Cleaning Public Toilets as a Weekend Hobby(?)

Well, there you are. Here I was beginning to worry...but I knew you'd make it. Lots of traffic in cyberspace today? Never mind. You're here now and that's what's important so pour yourself a steaming mug of coffee and help yourself to a virtual treat, why don't'cha? Say...what's your opinion on public toilets. Sorry... did I catch you with a mouthful of muffin?

Most people would rather their bladder burst than walk into a public toilet to do their business, let alone to clean it, but the members of Tokyo social club Benjyo Soujer do it for free, with their bare hands, as a therapeutic hobby.

On Sunday mornings, a group of 35 adults and children gather at public lavatories around Tokyo, to clean them. They are members of Benjyo Soujer, a social club founded on Facebook, and their main mission is to clean themselves by cleaning cubicles. 

They start by mixing their own cocktails of cleaning agents, then huddle into the toilets spraying and scrubbing everything from the urinals and toilet bowls to the facility’s walls and floor. By the time they’re done, the place is as clean as the day it first opened its doors, maybe cleaner. 

The 35 members of the unique group don’t think of themselves as volunteers helping the local administration keep public restrooms sanitary, instead saying they do the work for themselves as a sort of spirit cleansing ritual similar to the ones practiced by Buddhist monks to find peace of heart. For some, it’s also also a fun way to blow off steam before the coming week.

Looking for something to while away your time on the weekends? With winter on its way, staying inside is a good idea. Why not make use of your time indoors? Start a new weekend hobby. Imagine the press you'd receive if you started a group to, well...clean public toilets, let's say.... Wait. Where are you going? You didn't finish your muffin! It could be a sort of penance for whatever...good for the soul, therapy and exercise all at the same time, eh. A sort of spirit cleansing ritual just like those Japanese folk. You'll feel much better afterwards...

See ya, eh!

Bob

Ready for Chirstmas yet?

Holy reindeer dropping! Are you kidding me? Hey...great to see you, by the way. Come in on a cyber-sleigh today, did you? Got your Christmas shopping done yet? Fill your coffee mug and snag a virtual treat to munch on while you thumb through your copy of the Sears Christmas Wish Book 2013! What...you don't have yours yet? C'mon. I know it's still only August but ours was delivered to our door Wednesday. Yup..in August! 

Talk about getting a jump on the season, eh! Here we are sweltering in the summer heat. Everyone's out in shorts, t-shirts, tank tops and sandals and some marketing genius who is obviously out of their cotton picking mind is sending out Christmas catalogues. Give us a break, eh!

Oh, yeah, and hockey season is right around the corner, too. Local teams are already heating up (cooling down?) with pix in the papers, write-ups and there are even replays of some of last season's games, would you believe. The season just ended in June for cripes sake. 

Now you want me to start thinking about Christmas? Have the decency to at least wait until after hallowe'en, would you...and that's two months away. There are even Christmas ornaments on sale in at least one major store here!

All right, I confess. I did remind Nong that my birthday is right after the New Year so, like, while she's out in the August heat shopping for my Christmas present, she may as well kill two birds with one stone and pick up my birthday present, eh!

Makes sense to me, no?

See ya in the stores, eh! Have a Merry Labour Day, Thanksgiving, Hallowe'en, and the rest of the holidays that fall between now and Christmas. Whatever!

Bob

Helpful Derivative Military Technology

G'day to you!  Believe it or not, I was just thinking about you. Uh-huh! And what do you know...here you are! Great to see you. Help yourself to a mugful of coffee and a virtual muffin, eh, before I start to drone on. Did I say drone? Well, I'll be...

Manayunk Cleaners in Philadelphia has been testing delivery of customers' clothing via its own drone (a converted four-blade DJI Phantom quadcopter originally used for aerial photography), guided by GPS. 

Said one bemused customer, "I was wondering what the hell that was, to be honest." So far, the payload is limited to a shirt or towel, to be picked off the hovering aircraft by the customer, but owner Harout Vartanian hopes to buy a bigger drone soon. 

