Saturday, May 01, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
86 percent of disadvantaged preschoolers lack basic motor skills
86 percent of disadvantaged preschoolers lack basic motor skills
Yet another reason why every child has a right to a good beginning in life.
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Eclecta
at
9:34 PM
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Beautiful!

I'm Back !
Originally uploaded by Yoann Rigolleau.
Found on Flickr. I wish it were mine, but I'm studying, not playing with my camera. In France. Sigh. :)
Posted by
Eclecta
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8:25 PM
Social networking helps hermit crabs find homes
Social networking helps hermit crabs find homes: "One previously identified strategy that apparently helps each hermit crab find the very best shell is joining a lively group activity known as a synchronous vacancy chain. When a new shell becomes available, crabs gather around it and queue up in a line from largest to smallest. Once the largest crab moves into the vacant shell, each crab in the queue swiftly switches into the newly vacated shell right in front of them. As a result, a single vacant shell kicks off an entire chain of shell vacancies that ultimately leads to many crabs getting new, and generally improved, housing."
This is truly awesome.
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Eclecta
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4:10 PM
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Children's cognitive ability can be affected by exposure to urban air pollutants
Children's cognitive ability can be affected by exposure to urban air pollutants: "A study by the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health (CCCEH) carried out in Krakow, Poland has found that prenatal exposure to pollutants can adversely affect children's cognitive development at age 5, confirming previous findings in a New York City (NYC) study.
Researchers report that children exposed to high levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Krakow had a significant reduction in scores on a standardized test of reasoning ability and intelligence at age 5. The study findings are published today online in Environmental Health Perspectives.
PAHs are released into the air from the burning of fossil fuels for transportation, heating, energy production, and from other combustion sources."
NOW can we please get over the stupid "climate change is a hoax" spinning and just reduce our burning of fossil fuels?????
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Eclecta
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12:50 PM
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
John McCain: U.S. Lacks A 'Coherent' Iran Policy
As opposed to "Bomb bomb bomb bomb bomb Iran"?
Just listen to his sick "heh heh heh" at the end and tell me you aren't deeply, passionately grateful that Obama's in charge instead.
Posted by
Eclecta
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6:54 PM
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Hébert: Groping in the dark in Ottawa - thestar.com
Hébert: Groping in the dark in Ottawa - thestar.com: "Taken together though, they make up the disturbing pattern of a government that would rather blindfold its critics and keep Canadians guessing as to its actions than be accountable for them."
Posted by
Eclecta
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9:34 PM
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Increasing use of newer antipsychotics in children: A cause for concern? | Therapeutics Initiative
Horrific: "American children are approximately three times more likely to be prescribed psychotropic medications in general than children in Europe. Antidepressant and stimulant prescribing are three times greater in the US than in the Netherlands and Germany, while antipsychotic prescribing in the US is 1.5 to 2.2 times greater."
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Eclecta
at
10:38 AM
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Featured Article - Older non-smokers gain most from tobacco ban, study suggests
Featured Article - Older non-smokers gain most from tobacco ban, study suggests: "A study in New Zealand showed that, three years after a smoking ban on all workplaces was introduced, hospital admissions for heart attacks among men and women aged 55-74 fell by 9 per cent. This figure rose [increased] to 13 per cent for 55-74 year olds who had never smoked."
This is really interesting research! It basically suggests that ~4% of all MIs in 55-74 year olds is caused by second-hand smoke in public places!
Posted by
Eclecta
at
11:29 AM
Featured Article - Thrill-seeking holidaymakers are putting dolphins at risk
Featured Article - Thrill-seeking holidaymakers are putting dolphins at risk
Seems pretty obvious to me ... Wild animals are meant to be wild animals, not petting zoo objects.
Why do you think we do this to such creatures? My own theory is that most of us are so disconnected from the wild, magical, beautiful, and mysterious in our own lives and hearts that we seek it in external things.
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Eclecta
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11:27 AM
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Christians Urged to Boycott Glenn Beck - The Caucus Blog - NYTimes.com
Train wreck.: "Last week, the conservative broadcaster Glenn Beck called on Christians to leave their churches if they heard any preaching about social or economic justice because, he claimed, those were slogans affiliated with Nazism and Communism."
