20150331 - cartoon

.... when a hobby of photography is dangerous... !!!








http://funny-pictures.funmunch.com/cartoon/

20150330 - mandala

Mandala (Sanskrit: मण्डल Maṇḍala, 'circle') is a spiritual and ritual symbol in Hinduism and Buddhism, representing the Universe. The basic form of most mandalas is a square with four gates containing a circle with a center point. Each gate is in the general shape of a T. Mandalas often exhibit radial balance.
The term is of Sanskrit origin. It appears in the Rig Veda as the name of the sections of the work, but is also used in other religions and philosophies, particularly Buddhism.
In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of practitioners and adepts, as a spiritual guidance tool, for establishing a sacred space, and as an aid to meditation and trance induction.
In common use, mandala has become a generic term for any diagram, chart or geometric pattern that represents the cosmos metaphysically or symbolically; a microcosm of the universe.


 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandala

20150329 - daylight saving time

Europe Daylight Saving Time

In Europe Daylight Saving Time is commonly referred to as Summer Time. Summer Time begins at 1:00 a.m. UTC (GMT) on the last Sunday in March. On the last Sunday in October areas on Summer Time (Daylight Saving Time) return to Standard Time at 1:00 am UTC (GMT).
-- Netherlands starts Daylight Saving Time on
Sunday March 29, 2015 at 2:00 AM local time.

-- Netherlands ends Daylight Saving Time on
Sunday October 25, 2015 at 3:00 AM local time.

20150328 - drones

Drones: they come in peace

Forget the scare stories about spying or remote assassinations. Drones - the small unmanned aircraft that may soon fill our skies - are here to help

By Edward Helmore

7:00AM GMT 22 Jan 2014

Lying on the shelves of Brig Gen Al Palmer's office, opposite a photograph of the air chief posing in front of a fighter jet, are all the components one would need to build a small drone. Scattered about are motors, circuit boards, propellers and body parts. A few yards behind me, in the corridor, hangs a six-rotor "hexacopter", designed to capture aerial footage so clear it could be used to count the individual tiles on the roof of a house.

But, despite the brigadier general's military background, these are not drones designed to patrol the tribal regions of Pakistan, picking off terrorists with precision missiles. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. Palmer is developing "happy" drones - unmanned aircraft of all shapes and sizes that will deliver pizzas, track wildlife, survey crops and search for people lost in the wilderness.

"We don't even like to call them drones," says the retired airman, leaning back in his chair behind a large desk. What Palmer's team, based at the University of North Dakota, are developing, he says, are Unmanned Aircraft Systems (or UAS for short) that are going to benefit - and, potentially, revolutionise - society. By the end of the next decade, according to experts, there could be more than 10,000 unmanned aircraft roving the skies of America, with a number not too far behind that inhabiting UK air space.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos's announcement just before Christmas - that his company hoped to start a drone delivery service, ferrying products to customers' doors within half-an-hour of a purchase - was not as outlandish a prediction as some at the time suggested. If tests go to plan and regulatory barriers, and concerns about privacy, can be overcome, drones are set to be the next "big bang" in aviation, ushering in an era thus far only dreamt of by the creators of films like Blade Runner or Metropolis.

"There is huge potential," says Chris Anderson, a former editor of Wired magazine who now runs his own drone manufacturer, 3D Robotics. "Farming is going to be the big commercial market over the next decade." But there are dozens of other industries with "infrastructure problems", as Anderson puts it, where drones could prove invaluable.

 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/10586430/Drones-they-come-in-peace.html

20150327 - e-cigarettes

 

 

E-Cigarettes Under Fire

No-Smoke Electronic Cigarettes Draw Criticism From FDA, Medical Groups

By Daniel J. DeNoon
WebMD Feature

Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

WebMD Archive

"They are electronic, alternative smoking devices that simulate the sensation of smoking. They do not expose the user, or others close by, to harmful levels of cancer-causing agents and other dangerous chemicals normally associated with traditional tobacco products."

-- Craig Youngblood, president of InLife, an e-cigarette company.

"They are nicotine delivery devices intended to be used like a cigarette. What happens to someone who stops inhaling the tars of cigarettes and inhales only nicotine? We don't know. There is at least the potential for harm."

