Air pollution triggers more heart attacks than using cocaine and poses as high a risk of sparking a heart attack as alcohol, coffee and physical exertion, scientists said on Thursday.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Dirty air triggers more heart attacks than cocaine
Air pollution triggers more heart attacks than using cocaine and poses as high a risk of sparking a heart attack as alcohol, coffee and physical exertion, scientists said on Thursday.
Men's Health Can Be Affected By Diet
In a television commercial for a popular fast food chain, a father and son sit on the living room couch as the dad prepares to teach his boy an important life -- how to eat a pizza.Culinary DeLites
Honey may get grainy or change color, but it's still delicious and safe to eat.
Also: 
Two Fresco Chicken Soft Tacos are healthier than you might imagine.
Also: Tips from a "prolific dumpster diver"
A self-described "prolific dumpster diver" in the UK was mass-interviewed on Reddit yesterday, and wrote some detailed, intriguing, and potentially useful descriptions of how he lives and thrives on trash:
Besides food, what are some of the other products that you come across most frequently and use? Nothing has such a short shelf-life as food, so other things don't get come across really that regularly. Charity shops are always VERY varied so not much same-ness there, except for foot bath/massagers. Oddly I see one at least every couple of months. CRT TVs are common, as are George Foreman-style grills. Toiletries are pretty common, and there is waaaaay too much washing powder/liquid for us to use as it apparently leaks often. Flowers are really really common, we always have fresh flowers on the kitchen table and I'm gradually adding the kind of pot-plants you get in a supermarket to our small garden... Yep, the supermarket tends to throw out £50 worth of flowers per week! Currently we have three bouquets of lilies in the house.
Helpful Hints
Why add coffee or salt to your laundry?
Whiter whites
Do your white T-shirts tend to go grey? White socks look dirty no matter how many times they’re washed? Try one of these tried and trusted methods for making whites…
Gel shoe inserts that really work
Gel insoles make lofty promises like claiming to pamper your feet as you walk.
Also: 
Tiny Transistors Track Cash
These itty-bitty low power organic transistors can be placed on the surface of bank notes for security or tracking by transmitting information wirelessly to a scanner. A group of German and Japanese scientists manufacture these 250-nanometer-thick transistors using minute amounts of aluminum and gold and a special dry process. They work well on the rough surface of paper and need only three volts to operate.
These mistakes could wind up costing you money or attracting unwanted attention from the IRS.
Also: How to build your wealth
The best way to build wealth remains unchanged, but it requires absolute discipline, says one expert.
Also: The reality of a government shutdown
If the federal budget impasse isn't resolved, Americans shouldn't expect a halt to all services.
Also: City's teachers get pink slips
Critics cry foul as a Rhode Island mayor sends out nearly 2,000 layoff warnings.
Also: 
Earthquake
Hawaii jolted be quake
Magnitude-5.7 quake shakes Mexico's Gulf coast
Dead Baby Dolphin Death Toll Rises to 60 Along Gulf Coast
photo: Sheilapic76/Creative Commons
Updating the story from three days ago on dead baby dolphins washing up at 10 times the normal rate on Gulf Coast beaches: And then there were 60. Initial reports said that 17 dead baby dolphins had been discovered in Alabama and Mississippi. Article continues: Dead Baby Dolphin Death Toll Rises to 60 Along Gulf Coast
Did an ancient Roman invent "flexible glass" ?
From an interesting post this week at Beachcombing's Bizarre History Blog:
The story appears first in Petronius’ Satyricon (51 – early first century AD): ‘However, there was an artificer once who made a glass goblet that would not break. So he was admitted to the Emperor’s presence to offer him his invention; then, on receiving the cup back from the Emperor’s hands, he dashed it down on the floor. Who so startled as the Emperor? But the man quietly picked up the goblet again, which was dented as a vessel of bronze might be. Then taking a little hammer from his pocket, he easily and neatly knocked the goblet into shape again. This done, the fellow thought he was as good as in heaven already, especially when Emperor said to him, ‘Does anybody else besides yourself understand the manufacture of this glass?’ But, on his replying in the negative, Emperor ordered him to be beheaded, because if once the secret became known, we should think no more of gold than of so much dirt.’Beachcombing notes that the story was retold two centuries later, and a different incident was reported in 79 AD:
Pliny the Elder (obit 79 AD), a near contemporary, reports that in the time of Tiberius, forty years before he brought out his Natural History, a new kind of flexible glass was produced that the Emperor did everything possible to outlaw, even destroying the workshop of the inventor (‘totam officinam artificis eius abolitam’).Fable/myth? Or true? There's a discussion at the link, with a addendum suggesting that the Romans might have invented tempered glass. A different possibility that occurred to me is that a craftsman could have acquired a large lump of relatively clear amber (does amber come in clear form?) and worked into the shape of a glass (? is that possible).
