Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Mystery Worm 1
We found this gorgeous guy in my friend's front yard...it was about 4" long and 1 in circumference. It didn't show much interest in eating grass or leaves. Didn't seem to dig either, but he high-tailed it as soon as we let him. Moved pretty quick, for a caterpillar (?).
Anyone know what it might be, or become?
Anyone know what it might be, or become?
Labels: animals, caterpillar, gorgeous, mystery
Monday, August 04, 2008
Possibly The Stupidest Thing Said This Election
(well, this week anyway)
The Wall Street Journal seems to think that Senator Obama is too fit to be President.
For those of you who have managed to not die of irony, what they say is that, because Americans are so famously obese, they may have trouble thinking of such a sveltie as One Of Them. This I guess must be code for the WSJ being a bit racist, frankly, because it's such an utterly inane statement I can't even conceive of a rational explanation.
If the American electorate is really even a little bit significantly swayed by candidates' being too fit (as opposed to too old/decrepit, morbidly obese, or some other relatively superficial trait which might actually impact the job - i.e., dying on it), we are in more trouble than even my cynical charred black coal of a soul can imagine.
Whether the WJS's or America's (or both): the supid, it burrrrnnnnsssssss!
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Now playing: Los Campesinos! - You! Me! Dancing!
via FoxyTunes
The Wall Street Journal seems to think that Senator Obama is too fit to be President.
For those of you who have managed to not die of irony, what they say is that, because Americans are so famously obese, they may have trouble thinking of such a sveltie as One Of Them. This I guess must be code for the WSJ being a bit racist, frankly, because it's such an utterly inane statement I can't even conceive of a rational explanation.
If the American electorate is really even a little bit significantly swayed by candidates' being too fit (as opposed to too old/decrepit, morbidly obese, or some other relatively superficial trait which might actually impact the job - i.e., dying on it), we are in more trouble than even my cynical charred black coal of a soul can imagine.
Whether the WJS's or America's (or both): the supid, it burrrrnnnnsssssss!
----------------
Now playing: Los Campesinos! - You! Me! Dancing!
via FoxyTunes
Labels: election, fitness, media, obama, obesity, stupidity, WSJ
Friday, August 01, 2008
Eat and Drink and Grow (Plus: Mom was Wrong!)
My mom always insisted that we drink fruit juice instead of soda. Research suggests that, except for 100% orange and grapefruit juice, drinking fruit drinks or juices are at least as big a diabetes risk as soda. The grapefruit exception may have to do with this, but the orange juice, well, who knows. Still, the message is clear: drink water or unsweetened coffee/tea. Mostly tea.
Speaking of things we thought were good for us: soy. A correlational (read: probably unreliable) study linked even low levels of soy consumption to lowered sperm count in men. This is hilarious, but given the population of Asian nations where soy is a staple food, unlikely to be meaningful or real.
And speaking of dubious, we have much-hyped claims that researchers have developed "exercise pills." I'm not entirely clear on how these are even supposed to work, but apparently it's possible that in the (near) future, I may not have to bother with the treadmill at all. Which would make me very happy! It also seems that taking garlic in a pill may help lower your blood pressure, but I really fail to see the point: garlic is delicious. why not just eat the stuff? Anyone who thinks garlic breath is bad clearly shouldn't ever come to my house!
Speaking of things we thought were good for us: soy. A correlational (read: probably unreliable) study linked even low levels of soy consumption to lowered sperm count in men. This is hilarious, but given the population of Asian nations where soy is a staple food, unlikely to be meaningful or real.
And speaking of dubious, we have much-hyped claims that researchers have developed "exercise pills." I'm not entirely clear on how these are even supposed to work, but apparently it's possible that in the (near) future, I may not have to bother with the treadmill at all. Which would make me very happy! It also seems that taking garlic in a pill may help lower your blood pressure, but I really fail to see the point: garlic is delicious. why not just eat the stuff? Anyone who thinks garlic breath is bad clearly shouldn't ever come to my house!
Labels: blood pressure, diabetes, dubious, exercise, fertility, fitness, fruit juice, garlic, health, pharmacology, soda, soy, sperm
