Some frustrated by their inability to lose weight for a variety of reasons turn to weight loss surgery as an alternative to chemical or other diet methods. The surgery alone is not enough though, for the weight loss to be permanent it requires a whole change in the way that person eats and lives their daily life. Else, in time, that person will return to their former weight. I know a few people who have had either temporary or permanent weight loss surgery techniques done on them. A few have kept the weight off and feel it was the best decision they made, others, especially those who had the gastric bypass struggled, in part because they did not have a support program that worked for them.
The implications on a larger scale if true, in this New Scientist article, Giving the ‘unconscious’ a voice, could change how many view end of life decisions as well as give those thought to be unaware, a chance to make their wishes known. It also creates a whole different perspective on them not really being aware…
Two of my daughters change their style of cell phone almost as often as one does purses. Not me, when it comes to cell phones the only time I have replaced one is if I switched to a different company and I couldn’t use my old phone or if my phone quit working for some reason. I’ve never had a BlackBerry, three of mine have, only one still does. I’ve never had an iPhone though one of mine has the T-mobile version and I admit some of the features are cool. But not enough for me to switch…yet.
The reality behind the question the song by Matchbox 20 raises can take some pretty disturbing twists when you really stop and think about the things we’ve lost in our rush to get so far…
Latest update on the Google Books versus the Author’s Guild court saga is on Wired. Part of the recommended piece:
The Justice Department joins key members of The Authors Guild in applauding some of the changes Google and the guild have made to their proposed agreement, submitted in September, including the elimination of Google’s right to the books for unspecified future uses, the creation of a new position to represent unknown rights holders, and a mechanism allowing competing companies to license Google’s library to offer competing products.
But none of these changes address the Justice Department’s main procedural problem with the case: That it is a class action lawsuit whose aim is not to settle a past situation, but “to implement forward-looking business arrangements that go far beyond the dispute before the court in this litigation.”
In addition, the DOJ still feels that Google may have violated copyright law by scanning all of these books without permission, despite its pledge to pay $125 million to copyright holders who agreed not to opt out of the plan after scanning was well underway, as well as a percentage of sales revenue going forward.
I’m not a huge fan of gift cards as gifts, while I understand it gives the person you are buying for the chance to buy whatever they want, it doesn’t send the same message as a gift you’ve picked out or a personalized gift. That sends a message to the person that you took extra time and care in shopping for them. If you do decide to go the gift card route? Take a few extra moments to write a note or add something small that’s a personal gift along with it.
I don’t know if it’s because we’ve become more used to shopping on Cyber Monday than in year’s past but it seemed for some reason that this year there was not the media attention either before or after. At least not on the same level before, there were still some of the same great deals, but not as much media hype. Many of us prefer Cyber Monday to Black Friday because it’s much easier to shop from your pc then it is to get up in the middle of the night and wait in line…
I blame my husband for having this song end up in my head because he keeps playing that Combat Arms game, so since “Let the bodies hit the floor” by Drowning Pool is in my head? Now it can be stuck in yours too.
I fully admit even though we have a treadmill, I prefer walking outdoors, even when it is inclement weather because it gets me out of the house and gives me a chance to clear my head. Which some days having 7 blogs and working as a subcontractor for a local newspaper, I realllllly need to clear my head to get a fresh perspective. However, I also know many of you prefer to use a treadmill or a nordic track system in your home instead of braving the elements. Which means the link may interest you if you don’t yet have one or want to upgrade…
Oh had I only won the MegaMillions, the things I could have bought at NASA’s garage sale…Like a retired space shuttle…
Looking for a good deal during the recession? Space geeks don’t have to look any further than NASA, where they can pick up a retired space shuttle for the bargain-basement price of $28.8 million.
That’s the cost NASA estimates for shipping and handling on a space shuttle. The Space Shuttle Discovery has already been spoken for by the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, but Atlantis and Endeavour are still available.
Not just anybody can buy them, however. NASA says because of the role the shuttles have played in the nation’s space program, “special attention is being given to ensure the shuttle orbiters are appropriately retired and displayed in the broadest interest of the American public.” That means Bill Gates or Sergei Brin probably can’t put one in the backyard.
The $28.8 million price tag is more than 30 percent off the original sticker price of $42 million NASA was asking in December of 2008. The space agency says it dropped the price because much of the original cost included work that is needed to decommission the shuttles even if they were only to be stored in a hangar.
NASA says the new price reflects the cost of transporting the space vehicles to their new locations and fixing them up so they are in proper display condition. More than 20 inquiries were received after the initial listing, but NASA expects others will step up now that the shuttles have been discounted. Technically, Atlantis and Endeavour are not for sale. They will remain property of NASA, but will be on permanent display at the new locations. The deadline for organizations to apply to adopt a shuttle is February 19.
