I found this artist through Lines and Colors website.
So cool I downloaded a pic to use as my desktop for a bit.
Also has a website here.
![[del.icio.us]](http://images.del.icio.us/static/img/delicious.small.gif){kind=small}
High fructose corn syrup, and corn oil are really bad for you. Check out this article–Dangers of High Fructose Corn Syrup - HFCS on femhealth.com
Is Your Weight In Check? Check Again
You may be in the “normal” weight range for your height but still at risk for heart disease.
Compared with their normal-weight counterparts that didn’t have excessive fat, those with normal-weight obesity had higher cholesterol and triglyceride levels, higher blood sugar levels, and higher rates of metabolic syndrome. All these factors raise one’s susceptibility to heart disease.
It’s not necessarily your BMI, but where the fat is stored that is the problem. So keep that fat off your waist, and get some exercise.
Health Benefits of Drinking Water Oversold?
Do we really need to drink 8 glasses of water a day? According to Stanley Goldfarb, MD, it ain’t necessarily so. There seems to be no clear scientific evidence for either benefits, or lack of benefits, from drinking 8 glasses of water daily, for healthy people, whose kidneys function well. Dr. Goldfarb points out that people who live in hot dry climates, or engage in vigorous exercise, need to drink more water to prevent dehydration.
The article goes on to expand on 5 different claims for drinking water that have no scientific base, or inconclusive studies, including this one:
Claim No. 3: Drinking Water Reduces Food Intake and Helps You Lose Weight
Drinking more water is widely encouraged to help weight loss, the theory being that the more water you drink, the fuller you will feel and the less you will eat. “The [medical] literature on this is quite conflicted,” Goldfarb says.
“Drinking before a meal might decrease intake [according to one study], but another study found [it did] not.”
Even so, Goldfarb calls this claim one of the most promising for further study.
So, go ahead, drink water (you do need it), but don’t expect super health, and beauty, benefits from it, the jury’s still out on that.
Whatever » Reader Request Week 2008 #2: Technological Gifts
Asked this question:
You are the the Great God Scalzi, but sadly you are not quite omnipotent. In fact you only have the ability to create five new technologies. Which 5 technologies will you bestow upon humanity in 2008?
Scalzi replies with only one thing,fusion as a stopgap energy source, because we need a cheap supply of energy now. Good choice.
The comments on it are pretty decent also.
What–you don’t know who Scalzi
WebTV Anecdotes
This brought back some memories–my first encounter with the internet was via WebTV, and I remember it being a delightful, if limited user experience. I lasted about 4 months with it before buying my first Gateway computer, and I’ve been online ever since.
This, of course, never happened to an actual WebTV user, but was caught in testing, just before rollout–luckily. It’s a coding error, and the article explains it all. There’re several more anecdotes on the site. Enjoy! 
A friend sent me this last week, and I’ve started on it.
Check it out on Amazon
This is an animated gif that shows the change i the prevalence of obesity in the US over 18 20 years.
Amazing, and kinda off-putting.
Prevalence of Obesity in the USA | Incredimazing
What are the underlying reasons for this? Probably many, from video game playing/television babysat kids, to the fact that we, as a nation are getting older (baby-boomers anyone?), to the fact that good food is getting more expensive (why fix a nice healthy meal with expensive veggies, when that box of mac and cheese only costs $.50?)
(There’s a chart I saw somewhere with food prices/obesity rate transposed, I’ll see if I can find it and post it later.)
Here it is:
WTF?
There are several reasons for this, not the least of which is farm subsidies, which pay farmers to not grow food. Imagine that.
Check this out: Food Without Thought(pdf) (It’s a pdf–you’ll need a pdf reader like Adobe Acrobat Reader, or Evince, on Linux.)
Looks like 2008 is going to be even worse on food prices. Time to plant a garden, and grow you own damn chickens, I guess.
…it could be in your genes.
People tend to be hardwired for happiness, and new genetic research may help explain why. Past studies suggest that while 50% of happiness is due to situational factors like health, relationships, and career, the other 50% is due to genes. The new research identified largely inherited personality traits that researchers say are responsible for much of the genetic influence on happiness.
The findings do not mean that people who don’t inherit happiness traits are destined to lead miserable lives, Bates says.
Bates, Weiss, and Luciano are studying whether adopting the traits associated with happiness can make people happy. Early findings suggest it can.
Since setting and achieving goals is a common trait in conscientious people, and conscientiousness is linked to happiness, study participants were asked to set five achievable goals that could be accomplished in a week.“As soon as people started working toward these goals their happiness scores went up,” Bates says. “When they were no longer working toward a goal their happiness scores dropped.”
The findings do not mean that people who don’t inherit happiness traits are destined to lead miserable lives, Bates says.Bates, Weiss, and Luciano are studying whether adopting the traits associated with happiness can make people happy. Early findings suggest it can.
Since setting and achieving goals is a common trait in conscientious people, and conscientiousness is linked to happiness, study participants were asked to set five achievable goals that could be accomplished in a week.
“As soon as people started working toward these goals their happiness scores went up,” Bates says. “When they were no longer working toward a goal their happiness scores dropped.”
So while some people are genetically predisposed to being goal-oriented and others are not, the research suggests that it is the behavior that drives happiness, whether or not it comes naturally.
People who stay physically active and socially connected also tend to be happier, so adopting these traits is important for people who are naturally introverted, Bates says.
So while some people are genetically predisposed to being goal-oriented and others are not, the research suggests that it is the behavior that drives happiness, whether or not it comes naturally.
People who stay physically active and socially connected also tend to be happier, so adopting these traits is important for people who are naturally introverted, Bates says.
Situational factors do matter, Bates says, but they don’t tend to affect happiness long term. Studies consistently show that rich people are not much happier than poor people, and even people with severe physical disabilities tend to find happiness over time, he says. “This is what led to the thinking that certain people must have some reserve that allows them to remain at a fairly stable level of happiness despite their situation,” he adds. The research also suggests that happiness is tied to a sense of responsibility and achievement. “The way to pursue happiness is surprisingly virtuous,” Bates concludes. “A sense of humility, working for the things you want, counting your blessings, being sociable, and staying active all play a part.”
