Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Speedlinking 11/14/07

Quote of the day:

"A stupid man's report of what a clever man says can never be accurate, because he unconsciously translates what he hears into something he can understand."
~ Bertrand Russell

Image of the day:


BODY
~ Steroid Nation -- "An excerpt from the hot new book that's just as much about steroids in America as it is about the history of recent bodybuilding. Part detective story, part character study, and part sexy thriller, this book is a must read!"
~ Citrus Juice, Vitamin C Give Staying Power To Green Tea Antioxidants -- " A study found that citrus juices enable more of green tea's unique antioxidants to remain after simulated digestion, making the pairing even healthier than previously thought.The study compared the effect of various beverage additives on catechins, naturally occurring antioxidants found in tea. Results suggest that complementing green tea with either citrus juices or vitamin C likely increases the amount of catechins available for the body to absorb."
~ Cutting Carbohydrates May Help Stunt The Growth Of Prostate Tumors -- "A diet low in carbohydrates may help stunt the growth of prostate tumors, according to a new study led by Duke Prostate Center researchers. The study, in mice, suggests that a reduction in insulin production possibly caused by fewer carbohydrates may stall tumor growth." This study showed that cutting carbohydrates may slow tumor growth, at least in mice," said Stephen Freedland, M.D., a urologist at Duke University Medical Center and lead researcher on the study."
~ Stairs may be key in war on obesity -- "Attention all shoppers: taking the stairs protects your heart. Experts say climbing stairs for seven minutes a day could reduce your risk of heart disease by about 60 percent."
~ The Serious Effects of a Sleepless Night -- "Examining what happens when we're asleep, and the perils of sleep deprivation."
~ Ancient retroviruses spurred evolution of gene regulatory networks in humans and other primates -- "When ancient retroviruses slipped bits of their DNA into the primate genome millions of years ago, they successfully preserved their own genetic legacy. Today an estimated 8 percent of the human genetic code consists of endogenous retroviruses (ERVs)–the DNA remnants from these so-called 'selfish parasites.'"
~ Diabetes Strikes Younger and Younger -- "A trend toward high-fat food and less physical playtime may be partly to blame."


PSYCHE/SELF
~ The Consumer Paradox: Scientists Find that Low Self-Esteem and Materialism Goes Hand in Hand -- " Researchers have found that low self-esteem and materialism are not just a correlation, but also a causal relationship where low self esteem increases materialism, and materialism can also create low self-esteem. The also found that as self esteem increases, materialism decreases."
~ Wisdom and Wizardry -- "At a critical moment of soul-searching, Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore counsels Harry: “It is our choices . . . that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” Dumbledore could also be counseling any aging human, says psychologist Elizabeth Stine-Morrow, who borrows from the popular J.K. Rowling books to name her Dumbledore Theory of Cognitive Aging."
~ Delayed PTSD Symptoms Complicate Treatment -- "Many of the soldiers returning from current overseas operations are suffering from PTSD and will face its effects for months or years to come. They just don't know it yet. And this lack of awareness may prevent them from receiving treatment in the crucial first stages of the disorder."
~ 7 Common Time Management Mistakes and How to Avoid Them -- "What are some of the most common mistakes that people make when trying to improve their productivity and manage their time better?"
~ Attention Management: 7 Tips to Use Your Attention Wisely -- "Attention management is one of the most important skills you should master in your life. Manage your attention well and it will give you tremendous success. Manage it badly and it may give you tragic failure. Which one do you want in your life?"
~ Leading Neuroscientist Seeks Neural And Biological Basis For Creativity, Beauty And Love -- "One of the world's leading neuroscientists is to search for the neural and biological basis for creativity, beauty and love after receiving over £1 million from the Wellcome Trust, the UK's largest medical research charity. The research will bring together science, the arts and philosophy to answer fundamental questions about what it means to be human."
~ 4 Reasons Why Curiosity is Important and How to Develop It -- "Curiosity is an important trait of a genius. I don’t think you can find an intellectual giant who is not a curious person. Thomas Edison, Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein, Richard Feynman, they are all curious characters. Richard Feynman was especially known for his adventures which came from his curiosity."
~ How Women Decide To Leave An Abusive Relationship Explained By Model -- "Two University of Illinois scientists have found a way to help health-care providers, social workers, and abused women's families understand the stages that these women go through when deciding to leave their partners. The process of leaving an abusive relationship can take years, and there may be many attempts before a woman finally leaves permanently."
~ Master Your Emotions, Control Your Mood? -- "Something about this article rubs me up the wrong way -- maybe it's the title itself, "Master your emotions". The cheerful, practical, common sense tone reinforces the idea that we are messy souls who need keeping in line, and who need to enforce a certain wholesome discipline for our own good. It sounds as if an adult is taking charge of a child."