Agence France-Presse news service reported an even bolder drone program in August: delivering beer to music festival-goers in South Africa. The director of the Oppikoppi festival in Limpopo province attested to the drone's success. A reveler places an order by cellphone, which marks the location, and the drone is dispatched to lower the beer by parachute -- usually in the midst of a cheering crowd. 

Easy to see why that would earn applause...

See ya, eh!

Bob

Stop Doing the Impossible

Hey! Hey! Thanks for dropping into a cyber-orbit around the ol' cafe today. Got another message from my pal Dr Al but let's get things in the right order, eh. Coffee and a VT and then my enlightening post. Sound good? Well don't just hover there... fill your mug and grab a megamuffin before you sidle into your chair at the table here. Ready? Here's what Dr Al has to say this morning.

Dear Bob,

I’m not popular with the powers that be.

They would prefer that I not practice anti-aging medicine.

It’s still not a recognized specialty, and we have people in the National Institutes of Aging, a branch of the National Institutes of Health – which controls billions of dollars in research money – saying that any doctor who practices anti-aging is a quack.

Many say there’s no such thing as anti-aging, and it’s impossible. But while they were busy saying that, we were busy proving them wrong.

We have lots of very strong scientific evidence that you can accomplish that goal.

In fact, starting right now, you can intervene in the mechanism of aging in a very big and important way.

And today I’m going to show you exactly how to do it.

It reminds me of the Chinese saying that goes something to the effect of, “If you’re going to say something is impossible, don’t interrupt the person doing it.”

I think of this every time the FDA interrupts one of my letters to you by telling me I can’t talk about anti-aging. They don’t want me having that conversation with you. They don’t even want me to say “anti-aging.”

What country do we live in?

It’s backfiring on the powers that be though. They want me to shut up. But people tell me one of the reasons they want to read my letters is that I won’t. I’m willing to say things that are counter-current and unpopular.

For example, no one but me has written much about the most consequential effect of aging on your physiology and anatomy. And that is that is this: Your lungs shrink.

Your pulmonary capacity declines, your cardiac capacity declines, your maximum achievable heart rate declines, the amount of blood that your heart can pump declines, your total cardiac output declines, the elasticity of your cardiovascular system including the ability to dilate your arteries declines, so that you get less oxygen and less blood to your tissues.

Those are huge consequences that many of the other effects of aging come from.

Nobody talks about that except me. You can’t have an anti-aging program without addressing that. It’s like sharing a life raft with an elephant. Nothing else you do will have an impact if you allow those declines to continue.

The good news is those effects are completely reversible. You can stop them in their tracks.

I’m living proof:

• I have the oxygen carrying capacity that exceeds the 50th percentile for an 18-year-old. So I’m not even on the graph yet and I’m 56.

• There’s a formula that calculates how high you can get your heart rate. It’s generally accepted that it’s 220 minus your age, although there are slightly different formulas. Even using the most lenient, I should only be able to get my heart rate to 170 beats per minute. But I can get my heart rate to 220. So that means I have a biological age of zero.

How is that possible?

When they began looking at exercise, nobody took into account what would happen if you made capacity – things like heart rate and maximum oxygen uptake – the goal.

There’s a funny thing that happens in the universe that any time you focus on something. It starts to change because of your focus. Especially if you use an incremental, progressive program to challenge it.

And every time you use that newly built capacity to challenge it more, it’s like compound interest in a bank account. It has a huge effect over time.

I created a new category of exercise that uses these principles I discovered so that you can indeed reverse the age of your heart and lungs.

You may already know I call it P.A.C.E. That stands for Progressively Accelerating Cardiopulmonary Acceleration. When you use it to focus on capacity, you’re using the world’s only anti-aging exercise program.

In fact, you can start using P.A.C.E. right now. I guarantee you’ll feel greater stamina, more energy, and begin to reverse years of aging in your body.

Give yourself a bit of room, and try this movement … it’s called a Cross-Crunch.

1. Stand upright with your legs together and arms extended in front of your chest, elbows bent.

2. Lift your right knee toward your left elbow.

3. At the same time, swing your right arm down and behind you.

4. Return to starting position and repeat motion on the other side.

Alternate those two marching-style movements until you’ve reached your desired intensity for each of three sets. Stop and recover in between.

