Energy Drink Backlash: Regular Drinkers Face Insomnia, Seizures

         Good Day World!

If you’re an energy drink fan that swizzles the stuff throughout the day you might want to re-consider your habit. A recent survey suggests people who drink too much end up in hospital emergency wards with seizures.

As a matter of fact, lot’s of bad things are coming out about all those energy drinks that dominate the store shelves these days. Nasty effects range from Insomnia ,nervousness, headaches, fast heartbeat, and severe seizures.

To a nation of ass-dragging people who’ve trusted these legal energy drinks to get by, this is going to be shocking news. Now what? Go back to drinking coffee all day to get that buzz? You know what? A good night night’s sleep would be a lot safer and cheaper.

Here’s food for thought:

“A new federal government survey suggests the number of people seeking emergency treatment after consuming energy drinks has doubled nationwide during the past four years, the same period in which the supercharged drinks have surged in popularity in convenience stores, bars and on college campuses.

From 2007 to 2011, the government estimates the number of emergency room visits involving the neon-labeled beverages shot up from about 10,000 to more than 20,000. Most of those cases involved teens or young adults, according to a survey of the nation's hospitals released late last week by the Substance Abuse and Administration.

The report doesn't specify which symptoms brought people to the emergency room but calls energy drink consumption a "rising public health problem" that can cause insomnia, nervousness, headache, fast heartbeat and seizures that are severe enough to require emergency care.

Several emergency physicians said they had seen a clear uptick in the number of patients suffering from , anxiety and heart attacks who said they had recently downed an energy drink.

More than half of the patients considered in the survey who wound up in the emergency room told doctors they had downed only energy drinks. In 2011, about 42 percent of the cases involved energy drinks in combination with alcohol or drugs, such as the stimulants Adderall or Ritalin.

A lot of people don't realize the strength of these things. I had someone come in recently who had drunk three energy drinks in an hour, which is the equivalent of 15 cups of coffee," said Howard Mell, an emergency physician in the suburbs of Cleveland, who serves as a spokesman for the American College of Emergency Physicians. "Essentially he gave himself a stress test and thankfully he passed. But if he had a weak heart or suffered from coronary disease and didn't know it, this could have precipitated very bad things."

Concerns over energy drinks have intensified following reports last fall of 18 deaths possibly tied to the drinks - including a 14-year-old Maryland girl who died after drinking two large cans of Monster Energy drinks. Monster does not believe its products were responsible for the death.

Two senators are calling for the Food and Drug Administration to investigate safety concerns about energy drinks and their ingredients.

The energy drink industry says its drinks are safe and there is no evidence linking its products to the adverse reactions.

Late last year, the FDA asked the U.S. Health and Human Services Department to update the figures its research arm compiles about emergency room visits tied to energy drinks.

The SAMHSA survey was based on responses from about 230 hospitals each year, a representative sample of about 5 percent of emergency departments nationwide. The agency uses those responses to estimate the number of energy drink-related emergency department visits nationwide.

The more than 20,000 cases estimated for 2011 represent a small portion of the annual 136 million emergency room visits tracked by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The FDA said it was considering the findings and pressing for more details as it undertakes a broad review of the safety of energy drinks and related ingredients this spring.

"We will examine this additional information ... as a part of our ongoing investigation into potential safety issues surrounding the use of energy-drink products," FDA spokeswoman Shelly Burgess said in a statement.

Beverage manufacturers fired back at the survey, saying the statistics were misleading and taken out of context.

"This report does not share information about the overall health of those who may have consumed energy drinks, or what symptoms brought them to the ER in the first place," the American Beverage Association said in a statement. "There is no basis by which to understand the overall caffeine intake of any of these individuals - from all sources."

Energy drinks remain a small part of the carbonated soft drinks market, representing only 3.3 percent of sales volume, according to the industry tracker Beverage Digest. Even as soda consumption has flagged in recent years, energy drinks sales are growing rapidly.

In 2011, sales volume for energy drinks rose by almost 17 percent, with the top three companies - Monster, Red Bull and Rockstar - each logging double-digit gains, Beverage Digest found. The drinks are often marketed at sporting events that are popular among younger people such as surfing and skateboarding.

From 2007 to 2011, the most recent year for which data was available, people from 18 to 25 were the most common age group seeking emergency treatment for energy drink-related reactions, the report found.” (Source)

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Beware…‘The Truthers’ are out there and most of them are crazy!

      Good Day World!

I’m no longer surprised by anything any more. So, when I saw the following article about the Sandy Hook massacre and how some people don’t believe it even happened, I shook my head in disgust. Denying the truth about anything is commonplace among a group of people called “Truthers.”

They inspire nuts like Donald Trump to make asses out of themselves. Still, it’s hard to believe anyone would think the murder of 27 people by a deranged shooter was a conspiracy. It just goes to show you how crazy this world is getting. 

“Retired Gene Rosen was hailed as a hero for taking six terrified first-graders into his home and giving them fruit juice during the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.

The four girls and two boys told Rosen they couldn’t return to class because a man with guns had killed their teacher. Indeed Victoria Soto was among the 26 dead – 20 children and six staffers – gunned down by Adam Lanza at the Newtown, Conn., school that day.

“I comforted them because I’m a grandfather,” Rosen, 69, who lives across the street from the school, said in an appearance on TODAY after the tragedy. “They were mortified.”

Now, Rosen and his wife are scared. He says he is being harassed by so-called Sandy Hook "truthers," conspiracy theorists who believe that facts about Newtown are being covered up by the media or other forces as part of a government or anti-gun plot.

“I’m getting emails with, not direct threats, but accusations that I’m lying, that I’m a crisis actor,” Rosen told the online magazine Salon. A white supremacist message board, Salon said, had ridiculed the “emotional Jewish guy.”

