Why Sugar Really is Bad for You. May 29, 2006
Posted by Joe in : Genius Advice , add a comment
I recently came across a list of 146 reasons why you should limit your intake of sugar. How do you like the sound of rectal and kidney cancer, slowing of the digestive process, kidney stones, cataracts, and much more. Read all about it here.
Most of the things we commonly eat can be quite lethal when we consume too much of them. That’s just the problem, though; we don’t really know how much is too much for most ingredients. Best advice? Stick to eating the foods that contain the least amount of sugar, trans-fats, saturated fats, cholesterol, artifical sweeteners, fructose (artificial sugar found in most soft drinks), and highly acidic foods (soda, etc.). There are plenty of other things to watch out for but I’ll save that for another day. Try eating just enough to curve your hunger and drink lots of cold water. Keep in mind it takes roughly 20 minutes for the brain to get the message that you’re full.
Once you’ve adapted to eating 5-6 small meals per day, consume 5-10 glasses of ice cold water, exercise 35 minutes a day, and get at least 6.5 hours of sleep, you’ll feel healthy and you’ll actually be healthy. I’ll work on a follow-up post to this outlining the best eating/sleeping/exercising habits to lead to a healthy, prolonged life. If you want to beat me to it, pick up the book Fantastic Voyage: Live Long Enough to Live Forever. It might sound a bit silly, but it is one of the most informative reads on how to get healthy and live as long as humanly possible (with, of course, the hope of living forever; but you’ll have to read the book to understand that!).
Simple trick for preventing dandruff/itchy scalp
Posted by Joe in : Genius Advice , add a commentWe all get it every now and then. Its no big deal. But it is irritating, and sometimes noticeable. You might buy Head and Shoulders or other dandruff-targeting shampoos and/or conditioners, but the truth is, most of us can kick it without buying anything.
The secret? Cold water. Stop taking hot showers! The hot water dries the scalp out rapidly, and it also washes away the good properties of your conditioner that help moisten the hair and scalp.
You also need to make sure you don’t live in too humid of conditions. If your bedroom or living room (whereever you spend a lot of time) is too humid, get a dehumidifier. Combining a cool, dry environment with a cool shower will get rid of and prevent dandruff, as well as take away those irritating itches.
The process might take a week or two, but it works. The water doesn’t have to be freezing, of course, but anything luke-warm or cooler is best.
Razer Pro|Solutions Mouse May 26, 2006
Posted by Joe in : Technobabble , add a commentI recently purchased a Razer Pro mouse when it popped up on Woot one day for $25. Not a bad price. I had heard of the mouse before but wasn’t too sure if it was for me or not. But for $25? Why not…
When the mouse came a few days later, I quickly bumped my Razer Diamondback off the desk and put it in the neat little pouch that it had came with. I unwrapped my Razer Pro mouse, plugged it in, and got to testing. Physically, it looked great; a white shell with blue LED light emitting in just the right places. It felt the same as the Diamondback and weighed about the same.
Performance wise, the mouse is a winner. Its so precise it couldn’t be better! Although similar to the Diamondback, the Pro’s optical sensor is always on, making sure you have the absolute fastest response time possible.
Will update this post with some pics and detailed comparisons of the two mice soon. Of course I’ll still be buying a Razer Copperhead, which is the same as the Pro but with more buttons, adjustable weight, cooler looks, and 2000dpi.
Update, as promised. Click to continue… (more…)
Anti-Allergies: Get rid of allergies without a prescription pill.
Posted by Joe in : Genius Advice , add a commentWho really wants to take a pill every single day during allergy season? Get refills each month? Pay for the doctor visits to get the prescription, then pay some amount for the pills themselves at the drug store? Its a lot of wasted effort, time, and money. And do they really work? Not until you build them up in your immune system, and that can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months! And did you know what these pills do? They block the release of hystamines in the bloodstream (hystamines aren’t the “allergies” like so many people think; they are a natural chemical in the body). Allergies, whatever they may be, cause hystamines to be released; part of your body’s immune system. Sneezing, itchy eyes, etc. are all ways your body is trying to purge whatever is triggering your allergies, and the hystamines get the job done. Allergy medication suppresses the immune system, simply put.
