Evangelicals most in favor of Torture?!

If I asked you what the MOST religious people thought about the morality of torture, what would you say? If you're like me, you'd assume they'd be MOST against practices like waterboarding and torture in general. But according to a new Pew study indicates you'd be wrong, as Evangelicals and regular church-goers in general are more likely to think torture is morally-justifiable than the general population.

One analyst speculates this is due to the fact that the Christian worldview includes salvation coming from the excruciating pain of our savior. Somehow, I suspect the explanation is a little more complex.

Farm Discriminiation

From here

What's 8 billion dollars between friends?

In yet ANOTHER bid to save the struggling automaker, President Barack Obama today announced he will be giving Chrysler another $8b to finance chapter 11 bankruptcy. And yes, it will include selling a large portion of the company to the Italian Fiat.

Bankruptcy doesn't mean the nation's No. 3 automaker will shut down. A Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing would allow a judge to decide how much the company's creditors would get while the company continues to operate. The goal is for the whole process to happen quickly, Obama said, perhaps within a couple months.

The president said that Chrysler has been responsible for helping to build the American middle class, but over the years also had been weakened by "papering over tough problems and avoiding hard choices."

...The Obama administration had long hoped to stave off bankruptcy for Chrysler LLC, but it became clear that a holdout group of creditors wouldn't budge on proposals to reduce Chrysler's $6.9 billion in secured debt. Obama praised all the constituencies that have offered sacrifices and blasted those that did not.

He said a group of investment firms and hedge funds were holding out for the prospect of an unjustified taxpayer bailout.

Can anyone tell us when the flow of funds will *STOP*? There has to come a point where we will have invested more in the company than it is worth (if we have not already reached that point). At some point, do we not have to bite the bullet and let nature take its course?

I don't want to know what the bill is going to be when GM's execs decide to follow the same route. More and more it seems like that is not an "if" but a "when".

Is Specter defection GOOD for the GOP?

Gloating democrats have made no secret of their opinion that the conversion of Arlen Specter from Red State to Blue State is the death knell of the opposition party. But some have another theory that it may be the beginning of real problems for the Democrats and President Obama.

With the likely seating of Al Franken from Minnesota, Democrats will have 60 seats in the Senate, giving Obama unambiguous governing majorities in both bodies. He’ll be responsible for everything. GOP obstructionism will go away as an issue, and Democratic defections will become the constant worry and story line. This will make it easier for GOP candidates in 2010 to ask to be elected to help restore some checks and balance in Washington -- and, meanwhile, Specter’s party change won’t likely have made much difference in getting key legislation passed or not.

It is an interesting theory, and I think more than a little true. Jim Jeffords did little to weaken GWB, in the end, and instead allowed the GOP to come together against a perceived outside threat. This may be the stimulus that Republicans need to finally rally together, and begin repairing the party from the inside-out.

I'll miss Pontiac

From here

Arlen Specter goes to the Dems

Some may remember in 2001 when Vermont Senator Jim Jeffords switched from the Republican to the Democratic party in an attempt to create a clear majority for the Democrats. They may also remember it did not amount to much in the end. Well, Republican Senator Arlen Specter - famous for breaking ranks with the Republican party on the stimulus package - has decided to follow the same path and will be switching to the Democratic Party.

Much will be made of this - some will likely say it is the "death knell for the GOP". But the fact is that Specter already made the choice when he supported the stimulus package. He is now looking at his district, and see there are no Republicans willing to support him for another term - he will lose in the primary. So he is rolling the dice by jumping ship. Likely, he will still lose and wind up a man without a party.

Still, who knows? I have been wrong before. Maybe the real change will be the GP convincing Senator oe Lieberman to come over to the GOP. After all, he has allegedly been informed by party leaders that they will NOT support him in his next reelection bid.

Don't panic over Swine Flu "Pandemic"

Since I was mostly out-of-pocket this weekend, I was unable to post. But it was interesting to watch on my iPhone's browser as the swine flu repots swelled from concern to panic to pandemic in about 72 hours. Currently, the latest news/rumor is that the World Health Organization is ready to declare the Mexican swine flu to be a pandemic. Why, exactly, it is a "pandemic" at this point is unclear, since the spread appears to be moderate.