A photo of Rosen's home was posted online and fake social network accounts have been created in his name, according to the report. Blog posts call him a fraud. “What is the going rate for getting involved in a gov’t sponsored hoax anyway?” said one message accusing him of acting, according to Salon.

“The quantity of the material is overwhelming,” Rosen said, adding that his wife is worried for their safety.

Rosen’s treatment is the outgrowth of Newtown shooting conspiracy theories expanding on the Internet. Such claims are even coming from sources that appear to be mainstream.

Florida Atlantic University communications professor James Tracy, who in a blog post stated, “While it sounds like an outrageous claim, one is left to inquire whether the Sandy Hook shooting ever took place – at least in the way law enforcement authorities and the nation’s news media have described.”

Or reporter Ben Swann, who questioned police accounts of the Aurora, Colo., shootings as well as the Sandy Hook massacre in an online program called “Full Disclosure.” Swann, in both instances, latches on to witness accounts reported in the early confusion of the tragedies to question whether more than one gunman was involved. There is “reason to question this whole narrative,” Swann said.

Some of the conspiracy theories blame Jewish people for roles in the Newtown tragedy. Those claims even led Abraham H. Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League to respond. In a blog post Foxman laments the inevitable rumor mill that sprouts up on the Internet after major disasters and tragedies that the news media is hiding the truth and that Jews or Israel a role.

“But never in a million years did I think that the shootings at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, an event that has so traumatized Americans and shocked people the world over, would become the latest fodder for cynical anti-Semites and anti-Israel conspiracy theorists,” Foxman wrote.

Conspiracy theories are nothing new, the ADL's Director of Investigative Research Mark Pitcavage points out, but they come in different stripes. One type is based on a single event, such as Sandy Hook, rather than a long-running series of complex machinations spanning the globe.

"What they tend to share is an incident occurs that is large and heinous, so much so that psychologically there will be people who are unwilling to accept a simple explanation for how the event took place," Pitcavage told NBC News.

Whether Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in assassinating John F. Kennedy 50 years ago is considered the "ultimate example."

"Psychologically people are unwilling, unprepared to accept that it was a lone gunman. So if they can't accept that, there must be some other explanation. That's why these conspiracy theories emerge."

The terrorist attacks on the twin towers of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, also spawned conspiracy theories, and led to the coining of the phrase "Truthers" to describe them.” (Source)

Time for me to walk on down the road…

The Hypocrite’s Corner: NRA puts out new 'Practice Range' shooting app -- after blaming video games for violence

    Good Day World!

 If anyone has any doubts about the NRA’s sincerity regarding video games,this article will dispel them. “Crazy Wayne” LaPierre (NRA Executive Vice President) went out of his way to claim there’s no need to have more gun control.

  One of the many ways he tried to deflect the roles of guns in recent massacres was to claim violent video games were the problem. Okay…so what happens?

The NRA comes out with a shooting game for all ages. The video game is all about practicing with your assault rifle. How nice. Now future teenage serial killers can practice shooting assault rifles so when the decide to assault teachers and students at schools they’ll get a maximum kill rate!

I just hope Obama’s committee (under Biden) comes up with some real laws with bite regarding assault rifles and gun registration. And now from the hypocrite’s corner:

  “Just weeks after the National Rifle Association forcefully blamed violent video games for gun violence, the gun-rights organization has released a for kids as young as four.NRA: Practice Range, a new app in the iTunes store, was released Sunday by the nation’s largest gun-industry lobby. It features a 3D-shooting range and offers users simulated target practice.

The game's launch comes one month after the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., which touched off a national debate over how to limit gun violence.

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In the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, the National Rifle Association held a news conference in Washington, D.C, blaming the media and video games for cultivating a culture of violence.

“Guns don’t kill people. Video games, the media and Obama’s budget kill people,” NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre said at a Dec. 21 press conference where he addressed the tragedy at Sandy Hook.

"There exists in this country, sadly, a callous, corrupt and corrupting shadow industry that sells and stows violence against its own people, through vicious, violent video games with names like ‘Bulletstorm,’ ‘Grand Theft Auto,’ ‘Mortal Kombat’ and ‘Splatterhouse.’”

The free app, recommended for ages 4 and up, according to the iTunes rating system, “offers a 3D shooting game that instills safe and responsible ownership through fun challenges and realistic simulations,” says the app’s description. “It strikes the right balance of gaming and safety education, allowing you to enjoy the most authentic experience possible.”

Users don’t shoot live subjects in the app, but instead are given an M9 handgun and sent to target practice in three immersive shooting ranges. 

The NRA says the app “puts the organization’s broad scope of resources in the palm of your hand – with 2nd Amendment newsfeeds, gun law information centers and educational materials that you can access anywhere, anytime.”

The app has received three-and-a-half out of five stars in the iTunes store, but has attracted several scathing customer reviews, some calling for it to be pulled from the iTunes store.

“Is this some kind of sick joke?” asked one user known as Papershipsonfire. “The NRA complains about violent games and then releases one a week later. Sure you’re not shooting humans but does it really matter?”

“What a dumb move,” posted Mansonr6. “Good luck getting anyone to take your video game theory serious after this.”

But others praised the educational content offered in the game.

“This is fun and informative plus there is no need for eye and ear protection,” wrote Joe in BrynMawr. “A must have for any gun enthusiast and defender of the U.S. constitution.”

Last week, after a meeting with Vice President Joe Biden’s gun reform task force, the NRA slammed the White House.

"It is unfortunate that this Administration continues to insist on pushing failed solutions to our nation's most pressing problems," the NRA said in a statement. "We will not allow law-abiding gun owners to be blamed for the acts of criminals and madmen." (Source)

Time for me to walk on down the road…

If you THINK you're stressed out it’s enough to cause problems

         Good Day World!

