Most were born of inspiration — and some required very little start-up cash.
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Sunday, November 14, 2010
True costs of your debt
Even a balance of $5,100 can add up to a shocking amount in interest costs.
Also: Renovations that pay off
The likely winners boost your house's curb appeal or add more living space cheaply.
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Organic Beer Must Be Brewed With Organic Hops (Because it Wasn't Before)
Photo: izik
The USDA has announced after much grassroot support for the change, that organic beer most be brewed with organic hops, according to a story on EcoCentric. One would beg to question why beer, which is traditionally made of just water, hops, malt, and yeast could be made with non-organic hops and still be called organic in the first place. Article continues: Organic Beer Must Be Brewed With Organic Hops (Because it Wasn't Before)
Fast food turned gourmet
Erik Trinidad turned a Jack in the Box meal into a bento box with "sushi rolls."
Also: McDonald's and KFC to help write UK health policy
The Department of Health is putting the fast food companies McDonald's and KFC and processed food and drink manufacturers such as PepsiCo, Kellogg's, Unilever, Mars and Diageo at the heart of writing government policy on obesity, alcohol and diet-related disease.
In an overhaul of public health, said by campaign groups to be the equivalent of handing smoking policy over to the tobacco industry, health secretary Andrew Lansley has set up five "responsibility deal" networks with business, co-chaired by ministers, to come up with policies. Some of these are expected to be used in the public health white paper due in the next month.
Professor Tim Lang, a member of the government's advisory committee on obesity, doubted the food and drink industry's ability to regulate itself. "In public health, the track record of industry has not been good. Obesity is a systemic problem, and industry is locked into thinking of its own narrow interests."
Jeanette Longfield, head of the food campaign group Sustain, said: "This is the equivalent of putting the tobacco industry in charge of smoke-free spaces. We know this 'let's all get round the table approach' doesn't work, because we've all tried it before, including the last Conservative government. This isn't 'big society', it's big business."
In an overhaul of public health, said by campaign groups to be the equivalent of handing smoking policy over to the tobacco industry, health secretary Andrew Lansley has set up five "responsibility deal" networks with business, co-chaired by ministers, to come up with policies. Some of these are expected to be used in the public health white paper due in the next month.
Professor Tim Lang, a member of the government's advisory committee on obesity, doubted the food and drink industry's ability to regulate itself. "In public health, the track record of industry has not been good. Obesity is a systemic problem, and industry is locked into thinking of its own narrow interests."
Jeanette Longfield, head of the food campaign group Sustain, said: "This is the equivalent of putting the tobacco industry in charge of smoke-free spaces. We know this 'let's all get round the table approach' doesn't work, because we've all tried it before, including the last Conservative government. This isn't 'big society', it's big business."
Middle class children suffering rickets
Middle class children in the south of England are suffering from the '17th century disease' rickets as parents cover them in sunscreen and limit time outside in the sunshine, a leading doctor has warned. The disease, caused by low levels of vitamin D generated in the body from sunshine and certain foods, had died out around 80 years ago but is now coming back. Cases of rickets in children have occurred in northern England and Scotland where there are fewer months of the year with sufficient sunshine to obtain enough vitamin D but now doctors are seeing it on the South coast as well.
It is thought extensive use of sunscreen, children playing more time on computer games and TV rather than playing outside and a poor diet are to blame. Professor Nicholas Clarke, consultant orthopedic surgeon at Southampton General Hospital and professor of pediatric orthopedic surgery at the University of Southampton, said: "The return of rickets in northern parts of the UK came as a surprise despite the colder climate and lower levels of sunshine in the north, but what has developed in Southampton is quite astonishing."
Children from all backgrounds are being affected now and the disease is not limited to the poor as it was in Victorian times. He added: “In my 22 years at Southampton General Hospital, this is a completely new occurrence in the south that has evolved over the last 12 to 24 months and we are seeing cases across the board, from areas of deprivation up to the middle classes, so there is a real need to get national attention focused on the dangers this presents.” Professor Clarke says he and colleague Dr Justin Davies, a consultant pediatric endocrinologist, have checked over 200 children for bone problems and more than 20 per cent of them have significant deficiencies.
