enjoyable. It becomes glaringly obvious to me with every passing year the Academy Awards are given for political reasons rather than entertainment value, which is subjective and individual. How else to explain the paucity of prizes for women's  issues movies while women comprise more than half the population and for children's and young adult movies - remember "Twilight" and "New Moon"? It looks absurd to pit prizes for children's movies against war movies, while horror movies get  such short shrift. At least there are now alternative Academy Awards for children. Maybe I'll  bring myself to see "Hurt Locker " some day out of a feeling of obligation just as I saw "Crash" (but didn't enjoy it). UPDATE: Barbara Walters on "The View" (TV) Monday morning said that "Hurt Locker" was the least financially successful movie (in relative terms) to ever get  the "Best Picture" award in history - "Avatar" would definitely have overwhelmed other contenders for "Best Picture" in that way.

Mitt Romney makes me angry. Why should a politician even be a politician if he incites anger with his words every time he speaks?

Isn't "independent director" an oxymoron? How can directors appointed by CEOs make independent decisions on CEO and executive pay, options and bonuses? Sounds like a conflict of interest to me. CEOs now make 250-500 times average pay when it used to be 30 times.

Whoever says America has the best healthcare in the world hasn't the experience to compare. How can it be when healthcare is unavailable to some with pre-existing conditions and not every resident is covered? Big Fail.

Inelegant Words we wish would disappear from the media: "tea party"and "coffee party" referring to political groups. Any more to add? How about "atheist"? (Personally, "blog,'' "iPad" and "ipod" don't sound too elegant to me).

Watch the Summit of Christian-Muslim Religious Leaders - Final Words

The Christian-Muslim Summit of religious leaders converged at the Washington National Cathedral Monday to Wednesday, March 1-3, 2010 and gave final presentations in this webcast.

In his Introduction, the Very Reverend Samuel T. Lloyd III introduced the Washington National Cathedral as a House of Prayer for all people, and reiterated his earlier descriptions of these "talks of reconciliation" as "the cornerstone" of all three holy books - Christian, Hebrew and the Koran - and saw the conference as "sacred work" to "restore relationships" with God and among humans. He called the restoration of religious relationships a "labor with God to heal the torn fabric of our world." The idea of this Summit is to create "islands of hope and promise" from which much healing and growth will come.

The talks in the program addressed the following questions:

1) How can religious leaders collaborate to support the diplomatic and political efforts to achieve peace and reconciliation?

2) How are religions and justice and peace inter-related? How can they reinforce each other?

3) a)In what ways can the interpretation of one's own religion trigger fundamentalism?

---b)In what ways can perceptions of another religion promote and/or condone violence?

---c)Are there ways to avoid such exploitation?

4) In what ways can peace be promoted by the practice of religion in the context of current social and political life?

Thereafter follows a challenging and stimulating discussion to expand understanding and commitment. The discussion and webcast present a rare opportunity to watch this public convergence of these leaders:

* Ayatollah Doctor Ahmad Iravani, President of the Center for the Study of Islam and the Middle East, Research Scholar, Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C.; Shi’a Muslim

* Professor Ahmad El Tayeb, President of Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt; representing the Sunni Muslim tradition

* His Eminence Jean-Louis Cardinal Tauran, President of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, Vatican

* The Right Reverend John Bryson Chane, Episcopal bishop of Washington

They were joined by twenty additional leaders to represent civic, governmental and religious organizations of "unparalleled global impact and outreach."

Sunlight in the "Land of the Midnight Sun"

"We brought this artificial sun to Inuvik because we're benevolent" : Tropicana ad

 A new Tropicana fruit juice company advertisement and commercial in Inuvik, Canada, features a 15,000 pound helium balloon equipped with 47,000 to 70,000 watts of electricity. It was kept floating and intermittently lit for about two days, and cost about Can.D.$100 to light each minute.

I suppose the week long project was harmless and gave them a special memory of January 2010. Do you approve?  Inuvik is one of the first Arctic towns recently featured in Google Street Views. Here are related blog posts links within a fascinating blog "Inuvik photos" chronicling life in the Artic:

http://inuvikphotos.ca/2010/01/15/more-on-the-tropicana-ad-people-looking-at-the-globe/

http://inuvikphotos.ca/2010/01/13/behold-tropicanas-artificial-sun/

http://inuvikphotos.ca/2010/02/27/tropicana-ad-debuts-in-inuvik/

What Can Mend The Broken Heart of the World?

This is certainly a time of tumult in the Muslim faith, as this article in the Daily Beast describes a recent Saturday afternoon prayer session "invaded" by women in one of the most popular mosques in Washington, D.C. to make the point that women should be allowed into mosques to pray along with men. The women "activists" or "invaders" were almost arrested.

The Muslim-Christian Summit organized with officials of the Muslim faith is meeting this week at the Washington National Cathedral. Wonder if these Muslim clerics could explain in plain English for us all, please, why they exclude women from equality in religion and social life.

