The Heat is ON!

I knew this day would come. I thought about it frequently enough when the weather was so chilly this past winter. Several times I specifically stated that I was tired of the cold damp weather and ready for the warm stuff. I knew then that when the summer finally heated up I’d be regretting that wish and instead wishing for cooler weather once again. In this I may as well admit it, I’m a hypocrite! Well that day has come because the heat is definitely on. At least after the sun goes down there’s still a little cooling relief that should last at least till we hit the dog days of summer, usually in August, when the temp doesn't drop much even overnight. So for now I guess I’ll just thank goodness for the beautiful summer beaches and sea breezes and cold watermelon and icy popsicles, during the day. I find I get pretty sweaty even when I go for a jog after dark so I’m also thankful for moisture wicking clothes. For all the times in between, I’m just thankful for good old fashioned A/C.

Analyzing the Poop, Neanderthal Poop!

Yep, I am blogging about getting the poop on the (fecal) matter of ancient Neanderthal poo! The significance here is through analysis of ancient fecal matter it has been determined that the Neanderthal did in fact eat veggies, so there all you paleo-dieters! And in your defense I must meekly add that the analysis also proved the Neanderthal diet did consist mostly of meat. But who knows, maybe if they’d eaten more veggies they would have lasted longer in the annals of human history. I do know the more you tube videos I see about how animals are treated (and killed) and how meat is processed, the more I like my veggies. The study that discovered the plant matter in ancient stool samples was conducted by student that asked to use the sophisticated lab equipment used to seek out organic matter (proof of life) on Mars for analyzing lowly Neanderthal poo. They are now applying for a grant to study sediment samples from even older sites.

Under the Sea

So there is an underwater lab and living arrangement the size of a school bus 63 feet below the ocean’s surface in the Florida Keys. How is it I didn’t know about this? It has room (close quarters though) for 6 and one of the researchers that’s been in there studying the reefs for effects of climate change is none other than Jacques Cousteau’s grandson, Fabien Cousteau. Fabien has spent almost a month there and says that they have collected an incredible amount of data in that short time there. The habitat is called Aquarius Reef Base and it has been the temporary home to aquanauts and scientists sine its deployment in 1993. Universities, government agencies and private industry have conducted more than 120 missions to discover, preserve, train and innovate. More than 600 scientific research papers have been published based on Aquarius science. Aquarius Reef Base is not only one of a kind; it’s also the world’s only undersea research laboratory.

Title…Motivation, Six Months ‘til Christmas, or Saw a Painted Bunting?

Motivation, Six Months ‘til Christmas, or Saw a Painted Bunting, have all been vying in my mind for today’s blog topic. I did see a painted bunting when I was at Crooked River State Park’s bird blind the other day with my great niece and it was the first I’d seen in more than two years. That made it a special event. I've been crocheting Frozen hats that would make great Christmas gifts for some little girls taken with the movie, even though I haven’t seen it yet (just a bunch of videos of different people singing Let It Go). I am a firm believer (and shopper) in the theory that it is never too early to get a jump on Christmas shopping and my hats are a great bargain at $10 a pop. Motivation is another topic I considered first because I am in continual need of it! I have lots of irons in the fire (crochet, painting, writing) along with a personal fitness goal that I am working to keep in the forefront so I can be healthy enough to do the other aforementioned for a long time! I’m just coming off a week of spending time with my twin’s granddaughter, someone he didn’t live long enough to meet, and it has been such a treat. In the 15 years he’s been gone I've always known I’d never see him alive again but while spending time with this little one I saw glimpses of what he was like when we were little and it was a wonderful surprise that I’ll always treasure. This reminder that life is so precious and does indeed go on was put right in the forefront for me this week. Over the years I've often thought of all the things I've done that my twin’s missed out on (like flying a plane, parachuting, kayaking, figuring out how to use an IPhone) and I realize that not ever having an opportunity to know his grandchildren is the saddest thing of all. Being healthy and able to spend time with the grands and greats is what I plan to consider the next time I need motivation for sticking with my fitness regime.  