To make it a true P.A.C.E. workout, incrementally increase the challenge. Instead of marching, add a little hop, or even jump. Also, remember to include acceleration. That means shorten your recovery time between sets, or get up to your desired intensity faster.

If you’re just beginning, you can modify the cross-crunch by bringing your knee up and touching your hand to it instead of your elbow.

As you progressively increase the challenge, you will successfully reverse the age of your heart and lungs. Which shows how fun it can be to do the supposedly impossible.

To Your Good Health,

Al Sears, MD

Sounds like something I ought to try and I will...soon's I rest up a bit.

See ya, eh!

Bob

Amazing Banana Sculptures

Yo! Wassup, eh! Glad you dropped out of the cybersky today to join me in a perky mug of coffee and a virtual treat. Try a banana nut muffin, why don't'cha? Speaking of bananas...

Keisuke Yamada is a self-taught Japanese artist who takes plain bananas and turns them into edible masterpieces. Using only a spoon and toothpicks the talented food artist works against the clock, trying to finish his pieces before the fruit begins to oxidize.

Sculpting bananas is not easy. The fragile texture of the fruit and the fact that you can’t add more material to cover up a mistake like you would with clay makes it a very difficult material to work with. And that’s exactly what makes 26-year-old Keisuke Yamada’s art so special. 

It all began little over two ears ago when he peeled a banana and thought it would be interesting to carve something into it. His first creation was a simple smiling face, but he received such a positive reaction from art fans that he felt inspired to pursue the idea further. Using only a spoon to prime the banana by smoothing its surface and toothpicks for carving its flesh, Keisuke created an entire series of banana sculptures that won him international acclaim after the photos he uploaded to Japanese art site, Pixiv, went viral. 

In his interviews with some of the largest sites in the world, Yamada revealed he works as an electrician by day, and becomes an expert banana carver during the night. He described the artistic process as a race against time, trying to finish his creations in less than 30 minutes after the peeled banana has been exposed to air. Taking too long causes the fruit to turn brown ruining the whole piece. 

Once he’s finished, he quickly takes a photo after which he eats the banana.

Makes perfectly good sense to me. My banana sculptures are usually round and bricklike as I build a PB&B sandwich. Not too interesting or artistic but very tasty!

See ya, eh!

Bob

Haute Water

Well hi there! Wonderful to see you! Thanks for clicking by. 'Water' you up to? Hah...you think I misspelt that, don't'cha? Fill your coffee mug and munch on a virtual treat while I'll tell you about it. 

The upscale restaurant at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art announced in August that it would soon add a 20-item selection of waters from around the world, priced from $8 to $16 a bottle (except for a $12 "tasting menu"). 

Martin Riese, general manager of Ray's & Stark Bar, who is also a renowned water gourmet, will sell his own California-made 9OH2O, which comes in "limited editions of 10,000 individually numbered glass bottles" at $14 each. 

Said Riese, "(M)any people don't know that water is just as important to the entire dining experience (as, say, a good wine)." 

Riese has been certified as a Water Sommelier by the German Mineral Water Association. 

Somebody needs to be 'certified'... that's for sure! But then again, I did a post some time ago about 'diet' water so 'gourmet' water should be no surprise. Me? I'll stick with CTW...Cornwall Tap Water and all its fluoride. I'm thinking of marketing my own brand - OOTT (Out Of The Tap). $12 a bottle sounds fair, eh. What do you think?

See ya, eh!

Bob

He's like a son to me...

Allo! Allo! How are you today then? Tickety boo? Pour yourself a mugga and reach for a squishy, gooey cream slice while I tell you what's happening out there. Families have changed in modern times - with pets widely considered to be much-loved members, according to new research. According to Ancentry.co.uk found that 90% of pet owners think of their animal as part of the family.

A third (33%) of those even claim to prefer their pets to real life members of their family, with one in six (15%) considering their pet more important than their cousin. Nah, my cousin in England is much more important than any pet...though he doesn't fetch as well as he used to!

Dog owners are the most keen to make their pet a bonafide family member, with 16% choosing to include the animal in the 2011 Census. A number of these even listed their dog as their "son" on the official form.