Remember the old saying, “It’s only as bad as you think it is…?”

After analyzing a half dozen studies, researchers have come to the conclusion if you think you’re stressed it’s enough to give you a higher rate of coronary heart disease. That’s right. Worry warts be warned; worrying is causing you some serious problems.

As I always caution in all surveys, studies, and polls, take the results with a grain of salt. Most of the time they’re not definitive because of flawed methodologies and politics. However, after having said that, it doesn’t hurt to use common sense when considering a course of action after reading or hearing about a study,survey, or poll. 

“As if being stressed weren't bad enough, thinking you're stressed might also cause serious problems. Turns out, perceived stress, or how much you think you're stressed, is associated with a higher risk of coronary heart disease, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Cardiology.

Researchers analyzed six studies to see how perceived stress affects your ticker. Each of the studies asked participants to self-report intense or frequent feelings of stress and then followed each participant for about 14 years to see if they were diagnosed with, hospitalized, or died from coronary heart disease. What they found: Participants who reported high levels of stress had a 27 percent higher risk of developing coronary heart disease. (Did you know you can lower anxiety with your diet? Try these 9 Stress-Relieving Foods.)” (Source)

Time for me to walk on down the road…

As It Stands: File your taxes early to help prevent identity fraud

   By Dave Stancliff/For The Times-Standard
   There are two things we all can count on; dying and paying taxes. After that it’s a free-for-all as we take on life’s many challenges. I realize it’s a little early to talk about taxes, but when it comes to warning you about the dangers of filing your taxes it’s never too soon.
   Americans have three options when it comes to paying taxes; filing electronically; the traditional way of filing on paper yourself or going to a tax accountant.
   Not surprisingly, the majority of Americans filed electronically last year. A whopping 81%  filed their returns electronically in 2012, according to a report recently released by the independent IRS Oversight Board. That represents about 119 million taxpayers.
   This 21st century shift in how we pay our taxes comes with a dark side, however. As more people get aboard electronically, thieves using stolen Social Security numbers and  popular tax preparation software are filing fake tax returns and collecting the refunds.

  Over 460,000 people have been victimized by identity theft tax fraud since 2008, according to the IRS Oversight Board report. Before you start to panic and wonder what’s the safest way to file, it’s online, according to security experts.
    Online filing is safer than filing by mail according to Linda Foley, co-founder of ID Theft Info Source and an expert on identity theft. In a recent AP interview, Foley said people should file electronically and then take steps to guard their electronic footprint
online.
   Still, there are some people who aren’t comfortable with filing online. That’s understandable. In that event, the best thing they can do is use a trustworthy accountant. That might sound obvious, but the fact of the matter is the person they pick might be tempted to sell their information, or even use it themselves.
   Obviously, if you’ve been going to the same tax preparer for years, you don’t have to worry about that. However, it’s important to know this is one of the easiest ways for thieves to get access to your account.
    As for those Americans who do file electronically this year, there are steps they can take to safeguard themselves. My biggest reason for writing this column on taxes right now is to warn you to file early. This is one key way to prevent identity theft fraud.  

    One common tactic the thieves use is to take information that was stolen last year and use it to file a fake return as soon as possible, likely in early February, according to Foley. So, fair warning.
   It’s also a real good idea to protect your data. Make sure you’re using a secure computer, Foley warned, and save your data on a thumb drive that you remove from the computer once you’re done filing.
   The IRS suggests installing security software on your computer and running regular credit checks.
    The independent IRS Oversight Board report also recommended steps for the IRS to take to protect people. Among the suggestions was adding more fraud screens and increasing the resources devoted to helping identify theft victims.
  During Congressional testimony late last year, the IRS said they have 3,000 employees devoted to working on identity theft issues. As more people go to online filing, so do more thieves seek opportunity in Cyberspace.   
   It helps to remember that knowledge is power. The more you know about the challenges facing you when you file your taxes this year, the better. I can understand why more people are filing electronically. It’s a pretty easy thing to do.

   And when the security experts say you can protect your data more easily by filing your own taxes, rather than sharing them with a tax preparation service, it’s time to step into the 21st century of tax preparation.
   Please forgive me if I’ve bummed you out by making you think about your taxes so soon after the arrival of the new year. My wife sometimes accuses me of being a “worry wart,” but even she said it was okay to pass this information along this soon!
    As It Stands, the bottom line is, don’t let anyone come between you and the IRS when it’s time to file your taxes.

Why we should be okay with being bored…

                              Good Day World!

Growing up, whenever I got bored it usually led to trouble. True story. I had teachers in elementary school make a point of not letting me be bored by keeping me in sight at all times. I was social kinda kid and liked to make funny faces to entertain others every chance I got.

Mimicking teachers behind their back was my specialty. Until my 4th-grade science teacher caught me in the act! I got a couple of swats for that prank, a common practice back when I was in school for miscreants such as myself.

Anyway…this group of psychs got together recently and came to the conclusion it’s good to be bored. Who knew?  

“Don’t dread tedious workplace assignments like reading reports or sitting through meetings — they’re making you more productive.

Boring, monotonous tasks help you become a better problem-solver, new research finds, because our brains use that unstimulating “down time” to branch out and think in more creative ways. 

“Boredom has always had such bad press, but some boredom is possibly good... especially if it gives us the opportunity to daydream,” said Sandi Mann, senior psychology lecturer at the University of Central Lancashire in the U.K. Mann's research was presented this week at the Annual Conference of the British Psychological Society Division of Occupational Psychology.

“Being able to have that down time when you let your mind wander can be great for creativity,” Mann said.

