Monday, April 02, 2007

Speedlinking 4/2/07

Quote of the day:

"Cynics regarded everybody as equally corrupt... Idealists regarded everybody as equally corrupt, except themselves."
~ Robert Anton Wilson

Image of the day:


BODY
~ FIGURE COMPETITOR: The Soy Conspiracy -- "If you listen to the popular press and most "health food" makers, then you probably think that soy is a revolutionary food that every woman should be consuming. But now the scientific community is starting to take a closer look at this so-called miracle food. What they're finding is very, very disturbing."
~ Higher Trans Fat Levels In Blood Associated With Elevated Risk Of Heart Disease -- "High consumption of trans fat, found mainly in partially hydrogenated vegetable oils and widely used by the food industry, has been linked to an increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD)."
~ The keys to getting a big chest -- "For most people lifting weights and getting ready for summer there are a few big priorities. One of the things that most guys want is a big chest." Poorly written and nothing new, but useful advice for novices.
~ Muscles and protein -- "Chronic muscle fatigue in athletes is associated with low blood levels of amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. The sooner you eat protein after you finish your hard workout, the quicker you will recover. The benefits of eating protein soon after you lift weights does not apply just to elite athletes."
~ Fructose is Not Better than Other Sugars -- "Large amounts of fructose appear to cause insulin resistance, impair glucose tolerance, produce high levels of insulin, raise triglycerides, and cause high blood pressure in animals." And you thought fruit was good for you.
~ Women Who Exercise Into Their 70's Can Delay The Onset Of Arthritis Symptoms -- It's never too late to start.
~ Fish Oil Helps Statins Reduce Coronary Events In Japanese Patients -- "Epidemiological and clinical evidence suggests that the increased intake of long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, especially EPA and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)-found in fish and fish oil-protects against mortality from coronary artery disease."
~ Science of the female orgasm -- "ABC Radio's Health Report has just had a special on the female orgasm with neurophysiologist Prof Beverly Whipple."


PSYCHE
~ Healthy Habits Might Stave Off Depression -- "Maintaining healthy habits such as exercising regularly and avoiding too much alcohol not only help you look good, but such habits might also stave off depression."
~ People Take Notice When They Feel Worse Than They Thought They Would, But Not When They Feel Better Than Expected -- "Marketing is often filled with hype and superlatives-the greatest, the best and even "heavenly"-but a new University of Georgia study that uncovers a curious aspect of human psychology could change how companies pitch their products."
~ Emotions Play Major Role in Teen Condom Use (HealthDay) -- "Emotions play a large role in teen condom use, and helping teens manage their emotions may be as important as practical information in promoting safe sex, a U.S. study suggests."
~ New Insights Into How The Brain Processes Pain Location -- "Is that pain in your chest a heart attack or indigestion? New research from Wake Forest University School of Medicine reveals that more areas of the brain than previously thought are involved in determining the location of pain."
~ The Glass Brain -- "It is one of the great dreams of brain research to visualize at once all nerve cells and their connections of a complete brain in 3D. Scientists of the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich and the Vienna University of Technology (TU Vienna) have now come a step closer to turning this dream into reality."
~ Confrontation of good versus evil: Re-examining the Stanford Prison Experiment [The World's Fair] -- "Philip Zimbardo, professor emeritus of psychology at Stanford University and the guy who conducted the Stanford Prison Experiment in 1971, writes today [Friday] in the Chronicle of Higher Education about the lessons and conduct of that pyschological test."
~ Brain damage, evolution, and the future of morality -- More on the recent morality study from Slate.
~ Study: Some People Love to Provoke Anger -- "While most people are upset or concerned when someone gives them an angry look, there are others -- with high levels of testosterone -- who actually enjoy angry expressions and seek ways to provoke them, new research suggests."