-- Norman Edelman, MD, chief medical officer, American Lung Association

"We are concerned about the potential for addiction and abuse of these products. We don't want the public to perceive them as a safer alternative to cigarettes."

-- Rita Chapelle, FDA spokeswoman.

E-cigarettes don't make real smoke, yet they've ignited a firestorm of controversy.

You may have already seen e-cigarettes -- electronic cigarettes -- for sale on the Internet or at one of at least 62 kiosks at malls across the U.S.

E-cigarettes are safer than cigarettes, their makers say or imply. But until e-cigarettes are proven safe, the FDA is refusing to let them into the country and may soon ban their sale, as major U.S. medical associations have asked.

"We have an open investigation into this issue," FDA spokeswoman Rita Chappelle tells WebMD. "What is happening right now is FDA has reviewed several e-cigarettes, e-cigars, and e-pipes, and have refused entry of these products into the country. We acted because these products appear to require FDA approval for marketing, and have not been reviewed by the agency."

An informal FDA review of some of these products "indicated that these products are not currently approved," Chappelle says.

If the FDA bans e-cigarettes, an action many observers believe imminent, it won't be the first North American agency to do so. Last month, Canada's health agency banned the importation or sale of e-cigarette products.

 http://www.webmd.com/smoking-cessation/features/ecigarettes-under-fire

20150325 - street art

Street art

Street art is visual art created in public locations, usually unsanctioned artwork executed outside of the context of traditional art venues. The term gained popularity during the graffiti art boom of the early 1980s and continues to be applied to subsequent incarnations. Stencil graffiti, wheatpasted poster art or sticker art, and street installation or sculpture are common forms of modern street art. Video projection, yarn bombing and Lock On sculpture became popularized at the turn of the 21st century.
The terms "urban art", "guerrilla art", "post-graffiti" and "neo-graffiti" are also sometimes used when referring to artwork created in these contexts. Traditional spray-painted graffiti artwork itself is often included in this category, excluding territorial graffiti or pure vandalism.
Artists who choose the streets as their gallery are often doing so from a preference to communicate directly with the public at large, free from perceived confines of the formal art world. Street artists sometimes present socially relevant content infused with esthetic value, to attract attention to a cause or as a form of "art provocation".
Street artists often travel between countries to spread their designs. Some artists have gained cult-followings, media and art world attention, and have gone on to work commercially in the styles which made their work known on the streets.


 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_art
 http://blocs.xtec.cat/streetart/definition-of-street-art/definitionwhat-is-street-art/
 http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/study-break/easy-reading/graffiti-and-street-art-level-1

20150324 - world tuberculosis day

Gear up to end TB

Background

On World TB Day, 24 March, WHO is calling for new commitments and new action in the global fight against tuberculosis – one of the world’s top infectious killers.
There has been tremendous progress in recent years, and the world is on track to meet the Millennium Development Goal of reversing the spread of TB by 2015. But this is not enough. In 2013, 9 million people fell ill with TB and 1.5 million died.
Clearly, we all need to do more.

WHO strategy to end the global TB epidemic

Last May, at the World Health Assembly, governments agreed on ambitious new 20-year (2016-2035) strategy to end the global TB epidemic.
WHO’s End TB Strategy envisions a world free of TB with zero deaths, disease and suffering. It sets targets and outlines actions for governments and partners to provide patient-centred care, pursue policies and systems that enable prevention and care, and drive research and innovations needed to end the epidemic and eliminate TB.
On World TB Day 2015, WHO calls on governments, affected communities, civil society organizations, health-care providers, and international partners to join the drive to roll out this strategy and to reach, treat and cure all those who are ill today.
24 March 2015 - the day to change gear and speed up global efforts to end TB altogether.

Related links

• Global strategy and targets for TB prevention, care and control after 2015
• WHO's work on TB
• Fact sheet on TB
• World TB Day 2014: Reach the 3 million

 http://www.who.int/campaigns/tb-day/2015/event/en/

20150323 - philately

Philately




The Penny Red was used in the UK for many years, and comes in hundreds of variations which are subject to detailed study by philatelists.



