Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Speedlinking 4/11/07

Quote of the day:

"There's a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot."
~ Steven Wright

Image of the day:


BODY
~ Body Weight Associated With Portion Sizes In Young Adults -- "In a survey of 51 students, the researchers found 'when allowed to select their own portion sizes, participant BMI is a very strong predictor of larger than recommended amounts of food.'"
~ Question of Strength: April 2007 -- Charles Poliquin "explains the right way to do step ups, how to develop a powerful neck, and the correct rep range for building up the hamstrings, in addition to introducing wild and woolly 'shock effect' training."
~ Scientists Say Dieting Does Not Work -- "US scientists conducting a comprehensive review of dieting research have concluded that dieting does not work.The study is published in the April edition of American Psychologist, the journal of the American Psychological Association." That's why I emphasize healthy eating over dieting.
~ Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind And Other Tips For Eating Less -- "Here's a diet tip that doesn't involve counting calories or fat. Research shows that changing how foods are served and stored can help with weight loss or maintaining a healthy weight."
~ Stem cell experiment lets diabetics forgo insulin -- "Thirteen young diabetics in Brazil have ditched their insulin shots and need no other medication thanks to a risky, but promising treatment with their own stem cells — apparently the first time such a feat has been accomplished."
~ UCLA Identifies New Molecule Involved In The Body's Processing Of Dietary Fat -- "UCLA investigators have identified a new molecule that may help regulate the delivery of fats to cells for energy and storage.Published in the April issue of the journal Cell Metabolism, the finding could lead to a better understanding of how we utilize fats from the foods we eat."
~ The Natural Way to Break Your Smoking Habit -- "Scientists at the Duke University Medical Center have discovered a safer, non-drug approach to stop smoking that is far better for your health: Consuming a diet richer in fruits, vegetables, water and dairy products."


PSYCHE
~ Forgetfulness key to a good memory -- "Too many long-term memories make it hard to properly filter new information and process short-term memories, according to a study last month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."
~ Agreeing on what to call things -- do we value cooperation or just consistency? [Cognitive Daily] -- A very interesting discussion.
~ Sex, Love, and SSRIs -- "Can Prozac keep you from falling—and staying—in love? How SSRIs are wreaking havoc on courtship."
~ Long-Term Therapy More Effective for Bipolar Patients -- "While many employers and insurers have taken to the idea of affordably short-term cognitive behavioral therapy or "collaborative care" for mental illness, recent studies strongly suggest that intensive, open-ended psychotherapy, in combination with the appropriate medications, is the best treatment plan for those struggling with bipolar disorder."
~ Ejaculation turns off men's brains -- As if there was any doubt?
~ Loving More Than One -- "Is polyamory just groovy bohemian love?"
~ Refusing To Face The Facts -- Denial And Health -- "Denial is a common response to a stressful situation. It can be an important coping and defense mechanism. But it also can delay the appropriate response to circumstances that require action and change. The April issue of Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource discusses how denial can help and how it can be a roadblock to good health."
~ Hypnotism Gaining A Legitimate Role In Health Care Treatments -- "Hypnotism has expanded its realm from magic shows to health care. As a potential component of care, hypnotism is gaining legitimacy for a number of conditions, particularly for managing pain, according to the April issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter."


CULTURE
~ Abstinence groups try to maintain funds (AP) -- "Abstinence-only educators say there's more to their programs than the "just say no" mantra of the anti-drug movement."
~ Bush would veto stem cell research bill (AP) -- "President Bush will again veto a bill to subsidize stem cell research using human embryos, but would sign an alternative that permits public funding for studies on embryos incapable of developing into fetuses, the White House said Tuesday."
~ Positive Effects Of Family Dinner Are Undone By TV Viewing -- "Low-income families with pre-school children tend to eat better when dining together as a family, but less nutritiously when the television is on during dinner, according to researchers at the New York State Department of Health."
~ Restoring Voting Rights for Felons -- "Florida is the latest state to see the light—recognizing that eventually, felons come out of jail, and rejoin society. Everyone wins if they become productive citizens."
~ The Next Bush Scandal? -- "The slowly-unfolding disclosure that some White House aides use non-government e-mail servers to conduct official business may soon be reaching scandal proportions."
~ Girls Gone Wild founder in federal custody -- "The founder of the “Girls Gone Wild” video empire was taken into custody by federal marshals early Tuesday to face a contempt of court citation after initially defying a federal judge." Couldn't happen to a more deserving man.
~ Culture Flows Through English Channels, but Not for Long -- "Changing demographics and emerging market forces could spell an end to Anglo domination of arts and entertainment. Commentary by Momus."


HABITATS/TECHNOLOGY
~ The allure of Twitter, the latest Web sensation -- "Twitter is the newest assault on your attention span. Once you've signed in, the Twitter site immediately prompts you with a question in bold type: "What are you doing?" Below, there's a blinking cursor and a blank white space where you have 140 characters with which to answer. That's basically it."
~ Whales migrate more than 5,100 miles -- "U.S. scientists have found humpback whales migrate more than 5,100 miles from Central America to Antarctica -- a record mammalian migration."
~ Drought, development killing Australia's koalas -- "Extreme drought, ferocious bushfires and urban development are killing Australia's koalas and could push the species towards extinction within a decade, environmentalists are warning."
~ Computer scientists develop P2P system that promises faster music, movie downloads -- "A Carnegie Mellon University computer scientist says transferring large data files, such as movies and music, over the Internet could be sped up significantly if peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing services were configured to share not only identical files, but also similar files."
~ China's Purple Army Made for Magic -- "Were the purple hues of China's Terracotta Army made by Taoist monks?"
~ U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service considers fate of two beloved critters -- "The proposal to list polar bears as threatened under the Endangered Species Act inspired more than 500,000 emails and oodles of snail mail before yesterday's public-input deadline."


INTEGRAL/BUDDHIST
~ On performative contradictions and altitude -- "Please be careful (everyone) in characterizing Wilber's claims to a post-metaphysical philosophy. In Integral Spirituality, Wilber makes clear that he does not assert NO metaphysical postulates, only the minimum necessary baggage (specifically, that there is an Eros to evolution)." From Joe Perez.
~ Contemplating death gives gratitude for life -- "The contemplation of death is vital for the clarity and enthusiasm for living fully. In particular, reflection on death can be a source of a virtue that helps greatly improve one's peace of mind and quality of life, namely gratitude."
~ Is postmodernism a weed? -- "As a term which refers to a broad current or movement with both an intellectual component (i.e., scholars write books about it!) and a pop cultural component (e.g., contemporary camp humor), it's obviously a very inclusive term (much like the terms classical and modern, terms which I've noticed you continue to use). Or, if I may add, the word Humanities. It's a shallow (umbrella) term, not a deep (precise) one." From Joe Perez.
~ Aspects of emptiness -- "Emptiness (shunyata) can be used in several different, although relatively closely related, ways…" From Mystery of Existence, inspired by Tiny Thinker. See also: Reversals and the Middle Way.
~ Disciplinary, interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, classical -- A great post from Matthew Dallman on Classical Artistry. See also: The classical artist is the integral artist.


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