The WHO raised its pandemic alert level for the swine flu virus to phase 4, indicating a significantly increased risk of a pandemic, a global outbreak of a serious disease.

The last such outbreak, a "Hong Kong" flu pandemic in 1968, killed about 1 million people.

Although the new flu strain has so far killed people only in Mexico, there were more than 40 confirmed cases in the United States, including 20 at a New York City school where eight cases were already identified.

At this point, the unique point about this flu is that there is no vaccine for it. Therefore, your best strategies to avoid infection are the usual ones: (1) try to stay healthy - eat well, get plenty of sleep, (2) avoid people who are known to be sick with the flu, and (3) if you are sick, try to stay home rather than "working through it" in the office, which is likely to spread the virus farther. People are making much of the fact that 149 people have died from the disease, but remember that millions die annually from the flu despite vaccines, and most of those are because people were already in a weakened condition.

Fight the panic with facts, and take care of yourself. Those are your best bets.

Some Things Just Aren't Meant to Be

From Speed Bump

Creative Marketing

What an amazingly resourceful person. Give this guy a job in sales!

2nd Place Lower Division

2nd Place Lower Division
Originally uploaded by crchair

The teen Bible Quiz Team Nomad and I coach came in second today at the
big tournament of the year.

Keeping Employees Happy

Another older, but still pertinent article. Personally, I typically leave a job due to a life situation change (job ended, one time temporary opportunity presented itself, etc.) One would think that the number one reason people leave a company is due to money, but looking at top employees, this appears to not be the case.

Biking Update - April 25, 2009

No time for a long update today, but suffice to say it was a good weekend for biking then a poor week for it. We rode the Larkin Bridle Trail with Nick and Nora and had a GREAT time, despite very uneven conditions. The rest of the week was also uneven for weight loss, as I had no time to bike (due to activities surrounding preparation for a trip this weekend) and saw a spike up and then a spike down which means I am basically back where I started. This upcoming weekend is a "free weekend when I can have what I want (within reason). We'll see if I get to do any biking. Not while we're away, but maybe on Monday.

How to Protect Yourself From Social Engineering

Social engineering (also known as pretexting) is playing on human nature to trick someone into giving you information. Wired has up an old, but still useful article on how to protect yourself. Another good resource is Kevin Mitnick's book The Art of Deception. It provides information, but using situations so as to make it an easier read.

R.I.P. Geocities

The Nomad's very first web page was on Geocities. "The Nomad's Wanderings" was a regurgitation of the various Star Wars Episode 1 rumors that were out and about before the premiere. I checked, and no - it no longer exists (although I am sure an enterprising person could find it on the Wayback Machine). I loved that little site, even though I was pretty much the only person who ever read it. So it was with sadness that I read today that Yahoo is going to permanently shut down Geocities. Then again, I have not had a reason to visit a Geocities page in years, so it was not a shock.

Rest in peace, Geocities. You'll be missed.

Don't Shake Your Baby

Perhaps it is just because there is/was a billboard along the freeway due to a local case of a baby who was killed by being shaken. Perhaps it is that I'm an expecting father. Still, with people apparently still unaware of the dangers of shaking a baby, the Baby Shaker App for the iPhone seems in extremely poor taste. It has now been pulled, but originally passed Apple's approval process. The description of the app read:

On a plane, on the bus, in a theater. Babies are everywhere you don't want them to be! They're always distracting you from preparing for that big presentation at work with their incessant crying. Before Baby Shaker there was nothing you could do about it.

Am I just failing to find the dark humor here?

Same-Sex Marriage to become law in CT

It appears the CT legislature is poised to make same-sex marriage the law in the Nutmeg State. There was significant resistance from religious groups fearful of the lack of exceptions for faith-based organizations, but it appears that the legislation has been amended and now the bill is likely to pass.

"Obviously the Supreme Court decision in 'Kerrigan' has made same sex marriage the law of the state of Connecticut," said Senator John McKinney. "What we're trying to do is make sure that there are protections for religions and religious organizations with respect to the performing of marriage ceremonies and celebrations of marriages."

"It appears that the religious liberties issues are being addressed and that's a very good thing," said Pat Korten of the Knights of Columbus. "Obviously, the bill that came out of committee had virtually nothing of that sort. This is major progress."