Philately is the study of stamps and postal history and other related items. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting, which does not necessarily involve the study of stamps. It is possible to be a philatelist without owning any stamps.^[1] For instance, the stamps being studied may be very rare, or reside only in museums.

Etymology

The word "philately" is the English version of the French word "philatélie", coined by Georges Herpin in 1864. Herpin stated that stamps had been collected and studied for the previous six or seven years and a better name was required for the new hobby than timbromanie, which was disliked. He took the Greek root word φιλ(ο)- phil(o)-, meaning "an attraction or affinity for something", and ἀτέλεια ateleia, meaning "exempt from duties and taxes" to form "philatelie". The introduction of postage stamps meant that the receipt of letters was now free of charge, whereas before stamps it was normal for postal charges to be paid by the recipient of a letter.
The alternative terms "timbromania", "timbrophily" and "timbrology" gradually fell out of use as philately gained acceptance during the 1860s.

 

Origins

The origins of philately lie in the observation that in a number of apparently similar stamps, closer examination may reveal differences in the printed design, paper, watermark, colour, perforations and other areas of the stamp. Comparison with the records of postal authorities may or may not show that the variations were intentional, which leads to further inquiry as to how the changes could have happened, and why. To make things more interesting, thousands of forgeries have been produced over the years, some of them very good, and only a thorough knowledge of philately gives any hope of detecting the fakes.


 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philately

20150322 - solar eclipse

The Stunning Experience of a Total Solar Eclipse

By Bill Andrews | March 20, 2015 10:01 am

The eclipse as seen from the group’s viewing site outside Longyearbyen. Photo by Valerie Hwang


In a word, this morning’s solar eclipse was perfect.
As part of Discover‘s partnership with Travel Quest International, I’ve been here in snowy Svalbard for the last few days — an amazing journey full of reindeer, answering questions and snow.
And now, my first-ever solar eclipse.

We had to get up early to catch an 8 a.m. bus (many of us still jet-lagged) and it was ridiculously cold (-4 degrees Fahrenheit, down to -13 during totality, when things got dark), but even still, the eclipse was just perfect from our site about 4 miles south of Longyearbyen. It looked like someone had Photoshopped the sky to make it look brighter, crisper, and more surreal than should be possible in real life. And, as I hear is always the case, it was over much too quickly.
Even seasoned eclipse-chasers, folks who have eight or 10 or more under their belt, all said this year’s Svalbard eclipse will be the one to beat. The conditions were superb. The air was crystal clear, so the sun and moon’s edges were sharp lines, making the famous “diamond ring” patterns appear bright and razor-edged. The extreme northern latitude (our observing site was above 78° N) meant the sun hung low in the sky, framing it perfectly in a gap in the mountains and even adding the illusion of greater size that occurs when the moon or sun are near the horizon.
And with the east and west directions being almost entirely snowy plains, we could see not just the approaching darkness, but also the elusive shadow bands rippling on the flat white ground.

The Experience of Totality

The sun did its part too. Its delicate corona literally took our breath away during totality, when the moon’s face fully covered the sun’s and we finally experienced the unique sensation of being in the moon’s shadow. The sun also dazzled with a solar prominence in the midst of totality, large enough to be visible with bare eyes. I didn’t even know such a thing was possible!
But before we knew it, the almost 2.5-minute totality was over. Everyone was shocked at how soon the moon moved off the sun’s face, taking a smaller and smaller bite out of the sun until it was gone, like nothing even happened. We were sad to see the moment end, but it had been such a perfect one that no one could begrudge its passing.
Even now, hours later, the crowd is still happily abuzz with the perfect eclipse, and how lucky we all were to see such a pristine example of one of the sky’s most famous shows.

Svalbard Skies

My role here as one of the tour astronomers has been to help all the people in our group (almost 400 in total, the biggest single tour group ever to visit Svalbard) appreciate and prepare for the eclipse. For the most part that involves answering questions and looking to make sure no one’s being unsafe, both in terms of eye safety with the sun and cold safety outdoors.
And though this morning was surely the highlight of our trip, we still have another day and a half left in Svalbard, where we can keep trying for glimpses of aurora and other fun arctic adventures. Stay tuned for those updates.