Pareidolia

When you see a familiar shape in an arbitrary image, it is called a "pareidolia.” The summer afternoon stormy season is perfect for watching out for these in the sky. You might find an interesting pareidolia before or after the storm as the clouds build up before or as they break away after. Either way looking for a pareidolia is one of my favorite things to do with my grandsons. It’s handy if they have a phone to catch a photo of one too, as in the case of this one snapped with a camera phone the other evening at the Camden County High School track where I like to take an evening stroll with friends. Do you see the profile of a face gazing toward the sunset in the clouds we saw? Maybe it looks like one of the actors in the TV series The Game of Thrones or a long haired NFL player without his helmet to you or more like a Dr. Seuss character (like it does to me). Next time you get outdoors take time to look around you because you never know just what you might see. Things can be pretty interesting when you are looking up!

Make Way for Ducklings…NOT!

A woman in Canada may get life in prison for doing this. She stopped on the highway in an attempt to rescue some ducklings and a motorcycle slammed into her vehicle resulting in the death of the motorcycle driver and his daughter, his passenger. The conviction is for two counts of criminal negligence causing death, a charge that carries a maximum life sentence, and two counts of dangerous driving causing death, which comes with a maximum of 14 years in jail. She is only 25 years old and has been released until her pre-sentence hearing on Aug. 8. The accident occurred in 2010. I think this a tragedy on many levels, for the father and daughter that lost their lives and their family of course, but also for Emma Czornobaj, facing prison, possibly for life and her family because of what appears to me to have been a tragic accident. Nothing was reported on how the ducklings fared, but the message seems to me to be loud and clear-when in Canada, do NOT stop for wildlife.

Smile!

Notice the title of today’s post is a command, but you don’t have to. The thing about smiling though is there are bunch of health benefits involved when you do. Even a fake it till you make it smile is better than no smile at all and if you practice often enough a fake smile can be transformed into a genuine one. Here are some of the ways something as simple and sweet as a smile can help you…

Smiling lowers your heart rate and relaxes your body. It can even temporarily bring down your blood pressure.

Smiling is a great stress reliever. It releases endorphins that diminish stress hormones to put you in a better mood.

Smiling increases productivity at work (I always say there are lots of things I have no control over, but I can always control my attitude-especially while mowing the lawn!).

Smiling also encourages trust and empathy. It can even help lessen regret if you can smile during moments of embarrassment.

Smiling makes you look younger and more confident and it’s contagious, so smile at the folks you want to think of you as more confident and youthful.

And finally smiling adds to your longevity. People who smile live up to seven years longer than most because smiling on the outside makes you healthier on the inside.

Some of my favorite smiles are the ones I see on the faces of children (my grands and great nieces and nephews). Another place to look for a smile is in your reflection on your computer, tablet, or phone as you check out some of the humorous or inspirational memes posted on line. But no matter where you find smiles, just don’t forget to try one on for yourself soon. J!

Kids, Cars, and the First Day of Summer

Today is the first day of summer and it is turning into a hot one. I am already having lots of summer fun with grandkids, great nephews, and great nieces but today during a lull in the action while I was walking around the block to pick up my dog I was thinking about the kids and dogs left in hot cars. I was thinking about this because it was not even noon and hot as blazes already. These tragic accidents, when kids or pets are left in cars, end badly and seem to happen every summer. I could differentiate between dogs and kids because often the dogs have the windows cracked and can bark and call attention to themselves. The owners who leave them know they are in there despite the danger. With kids it seems that the parents are often on autopilot and actually forget if the child is sleeping (like ours were-all conked out after a day at the beach) and makes no protest to jar the parent into remembering they are there. I read a suggestion that I think would serve two purposes, put your cellphone in the back seat next to the baby (sad that you might remember that over your child but there is that) and the diaper bag in the front passenger seat to serve as reminders. Having the phone in the back would make you check the backseat (and notice that sleepy little lovebug) and also serve to keep the driver from texting and driving too.