“A lot of the children we’ve seen have got low vitamin D and require treatment,” he said. “This is almost certainly a combination of the modern lifestyle, which involves a lack of exposure to sunlight, but also covering up in sunshine, and we’re seeing cases that are very reminiscent of 17th century England.” He added: “We are facing the daunting prospect of an area like Southampton, where it is high income, middle class and leafy in its surroundings, seeing increasing numbers of children with rickets, which would have been inconceivable only a year or so ago.”
It is thought extensive use of sunscreen, children playing more time on computer games and TV rather than playing outside and a poor diet are to blame. Professor Nicholas Clarke, consultant orthopedic surgeon at Southampton General Hospital and professor of pediatric orthopedic surgery at the University of Southampton, said: "The return of rickets in northern parts of the UK came as a surprise despite the colder climate and lower levels of sunshine in the north, but what has developed in Southampton is quite astonishing."
Children from all backgrounds are being affected now and the disease is not limited to the poor as it was in Victorian times. He added: “In my 22 years at Southampton General Hospital, this is a completely new occurrence in the south that has evolved over the last 12 to 24 months and we are seeing cases across the board, from areas of deprivation up to the middle classes, so there is a real need to get national attention focused on the dangers this presents.” Professor Clarke says he and colleague Dr Justin Davies, a consultant pediatric endocrinologist, have checked over 200 children for bone problems and more than 20 per cent of them have significant deficiencies.
“A lot of the children we’ve seen have got low vitamin D and require treatment,” he said. “This is almost certainly a combination of the modern lifestyle, which involves a lack of exposure to sunlight, but also covering up in sunshine, and we’re seeing cases that are very reminiscent of 17th century England.” He added: “We are facing the daunting prospect of an area like Southampton, where it is high income, middle class and leafy in its surroundings, seeing increasing numbers of children with rickets, which would have been inconceivable only a year or so ago.”
Health clues in your hair
If your locks feel finer and lack body, an underactive thyroid may be to blame.
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The Controversial Kilogram
The kilogram really sticks in the craw of metrologists. Six of the seven fundamental units of the metric system have 'operational' definitions - you can define them purely in words, by describing a physical process that produces something of exactly one meter, or whatever.
But the kilogram has resisted all attempts to define it that way. It's like a feeling everyone knows and shares but cannot quite articulate. Instead, the kilogram is the last metric standard still bound to a human artifact.
Space secrets revealed in map?
A new way of studying dark matter may shed light on why the universe is expanding so rapidly.
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Peru contacts unknown Amazon tribe
Peruvian authorities have presented video footage of a previously uncontacted Amazonian tribe. The footage was taken in the Kugapakori Nahua Nanti reserve in the country's southeast by members of the government-run National Institute of Development of Andean, Amazonian and Afro-Peruvians (Indepa).
They saw the indigenous group while monitoring area checkpoints that have been installed to prevent entry of unauthorized persons, specifically illegal loggers. The video - which was presentation at the National Museum and viewed by various government representatives - shows indigenous tribes interacting with Indepa workers. It also shows a series of rustic huts made from palm leaves and cane that were discovered in August 2009.
Indepa president, Mayta Capac Alatrista, explained how they had been able to gain an insight into their unknown way of life. "With work that has been done from the five monitoring posts in the Kugapakori Nahua Nanti reserve, we have been able to find and casually meet with voluntarily isolated populations or initiate first contact. We suppose this contact has been made because they went down to the streams in search of food because they are nomads.
"We have photographic record and have even been able to interact with them to see how they go about their daily lives. We have been able to bring them some tools that they have used to hunt, to fish and cook," said Capac Alatrista. A small exhibition of tools, arrows and handmade pottery, along with skeletons of hunted animals, was also on display.