But this animal infatuation is by no means a 21st century phenomenon, with pets also listed in the 1911 Census. For example, Arthur and Elizabeth Delve from Smethwick found it fit to record the existence of their "faithful Irish terrier Biddy". Biddy, it was noted, was a "magnificent watch and a demon on cats and vermin".

Another canine in the 1911 Census is 'Roger the Watchdog' who lived in Dulwich. His journalist owner James Little listed his age at five and a rather fitting profession of "looking after the house".

Paintings of pets were particularly popular in Victorian Britain when wealthy women were known to sit for pictures with perfectly groomed lap dogs. This trend persists today with one in 20 owners confessing they have commissioned a professional portrait of their animal.

Many British people also leave behind a more permanent token of affection.Nearly one in 10 (9%) of dog owners love the animal so much that they are planning on leaving money or assets to them in their will.

Ancestry.co.uk commissioned ICM Research to question 2,000 UK adults aged 18 and over this month about attitudes towards pets. Of these, 1,172 were pet owners.

Even though they say that families have changed, if you compare the 2011 census with the 1911 one, they were still listing pets as family members back then. We just have a lot more people around now.  Me? I like dogs, cats and most other critters except anything that thinks it is higher than me on the food chain.  

Of course, some folks hold different views of animals:

See ya, eh!

Bob

The Hidden People of Iceland

Hey! Hey! Great to see you. Thanks for dropping out of the cybersky. You didn't land on any little people, did ya? We'll get to that in a moment. First though, pour some refreshingly perky Arabica into your coffee mug and massage a virtual mega muffin onto your plate. Now then...the little people. We're all familiar with the little people in Ireland...leprechauns, eh. Well Ireland is not the only place that has little people.

Mention huldufólk (hidden people) in Iceland and you’re likely to get a variety of reactions. Few will openly admit to believing in the existence of other people, very similar to humans, who live in little houses in the rocks and are only seen by a privileged few. Yet if you dig a little deeper, almost everyone will have a story of an encounter with elves or huldufólk, often involving a close friend or family member.

A lady named Joanna apparently awoke during the night in her childhood home to find a little elf playing her piano. When the creature saw her, he stopped playing and ran away, slamming the door behind him so hard that it left the deep mark in the wooden frame she then showed us. 

Thora pointed out a set of rocks on the family land where her mother says she would play with huldufólk when she was a child. A young hotel receptionist described in vivid detail to me the difference between huldufólk, elves, trolls, and other beings she claims have made their homes on their sprawling farmland.
Huldufólk are reputedly borrowers and when something goes missing in an Icelandic house, it’s the hidden people who inevitably get the blame. 

Yet these stories have an importance far beyond the family home. Building projects have been diverted to avoid disturbing the alleged homes of huldufólk and negotiations have taken place between contractors and ‘elves’ (via a seer who acts as an intermediary) to ensure that the needs of the rock dwelling residents are not ignored. 

There are even accounts of expensive machinery breaking down and new tools being rendered useless when the rumoured homes of hidden beings have been threatened with destruction.

Only a few people claim the gift of being able to see and interact with huldufólk. Iceland’s most famous seer, Erla Stefánsdóttir, has assisted in many building projects as a ‘peacemaker’ when it’s been claimed that humans risk disturbing the other-worldly beings. She has made intricate drawings of elves, huldufólk, dwarves, longlings and other beings with whom she claims to frequently interact with.

Visitors to Iceland keen to learn more about the hidden people can take a tour of Hafnarfjörður, considered to be the elf capital of Iceland, in the company of local storyteller Sigurbjörg (Sibba) Karlsdóttir. 

Decked out in her distinctive red elfin hat, Sibba takes visitors on a 90-minute Hidden World walking tour, pointing out the sites of elf and huldufólk sightings and providing a rich tapestry of tales involving human encounters with the hidden people. 

She is not a seer herself but has collected many colourful anecdotes over the years that she now shares with her audiences. While the tour will have every visitor wishing for their own elf encounter, Sibba is quick to point out that guaranteed sightings are not included in the tour.