Smart Technology for Man’s Best Friend

No, I’m not saying there’s an app for that but we humans have smart phones and now dogs can have smart collars. This new devise uses wireless technology in a collar your cat or dog wears and is made by PetPace. It monitors their health for you and feeds real time data to you and the vet. The collar costs 150 bucks and the monitoring fee is 15 bucks a month which considering what we spend on our pets seems pretty reasonable. Data on your pet’s temperature, pulse, respiration, activity patterns, and number of calories burned is compared with other breed specific information and if there is a discrepancy an alert goes to the owner’s smart phone and your pet’s vet. Apparently some pets tend to hide their symptoms when they are sick and this device makes sure that your pet’s disease, discomfort or pain will not go unnoticed. Now if they can develop a wireless collar that could zap fleas in real time (because everybody knows the regular old fashioned ones on the market today don’t work) I would definitely be interested.

Sitting is the New Smoking

First orange is the new black and now sitting is the new smoking. I've never watched the TV show and I managed to get through my life until this point without smoking, but sitting, I do that. The other thing is that smoking hasn't been eradicated yet even though everybody knows it’s bad for you but sitting, I do that! I mean think of the whole evolution of ergonomic chairs that swivel and conform to your contours. Think about Goldilocks breaking Baby Bears chair even though it was just right or Little Miss Muffet. And what about my bum, my mother used to tell me to sit on that whenever I asked her where I should sit. Research says sitting raises the risk of disability, diabetes, heart disease and cancer, not to mention obesity even if you hit the gym or go jogging every day! If I want to be healthy I guess I’d best not be sitting on top of the world any more either.

Kids and Caffeine

High doses of caffeine can bump blood pressure into the danger zone and spark life-threatening heart arrhythmias. It can also trigger neurologic symptoms, including seizures. These problems are especially scary when young children are consuming caffeine. A full 50 percent of reports to the National Poison Data System about energy drinks (loaded with caffeine) were involving children younger than age 6. Caffeine is also being consumed by kids (including some of my grandkids) in the guise of frappuccinos and other sweet coffee beverages. Caffeine is a drug that slowed heart rates and increased blood pressure in all the children that consumed it in recent studies and like the sugar included in soft drinks, has no nutritional value and really doesn't belong in the diets of children under the age of 18. I love my coffee in the morning as much as anyone else, but the caffeine in it is dangerous for kids and could do much more than just stunt their growth.

Happy Father’s Day

An enigma is how I often think of fathers. Maybe because I don’t remember ever being close to mine. But over time I have been around quite a few fathers and it is pretty amazing how fatherhood transforms even younger, older, and sometimes less than responsible men into goo goo talking baby snugglers. I remember how my one son drove his newborn colicky daughter around and around in the car when she cried inconsolably because that was the only way to get her to sleep. I asked him if he was worried about getting tired from driving around the neighborhood most of the night and he said no, he was more worried about the car running out of gas. Then there are the men who step up to the plate and become role models for kids that they are fathers to in heart only. I have been blessed to have one of those in my life and in the lives of my children.

Next I think about fathers, how without them where would we mothers be? The answer is in a hard place because it isn't easy playing both roles and in almost any circumstance two parents are stronger and better than one. That said I wish a happy day to the single struggling mothers too. May you find good men (positive role models) for your kids to identify with and look up to. They are out there waiting and willing. Coaches, Kung Fu instructors, uncles, brothers, grandfathers, and teachers, take time to seek them out and include them include them in your families’ lives. 

A Record Breaking (or setting) Day

Alex Trebek makes it into the Guinness Book of world records for hosting a record number of game shows, Jeopardy. Yesterday he hosted his 6,829th episode. Jeopardy is one of the shows I actually like to watch on TV too so I thought this was pretty cool. Alex Trebek is 73 years old, and looks to me to have aged pretty well. At least he has all the answers (in the form of a question) when it comes to game show longevity.

