Holy Crap!

Hey there! How're you doing? Fill that mug you're holding and grab hold of a virtual muffin, why don't'cha while I tell you about Holy Crap! I knew you'd want to know about it because, well...it's healthy and has a funny name.

Corin and Brian Mullins are a husband and wife team who started Holy Crap cereal with $129 in 2009. They’ve grown the artisan cereal business in a few short years to an award-winning business success story.

The gluten-free, vegan, certified organic breakfast cereals are made in Gibsons, British Columbia, a rural community outside of Vancouver, BC.

The cereal was developed by Corin Mullins to address Brian’s food allergies and sensitivities. Most healthy foods taste like cardboard and after formulating and testing 21 different recipes Corin found a winner. She created a nutrition-packed specialty breakfast cereal that is 65% sourced from Canadian ingredients. AND it tastes great!

Holy Crap received international attention from a kiosk at Granville Island Market in Vancouver during the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. Corin and Brian soon noticed customers from all over the world who bought the cereal at the Market were re-ordering the cereal from their website.

APPEARANCE ON DRAGONS DEN TV SHOW
Corin and her husband Brian’s appearance on CBC’s reality TV show, Dragons’ Den in November 2010 generated over $1M from their online store the week after the show aired. A 2012 Dragons’ Den special update show declared Holy Crap the most successful business ever to come out of the Den. The cereals are currently carried in over 2,000 health food stores and grocery stores across Canada and expansion to USA retailers is underway.

The company sells cereal but they are in the business of well-being. The products are becoming standard fare for such diverse groups as high performance athletes, diabetics, celiacs, dieters, outdoor enthusiasts, travelers, and people with high blood pressure, severe food allergies and other food sensitivities.

As a testament to the world’s most amazing breakfast cereal’s health benefits and a grand finale for 2012 – Holy Crap cereal rocketed to the International Space Station where Canadian Astronaut Chris Hadfield’s will enjoy it during his five-month mission beginning December 2012.

Far out, eh!  Don't know about you but I'm going to be looking for it...but it's likely not in any of the big supermarkets with their 'sensitivity to people's reactions to product names'. If you see it anywhere, let me know if it lives up to its reputation...or just its name.

See ya, eh!

Bob

Durex Funderwear Allows You To Touch Your Partner Remotely

Hi ya! You're timing is exquisite! Coffee's perky and the VTs are even more delectable than usual today do help yourself. Y'know, since I returned to the frozen north, I've rediscovered, among other things, fleece-lined blue jeans and long johns. Yeah, I know but winter's cold here and my tropical body is going to take a couple years or more to adjust to it, already. But, speaking of odd underwear (and remember the hugging jackets the Japanese have come out with?), here's a novel idea!

Durex has developed a new kind of underwear – indeed, Funderwear – that allows you to touch your partner remotely. It’s not just a scene from terrible Gerard Butler Katherine Heigl movies anymore.

The difference between Funderwear and your average pair of vibrating knickers is that the specially created bra and underpants have been fitted with miniature actuators to produce something more like the sensation of touch. There are five of these actuators, the technology used to make mobile phones vibrate, in each cup of the bra, and six more in the pants, with corresponding buttons on the smartphone app. Basically, you touch your partner by touching buttons on your phone. 

People this might be a great idea for:

1) People who are in long distance relationships. I mean, it seems sad, and as though it would remind you that you are not actually touching your partner, but it would probably beat skype sex. Or whatever else people are doing now.

2) People who love doing absolutely everything by their smartphones. You know who you are. You people who magically use them to procure food rather than just calling delivery places like the rest of the world. You are special people.

3) The man who wrote that Katherine Heigl/Gerard Butler movie where she wore vibrating remote controlled underwear to a dinner party. I don’t know what that guy is into, but it feels like a pretty safe bet to say that this would be up his alley (so to speak).

