UT2004: There HAS been some progress

>> Tuesday, December 16, 2008

I actually have a beta-quality version of the ol' SeaPack completed, so there HAS indeed been some progress which I'll be able to release at some point, here. The major changes are two: ONS-DeepSix has been finished, and so has my SeaBass submarine. Again they're beta-quality meaning they WORK but there're probably bugs unfound and definitely room for improvement. Anyway, message me if this is important to you, cool?

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Bible: John 1:14; not what you thought

>> Tuesday, October 28, 2008


Most people point to this to "prove" that Jesus (Yashua) was together with our God (YHWH) before the world was created, but if you really read it properly, that's not what it says, is it? It says that the Word was embodied in flesh, but that does not necessarily mean that said flesh and the Word are literally the same. Think of Jesus as an avatar for the Word, and that, I believe, is a more accurate description of what's going on here. Not only does that make sense, but it also works properly with the concept of a SINGLE God, not a "triune" god. There are numerous references of our God saying that there is no other god than Him, as well as other references about His son specifically not being equal to Him. To believe in a "trinity" you have to disregard far too many verses.

Link:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%201:14;&version=31;

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Bible: Psalm 19:14 (Keeping centered on God)

>> Thursday, October 16, 2008


A great prayer, to ask that one's thoughts and words are pleasing to God. Your actions will follow what you say and do. Like Solomon asking for wisdom, God is definitely pleased when we ask to be as He wants us to be.

Link:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=31&search=Psalm%2019:14

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Bible: Romans 12:2, the pattern of this world

>> Tuesday, October 14, 2008


Think about this; "the pattern of this world" means "what everyone else does." So usually, whatever people think is right, when it's thought as such in popular opinion... it's probably wrong. This also parallels the story of the wide gate vs. the narrow gate. Popular opinion is usually wrong! I also like this verse because it shows that you CAN align yourself with our God's plan and know what it is. That is, although you can't possibly know what His overall plan is, you can certainly be guided by His spirit and feel that a certain course of action is right or wrong. Thanks, YHWH.

Link:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=31&search=Romans%2012:2

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World: G7 pledge %u2018no more Lehmans%u2019

>> Monday, October 13, 2008


Wow. How great would it be to have someone backing you so that it's IMPOSSIBLE for you to fail? Next thought after that: How great would it be to sit on your duff and do NOTHING because someone's guaranteeing to back you up? Match that together with "power corrupts" and you've got something eerily similar to what's really going on...

Link:http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5a4ab6f2-988a-11dd-ace3-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1

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Bible: Jeremiah 29:11(I gots PLANS)


This is a "classic" verse in the sense that many people have heard it. For good reason; it's a very reassuring verse and as it is from God, one can gain real hope from it even when times are down. Which, coincidentally, they are right now for many, many people. I go to sleep at night, able to relax, because I know enough to give my worries to God. I know that even if the "world should end," that is, the economy goes to poop or should I lose my house, job, whatever - life will still go on, it will get better, and I can look forward to some really great times that will make it all worth it. Yeah, our God is pretty cool.

Link:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=31&search=Jeremiah%2029:11

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Bible: Always be ready

>> Thursday, October 09, 2008


I like this one. It does remind me of a speech given by, I believe, Sheldon Emry, where he described a practical modern application of this, but it also brings to mind another verse in (again, I believe) 1Timothy where it says to rejoice when being questioned. The thing to remember is that God is with you especially when, trusting in Him, you are placed in a position to answer according to His word. This verse also contains instruction to read and consider His word, the Bible, on a regular basis. This is what will HELP you be ready at any time. Even reviewing things that you already know is important because it just strengthens your resolve - and it might shed light on areas that you may have previously misunderstood.

Link:http://bible.christiansunite.com/search.cgi?version=all&search=blessing&passage=1Pe 3:15&from=gadget

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Bible: Wives and beauty

>> Monday, October 06, 2008


1 Peter 3:3-4 talks about a woman's beauty. As I read this the thought occurred to me of how much my daughter, now four years old, loves to dress up and make herself beautiful. She can change clothes a million times a day and never tire of it. Each dress is more beautiful than the last, even if it's going back to one she had on earlier. Is it coincidence that while the Bible tells women to not concern themselves with outer beauty, little girls are obsessed with it? It is a sign of maturity for girls to grow past the outer beauty and focus on the spirit, becoming good in the eyes of God.