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9:24 AM
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Desmond Tutu - In Africa, a step backward on human rights - washingtonpost.com
Desmond Tutu - In Africa, a step backward on human rights - washingtonpost.com:
But a wave of hate is spreading across my beloved continent. People are again being denied their fundamental rights and freedoms. Men have been falsely charged and imprisoned in Senegal, and health services for these men and their community have suffered. In Malawi, men have been jailed and humiliated for expressing their partnerships with other men. Just this month, mobs in Mtwapa Township, Kenya, attacked men they suspected of being gay. Kenyan religious leaders, I am ashamed to say, threatened an HIV clinic there for providing counseling services to all members of that community, because the clerics wanted gay men excluded.
Uganda's parliament is debating legislation that would make homosexuality punishable by life imprisonment, and more discriminatory legislation has been debated in Rwanda and Burundi.
These are terrible backward steps for human rights in Africa.
...
That this pandering to intolerance is being done by politicians looking for scapegoats for their failures is not surprising. But it is a great wrong. An even larger offense is that it is being done in the name of God. Show me where Christ said "Love thy fellow man, except for the gay ones." Gay people, too, are made in my God's image. I would never worship a homophobic God.
...
Sexual orientation, like skin color, is another feature of our diversity as a human family. Isn't it amazing that we are all made in God's image, and yet there is so much diversity among his people? Does God love his dark- or his light-skinned children less? The brave more than the timid? And does any of us know the mind of God so well that we can decide for him who is included, and who is excluded, from the circle of his love?
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Eclecta
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2:55 PM
Transformative scene from "V for Vendetta"
I finished watching "V for Vendetta" yesterday, and wanted to share this scene - it was just what I needed to see at exactly the right time. If you haven't seen the movie, I suggest renting it before you watch this. It's very, very good, and will provide context will enrich the viewing of this scene. (The movie is melodramatic in parts, as is par for the course for this genre.)
This scene is so powerful - monstrous and yet resonant with truth. "This is the most important moment in your life - COMMIT to it."
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11:33 AM
Saturday, March 13, 2010
NEJM -- The Israeli Field Hospital in Haiti -- Ethical Dilemmas in Early Disaster Response
NEJM -- The Israeli Field Hospital in Haiti -- Ethical Dilemmas in Early Disaster Response
A fascinating account of how some very difficult decisions were made as fairly as possible.
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Eclecta
at
9:14 AM
Friday, March 12, 2010
How Your Twitter Account Could Land You in Jail | Mother Jones
How Your Twitter Account Could Land You in Jail | Mother Jones
Interesting. The individuals were arresting for using Twitter to inform protesters of the recent G20 summit in Pittsburg how to avoid riot police.
Madison calls the arrest an attempt to "stifle dissent" and says his actions were "perfectly legal." His lawyer, Martin Stolar, calls them "absolutely protected speech." Madison also points out the irony that last June the State Department asked Twitter to delay scheduled maintenance so as not to interrupt Iranian protesters tweeting from the barricades.
Posted by
Eclecta
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6:38 PM
Cancer is a preventable disease that requires majo... [Pharm Res. 2008] - PubMed result
Cancer is a preventable disease that requires major lifestyle changes
Very cool, especially since it's published in a journal called "Pharmaceutical Research"!!!!!!!!
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Eclecta
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4:58 PM
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
Doctor and Patient - A Surgeon Learns of the Choking Game - NYTimes.com
The subject of this article is grim but really important. It's important to educate yourself and the young people in your life that this activity is extremely dangerous. The article also lists signs that can warn of a child participating in such "games".
snip:
"Until recently, there has been little attention among heal...th care
professionals to this particular form of youthful thrill-seeking. What
has been known, however, is that children ages 7 to 21 participate in
such activities alone or in groups, holding their breath, strangling
one another or dangling in a noose in the hopes of attaining a legal
high.
"Two years ago the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 82 deaths attributable to the choking game and related activities. This year the C.D.C. released the results of the first statewide survey and found that one in three eighth graders in Oregon had heard of the choking game, while more than one in 20 had participated."