Scary stuff, eh? Imagine being on the subway on your way to work...or in the midst of making a high-powered sales presentation...or driving your car at the speed limit when your pants, not your phone, start to ring, vibrate or whatever. I mean the police are all over people using cell phone unless they are 'hands free'. What are they going to do...pull people over?

"May I see your license and registration, please?"
"Was I doing something wrong, officer?"
"You were gyrating about in the driver's seat. Are you wearing vibrating underwear?"
"Ah, well...um...could be, but you see, they were a present from my _____ (you fill in the name)..."
"I'm going to let you off with a warning this time on one condition...
What's that, officer?" 
"You have to tell me where I can get some. They'd be great on long stake-outs!"

See ya, eh!

Bob 
   

Heart Attack Grill's 'mascot' dies

Well, hi there. How're you faring? Better'n  John Alleman, anyway, I'll wager. Pour some Arabica juice into your mug and munch on a low-fat, virtual muffin, why don't'cha? Say...if you were reading my blog over a year ago, you may remember I did a feature on the Heart Attack Grill - a chain in the USA that produces monster burgers. Well, unfortunately, but predictably maybe, the unofficial spokesman for the Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas has died of a heart attack. He was the second unpaid mascot to die in the past two years.
 

John Alleman, 52, suffered an attack while waiting at a bus stop in front of the diner last week. He was taken off life support Monday, the Las Vegas Sun reported.

The medically themed diner is famous for its huge hamburgers, extra-fat milkshakes and fries cooked in lard. It uses the tagline: "Taste worth dying for."

Owner Jon Basso told the Sun that Alleman came to the restaurant daily and encouraged passing tourists to try its calorie-laden offerings.

"He never missed a day, even on Christmas," Basso said. "People just loved him. He connected with people in a real way."

Alleman became an unofficial mascot for the restaurant, which features waitresses in nurse garb. His caricature as "patient John" graced its merchandise and menus.

In 2011, another unofficial spokesman, a 575-pound man named Blair River, died at age 29. At the time, friends said pneumonia may have been the cause of death.

In 2012, a man in his 40s was hospitalized after he began sweating and shaking while eating a 6,000-calorie Triple Bypass burger at the downtown Las Vegas restaurant.

The ominously named diner features tongue-in-cheek health warnings and casts customers as patients. Eaters are given surgical gowns as they choose from a calorically extravagant menu.

Basso said Alleman weighed about 180 pounds and his death showed heart attacks can happen to anyone. 

All I can say is that he was warned and chose to indulge daily. He did what he liked doing - eating huge burgers and he paid the price...or did he? Hold on a minute. Let's think this one out. Hmmm.... the other people died in Las Vegas too, yet there are Heart Attack Grills in many cities. Maybe it's not the food at all. Maybe it's the pollution in Vegas. What'd'ya think? I hate to see a good burger maligned!

See ya, eh!

Bob

FootGolf – Fun New Sport Combines Football and Golf

Fore! I mean 'Hi there!' How the heck are you today, eh? Coffee's waiting for you and Madge's just brought a new flavourful tray of VTs out so dig in! To me, golf is like watching rocks grow. It's like cats - either you love them or you hate them. Well here's something that may make golf a little less unexciting. See what you think...

FootGolf is an addictively fun sport that combines golf and football (soccer). It’s usually played on golf courses and players have to putt a football in 21-inch holes using as few kicks as possible.

The origins of footgolf are unclear, but its conversion into an official sport can be attributed to the Netherlands, where the ruleset was standardized in 2009. Its popularity has expanded around the world ever since, and every day more and more football and golf fans choose to replace the club stroke with a good healthy kick. In this new precision sport, players are required to kick a football into a cup in as few shots as possible. 

Most of the rules correspond to those of golf, and there is even a dress code. The first shot has to be played from the tee, and obstacles like bunkers, trees, water and hills have to be avoided for an easier game. 

In some countries, the game also features man-made obstacles that the players are not allowed to touch or move in order to get the ball in the hole. Players have to combine powerful kicks with strategic plays in order to complete the 9 or 18 hole course as fast as they can.