 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/fieldnotes/2015/03/20/total-solar-eclipse/#.VQ6l9Y5AvEQ

20150321 - what time

What Time Should You Eat?

We’re all on different schedules and have different body clocks, and our hunger kicks in at different times. If you’re someone for whom the (lunch) bell doesn’t toll until 1:30 p.m. or who likes to dine after 9 p.m. like the Spaniards, is that a problem?

There is no right answer for everyone and no real schedule for when you should eat. What’s more important is knowing your body. “We don’t rely on our own body cues enough,” says New York University clinical associate professor of nutrition and food studies Lisa Sasson. “Be more in tune with your body. If you’re not hungry, don’t eat.”

What Sasson considers more important than what time you eat is what’s on your plate (or in your bowl). “To wake up and have a Coke and a doughnut is not going to do anything positive,” says Sasson. Instead she emphasizes that the meals you eat should be a balance of carbohydrates, proteins and fat. “If you have a piece of toast, an egg, and an orange, that will be more satisfying than a fruit shake,” says Sasson. “When you have a mixed meal it modulates [blood sugar] so the sugar is maintained and so you don’t have this drop, which gets you hungry.” Bottom line: A balanced meal will help stabilize glucose levels and eliminate that feeling of crashing.


Though we all have been reminded that breakfast is the most-important meal of the day, Sasson recognizes some people are not morning people. “I would never tell anyone not to have breakfast,” she says, “but someone may have a cup of coffee and then not eat breakfast until 11 a.m.” If you suddenly feel hungry soon after you ate your morning meal, that breakfast didn’t satisfy your needs. “If you have an apple for breakfast, that may not do it,” she says. “Having an apple with nuts will satisfy you longer, because nuts have proteins.” Sasson advises paying close attention to your body’s cues throughout the day. Look at the sugar levels in your foods, as they are usually the culprit for the highs and lows. “They cause a peak in blood sugar and then a plummet,” she says. “You want to modulate your blood sugar by eating healthfully.” Eating oatmeal for breakfast or a veggie soup like split pea paired with whole-wheat crackers at lunch are good examples. “Beans are great,” notes Sasson, “as they are soluble fiber, which especially modulates blood glucose levels.”
When and what you eat depends on each individual — both what was consumed and the person’s activity levels. “For most of us, with the exception of serious athletes, late-night snacking is a danger zone,” says Sasson. “Metabolism is all about calories, and it’s the amount of calories you consume.“ Therefore, those little snacks you sneak in after dinner can add extra calories to your day. Instead, opt for a healthy dessert like Peanut Butter Mousse or Fresh Fruit and Mint Salad and call it a night. “Before you go to sleep your body should be in a fasting state,” says Sasson.

If you do wake up starving, it may be time to examine your eating schedule. Or if you have no desire to eat breakfast, that could mean you overate the night before. Sasson suggests eating less at night and focusing on how that change impacts the way you feel the next morning. “Usually people feel better,” she says. If changing when and what you eat doesn’t change hunger levels, it could be a sign of a bigger problem. Hunger, fatigue and problems with urination are some of the first signs of diabetes, explains Sasson. She urges anyone who is experiencing those symptoms to make an appointment with their doctor..
If there is a time of day to watch out, for it’s 4 o’clock. “That’s when I tell people to eat something. If you ignore it then, you’ll be famished by dinner,” says Sasson. If you’re stuck at work, don’t go for the snack machine. “Bring something to work,” she suggests. “Crackers and cheese, fruit and nuts, yogurt, edamame or popcorn — anything non-perishable.” Giving yourself a boost in the afternoon won’t add more calories to your daily total; it actually may take some away. “It really helps to eat [at 4 p.m.] because you will make healthier choices at dinner. If you’re starving, you’ll eat the first thing you see,” says Sasson.


 https://www.yahoo.com/health/what-time-should-you-eat-from-food-network-113879563423.html

20150320 - keukenhof

Keukenhof 2015 season 

Willem van Gogh, a relative of Vincent van Gogh, officially opened the 66^th edition of Keukenhof today. This year is the Van Gogh year at Keukenhof. The most beautiful spring garden in the world is open from Friday 20 March up to and including Sunday 17 May. Keukenhof is already in full bloom.

