Increased Baldness in Females Linked to (MM) Warming

A recent study shows a link between baldness in females and man-made global warming said an unnamed scientist with the Female Baldness and Human Caused Global Warming Research Center.  The study has yet to be released to the public but, personally, this author couldn’t agree with it more.

“Over the last several decades we have seen an increase in the number of women who are experiencing baldness, while at the same time we are seeing man-made global warming taking place on a global scale,” said the above mentioned scientist in a phone interview, proof that this is a true and valid study.

The scientist told us that the FBHCGWRC will soon be releasing their study at an undisclosed time and place along with video of polar bears struggling to survive in their (man-made) warming world.

“In order to fight baldness in females we must also fight the growing threat that is man-made global warming.  Not only does it threaten our very survival, it threatens our hair.  And if we are going to survive, we need our hair.”

When we asked the scientist for a recommendation of who to talk to for the other side of this story we fully intended to write we were told that no opposition existed.  We took their word for it.  After all, when someone believes in man-made global warming they must be right about everything else as well, including baldness.

The Earth is warming, isn’t it? Our carbon emissions are causing this warming, right?  As much as some would want us to think that there is a consensus on this topic there is not.  More and more we see dissenters rise up only to be labeled and dismissed.  There is no room for debate when that is exactly what should be happening.  I am no scientist so I do not claim to have any definitive answers on this topic but what I would like to see is some actual debate.  If you don’t agree with human caused global warming then you are labeled a world-hater.  How about instead of labels we let people debate what is actually going on here.  I don’t think anyone in their right mind would think or say, ” You know, I really don’t like this planet I live on.  I want to destroy it.”  No.  I think everyone can agree with responsible conservation.  The question then is what does that look like?  Well, let the two sides talk about it, give us research and then we will go from there.  Instead, people act like there is only one side despite growing opposition and research that doesn’t agree with the status quo.

If you are interested, here is an article that gives a view of the other side of the debate.  I find news items like this one that would seem important to knowing the truth on this topic but it is largely ignored. Why?

Why is this important?  It is important because world leaders are using information (that has never been verified and is now being taken apart) to base policies on.  The two sides won’t even talk mostly because one side simply ignores the others existence.  Let the debate begin!  Take down the smoke and mirrors and give us a bit of truth.

Brian

So, the weekend has finally come and gone and I have seen the movie I have been anticipating for a long while.  If all you read is the first couple lines of this blog post, know this, The Dark Knight delivers in a huge way.  Also know that it is a marathon of a movie.  What I mean by that is it is long (two and a half hours without previews), it is intense, it is dark, and it is awesome.

Let the record show that I really enjoy long movies when all the elements come together.  I really enjoyed the Lord of the Rings movies.  They were well done.  They were epic.  The acting was great.  The story was wonderful.  The writing was superb.  And the director knew what to do with these elements.   The same can be said of The Dark Knight in every instance.  And all of this from a superhero flick.  You expect the flash, bang, and boom of special effects but not a movie that I would consider one of the best I have seen.

Long movies also allow for deep character development.  With the origin story out of the way we can delve deeper into the Batman mythos.  We get to see Bruce Wayne/Batman deal with choosing the moral thing despite what people think of him.  We get to see the rise and fall of another Gotham hero.  We get to see more of Gordon’s character and interaction with Batman.  And, yes, we get to see a lot of the much-talked-about Joker.  And since the movie is a long one it gives the director (Christopher Nolan) time to allow us to get to know this place and these characters in a deeper way.

Speaking of characters, let me talk for a moment about the actors in this film.  I did not see a weak link in the casting.  Every major character really stepped up and made the role theirs.  Heath Ledger, the most talked about for sure, brought the Joker to the screen in a phenomenal way.  When you watched him, you saw the character and not the actor.  He was funny in a very demented way and is probably the best villain I can recall seeing in a movie.  His character didn’t seem to have a weakness (other than to assume that others were like him).  Christian Bale was solid again.  Gary Oldman was allowed more screen time which allowed him to flesh out Gordon even more.  Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman were both great and added a little (lighter) humor that the film needed.  Maggie Gyllenhaal was a great replacement for Katie Holmes.

Without good writing the actors would have had a much harder time pulling this movie off but that was not a problem.  The writing was superb.  I am hard pressed to think of a sequence that didn’t work because of the dialogue.  The story twists and turns and keeps the audience on their toes wondering what will come next.  Several story elements were even unexpected.  The story was not shallow.  There was depth, complexity, and imminent peril present constantly.

With all the good that can be said of this movie, like anything else, it’s not perfect.  If you a concerned about spoilers then don’t read this paragraph until after you have seen the movie.  The transformation of Harvey Dent into Two Face seemed a little rushed.  The events that led him to this transformation were tragic enough to push someone over the edge but it just happened too fast.  Even with that said, the Two Face character was a perfect mirror with his twisted sense of justice to the Harvey Dent character.  The only other issue I had was with a plot element.  Somehow, we end up with two ferries on the river, one with normal people and one with convicts which set up the climactic showdown.  How did this just happen?  These were supposed to be people trying to flee the Joker’s “game”.  It just seemed a bit contrived and scripted.  I think it could have been just as compelling if both ferries were filled with normal people.  I know, I am nitpicking here.  Both of these items are  small in comparison to the overall greatness of this movie.

The Dark Knight broke through many of the boundaries that usually typify movies from this genre.  It became something more than a superhero movie.  It was a fantastic movie worth all the hype it has received.  The Dark Knight delivers on it’s promise.  It’s the total package.  Need I say more?  Go see it.