Americans are getting less creative overall, according to a landmark 2010 study. Kyung-Hee Kim, an associate professor at the college of William & Mary’s , analyzed results from creativity tests and found that our creativity has been on the wane for more than 20 years now, even though IQ scores are climbing.” (Read the rest here).

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Astronomers discover the largest structure in the universe!

This is big stuff (pun intended). It seems like every time scientists and astronomers get together they have to re-write one space theory or another. Right now there’s some giddy astronomers running around England with the exciting news.

The newly discovered large quasar group is so enormous, in fact, that theory predicts it shouldn't exist, according to researchers. Now, that’s big:

“Astronomers have discovered the largest known structure in the universe, a clump of active galactic cores that stretches 4 billion light-years from end to end.

The structure is a large quasar group (LQG), a collection of extremely luminous galactic nuclei powered by supermassive central black holes. This particular group is so large that it challenges modern cosmological theory, researchers said.

"While it is difficult to fathom the scale of this LQG, we can say quite definitely it is the largest structure ever seen in the entire universe," lead author Roger Clowes, of the University of Central Lancashire in England, said in a statement. "This is hugely exciting, not least because it runs counter to our current understanding of the scale of the universe."

Quasars are the brightest objects in the universe. For decades, astronomers have known that they tend to assemble in huge groups, some of which are more than 600 million light-years wide.” (Read the rest here)

Just What’s Needed These Days in America…a New Rifle That Makes Anyone a Sniper

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Just think…you can kill someone 7 football fields away now.

 Good Day World!

In this violent country we love so much, new weapon capabilities grow every day. With this latest innovation to sights on rifles someone who has never fired a real weapon before can make a kill shot.

Wow! Just think about that. Doesn’t it make you feel all warm and cuddly?

“It all goes back to "Top Gun." In the heads-up display on Maverick's Tomcat, you can see a computer compensate for human aim with precision laser guidance and careful calculations. How long before that technology made its way to to a conventional hunting rifle? It's here now, with a price tag of $17,000 to $21,000.” (read the story here)

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Another classroom shooting today in California!

The big question is: how did someone just stroll into a classroom with a loaded 12-gauge shotgun? With all the awareness on school shootings, you’d think there was additional security. Here’s what happened:

A high school teacher and a campus supervisor talked a student into surrendering after he opened fire in a classroom, wounding a classmate at a school in California's southern San Joaquin Valley on Thursday morning, police said.

The student had intentional targets when he brought a 12-gauge into the Taft Union High School classroom halfway through the first period, Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood said in a news conference. The incident happened around 9 a.m. local time and students were evacuated to the football field, NBC affiliate KGET of Bakersfield reported. (Source)

Guess which state is having a python hunting contest this weekend?

Good Day World!

Reptile haters rejoice! It’s open season on pythons in Florida’s Everglades this weekend. Saturday’s scheduled competitive snake slaughter is supposed to raise awareness of the threat Burmese pythons pose to the Everglades ecosystem.

The whole competition sounds like an opportunity for a bunch of crazy people to get lost while hunting snakes as big as themselves in the snake’s turf. Crazy stuff. Only in America:

“A python hunting competition starting on Saturday is drawing hundreds of amateurs armed with clubs, machetes and guns to the Florida Everglades, where captured Burmese pythons have exceeded the length of minivans and weighed as much as grown men.

Python Challenge 2013, a month-long event sponsored by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, is open to hunters and non-hunters alike.

But the idea of luring weapon-wielding amateurs into the harsh environment of the Everglades has raised some alarms.

"I just thought it was as exciting as could be. It's a once- in-a-lifetime opportunity," said contestantRon Polster, a retired salesman from Ohio whose closest encounter with the swamp has been from the highway heading south for the winter.

Participants pay a $25 entry fee and take an online training course, which consists mostly of looking at photographs of both the targeted pythons and protected native snakes to learn the difference.

The state wildlife agency is offering prizes of $1,500 for the most pythons captured and $1,000 for the longest python.

A Burmese python found in Florida last year set records as the largest ever captured in the state at 17-feet, 7-inches (5.4 meters). The snake weighed nearly 165 pounds (75 kg).

FWC spokeswoman Carli Segelson said the number of registered contestants reached about 500 this week and was growing, with people coming from 32 states.

The stated goal of the competition is to raise awareness of the threat Burmese pythons pose to the Everglades ecosystem. The snakes are native to Southeast Asia and have no known predators in Florida.

The contest also serves as a pilot program to determine whether regular hunting competitions can cull the growing population of the invasive species, said Frank Mazzotti, a wildlife expert from the University of Florida who helped create the competition.

Python Challenge rules require contestants to kill specimens on the spot in a humane fashion, recommending shooting the snakes precisely through the brain.

"I was hoping there would be a lot of machetes and not a lot of guns," said Polster, the retired salesman. He said he worries "these idiots will be firing all over the place."

Shawn Heflick, star of the National Geographic "Wild" television show "Python Hunters," told Reuters that despite the formidable size of the snakes, he expects the swamp itself, with its alligators, crocodiles and venomous snakes, to pose a greater threat to the contestants.

"You get these people going down there, they'll get lost, they'll get dehydrated, they'll get sucked dry by mosquitoes," Heflick said.

Segelson said the wildlife agency will provide training on the use of GPS devices and on identifying venomous snakes at the kick-off event. In the meantime, she said, contestants should be familiarizing themselves with the Everglades environment, just as they should before entering any other strange territory.

Heflick said most of the contestants likely were drawn to the Python Challenge by the romantic mystique of bagging a giant predator. He expects few will last long in the hunt."The vast majority of them will never see a python. The vast majority of them will probably curtail their hunting very quickly when they figure out there's a lot of mosquitoes, it's hot, it's rather boring sometimes - most of the time really, and I think a lot of them will go home," Heflick said.” (source)

The Shock of the Day: Drinking diet soda linked to depression

               Good Day World!