Whether they openly believe or not, it seems that Icelanders maintain a certain respect for huldufólk. They appear in many traditional folk tales and are associated with strong moral values and a harmony with nature. A recent survey found that most people denied the existence of huldufólk when asked directly, but when they were then given a hammer and asked to smash an ‘elf rock’, almost all refused to do it.

When Alcoa, Inc., prepared to build an aluminum smelting plant in Iceland in 2004, the government forced it to hire an expert to assure that none of the country's legendary "hidden people" lived underneath the property. 

The elf-like goblins provoke genuine apprehensiveness in many of the country's 300,000 natives (who are all, reputedly, related by blood). An Alcoa spokesman told Vanity Fair writer Michael Lewis (for an April 2009 report) that the inspection which delayed construction for six months was necessary.


Well just don't step on any is all I have to say. Spiteful little critters they can be!

See ya, eh!

Bob

Soon you may be able to fly like a bird!

Well! Well! I thought that might be you hovering out in cyberspace on/in your new Jetpack. Grab yourself a mugga and a virtual treat while I tell you how you may soon be able to do just that - and I'm not talking cyberspace here.

A jetpack prototype developed in New Zealand can undergo manned test flights after aviation authorities gave its developers a flying permit. The chief executive of Martin Aircraft said the certification was a significant milestone in the development of the jetpack, which the company hopes to start selling next year.

"For us it's a very important step because it moves it out of what I call a dream into something which I believe we're now in a position to commercialize and take forward very quickly," Peter Coker said.

The company hopes to start rolling out some models next year

Inventor Glenn Martin began working on the jetpack in his Christchurch garage more than 30 years ago, inspired by childhood television shows such as Thunderbirds and Lost in Space. He aimed to create a jetpack suitable for everyday use by ordinary people with no specialist pilot training.

His jetpack consists of a pair of cylinders containing propulsion fans attached to a free-standing carbon-fibre frame. The pilot backs into the frame, straps himself in and controls the wingless jetpack with two joysticks.

The jetpack comes with a rocket-propelled parachute if anything goes wrong.

The company has been fine-tuning the prototype to turn it into an aircraft that is safe and easy to use. The latest prototype, the P12, incorporated huge design improvements over earlier versions.

"Changing the position of the jetpack's ducts has resulted in a quantum leap in performance over the previous prototype, especially in terms of the aircraft's manoeuvrability," Mr Coker said.

Got windshield wipers on his helmet, does he?  No more traffic jams, eh! Not until everybody and their uncles have these.

See ya, eh!

Bob

Absorb Caffeine through the Skin with Sprayable Energy

Hiya! How the heck are you this fine day? Wonderful to see you! Pull up a mug of coffee and snag a virtual treat, why don't'cha, eh? Say, do you ever get caffeine withdrawals? I used to but now not so much. Believe it or not though, there are some people out there (We won't mention any names) who either don't like or cannot take coffee. Well, here's something for those folks.

Sprayable Energy is a patent-pending invention that allows people to get all the energy benefits of caffeine without the coffee aftertaste. The spray is absorbed through the skin and distributed through the body over a period of several hours, giving the user a long-lasting caffeine buzz.

21-year-old Ben Yu and his partner Deven Soni have recently launched a campaign on crowdfunding platform Indiegogo for an innovative product called Sprayable Energy. The small plastic can contains an unscented, colorless formula that gives users that much needed boost of energy without the jitters and sudden caffeine crash.

 ”Coffee didn’t work for me,” Yu said “When I ingest it, it’s like roller coaster ride of energy.” He decided to work on an alternative to the popular beverage in October 2012, while trying to get a degree in biochemistry. He started researching how nicotine patches worked, and like any young inventor, used himself as a test-subject for his experiments. 

His father, who holds a PhD in chemistry, also helped out, and after a lot of hard work, Ben came up with a special formula containing water, a derivative of the amino acid tyrosine, and caffeine that could be sprayed on the skin and offer the same energy buzz of coffee without the nasty taste and side-effects. Now all they need was an extra $15,000 to develop the product line. 