Link:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=67&chapter=3&version=31

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BibleGateway.com - Col 4:6

>> Thursday, September 18, 2008


Pretty nice how the Bible is clear about being sneaky. This basically says, "Don't pound someone over the head with the word of the Lord... just sprinkle it here and there among your regular speech." The thing is, unless you know someone - unless you know a person is receptive to ideas which may go against their beliefs, you shouldn't go about criticizing or correcting them. More often than not a strange confronted with the truth will run and hide.

Link:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Col%204:6;&version=31;

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Bible: Romans 11:33

>> Friday, September 12, 2008


This is boiled down to: "You don't know what you don't know." And the great thing about it is that the more you know, the better you will feel... the better you'll be able to help others... the more centered you will be.

Link:http://bible.christiansunite.com/search.cgi?version=all&search=blessing&passage=Ro 11:33&from=gadget

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Bible: 1 Thessalonians 4 :16

>> Wednesday, September 10, 2008

BibleGateway.com - Passage Lookup: 1 Thessalonians 4 :16;

This is a description about death and hope, and the context of it talks about not grieving for those who have died, because all will be brought back at the pretty much same time, in the end. Whenever God Himself declares it, all the world will know and must admit to the Truth, which He is - even those who have died.

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High fructose corn syrup ad

>> Tuesday, September 09, 2008


Amazing what the Industry implies with this. They try to say that it's simply EMBARRASSING to deny HFCS by showing some random chick that hasn't studied up properly. If they really wanted to give an honest review of HFCS, they'd prop up someone who DID know their stuff and try to defend against it. And of course, they can't. In a way, it's pretty cool to see that someone has put the effort in to create such an ad as this because it shows that the truth about this highly processed by-product is finally coming out!

Link:http://snhbw.blogspot.com/2008/09/high-fructose-corn-syrup-ad.html

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Bible: 1 Cor 1:18


The thought which crosses my mind is how difficult it is for us humans to really know who is or is not perishing. I mean, some are already chosen by God to perish, as in the case of Pharaoh or the destiny of the seed of Esau (not really perishing, there, but destiny has been defined). So what to do? Just go about your lives, getting to know people (know them by their fruits, right?) and sharing God's word with those which evidence suggests they are saved.

Link:http://bible.christiansunite.com/search.cgi?version=all&search=blessing&passage=1Co 1:18&from=gadget

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Health: Cascadian Farm's "Cinnamon Raisin Granola"

>> Friday, June 13, 2008

With the amount of sugar added, degree of processing, and quality of oils used in the production of Cascadian Farm's "Cinnamon Raisin Granola" cereal, this should NOT be qualified as an organic food, nor should it be listed as good for your body.

Ingredient analysis, taken from the Nutrition Information (10) on cascadianfarm.com:

organic whole grain rolled oats
naturally milled organic sugar

  • SUGAR (8)
organic crisp rice
    (
        organic rice
        naturally milled organic sugar

    • SUGAR (8)
        sea salt
        organic malt

    )
  • Puffed grains are, in fact, NOT healthy.  They are "very" processed grains and have little or no nutritional value to them.  They are "dead" foods.  70% or more of your daily food intake should be from raw, or living, foods. (7)
organic raisins
organic whole grain oat flour
organic honey

  • SUGAR (8)
organic sunflower oil
  • Polyunsaturated oils, such as sunflower oil, contain long-chain fatty acids, which are extremely fragile and unstable. (9) 
  • Polyunsaturated fatty acids or PUFAs in vegetable seed oils are the bane of human health - they actually cause cancer, diabetes, obesity, aging, thrombosis, arthritis, and immunodeficiencies. (9)
  • See also the notes about canola oil below.
sea salt
organic molasses

  • SUGAR (8)
baking soda
organic cinnamon
soy lecithin (an emulsifier)

  • Extracted from soy beans using a solvent such as hexane.  A by-product of soybean oil.
  • Nearly all soybeans in America (89% in 2006) are from genetically modified (GM) sources. (5) This means that not only have these plants been injected with strange or unusual substances (like bacterial genes), but they have also been grown under the heavy use of pesticides.  Note that more countries outside the US implementing bans on GM foods.
  • Polyunsaturated oils, particularly corn oil and soybean oil, cause numerous health problems, including and especially cancer. (6)
  • Hexane is a mild anestheic and is used as a solvent in industries such as shoe manufacturing, furniture restoration, and automobile construction. (4)
  • Soy Myths and Truths: (3)
  • Read the comments about soy in this article: (2)
organic canola oil
  • Typical oils such as canola oil are processed with heat and high pressure, and are often exposed to sunlight for lengthy periods after processing.  Contemporary vegetable oils (like canola oil) contain omega-3 fatty acids; Since omega-3 fatty acids rapidly become offensive smelling and subject to rancidification when processed with high heat and oxygen, the oil is then subjected to a deodorizing process which removes much of the Omega-3 and replaces it with trans fats.(1)
  • Canola oil is not permitted in infant formula by the FDA due to concerns about inhibited growth in human infants. (1)
  • See also the notes about sunflower oil above.
organic vanilla extract