Give me a good baseball game any day...but that's just me.

See ya, eh!

Bob

The World's Oldest Cat?

Hi ya! Been out on the prowl, have you? Nah...I didn't think so. Just kitten...I mean kidding. Fill your mug and hoist a virtual megamuffin onto your plate while I tell you about Waddy.

Wadsworth, the golden-eyed tuxedo cat, began life as a sickly runt who was abandoned at an English pub called Horse and Jockey. The pub owner Ann Munday found the wobbly pathetic-looking kitten and brought him home. ”He was a tiny and very poor little thing, so it’s a miracle he has survived,” reminisced Ann on Wadsworth’s most recent birthday.

Wadsworth turned 27!

At 27 years old, Wadsworth is likely the oldest cat in the world. Because Waddy, as he is affectionately known, has had only one owner (other than the uncaring people who threw him out as a newborn kitten), and has seen the same vet for the past 27 years, Ms. Munday has the vet records to prove her cat’s elderly status.

Acorn House Vets, which sees Wadsworth regularly now due to his advanced age, says he is is the oldest cat their practice has ever seen. Waddy was healthy throughout his life despite being a runt, but now he has developed hyperthyroidism, hence his monthly vet visits. “He does not appreciate being blood tested,” said the vet, ”so we keep these to a minimum, but Mrs Munday does a fantastic job of treating him, and he is very stable on the medication. He is a great character and we all enjoy seeing him.”
Ann said “I’ve always had cats, but he is an absolute dream, and he has been a fantastic companion since my husband died 13 years ago.”

At nearly three decades old, Waddy is unsurprisingly slowing down. Ann notices, “he doesn’t really play anymore,” but she is quick to add that he clearly still enjoys life. “Now he is like a little old man and mainly sleeps and eats. He has some ailments but he still gets up on my bed and the table.” And he still insists on sharing Fish-n-Chips with Ann. ”If I get fish and chips I always get him a bit of fish – he doesn’t like the chips,” she said.

At 27 – or 125 in human years – Wadsworth is in the sunset phase of his life, but I hope he and Ann will have each other for a least a few more years to come. 

If he is very lucky, he can live another eleven years, and outlive Cream Puff, the Texan cat that currently holds the world record for oldest cat ever. Cream Puff lived until age 38!

They say cats have nine lives. If Waddy hasn't used his up, there's a good chance he'll make it. Have to wait and see.

See ya, eh!

Bob  

Woman eats 2,500 calories a night while asleep

Well, hi there! Thanks for clicking by today. Did you have a restful sleep last night? Did you gain weight while you slept? Pour some coffee into your mug and snag a virtual treat while I tell you about Leslie Kusack. See, most people lose about 100 calories or so while they're catching z-z-z-z's but not Leslie...

Lesley Cusack, 55, keeps herself on a strict diet during the day because she has no control over what she eats while asleep at night. 

The mother-of-three from Warrington, Cheshire, in the U K, said: "I can only tell by the remains in the morning. I tend to find opened tins of things or packets and I've no idea whether I've eaten some of them cold or not. 

"Sometimes I've found soup in pans, but also in bowls - it all can get rather messy. 

"I've put alarms on my doors in the hope it will wake me up. It doesn't work though. I simply turn it off in my sleep. 

"I'm trying lose weight but it's a constant battle. I can follow a diet to the letter but it literally goes to pot at night. 

Aha! Eureka! Nong...that must be why I'm not losing weight. I must get up during the night and snack on a sandwich or two. Must be, eh! There's a good explanation for everything if you look hard enough and  accept pliable facts.

See ya, eh!

Bob

Eye Poster Puts Off Bike Thieves

Hi ya! How's trix? Mosey on over to the coffeepot. Pour yourself a delightfully refreshing mug of Joe and help yourself to a virtual muffin while you're over there. Say... have you ever had a feeling that someone is watching you? You know...the urge to turn around...hairs on the back of your neck standing up...that sort of thing. I'm sure we all have. Well, here's a case where the psychology of 'thinking' we may be watched is a deterrent.