Bolivia is financing its own cable car system connecting the sprawling city of La Paz and the El Alto, high in the Andes. This cable car system is the world’s highest. When finished, it will run 10 km long and 4,000 feet above sea level, pretty amazing. Bolivian President, Evo Morales, sees this venture as a major boost for tourism in Bolivia and seems quite proud of the fact that they have not had to go outside their country for help in financing this venture. I’ll check with my brother (currently residing in Bolivia) on how much it costs to ride and get back with you on that.

Friday the 13^th

Friday the 13th is a lucky day and not necessarily bad luck. Today’s Friday has a full moon too. I've already seen some memes about Freddie on social media but I’m not for portraying Friday the 13^th in a negative light.

This Friday the 13^th kicks off the Crab Fest on Andros and with the recent rain combined with a full moon might be a perfect night to go crab watching. Andros has the largest free roaming population of land crabs in the Bahamas and they migrate from the forest to the sea to wash their eggs during the heavy summer rains. At night they identify the brightest part of the horizon with their sensitive eyes to guide them to the sea so the brightness of the full moon should help.

There is also the possibility of a large solar flare poised to send some plasma to our planet today. It may disrupt some satellites’ communications in outer orbits but should not cause harm to us. These flares are just coincidentally appearing on Friday the 13^th. They are just a part of the sun’s normal cycle.

Of course there are also plenty of people that have had the good luck to be born happy and healthy on a Friday the 13^th. So I plan to make the best of it today wherever my good luck finds me. Happy Friday the 13^th! 

Cut the Cord on Phone Charging-Go Wireless at Starbucks

Starbucks was among the first national chains to install Wi-Fi in its stores in 2001 and now they are making wireless phone charging pads a part of their tabletops so customers can charge their phones as they linger over and enjoy some pricey coffee. Over the next three years, more than 100,000 table chargers, built-in Powermat charge pads, will be installed in Starbucks' 7,500 company-owned stores in the U.S. That's about a dozen per store. Not long ago I blogged about wireless charging pads for electric cars but tabletop phone chargers will be even more useful since so many folks have cell phones, many more than folks with electric vehicles. Starbucks is just as much a trend setting techie operation as it is a trendy coffee place and they are once again getting ahead of the curve on technology. Wireless charging is now a multimillion-dollar industry but with Starbucks’ vision and help may quickly become a multibillion-dollar industry.

Simple Pleasures

Reading about the lady that wanted to celebrate her 100^th birthday doing yard work because she loved the smell of cut grass reminds me of how important the simple pleasures in life (mine especially) really are. Noisy grandkids leaving an obstacle course of hastily strewn toys, the smell of the sea, sand in the bottom of the bathtub despite rinsing with the hose and bucket out on the driveway are things that make me smile and I like remembering them long after the house returns to empty. Maybe it has something to do with how the lazy days of summer seem like prime time for memorable moments. Either way I’m glad the lady got her wish on her 100^th birthday, thanks to the help of the grounds crew at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. She pushed one of the university's mowers and then helped plant flowers near the student union on campus. I hope she gets a few more summers to smell the cut grass again in the future. Maybe for you and me it’s about taking time to smell the roses but for Trudy Price it’s the smell of cut grass and the kiss of the warm sun in the summertime. She’s a lucky lady (and I am blessed with that same kind of luck too).

Text2Quit

They stole my idea! Every morning for almost a month I sent a text message to my son (when he was living in AZ) in an attempt to motivate him to quit smoking. Now I read there’s an app (several different ones actually) for that and one program called Text2Quit is seeing some success. The researchers, from the Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University (Milken Institute SPH), used Text2Quit to convince 11 percent of smokers to ignore their cravings via text messaging in a new study, whereas only 5 percent of the control group remained smoke-free at the end of a six-month program. With Text2Quit, quitters had the option of texting back with questions and reaching out for help to fight cravings. The researchers also used saliva samples from their subjects at the end of the study to verify their results. Now Text2Quit has enrolled 75,000 people in the United States in their program, (my idea). As for the results of my month long texting campaign to encourage my son quit smoking…I received a text one day explaining that the person I was texting didn’t smoke. In fact I was texting a wrong number, not my son after all. I was just off by one digit…. Then they politely asked me to quit. 