(1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canola_oil#Health_effects
(2) http://www.chow.com/stories/10701
(3) http://www.westonaprice.org/mythstruths/mtsoy.html
(4) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexane
(5) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soybean
(6) http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyourfats/conola.html
(7) http://www.living-foods.com/articles/environmental.html
(8) While not listed as the first ingredient in the list, SUGAR is essentially listed four times.  This is a devious practice by major corporations to hide the amounts of sugar in a list.  It's probably a good idea to qualify THIS cereal as a "sugar cereal"; according to the nutrition facts label, 29% of this cereal is made of sugar.  (55g serving size / 16g sugar)
(9) http://thescreamonline.com/essays/essays5-1/vegoil.html
(10) http://www.cascadianfarm.com/products/product_detail.aspx?cat=8&upc=0-21908-13334-8

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Tech: RememberTheMilk, Twitter, and Google Calendar

>> Tuesday, April 22, 2008

http://www.rememberthemilk.com/

They make it pretty easy to integrate, I think.  Browse the site (sign up, of course), and then on the homepage there click both the Google Calendar button and the Twitter button, and follow each of their instructions.  When it's all done, you can just IM your Twitterbot something like "Lunch with Julie at 8pm Apr 30" – it'll set up an appointment in itself, and then sync up with Google Calendar.  You can ALSO add their widget to your iGoogle homepage or Google Desktop, if you feel like.

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Tech: Mobile phone thoughts

>> Wednesday, April 02, 2008

(reposted from my response on Cathartic Tome )

One of the first things I install on any PDA phone is some kind of app (for WM5, I use "Magic Button") that turns the "X" button into an actual CLOSE application button - so I pretty much never have any apps running in the background.  Since Windows CE, I always thought that was a bad idea.

There are some quirks in WM, but I still like it a whole lot - primarily because there's SO much good-quality freeware and regular apps for it.  I've got a (now "old") T-Mobile MDA (2?) and it's still the best danged phone I've ever had.  Incidentally, WM7 will not be a vast upgrade as I hear tell, but WM8 is going to be a complete rewrite of the software, so expect to finally see WM in a form that is everyone-friendly, not just nerd-friendly, in a few years.

I just bought the wife a new, low-end phone from Target.  Some cheap Nokia thing but it dials and has a speakerphone so it'll do.  Her old phone's battery is completely dead, which is why we got the new one.  It's sad and very Brave-New-World-ish that her new phone uses the exact same battery as the old phone and while the battery can be purchased online for $40, the new phone can be had for $30.

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Web: Testing Disqus

>> Monday, March 24, 2008

Webware's "Under the Radar" series recommended Disqus for a multi-blog commenting system, and I'm curious to see how it works, so I'll be testing it out.

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Politics: A better form of government

>> Sunday, March 09, 2008

We are not a democracy, nor have we ever been.  We are currently more nearly a corporate oligarchy.  Corporate money elects our presidents and selects our congressmen, our cabinet members, and our judges.  Corporate money has bought the country.

Plato argued in his Republic that our representatives should be selected at random from the whole population, that from a fund of all qualified voters we simply draft up our representatives.  Those whose names come up in the selection process would be required, by law, to serve.  More poor and middle-class representatives would be chosen than those who are economically privileged.  We would have proportionately as many members of minorities as exist in the whole population.

These representatives would sreve one term - perhaps four year During their term, they would receive an adequate salary and the jobs they leave would be protected by law. Such leaders would have values consistent with those of the people themselves; that people, not money, that justice, not profit, are the first considerations. They would understand that progress is realized when we feed and house and educate our citizens, that progress is realized when we preserve the earth.

Some observe that such a method of selecting our representatives bears with it the danger that some will not be qualified to represent us. But we have survived in a system for over two hundred years where most who represent us re either not qualified or are committed to interests antithetical to our own.  It is easier to trust the schoolteacher or bulldozer operator over the professional politicians we have now.