This has been coming for a while, and I think it is inevitable that same-sex marriage is essentially law of the land in the USA. I disagree with the philosophical arguments, but they are not incoherent. Now is the time for Conservatives to honestly assess what same-sex marriage in all (or at least most) states means for them. And how they want to explain this move to the children.

Obama Pushing Off-Shore Wind Farms

I'm skeptical of the push for green power generation for environmental sake. I do, however, see it as a good thing for us to not have such a dependence on oil given the general instability of our relationships with major oil countries. Obama is pushing for off-shore wind farms and ocean current generated electricity. Interesting thought, though I wonder how many that were against off-shore drilling because it would ruin the view will be for this. Or is this okay since it's "green"? The good news is that they estimate we can generate twice our current energy capacity.

Steve Jobs To Return In June

Apple has announced that Steve Jobs will be returning to Apple in June after a leave of absence. We wish Steve Jobs a great time for the rest of his leave of absence and welcome his return.

Condo Buy Back Guarantee

With home builders needing to sell inventory to keep their companies running, one company that is converting apartments to condos has come up with their own program: Buy now and in 5 years, we'll buy it back from you at 110% the purchase price no questions asked. Between the fear of job loss and knowing that home prices will still probably continue to decline, this is a great marketing tactic as any home bought today will most likely be worth more than 110%.

WB inaugurates HD-DVD Trade-Ins

In the early days of the High-Def wars, there were 2 DVD-like products to choose from: HD-DVD (pushed by Toshiba and Microsoft, among others) and Blu-Ray (pushed by Sony). HD-DVD movies tended to be a little cheaper, and the players were much cheaper because (1) they used the same lasers as DVD player, and (2) they were not burdened with the same licensing costs as BluRay. But BluRay was supported by the PlayStation 3, and was backed by Sony's huge library of movies, so it eventually won out. But it left many embittered consumers with useless piles of HD-DVDs.

In an attempt to bring consumers back to the table, Warner Brothers has now announced a "Trade-In Program" where you can swap out your old HD-DVDs for BluRay discs. There are costs, and you are limited to WB movies. But it may be worth it, if you are one of those who hung onto HD-DVDs long after the horse was out of the barn.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10224852-1.html?tag=newsBlogPromoArea.0

Happy Birthday Ward

Scientists rejest use of their study to justify "Enhanced Interrogations"

It is perhaps no shock that many of the people whose work was cited in the recently declassified memos supporting torture methods at Gitmo are furious. One group of scientists are already saying their work was misinterpreted and that the memos are citing work that has no bearing on the topic of interrogation techniques.

The study in question by Kundermann, which was published in 2004 in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, found that people who were deprived of sleep for one night had an increased sensitivity to certain types of pain. Two Justice Department memos, dated May 10, 2005, cited this study as justification to conclude that severe sleep deprivation of up to 180 consecutive hours might cause some increased pain but not "severe physical pain" when used in conjunction with facial slaps, stress positions, water dousing and walling, in which a detainee is slammed against a flexible wall.

"Because sleep deprivation appears to cause at most only relatively moderate decreases in pain tolerance, the use of these techniques in combination with extended sleep deprivation would not be expected to cause severe physical pain," wrote Steven Bradbury, a principal deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel, who authored the memos.

Of course, this is the problem with classified analyses like this - no peer review, little oversight. I can't imagine being quoted in one of these memos, and hope that those who have been are not penalized for those who took their work out of context.

Gas prices

Gas prices
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

(Sent from my 3G iPhone)

Obesity causes Globbal Warming?

Regular readers know that I have lost 75 lbs this year thru a combination of diet and exercise (biking). There were many reasons why I wanted to lose weight: looking better for the opposite sex, health concerns, back pain, etc. Global warming was not one of my reasons.

Overweight people eat more than thin people and are more likely to travel by car, making excess body weight doubly bad for the environment, according to a study from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine...

They estimated that each fat person is responsible for about one tonne of carbon dioxide emissions a year more on average than each thin person, adding up to an extra one billion tonnes of CO2 a year in a population of one billion overweight people.

The conclusions being drawn from this study by the popular media are idiotic. But we all know that the last people it is okay to make fun or and discriminate against are the overweight. In general, the "fat people" I have known are more likely to be homebodies who stay around the house and don't travel. The extremely thin people I know, on the other hand, tend to be movers and shakers, who tend to drive their SUVs everywhere, smoke like chimneys, and always demand the latest and greatest. Does this mean thinness is a threat the planet? Of course not. But you watch. A "fat tax" is only a few years away.