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Eclecta
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10:18 PM
Monday, March 01, 2010
BBC World Service - Programmes - The Company of Wolves
BBC World Service - Programmes - The Company of Wolves: "Shaun Ellis"
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Eclecta
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10:40 PM
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Friday, February 26, 2010
And then it was Friday
I have studied and scribbled and rubbed my eyes and practiced and missed most of the Olympics and spent many hours alone being epically harassed by two cats while trying to study, scribble, etc. and it already has all been worth it. Another midterm week vanquished, so much more learned, new confidence found, new resolve born, and another corner turned towards being able to help people live healthy, empowered lives.
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Eclecta
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10:19 PM
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Hospital Infections: Deadly, Costly, And Potentially Avoidable - Shots - Health News Blog : NPR
Hospital Infections: Deadly, Costly, And Potentially Avoidable - Shots - Health News Blog : NPR: "Each year nearly 300,000 U.S. patients get serious cases of pneumonia and sepsis -- bloodstream infections -- during their hospital stays. Almost 50,000 of them die."
Just another sign that we urgently need to change the way we manage disease in today's world.
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Eclecta
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7:35 PM
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Family Guy Actress with Down Syndrome's Sarah Palin Smackdown Too Hot for NYT - sarah palin - Gawker
Family Guy Actress with Down Syndrome's Sarah Palin Smackdown Too Hot for NYT - sarah palin - Gawker: "In my family we think laughing is good. My parents raised me to have a sense of humor and to live a normal life. My mother did not carry me around under her arm like a loaf of French bread the way former Governor Palin carries her son Trig around looking for sympathy and votes."
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Eclecta
at
2:59 PM
Thursday, February 18, 2010
YouTube - Chinese Bluegrass (REDGRASS): Red Chamber紅庭, Jaybirds
If you needed a demonstration of how global our society is becoming, of how music can bring people together, or of how we really aren't all that different from one another, I offer you this outstanding video:
Posted by
Eclecta
at
10:16 PM
YouTube - hang insomniac jam
I recently saw a live performance with this type of instrument at my college. It was incredibly beautiful. As he explained, this drum uniquely provides the drummer with the ability to not only set a rhythm, but also to play a melody. It's an ethereal sound. Enjoy! :)
Posted by
Eclecta
at
9:43 AM
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
The Nature Conservancy: 2009 Nature Photography Contest Finalists Announced
Incredible nature photography. So jealous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Nature Conservancy: 2009 Nature Photography Contest Finalists Announced
Posted by
Eclecta
at
2:15 PM
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog » Blog Archive » Inadequately Restricted Pesticide Implicated in Children’s Deaths
Heartbreaking story, but an important one.Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog » Blog Archive » Inadequately Restricted Pesticide Implicated in Children’s Deaths
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Eclecta
at
11:51 AM
Saturday, February 06, 2010
Easy rice bowls
I just finished eating an amazing home-made rice bowl, and despite the fact I should be working on an important assignment, studying for a number of important upcoming exams, etc., etc., I have to share with you how incredibly easy and delicious it is to eat healthily, and provide an example. Considering the overwhelming scientific research indicating the benefits of eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables, I hope you enjoy some of the suggestions shared below. :->
I find when I have vegetables like peppers, broccoli, mushrooms, zucchini, etc. washed and chopped beforehand, it makes everything sooooooo much easier, even when cooking for just one person (as I am). Having a little chest freezer is a godsend too, as you can freeze small containers of guacamole, cooked rice, cooked quinoa, cooked chicken/turkey, etc. Months ago I even bought large packages of cheddar cheese on sale, then cut them into smaller pieces (good for 1 – 2 meals, depending), and then froze them all in a big resealable plastic bag. (Yes, the cheese is crumbly after being defrosted, but yay! That means I don’t have to shred it for my meals – just taking a knife to it breaks it into many small pieces.) You can also chop raw peppers (perhaps bought on sale or in season) into pieces and freeze them in an airtight plastic container, and use them for soups and stews later.
And do NOT throw out those broccoli/chard/kale stems! They are fantastic in soups, stews, and stir-fries. They just need more cooking time, like onions.