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Health: Ice Cream, the delicious poison

>> Friday, February 29, 2008

When you order a banana split at your neighborhood ice cream parlor, you may order vanilla flavored ice cream, chocolate, and strawberry.

But you will probably eat iperonal (a lice killer) for vanilla, amylphenyl acetate for chocolate, and a solvent called benzyl acetate for strawberry. The toppings will probably be aldehyde C-17 for cherry, ethyl acetate for pineapple (causes lung, liver, and heart damage), rutyraldehyde for nut flavor, and a paint solvent called amyl acetate for that great banana flavor.

It's all economics. Aldehyde C-17 costs seven cents per gallon of ice cream. Real cherries cost thirty-five cents a gallon. There are over a thousand different chemicals used in commercial ice cream.

-The Milk Book, by William Douglass II. Emphasis added.

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Politics: What do politicians do with your private data?

>> Thursday, February 14, 2008

I think it's a bit telling to see what politicians do with your private information when you donate money to them.  Here's a quick cut-n-paste from their websites and -- Hey, look at that!  Ron Paul is the only one who says, "NO SHARING"

 

 

Barack Obama: It is our general policy not to make Personal Information available to anyone other than our employees, staff, and agents. We may also make personal information available to organizations with similar political viewpoints and objectives, in furtherance of our own political objectives.

 

Ron Paul: Do you use the information that you collect for any other reason?  No.  We collect the information to comply with FEC regulations, but do not sell or otherwise distribute any piece of information about any of our donors.

 

Hillary Clinton: On occasion, we may also use the information that you provide online to contact you for other purposes or to solicit you for contributions. When you register or sign-up online, we may share your contact information with successor organizations and other like-minded Democratic candidates and organizations, and they may contact you. When you make a contribution to us, we may also exchange your contributor information with successor organizations and other like-minded Democratic candidates and organizations, and they may solicit you (see below for additional information regarding your contributor information). However, we will not sell or exchange your credit card information to any other third party under any circumstances.

 

John McCain: We may share information -- that you voluntarily provide us -- with like-minded organizations committed to the principles or candidates of the Republican party, Republican State Party organizations, local Republican groups and like-minded organizations.

 

 

Here's a Reddit discussion about this, spawned by the fact that Hillary's campaign was busted for selling information. http://reddit.com/info/68o6i/comments/

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Health: A week to change habits

>> Tuesday, February 05, 2008

If you're trying to give up a bad eating habit, make sure to give yourself at least a week before your changes in diet are reflected in the withdrawal symptoms you will be feeling.  Don't give up, because once you reach that "promised land" you won't feel the urges and it will be worth it.

Also see The Great American Detox Diet, p37

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Health: Breakfast at Yedda

Check out this interesting answer on Yedda


Yedda – People. Sharing. Knowledge.Healthy breakfast

If I'm going to eat a processed grain, Kashi would be one of the ones that seems generally acceptable to me, however avoid cereals just as you would (should) any processed food.  They're not as healthful as you might think.  Especially do not trust the big names - and Kashi is simply Kelloggs by another name.

Also, do some research into why you should avoid cereals.  For example, processing a grain to produce puffed wheat/rice/etc. is done at high temperatures and pressure, which actually makes them toxic

If you want to feed your children a healthy breakfast cereal, prepare it the evening beforehand; cook some steel cut oats - here's a recipe at RecipeZaar: http://www.recipezaar.com/101101  Mind you, it's cooked which gets rid of some of the nutrients, but it's cooked less than the processed cereals and it's amazingly delicious.

(Yaronco, all those cereals you listed range from tolerable to horrible.  For example, Cinnamon Toast Crunch has sugar listed three times withini its ingredients.  It also has preservatives and modified ingredients; it is far from natural and far from healthy.  I checked out that link... oy - they even recommend Cracklin' Oat Bran, which tastes delicious but the stuff is literally held together by sugar.  I do not agree with that site's recommendations.  The author seems to base his suggestions on having whole grains listed first, but he doesn't seem to understand that corporations simply use multiple types of sugars to avoid listing SUGAR as first.)

(Joosh: Smart Start is bad for you.  Not only does it have sugar listed three times, but one of those sugars is high fructose corn syrup - pretty much the worst sugar man makes.  Note: This is why it "tastes better than Kashi.")

Topics:  ,

Answered by Winkyboy on February 05, 2008

View the entire discussion on YeddaYedda – People. Sharing. Knowledge.


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Twessenger merges Twitter with your Messenger status

>> Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Twessenger: Twitter add-in for Windows Live Messenger -
Cool.  Too bad I usually use Meebo for my chat clients.  (Meebo needs to get around to sync'ing up everyone's multiple IM status bars...ugh!)