Bike thefts have been cut sharply at a university just by placing a poster of watchful eyes above the cycle racks, according to researchers. The two-year experiment at Newcastle University was suggested by a security manager at the campus who had seen similar studies indicating that people behave better when they feel they are being watched. Academics found that bike racks where the poster was present had 62% fewer thefts than the previous year, while those without the poster saw thefts rise by 63%.

For the first year, the team monitored the level of bike thefts from all racks across campus for a control figure.  They then placed the posters in three locations, leaving the rest of the racks without signs. Crime levels were monitored at all the sites for a year.

Professor Melissa Bateson and Professor Daniel Nettle, of the Centre for Behaviour and Evolution, and Ken Nott, of Newcastle University's security team, were behind the study.

"We don't know exactly what is happening here but this just adds to the growing evidence that images of eyes can have a big impact on behaviour," said Professor Nettle. "We think that the presence of eye images can encourage co-operative behaviour. One strong possibility is that the images of eyes work by making people feel watched. We care what other people think about us, and as a result we behave better when we feel we are being observed."

I suppose that's true. At times we are on our best behavior and that is usually when we are applying for a job (being watched, as it were), in church, although I do think younger folks nowadays tend to disregard a lot of the old values. I am also sure that has been said ever since time began and cave kids acted 'different from their parents'. Some might say that leads to inquisitiveness which in turn leads to progress.

See ya, eh!

Bob

Back to our Origins?

Well hi there! Thanks for falling out of cyberspace and landing on my blog! Coffee’s fresh and the virtual treats are their usual array of splendiferousness. Help yourself while I bend your ear about a trend I’ve noticed. I call it ‘Back to our Origins’. By that I mean a return to caveman days.

The first one is that males of our species seem now to be anxious to have a ‘man cave’ in their homes – a room reserved for them and their (caveman?) male friends. One holding the largest possible flatscreen, HD 3D, that will fit in the room.  In days of yore, this was referred to as the ‘study’ to which men retired after dinner with their friends to smoke cigars and quaff a snifter of brandy. ‘Den’ is another term used throughout the last century although that ended up being the family room... thus losing its status as a male preserve.

Yes indeed – male caves are sprouting up all over the place. I’ve even seen boys as young as 10 with a ‘male cave’ sign on their bedroom door. 

The second one I’ve seen recently is the ‘Paleo’ diet. Weight loss has and will always be one of the biggest markets going.  What is the Paleo diet?

The Paleo Diet is based upon everyday, modern foods that mimic the food groups of our pre-agricultural, hunter-gatherer ancestors. The following seven fundamental characteristics of hunter-gatherer diets will help to optimize your health, minimize your risk of chronic disease, and lose weight.