Lately (it seems) everything we eat and drink causes some ill effect upon us. Soda pop has been under extreme scrutiny this past year, and now it turns out even fruit drinks may give us grief. As in depression. No really.

I’m about to lay another one of those studies upon you. As always, I suggest taking the study (like all studies) with a grain of salt. It may be that diet soda is the worst in the soda class. The irony of a diet soda always amused – and disgusted – me. Did the drinkers of diet soda really think believe in the fuzzy math of the soda corporations? C’mon! Seriously?   

“Diet drinks may taste good, but they might not bring happiness. A new study finds that people who drink diet sodas or fruit drinks are more likely to be diagnosed with depression.

The study doesn't show that diet drinks and the researchers stress their findings don't provide an explanation. They looked at more than 263,900 U.S. adults ages 50 to 71 who answered questions about their beverage consumption between the years 1995 and 1996. About 10 years later (from 2004 to 2006), the same people were asked if a doctor had diagnosed them with depression since the year 2000.

People who regularly drank four or more cans of any type of soda a day were 30 percent more likely to have received a diagnosis of depression than people who did not drink soda, said  Dr. Honglei Chen of the National Institutes of Health, who led the study. The risk of depression was especially high for people who drank diet soda — a 31 percent increased risk compared to a 22 percent increased risk for those who drank regular soda, the researchers said. 

Those who drank four or more cans of diet fruit drinks were 51 percent more likely to be diagnosed with depression compared to those who did not drink diet fruit drinks.

By contrast, people who drank four or more cups of coffee a day were 10 percent less likely to have been diagnosed with depression compared to non-coffee drinkers.” (read the rest here)

Hot Topic: 17th-century 'Aristotle' sex manual to be auctioned

A sex and pregnancy manual from 1680 that was incorrectly attributed to Aristotle is going up for auction this month at Lyon & Turnbull in England.

"Aristotle's Compleat Master-Piece" may have been banned in Britain until the 1960s, according to some sources, though that is uncertain. One thing is for sure: "It was taboo and a lot of people didn't want their name on it," said Lyon & Turnbull book specialist Cathy Marsden, during an interview.

As for why the book was pegged to Aristotle, "we think it was just to kind of raise the profile of the book," Marsden said. Also, there has been some suggestion that bits of the book, though not very much at all, could be attributed to Aristotle's work. Bits also seem to come from the work of 17th-century physician Nicholas Culpeper and 13th-century saint and grand thinker Albertus Magnus.

The book, though taboo, was by no means " The Joy of Sex," the 1972 cookbook-esque writing known for its explicit drawings of sex poses and the like. Images in this "master-piece" show a woman's torso and drawings of hairy children with extra limbs, and according to the Guardian, an image showing a woman's torso opened up to reveal a baby in her womb. But there are no actual explicit images, she said. [The Sex Quiz: Myths, Taboos & Bizarre Facts ]

"It kind of explains the approach to marriage and when young people should be getting married and then it goes on to try to explain why children have deformities; they call it monstrous births," Marsden told LiveScience. "They explain how to conceive children and how to conceive male and female children," said Marsden, adding the book describes what type of moon to lie under to conceive a male or female child.

(Read the rest of the story here)

AS IT STANDS: ‘Crazy Wayne' won't bring NRA into 21st Century

By Dave Stancliff/for the Times-Standard

According to Wayne LaPierre, CEO and Executive Vice President of the National Rifle Association, any attempt at gun control in this country is an “anti-American” attack that threatens all our rights.

Let's back up a moment and take a look at “Crazy Wayne.” He recently lashed out at the national media in the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre declaring, “ ... call me crazy for wanting armed police in schools.”

I call him crazy for even suggesting that his rabid defense of guns is mainstream, and that he represents a majority in this country. That's a flat out lie. The NRA has four million members, hardly a majority in America. Furthermore, try polling those NRA members and see what they really think about compromising on gun control for the sake of their own families.

”Crazy Wayne's” main point, when addressing the press after this latest tragedy, was that the NRA would not even begin to think about compromising on gun control laws despite the increasing mass murders in our country. Flat out. Period. No compromise.

Don't be too surprised by “Crazy Wayne's” unyielding stance. The guy gets a million dollars a year to just say no. But it's deeper than that. He's a fanatic. All you have to do is turn the clock back to 1993 in the aftermath of Waco, and later the Oklahoma City bombing to see that .

”Crazy Wayne” sent out a fund-raising letter after Waco referring to federal agents as

“terrorists and jack-booted thugs who wear Nazi helmets and wear black storm-trooper uniforms.”

Former president and avid NRA member George H.W. Bush was so enraged over “Crazy Wayne's” anti-American stance after Waco and the Oklahoma City bombing, that he publicly resigned his membership in the NRA.

Afterward “Crazy Wayne” insisted he only meant to criticize isolated incidents primarily involving the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF). However, there was one section of the letter that offered a more sweeping condemnation of federal law-enforcement efforts.

Once again the “jack-booted thugs with Nazi helmets” theme was repeated and “Crazy Wayne” claimed that under the Clinton Administration, “ ... if you have a badge, you have the government's go-ahead to harass, intimidate, and even murder law abiding citizens.”

Even before President Obama was elected the first time, “Crazy Wayne” warned his membership that there was a conspiracy, and Obama would take their guns away.

You may remember there were record gun and ammunition sales right after Obama was elected. You can thank “Crazy Wayne” for that. I wonder if his corporate cronies gave him a bonus?