2015 is exactly 125 years since the death of Vincent van Gogh. This moment was seized by Keukenhof to honour the famous Dutch artist.This season there is a great deal that links Van Gogh and Keukenhof.

The highlight of the Van Gogh year is a flower bulb mosaic of Vincent van Gogh covering an area of 250m2 and made up of thousands of tulips. The flower shows display wonderful combinations of thousands of tulips and his paintings. In 2015 there is a lovely new Selfie garden inspired by the self-portraits of Van Gogh in a modern setting.

Even 125 years after his death Van Gogh is still inspiring plenty of people. Willem van Gogh, as a relative, is very proud that so many tourists and Dutch visitors find inspiration at Keukenhof and from the work of Vincent van Gogh.

In his welcoming speech Bart Siemerink, the director of Keukenhof, talked about the new additions to the park. The Tulpomania exhibition showing the history of the tulip is new this year. Eight new inspirational gardens have been laid, and a new maze has been created especially for children.

Keukenhof is expecting 800.000 visitors from 100 countries this year. The park is open to the public from Friday 20 March up to and including Sunday 17 May 2015.


 http://www.keukenhof.nl/en/

20150319 - tulips

Tulips

There once was a flower that was unable to settle down anywhere. From the mountains in Kazakhstan, the flower bulb wandered about in Persia, China and Turkey. Until a Dutch scientist took the bulb with him to a small European country. There the flower enjoyed the climate and the soil, and the inhabitants immediately fell in love with the flower and soon designated it a national symbol. It all sounds like a fairy tale, but this is the true story of the tulip.
Since the 17th century, tulips have been transforming the Dutch landscape into a colourful tapestry every spring. A large part of these - some 1.5 million tulips - wind up in gardens and vases the world over via auctions.

Most of the tulip farms in Holland are located in the Noordoostpolder (Northeast polder), in the province of Flevoland, and in the area known as the Kop van Noord-Holland. The Kop even boasts the largest continuous bulb-growing area in Holland. Another well-known bulb-growing area is the Bollenstreek near Leiden, home of the world-famous Keukenhof. All three of these areas are only half an hour away from Amsterdam by car. The largest flower auction in the world, FloraHolland in Aalsmeer, is also just 30 minutes from the capital.

Tulip season

The weather in Holland is suited to tulip growing, with cool springs just as they begin to bloom. The soil in the polders is always being drained, making it perfect for tulip bulbs that like well-drained but moist soils. There are so many types of tulip varieties, that the Dutch Horticultural society has grouped them into several groups, with differing species within those groups. From mid-March to the end of May the tulips transform large parts of Holland into a colorful patchwork. So when you go to Holland in April to see the tulips bloom, no matter where you look, the fields will be different and no doubt gorgeously colorful.

Seven million bulbs and counting

Admiration for the tulip knows no bounds. Seven million tulips bloom annually in Keukenhof, the world's largest flower park. And during the flower parade, dozens of floats adorned with tulips and other flowers parade through the tulip fields of the Bollenstreek (Bulb Region). Both flower events attract hundreds of thousands of flower lovers. Treat yourself to an unparalledled palette of colours and aromas in the pre-eminent tulip country of the world.

Getting there

Come to Holland in mid-April to see the tulips in bloom in their peak season. Tulip season extends from the end of March to the middle of May, but mid-April usually sports the most prolific blossoms. Keukenhof in Lisse is covered by over 7000 bulbs in the spring and is one of the best places to get a good look at many different varieties of tulip. But during the same time of year, all you really need is to take the train or bike through the countryside to see the tulips growing and blooming in field after field. If you take the train from Amsterdam to Den Helder, you will traverse the bulb-growing areas in the north of the province, and on the way back, you can make a stop to see the cheese market of Alkmaar.

20150318 - live forever

Will People Ever Live Forever?