• Higher protein intake – Protein comprises 15 % of the calories in the average western diet, which is considerably lower than the average values of 19-35 % found in hunter-gatherer diets. Meat, seafood, and other animal products represent the staple foods of modern day Paleo diets.
• Lower carbohydrate intake and lower glycemic index – Non-starchy fresh fruits and vegetables represent the main carbohydrate source and will provide for 35-45 % of your daily calories. Almost all of these foods have low glycemic indices that are slowly digested and absorbed, and won’t spike blood sugar levels.
• Higher fiber intake – Dietary fibre is essential for good health, and despite what we’re told, whole grains aren’t the place to find it. Non-starchy vegetables contain eight times more fiber than whole grains and 31 times more than refined grains. Even fruits contain twice as much fiber as whole grains and seven times more than refined grains.
• Moderate to higher fat intake dominated by monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats with balanced Omega-3 and Omega-6 fats – It is not the total amount of fat in your diet that raises your blood cholesterol levels and increases your risk for heart disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes, but rather the type of fat. Cut the trans fats and the Omega-6 polyunsaturated fats in your diet and increase the healthful monounsaturated and Omega-3 fats that were the mainstays of Stone Age diets. Recent large population studies known as meta analyses show that saturated fats have little or no adverse effects upon cardiovascular disease risk.
• Higher potassium and lower sodium intake – Unprocessed, fresh foods naturally contain 5 to 10 times more potassium than sodium, and Stone Age bodies were adapted to this ratio. Potassium is necessary for the heart, kidneys, and other organs to work properly. Low potassium is associated with high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke – the same problems linked to excessive dietary sodium. Today, the average American consumes about twice as much sodium as potassium.
• Net dietary alkaline load that balances dietary acid – After digestion, all foods present either a net acid or alkaline load to the kidneys. Acid producers are meats, fish, grains, legumes, cheese, and salt. Alkaline-yielding foods are fruits and veggies. A lifetime of excessive dietary acid may promote bone and muscle loss, high blood pressure, and increased risk for kidney stones, and may aggravate asthma and exercise-induced asthma.
• Higher intake of, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and plant phytochemicals – Whole grains are not a good substitute for lean meats, fruits, and veggies, as they contain no vitamin C, vitamin A, or vitamin B12. Many of the minerals and some of the B vitamins whole grains do contain are not well absorbed by the body.

What? No coffee? Pizza? C’mon, eh! Oh well…this trend will last only until someone comes up with the next new and improved solution to losing weight. Me? It’s back to the man cave to watch the game!

See ya, eh!

Bob

Steampunk Locomotive Is One Smoking BBQ Grill

Well, there you are! I thought I heard the patter of little fingers working away at the computer keys...and I was right. You're just in time, too, because there's a fresh pot of coffee and a tray of virtual treats waiting for you. Nothing barbequed though... but wait...if you're into BBQs, here's a doosie!

Locomotive-shaped grills are not exactly unheard of, but a team of Russian metal workers have taken it upon themselves to set a new standard by building a unique and awesome-looking Steampunk locomotive barbecue grill.

This practical work of art was created by a group of metal workers from the village of Deulina, near the city of Ryazan, in Russia, who specialize in interior, exterior and landscape design. The one-of-a-kind Steampunk grill was apparently forged from scrap automobile, motorcycle and train parts, and is currently installed on a private property where very few have the privilege to see it in person. Luckily for the rest of us, the builders took a set of photos for a Moscow exhibition-competition, since their locomotive was too heavy to transport. 

The grill was built in 2009, but the pics only recently surfaced on a series of Western sites and forums. The little information available on the Steampunk locomotive grill is in Russian, and although Google Translate does a decent job of revealing the essential, there are few paragraphs that don’t make much sense. 

The locomotive has three work bays – two 60-cm-long grilling pits in the main body and a trailer that acts as a stove. The first compartment is designed for barbecuing kebabs and can accommodate up to twenty skewers, while the second one is equipped with a rotating spit for roasting chicken and large pieces of meat. Some of the locomotive parts are actually functional, like the large brass wheel in the cabin that rotates the spit.

Yee Haw! Through another cow on the barbie, tovarich! Talk about a summer project for you, eh!

See ya!

Bob

Ultimate Privacy – The House Built in the Middle of a River

Hi ya! How're you doing today? Coffee's just finished brewing and the treats are straight out of the virtual oven so help yourself, eh! Say y'know, here in Canada, many people have cottages on islands and I guess it's because they want their privacy. It'd be like seeking independence from the rest of the world, I guess and sometimes that'd be a good thing. Well, here's a neat place in Serbia that would be the envy of many of those cottagers...

Have you ever dreamed of having a home in the middle of nowhere to escape to every now and then? This house built straight in the middle of the Drina River in Serbia fits the bill perfectly.