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Tech: Twitter Convergence

>> Thursday, January 24, 2008



Just showing off a sweet convergence of programs I’ve got running… First off, I use Twitter. I only have a couple of followers/followees (and of the followees only one posts with any regularity) so I haven’t really even explored the social micro-blogging aspect of the tool. Might be interesting to delve into; I’ve read about a lot of other uses Twitter has in this respect, such as creating a corporate identity, say MRMPLS, and having all its employees follow it for quick announcements wherever they may be. Could be useful. Even if you don’t have a text-messaging plan, as I do not, Twitter can be very useful. In fact, it’s easier to use if you add the Twitter bot to your IM list.

If I can veer a little off-subject for a moment, I’d also like to mention www.meebo.com here. I may have talked about it before, but it’s ultra-convenient in that it has nearly all the features of all the regular IM clients, but it’s online and does not need to be installed. Thus, the preferences and friends lists that you have on it (such as the Twitter bot) carry with you from computer to computer – you have your regular access anywhere you are.

I’ve found Twitter is most useful as a gateway, feeding data into other programs. On Facebook I’ve installed TwitterSync which polls my Twitter status and applies any newly-posted change to my Facebook status. This is nice because I can post once and announce twice, so to speak. (I thought for one week that TwitterSync was causing some problems with my status, but now I’ve realized it was the alpha version of 8hands – another cool toy but not ready for prime time just yet)

I’m into health-related issues in a big way, and thus I have stumbled onto www.tweetwhatyoueat.com. This lets you track what you eat (and, optionally, the calories you consume) by direct-messaging through Twitter. I’ve used other diet-recording software/sites such as www.sparkpeople.com, but this is SO much easier because with Twitter you’re always logged in. An online calorie lookup service (www.acaloriecounter.com, www.thedailyplate.com, etc.) is convenient if you do use this.

You can also tweet your appointments to your calendar if you use www.rememberthemilk.com (RTM) – complete with a time for the appointment – by simply sending something like, “dental appointment @ may 5th 8:00PM” If you’ve set RTM up properly, this will the propagate to your Google calendar. I’ve even gone so far as to purchase a copy of Rainlendar which mixes my Outlook and multiple Google calendars together for one convenient desktop display.

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Health: Avoid Soft Drinks

Another entry in the should-be-self-obvious category, Soft drinks contain phosphoric acid which changes the body's calcium-phosphorus ratio, upsetting its deductable chemical balance. A body in balance heals. A body unbalanced deteriorates.  Sugar-free soft drinks are not acceptable substitutes for a variety of reasons. Besides the fatc that they contain chemical-based sugar replacements that should be considered poisonous, the phosphorus in them retains this same unbalancing properties, and the body may be tricked into producing extra insulin which will lead to a drop in the blood sugar levels.

A glass of mineral water flavored with lemon, lime, or a tablespoon of orange or apple juice makes a great soft drink replacement.

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Health: Girl Scout Cookies are Deadly

>> Wednesday, January 23, 2008

ABC Smart Cookie - Cookie - Nutrition Facts

Look at the ingredient lists here: SUGAR is listed within the top two of each cookie, usually. They all have wheat flour, but it's "enriched" wheat flour. When you read that, know that it's flour that's been killed and then had synthetic vitamins and minerals added back in.

Then, of course, there's the trans fats. Even though it lists "0g trans fat" on the labels, shortening or partially hydrogenated oils are usually within the top three ingredients. THOSE ARE TRANS FATS. Don't believe their lies.

Throw in some artificial flavor, a lot more sugar of varying sorts including the always-evil high fructose corn syrup, artificial colors, and more sugar for the heck of it, you've got a little, delicious, and deadly treat.

How many boxes do you eat each year?

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Health: Artificial Sweeteners

>> Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Aspartame, or NutraSweet and Equal, is about 200 times sweeter than sugar and is in numerous diet soft drinks,  It is made of phenylalanine, aspartic acid, and methanol (wood alcohol), which enters the blood when ingested.  High levels of phenylalanine and tyrosine (both amino acids) are created by aspartame in humans.  These can affect the brain by negatively influencing the creation of neurotransmitters and the operation of bodily functions controlled by the central nervous system.

Aspartame also inhibits the release of glucose into the bloodstream and induces the release of seratonin (an inhibitory transmitter) within the brain. This may affect both sleep and hunger, thus dieters may be only adding to their problems by drinking sodas with aspartame.