As we grow old, our cells begin to betray us

By Thomas Kirkwood

If you were given a free hand to plan how your life will end—your last weeks, days, hours and minutes—what would you choose? Would you, for example, want to remain in great shape right up until the last minute and then go quickly? Many people say they would choose that option, but I see an important catch. If you are feeling fine one moment, the very last thing you would want is to drop dead the next. And for your loving family and friends, who would suffer instant bereavement, your sudden death would be a cruel loss. On the other hand, coping with a long, drawn-out terminal illness is not great either, nor is the nightmare of losing a loved one into the dark wastes of dementia.
We all prefer to avoid thinking about the end of life. Yet it is healthy to ask such questions, at least sometimes, for ourselves and to correctly define the goals of medical policy and research. It is also important to ask just how far science can help in efforts to cheat death.


 http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/will-people-ever-live-forever/

20150317 - sandscape

Artist Draws Huge 'Sandscape' Patterns On UK Beaches Using Only A Rake

Inspired by the work of sand artist Tony Platt, Chris Howarth, 25, bought himself a rake and headed to his local beach to give it a try

An artist has created mesmerising pattens in the sand of British beaches using a rake - only for them to be washed away when the tide comes in.

Chris Howarth, 25, spends an hour creating the detailed designs by dragging a rake through the sand.
Inspired by the work of sand artist Tony Platt, Chris bought himself a rake and headed to his local beach to give it a try.

Chris says he doesn’t mind that his designs only have a limited time-span.
He said: "I like the idea of creating these pieces and then they just wash away.’
The artist describes his work as ‘temporary graffiti’ and approaches each beach like a blank canvas, placing his rake into the sand and experimenting with lines and swirls until he spots patterns emerging.
He said: ‘I wanted to give something to the public when they are out and about - something totally different on the beach.’
Chris has now been commissioned to create some of his unique artwork for local Cornish businesses, including a law firm from Truro and a Falmouth based festival organiser.


 https://uk.news.yahoo.com/artist-creates-intricate-patterns-on-the-beach-using-only-a-rake-161927373.html#hBQDfIT

20150316 - cartoon

20150315 - superfoods

SUPERFOODS

...just another foolish hype.. !!!

Superfoods are a special category of foods found in nature. By definition they are calorie sparse and nutrient dense meaning they pack a lot of punch for their weight as far as goodness goes. They are superior sources of anti-oxidants and essential nutrients - nutrients we need but cannot make ourselves.

We all may be adding more salads and vegetables to our diets, but concern over the quality of foods grown on mineral depleted soils makes Superfoods an intelligent choice. For more information on how to use Superfoods in your day to day life please have a look at our our superfood greens and browse the pages on 5 most important categories of superfoods below.

 http://foodmatters.tv/superfoods

20150314 - fantasy novels

 

The top of all time.....................


All links take you to the Goodreads profile for a book, or the first book in the series. The number after the author is the total votes a title/series received.

1. A Song of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin – 182
2. The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien - 130
3. The Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss -116
4. The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson - 85
5. The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan - 79
6. The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson - 75
7. The Gentleman Bastards by Scott Lynch - 66
8. Discworld by Terry Pratchett - 55
9. The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher - 47
10. Harry Potter by JK Rowling - 46
11. The First Law by Joe Abercrombie - 41
    
    
    
     http://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/1ynqcm/the_top_rfantasy_novels_of_all_time_results_thread/

20150313 - terry pratchett

Sir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English author of fantasy novels, especially comical works^.He is best known for his Discworld series of about 40 volumes. Pratchett's first novel, The Carpet People, was published in 1971, and since his first Discworld novel, The Colour of Magic, was published in 1983, he wrote two books a year on average. His 2011 Discworld novel Snuff was at the time of its release the third-fastest-selling hardback adult-audience novel since records began in the UK, selling 55,000 copies in the first three days.
Pratchett, who has sold more than 85 million books worldwide in 37 languages, was the UK's best-selling author of the 1990s.
Pratchett was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1998 and was knighted for services to literature in the 2009 New Year Honours. In 2001 he won the annual Carnegie Medal for The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents, the first Discworld book marketed for children. He received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 2010.
In December 2007, Pratchett announced that he was suffering from early-onset Alzheimer's disease. He later made a substantial public donation to the Alzheimer's Research Trust^] and filmed a television programme chronicling his experiences with the disease for the BBC. Pratchett died on 12 March 2015, aged 66.