Today's Sunday Forum at the Washington National Cathedral with Suheil Salman Dawani the Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem, of the Holy Land, of Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon filled us in on the Christian side of the Holy Land and is available to hear and to purchase on DVD from the Cathedral website, www.nationalcathedral.org.

The Rt. Rev. Suheil Salman Dawani  
photo:Washington National Cathedral

The Bishop of Jerusalem has launched a number of non-profits, such as hospitals, clinics, rehabilitation centers, twelve schools with 7,000 students and summer camps abroad with different faiths.

The Christian community centered in Jerusalem goes back to the days of the Pentecost,  the church's birthday, although the number of Christians in the Holy Land has actually decreased significantly to a current number less than 1% of the population. Many Christians raised as such moved abroad for higher education and did not return. At the same time, Muslims in the Holy Land attend Anglican schools in significant numbers for a solid education and to learn good values.

The Very Rev. Sam Lloyd asked how America can be helpful and supportive and engage with Christians in the Holy Land? Here are three suggested ways to get involved:

1) advocate for the peace process

2) support American Friends of Jerusalem and 

3) Episcopal Relief & Development (www.er-d.org)

Cathedral Dean Sam Lloyd emphasized later in his sermon the future depends on peace between Christians and Muslims. We need to seek good in each other. He says reconciliation is a one-on-one personal business. He cited the mothers he met in the Holy Land who wanted to work for peace so the tragedies met by their sons in battle wouldn't happen again. 

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The Christian-Muslim Summit

March 1–3, 2010
Washington National Cathedral hosts a summit of Christian and Muslim faith leaders March 1–3, 2010, culminating in a public dialogue the evening of Wednesday, March 3, at 7 pm, in the Cathedral nave.
[Please see the National Cathedral website to] RSVP for the public dialogue now »
This is the first of four interfaith dialogues on reconciliation planned with the following four principals:

• Ayatollah Dr. Seyed Mostafa Mohaghegh Damad, professor of law and chairman, Department of Islamic Studies, the Academy of Sciences of Iran; representing the Shi’a Muslim tradition
• Professor Ahmad El Tayeb, president of Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt; representing the Sunni Muslim tradition
• His Eminence Jean-Louis Cardinal Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, Vatican
• The Right Reverend John Bryson Chane, Episcopal bishop of Washington

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Is There A Secret To Women's Happiness?

Rodin, The Kiss

What can a man say to a woman, any woman, to make her feel happier?

The point is to maximize dreamy phrases. Go ahead and dare to be a dreamboat. Women will love you for it.

1) "You're beautiful" - They want to know they are at least beautiful to you, but then it's best to go further with what exactly makes them look so. Perhaps that's what he's whispering in her ear, above, but he's likely said it already lots of times.
2) "You're the best" - Of course, no one wants to be second best at anything, even if it is stretching the truth at times.
3) Notice a girl's moods. Comfort her if she's sad, and ask what's wrong if she's angry.
4) Please a girl at every opportunity. Tell girls you will do what they want to do and go along with them to please them, but don't cling. Offer action, but don't force a girl to do something she doesn't want to do.
5) "You know a lot" - For lots of women, it's their life's favorite hobby to learn a lot, so it's nice to be complimented for knowledge. After all, it doesn't subtract from a man's warehouse of knowledge.
6) "You're smart" - Be sincere, and think of an example. The easiest way is to acknowledge it when you hear and recognize it. Who wouldn't feel stronger with this sort of compliment?
7) Be ultra-communicative. Tease and flirt at every opportunity in a friendly way. Occasionally leave text or phone messages so your target doesn't forget about you. Return any message from a girl, no matter how vague (it's a gift of your attention she might not expect or feel appropriate to command). Err on the side of over-communicating if you're not sure. The other side can't always guess what you think.
8) Be confident. Remember to talk to her and answer her questions and make her feel equal to you and better about herself from all the attention she is getting from you. Never, ever, take giving her attention to an extreme and stalk a girl - it's a no-no, and alarming to any girl.
9) Be nice to her friends. She will judge you with them and them with you. She will consider your attitudes to her friends and family a sign of your social smoothness.
10) Be careful what you promise. Girls usually remember promises (it's a big deal, as in, wow, he promised) and will turn it against you if you forget. For example, don't say you'll call if you have no intention of doing so.
11) "You'll do well" - what a relief to hear, almost like hearing an astrology reading. Fun and loving to give a woman the benefit of the doubt. Don't be surprised if they giggle, but continue to reassure women with this dreamy phrase anyway.
12) "You cook well" - never, ever, I repeat, ever, tell a woman anything other than that she cooks well. Be very subtle with criticism as a general rule. All women want to think they cook well. It is as important as being clean and beautiful. It's not as if they think they are perfect, but they all want to believe they are better than average in the cooking department.
13) "Raising a woman's standard of living raises everyone's standard of living." Anyone believe for a second this is not true? This phrase reassures women and makes women feel more important.
14) Don't cheat. Don't be surprised she drops you if you cheat; expect it.

These are open secrets not just to the arts of seduction and how to seduce a woman, but how to get along better with women in general - all the women in your life. They are useful professionally as well as personally; common sense knows it, experience proves it.