Anyway, let me tell you about today’s rice bowl. I used my rice cooker (a necessity since I otherwise burn rice when I try to cook it in a pot) to prepare a large batch of delicious brown basmati rice. (Most of it destined for my freezer.) While I was waiting, I collected my other ingredients: a few chopped peppers, a handful of baby spinach (chopped), about a tablespoon of guacamole, about another tablespoon of crumbled feta, some very small broccoli florets, a little bit of leftover turkey (from the freezer, then defrosted, woohoooo!), and a couple of mushrooms (chopped, of course). When I added the hot rice (about three-quarters of a cup) to the other ingredients, everything got nicely heated and steamed, without any additional cooking! I then liberally drizzled some balsamic vinegar and olive oil* all over this creation, added a little salt, and voila!
As you can imagine, you can vary the ingredients quite a bit, so it’s new every time! (Although if you choose something that takes longer to cook - like carrots - you will need to cook them in advance, or shred them.)
Okay, now back to my assignment … Wish me luck!!!
*Olive oil is soooo good for you raw, terrible once you cook it. My nutrition prof actually prescribes some patients to take 1 – 2 tablespoons of raw olive oil a day, but strongly advises against cooking with it.
Posted by
Eclecta
at
3:39 PM
Friday, February 05, 2010
Medical training does change you
This is what medical training will do to you: I see an ad for fitness training on a web page with a picture of a shirtless, very muscular (and handsome) man. And my only real thought is: What the heck is that huge muscle just below his ribs? And then I geek out and drag out my Netter's and realize it's a large external oblique abdominal muscle. And then ... he's forever the external oblique guy.
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Eclecta
at
9:11 PM
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Why Antidepressants Are No Better Than Placebos - Newsweek.com
Why Antidepressants Are No Better Than Placebos - Newsweek.com: "In 1998 Moore used the Freedom of Information Act to pry such data from the FDA. The total came to 47 company-sponsored studies—on Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, Effexor, Serzone, and Celexa—that Kirsch and colleagues then pored over. (As an aside, it turned out that about 40 percent of the clinical trials had never been published. That is significantly higher than for other classes of drugs, says Lisa Bero of the University of California, San Francisco; overall, 22 percent of clinical trials of drugs are not published. 'By and large,' says Kirsch, 'the unpublished studies were those that had failed to show a significant benefit from taking the actual drug.') In just over half of the published and unpublished studies, he and colleagues reported in 2002, the drug alleviated depression no better than a placebo. 'And the extra benefit of antidepressants was even less than we saw when we analyzed only published studies,' Kirsch recalls. About 82 percent of the response to antidepressants—not the 75 percent he had calculated from examining only published studies—had also been achieved by a dummy pill."
Posted by
Eclecta
at
3:50 PM
Op-Ed Columnist - Orphaned, Raped and Ignored - NYTimes.com
Op-Ed Columnist - Orphaned, Raped and Ignored - NYTimes.com
Again my hero Nick Kristof brings light to darkness, telling heartbreaking stories to us so that we'll give a damn and DO something.
Posted by
Eclecta
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2:38 PM
Time to end pelvic exams done without consent - The Globe and Mail
Time to end pelvic exams done without consent - The Globe and Mail: "Imagine that you are undergoing a fairly routine surgery – say, removal of uterine fibroids or hysterectomy. During or right after the procedure, while you are still under anesthesia, a group of medical students parades into the operating room and they perform gynecological exams (unrelated to the surgery) without your knowledge.
Do you consider this okay, or an outrageous violation of your rights?
Regardless of your feelings, you should be aware that this is standard procedure in many Canadian teaching hospitals. "
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Eclecta
at
9:51 AM
Friday, January 29, 2010
Featured Article - Ginkgo herbal medicines may increase seizures in people with epilepsy
Featured Article - Ginkgo herbal medicines may increase seizures in people with epilepsy
Good to know. Doesn't mean that ginkgo should never be used, though ...