Hey...if they haven't found the extra moolah, here's your chance to get in on the main floor. I suspect it may take a little more than $15,000 but what the heck. Me? Just refill my mug and I'm fine. If I need extra energy, I'll opt for espresso...and maybe a banana muffin with that. Bananas also give you energy.

See ya, eh!

Bob

Can't Possibly Be True, can it?

Well, hello there! Wonderful to think you could take the time to click by today. So what can't possibly be true, you ask? Fill your mug and gently massage one of those chocolate, ooey, gooey virtual treats onto your bed...I mean plate!

A 55-year-old woman in the Netherlands seemed to be experiencing orgasms emanating from her foot, she said, and Dr. Marcel Waldinger of Utrecht University (writing in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, online in June) produced a possible explanation. 

The applicable left foot nerve enters the spinal cord at about the same level as the vaginal nerve, Waldinger wrote, and the woman's recent foot injury might have caused the nerves to cross. 

The woman reported "five or six" orgasms per day that felt exactly like "regular" orgasms and, she said, were making her feel terribly guilty and embarrassed. I can understand that if it happened during a boring board meeting, eh! Or...church, maybe?

After treatment with a nerve anesthetic, she reported being orgasm-free (in the foot, at least) for eight months. 

But my question has to be...why would she have the treatment? It reminds me of a story...

A lady on an airplane is constantly sneezing. She apologizes to the passenger seated next to her. "You see, I have this condition where I have an orgasm every time I sneeze."

"Oh, my goodness! Are you taking anything for it?" asks the passenger."

"Yes", she says. "Black pepper!"

See ya, eh!

Bob

World’s Smallest Restaurant Only Seats Two People at a Time

Ah bon giorno! Come se va? Bene? Your table is ready. I've hooked my foot around your chair so no one can purloin it, eh, while you're filling your cappuccino mug and massaging a virtual passticci onto your plate. We all like small romantic restaurants, don't we? Well this one take the cake...or as they say in Italy...la torta.

If you’re searching for the most private restaurant dining experience possible, look no further than Solo Per Due, a small ristorante in Vacone, Italy, that only features one table and two chairs.

Aptly named “Solo Per Due”, Italian for “just for two”, the world’s smallest restaurant only accepts two people at a time. 

This unique feature makes the Italian restaurant a popular destination for tourists from all over the world, but especially for lovers. There are no queues, no turns and no waiting, but booking this place for a romantic dinner, especially on holidays like Valentine’s Day can be a real challenge. 

Only around 1,500 people get a chance to enjoy the unparalleled privacy Solo Per Due has to offer, and it’s this exclusivity that best explains the set price of €250 ($335) per person (not including wine and champagne). 

The idea behind this unique eatery is that guests enjoy true intimacy and get the full attention of the cooking and waiting staff, which guarantees an extra special dining experience.

Okay, so it's a long way to go for a romantic dinner. Wonder what's on the menu? I assume you cannot linger too long over Cognac. With such a limited number of tables...like one, eh...there's bound to be another couple waiting for their 8:00 reservation.

Phone ahead...way ahead!

See ya, eh!

Bob

True Canadian Car...or maybe Russian

G'day, eh! How's it going? Getting any...older that is! Aren't we all. Never mind. It's better than the alternative. Pour some Arabica juice into your coffee mug there and snaggle a virtual treat. Try a maple doughnut since we have a Canadian theme today...via Russia. Calling all car enthusiasts...

An automotive enthusiast from Moscow, Russia is selling a unique hot rod that is completely covered in Canadian wood bison leather. And by “completely” I mean interior, exterior and even the engine…

According to the ad posted on Russia’s biggest classifieds website, Avito, the vehicle’s fiberglass body is covered in genuine Canadian bison leather, tanned and artistically etched by a master from the Middle East. The car’s interior, including the dashboard, is also layered with brown bison leather and expensive natural furs. 

And as if this thing didn’t have way too much leather already, the inside of the hood, as well as the engine and several other parts are also encased in specially treated bison leather than can withstand high temperatures. 

The seller, known only as “Rustam“, claims the engine and trunk compartment also feature Swarovski crystal inserts.