They saw the indigenous group while monitoring area checkpoints that have been installed to prevent entry of unauthorized persons, specifically illegal loggers. The video - which was presentation at the National Museum and viewed by various government representatives - shows indigenous tribes interacting with Indepa workers. It also shows a series of rustic huts made from palm leaves and cane that were discovered in August 2009.
Indepa president, Mayta Capac Alatrista, explained how they had been able to gain an insight into their unknown way of life. "With work that has been done from the five monitoring posts in the Kugapakori Nahua Nanti reserve, we have been able to find and casually meet with voluntarily isolated populations or initiate first contact. We suppose this contact has been made because they went down to the streams in search of food because they are nomads.
"We have photographic record and have even been able to interact with them to see how they go about their daily lives. We have been able to bring them some tools that they have used to hunt, to fish and cook," said Capac Alatrista. A small exhibition of tools, arrows and handmade pottery, along with skeletons of hunted animals, was also on display.
Trosky - The Two Towers Of The Czechs
Deep in the Czech Republic, south of Semily, stands something which at first sight seems as if it would be more at home in a Tolkien novel such is its unusual shape, size and structure. Erected on two basalt outcrops - volcanic plugs - is one of the more bizarre castles of Europe.
What If The Largest Countries Had The Largest Populations?
Click here for larger image
This map rearranges the world by correlating the population of a country to actual size. Some countries (the United States, Yemen, Brazil and Ireland) remain in their original location. 
Indian sloth bears evacuated on fears of Maoist threat
Fearing Maoists attacks, Indian forest officials have moved 22 sloth bears from West Bengal to the south. It took four days for the 12 male and ten female bears to be brought from Purulia to the Bennerghatta national park, near Bangalore, some 2000km away. Forest officials decided to rescue the animals because they felt they were under threat, the zoo's director said.
The bears were moved after warnings from a conservation group who feared they were at risk from Maoist rebels. "The threat was real," SOS Wildlife's founder, Kartick Sathyanarayan, said. "The Maoists had put up a poster saying: 'Leave the forest if you want to remain safe'," he said.
Maoists, he said, were believed to be behind a 2009 attack on Jhargram Zoo, in West Bengal, during which many animals were burnt alive. A vet from the group said the bears had initially been placed under quarantine as a precautionary measure. "They were evacuated with the help of three large trucks. A team of about 12 trained staff with a veterinary doctor travelled with the bears to ensure their safety and to keep a check on their health," Dr Arun A Sha said.
Mr Kartick said the evacuation was carried out with the help of the communist-ruled West Bengal government. "It is heartening that the animals have been saved. Authorities realised the gravity of the threat," he said. The Bannerghatta National Park, home to tigers, lions, and elephants, now has a total of 117 sloth bears, with the arrival of the rescued bears from West Bengal. The park is also considered an important corridor for elephants migrating between the eastern and western mountain ranges of southern India.
The bears were moved after warnings from a conservation group who feared they were at risk from Maoist rebels. "The threat was real," SOS Wildlife's founder, Kartick Sathyanarayan, said. "The Maoists had put up a poster saying: 'Leave the forest if you want to remain safe'," he said.
Maoists, he said, were believed to be behind a 2009 attack on Jhargram Zoo, in West Bengal, during which many animals were burnt alive. A vet from the group said the bears had initially been placed under quarantine as a precautionary measure. "They were evacuated with the help of three large trucks. A team of about 12 trained staff with a veterinary doctor travelled with the bears to ensure their safety and to keep a check on their health," Dr Arun A Sha said.
Mr Kartick said the evacuation was carried out with the help of the communist-ruled West Bengal government. "It is heartening that the animals have been saved. Authorities realised the gravity of the threat," he said. The Bannerghatta National Park, home to tigers, lions, and elephants, now has a total of 117 sloth bears, with the arrival of the rescued bears from West Bengal. The park is also considered an important corridor for elephants migrating between the eastern and western mountain ranges of southern India.
Loudest animal in the world
Howler monkeys can be heard 10 miles away, but a tiny sea creature is much noisier.
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