Methanol (poison!) is added during the manufacturing of aspartame. One liter of a diet cola contains about 555 milligrams of aspartame and of this, 56 mg are methanol.

The FDA has numerous reports of seizures linked to aspartame ingestion.  Common reported side effects include dizziness, visual impairment, disorientation, ear buzzing, tunnel vision, loss of equilibium, severe muscle aches, numbness, inflammation of the pancreas, episodes of high blood pressure, and eye hemorrhages.

Every chemical you ingest has to be filtered by your liver. Over time, such "workouts" eventually exhaust the immune and endocrine systems.

Saccharin is still sold today despite pending investigation about the controversy that it is probably carcinogenic. It is found in Sweet 'N Low, Sprinkle Twin, and Sugar Twin.

- Lick the Sugar Habit

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Health: Pottenger's Cats

>> Monday, January 21, 2008

Francis Pottenger studied cats over several generations. He fed one group a primitive diet of raw foods; a second, the same foods only cooked; a third group he fed the cooked-food diet plus condensed milk, which contains sugar. The first group lived the longest and gave birth to healthy cats over several generations. The second group did not live as long as the first and gave birth to two generations of cats, each of which was less healthy than the former generation. Thus, cooking apparently altered the available nutrients in their food.

Adding sugar to this diet made the nutrients even less available, as shown by the deterioration over three generations of the third group of cats. Their second and third generations had many abnormalities, including hair that was not as shiny and thick as the first generation. When kept on the cooked, sweetened diet, the third generation was not able to reproduce. Interestingly, when these third-generation cats wew switched to an all raw-food diet, they became healthy enough to reproduce and give birth to kittens who were healthier than those of the third generation.

This demonstrates that the potential expression in the genetic blueprint is inhibited by lifestyle. Like these cats, each of us inherits an endocrine pattern from our parents and we pass this pattern on to our children.

- Lick the Sugar Habit, page 106

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Health: the pulse test

>> Thursday, January 17, 2008

While not all foods to which you are allergic will alter your heartrate, if you ingest a food and your pulse rate increases or decreases at least ten beats per minute over the resting rate, chances are you are not metabolizing that food correctly. You have developed an allergic sensitivity to it.

- Lick the Sugar Habit

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Health: How Sugars cause Allergies

I have to quote this directly from "Lick the Sugar Habit"

Evry food we eat needs to be digested and metabolized by a variety of enzymes before it can be used by our cells. Enzymes will (not) work without the proper functioning minerals to help them out. If the usable minerals in the body decrease, such as in the presence of sugar, it is difficult for the body to digest anything in the small intestine because of the lack (or decrease) of functioning enzymes. Therefore, wheb you eat sugar, any food that is in the stomach at the time will become the food to which you can become allergic. This continued inability to digest a particular food eventually results in an allergy to that undigested, decomposing food.

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Health: The sour facts about sugar

>> Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Taken from "Lick the Sugar Habit"

Our bodies only need two teaspoons of blood sugar at any time. If we at no refined sugar at all, we would still get more than enough sugar in our diets. Every extra teaspoon of refined sugar you eat works to throw your body out of balance and compromise its health.

When a person eats sugar continuously, their body becomes unable to manufacture glucose from complex carbohydrates, proteins, and facts.

The minerals needed for the body to digest sugar have been stripped by the manufacturing process, so the digestion of it in turn strips those minerals from YOUR body.

Manufacturers are NOT required to list glucose as an ingredient when used in processing.

Even if you get your RDA of vitamins and minerals, if you eat sugar, it will change your body chemistry making you unable to use those nutrients. The nutrients may even become toxic to your body!

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Health: Sugar used in processing

Did you know that sugar is used in a vast majority of the processed
foods you buy today? It's rather conspiratory if you imagine that food
processors might be related in any way to pharmaceuticals or genetic
engineers. It's bad enough just think about the capitalistic approach
that processors take in order to sell their products.

Many meat packers feed sugar to animals prior to slaughter to improve
the flavor and color of the meat.

Sugar is often added to restaurant hamburgers to reduce shrinkage.

Sugar is found in such unlikely items such as boullion cubes and dry
roasted nuts.

Almost half of the calories in commercial ketchup somes from sugar.

Over 90% of the calories in a can of cranberry sauce come from sugar.


The average person eats over TEN POUNDS of sugar each month.