Doesn't say how much the seller wants for his Canadian 'gem'. But I've got one question, eh...

Where are the horns?

See ya, eh!

Bob

Olinguito: New Mammal Is Identified

Well, there you are. I hoped you weren't abducted by aliens while floating through cyberspace. Thank goodness they didn't get you. That is you, isn't it? Not an alien in disguise, eh? Just checking. You can't be too careful these days. Pour yourself a mugga and grab a virtual treat. They're out of this world! Hey, never mind aliens. We're still discovering the occasional new species on this planet...

A raccoon-sized creature with a teddy bear face has been identified as a new species of mammal.

The olinguito lives in the mountainous forests of Ecuador and Colombia, where it leaps through the trees at night.

It eats mostly fruit, weighs about two pounds (0.9kg) and is about 14in (36cm) long with an equally long tail.

The olinguito belongs to a grouping of large creatures that includes dogs, cats and bears. The creature was known - one of them once lived at the National Zoo in Washington - but it had been mistaken for a similar animal.

"It's been kind of hiding in plain sight for a long time," said Kristofer Helgen, the Smithsonian's curator of mammals who made the announcement in Washington.

The Washington zoo's olinguito, named Ringerl, was mistaken for a sister species, the olingo. Ringerl was shipped from zoo to zoo in the US from 1967 to 1976 to try to get it to breed with other olingos – but it never did.

"It turns out she wasn't fussy," Mr Helgen said. "She wasn't the right species."

Can't say I blame here, can you?

See ya, eh!

Bob

Area 51 Finally Acknowledged

Hi ya! How're you doing today, eh? Keeping a tight lid on things? Well, heck...let 'er loose. Fill your coffee mug and snag a virtual treat while I tell you why you'll have to be more careful than ever roaming around cyberspace. They're out there and you don't want to bump into anything...just in case, eh!

Officially it has never existed, but the truth about Area 51 is finally out there. For the first time ever, newly declassified CIA documents refer openly to the top secret parcel of land in central Nevada that has become the global focus of conspiracy theories, rumours of crashed UFOs, alien bodies and futuristic air force projects. 

The acknowledgement comes in a US government history of the U2 spy plane program, obtained by George Washington University's National Security Archive through a public records request. It includes an unredacted map of the secret site chosen to test the jet in the 1950s - but never identified on any government map.

Researcher Jeffrey Richelson first reviewed the history in 2002, but all mentions of Area 51 had been redacted. He requested the history again in 2005 and, after an eight year wait, he finally received it a few weeks ago with the references restored.

"President Eisenhower also approved the addition of this strip of wasteland, known by its map designation as Area 51, to the Nevada Test Site," the history reads. "The outlines of Area 51 are shown on current unclassified maps as a small rectangular area adjoining the northeast corner of the much larger Nevada Test Site. To make the new facility in the middle of nowhere sound more attractive to his workers, Kelly Johnson called it the Paradise Ranch, which was soon shortened to the Ranch."

Officials have already acknowledged in passing the existence of the facility, but Mr Richelson believes the new document shows the CIA is becoming less secretive about Area 51. 

Doo..doo...doo...doo...and I don't mean doggy doo-doo either. And they're still at it. Listen to this:

A senior White House official has insisted there is "no credible evidence of extraterrestrial presence here on Earth".

And in a blow to millions of conspiracy theorists, the member of Barack Obama's administration added there was no credible information to suggest evidence of alien life is being kept from the public.

The unusual comments were in response to several petitions lodged on a White House website.
Senior space policy official Phil Larson said: "The US government has no evidence that any life exists outside our planet, or that an extraterrestrial presence has contacted or engaged any member of the human race."

Uh-huh. Right. Exactly. If the government says so, it must be true, eh.  Or not. Doo..doo...doo...doo..

See ya, eh!

Bob

Taiwanese Cafe Prints Your Portrait on a Cup of Coffee

Well hey there! How the heck are you? Traffic in cyberspace horrendous today? Too much cyber lane changing and what have you? I'm glad you dropped in for a quick visit. Just in time for a  virtual treat and a coffee with your own face in the froth. Say what?