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Pratchett

20150312 - diets

The Best And Worst Diets Ranked By Experts

Atkins, DASH, Dukan? Here are the diets you need to try and the ones you really should avoid to stay healthy, slim and happy in 2015

By Kim Hookem-Smith | Yahoo Lifestyle – Wed, Jan 7, 2015 11:45 GMT

One diet has been top of nutritionists' lists in recent years but most of us still haven't cottoned on - and some of the most famous ones are actually thwarting our health and fitness plans.

So US News has had experts look into 32 diets to work out which ones are worth it and which ones really aren't.

Topline: Go DASH, TLC, Mayo, Med or Weight Watchers and avoid the Dukan, Atkins, Paleo and 5:2.

1. DASH

The top diet of the year is DASH - which has actually held the top slot for a couple of years. Originally created to help people with high blood pressure, the 'Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension' diet has been deemed the healthiest, with a nutritious eating plan that can help with diabetes and support heart health. We wrote about it back in 2012, and are glad it's stuck around. If you're keen to lose weight and keep it off, this is a very good place to start.

2. TLC Diet
This sounds nice and caring. Eating well is all about looking after yourself and even though in this case TLC stands for Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes not Tender Loving Care, this diet helps cardiovascular health by drastically reducing levels of saturated fat. It is do-it-yourself, which may not work for people who prefer more hand-holding, but that also makes it more affordable than some of the popular big-name diets.

The next three diets, completing the top five, were tied:
3. Mayo Clinic Diet, Mediterrenean Diet & Weight Watchers Diet
The Mayo Clinic's diet is a great nutritional plan aimed at lifelong eating. It's effective for moderate weight loss, but not for anything more, so it might be one to move onto for the maintenance phase. It's good for managing or reducing risk of diabetes too.
The Med diet is based on the healthy eating habits of those who live in the area - lots of fresh produce, olive oil, tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables.
Weight Watchers is described as 'smart and effective' for both long and short-term weight loss, plus there is the added bonus of support services.



 https://uk.lifestyle.yahoo.com/the-best-and-worst-diets-ranked-by-experts-114542328.html

20150311 - ceres

NASA’s Dawn Probe Has Arrived at Dwarf Planet Ceres

By Sarah Scoles | March 6, 2015 10:27 am

Today, dwarf planet Ceres became the first such planet to have company over. The visitor is NASA’s Dawn spacecraft, which reached its final destination — an orbit around this 590-mile-wide ball of ice and rock — after more than seven years in space.
And now that Dawn is finally all up on this space rock, astronomers can take sharp snapshots of its surface and learn about what makes Ceres Ceres, which they’ll do for the next 16 months. In the process, they will investigate why some planet-like objects didn’t quite grow into planets (sorry, Pluto — we’re looking at you), what the solar system was like billions of years ago, and what that tells us about Earth today.

A New Day for Dawn

NASA launched Dawn in 2007, way back when Steve Jobs first announced this crazy thing called an iPhone. It traveled for four years to arrive at Vesta, a giant asteroid, where it spun around the surface for 14 months. Then, in 2012, Dawn’s ion drive (for real) propelled it out of orbit and back on its journey.
It began its approach to Ceres in December, beaming back HD images of the dwarf planet starting in late January.
Today, it becomes not just the first spacecraft to visit a dwarf planet but also the first spacecraft to orbit two different non-earthly objects. Guinness Book: Are you listening?

Origin Story

Sicilian astronomer Giuseppe Piazzi first saw Ceres in 1801. He called it a planet. But soon, other observers began to see more stuff like Ceres in the same region of space. That area became known as the asteroid belt, and Ceres became an asteroid. But Ceres is huge. If you spread its surface over the United States, it would cover more than one-third of the continental land.
So in 2006, at the same time that Pluto got demoted, Ceres received a promotion: both “bodies” (as astronomers call them) are now officially dwarf planets. They have enough gravity to pull themselves into spheres, but they haven’t swept up or kicked out all the debris in their orbits.