Calling a spade, a spade

This blog had been largely supportive of President George W. Bush during his years in office. While not all of us supported either the Iraq War or the policies around it, I generally have the president the benefit of the doubt in dealing with a difficult world after 9/11. Most of the pundit class felt free to begin tearing him down as soon as 9/12 was past, and I saw that as disingenuous and naive.

But now, it is time to speak plainly. I condemn the torture policies enacted by President Bush in the wake of 9/11, as shown by recent declassified memos. We knew "something" was going on in Gitmo, but assumed that it was not nearly as bad as what the Left speculated. Instead, it is pretty much exactly as bad as GWB's critics claimed. Regular, intensive, sadistic weatherboarding. Use of subject phobias in methods eerily similar to scenes from 1984. Methods that simply can not be rationalized away as NOT torture. Even in the panicky days after 9/11. And these methods appear to have continued up to a few months before the end of the administration. We have stained the American spirit with these actions in a way comparable to the Japanese internment camps of World War 2. The ends can never justify the means. By meeting evil with evil, you merely increase the darkness and terror in our land.

Being MOD-blog, we try to see both sides. And we have spoken for both sides on this issue. But now it is time to speak plainly, now that all the facts are known. This was a mistake, and a sin of our nation. I challenge anyone who has read the memos to tell me differently. And "You had to be there" is not a sufficient defense.

"Bank Stress Tests" may be too Stressful for the Market

When they were first proposed, the "Bank Stress Tests" that were part of Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner's economic plan seemed prudent. If the government has a clearer picture of the actual state of troubled banks, then it could react more intelligently. What could be more logical? But now, it appears such revelations could do more harm than good as a jittery market rushes to judgement over the slightest whiff of weakness in a bank's balance sheet.

While weaker banks deemed to need additional capital will be given six months to raise it, financial markets may have little more than six minutes of patience before punishing them if the information is publicly released, one official said...

The economy has worsened since the Treasury announced the tests in February, raising questions about whether the scenarios regulators are applying to bank portfolios are rigorous enough. Officials are considering taking a tougher stance in judging the tests’ results given the job market’s deterioration, the Financial Times reported today without citing anyone.

Under the assessments’ “more adverse” scenario, the unemployment rate is seen rising to 10.3 percent in 2010. When officials designed that scenario, the most-recent jobless rate was 7.6 percent. It has already soared to 8.5 percent since then.

Of course, since the economy - or at least Wall Street - is essentially mass psychology, we have a lose-lose situation here. If the report is released and it contains bad news, then there will be a panic. But if the report is NOT released, it will create additional uncertainty which will drive the market down steadily. Knowledge is power, but knowledge untempered by wisdom is a bull in a china shop.

Bike Shop Report by WSJ

Makes You Think

From here.

Biking Update - April 18, 2009

Not much to report this week, so I'll keep it brief. No biking, due to Holy Weekend activities and long days at work. Weight vacillated between 207.8 and 211.0 lbs all week with nary a reason from looking at either my exercise or my diet. Does this mean I have reached my natural low, or just that I have reached a plateau? Only time will tell.

Chilling Details of Bush-era "Enhanced Interrogation" Released

Some years back, Mod-Blog had a small debate about the morality and legality of using Waterboarding as an "interrogation technique" for terrorists. At the time, some were strongly of the opinion that it was torture, and others were of the opinion that anything went when trying to prevent the death of civilians. I found myself starting off supporting it, and then as I researched more I wound up opposing the practice as clearly torture. But it may not have been the worst practice going on at Gitmo.

The Obama administration has begun declassifying memos from the GWB years showing what they did and did not consider acceptable means of "enhanced interrogation."

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/16/us.torture.documents/index.html

I think in the end that George W. Bush will be judged well by history for Iraq and Afghanistan. I think he even may get away from being entirely blamed for the economic collapse. But I think he will be reviled for all time for the introduction of torture into the lexicon of "acceptable means" for extracting information. By introducing "enhanced interrogation" for terrorists, he has opened the door to using it on anyone. And we are already seeing many Bush-era "bent rules" being used against the very people he hoped to protect. We must always remember that the ends can NEVER justify the means, no matter how noble.