Brian

This is something I have been wanting to play with for a while.  I have been aware that there are many applications meant to enhance the desktop of your computer.  I know what most of you are thinking, “Brian, I have never thought of this.”  I know, I am weird.  But as weird as I am I really like the way it turned out.  Check it out!

I am now using a little program called ObjectDock in place of the normal windows taskbar and start menu.  Yes, it is similar to a Mac but I really like the way it works.  ObjectDock also allows me to clear up the icons on my desktop by putting them in the tabbed dock at the top of the screen.  Very organized.

The other program I am using is Yahoo Widgets.  It provides all of the cool little things you see on the screen.  I have quick access to weather information, a clock, a sticky note to keep to do lists on and such, and a clip board interface.  There are so many different widgets you can get so I am sure that I will add more as time goes on.

I have been wanting a little different interface on my computer for a while and now I have it.  We will see how it holds up in the long run.  I wish I had taken a screen shot of what my desktop looked like before I modified it.  I had shortcuts everywhere.

One other thing you might want to know, I found the background by searching for “Hubble wallpapers” and came up with a great site that has lots of Hubble telescope pictures.  So there you go.  My new desktop.

Brian

Have you ever heard someone say (or said yourself probably), “I am going on a diet.  I need to lose some weight.”  I have said those words before.  As a person who is very aware of words and their meanings it would behoove me to talk about what the word diet means.  Yes, it can mean specific foods designed to improve health in some way but the more traditional meaning is as follows:

diet - food habitually eaten; anything that is habitually provided or partaken of; the foods eaten, as by a particular person or group

In this case diet is, simply, what you eat on a daily basis.  I think it is better to view your diet as a constant thing, not as a stop and go way to get back in shape.  Your diet is what you eat all the time.  Changing your diet in order to improve an aspect of your health is just that, a change in diet, not a diet itself.  If we always have a diet (food habitually eaten) why don’t we make our diets good ones to begin with so that we don’t have to alter the way we eat to regain our health?

The cycle for most people seems to be that they eat however they want until they are unhappy with their body, then they do some kind of overkill diet in order to bring them selves back to something they are happy with only to fall back into their previous eating habits. (Rinse, Wash, Repeat, Rinse, Wash, Repeat…)  So instead of focusing on our small diets we should focus on our life diets.  How do we normally eat?  What foods do you normally eat?  Is healthy the norm or is that only when you need to loose some weight?  Changing your diet into a life habit instead of a quick crash diet only to revert is the best way.  It might not get the extremely quick results that some crash diets get but you will be healthier in the long run.

I don’t even know if crash diets are healthy.  Most of them require that you get rid of a whole part of your nutrition.  No carbs, no fats, and the list goes on.  Here are some of the things that I have implemented into my life diet:

1. Portion Size:  The restaurants here in the US serve far too much food in a dish for a single person, especially for someone who sits at a desk all day.  The rule I follow is only eat half of what is served to you at  restaurants.  You can extend this to what you eat at home as well if you want.  The less you take in, the less you will store as fat.  Another thing to consider here is that we have switched the portion sizes of meals around.  Breakfast is typically our smallest meal while dinner is our largest.  This is backwards.  Breakfast gets you geared up for the day so you should eat more here and dinner is closer to the time when you go to be so you should eat less here.
2. Fried Food:  As delicious as this kind of food is, it is one of the worst for you.  Cut out all fried foods.  This includes chips that are fried.  Look for the ones that are baked instead.  Or better yet substitute carrots or some other fruit or veggie for them as a side item.
3. Soft Drinks:  Talk about unnecessary sugar.  These things are nothing but sugar.  On top of that the phosphoric acid in them can weaken your bones (for all you diet drinkers).  Drink water instead.  It is better for you and you will save yourself a few buck in the grocery store and at the restaurant.   Water is also a good way to curb hunger at work.  If you get hungry get a glass of water before you search out the snacks.
4. Sugar:  Ah, the bane of my existence.  If you can go without sugar then good for you.  There are plenty of natural sugars in the everyday foods we eat that we do not need sweets at all.  They are an indulgence only.  For me however, I have to try to limit myself to one sweet thing a day.  To accomplish this I don’t eat sweets at work and I don’t keep sweets around the house (very often).  If it is available I will probably eat it so I just don’t make it available.  Keep sugar to a minimum.
5. Timing:  Our culture supports the three meals a day idea.  This is ok if the meals are small but most of us spread them out long enough that by the time we sit down to eat we are ravenous and then we overeat.  Instead, try eating smaller meals throughout the day or supplementing your hunger with small snacks.  Also, I set a time for myself that I try not to eat afterward in the evening.  The closer you eat to when you go to bed, the more calories you haven’t burned off yet so the more you will potentially store up at night.  Another part of timing is to get your body in a routine about eating.  Try to eat at about the same times everyday.
6. Exercise:  I know this isn’t an eating tip but the two go hand in hand since we are talking about this in reference to the diets most people go on to become healthier.  Do some kind of regular physical exercise.  Walk, run, lift weights, do jumping jacks, or push ups.  Just do some kind of physical activity.

These are the things that I try to do.  Don’t try to create a habit for a few months only to stop. Change your diet permanently not just for a short time. Make a life habit out of eating healthy.  Not only will you be in shape but you will live a longer healthier life.

One other thought before I close.  I also think that being healthy is something that God requires of us.  Not only is it being responsible with what he has given us it shows Him that we are ready to follow where ever he leads.  How do we know what he will call us to?  If He calls me to something I want to be ready and this includes being physically capable of carrying out what He asks.

Brian