Posted by
Eclecta
at
11:07 AM
Featured Article - 'Good' bacteria keep immune system primed to fight future infections
Featured Article - 'Good' bacteria keep immune system primed to fight future infections
Just ONE of the ways our friendly microbes help us. :)
Posted by
Eclecta
at
11:04 AM
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Op-Ed Columnist - What Could You Live Without? - NYTimes.com
Op-Ed Columnist - What Could You Live Without? - NYTimes.com: "Kevin Salwen, a writer and entrepreneur in Atlanta, was driving his 14-year-old daughter, Hannah, back from a sleepover in 2006. While waiting at a traffic light, they saw a black Mercedes coupe on one side and a homeless man begging for food on the other.
“Dad, if that man had a less nice car, that man there could have a meal,” Hannah protested. The light changed and they drove on, but Hannah was too young to be reasonable. She pestered her parents about inequity, insisting that she wanted to do something.
“What do you want to do?” her mom responded. “Sell our house?”
Warning! Never suggest a grand gesture to an idealistic teenager."
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Eclecta
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8:47 AM
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Op-Ed Columnist - Religion and Women - NYTimes.com
Op-Ed Columnist - Religion and Women - NYTimes.com: "“Women are prevented from playing a full and equal role in many faiths, creating an environment in which violations against women are justified,” former President Jimmy Carter noted in a speech last month to the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Australia.
“The belief that women are inferior human beings in the eyes of God,” Mr. Carter continued, “gives excuses to the brutal husband who beats his wife, the soldier who rapes a woman, the employer who has a lower pay scale for women employees, or parents who decide to abort a female embryo.”"
Posted by
Eclecta
at
8:25 AM
Saturday, January 09, 2010
YouTube - Emma (ep. 1) (1/6)
YouTube - Emma (ep. 1) (1/6)
Absolutely delightful.
Posted by
Eclecta
at
8:56 AM
AP News : TheMonitor.com
AP News : TheMonitor.com: "OSLO, Norway (AP) -- Aker University Hospital is a dingy place to heal. The floors are streaked and scratched. A light layer of dust coats the blood pressure monitors. A faint stench of urine and bleach wafts from a pile of soiled bedsheets dropped in a corner.
Look closer, however, at a microscopic level, and this place is pristine. There is no sign of a dangerous and contagious staph infection that killed tens of thousands of patients in the most sophisticated hospitals of Europe, North America and Asia this year, soaring virtually unchecked.
The reason: Norwegians stopped taking so many drugs.
Twenty-five years ago, Norwegians were also losing their lives to this bacteria. But Norway's public health system fought back with an aggressive program that made it the most infection-free country in the world. A key part of that program was cutting back severely on the use of antibiotics."
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Eclecta
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8:32 AM
Sunday, January 03, 2010
Featured Article - Chlorophylls effective against aflatoxin
Featured Article - Chlorophylls effective against aflatoxin: "A new study has found that chlorophyll and its derivative chlorophyllin are effective in limiting the absorption of aflatoxin in humans. Aflatoxin is produced by a fungus that is a contaminant of grains including corn, peanuts and soybeans; it is known to cause liver cancer – and can work in concert with other health concerns, such as hepatitis."
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Eclecta
at
10:38 AM
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Featured Article - Short-term school closures may worsen flu pandemics
Featured Article - Short-term school closures may worsen flu pandemics: "Closing schools for less than two weeks during a flu pandemic may increase infection rates and prolong an epidemic, say University of Pittsburgh researchers in a study published ahead-of-print and online in the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice. The findings, developed from a series of computer simulations based on U.S. census data, indicate that schools may need to be closed for at least eight weeks in order to significantly decrease the spread of infection."
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Eclecta
at
9:25 AM
Monday, December 28, 2009
Love. Why We Should All Get Some, How To, and I Heart Salon | Cleavage
Love. Why We Should All Get Some, How To, and I Heart Salon | Cleavage: "I think we have collectively lost faith in our ability to survive rejection and heart-break so we try and risk-manage the process up front, and in so doing, we neuter love. We clip its wings. Love requires abandon, irrationality, surrender, butterflies, feeling, vulnerabilty, risk. Get over the fear. It will all be fine. I know I will get rejected; it sucks; it hurts; but I will always be just fine. I have complete faith in my own resilience. I’ve recovered from heartbreak before and it was never pretty, but I’ve never regretted a love, even when I’ve suffered for it. Love is always a risk. The good stuff always is."