It's the weather whether you like it or not
The weather phenomenon associated with rain and hail produces a valuable commodity.
Also:
Experts see a parallel between today's conditions and thousand-year dry spells that plagued the Southwest.
Also: The Prandtl-Glauert Singularity
Amazing Jet Plane Shock Collar
It's an amazing site - a cone of vapor appearing around an aircraft which is travelling at transonic speed. Known as the Prandtl–Glauert Singularity this astonishing effect simultaneously widens the eyes and drops the jaw. Yet how does it occur?
Flea Jump Mystery Solved
Forty-four years after the debate about how fleas jump began, researchers say they've solved the mystery thanks to high-speed cameras that show the insects pushing off with their toes rather than with their knees.
How to ruin a real estate listing
The biggest red flags for homebuyers might be in the way you promote your property.
Also: House has interior surprise
This three-level house has an unusual twist that’s a kid-pleasing alternative to going down the stairs.
Also: The Ten Most Precariously Placed Treehouses On Earth
Trees were obvious choices when our ancestors were selecting lofty locations in which to build house and home - but with such grand designs come natural risks. Living tens if not hundreds of feet above ground in a treehouse means it's a long, long way down should you happen to lose your footing.
Animal News
Photo: rubber bullets/Creative Commons
Just like humans, monkeys can gauge how difficult a situation is. In a ground-breaking study, Macaques trained to play video games choose to skip by difficult levels when given the option. We also have the unsolved mystery of suicidal whales; a lonely Wolverine, perhaps the only one of his species in California after a long trek; a sea turtle hospital; color-changing owls; deceptively adorable invasive species; and more in The Week in Animal News.
Article continues: The Week in Animal News: Self-Doubting Monkeys, Suicidal Whales, and More
Amish Horse Team Pulls Tractor Trailer out of Snow
Sometimes, the best solutions lie in older technologies. Jalopnik has a video by Joel Appleman of a tractor trailer stuck in a snow drift in central Pennsylvania. A friendly Amish man hauled the truck out with his team of horses.
Strange fish may set record
Alligator gars have a gator's face and a fish's scales — and a fisherman's catch may be the largest reeled in.
Also: Dolphin alert saves life of dog
An 11-year-old Doberman trapped for more than 15 hours in a canal off South Bahama Avenue on Marco Island in Florida owes his life to a dolphin that splashed and made a ruckus until a nearby homeowner responded. Turbo, belonging to Cindy Burnett of Dogwood Drive, slipped through an open fence gate on Sunday, Feb. 20, sometime after dark. At sometime during the night, he is thought to have fallen into the canal.
Just before lunch, police received a 911 call from a South Bahama resident who said she'd rescued a dog from a canal after she'd heard and seen a dolphin making a "lot of noise," Burnett said. The woman Cindy Burnett she'd found Turbo in a corner of the canal. At that stage, the dog had been able to stand in some sand because of a low tide.
Police called Burnett to tell her the dog had been found, and Burnett rushed down to the area. She had been preparing some posters asking people to look out for her pet. "He was shivering, and dehydrated, and he had some cuts on his legs I guess from trying to jump out," Burnett said. She took him home, gave him an electrolyte drink and let him rest until he regained his strength.
Burnett said she forgot to get the neighbour's name. "I'm so grateful to her," she said. "She told me the dolphin had attracted her attention to Turbo by splashing, making noises and generally causing a ruckus in the water. That's when she saw him (Turbo) in the canal. I think it's just a miracle," Burnett said. "I'm so thankful to those people."
Just before lunch, police received a 911 call from a South Bahama resident who said she'd rescued a dog from a canal after she'd heard and seen a dolphin making a "lot of noise," Burnett said. The woman Cindy Burnett she'd found Turbo in a corner of the canal. At that stage, the dog had been able to stand in some sand because of a low tide.
Police called Burnett to tell her the dog had been found, and Burnett rushed down to the area. She had been preparing some posters asking people to look out for her pet. "He was shivering, and dehydrated, and he had some cuts on his legs I guess from trying to jump out," Burnett said. She took him home, gave him an electrolyte drink and let him rest until he regained his strength.
Burnett said she forgot to get the neighbour's name. "I'm so grateful to her," she said. "She told me the dolphin had attracted her attention to Turbo by splashing, making noises and generally causing a ruckus in the water. That's when she saw him (Turbo) in the canal. I think it's just a miracle," Burnett said. "I'm so thankful to those people."
Thursday, February 24, 2011
The Daily Drift
The Daily Drift
Today's horoscope says:You've done a lot in your life that you deserve to be proud of, and learned some invaluable lessons.
But today you encounter someone or something unusual that puts you in a situation you've never experienced before.