CULTURE
~ HIV patient names to be tracked in all 50 states by year's end -- "The names of people infected with HIV will be tracked in all 50 states by the end of 2007, marking a victory for federal health officials and a quiet defeat for AIDS advocates who wanted to keep patients' names out of state databases."
~ Today's excessive religious hysteria [Pharyngula] -- "A gay rights group called Soulforce had a sit-in (it warms my heart to hear the traditions of the 1960s have not completely died) in the offices of Al Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and typical homophobe. One of our local bible scholars, Reuben David, an assistant professor of Communication Arts at North Central University, took it upon himself to criticize these militant gay rights activists...."
~ Republicans, the Party of Despotism -- "Glenn Greenwald reports on the expressly stated affinity of leading Republican presidential candidates for dictatorial powers. Two of the three leading Republican candidates for President either embrace or are open to embracing the idea that the President can imprison Americans without any review, based solely on the unchecked decree of the President."
~ Dobson Disputes U.S. News Story -- "James Dobson takes it back: Maybe Fred Thompson is a Christian after all."
~ What’s the One Thing Big Business and the Left Have in Common? -- "(Believe it or not, it could be a desire for universal health care.)"
~ Nepal's endangered peace process -- "Scarred by continuing violence, the peace process is in serious trouble,"
~ Top GOP operative goes from Bush defender to Bush critic -- "A political operative who served as one of the president's top campaign strategists says he's splitting with the administration, telling the New York Times that he's disappointed in the way Bush has handled everything from Abu Ghraib to Hurricane Katrina...."
~ Alcoholic Energy Drinks -- a Threat to Kids? -- "Spykes Raises Concerns Among Underage Drinking Experts; Company Denies Products Aimed at Teens."


HABITATS/TECHNOLOGY
~ 51 Ways to Go Green -- "Can one person save the environment? Actually, yes. Here are 51 ways you can help build a greener planet."
~ Jellyfish Have Human-Like Eyes -- "Here's lookin' like you, babe. Jellyfish have many eyes that serve different purposes. One set works like ours."
~ Report Details Global Biological Change -- "From plankton in the oceans to polar bears in the far north and seals in the far south, global warming has begun changing life on Earth."
~ The power of verification in science -- "Science is a collective, multi-layered process consisting of three steps."
~ On the Superiority of String Theory [Uncertain Principles] -- "Physics is of greater worth than biology, theoretical physics is more worthy than experimental physics, and high-energy particle theory is the most fundamental and important field in the history of human thought. Rather than deriding string theory as an excessively mathematical dead end, as many anti-science America-hating Bush-bashing politically correct feminist shrub-hugging liberal communist dupes do, we should celebrate it as the greatest achievement in the history of human thought." Who you calling a shrub-hugger?
~ Mobile Entertainment Reigns Supreme at CTIA 2007 -- "If there was an overriding theme to the Spring edition of the 2007 CTIA trade show, it was entertainment. What buzz existed was all about phones that show movies, television shows, or play music in one or another format or means of delivery."
~ Possible Solution to Mystery of Great Pyramid's Contruction -- "A French architect claims Egypt's Great Pyramid of Khufu was built with use of a spiral ramp to hoist huge stone blocks into place."
~ Campaigns Save Energy With Hybrid Cars -- "This year's presidential candidates are trying to get good mileage out of getting good mileage. The candidates, who do a lot of talking about the need for greater energy efficiency, are not just asking who walks the walk but also, who drives the hybrid?"


INTEGRAL/BUDDHIST
~ Cheat Death And Grow Younger With These 44 Longevity Tips -- Not really integral related, but it covers all the quadrants. I'm a big fan of #11.
~ Kundalini description -- Mystery of Existence posts a piece by Kara-Leah Masina on Kundalini.
~ Sense and Soul: An Integral Spirituality at the Ken Wilber blog.
~ Appropriateness for a Third Time from Aaron at Anxious Living.
~ Demotivated, Steve P. -- Umguy deconstructs Steve Pavlina.
~ Sound of Silence at Hokai's Blogue.
~ The Singularity is Here -- From ~c4Chaos -- "Ray Kurzweil was so wrong. The Singularity is not near. She's here! She's lying beside me. I turn to my right and there she is, looking deep into my eyes, smiling. She puts her arms around me and starts to whisper."
~ Buddhist Geeks 13: Genpo Roshi on Big Mind.


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