I have horrible allergies. But I hate prescription pills, especially allergy pills. They make me tired and they don’t work and I forget to take them. So what the hell good are they? Well, good news: I’ve been allergy-free for 2 months now: without medication.
So what’s the secret? I’ll tell you. Omega-3 fatty acids.
Omega-3’s are found naturally in fish. I mention fish because they are abundant in most fish, especially salmon. You have two choices here: Chow down on a helpful serving of fish (perferably salmon) twice a week, or buy yourself a bottle of Fish Oil pills. They might cost some cash, but they are well worth it. Omega-3’s help void the effects of your body fighting off allergies without suppressing hystamine production. The more you have in your system on a continual basis, the less allergies you will suffer from. If you don’t or can’t eat fish, do what I did: take two fish oil pills in the morning and at night for at least 2 weeks. Then, go down to taking 2 pills mid-day for another two weeks. If you find allergy symptoms to reoccur after you stop taking them, go and ahead and take just one at noon time for at least one month and you should be set. After that, its up to you; take one or two pills a week to keep the omega-3’s prevalent, or just wait until you get symptoms. Either way, they are a lot more effective, cheaper, and safer for you than prescription drugs. Over the counter anti-hystamines are garbage, too; they suppress your immune system as well as some other systems in the body, putting most people asleep after taking them. They’re just awful.
If you need to get some more information about this “miracle” I’ve come up with, go ahead and Google omega-3 fatty acids, fish oil, and allergies. You’ll see the connection is becoming more apparent now and that omega-3’s are far more useful than for just getting rid of allergies.
Update March 15, 2007: I see that a few people are searching for hystamines and other such allergy-related terms and have ended up here. I’d like to let you know that the benefits of Omega-3’s are becoming more and more prevalent each day. I want to let you know that you can get Omega-3’s not only from fish like tuna but also walnuts, flaxseeds, dark green leafy vegetables and some canola oil. The problem with tuna and other fish is that almost all farmed fish is infected with some amount of mercury. The effects of very small amounts of mercury on humans aren’t 100% certain, so be sure not to eat too much fish unless its some of the still remaining but rare mercury-fee sort! One last note: If omega-3’s are not enough to combat your allergies, I recommend trying a nasal spray before you start taking pills. The sprays are often more effective, faster acting, and don’t involve swallowing anything.
Video of Plane Hitting the Pentagon released. Well, sort of. May 16, 2006
Posted by Joe in : Political Circus , add a commentIts been long enough (five years!), but the Department of Defense has finally released a (one of the dozens) video of the passenger jet crashing into the Pentagon on 9/11. I got a chance to watch it. And what does it show? A tiny piece of a nose of a plane sticking out, and then the next frame is an explosion.
Feel free to check out the video: Judicial Watch.
It is unfortunate that the conspirators are still going to thrive about 9/11 and the Pentagon now because of this. Why couldn’t they have shown another angle? Video from a camera shooting greater than 2 frames per second? Conspiracy or coincidence? Maybe we’ll never know.
“Mad what disease?? No I don’t think so…” May 15, 2006
Posted by Joe in : Political Circus , add a commentThe quote above may or (more likely) may not have been the (exact) words of an official on behalf of the U.S. Department of Agriculture to a Kansas beef producer in April of 2004.
The beef producer requested access to a newly available test for mad cow disease (at the time) in an effort to test all of their cattle.This request came soon after a cow in Washington state was found to have mad cow disease just a few months before. Their reasoning was due to Japan banning the importation of any U.S. beef that was not fully tested for infection. So, the company requested this test be provided to them from the Department of Agriculture, as is standard procedure. For some reason, law states that the Dept. of Agriculture decides all the who-what-when-where-and-why to mad cow testing (among other testing of livestock)…
The response? Sweeping mad cow tests were not “scientifically warranted”, so decreed the Department of Agriculture.
US Govt. - 1 US Beef Producers - 0.
So what was the outcome here? The loss in sales resulted in a decline in profits of $40,000 a day while Japan blocked the company from importing any meat, and the company had to fire 50 employees. And this is just one example. Imagine how many others suffered the same consequences.
Read the full article here if interested. It may be old news, but its quite relevant to how disruptive our government can be. Its not only a matter of some beef companies losing money and laying off hard working Americans, but rather an out of control, care-free administration that just doesn’t get it.