Standing on an exposed rock bang in the center of the river, near the town of Bajina Basta, this tiny house has been getting a lot of attention on the internet ever since it was captured on camera last year by Hungarian photographer Irene Becker. Her photo was published by National Geographic as one of the best ‘Photos of the Day’ in August 2012, and ever since then the mysterious and tranquil abode of Drina River has captured the imagination of millions. 

“I’m so glad that my picture makes this tiny house known to more and more people,” Becker said about her work. But in Serbia, the precariously placed house has been a popular tourist destination for decades, and a symbol of the picturesque Basta region. It was even nominated as one of the Seven Wonders of Serbia.

Just looking at the picture brings to mind one question...I wonder what happens when it's really windy?

See ya, eh!

Bob 

All your Meals in a Glass!

Hey there! How's it going? Help yourself to a glass of coffee and a glassful of virtual muffin, doughnut or pastry! Sound appetizing? 

Rob Rhinehart, a 24-year-old software engineer from Atlanta, has been living on a liquid diet for the past three months and says he has never felt better. He has combined all the nutrients he needs in a shake-like drink named Soylent which allegedly contains just a third of the calories and no toxins or cancer-causing substances.

You might be tempted to believe that Rob switched from solid foods to Soylent to lose weight, but that’s only one of his reasons. After realizing he was spending around 2 hours every day cooking food, the young software engineer decided something had to be done to make eating and all the work it involves less time-consuming. 

Conventional food was also affecting his finances and physical strength, so being the experimental person he is he started looking for a better alternative to common food. Reading biology books made him think that the cells of the human body don’t really know the difference between nutrients from a carrot and those from a powder, so he started scouring the Internet for every essential nutrient in powdered form. Soon, his kitchen looked more like a chemistry lab in which he experimented with various quantities of powders until he found the mix that worked for him. 

For the past three months he has lived on Soylent alone, and says he has noticed a massive boost to his focus, stamina, physique, and free time.  

Must be odd, though, to go out on a date where your date is chomping away on a fillet mignon, baked potato, asparagus spears, Caesar salad followed by blueberry cheesecake with raspberry sauce while you sit there nursing your glass of Solvent...sorry, I meant Soylent... through three or four courses, huh? Better be an exceptional conversationalist or have a book of Sudoku puzzles handy!

See ya, eh!

Bob

Government in Action

Well, a great big "Hi y'all!" today?  Hope your day is shaping up to be a wonderful one. Coffee's brewed and waiting for you and that's a new tray of delectable virtual treats sitting there. Help yourself! 

Say, one of the sites I like to look at from time to time is called "News of the Weird". (No surprise there, eh!) While I ignore most of the stuff, occasionally I come across something I feel is blogworthy and shareable. For example...

Among the lingering costs of U.S. wars are disability payments and compensation to veterans' families, which can continue decades after hostilities end. 

An Associated Press analysis of federal payment records, released in March, even found two current recipients of Civil War benefits. Vietnam war payments are still about $22 billion a year, World War II - $5 billion, World War I - $20 million, and the 1898 Spanish-American war, about $1,700. [Associated Press via MassLive.com, 3-19-2013] 

I don't know how you feel about that and I wonder what similar situations exist in Canada, England, et al? I'm all for beneficiaries and veterans receiving their due benefits but surely there ought to be a line drawn somewhere. 

"Hey, Imogena, I'mma just got a letter from the government. Itsa say I'mma get no more benefits fromma them for the death ofa my ancestor - Julius Caesar. You thinka that's fair? I'mma sure don't! He wasa killed in government service and I'mma think it's the responsibility ofa the government to take care of hisa beneficiaries in perpetuity. I'mma pissed and I'mma gonna complain."

See ya, eh!

Bob  

Eyeball Scraping – The Vanishing Trade Practiced by Sichuan Barbers

Well, a big ni-howdy to you today! Yesterday I talked about weddings in Japan. Soon as you get your coffee and a virtual treat, I'm going to shift the conversation to China. Say...when was the last time you had your eyeballs scraped? I can't remember, either though offhand I'd say it was likely several lives ago...if ever!