Despite his doomsday warning, Obama didn't pass one gun control law. If anything, he extended rights for gun ownership and armed our rangers in federal parks. It didn't matter though. “Crazy Wayne” kept beating the drums through this last election cycle with the same dire warnings of a coming apocalypse for gun owners if Obama was re-elected.

I call him “Crazy Wayne” for a reason. Based upon his own actions, the man is an extreme, unyielding fanatic who cares more about his twisted ideology and his allegiance to the corporations that produce weapons and ammunition, than he does about the American public's safety.

Once the NRA stood for gun safety. It still offers state-of-the-art gun safety classes for shooters of all ages. But common sense in other matters seems to have deserted it's leadership.

Under “Crazy Wayne” people wonder how any kind of gun control legislation can be passed when the NRA lobby is flush with corporate bucks, and has paid buddies in both houses.

However, I learned one thing from this last presidential election that gives me hope. Super PACS and million dollar donations from wealthy individuals couldn't buy the Presidency. Therefore, even “Crazy Wayne's” efforts to advance the NRA's power are eventually doomed to fail. Perhaps 2013 will be that year when the majority of people will have their say.

As It Stands, Americans demand change in our gun laws. The senseless slaughter of 20 children and six teachers with an assault-style weapon was the last straw.

Blog Break: I’ll be back after officiating my son’s marriage

          Good Day World!

I’m taking a blog break until Monday, January 7th. I’ve been asked – and honored –to marry my youngest son, Elijah to his fiancé, Tiffany. The ceremony is taking place in Ashland, Oregon. I only hope it doesn’t snow, as the ceremony is set to take place outside! I’m sure there’s alternative plans if it does happen…at least I hope there are!

It’s a nice way to start the new year. Not too many people know I’m an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church and can officially marry anyone in all 50 states with traditional and non-traditional ceremonies. It’s one of my sidelines to keep life interesting. 

I intend to have lots of fun as our family and Tiffany’s get together this coming weekend. I’m not going to be thinking about fiscal cliffs, or 1st graders getting suspending from school for pointing a finger and saying, “Pow!”(story here).

I’m going to set aside stories like the one about the homeowner who shot a naked man who was choking his dog in his house (story here), or the naked man with the Samuria sword and the assault rifle who finally surrendered to the police in San Jose.

I’m not going to think about Singer Patti Page, whose smooth alto voice made hits of "How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?", "Tennessee Waltz" and "Old Cape Cod," who died yesterday at 85 years-old.

No…I’m going to ignore all that reality and enjoy the coming adventure. Please don’t be shy about checking out the links on the right side of the page: I bet there’s at least one topic that’ll interest you.

Now, it’s time for me to walk on down the road…

 

Scientists say sex-starved flies drown their woes in alcohol

Guys, when your sweetheart says “No thanks” to sex, do you knock back a few stiff drinks to feel better? Turns out fruit flies do pretty much the same thing.

That’s the word from a new study that may explain why both species react that way. In an issue of the journal Science, researchers propose a biological explanation for why “Not tonight, dear” may lead to “Gimme another beer.” If it proves true in people, it may help scientists find new medications to fight alcoholism.

In that case, we can thank thousands of frustrated flies. What’s going on here?

The researchers did other work that implicates a substance in the fly brain called NPF. They theorize that pleasurable activities like having sex boost the activity of brain circuits that use NPF, and that feels good. If a fly is denied sex, the system goes into deficit, driving the fly to seek other rewarding activities such as drinking alcohol.

“I think it’s a pretty good bet that it will translate to humans,” said Ulrike Heberlein of the University of California, San Francisco, who led the research. If so, “one can say we could now understand why a negative experience, such as a sexual rejection, could drive somebody to drink.” (Read the rest here)

Where No Civilian Companies Have Gone Before: Private Space Travel to Make Giant Leaps in 2013

                                             Good Day World!

  I’m feeling kinda old today while scanning stories about space travel to share. Buck Rogers would be comfortable with all of this talk about space flight in 2013.

This is all so 21st Century. Space supply ships. The Dragon capsule. Dragon Version 2. SuperDraco  thrusters. International space station. SpaceX. Beam me up Scotty!

“Private companies building new spaceships to soar through orbital and suborbital space are looking forward to an action-packed year in 2013, with new flight tests, launches, wind tunnel tests and rocket technology trials all planned during the new year. 

Image: An artistic rendition of the Dream Chaser vehicle launching into space. Sierra Nevada

Of the many spacecraft being developed only one has already flown in space, the Dragon capsule built by Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) in Hawthorne, Calif.The unmanned cargo ship has flown in space three times so far, and carried supplies to the International Space Station twice in 2012 — first in May during a test and then again October.

SpaceX’s next cargo flight to the station is set for May 2013. But a new astronaut-carrying version of Dragon is also in the works. The crewed capsule will be different from its robotic predecessor in several key areas, with SpaceX set to advancing technology for the new ship in 2013.

“Dragon Version 2 won’t look like [today’s Dragon]. I think it looks pretty cool. Dragon one, we didn’t really know what we were doing so that’s why Dragon looks similar to things that have happened in the past,”SpaceX founder Elon Musk told an audience during a talk at the UK’s Royal Aeronautical Society in London on Nov. 21. Musk described Dragon version 2 as having “legs that pop out” and added that it uses parachutes and its eight SuperDraco thrusters for a “propulsive landing.” [SpaceX’s Dragon at the Space Station (Photos)]

The SuperDraco thrusters, located around the base of the Dragon, also act as the pusher launch abort system to move the capsule (and crew) clear of its rocket during a launch emergency.

While Musk was unavailable for to discuss SpaceX’s plans for 2013, company officials did provide SPACE.com details on its expected activities.