The other day a friend was over who was upset about some recent political happenings and the lack of action by some of the male members of her group. As she pointed out that she had more testicular fortitude than some of them did when it came to actually taking action, I made her laugh by suggesting we put testosterone booster in the water supply for our City. Of course that’s not something either one of us would do…But it did take the moment from one where she was venting to laughing…
Another recommended article for you, this time from Time about Dr. David Ho. One small part of the thought provoking and informative article:
…Ho, who has been working to develop an HIV vaccine of his own, now believes that a traditional shot, one that relies on snippets of a virus to both awaken and prod the immune system to churn out antibodies, may not be the best way to fight HIV. Rather than expecting the body to do all the work of first recognizing then mounting an attack against the virus, why not just present the body with a ready-made arsenal of antibodies that can home in on HIV? It’s the immunological equivalent of a frozen dinner; the already cooked antibodies eliminate all the hard work of prepping and priming the immune system to do battle.
It’s a bold strategy and one that has never been tried before in the AIDS field, but Ho is willing to stake his reputation and that of his nearly 20-year-old facility, the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center (ADARC) in New York City, on his hunch. So is the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which has steered nearly $7 million his way to pursue the theory. Ho has redirected more than half of his lab to the project, and the results so far have reignited his passion for discovery; he’s now back at the lab bench overseeing experiments.
Recommended story from Wired about the technological challenges we face in trying to find asteroids that are near Earth that could be potential threats. Bottom line? We need bigger and better telescopes:
Unfortunately, the United States will not complete the survey of large near-Earth objects by 2020 as mandated, but not funded, by Congress in 2005. That’s the conclusion of a new National Resource Council Report, Defending Planet Earth: Near-Earth Object Surveys and Hazard Mitigation Strategies, released Friday.
The current budget and astronomical tools are just not sufficient to find all near-Earth objects larger than 140 meters (460 feet) across. Better telescopes than we currently have will be needed. While this has been known within the NEO science community, the final report could bring the realization to the policymakers and politicians who control the purse strings.
“There’s no longer time to meet the goal by 2020,” said Michael A’Hearn, a University of Maryland astronomer and co-author of the report. “There’s no way to do the survey in that length of time because the equipment isn’t even built yet. We say it is not unreasonable to set a new deadline of 2030 and start funding now. We probably can do the job by then.”
Despite the large number of NEO discoveries over the past several years, our current detection instruments like the Catalina Sky Survey, are not up to the task of completing the Congressional mandate, known as the Gordon Brown Survey.
“The current instruments, no matter how you operate them are not capable of doing the George Brown survey,” A’Hearn noted.
There are days that I wonder how my children can function without losing a small amount of sanity. My daughter (we will not mention names) has this habit of buying large quantities of make-up. We’re not talking about one or two things – we’re talking about bags of cosmetics. I jokingly mentioned if she had any argireline products, she looked at me and said no but she will when she gets to that point in her life. I almost lost it and told her that I will make sure to get her some store shelving to keep all of it organized.
So far so good, he (my husband) is on track to achieving that goal of losing a nice amount of weight by the end of April. He did slip one night and ate a small container (14 pieces) of the Fig Newton bars in about a half hour’s time. That was a no no but he and I discussed it and he promised not to repeat that scene again. Even though they are better then regular cookies that doesn’t mean eating that many is ok.
Keep going sweetie!
Most of you might know but in case you don’t, my husband has set himself a goal of losing a few pounds by the end of April. Although I know that he has the will to do it, he will have some trouble accomplishing this seeing that we are in the middle of Winter. I recommended to him to visit www.bestdietsupplement.org for some added tips and what supplements he can take to help him along this rough journey. Wish him well…
While going through this morning’s news ticker I came across this little tid bit. It appears that the China drama between them and Google has moved over to Germany asking its’ citizens and others to refrain from using IE (Internet Explorer). The article published on BBC News has turned a few heads that surf and work on the internet to seek other browsers for the time being. My husband has become a Google Chrome user due to IE having issues with some of the sites he visits regularly. Give the article a read and watch the video posted on the lower section to get another understanding on the issue.
Last night had to be one of the most crazy nights in my life. My daughter decided to take a bath around ten – well about an hour later she comes out completely lost with a question that in my opinion wasn’t something to worry about. She asked me if by taking a bath late at night would that make her skin really dry by morning. I tried to hold my laughter in and replied no. The only thing that would make your skin dry is if you don’t use a good lotion afterwards. She started to focus a little clearer and felt better, then she asked if it would be okay to use my day cream tomorrow. It’s amazing how young teenagers interpret emergencies.
When my husband mentioned to me that not all shooting stars are romantic once you get the scientific details exposed. Most of you are wondering “How can shooting stars not be romantic and stunning”? Well he sent me the video you see below and from what I saw I will try to keep my hopes on actually “seeing” a true shooting star.