Nothing you've been through has prepared you for this, but you have a ton of fun working your way through it.
This is a whole new ballgame, one that stimulates and inspires you.
You get a taste of where your future could take you.
Some of our readers today have been in:
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia
Sheffield, England, United Kingdom
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
London, England, United Kingdom
Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Dublin,Dublin, Ireland
Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Bangkok, Krung Thep, Thailand
Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Milton Keynes, England, United Kingdom
Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands
Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Paris, Ile-De-France, France
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany
Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel
Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia
Sheffield, England, United Kingdom
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
London, England, United Kingdom
Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Dublin,Dublin, Ireland
Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Bangkok, Krung Thep, Thailand
Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Milton Keynes, England, United Kingdom
Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands
Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Paris, Ile-De-France, France
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany
Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel
as well as Slovakia, Malta, Bulgaria, Israel, Finland, Austria, Norway, Georgia, Mexico, Peru, Kuwait, Serbia, Bangladesh, Latvia, Greece, Scotland, Hong Kong, Denmark, Wales, Iran, Singapore, Poland, Taiwan, Sweden, Afghanistan, Belgium, Tibet, Croatia, Pakistan, Romania, Paraguay, Sudan, Vietnam, Argentina, Cambodia, Egypt, France, Estonia, Puerto Rico, Maldives, Qatar, Brazil, New Zealand, United Arab Emirates, Slovenia, China, Iraq, Ecuador, Nigeria, Colombia, Chile, Honduras, Paupa New Guinea, Moldova, Venezuela, Germany, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Ireland, Czech Republic, Vietnam, Norway, Finland and in cities across the United States such as Superior, Portland, Austin, Wake Forest and more.
Today is:
Today is Thursday, February 24, the 55th day of 2011.
There are 310 days left in the year.
Today's unusual holidays or celebrations are:
National Chili Day
And
National Tortilla Day
And
National Tortilla Day
Don't forget to visit our sister blog!
The Top Eleven Deities In Hawaiian Mythology
You know about the Roman gods our planets are named for, and their earlier Greek counterparts, but how much do you know about Hawaiian mythology? For example, there’s Kamoho, the leader of the shark gods.Kamoho was the brother of the fire goddess Pele and was considered the guardian god of the Hawaiian Islands. He alone of all Pele’s relatives tried to aid her when she was seeking to avoid her marriage to the boar god Kamapua’a. Kamoho also ruled over the shark-men, or “were-sharks” as I call them. These beings were greedy humans cursed by Kamoho to periodically transform into sharks. They could be recognized by the large shark tattoos that Kamoho branded onto their backs.Read about the other ten at Balladeer's Blog.
Woman humbles U.S. oil giant
A woman with no legal training is an unlikely hero in historic $9.5 billion case.
Also: Man attempts stealing chainsaw by stuffing it down front of shorts and waddling out of store
From the Einstein Files:
Police say a Chickasha, Okla., man tried to steal a chainsaw from a store by stuffing it in the front of his shorts.
Two employees saw that he was walking a little strange. At first, they thought he was handicapped but then realized what was going on.
"It was pretty obvious," said one employee. "Imagine it in the front of your pants." The employees tried to chase the man down.
He ditched the chainsaw and took off running, first up a tree, then into someone's house before he was eventually caught after diving into a creek. Police say he appeared to be intoxicated.
Prank call dupes Wisconsin governor
Further proof (as if any more was needed) that wingnuts are incredibly stupid and just look at the eyes - they say mentally ill ... in fact they're practically screaming it!
A candid chat with a "billionaire donor" turns into a PR nightmare as the tape goes viral.
Also: 
Dramatic look at income gap
Some new data crunches show how the gap between rich and poor has widened into a chasm.
Also: Common myths about baldness
Men commonly believe that hair loss is passed down from their mother's side.
Also: Best burger in America?
An L.A. chain has rethought the meat, bun, and toppings to create a new ideal.
Also: Beer to be classified as alcohol for first time in Russia
Beer is to be legally classified as an alcoholic drink in Russia for the first time as the Kremlin forges ahead with the toughest anti-alcohol campaign since the fall of the Soviet Union. The beverage is technically classified as a foodstuff for now, an anomaly that has allowed producers to avoid a sweeping new crackdown on alcohol advertising and night-time sales.
But a new Kremlin-backed bill that passed its first reading in the lower house of the Russian parliament on Tuesday will abolish beer's special status, dragging Russian alcohol regulation into the 21st century. "Normalizing the beer production market and classifying it as alcohol is totally the right thing to do and will boost the health of our population," Yevgeny Bryun, the ministry of health's chief specialist on alcohol and drug abuse, said.
