up to par

I got an email pointing me to this abstract. The work will be presented as a poster in the Recent Developments in Geodetic Theory (session G17) in the transactions of the European Geosciences Union General Assembly which will be held in Vienna, Austria, this April. I didn't believe it at first so I checked it from the European Geosciences Union website to make sure it's not a hoax, it's NOT! Now if this is the standard of work for people who are making statements about global warming, I don't know where to go for reliable information?!

If ...

If I had my life to live over, I would have talked less and listened more.

I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded.

I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.

I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.

I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.

I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.

I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains.

I would have cried and laughed less while watching television - and more while watching life.

I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.

I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.

I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.

Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.

When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, "Later. Now go get washed up for dinner."

There would have been more "I love you's".. More "I'm sorrys" ...

But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute... look at it and really see it ... live it...and never give it back.

- Erma Bombeck

the 7 wonders

Dr Richard Dawkins lists his 7 wonders of the world:

• spider webs
• bat's ears
• pianist's finger
  
• DNA
• parabolic reflector
• embryos
• David Attenborough
  

suicide and genes

From the study of 12 suicide victims who had been abused as children, 12 suicide victims who had not been traumatized and 12 people who died of other causes, a group at McGill have reached an outstanding conclusion. In the brain cells of suicide victims who had suffered severe sexual or physical abuse or neglect, the Montreal researchers found epigenetic markings in a gene that affects how a person reacts to stress.

Aside from the "suicide study" of people who have been abused, this research has a broader ramification. It shows that other than chemical exposures which were known to affect one's genes, social trauma can also be an influence.

Dr. John Strauss, a child psychiatrist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, said the McGill study is important because it brings to "psychiatric disorders a way of explaining potential gene-environment interactions."

The italic parts have been taken from this report on the study. The full article is published in the Nature Neuroscience and you can find it here.

fine fine print

Every once in a while I read the fine print on credit cards and such. You expect the usual, we are not responsible for this and that and that we can change the terms of agreement when we want to and we just need to notify you before or after we have done so; but of the ones I have read, this one is an eyeopener! This is a clause in the Customer Agreement for RBC online banking and credit card:

In no event, even if we are negligent, will we be liable for any loss of data, or any indirect, consequential, special, aggravated, punitive or exemplary damages whatsoever, in whole or in part, (including any business interruption, loss of profits, data, information, opportunity, revenues, goodwill or any other commercial or economic loss), caused to you, regardless of the cause of action, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.

It would be interesting to see if it would actually holds up in court.

me and D

Last winter I had a rather hard time getting up in the mornings. As I mentioned before, this year I decided to take a 400IU pill a day from October to April. And now that the days are getting longer and brighter, I am more than happy to say I had no sluggish mornings and no midday train wrecks. I think it has done my body much good! I have to add that I do drink my 2 glasses a day of milk which is of course vitamin A&D fortified. I also eat cheese and keep a good balance of fruit and vegetables in my diet; plus I exercise regularly. It was just that during the darker months of the year I was lacking the vitamin D produced with sunshine in my body ...

I looked up a few fact about Seasonal Affective Disorder; mine was not that severe, but I think the same solutions helped me get over my winter blues.

According to Mental Health America, women suffer from SAD three times more often then men, as do those in colder climates and people who work for extended periods without sunlight or work the night shift.

The suggestions for getting over SAD are:

• get as much sunlight as possible
• take vitamin D
• exercise
  
• watch the carbs. as much as your body craves them, you should opt for healthier carbs like vegetables, whole grains, and fruits which will help keep you energized.
• keep up social interaction
• be nice to yourself

belief

"for those who believe, no proof is necessary ... for those who don't believe, no proof is possible."

- Stuart Chase

!برابرتر

مقاله "هر کس مي خواند به پنج نفر خبر دهد" از شيرين عبادی رو بخونین و به حال و وضع کشورمون فکر کنین!؟

only the poor

"Malaria is spread by mosquitoes," Gates said while opening a jar onstage at a gathering known to attract technology kings, politicians, and Hollywood stars. "I brought some. Here, I'll let them roam around. There is no reason only poor people should be infected."

That, of course, grabbed people's attention! I also like another remark he made in his speech:

"The market does not drive scientists, thinkers, or governments to do the right things. Only by paying attention and making people care can we make as much progress as we need to."