This caught me completely by surprise

From here.

Magic with Lasers

Gotta love it when someone finds a way to combine high-energy science with magic! Next time, I want to see fun with anti-matter.

Magic Laser - More bloopers are a click away

Tax Day Cometh

Today is the day that the Federal and State governmentds demand their pound of flesh. They are saying that the economic downturn is causing more taxpayers than ever to be delinquent, but if you have the money to pay, you are better off paying your taxes now or at least filing for an automatic extension. If you have not yet paid and need help figuring out your burden, remember that Intuit offers a free TurboTax edition online for those with simple returns.

Beware of Unneeded Antibiotics

Doctors have been warning us for years about using antibiotics for every sniffle, cough, and headache that comes along, but thousands still demand them at nearly every doctor's visit. The problem is that using antibiotics kills off everything except the few bugs that are resistant, and who can NOT be combatted with traditional medicine. This argument has been poo-pooed by hypochondriacs and overprotective parents, but now a real outbreak has begun of a bug that is actually HELPED by antibiotics.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/14/health/14well.html?em

If you are feeling sick, be a wise consumer and listen to your doctor. Demanding your own way on these kinds of things can sometimes be the worth thing you can do.

Lego Jesus?!

When I think of ways to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, showing the defeat of Death, and the inauguration of a new era of history, I have a lot of ideas. I have to admit that a Lego Jesus statue is not one of them.

Churchgoers had donated nearly 30,000 Lego bricks to build the 1.78 metre (5.8 foot) high statue, said Per Wilder, the pastor of the Oensta Gryta Church in Vaesteras, about 110 kilometres (70 miles) west of Stockholm.
"This work began a year and a half ago so we saw that the initiation date was fitting in well (with this year's Easter holiday)," Wilder said....
The model was based on Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsens's 19th century work Christus, which depicts the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Being from a Protestant New England tradition, I have to say my first reaction is iconoclastic. But I guess that is an overreaction to something which in the end is pretty much just silly.

Phillies announcer Harry Kalas dead at 73

I am sure he is thankful that he lived to see them win the World Series again. May he rest in peace.

Hard Cases: Church "outs" an anonymous blogger

It is not unusual for someone to have a problem with the leadership of their local church. Leaders - including pastors and elders/overseers/trustees/deacons/etc. - make mistakes or often are doing the right thing and simply not explaining themselves. My own church has been moving from a pure Congregational model to a more closed model in a way which has been disturbing to me. Scripture has fairly clear guidelines for dealing with such concerns, which generally goes, "talk to the problem person singly, then with one other person, then with the elders, and then before the Congregation." (Yes, Seminarians, I am aware there are many more verses and a whole history here. Feel free to expound in the comments.)

But what happens when a church dispute comes up against anonymous blogging? Should church leaders honor the unspoken agreement of the internet and let the blogger remain unknown? Isn't such a move in line with First Amendment rights of free speech? Or should church leaders seek out the blogger and discipline him/her for not following scripture.

In the case linked above, church leadership erred on the side of control and had a police officer (who also worked church security) seek out and expose the blogger. The blogger was then expelled from the church, as per 1 Corinthians 5:4-5.

To me, this seems like a hard case. On the one hand, the blogger clearly was not following scripture. On the other hand, it appears the pastor himself - in his zeal to discipline - clearly crossed the line to find the offender. Either way, Christ's name is being dragged through the mud, and the gospel becomes a laughing-stock among the world.

What would you do, as either the pastor or the congregant?

Green Law pays Paper companies to increase use of fossil fuels

Thomas Paine once said, "That government is best which governs least." This saying is widely quoted among the Conservative community to justify smaller government. But Conservatives have not done a great job in the last decade to really illustrate why Big Government is a bad idea.

Enter the paper industry and George W Bush. During his administration, a law was passed giving tax credits to companies who made use of alternative energies in place of fossil fuels, or to companies who combined an alternative fuel with a taxable fuel. The paper industry - depressed by the current economy and the use of paper amidst eBooks, internet advertising, and the fall of newspapers - has begun adding diesel fuel to a fossil-fuel-free process in order to claim a tax credit.