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Health: Why people BELIEVE coconut oil is bad for you

>> Tuesday, January 15, 2008

(Summarized from http://www.coconutresearchcenter.org/article10027.htm)

...the domestic oil industry viewed with alarm the competing interest of the imported oils. In 1986, ... the American Soybean Association (ASA) launched a series of attacks that became known as the "tropical grease campaign." ... The face-off was not between tropical and temperate-climate oils, but rather between domestic and imported ones. ...

This effort was abetted by a self-styled consumer crusader, Phil Sokolof, who waged his own campaign against these oils. He established and funded the National Heart Savers Association, and paid for full-page advertisements in nationally distributed newspapers, with the dramatic headline "The Poisoning of America!" He charged that tropical oils destroy life or impair health. The combined campaigns of Sokolof and ASA convinced many consumers that tropical oils were unhealthy, and consumers should be warned on product labels.

...The ASA viewed potential legislation on labeling as its "biggest weapon" against foreign-oil producers. ... [It is interesting to note that] U.S. Trade Representative Clayton Yeuter admitted that "the main objective of the proposed tropical labeling legislation was to protect the domestic oil industry." [Also,] The Institute of Shortening and Edible Oils charged: "The health angle is a smoke screen for a trade issue. …Specific labeling of foods in regard to their content of the so-called tropical oils is clearly discriminatory and without scientific basis."

...The campaign succeeded in having major food processors reformulate their products with domestically produced oils. According to food writer Jane Heimlich, the anti-tropical-oil campaign resulted in a switch to "true artery-clogging horrors - partially hydrogenated oils." The reformulation created problems. Palm and coconut oils resist oxidation and are highly stable. They do not require hydrogenation, and are trans-free. However, many of the domestic oils are predominantly polyunsaturated, which makes them quite unstable, and subject to oxidation. To make them more stable, they need to be hydrogenated. ...

Food processors switched reluctantly [because] Palm and coconut oils [are advantageous in] food processing. Palm oil can be separated readily.... Manufacturers can make bakery shortening from [palm], [resulting in a] food product [that] has no trans fats. ...Palm and coconut oils are highly suitable for frying because of their high oxidative stability.

... [These oils] do not require hydrogenation. Unlike many other vegetable oils, extraction can be done without the use of harsh chemical solvents. These oils have low foaming tendencies when heated, so they do not require the use of anti-foaming agents. Because these oils have high smoke points, they resist polymerization and oxidation. These features benefit food processors, but do they harm consumers? The aggressive campaign against these oils was intended to make consumers fearful of unhealthy qualities in the oils, and to pressure food processors to eliminate them.

However, the scientific evidence demonstrates that palm and coconut oils are healthful.

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Health: A short history of sugars


Up until the 70's America got most of its sugar from sugar beets or sugar cane. Remember the commercial? "C&H - pure cane sugar, C&H - from Hawaii, C&H - pure cane sugar, that's the one."

Okay maybe I'm dating myself with thbat commercial quote and proving the effectiveness of an advertising jingle, but that much is true, and these types of sugar (beet, cane) are SUCROSE.

Sometime in the 70's sugar made from corn became popular because it was cheaper to produce. Now wed started getting corn syrup, fructose, dextrose, dextrine, and high fructose corn syrup as part of the American daily diet

- Based on "Lick the Sugar Habit" by Nancy Appleton, PhD

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Politics: To my reps; real money!

>> Monday, January 14, 2008

DownSizeDC asked for me to message the reps about Ron Paul's Honest Money act, which I totally agree with.  I WANT a constitutional money system based on gold and silver.  Consider this:  The founding fathers had the same ability to create their own "federal reserve" system as they did in 1913 yet they CHOSE to wisely base the nation's money on gold and silver.  They were absolutely wiser than we shown ourselves to be, today; let us follow their example.

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Politics: Power of Charisma

>> Thursday, January 10, 2008

Charisma.  It is the essence of what is popular.  With charisma is delivered such phrases such as "the audacity of hope" or "the urgency of now."  Charisma propels one man to fame even if the words that make up this charisma mean ultimately nothing.  He may speak of change without changing.  He might speak of leadership, yet mean control.  All the while those who listen to him hear nothing but his charismatic presentation.  He is like all the rest, but he dazzles them with style.

Give 'em an act with lots of flash in it
And the reaction will be passionate
How can they see with sequins in their eyes?
Razzle dazzle 'em and they'll never catch wise!