- source

directions

“It is a well-documented fact that guys will not ask for directions. This is a biological thing. This is why it takes several million sperm cells… to locate a female egg, despite the fact that the egg is, relative to them, the size of Wisconsin.”

- Dave Barry

check up

Dr Oz, Oprah's surgeon general, came up with a list of 10 things to do to keep your health in check. This is the list:

Step 1: Find a doctor and schedule a checkup

Step 2: Know the five ingredients to avoid

Step 3: The healthy foods to add to your diet

Step 4: Take a multivitamin every single day

Step 5: Know your numbers

Step 6: Find a health advocate

Step 7: Organize your medical records

Step 8: Get the medical tests you need

Step 9: Start exercising

Step 10: Get seven to eight hours of sleep a night

pop star president

After a day of excitement and a reception that brought out the "stars" of the entertainment world, the newly minted President of the United States went to work yesterday. And guess what he did on the first day on the job? He repeated the swearing in ceremony, which was of course the whole purpose of the inauguration!

Not to rain on anyone's parade, but while I was watching the ceremony I kept thinking they could have rehearsed this before. I'm just saying, seeing as there were millions of people watching someone could have put a little thought into what it's all for ... I hope this is not a sign of things to come!

The explanation was that since both he and the chief justice of the Supreme Court, John Roberts, tripped over their words, Mr Obama took the presidential oath for a second time “out of an abundance of caution”. This time around there was no Bible, but then the Bible is just for show and the oath has nothing to do with its presence.

It turns out that Obama isn't the first president to retake the oath. Chester Arthur and Calvin Coolidge also took the oath of office twice because of unusual circumstances. Arthur, was sworn in at his home in a private ceremony following the assassination of former president James Garfield. He was sworn in a second time two days later at the Capitol. Coolidge took the oath of office at his father's Vermont home following the death of former president Warren Harding. Coolidge's father was a justice of the peace and administered the oath. Concerns about the jurisdiction of Coolidge's father led to Coolidge taking a second oath later in Washington.

Now what do you think history will write down for Obama? His unusual circumstance was that too many people were watching and thus him and Justice Roberts were distracted! Or that he was just giggling to much! Maybe they'll say he was too young and thus too excited, who knows ...

- sources: The Economist, CBC, Getty Images

local ingredients

The get local website has a table that shows when fruit, vegetables, meat etc are in season in Vancouver. You can find it here.

plane crash

who knew?

Forbes released its list of unknown billionaires, you might want to have a look!

windfall

Billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. won a $224 million bet that Florida would escape major damage from hurricanes this year.

- source

I didn't even know that such bonds existed, but it only makes sense.

civility institute

I just think it's an interesting concept, here's the website.

recycling

After a long struggle it seems that Clorox, who owns Brita, has launched a program to recycle water filters in North America. An interesting point is that they had been recycling the filters in Europe for a while and it took so many petitions and such a long time to get it here. Anyhow, the press release on November 18th introduces two options for recycling the filters:

• Drop off: Through the Preserve Gimme 5 program, select Whole Foods Market stores will begin collecting No. 5 plastics and used Brita pitcher filters.
• Mail in: Consumers who wish to mail in used Brita pitcher filters are encouraged to package the filter in a small, used box and send it via ground shipping. The box will also be recycled by Preserve

The press release does not indicate whether or not recycling will be made available in Canada through Whole Food Market stores but I guess mailing the filters in is always an option. I will be keeping mine and collecting filters from whoever wants to hand them to me.

off the charts

This is Stephen Colbert's interview with Malcolm Gladwell the author of Outliers, the story of success, which I have yet to buy. He claims to have figures out the best year to be born in the 20th century if you want to become rich. Sorry, nothing we can do now!

to fight or not to fight

"When couples get together, one of their main jobs is reconciliation about conflict," Harburg said. "Usually nobody is trained to do this. If they have good parents, they can imitate, that's fine, but usually the couple is ignorant about the process of resolving conflict. The key matter is, when the conflict happens, how do you resolve it?"

The above is an exert from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor's news website, Newswise. Ernest Harburg is a professor emeritus with the School of Public Health and the Psychology Department at UoM and the lead author on the paper "Marital Pair Anger Coping Types May Act as an Entity to Affect Mortality: Preliminary Findings from a Prospective Study" which will appear in the Journal of Family Communications this month.

They report that in couples who do not fight, the likelihood of early death is twice as high! Now if that doesn't tell you that making your feelings known is a good thing, I don't see what does. You can find the article in Newswise here.