 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2015/03/06/nasa-dawn-ceres/#.VQBDq45AvEQ

20150310 - mobile phone

Is Your Mobile Phone Brainwashing You?

Smartphones have taken away our boundaries and over our lives, says unplugging expert Orianna Fielding

By Kim Hookem-Smith | Health & Fitness On Trial – Tue, Mar 3, 2015 18:40 GMT

“I realised I wasn’t awake. My life wasn’t my own,” says Orianna Fielding, explaining why she’s become a digital detoxing expert.

Fielding moved to Costa Brava in Northern Spain for a better quality of life, and after a while managed to slow down to the pace of life there – allowing herself to relax and just ‘be’.
Until the smart phone came along.“The world was on to me 24/7 – I was 100 per cent digitally connected. But I realised that I was personally disconnected from my real surroundings. I was in the most beautiful place, where people would come to escape, and I couldn’t escape my phone.”
What Are Our Phones Really Doing To Us?
It’s been creeping up on us, scientific study by scientific study, that perhaps these pocket gateways to the internet, are doing us more harm than good. And with today's warnings from scientists that we're 'offloading' our intuition to these machines, it's time to take a good, hard look at our relationship with our smartphones.
They change our brain chemistry. EEG tests have revealed that the brains of those who use smartphones compared to those who use regular phones are different. We are literally changing the shape of our brain.
And it’s been claimed that using two screens (such as Tweeting through a new TV show on Netflix) can cause a kind of ‘brain damage’.
Not to mention the fact that our over-reliance on technologies such as digital maps mean our ‘caveman’ brains are withering – affecting our memory and other innate skills perfected by evolution.
They mess with our emotions. Studies have found that Facebook negatively affects our self-esteem and can increase feelings of depression. Constant comparisons to others’ airbrushed lives can lead to loneliness and feeling your life isn’t as good.  ‘Connected but alone’ is now a Thing. We’re relying on the immediacy of a tap on the phone, instead of experiencing the real intimacy of personal relationships.

They rob us of sleep. Both physiologically and psychologically, using your mobile phone in the hours before bedtime can prevent you sleeping or give you a disturbed night. The blue light the screens emit wakes our brains up and constantly hoping for a response to our latest Tweet, status update or Instagram image keeps us mentally alert.

And they can harm us physically too. Overuse can give us RSI, neck and back problems. And smartphones are teaming with illness-causing bacteria.

Even if you think you have a healthy relationship with your phone – you might well be storing up problems for the future.

Signs Your Phone Is The Boss
In her book Unplugged, Fielding has laid out 12 signs that you’re suffering from digital overload. Many directly relate to mobile phones.

They include:

• Checking your phone first thing in the morning, getting up in the night to check for messages or using it in bed
• Slipping away from real activities to check up on online activity
• Bumping into someone because you were looking down at your smartphone
• Getting easily distracted and finding it hard to focus fully on one area (multitasking)
• Turning to your phone (or another device) to avoid an unpleasant task or because you’re feeling stressed
• Wanting to curb your smartphone usage and not being able to stop

 https://uk.lifestyle.yahoo.com/blogs/health-blog/is-your-mobile-phone-brainwashing-you-184028221.html

20150308 - orchids

Orchidaceae

Orchidaceae is a diverse and widespread family of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and often fragrant, commonly known as the orchid family. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering plants, with between 21,950 and 26,049 currently accepted species, found in 880 genera.The determination of which family is larger is still under debate, because verified data on the members of such enormous families are continually in flux. Regardless, the number of orchid species nearly equals the number of bony fishes and more than twice the number of bird species, and about four times the number of mammal species. The family also encompasses about 6–11% of all seed plants.The largest genera are Bulbophyllum (2,000 species), Epidendrum (1,500 species), Dendrobium (1,400 species) and Pleurothallis (1,000 species).
The family also includes Vanilla (the genus of the vanilla plant), Orchis (type genus), and many commonly cultivated plants such as Phalaenopsis and Cattleya. Moreover, since the introduction of tropical species into cultivation in the 19th century, horticulturists have produced more than 100,000 hybrids and cultivars.