Extreme El Niños

Especially extreme El Niños are supposed to be twice as frequent this century because of climate change. They happen when warm water spreads east across the Pacific pushing rainfall with it. These rains cause flooding in the Americas and drought in Australia. Africa can be impacted by them too. El Niño used to be defined by water temperature but more recently weather researchers are defining them by rainfall and other impacts on weather and this makes more sense to me. Extreme El Niños are predicted to occur once a decade from 1990 to 2090. In the previous 100 years one occurred only once very twenty years. In the case of an extreme El Niño usually dry regions in South America can receive ten times the usual amount of rainfall but even the normal El Niños bring more drought and rain extremes. Even though a moderate to strong El Niño is expected to form this fall and winter, it isn't expected to be strong enough to bring relief to drought stricken California. Here is to hoping the weathermen are wrong about that. I have really been enjoying the weather in Southeastern GA with my grandchildren since school has let out, not too hot so far and afternoon storms seem to be holding off until we've had time to enjoy the day. El Niño could negatively impact that too. I’m hoping it won’t. 

Summer Time Is Grandkid Time

This is true around this house anyway and I love the summer time visits. There is swimming, the beach, going to the park, and lots of watermelon. It’s fun to see the interaction between the cousins of different ages too. When the pets get into mix it’s even more fun even when the cats and Lily aren't seeing eye to eye.

Carnivorous Plant Goes Vegetarian`

Wow, if they can why not me, was my first thought. My second thought was that my combat vegetarian grandson would really like knowing about this.

So the plant I’m talking about isn't the Venus flytrap but rather a pitcher plant. Pitcher plants usually use the scent of their sweet nectar to lure unsuspecting insects to their drowning (in the bottom of the pitcher) deaths where they are then consumed. Pitcher plants grow predominately in nitrogen poor soils and thus get their nitrogen from the insects they trap and sustain themselves on…unless they are vegetarians and scientists have found that some are. In particular the pitcher plants in southeast Asia that are big enough to trap small mammals have gone vegetarian but those same small mammals contribute to their diet, just not in the way one would think when pondering carnivorous plant appetites. Upon observation (24 hour surveillance cameras) some of the giant pitchers do lure small mammals that in order to get the sweet nectar on the lid of the pitcher perch precariously on the pitcher’s rim. Instead of falling in they poop and their droppings plop in. This is the source of nitrogen the pitcher plants sustain themselves on. Other pitcher plants line the ground below the rainforest canopy catching leaf litter that decomposes in their pitchers providing even more vegetarian style nitrogen (than poop).

So here is my question when all was read and done and I sat down to ponder this…Are carnivorous plants gone vegetarian, cannibals?

Sugar, the Next Big Tobacco

Maybe not exactly, because sugar isn't prohibited to minors, but there are some striking similarities between sugar and tobacco. Both are backed by powerful political lobbies paid for by powerful behind the scenes industries. Both have powerful addictive qualities. Both are detrimental to our health and despite the fact that we may want them we really don’t need either one. The sugar I am referring to here is the highly (and chemically) refined stuff that doesn't occur in nature, namely high fructose corn syrup and sucrose (table sugar).

Look at the health issues first…Fructose, an ingredient in table sugar and high fructose corn syrup is metabolized in the liver almost exclusively and when converted to fat can scar the liver and lead to inflammation and cirrhosis. Fructose is also a simple sugar found naturally in fruit but it doesn't play an essential role in human metabolism like other sugars (glucose) found naturally occurring in carbs like starch. Fructose (unlike glucose) is not regulated by insulin and has been blamed for an increase in obesity and diabetes. Fructose consumption has also been shown to boost levels of triglycerides in the blood leading to heart disease and hardening of the arteries.

