at its apathetic best...
So what's a person to do?
I've been struggling to avoid diabetes for the past couple of years. Because of this I've done extensive research to help me combat the pandemic disease naturally. Since diabetes is the biggest underlying cause of heart/cardiovascular deaths, my research went beyond "blood sugar levels" and insulin production/absorption. My research has found hard empirical evidence, not just anecdotal/mythical, from sound peer reviewed scientific studies.
I've researched over 50 spices, herbs and oils and only found 7 with positive peer reviewed studies. The others may have health benefits but I haven't found enough scientific evidence to support whatever their health claim is.
Ginger
Alleviates nausea. Good for digestion as ginger has been show to accelerate gastric emptying.
Cinnamon
Improves Fasting Blood Glucose (FBG) in people with type 2 diabetes or prediabetes.
Rosemary
Studies have shown rosemary helps deliver oxygen to the brain. Thus may help memory and reduce the effects of Alzheimer's.
Garlic
Effective in lowering total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels.
Cloves
Nutrient rich: Good source of vitamin C, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin K, fiber, manganese and magnesium.
Thyme
Protects and increases percentage of omega-3 fatty acids found in cell membranes. Good source of vitamin K, iron and manganese.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
This is the healthy culinary bad ass! Strong evidence showing benefits for:
Anti-Cancer abilities
Cardiovascular health
Cognitive abilities
Digestive health
Cooking with extra virgin olive oil will diminish the health benefits but it's still the healthiest oil to cook with. Taking 2-3 tablespoons daily have shown to maximize the aforementioned benefits.
Enjoy! Don't forget to exercise. ;-)
"Super-Toys Last All Summer Long" by Brian Aldiss is a great little story and the basis for the film "A.I." In the beginning of A.I. a tech asks, "If a robot could genuinely love a person, what responsibility does that person hold toward that mecha in return? It's a moral question, isn't it?"
It basically sums up the short story by Aldiss. So my question is, what would our responsibility be to a machine that shows love? If we, being the creator, created a cyborg child, indistinguishable from living, and programmed it to love us as its parent, should we not reciprocate that love even though it is a machine?
The theist might believe since it has no soul, we don't have any responsibility. However, atheists generally do not believe in a soul. Should we be responsible and care for this machine?
The following was posted during the final season of LOST. I don't recall what site I posted it on so as requested by one of my Twitter followers (@aohora), here it is.
I’ve been wracking my brain to solve the mystery of the LOST numbers. This doesn’t sit well with the mathematics geek within me. I’ve tried every code/formula I know and got nowhere. I even used the simple Playfair cipher on the King James Bible, various works of Shakespeare, Moby Dick and Lord of the Flies. Nothing.
I then wrote out the numbers in a 6x6 box:
|
4 |
8 |
15 |
16 |
23 |
42 |
|
4 |
8 |
15 |
16 |
23 |
42 |
|
4 |
8 |
15 |
16 |
23 |
42 |
|
4 |
8 |
15 |
16 |
23 |
42 |
|
4 |
8 |
15 |
16 |
23 |
42 |
|
4 |
8 |
15 |
16 |
23 |
42 |
I noticed the number 8 was also in the eighth box reading left to right. That seemed interesting. I continued, 15 was in box 15, 16 was in box 16 and so on. I expanded the box to 7 rows to accommodate 42.
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
|
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
|
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
|
19 |
20 |
21 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
|
25 |
26 |
27 |
28 |
29 |
30 |
|
31 |
32 |
33 |
34 |
35 |
36 |
|
37 |
38 |
39 |
40 |
41 |
42 |
So the only number that didn’t fit the pattern was the number 4. That didn’t bother me because I was so hooked on the book of Genesis. Specifically Genesis Chapter 4. This chapter introduces us to Cain and Abel and the slaying of Abel. The Man in Black killed his brother Jacob in the form of John Locke, who happens to be number 4. My theory is that Locke was the anchor. Without him, I believe, nothing would have happened. He’s the only person who “wanted” to go to Australia.
8 – Hurley – needed to find out about the numbers
15 – Sawyer – to kill someone
16 – Sayid – forced into infiltrating a terrorist cell
23 – Jack – search for his father
42 – Jin/Sun – on a job assignment ordered by Sun’s father
Of course this is all a bunch of crap because I don’t think Team Darlton had a clue. They probably attached the names to the numbers as an afterthought.
"Quantum Physics teaches that nothing is fixed, that there are no limitations, that everything is vibrating Energy."
Subsequent to the most tragic day
To which fate responds ambivalently
Courteous were you of my sympathy
My desire, I wonder, see it did you?
Or was it my blindness and stupidity?
