Speedlinking 2/20/07

Quote of the day:

"I was trying to daydream, but my mind kept wandering."
~ Stephen Wright

Image of the day:


BODY
~ The Shut Up Program - A Simple and Effective Split -- By Tim Henriques writing for T-Nation. "No anatomy, no physiology, no training dogma - just a simple and effective workout for building muscle and strength."
~ A Unique Twin Study On The Increased Cardiometabolic Risk In Obesity -- "Study finds that obesity, already in its early stages and independent of genetic influences, is associated with deleterious alterations in the lipid metabolism known to facilitate atherogenesis, inflammation and insulin resistance."
~ New Potential Health Benefit Of Olive Oil For Peptic Ulcer Disease -- "Already fabled for an array of health benefits, extra virgin olive oil - a centerpiece of the Mediterranean Diet - may have a new role in helping to prevent and treat Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infections, which cause millions of cases of gastritis and peptic ulcer disease each year, researchers in Spain report."
~ 5 Simple Steps to Keep Off Rebound Pounds -- I'm not a fan of daily weighing, but the other four are solid (and daily weigh-ins work for some people).
~ High cholesterol raises stroke risk healthy women -- "Among women with no history of major illness, those with high cholesterol levels are significantly more likely to suffer a stroke, investigators in Boston report."
~ New heart guidelines for women stress aspirin -- "Virtually all women are at risk of heart disease and doctors should more strongly consider prescribing a daily aspirin for their female patients, the American Heart Association said in new guidelines released on Monday."
~ Exercise may boost flu shot protection -- "Exercising the muscle where a flu shot is injected may improve the immune system's response to the vaccine, UK researchers report."
~ Warning- - GM Potatoes Linked to Cancer -- "Besides the obvious nutritional reasons, British environmentalists have found another good reason to avoid potatoes: Evidence that genetically modified (GM) versions have been linked to cancer in rats."


PSYCHE
~ Alternative Treatments For Depression: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) May Improve Mood, But Awaits FDA Approval -- "While common treatments for depression such as prescription drugs, psychotherapy and electroconvulsive therapy usually provide relief from even the most severe cases for depression, there are people who do not feel they benefit from these treatments, and because of such look for alternative means to combat this serious medical condition."
~ People underestimate the power of drug cravings -- "A novel study may provide an answer to a question that has puzzled drug abuse researchers for years -- namely, why someone would try a drug like heroin for the first time knowing that it is highly addictive."
~ SciAm Mind Matters -- "Scientific American have launched a new weekly blog seminar on the mind and brain where they target a particular study and get leading psychologists and neuroscientists give their take on it."
~ How irises 'reveal personalities' -- "It may be possible to read a person's personality through their eyes, Swedish researchers have said."
~ Pediatric Bipolar. Yeah. Okay. -- "Let me be very clear: it is not unlikely a 4 year old has bipolar-- it is absolutely impossible. This is because bipolar disorder is not a specific disease with specific pathology that one can have or not have; it is a description of symptoms that fall together."
~ Depression Need Not Stand in the Way of Greatness -- "On a day set aside to honor some of our nation's greatest leaders, the magazine examines how our understanding of depression has evolved from a dysfunction thought to primarily afflict women to am equal-opportunity disease to be treated and faced with chin held high."
~ Sexualization Of Girls Is Linked To Common Mental Health Problems In Girls And Women-Eating Disorders -- "A report of the American Psychological Association (APA) released today found evidence that the proliferation of sexualized images of girls and young women in advertising, merchandising, and media is harmful to girls' self-image and healthy development."
~ The quality of a father-child relationship effects intimate relationships in adulthood -- "Recent research at the University of Haifa School of Social Work revealed a connection between father-child relationship and the ability to achieve interrelation intimacy in adulthood."