Despite the obvious contrivance of the procedure, Wrobleski is unapologetic: "The credit is supposed to encourage the use of green fuel." Sure, I said, but isn't it a bit weird you're now adding diesel fuel to the process in order to take advantage of it? "It is what it is," she said.
Others are less charitable. "You use the toilet every day," said one hedge fund analyst who's been closely following the issue. "Imagine if you could start pouring a little gasoline into the bowl and get fifty cents a gallon every time you flushed."
No one in Congress seems to have anticipated this creative maneuver. This past fall the Joint Committee on Taxation computed the cost of extending the tax credit for three months and projected it would cost a manageable $61 million. It now appears that the extension (which was passed as part of the TARP) could cost as much as $2 billion before the credits expire at the end of this calendar year.

This needs to be reported in every major paper in American. It hardly makes me hopeful that President Obama's complex stimulus plan will accomplish the aims it was designed for. More likely, it will be misused by a number of companies to accomplish their own means at the expense of the tax-payer.

HE IS RISEN!

Biking Update - April 10, 2009

The last few weeks have been reasonably good for biking, but the weight loss has been pretty much flat. As of today, I am still holding between 208 lbs and 211 lbs. I seem to spike up over the weekend (when I am eating a bit more) and then lose the weekend weight during the week. I am not yet sure if I have reached my natural low, or if I have just reached a plateau and need to shake things up. We'll see as the weeks go on.

Biking-wise, it was a decent start to the week, with a ride on the Trumbull Trail. I rode with Crchair, Nick, and Nora. They have significantly expanded the trail this year. Last year, it went from downtown Trumbull near the old Town Hall to the Victorinox Office. Now, it goes around that same office, up the hill, along a development, and over to Purdy Hill in Monroe. Soon, the Monroe and Trumbull Trails will be one long ride. I can't wait!

The rest of the week was a bust for riding due to cold and rain. April showers have truly arrived. But then, you need the April showers to have the May flower (and Spring allergies in general). I'll be enjoying Easter tomorrow, and hopefully will enjoy some riding opportunities to come.

Exteme Shepparding- So Cool!!!

Good Friday

Revolting in Moldova

Moldova recently had elections in which the results showed that approximately 50% of the vote went to the currently in power Communist party. In response, there has been a violent protest due to accusations of fraud. Many in Moldova have close ties to neighboring Romania. Moldova's leadership has been pro-Russian, but has started to lean pro-European due to pressure from the people. I've learned from friends in the area that Moldova has closed the border to Romanians. Americans will hopefully be allowed to cross the border, once trains start moving again.

Solar Ovens, for Sunny People

Our church recently was offered space in a shipping container to send supplies to a town in New Sudan where we partner with a local pastor. Some of what we are sending are "Solar Ovens". While our church never described these in detail, they sounded interesting. CNN has up an article on the inventor of the Solar Oven which describes how it works. This seems like a great little invention that could revolutionize cooking in the developing world.

The Anti-Bush: Trying to do it all

There was one characteristic of President George W. Bush that his opponents never figured a way to effectively combat - his ability to focus all of his attention and power on one issue at a time. While his Democratic opponents were all trying to pull him into battles on health care, defense, immigration, stem cells, abortion, etc., he would pick just one issue and make it his administration's top priority. Every major speech, every major TV appearance, every major article produced would focus on that one issue, until either the president has his way or it became clear that the American people wee not behind him.

President Obama seems obsessed with the idea of being the Anti-Bush, not only undoing moves that the public was never comfortable with (i.e. Gitmo) but also taking opposite stances on nearly everything. One of those moves is trying to attack every issue and every constituency at the same time. Now, in the midst of an economic crisis, not only is trying to tackle military transformation, health care reform, and tax reform, but now also Immigration Reform (which incidentally is one of the few issues that President George W Bush focussed on but had to abandon without having his way).

Perhaps this is a "divide and conquer" strategy to force the opposition to thin themselves out by opposing every Obama priority. But it looks like a desperate man trying to make hay because he knows his time is short. And desperation is never attractive in a leader.

Fat-Burning Fat Cells

The last year has been a battle of the bulge for me, as I have been working hard to lose fat through diet and exercise. A large part of weight loss is self-knowledge, knowing how your own body works, so that you can know what behavioral changes will work for you.