(paraphrasing Razzle Dazzle, from Chicago)

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Sandwich Application Error

A friend of mine started making a sandwich before lunch yesterday and apparently got called into a meeting or something, so his empty sandwich sat on the table unattended for quite a while. I figured some kind of FAIL message was appropriate... [full-size image]


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Politics: SWAT Team Necessary Because Man Is a "Self-Proclaimed Constitutionalist"

>> Tuesday, January 08, 2008

Reason Magazine - SWAT Team Necessary Because Man Is a "Self-Proclaimed Constitutionalist"

*

Should I pose a comparison between presidents and the common people? It's rather chilling that after Clinton I read about children experimenting with oral sex because the President had done it - so what's the big deal? Now after seven years of Bush, we have SWAT teams being called in for minor medical examinations.

Okay, so I jest a little, but it is still cold in here. This all makes me recall some Orwellian future predictions that Heinlein wrote in his book, Friday, that the ultimate sign of the end of a society is that the people lose common courtesy for one another.

I haven't researched to find if that has any actual historical backing, but it certainly would make sense, as trust is implicit in a society that is friendly toward one another. In good, healthy societies you understand the people around you, you like them, and you want to do things to help them. I won't go all preacher on you and take ten paragraphs now to explain that that is how proper Christianity is supposed to be, but there it is anyway: People love one another in a proper society.

* National police during a normal parade. In the USA an armor tank during a parade would be unusual, but in most countries it's normal. - tinou bao

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Health: I hate soda

>> Thursday, January 03, 2008

While looking through my sent emails on an entirely unrelated subject, I came across this email I'd sent to my work newsletter but it was edited out.  So, rather than waste a good rant, here it is.  (Yes, I realize this might be noticed by everyone at work ;)

http://www.waterforlifeusa.com/blog/uncategorized/8-ways-soda-fizzles-your-health/

 

We've (probably) heard it before, but seriously. 

No, take it seriously.  I mean, this affects us directly - we could have a fridge full of tea.  Unsweetened, rooibos tea, which comes in many flavors, is delicious and good for you!  However, we have 90% soda, 6% carbonated water, and 4% juice (half of which contains high fructose corn syrup.  And don't get me started on that.) But if you're looking for a diet drink that's sweet, just put a tiny pinch of Stevia extract to the tea. Even a half-teaspoon of honey isn't going to kill you as much as aspartame or saccharin will. 

And since I'm on the tea rant, we should just Spice Up the Office with something from TeaVana.  That particular starter package is a little unnecessary since we already have a hot water tap and don't need the Zojirushi boiler (I have one at home - it's sweet).  We could just send someone to the MOA to pick up ten different packages of rooibos teas and we're set.  Or order them online.  Anyway.
 

a quote:

Diet Soda Isn't Any Better
For those of you with a diet soda in your hands, the news isn't any better, in fact it's worse! ... One liter of an aspartame-sweetened beverage can produce about fifty-six milligrams of methanol[y'know... antifreeze, solvent... -me]

And when it comes to saccharin, ...the last thirty years have demonstrated the carcinogenic effects of saccharin ... in some instances at doses as low as the equivalent of one to two bottles of diet pop daily.

With diet soda, you've gone from high calories to poisonous levels of methanal and an increased chance of developing cancer. Not a very good trade.


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Health: Coconut Oil and Traineo

>> Tuesday, January 01, 2008

I saw an article on Traineo, "Best Foods to Eat", that says "For cooking use exclusively cold pressed olive oil"

This is a NO-NO! While cold-pressed olive oil is one of the best choices of oil, it should NOT be used in cooking because of its low burn point. Anyone who studies oils even a little bit will learn this.

Coconut oil isn't even listed on the chart anywhere, which surprised me. While it is a saturated fat, most people assume it is unhealthy. However, because it is a "medium chain triglyceride" (which as I understand means its easily digested), it's actually THE BEST oil you could use, period. It also has a HIGH burn point, so it's not going to turn carcinogenic on you.

In daily use, I've swapped out BUTTER for coconut oil, and it's great - although I'm not sure what I'll do once summer comes around, as you can't leave coconut oil out on the counter in the warm temperatures. I also use it topically as it seems really great for dry skin. However, I'll have to play around for a bit to find something that will stop it from being SO liquid. As it is now, I just use the tiniest bit that way.

And finally, although it's not OIL per se, I find that young coconuts are simply DIVINE foods. The coconut milk (looks more like water) is especially good for use in smoothies; on the days that I don't use almond milk, that's what I use.

Coconut has a lot of calories, but you're not going to want to eat a LOT all at once, because it's like honey: Sweet, delicious even, but too much is really TOO MUCH.

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