Categorically, All Things Uncategorized.
The remote control that revolutionized our ‘fat assets’ – Leonard Pitts Jr. – MiamiHerald.com
We are gathered here today to memorialize a man who revolutionized our lives.
So what did Eugene J. Polley do? What was the nature of his great leap forward? Did he invent the PC? Did he invent the cell phone? Did he invent the Internet?
No. Eugene J. Polley invented the wireless remote ….
The remote control that revolutionized our ‘fat assets’ – Leonard Pitts Jr. – MiamiHerald.com
Eat more sugar! | Wheat Belly Blog
What’s the point of avoiding wheat if you don’t have celiac disease or gluten-sensitivity? Many reasons:
1) You avoid the gliadin protein of wheat, the opiate in wheat that stimulates appetite and increases calorie consumption by 440 calories per day. (Eliminate gliadin and calorie consumption drops by 440 calories per day.)
2) You avoid the lectin in wheat, wheat germ agglutinin, that is directly toxic to the intestinal tract and causes abnormal intestinal permeability that Trojan horse’s foreign substances into the bloodstream, causing multiple inflammatory diseases. You may also restore leptin sensitivity to restore the capacity for weight loss.
3) You avoid the amylopectin A of wheat, the “complex carbohydrate” that accounts for the fact that two slices of whole grain bread increases blood sugar higher than 6 teaspoons of table sugar.
4) You avoid the alpha amylase inhibitors that trigger wheat allergy, likely the trigger for the boom in wheat allergy among kids.
There’s more, but you get the idea. Wheat is a perfectly crafted poison to humans.
As an introvert, smoking gave me instant rapport with other smokers. Although I lost that community when I quit smoking, I suddenly had a lot of time on my hands. I was amazed by that. But, if you smoke a pack a day and each cig takes 3 minutes or so, that’s an hour. (I did the math for you.) We fritter time away in small chunks. Since I stopped using Twitter and Facebook, I already have time on my hands.
Using Twitter and Facebook, I’ve come to see myself as a mouse tapping the bar, waiting for a pellet to drop out, over and over again. Sometimes there’s a yummy morsel — more often, there is not. No offense to everyone who thinks their morsel is so yummy. I’m tired of pushing the bar every few seconds. I want those seconds to add up to something more than "is that all there is?"
I’m especially frustrated that Twitbook promotes ADHD and memory loss. Name one tweet or status update that really stuck with you yesterday. Can you? How about last week? How many times have you puzzled over what someone meant in 140 characters or less? How many links have you followed that left you shrugging? Attention is a limited resource. Spend your time on beauty, wonder, laughter, and love. In the real world.
I’ll continue to feed my own pellets into the pipe. I like to write. You don’t have to read or respond, if it seems unfair to you. I’ll offer you a deal: if I would follow you on Twitbook and you have a blog, I’ll subscribe to your blog. If you want me to know something, send me email. I’m still interested in you, just not in wasting precious attention.
He’s 70. Started his next novel on Christmas Eve, 2011. Always writes the ending first. It’s easy to foreshadow when you know how things are going to end.
Waist to height ratio is much easier to calculate than BMI — and easier to track changes.
A Better Way to Assess Body Fat and Health Risk?
"Keeping your waist circumference to less than half your height can help increase life expectancy for every person in the world," says researcher Margaret Ashwell, PhD, of Ashwell Associates, in Hertfordshire, England.
Calling waist-to-height ratio a "one-size-fits-all approach," Ashwell says that it should replace BMI and waist circumference alone as a way to assess body fat and health risks everywhere.
Gah! Arg! [bites arm and screams]
I’ve lived at my current address for nearly 25 years. I’ve had my Visa card for nearly 30 years. In all that time, I’ve had two phone numbers until very recently. I don’t recall my phone number ever being a problem when using my Visa.
Two nights ago, I decided to buy a touchscreen monitor as part of my research for my book, Windows 8 for Seniors. After an hour online, I decided to buy a Dell monitor. I’ve owned several Dell computers. Merri loves her aging Studio Hybrid (no longer made).
Amazon couldn’t match Dell’s $30 discount or free 3 year warranty, so I decide to buy directly from Dell. I remember when Dell’s website was state of the art and extremely useful. Not so much anymore. I stepped through half a dozen marketing screens to buy my one item. I agonized over whether to spend $25 for one day delivery (I did). Several screens later, I learned that meant 1 day after shipping but that shipping would be in a week. Good grief. That really made me appreciate Amazon’s onscreen message that if I buy an item within x hours, I can have it the next day – not the day after a week from now. (As well as Amazon OneClick and Prime.) I grimaced and went on.
I filled in all the required information for billing and shipping. I noticed something I don’t remember seeing before: a phone number for the billing address. For quite some time, I’ve used my Google Voice number for purchases. However, Visa doesn’t have that number, so I entered the most likely number.
On the next screen, Verified by Visa appeared. As I understand it, this comes from my credit card issuer and is direct communication between us to guarantee that only I am making a purchase. I now wonder if Verified by Visa means anything, at least to Dell.
A confirmation screen appeared, followed by confirmation email. A week and a day from now, I would have my monitor. I went to bed.
The next morning, a new email alerted me that there was a problem processing my order, but not the nature of the problem. I checked the website, which only indicated my order was “in process.” I looked for an email address for customer service; no luck. Reluctantly, I clicked the Chat Now link. The resulting Web page informed this service is only available during certain hours. But it was within those hours, so why didn’t chat work? Sigh.
I girded my loins and called the 800 number. Richard answered. I gave him customer number, order number, and purchase number. I recited every bit of my address. I confirmed the last 4 digits of my Visa number. After a long pause, Richard said there was a problem with my billing address. That’s not possible, I said. Then give me the correct billing information, he said. I have. I did on the website. It was Verified by Visa. I’m sorry, he said (and sounded sincere). I don’t know why he didn’t offer to give me to a supervisor, except that he probably gets demerits for such.
I felt like screaming on a street corner, so I tweeted, “@Dell threw away a sale. My billing address is incorrect? They’re wrong. Take a lesson from Amazon, for gawd’s sake!” Minutes later, @Dell replied, “@mjhintonNM Sorry to hear about that! Hoping our @DellCares team on twitter can assist you with your order. We value your business!” Hey, that’s a positive step. Or so I thought before half a dozen direct messages with @DellCares (Scott). I emailed Scott all my billing address info. Eventually, I learned that there may have been a problem with my phone number and that “a Credit Card specialist” should take care of it.
I said to Scott, as I said to Richard and to you: it shouldn’t be this hard. Eighteen hours after Verified by Visa, three nice Dell employees couldn’t fix this. That’s enough time. I have a book to write and I have a touchscreen already, purchased hassle-free with my 30 year old Visa card.