Now, a new study is suggesting that there may actually be fat cells that burn calories by producing heat.

Their papers, appearing Thursday in The New England Journal of Medicine, indicate that nearly every adult has little blobs of brown fat that can burn huge numbers of calories when activated by the cold, like sitting in a chilly room that is between 61 and 66 degrees.

Thinner people appeared to have more brown fat than heavier people, younger people more than older people; people with higher metabolic rates had more than those whose metabolisms were more sluggish, and women had more than men. People taking beta blockers for high blood pressure or other medical indications had less brown fat.

It makes me wonder if winter training might actually burn more calories than we think, if this "brown fat" activates in the cold. Self-knowledge is power.

The Difference Between The US and UK: Therapists

An American expat living in London, Delia Lloyd, recently discovered what she believes to be the major difference between Americans and Brits. She went to her doctor looking for a general therapist and the doctor's reaction was, "You're not sick, so there's really no one I can refer you to." Through this, she realized that where Americans will complain, Brits choose to grin and bear it, coming up with their own workarounds. It does explain why Americans tend to be less content, but things seem to (at least from our side of the pond) get done faster than our European friends.

All Too True

Gas prices

Gas prices
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

(Sent from my 3G iPhone)

Local Dollars?

Back in the early days of the USA, it was a common thing for states, towns, and banks to issue their own currency. This allowed local communities to control their own economies, and for people to do business with companies backed by the faith of local governments who could afford to do reasonable oversight. That system was abandoned with the rise of the Greenback in the 1800s, when we went to a single Federal currency. But now, local currencies are seeing a rise in popularity again.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2009-04-05-scrip_N.htm

The idea behind these local currencies is NOT to control the local economy, but to keep sufficient liquidity on the local level when money is tight on the Federal level. It is an interesting idea, but one that is likely to cause problems if it becomes widespread. Bad money tends to chase out good, leaving businesses with an uncertainty about the value of the cash in their boxes and accounts.

A Car Company Pays DOWN Debt

A largely unreported fact amidst the madness of Chrysler and General Motors, is the many steps Ford has taken to stay out of government bailouts and to show their strength. Yesterday, Ford actually paid down its debt rather than looking for a bailout to accrue more of it.

Ford used $2.4 billion in cash and 468 million shares of its common stock to buy down $9.9 billion in debt, reducing its leverage by 38 percent.

"By substantially reducing our debt, Ford is taking another step toward creating an exciting, viable enterprise," Ford chief executive Alan Mulally said in a statement.

One can't help wondering if soon the "Big Three" automakers will be reduced to the "Big One." Hopefully, the president will do as much to reward Ford for doing the RIGHT things, as he has done to punish GM for doing the WRONG things.

Fired over Pirated Wolverine Review

Roger Friedman has been the major driver behind FOX411, an entertainment rumor and gossip column running on FoxNews.com for years. It has brought in a number of advertisers, and has been the source of quite a few "scoops" on new movies and projects in development. Last week, he posted a review of the pirated WOLVERINE movie that was floating around on torrent sites last week. He praised the film, despite its unfinished state. But now, FOX has enforced their "zero tolerance for piracy" policy by firing their reporter.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/06/business/media/06fox.html?_r=1

This is sure to stir some major controversy. It is likely that Friedman published the review on orders from above, and it is equally likely he'll be picked up by another news source quickly as he is a guaranteed source of readers.

Time for a Mindless Monday

I decided to bite the bullet and do my taxes over the weekend (thank you, TurboTax - what once took 3 days now takes 1 hour). So my brain is a bit fried at the moment. Rather than try and find something deep and meaningful today, how about a mindless time waster. Click over and try out this Chrome experiment built entirely with Javascript. But be warned. Do NOT click unless you have a LOT of time to waste. It is hypnotic.