Your beauty reaches beyond the heavens
Divine proportion, Your Golden Ratio
Impelled my uncalculated calculation
Amor fati, amor fati, amor fati
I too shall make something beautiful
Desperately I wanted to share it with you
My hopeless longing wishing you may
The supposition in which I played
See through it you would I had posited
Damn my theatrics, damn my stage fright
My miscalculation, deaf to my intuition
Your love of me found out did I
To which the sum may have been “in love”
A delay, an absence for too long
I returned, decided I had to call upon you
But your hand, it was taken by another
Taking my heart and soul with it
I have not uttered your name since
For the blade of love's misfortune
Upon my neck it spitefully rests
I realized my fatal miscalculation
One minus one equals melancholy
I woke up today feeling good about surfing. As I drove down from San
Francisco I was hoping for some decent waves. Little did I know the
temperature would be in the high 80s. Apparently others did as traffic
was heavy and it took me almost twice as long as usual to get there.
Inspiration motivates us. It tells us that we can succeed. We are led to believe that nothing is impossible and failure is something to learn from. This belief is so appealing and pervasive that you can't avoid seeing an inspirational quote on Twitter. I do enjoy inspirational quotes but at the same time I find them delusive. There are things that are impossible and people will ultimately fail. This has nothing to do with not wanting success bad enough. People don't always fail because they didn't want something bad enough. Failure is often the result of someone else's success or events out of their control.
Right now you're probably thinking that I'm a fatalist. I'm not. Realist? Sure but that's not what prompted this post.
This past weekend I went down to Santa Cruz to surf. The swells were lacking and I spent most of my time sitting on my board, looking out into the Pacific. My fellow surfers complained but I was happy just to be sitting on the board in the Pacific, reflecting upon my youth. I remembered how badly I wanted to be a professional surfer. Not just a professional surfer but a legend. I wanted to be Kelly Slater before Kelly Slater became Kelly Slater, the legend. Perhaps if I focused on surfing instead of letting it fade out of my life, I could have been a great surfer. That was a long time ago and now it's too late.
This past winter I was fortunate enough to catch Chris Bertish grab a monster wave at Maverick's that gave the South African the win. That was all I needed to see. Though I've followed surfing throughout my life, it wasn't until then that my passion for surfing was back on the stove to reheat. To paraphrase Kelly Slater, "surfing is like the mob, once you're in, you're in forever." Now it's time for me to come out of witness protection. This renewed interest has rejuvenated me. My goal now is to surf the North Shore of Oahu... again. I've already booked my trip - smack dab in the middle of the Triple Crown. Everyone I will meet will be a surfer in some form or fashion. Hopefully I'll be able to surf well enough not to look like a newbie. I might even look good ripping. Will I be good enough to surf Pipeline between pro-heats? Probably not but I am one step closer. Closer to be good enough to be a walk-on for Pipeline? I highly doubt it. I will never win Pipeline. I will never win Maverick's. I will never win Teahupo'o. Wouldn't it be bitchin' if I did? If I keep surfing, who knows? As long as there are waves, I'll keep surfing. There are things in life that are impossible and you may fail but don't let that stop you. Success is like the elusive perfect wave. You may keep searching for it and never find it but you just may enjoy the ride. Aloha...Congratulations to Carissa Moore for winning the 2010 US Open of Surfing. Though the swells were lacking, Carissa managed to catch the right waves to defeat Lakey Peterson in the semis and Sally Fitzgibbons in the final. Don't be surprised to see Carissa Moore surf against the men in a few years.
I apologize for the shaky camera work but I had to max the zoom to get decent footage. Enjoy!So the battle has been won by the opposition of California's Prop. 8 but the war is not over. The big argument for the proponents of Prop. 8 is that of tradition. I empathize. I too believe marriage should be between a man and a woman. The church has every right to disallow it in their organization. That opinion might be the remnants of my Lutheran upbringing. I have since renounced religion and regard it in the same way I view the Greco-Roman deities. However, my preference of what marriage "should be" has no legal basis.
The biggest idiot at Fox News (which says a lot), Glenn Beck, keeps reminding his viewers that America is not a democracy, it is a republic. Well jack off, your stupidity just undermines your argument against same-sex marriage. A republic provides liberty and justice for all. Not for the majority, for ALL. Because we are a republic, we have natural/civil rights, not sociopolitical rights. The people are protected by the Constitution from the majority. Which brings me back to Prop. 8. Though I prefer marriage to be between a man and a woman, I do not support Prop. 8. As a republic, we can't let this law stand. Regardless of your belief, logic and jurisprudence of a republic dictates that the majority cannot take advantage of the minority. If the church refuses to accept it, they have every right. On the other hand, the church and its followers cannot Constitutionally stop same-sex couples to get married by the State. Keep your faith in your religion but keep them out of my laws.
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