Sorry, it's a bit late to wish you Happy Valentine's Day.  I was busy then.  I hope Happy Valentine's Month suffices.

How and Why To Pray: The Fire Within Us Is The Spirit

The Very Reverend Sam Lloyd gave the most recent Sunday Forum at the Washington National Cathedral as a talk about prayer and our spiritual lives. A dvd is available here to purchase at the National Cathedral website. His talk is all about being a Christian with the power of prayer, living a spiritual life and maintaining a life of prayer.

A central part of being a Christian, he says, is to say prayers and to have a pattern of prayer. This lecture tells how to pray and why prayer is awesome and desirable.

Dean Sam Lloyd tells of his own personal journey to a life of faith and prayer, and tells us how we, too, can improve our own spiritual lives. In his very gifted, warm and intelligent way, as a supremely educated and experienced preacher, everything he says inspires in this special talk.

He talks about how he experienced the Copernican revolution of what prayer is and what God is. He tells how he learned that we are not the center; the earth is not the center, according to Copernicus, but that light is the center of the universe and is where energy comes from. God is trying to connect with us. The Bible, he says, is God's quest for us. The heart of the Christian life, he says, is learning how to pay attention to a God who is coming to us, if we open ourselves up.

Psalm 139

1	O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me.
2	Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising;          thou understandest my thought afar off.

...

23  Search me, O God, and know my heart:          try me, and know my thoughts: 24  and see if there be any wicked way in me,          and lead me in the way everlasting.     King James Version.

All along, God has known us and is always there. He quotes from Isaiah 43:1 Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. God is always with us. He also recited by heart a beautiful old hymn, "I sought the Lord...always thou lovest me." In C.S. Lewis' autobiography Surprised by Joy, he says, the God we have been trying to reach has been trying even harder to reach us. St. Augustine also says prayer begins in our finding a space and openness to hear and notice and receive the God who has always been seeking us out. Prayer at its heart is profoundly receptive and passive. And it leads to great energy, passion and commitment, but it begins by our receiving God. Dean Sam Lloyd's second point is about the spiritual life and what we do with our lives. At the heart of our life is this desire for more. This restlessness is "at the heart of the human phenomenon." It drives people to do good and evil, and is the fire within. He refers to Ronald Rolheiser in The Holy Longing: The Search for a Christian Spirituality about the fire within. It is a fire for goodness, love, longing and connection that drives us beyond ourselves. We should aim for a spiritual life that honors that fire within us. This idea goes back to the Greeks, Hebrews and St. Paul; the fire within us is the spirit of God trying to be in us. The spirit and energy and fire propels us. To long for God is to experience God. The fire within us is the life of the spirit within us. We are all in God as fish are in water. The third major point in this talk is about how it isn't easy to maintain the life of prayer in today's busy world. He believes life is meant to be lived from a divine center. As Thomas Kelly says,  there is a "divine abyss within us all." Thomas Merton said there is a true self and a partial self. People in the West think they are who they think they are, instead of knowing they are deeper. The true self is deeper than who we think we are. The idea is to create a pattern of spaciousness to allow enough quiet for God to be heard. He is immersed in the world and in our lives and speaks to us. The spiritual life is about learning to listen, says Dean Sam Lloyd.  He advised us to take ten minutes a day to be still and learn to create an open space to listen to this Deeper Spirit. We can read scriptures if it helps to open our hearts. As St. John said in John 15:3, "I am the vine and you are the branches" for we are all one with Jesus. Prayer can help us think and feel new things, and help us learn how to listen. We can ask for God's help for anything we want, confess our sins, and be honest. By taking the time to be still, prayer is about being present in the moment, and the goal is to create a life that is attentive to God.  Dean Sam Lloyd suggests a goal for Lent is to have a deeper prayer life. Most of the Sunday Forum talks are available linked here to buy on dvd and are well-worth watching. This writing is not in any way sanctioned or approved of by the National Cathedral. The writer is grateful to the National Cathedral for the opportunity to write and learn about these modern issues at the intersection of faith and public life. Please give generously to the Washington National Cathedral.

Most Find Airline Seats Narrow Enough

TIME Magazine

Many of us are wider than the seventeen inches allowed by airlines per customer. It shouldn't surprise anyone to hear complaints. While I don't include myself amongst those with a need for two seats, I can see how boxed-in airlines make passengers feel.

When I heard about a passenger recently denied a seat on a Southwest flight because he supposedly needed two, I felt for him. Airlines, along with other forms of public transportation, have not successfully solved the challenge. Seventeen inches per seat is a little narrow now when most people have hip sizes over forty inches.  The reality is we're not all as fit and trim as airlines expect.

If airlines act unexpectedly, the public learns fast. No one wants to waste good money. For instance, I will likely not buy an extra seat for a baby in the future because after an airline overbooked I had to give up the paid-for space. Now this is more like it! Plenty of room to change a baby from the look of it.

edesedoret.com

Thanks for visiting. Please leave comments if airlines have acted unexpectedly to you, not that I can do A to Z about it, but who will know unless you say something?