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Eclecta
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10:02 PM
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Dr. John Salerno: Why I Recommend Organic Foods To My Weight Loss Patients
Dr. John Salerno: Why I Recommend Organic Foods To My Weight Loss Patients: "I recommend organic foods for my weight loss patients because I want them to eat nutrient dense foods, thus you have to begin with the dirt. The overuse of pesticides, herbicides, and other chemical additives for the growth of monoculture genetically modified crops, including corn, soy, rice, canola, and others have wreaked havoc with the soil."
Posted by
Eclecta
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12:59 PM
WP: Tiger does not stand alone - Washington Post- nbcsports.msnbc.com
WP: Tiger does not stand alone - Washington Post- nbcsports.msnbc.com: "Tiger Woods has an emotional void in his life. This void must be huge. For him to be where he is today, this deep emptiness must have consumed him, must be something he has been living with for a long time. Moreover, he has to live with his emptiness while being fully aware that everyone in the world knows just what a manufactured lie his image has been."
Posted by
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at
11:53 AM
Monday, December 21, 2009
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Boola Boola, Boola Boola - Yale Says Yes, 4 Times - NYTimes.com
Boola Boola, Boola Boola - Yale Says Yes, 4 Times - NYTimes.com: "The Crouches’ perfect batting average represents a first for Yale — the first time in anyone’s memory that it has offered admission to quadruplets. It is also, of course, no small milestone for the siblings, who were born more than two months premature. (Ray was the last to be released from the neonatal unit, more than four months later.)
They made up for that rough start. Their class rankings range from 13 out of a class of 632 (Kenny) to 46 (Martina) — and they have sky-high SAT scores (including Carol’s perfect 800 on the verbal part of that exam)."
Posted by
Eclecta
at
9:46 AM
Friday, December 18, 2009
Jim Inhofe gets cool reception in Denmark - - POLITICO.com
Jim Inhofe gets cool reception in Denmark - - POLITICO.com
OMG this man is an idiot.
Posted by
Eclecta
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5:35 PM
Dying man tried out his own coffin first - Healthzone.ca
Dying man tried out his own coffin first - Healthzone.ca: "'I've seen (critically ill) people in their 70s, some of them incredibly wealthy, pursuing the next deal. When I ask why, they say: `Because that's what I've been doing all my life.' I tell them, `It's not too late. What makes you happiest – that's what you need to focus on the most.'
Those things can be shockingly simple – fishing, writing poetry, spending time with family."
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8:26 AM
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Featured Article - Couples who do the dishes together stay happier
Featured Article - Couples who do the dishes together stay happier: "A new study published by The University of Western Ontario reveals that couples who share the responsibility for paid and unpaid work report higher average measures of happiness and life satisfaction than those in other family models."
And, in the No S%^# I Told You So, Sherlock category:
"Researchers suggest that the shared roles model is advantageous to society in terms of gender equity and its ability to maximize labour force participation by all adults. It also leaves women less vulnerable in the case of separation, divorce or death of a spouse."
Posted by
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6:23 PM
Featured Article - Valuable, rare, raw earth materials extracted from industrial waste stream
Featured Article - Valuable, rare, raw earth materials extracted from industrial waste stream: "Researchers from Leeds' Faculty of Engineering have discovered how to recover significant quantities of rare-earth oxides, present in titanium dioxide minerals. The rare-earth oxides, which are indispensable for the manufacture of wind turbines, energy-efficient lighting, and hybrid and electric cars, are extracted or reclaimed simply and cheaply from the waste materials of another industrial process."
Posted by
Eclecta
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6:20 PM
Ancient Amazon civilisation laid bare by felled forest - life - 10 December 2009 - New Scientist
Ancient Amazon civilisation laid bare by felled forest - life - 10 December 2009 - New Scientist: "Signs of what could be a previously unknown ancient civilisation are emerging from beneath the felled trees of the Amazon. Some 260 giant avenues, ditches and enclosures have been spotted from the air in a region straddling Brazil's border with Bolivia."