The World Health Organization is now taking a closer look at sugar’s dangers. Its Nutrition Guidance Expert Advisory Group is carrying out a review of evidence with a view toward making recommendations. I’m taking a closer look at food labels and finding that there is a lot of missing info as far as sugars goes in processed food, all the more reason to consider clean eating and avoid the processed stuff as much as possible.   

Secondary Drowning

The words secondary drowning kept popping out at me from several online news sources so I finally succumbed to reading to find out what it’s all about. The good news is that it’s not always fatal, though it can be. For some reason the word drowning always suggests a fatal or near fatal experience to me. Nevertheless, here is the definition of secondary drowning. Nonfatal or "secondary drowning" occurs when there has been an event (the child goes under and has to be pulled out or rescued) in the water and the child appears to have recovered and has been fine for a time. It is very rare, and is actually a pneumonia-like condition. Some water (from the pool or where ever the child has been rescued from) remains in the child’s lungs and insidiously creates breathing problems that can lead to death well after the “event.” This is why after a near drowning event it is a good idea to watch your child carefully and even consider getting them checked out at the ER. The parent sharing this info stated that the secondary drowning started with a later round of coughing and a distinct difference in her child’s behavior and activity level. Other things to watch for are labored breathing or shortness of breath that isn't always easily observed in youngsters. Interestingly, on a side note, a child can aspirate a peanut or particle of food (breath something into a lung while choking on something they are eating) and once lodged there, the body produces fluid in the lung around the object just like in secondary drowning. Basically secondary drowning isn't only second to a first near drowning. As the grandparent of an asthmatic grandchild I am always on the alert for chest tightness and shallow breathing issues so I hope I would recognize the signs of secondary drowning.

On another side note, I recently took my husband’s potcake out into the water for a swimming lesson at the beach and after going under at first she managed to doggie paddle to where the water was shallow enough for her to stand. The event didn’t slow her activity level in the slightest when we got back up on the beach either so I figure dogs (at least this one) aren't candidates for secondary drowning.

Despite the side note about the pup, secondary drowning isn't something to take lightly. The best defense is to keep a close eye on your child but even when you do they can slip under in an instant so the next best thing is to be alert for the signs of secondary drowning even after you fish them out and think they're in the clear. 

Disabled or Differently Abled?

I was reading about some new scientific advances in correcting deafness, I mean restoring hearing, with gene therapy. These advances using gene therapy will be much better than plain old hearing aids which just amplify sounds or even fancier cochlear implants that not everyone can use. But there are some folks that think deafness is not a disability that needs curing and instead they tend to identify with the rich culture of the deaf community. Even so I wonder if they might not be interested in having hear restored over the fixes we have today. The next big things on the horizon that I read about are more advances in biomedical technology that will create more was to be differently abled than ever before. Some examples are hearing aids that pick up wifi signals, spectacles that are really headsets like Google Glass, and walking sticks that become multifunctional prosthetic limbs. Science won’t just be fixing impaired senses. It’s already creating new ways for us to use in sensing our world too. 

ISEE-3 Phone Home, You’re No Longer Lost in Space!

Amateur astro-engineers (a team of crowd funded students at Space College) took control of the vintage spacecraft called the International Sun-Earth Explorer, originally launched in 1978. How cool is that! The team worked together and created a software simulation of the outdated hardware needed to contact ISEE-3, and finally, reached out and touched the 36-year-old spacecraft. Getting it back into an Earth orbit is another challenge that will require an assessment of the spacecraft's overall health and refinement of the techniques required to fire its engines. But if the team is successful they could send ISEE-3 on new missions. Makes me wonder how many other purportedly defunct satellites, spacecraft, and space junk could be repurposed and made useful once again.