CULTURE
~ Reynolds To Introduce Cigarette Brand Aimed At Women Smokers, New York Times Reports -- "R.J. Reynolds Tobacco is planning to launch a new cigarette brand, called Camel No. 9, that is aimed at female adult smokers, the New York Times reports. According to the Times, about half of all smokers are women. Reynolds' Capri and Misty, Phillip Morris USA's Virginia Slims and Vector Group's Eve are among the cigarettes aimed at women."
~ Faith-Based Organizations Major Contributors To Fight Against HIV/AIDS In Sub-Saharan Africa, Report Says -- "Faith-based organizations are playing a major role in the fight against HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a World Health Organization report released this week, IRIN/AllAfrica.com reports."
~ Is Neuroscience Conservative? [The Frontal Cortex] -- "In his most recent column, David Brooks argues that the new discoveries of neuroscience and biology have confirmed the conservative view of human nature."
~ Kucinich Comes Back for ‘08 -- "To his supporters, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) represents the sane voice of the Democratic Party--a man who reads books, gives intelligent speeches and acts on principle. To his detractors, Kucinich is a small man on an ego trip, too radical to be elected."
~ Presidency of the Possible -- "John Nichols reports that in South Carolina over the weekend, two prominent black Democrats endorsed Hillary Clinton, suggesting a black presidential candidate is unelectable. The Senator from Illinois begs to differ."
~ SACRED FEMININE, ANYONE? -- "There is an amazing article in The Washington Post about a military chaplain who converted to Wicca after seeing all the violence in the name of God (and Allah) in Iraq. After applying to become the first Wiccan chaplain in the U.S. Armed Forces, Don Larsen was turned down, removed from Iraq, and removed from the chaplain corps--"despite an unblemished record." But here's the thing: Larsen discovered Wicca by learning about it from the Army during basic training for chaplains."
~ Nobel Peace Prize Winner to Enter Politics (The Nation) -- "Muhammad Yunus, the winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for developing micro-finance initiatives that earned him the nickname "banker to the poor," has decided to form a new political party to compete in upcoming parliamentary elections in his native Bangladesh."
~ It Gets Readers, So Why Not: Senator Bill Clinton -- "There are three reasons why this story would be written: (1) There is genuine interest among Democratic activists and party insiders in seeing Bill Clinton appointed to Hillary Clinton's open Senate seat should she be elected president. (2) The political campaigns are really gearing up and political reporters are looking for any angle at all in order to find new stories. (3) The story is guaranteed to get read -- a lot."


HABITATS
~ Kids With Grass Underfoot May Be Less At Risk For Overweight -- Environment does have a serious impact on health.
~ Towards a Worldbuilding Pattern Language -- "As we know from reading the containers of dishwashing detergents, something can be called ‘Green’ and not help to heal a tattered landscape or bring more life to an ecosystem. This is as true in our built ecosystems and architectures as anywhere else in product design, and this should not surprise us. . . ."
~ Idealist.org Brings an Online Community to Real Space -- "Idealist.org is a strong online network of socially responsible individuals who are active volunteers and professionals working in the nonprofit sector."
~ Global Warming Scientist Is Encouraged -- "A top scientist in the study of climate change says she is optimistic about public understanding of the dangers of global warming."
~ Putting a price tag on nature -- "The L.A. Times published an interesting if somewhat odd piece in last week's magazine about efforts to coax the business community into loving the environment by assigning a dollar value to our natural resources, or 'ecosystem services.'"
~ Acid Oceans Threatening Marine Food Chain, Experts Warn -- "The oceans are absorbing carbon dioxide that has built up in the air, turning water more acidic and creating potentially catastrophic conditions for marine life."
~ Tiny Duckling Has Rare Mutation: 4 Legs -- "Webbed feet run in Stumpy's family, but he's the first to have four of them."
~ Eight Technologies to Save the World [commonground] -- "The planet's most pressing environmental problems - global warming, energy shortages, over fishing, pollution - may seem just too big to be solved with today's technology. But don't despair: A lot of bright minds are working on futuristic projects that promise to make the world greener while making entrepreneurs some green."


INTEGRAL/BUDDHIST
~ From Durwin at Zaadz: Death of a dream? -- A look at the lack of fit between AQAL and the Mind and Life Institute.
~ Build Palestine Initiative: How to Walk the Talk -- Don Beck in Palestine.
~ What do you do when you go to sleep? -- From Joe at Until.
~ From TikkunGer: Who’s God You Be Hatin On? Not Mine!
~ What I Would Do If I Weren't Blogging - From How to Save the World.
~ Green and beliefs -- From Mystery of Existence.
~ From ~C4Chaos: Show Me the Money Spirituality -- More on The Secret.

Tags: The Secret, spiral dynamics, blogging, atheism, sleep, Don Beck, AQAL, Mind and Life Institute, technology, duck mutation, acid oceans, nature, global warming, Idealist.org, worldbuilding pattern language, grassy environments, Senator Bill Clinton, Muhammad Yunus, Wicca, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, neuroscience, HIV/AIDS, RJ Reynolds, father-child relationships, sexualization of girls, depression, pediatric bipolar, scientific american mind, drug addiction, GM potatoes, exercise, aspirin for women, cholesterol, weight management, olive oil, cardiometabolic risk, weight training, speedlinking