Posted by
Eclecta
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6:18 PM
China’s 863 Program, a crash program for clean energy : The New Yorker
China’s 863 Program, a crash program for clean energy : The New Yorker
A fascinating article I hope to finish reading someday when I'm not supposed to be studying for exams. :->
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5:18 PM
What is Conservative Culture?: Observatory: Design Observer
What is Conservative Culture?: Observatory: Design Observer: "And they certainly will not mention the John Birch Society meetings in suburban parlors nationwide, in which chapters no bigger than two dozen members — a cell structure ostensibly to prevent Red infiltration but that, as it happened, was also the ideal size for a cocktail party — plotted how to forestall the Communist takeover of the PTAs by taking them over first. 'I just don't have time for anything,' a Dallas housewife told Time in 1961. 'I'm fighting Communism three nights a week.'"
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Eclecta
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12:04 PM
BBC News - Octopus snatches coconut and runs
BBC News - Octopus snatches coconut and runs
Wow, you have to check this out. Video is very cool, but even cooler is the evidence of invertebrates USING TOOLS. :->
Posted by
Eclecta
at
9:33 AM
Monday, December 14, 2009
'Greatest mayor we never had,' David Pecaut dies at 54 - thestar.com
'Greatest mayor we never had,' David Pecaut dies at 54 - thestar.com: "'His heart and passion are with Toronto, and he always finds ways to make things happen,' says the Mayor. 'It was impossible to say 'no' to him because he worked miracles to find common ground where the only answer was 'yes.'' Inspired by Pecaut, more than 6,000 people became involved in Alliance projects, tackling everything from immigrant integration to income security reform to cultivating emerging leaders.
'He taught us all civic responsibility and engagement,' explains Deans. 'I have never met anyone with David's intellectual curiosity, his passion for serving others well and creatively, and his ability to convene people and facilitate solutions that lead to action and change.'"
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2:47 PM
Featured Article - Math goes viral
Featured Article - Math goes viral: "The approach is a marriage of science and math, subjects the researchers say seem to exist in separate worlds at a secondary-school level, but that when brought together can effectively bring real-world scenarios into the classroom to enhance learning and understanding.
Not to mention answering that ages old high-school student question: 'why do I need to know this?'"
Posted by
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12:57 PM
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Drug money saved banks in global crisis, claims UN advisor | World news | The Observer
Drug money saved banks in global crisis, claims UN advisor | World news | The Observer: "Drugs money worth billions of dollars kept the financial system afloat at the height of the global crisis, the United Nations' drugs and crime tsar has told the Observer."
Posted by
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10:26 AM
Drug money saved banks in global crisis, claims UN advisor | World news | The Observer
Drug money saved banks in global crisis, claims UN advisor | World news | The Observer: "Drugs money worth billions of dollars kept the financial system afloat at the height of the global crisis, the United Nations' drugs and crime tsar has told the Observer."
Posted by
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10:24 AM
Sunday, December 06, 2009
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Featured Article - Facebook profiles capture true personality, according to new psychology research
Featured Article - Facebook profiles capture true personality, according to new psychology research: "Online social networks such as Facebook are being used to express and communicate real personality, instead of an idealized virtual identity, according to new research from psychologist Sam Gosling at The University of Texas at Austin."
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9:23 AM
Featured Article - Aspirin, tylenol may decrease effectiveness of vaccines
Featured Article - Aspirin, tylenol may decrease effectiveness of vaccines: "With flu season in full swing and the threat of H1N1 looming, demand for vaccines is at an all-time high. Although those vaccines are expected to be effective, University of Missouri researchers have found further evidence that some over-the-counter drugs, such as aspirin and Tylenol, that inhibit certain enzymes could impact the effectiveness of vaccines."
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Eclecta
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9:23 AM
Featured Article - Aspirin, tylenol may decrease effectiveness of vaccines
Featured Article - Aspirin, tylenol may decrease effectiveness of vaccines: "With flu season in full swing and the threat of H1N1 looming, demand for vaccines is at an all-time high. Although those vaccines are expected to be effective, University of Missouri researchers have found further evidence that some over-the-counter drugs, such as aspirin and Tylenol, that inhibit certain enzymes could impact the effectiveness of vaccines."
Posted by
Eclecta
at
9:23 AM