Yes, this IS my life

Biking Update - April 4, 2009

This has been an interesting week for weight loss, as I am beginning to struggle between two different tendencies. First, is my goal-oriented nature which wants to get as low as possible before my one-year anniversary on June 1. Second, is my realization that weight-loss can NOT be the be-all, end-all of my existence, and that I need to keep my priorities straight. I have lost 75 lbs in the last year, which is a wonderful thing. But in the pursuit of more fitness and less weight, I have found myself sometimes starting to skew my perspective. I am tending to say "No" to things simply so that I can get in one more session on the exercise bike. And I am sometimes saying "No" to food in search of less calorie intake, when doing so has the potential to hurt relationships. I have even skipped a few times with the Lord because by the time my nightly bike ride was done, it was just too late. The realization came to me this week that I always tends to go too far, and that it takes vigilance to keep things in balance. I need to keep looking for opportunities to lose weight, but be mindful that they are a means to an end, not the end in themselves. So, I ate some food this week that was not on plan, to maintain friendships. And I took a day or two off, to make sure I had time for what mattered. This meant that I wound up basically flat for the week, weight-loss wise. But it meant I wound up a generally happier person, as well.

Because of my decision to keep things in balance, the only outdoors bike ride I got this week was last Friday when CRChair and I rode up to Captains Pizza together. The rest of the weekend was taken up with church and family/friend events including the dedication of the children of a close-as-family-friend and a quiz meet. The week itself has been busy and rainy and simply not conducive to two-wheeled riding (we don't have bike lanes, and CT drivers are not always mindful of sharing the road). But I am back up to 12 miles a day on the stationary bike, so fitness is being maintained for the next time we are able to get "oot and aboot" (to quote Sean).

This upcoming week may be better for biking. We're hoping to ride the Trumbull Trail with friends today, if the weather holds, and we'll probably start biking to our Tuesday Guys Night Out on Tuesday. If so, it should be a good week for cycling.

Red Riding Hood

I have to admit that this is pretty intuitive and ingenious

Slagsmålsklubben - Sponsored by destiny from Tomas Nilsson on Vimeo.

The bill *IS* coming...

It's funny because it's true... and depressing for the same reason.

Can diet heal cavities?

During the last year, I have been quite focussed on my diet, but really with an eye toward weight loss than larger nutritional issues. Of course, this means I am eating a LOT more vegetables and fruits, and have been feeling better. But it never occurred to me that diet could affect my dental health (with, of course, the exeption of more sugar meaning more cavities). But at least one doctor is claiming that a diet low in grains and high in calcium can reverse tooth decay.

In group 1, oatmeal prevented healing and encouraged new cavities, presumably due to its ability to prevent mineral absorption. In group 2, simply adding vitamin D to the diet caused most cavities to heal and fewer to form. The most striking effect was in group 3, the group eating a grain-free diet plus vitamin D, in which nearly all cavities healed and very few new cavities developed. Grains are the main source of phytic acid in the modern diet, although we can't rule out the possibility that grains were promoting tooth decay through another mechanism as well.

Dr. Mellanby was quick to point out that diet 3 was not low in carbohydrate or even sugar: "Although [diet 3] contained no bread, porridge or other cereals, it included a moderate amount of carbohydrates, for plenty of milk, jam, sugar, potatoes and vegetables were eaten by this group of children."

I am skeptical, but it seems like something worth looking into.

Big Business gets bailouts, not the rest of us

Obama breaks pledge by taxing tobacco?

I am not fan of smoking, but I have always wondered about sin taxes like the tobacco taxes. If you are taxing something, hoping it will make folks stop buying it, shouldn't you plan for that revenue stream to go away? Anyway, it seems a number of people are furious about the president's plan to increase taxes on cigarettes because it breaks a campaign promise that was prominent.

The largest increase in tobacco taxes took effect despite Obama's promise not to raise taxes of any kind on families earning under $250,000 or individuals under $200,000.

This is one tax that disproportionately affects the poor, who are more likely to smoke than the rich.

"I can make a firm pledge," he said in Dover, N.H., on Sept. 12. "Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes."

I don't see this as being a major point that can be scored by Conservatives against Obama, but I do see it as potentially undermining him among his Liberal supporters.

I love April 1

While Nomad has informed us multiple times of his distaste for this day, I think it's great! Yes, there is a lot of misinformation out there, but it's one day and it's not unexpected. In fact I look forward to seeing who can come up with the best one. Here is a list of this year's jokes so far. My favorite so far has to be Gmail Autopilot an extension of their CADIE project (also a joke). There are other good ones like the Palm Post being the next WebOS phone by Palm, even before they finish the Pre. This is going to be a fun day.

Update (6:29am PT): Here is a list of movie focused jokes.