Barbers in China’s Sichuan Province have practiced the art of eye-cleaning with a sharp blade for centuries. Like many other ancient traditions, this dangerous trade is slowly vanishing, but you can still find a few barbers willing to scrape your eyeballs with a knife for as little as RMB5 ($0.80).

According to an old Sichuan saying, cleaning the eyes makes the beauty of life more visible, and some people are prepared to go under the knife to make sure they don’t miss a thing. Nicknamed “knife-blade eye cleaning”, the practice of scraping a person’s eyeballs and eyelids with sharp utensils has been a part of Chinese culture ever since ancient times. The craft was supposedly popularized by brothers Zhou Chengfu and Zhou Chengyin, who followed their father’s footsteps and excelled in the technique of servicing the eyeballs, ears and necks of clients, but in recent years it has almost died out. 

Still, if you look hard enough, you can still find eye-cleaning stands even in modern cities like Sichuan’s capital, Chengdu. 53-year-old Liu Deyuan has been successfully running his small eye-cleaning business for 7 years, offering a head shave and an eye scrape for just RMB5. With many long-term clients lining up to get their eyes cleaned every month, the skilled barber says business is still pretty good.

Y'know, I may just have to pass this one by - even if I was in Sichuan. Having my eyeballs scraped would be in the same category as having an ice cold salt water enema!

See ya, eh!

Bob

Fake Christian Priests of Japan – A Booming Business

Konichi wa and a gracious good day to you. May your day be blessed and all good things come unto you throughout the day. Let us begin with a huge mug of coffee and a heavenly virtual treat, shall we? Okay...now that I've set the tone for today, read on...

Christians make up only 1.4% of Japan’s 127 million population, but Western “white weddings” now account for around three quarters of all bridal ceremonies, which means Christian priests are in high demand. To meet their clients’ expectations bridal companies have given up on trying to find ordained ministers and have kept requirements to a minimal – men looking foreign-enough to pass as Christians who can speak a little Japanese and perform the ceremony in 20 minutes.

Japan’s love affair with Christian wedding is believed to have started in the 1980s with the televised weddings of Prince Charles and Lady Diana and was fueled by the nuptials of Japanese pop star Momoe Yamaguchi. People, women especially, were attracted by the idea of celebrating their marriage through a ritual that revolved around love and that elevates the bride to the status of princess even for a short while. 

Traditional Shinto weddings, on the other hand, encase women in a wig and kimono, and are focused more on the merger of two families. The Japanese simply  fell in love with the sharp dress code, the kiss and the overall image of Western weddings over their centuries-old traditions. But in order to have a genuine-looking ceremony, they wanted Christian priests, which were pretty hard to find. 

That started the now famous “foreign fake pastors” trend that saw companies and hotels hiring average foreign gentlemen with minimal knowledge of the Japanese language to perform Christian weddings.

"Nong! We're moving to Japan. I know we just moved here from Thailand but they need my help in Japan. What do you mean...I don't think so?"

Here I am retired and holding legal ordination documents and people in Japan are having to get 'fake' priests to marry them? I've got to think about this...maybe a once a month one-week holiday in Tokyo and other cities...all expenses paid plus a nominal (but not too nominal) fee per marriage performed and Bob's your uncle...not to mention your minister, eh. 'Marriages performed and consummated!'  That'll be my motto...being ever helpful, I mean!

See ya, eh!

Bob 

The Exchange Bar & Grill Where Prices Fluctuate Like Stocks!

Hi ya! Gow're you doing today? Tickery-boo? Great! Pour yourself a great big mug of Arabica juice and snag one of our choicest virtual muffins. Say...are you into trading stocks? Here's an interesting twist on the Stock Market...

You don’t have to be an experienced stock trader to make a killing at the Exchange Bar & Grill in New York City, where prices of food and drink fluctuate according to the law of supply and demand.