CULTURE/POLITICS
~ The "Millennials" Are Coming -- "They were raised by doting parents who told them they are special, played in little leagues with no winners or losers, or all winners. They are laden with trophies just for participating and they think your business-as-usual ethic is for the birds. And if you persist in the belief you can, take your job and shove it."
~ On Myth -- "WRITERS don’t make up myths; they take them over and recast them. Even Homer was telling stories that his audience already knew. If some individuals present weren’t acquainted with Odysseus’s wanderings or the Trojan War, and were listening in for the first time (as I was when a child, enthralled by the gods and goddesses in H.A. Guerber’s classic retelling), they were still aware that this was a common inheritance that belonged to everyone."
~ Stone Age feminism? -- "Among Neanderthals, hunting big beasts was women's work as well as men's, so it's a safe bet that female hunters got stomped, gored, and worse with appalling frequency. And a high casualty rate among fertile women - the vital "reproductive core" of a tiny population - could well have meant demographic disaster for a species already struggling to survive among monster bears, yellow-fanged hyenas, and cunning Homo sapien newcomers."
~ The Dawkins Effect: How The God Delusion mainstreamed atheism -- "Though Dawkins’s efforts are still far from causing atheists to establish a majority in the US, the “critical mass” that he referenced in his preface seems to have been reached. Non-belief has been catapulted into the public debate; the popularity of The God Delusion has created a chain reaction that has allowed atheism to inch its way into the mainstream."
~ Crow art has Thai monks flapping -- "The painting, composed using a yellow cord traditionally worn by Buddhist monks, portrays the painter's disagreement with the immoral behavior of some clergy members. It shows two monks with pointed and sharp mouths resembling a crow's beak squatting and facing each other on the floor with crows looking over their shoulders."
~ Coppola's Film Life -- "In the last 35 years, the master filmmaker has created many of cinema's most iconic films."
~ FBI: Blackwater Killings Unjustified -- "A Blackwater spokeswoman says the company supports "stringent accountability" for any wrongdoing in the wake of a report that found the shooting deaths of at least 14 Iraqi violated rules of deadly force."
~ Rudy Guiliani: Criminal or Liar? -- "Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani raised serious questions about his record as a public servant when he announced on television that he had used "intensive questioning techniques" on New York mobsters and other criminals, and that his brand of intensive interrogation was difficult to differentiate from torture."


HABITATS/TECHNOLOGY
~ Ice Age Imprint Found On Cod DNA -- "Scientists have demonstrated how Atlantic cod responded to past natural climate extremes. The new research could help in determining cods vulnerability to future global warming."
~ Learn How Much Your Power Plant Pollutes -- "There's growing worry about global warming, but how much of it is the work of that power plant just outside town? And if Congress limits heat-trapping greenhouse gases, will it affect utility and electric bills? And who's the biggest corporate culprit when it comes to climate change?"
~ GM on track to road-test electric car in early '08 -- "As the race to bring a mass-market, rechargeable electric vehicle to market heats up, Bob Lutz, GM's head of global product development, said the largest U.S. automaker is on track to launch the Volt in November 2010."
~ Rare rhino shot for conservation education -- "In an ironic twist, a rare white rhinoceros was hunted in Africa for the sake of educating the U.S. public about endangered species." OK, that's dumb.
~ Don't buy Gingrich's view of environmentalism, or his new book -- "If you look up the word "Orwellian" on Wikipedia -- "An attitude and a policy of control by propaganda, misinformation, denial of truth, and manipulation of the past" -- there should be a picture of Newt Gingrich's new book, A Contract with the Earth."
~ Big Auto unveils efficient cars, continues to fight against strict efficiency standards -- "When the L.A. auto show opens to the public on Friday, automakers will flaunt hydrogen cars, super-efficient engines, electric vehicles, and hybrid SUVs -- leading some to wonder at the disconnect between car manufacturers' public-facing "green" ambitions and their vocal opposition to a significant increase in federal fuel-economy standards."
~ Smaller Batteries Mean Better Mobiles...and Electric Bicycles -- "The same technological innovation that has enabled the ginormous global adoption rate for mobile phones -- the advent of small, powerful, fast-charging batteries -- has come to the world of two-wheeled personal transit. Bicycle store owner Brian Poncin has dropped us a line to rave about the new Schwinn electric bicycle: We were the first shop in the country to stock the bike and we sold out in a couple weeks."


INTEGRAL/BUDDHIST
~ I'm not obsessed with UFOs, Are You? and UFO Disclosures, Conspiracies, and Consciousness and UFOs: The Truth (whatever it is) is Out There -- UFO stuff has been the hot topic at the Zaadz I-I pod, and ~C has been leading the way.
~ Dhamma-nating the conversation, part III: The Controversy -- "Welcome to part 3 of my personal overview of Nichiren Buddhism. If you are interested you might also want to review part 1 and part 2. I am not a Buddhist scholar, so if you find errors or misrepresentations, please understand that they are strictly unintentional. Also, I have no desire to rehash or add fuel to debates between Nichiren Buddhists, such as those involved in the Nichiren Shoshu/Soka Gakkai schism."
~ My Asuric Tendencies -- "With time I have had to simply face up to the fact that I have certain asuric tendencies myself. They tend to operate at the mental-vital level (the Asuras belong to these planes of Reality). The general tendency is to want to suppress or stifle the individuality of another, just because you personally have some dislike for their preferred mental formulations or symbol spaces, or their individual path, ethics, or lifestyle. It is totally selfish."
~ Clark Strand's lastest volley of attack against Western Buddhism -- "“Baby Boomer Buddhism Going Bust” is the headline at Topix, announcing the gist of Clark Strand’s latest attack against Western Buddhism in an opinion piece that appeared in the Taste section of The Wall Street Journal last Friday [page W13], and was posted online in the WSJ‘s Opinion Journal."
~ Integral Warriors: The Importance of Living On Your Edge -- "What does it take for a man to live a masculine life of integrity, authenticity, and depth? What does it mean to live at, or just beyond your edge? "
~ What is Buddhism anyway -- "The Buddha taught that all living beings have a natural disposition that seeks greater happiness and wishes to avoid even the slightest suffering. Not only that, he said that we also have the right to be happy. It is not selfish to want happiness. "
~ Spirituality in Higher Education -- "According to recent studies, college students are seeking more substance -- and sustenance -- in the classroom than their professors are willing to offer. Findings of an ambitious and long-range study of spirituality in higher education offer an interesting window into the unspoken assumptions and expectations about what the quest for knowledge means at North American colleges and universities."


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