NASA needs private space taxis
SpaceX is developing the seven-person Dragon 2 capsule to compete for NASA’s International Space Station (ISS) crew transportation contract. NASA’s commercial crew program is helping industry develop competing space transportation systems to win this ISS contract. Ed Mango is the commercial crew program manager.

“2013 will be a huge year for us. In the first couple of months we’ll kick off work for our certification contract and we’ll award that shortly,” Mango told SPACE.com. (Read the rest here)

Time for me to walk on down the road…

What a way to start a New Year…

It saddens me to see people murdered every New Year’s Eve like it’s a rite of passage in America. Such a grim statistic for a new year. People who partied until death joined the festivities. A grim aftermath to a night of revelry. Reality. We live in a violent society. 

“Seven people were shot, one of them fatally, during a New Year's party early Tuesday in Columbus, Ga., police said — just one of many fatal shootings to be reported across the country as 2013 got off to a bloody start.

Police detectives told NBC station WLTZ of Columbusthat six people were shot inside the Bar about 2:30 a.m. ET. One of the victims was pronounced dead, and the four others were being treated at the Medical Center of Columbus for non-life-threatening injuries.

Across the country, the New Year rang in with the sound of gunfire:

• Three people, one of them a 17-year-old boy, were shot and killed Tuesday morning in separate incidents in Philadelphia, NBC 10 of Philadelphia reported.

The teenager was shot in the head about 12:30 a.m. ET during an following a house party, police said. About two hours later, an unidentified man was shot and killed in the Frankford area of the city. Then, about 3 a.m., police who were called to a house in North Philadelphia, where they found three gunshot victims. One later died at a hospital.

• Police said they were investigating a double homicide Tuesday morning in Elizabeth City, N.C., NBC station WAVY of Portsmouth, Va., reported. The names of both victims were being withheld, but authorities said both were in their early 20s.
• Police in Suffolk, Va., said a 31-year-old man died at a hospital after he was shot at a "social gathering" about 3 a.m., WAVY reported.
• In Chicago, which hit the grim milestone of 500 homicides in 2012 last week, New Year's Day kept the toll clicking. A 20-year-old was killed Tuesday morning on the West Side, authorities said. He was among 11 people to have been shot so far Tuesday, the Sun-Times reported.

Tale of two cities: Homicides plummet in New York, leap in Chicago

• Another man was also shot and killed early Tuesday at a Georgia nightclub, this one the Club Fiesco located in South Augusta, police told NBC station WAGT of Augusta.
• A suspect was in custody after a man killed one person and wounded four others Tuesday morning at a convenience store in Lansing, Mich., NBC station WILX of Lansing reported. Three of those injured were reported to be in critical condition.
• Four people were shot, one of them fatally, at about 3:30 a.m. at a gasoline station in Lorain, Ohio, NBC station WKYC of Cleveland reported.
• Police said a man shot his girlfriend in the head in Port Arthur, Texas, during an argument Tuesday morning, NBC station KBMT of Beaumont reported. She was pronounced dead.
• A 19-year-old high school senior was dead and two other people were wounded during a shooting incident about 2 a.m. ET during a New Year's Eve party at an American Legion building in Clayton, N.C., NBC station WNCN of Raleigh reported.
• In Corpus Christi, Texas, a 35-year-old man who was found injured in parking lot Tuesday morning died at a hospital, NBC station KRIS of Corpus Christi reported. Police haven't confirmed how the man was wounded, but they arrested a man armed with a handgun after an hour long standoff at a nearby apartment.
• Police in Flint, Mich., said they had no suspects in the death of a man who was found Tuesday morning with a gunshot wound, NBC station WEYI reported.
• Indianapolis police who were called to a duplex shortly before 5:30 a.m. found a dead man with what appeared to be a gunshot wound, NBC station WTHR reported. No other details were immediately available.
• Sheriff's deputies were investigating a fatal shooting Tuesday afternoon in Columbia, S.C.,NBC station WIS of Columbia reported.”
• (Source)

First meteor shower of 2013 peaks this week

Good Day and Happy New Year World!

How about starting the year off with some cool stargazing?

What better activity than to observe meteor showers while you contemplate all the New Year’s resolutions you aren’t going to keep!

“The first meteor shower of 2013 will kick off the year's night sky events this week, giving stargazers a chance to ring in the New Year with a celestial fireworks display.

The Quadrantid meteor shower is an annual meteor shower every January. While this year's "shooting star" show is not expected to outshine some of the morespectacular meteor showers of 2012, it may give stargazers with clear, dark skies a great start to the New Year.

Photo - Astrophotographer Jeff Berkes took this photo of the Quadrantid meteor shower on Jan. 4, 2012.

"Those who brave the cold might see up to 40 meteors per hour, although moonlight will make faint meteors harder to spot," officials with the Hubble Space Telescope explained in a January sky watching video guide.

The waning gibbous moon will be out in full force during the shower's peak, but skywatchers in dark areas of the Northern Hemisphere during the wee hours of Thursday morning might still get a decent show.

Scientists suspect that the meteors of the Quadrantids are debris from the asteroid 2003 EH1 — the same source of the Geminid meteor shower every December. The asteroid itself may be a chunk from a shattered comet that broke into pieces several hundred years ago, NASA officials said in a statement.

The Quadrantid meteor shower occurs when the Earth passes through a stream of debris from the comet. The fragments slam into the atmosphere at 90,000 mph (144,841 kph) and burn up 50 miles (80.5 km) above the planet in a dazzling display.

The meteor shower is named for the outdated Quadrans constellation, which is no longer recognized by astronomers, NASA officials said.

"Located between the constellations Bootes and Draco, Quadrans represents an early astronomical instrument used to observe and plot stars," they added.

However, the constellation was still relevant in 1825, when the meteor shower was first documented by astronomers.