The way it works is quite simple. According to the Exchange website, “The prices for your favorite drinks fluctuate depending on supply and demand. Watch a while when no one is ordering your favorite drink and snag it when the cost falls to unbelievable lows – or use your leverage to jack up the price of any cocktail, drink or shot for the whole bar.” 

Unlike the real stock market, insider trading isn’t illegal. You are welcome to make use of the tactic to catch the ‘market crash’, when every drink in the bar hits rock bottom. At times like this, beers are sold for as low as $2 to $4. 

The Exchange can seat up to 60 people and atmosphere is like a nice lounge with dim lighting, HD screens and leather couches. The ‘ticker tape’ flashes the fluctuating menu prices in red lettering according to an algorithm, the secret to which even Steven Yee, an operating partner at Exchange, claims he doesn’t know. 

 “The algorithm was created by the person who wrote the software, and the guy won’t even share it with me.” Yee also says that the ticker is just a fun feature, and that they are more about good food, fantastic staff, a bar and a great atmosphere.

I can see this catching on in other large trading centres, can't you? Why not, eh? It would liven up the local dispensery of liquid libations, what?

See ya, eh. 

Bob 

The Dangers of Heartburn

G'day to you! Thanks for clicking by. May I wish you a heartburn-free day. Coffee's a-waiting in the pot and the virtual treats are their usual array or irrisistableness sitting there on the tray. Say...you get heartburn, don't'cha? Well here's some interesting information about it. I have to tell you, I get it almost every day and I don't like it one bit. This comes from Dr. Al Sears.

Heartburn is usually a muscle problem. It involves the lower esophageal sphincter (LES). It’s a flap that relaxes or opens when food goes down into the stomach. When it’s not being used, it’s supposed to stay shut.

But, in the case of heartburn, your LES doesn’t seal completely. This allows stomach acids up into your esophagus. Over time this damages the esophageal lining, leading to inflammation, ulcers, and even cancer of the esophagus.¹

The typical treatments for heart burn are over-the-counter antacids such as Tums® and Maalox®. Some doctors prescribe H2 blockers like Zantac® and Tagamet®. These medications block the action of histamine, which normally stimulates stomach acid secretion.

You get temporary relief from your symptoms… but they treat the symptom, not the cause.

And here’s the thing: Blocking the production of stomach acid is not healthy. Low stomach acid levels lead to a chronic condition known as hypochlorhdyria. This happens when your body doesn’t have enough stomach acid to digest your food and extract the nutrients.

It’s like starving.

This nutritional deficiency opens the door for bacterial and fungal overgrowth and sets the stage for many chronic conditions like adrenal fatigue, high cortisol levels, autoimmune deficiencies, and gastric cancer.²

You don’t need antacids or drugs to fix heartburn.

Start with simple prevention: Try to avoid eating large meals, or too much alcohol, nicotine, or caffeine, which are all contributors to LES malfunction.

If you do get heartburn, try ginger root. Research shows ginger can strengthen the lower esophageal sphincter (LES). Add one-half teaspoon of freshly grated gingerroot to a cup of hot water. Let the ginger steep for 10 minutes. Strain the ginger and drink.

I also recommend peppermint. Place a wad of peppermint leaves between your molars and chew it for a minute before swallowing. The calming effect on your stomach is almost immediate.

The most effective remedy for heartburn is d-limonene. It’s an extract from citrus fruit peels. In one recent trial, 90% of the people taking d-limonene reported complete relief of their heartburn symptoms in just two weeks. And the effect lasted for six months after they stopped taking it.³

You can find d-limonene online and at your local health food store. They usually come in a softgel or liquid capsule, so your stomach can break them down quickly. Good ones are standardized to contain 95% d-limonene, but you can find as high as 98.5% extract.

I have to say that I'm not a big fan of ginger in its pure form though ginger tea is all right. I used to drink that in Thailand and I think I'll get back to doing so. Maybe it'll help. You can also find peppermint tea in most stores.

See ya, eh!

Bob