"We have been talking about and have wanted such a measure for ages. I take my hat off to the parliament." The new law would restrict beer sales at night, ban its sale in or close to many public places such as schools, and limit cans and bottles to a maximum size of 0.33 liters. Although vodka, the national tipple, remains extremely popular, Russia's beer consumption has more than tripled in the past 15 years, boosted by low prices, ready availability and lax regulation.
Industry sources say Russia is now the third or the fourth biggest beer market in the world by net consumption after China and the United States. But with a historic penchant for strong spirits such as vodka, many ordinary Russians regard beer as a soft drink. It is not uncommon to see men swigging a can of beer on their way to work or teenagers downing a swift lunchtime beer or two in the park.
But a new Kremlin-backed bill that passed its first reading in the lower house of the Russian parliament on Tuesday will abolish beer's special status, dragging Russian alcohol regulation into the 21st century. "Normalizing the beer production market and classifying it as alcohol is totally the right thing to do and will boost the health of our population," Yevgeny Bryun, the ministry of health's chief specialist on alcohol and drug abuse, said.
"We have been talking about and have wanted such a measure for ages. I take my hat off to the parliament." The new law would restrict beer sales at night, ban its sale in or close to many public places such as schools, and limit cans and bottles to a maximum size of 0.33 liters. Although vodka, the national tipple, remains extremely popular, Russia's beer consumption has more than tripled in the past 15 years, boosted by low prices, ready availability and lax regulation.
Industry sources say Russia is now the third or the fourth biggest beer market in the world by net consumption after China and the United States. But with a historic penchant for strong spirits such as vodka, many ordinary Russians regard beer as a soft drink. It is not uncommon to see men swigging a can of beer on their way to work or teenagers downing a swift lunchtime beer or two in the park.
Big surfing contest wipes out ... no waves
An epic U.S. surfing contest that in the past featured athletes riding huge waves is washing out this year, due to a lack of big surf, organizers said.
Discovery blasts off on final voyage
The most traveled shuttle will be sent to a museum after its 39th mission.
Also: Cell phones alter brain activity
Researchers uncover definitive evidence that having a device "glued to your ear" affects your brain.
Also: The Drinking Bird
... a Scientific Toy for the Ages
The bird never stops, and since there’s no such thing as a perpetual motion machine, there must be some reasonable explanation for the bird’s persistence.
One can only wonder if the inventor of the dipping bird, Miles V Sullivan broke even from his invention. The idea began years before the patent and originally, as you might suspect, it had nothing to do with the bird. Sullivan was an inventor-scientist at Bell Labs but as a young man he enjoyed evenings out.Oh, you’ll get an explanation of how it works, and more, from Kuriositas.
It wasn’t the music or the lights but the bubbles in the tube at the sides of a juke box that grabbed his attention. He noticed that the energy wasn’t going anywhere and the inventor determined that something could be done with them. What he wanted to do was to harness motion- the idea of the bird came along later to make it more entertaining. Of course, while it is simply for fun it is the science behind it which makes it work.
Newly-Discovered Dinosaur Named "Thunder Thighs"
But the scientists mean it as a compliment, not an insult. The brontomerus had exceptionally large leg muscles:
It could have given other animals a hefty kick, say its discoverers.Suggestion: playfully address your wife and/or girlfriend as “thunder thighs”. Explain that you mean it in a good way, particularly that they give the ability to kick hard.
It seems most likely to us that what this is about is being able to deliver a strong kick”
“If predators came after it, it would have been able to boot them out of the way,” said Dr Mike Taylor, from University College London, UK.
The team has named its dinosaur Brontomerus mcintoshi – from the Greek “bronto”, meaning “thunder”; and “merós”, meaning “thigh”.
The fossilised bones of two specimens – an adult and a juvenile – have been dated to be about 110 million years old.
Self-Doubting Monkeys Know What They Don’t Know
Some monkeys have enough self-awareness to realize when they don’t know an answer, and will tell us if we make it worth their time. It appears that uncertainty is not an exclusively human trait.A team of researchers taught macaques how to maneuver a joystick to indicate whether the pixel density on a screen was sparse or dense. Given a pixel scenario, the monkeys would maneuver a joystick to a letter S (for sparse) or D (for dense). They were given a treat when they selected the correct answer, but when they were wrong, the game paused for a couple seconds. A third possible answer, though, allowed the monkeys to select a question mark, and thereby forgo the pause (and potentially get more treats).The same experiment with capuchin monkeys returned different results: they didn’t use the question mark button.
And as John David Smith, a researcher at SUNY Buffalo, and Michael Beran, a researcher at Georgia State University, announced at the AAAS meeting this weekend, the macaques selected the question mark just as humans do when they encounter a mind-stumping question. As Smith told the BBC, “Monkeys apparently appreciate when they are likely to make an error…. They seem to know when they don’t know.”
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