"Located between the constellations Bootes and Draco, Quadrans represents an early astronomical instrument used to observe and plot stars," they added.

However, the constellation was still relevant in 1825, when the meteor shower was first documented by astronomers.

Just in case you aren't interested in braving the cold, NASA is streaming the shower for free online from Jan. 2 to Jan. 4. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., has a light-activated camera pointed to the sky to record and live-stream the meteor shower during its peak.” (Source)

Editor's note: If you snap an amazing photo of the Quadrantid meteor shower and would like to share it with SPACE.com, contact us at spacephotos@space.com.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

The Top Ten Weirdest Stories from National Geographic in 2012

               Good Day World!

Here we are. The last day of the year. There’s a lot of topics with the usual Top 10 lists floating around. I settled upon the following one because it’s about animals and other living things in the natural world.

It’s my way of saying I’m tired of documenting people’s stupidity and triumphs every New Year’s Eve.

Animals are more interesting. They don’t take partisan views on subjects and tend to get along – interspecies - fairly well. Unless, of course one is a predator, and the other is natural prey. Then all bets are off. At least there’s no surprised involved in that relationship.

But I’ve seen elephants and dogs become great friends. Cats and dogs get along – under the right conditions. I had a goat whose best buddy was an old chicken named “Stupid Ludmilla.”

So I’m winding up this year with a tribute to all animals and living things like Slime Mold!). Enjoy:

World’s Smallest Frog Found

“Coming in as tenth weirdest is the housefly-size frog Paedophryne amauensis (below), the world’s smallest known vertebrate.At an average of 7.7 millimeters long, the frog is a hair smaller than the previous record holder, the Southeast Asian fish species Paedocypris progenetica, whose females measure about 7.9 millimeters, scientists said in January. Full story>>

Two-Faced Cat a Mystery

In August, Venus the two-faced cat became a feline hit: The three-year-old tortoiseshell debuted her own Facebook page, was featured in a YouTube video, and appeared on the Today Show. (Watch National Geographic cat videos.)

One look at this cat and you can understand why: One half is solid black with a green eye, and the other half has typical orange tabby stripes and a blue eye. The coloration may be a genetic mashup that one scientist called “absolute luck.” Full story>>

See the rest here and decide which one you think is the best!

It’s time for me to walk on down the road… for the last time in 2012! Happy New Year!

AS IT STANDS: Are you ready for New Year’s Eve?

                                
  By Dave Stancliff

For The Times-Standard
  It’s the day before New Year’s Eve, and all though the land alcohol companies are stocking store shelves with visions of obscene profits. Sales for products like Pepto Bismol and aspirin will go through the roof.
Ah! the rites of New Year’s Eve! A firmly entrenched holiday that celebrates booze and partying. What could be better than that? Millions of Americans gleefully get hammered and make New Year pledges they’ll never keep. But that’s okay.
New Year’s Eve parties are for adults and children are not welcome. Thoughtful parents often have New Year’s Eve parties for children, sans the booze, of course. Having never been to one I can’t vouch for what they do for fun.
Some people wait all year long to let their hair down and do the “Funky Chicken,” on this anointed holiday for drunkards. With any luck, other party-goers will be doing the same thing and everything that happens…is forgotten the next day.
Make no bones about it; New Year’s Eve is a rogue holiday that makes the rest of them look like milquetoast. The festive stage is set for a night of revelry drenched in champagne, cocktails, beer, rum, tequila, whiskey, wine, and vodka.

People also celebrate the holiday by getting high in other ways. There’s a slew of other possibilities ranging from cocaine to marijuana. But that’s not what you see on posters outside nightclubs and party places. 
I can see why the cops don’t like New Year’s Eve. Nothing is worse than a drunken moron on the road endangering themselves and others. Despite educational campaigns nationwide against drunk driving, more people will die on this New Year’s Eve from alcohol-related accidents than at any other time of the year, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

Two to three times more people die in alcohol-related crashes on New Year’s Eve than during comparable periods the rest of the year. And 40 percent of traffic fatalities involve a driver who is alcohol-impaired, compared to 28 percent the rest of the year.

I’d also like to dispel a myth: Caffeine won’t sober you up! The fact is, caffeine may help with drowsiness, but not with the effects of alcohol on decision-making or coordination.
The body needs time to metabolize (break down) alcohol and then return to normal. There are no quick cures - only time will help. So, if you do plan on go out and get blitzed tomorrow night, make sure you have a sober designated driver with you.
  Now some people have tried to convince me that New Year’s Eve is all about reflections on the past year - that people really want to gather and talk and the booze is only secondary. I wasn’t born yesterday.
You may hear talk about good or bad things that happened last year, but the brunt of the conversations go more along the lines of:
“Wow! Did you see that blond?”
Or, “Look at Howard! That’s 16 bottles of beer and he’s still going!”
Let’s be realistic, a New Year’s Eve party is about the here and now - getting drunk and having fun doing stupid things. There’s nothing highbrow at all when it comes to a New Year’s Eve Party.
New Year’s Day is another animal.
It’s the day after the party and people are sober. Some are cranky with throbbing headaches, swearing all the while they’ll never take another sip of whiskey again. Yes, it’s a day for reflection and planning for the future. A noble day with traditions that are observed worldwide.

A day of new starts. The first day of the year, full of promise for the days and months ahead. A day that represents hope for a better future.
But first we must get through New Year’s Eve, unscathed by our own stupidity if we let our sense of reason soak in alcohol and marinade in regret the next day.
Seeing as how this is my last column for 2012, I’ll take this opportunity to thank you for reading my ramblings. I’m not making any pledges for the New Year, but I will try to continue to offer topics of interest.
  As It Stands, Happy New Year!