Imagine being able to drink your own face. Taiwanese cafe chain, Let’s Cafe, uses a special latte printer that creates portraits of customers directly on their delicious caffeinated drinks.

Let’s Cafe is a chain of small kiosks offering “fast but good coffee” to shoppers on the go all around Taiwan. Faced with the challenge of competing with larger more established cafe chains, they had to come up with a truly original gimmick in order to attract customers. Let’s Cafe needed something not even big players like Starbucks could compete with, and they found it in the ridiculously accurate coffee printing machine. 

All users have to do is upload a photo from their mobile phone to the coffee dispenser machine and after the cup has been filled with the caffeinated beverage of their choice, the incorporated printer uses edible ink to sprinkle their photo on the milk foam. 

While talented latte artists do a great job of creating beautiful designs using rudimentary tools and a steady hand, there are certain limitations to their techniques, whereas this coffee printer is able to produce photo-realistic images.

Ho boy...I can see this spawning into all kinds of weird stuff, can't you? Why stop at portraits? Print your 'ex' on there so you can 'eat the '&$*!' or how about a picture of your cat or dog. Or how about the ability to order a coffee for someone else with a photo of 'your' choice. Or...print your phone number and send it in a coffee to the cutie sitting all alone in the corner of the cafe!

The mind boggles...

See ya, eh!

Bob

Are Your Ears Ringing?

Well, hi there! How're you doing today? I hope you're fit as a fiddle and that the fiddle is not right next to your ear. Tuck into a virtual treat and wash it down with a mugful of coffee, that's my cure for what ails you! Say...do your ears ever ring? No, I'm not talking cell/mobile phones here! Well listen to what my pal Dr. Al has to say on the subject:

Dear Bob,

You know us doctors … we seem to have different words for everything.

We don’t say “your ears are ringing.” We call it tinnitus. And we don’t call it “hearing loss.” We use words like sensorineural or auditory loss.

Problem is, all those fancy new words aside, standard medicine doesn’t seem to be able to do a darn thing to fix hearing.

Fortunately, you can protect your hearing as you age. You can even make ringing stop. While some doctors will put you on anti-depressants or tranquilizers to help numb your mind, I’ve found some natural remedies can make tinnitus disappear.

A deficiency of one nutrient in particular can affect your hearing more than any other. Almost 70% of Americans are deficient in this mineral, and that number is increasing…

I’m talking about magnesium. You need magnesium for hundreds of processes in your body, and it’s a powerful antioxidant and can even relieve headaches.

But did you know it can improve tinnitus and hearing loss?

A study of military recruits found even a small amount of magnesium every day helped protect the ear from noise-induced damage. Those who got magnesium were less likely to experience permanent hearing damage, and when they did experience hearing damage, it wasn’t severe.

This could be because when the cells in your ear are low on magnesium, it causes you to release catecholamines and prostaglandins, which steal energy from the hair cells in your ears. These cells are connected to your cochlear nerve and they need all the energy they can get to protect themselves after noise exposure.

Also, after loud noises you have a 70% reduction in blood flow to the inner ear.

Why is that important? Because low magnesium reduces microcirculation in your inner ear. So not having enough magnesium and living in our loud modern world is like a double whammy to your hearing.

So magnesium can help your hearing, but here’s what you need to know:

1) You can get more magnesium by eating avocados, nuts, seeds, dairy products and dark green, leafy vegetables. But modern farming practices have depleted much of the mineral content in our soil, so there’s not much magnesium in vegetables any more.

However, don’t substitute grains… even though wheat for example has some magnesium, eating grains can block your absorption of minerals. (Didn't know that! Hmmm...)

2) If you can’t get enough magnesium through food, you can take a supplement. I recommend at least 100 mg a day to help your hearing, but you can take as much as 600 mg a day. Take it with vitamin B6. This will increase the amount of magnesium that accumulates in your cells.

3) Magnesium comes in many different forms. Magnesium carbonate and taurate aren’t absorbed very well, and magnesium oxide can irritate your stomach. Look for magnesium that is bound to citrate, malate, or aspartate so it will get through your gut.

4) Remember that some magnesium sources have been found to be contaminated. You have to be very careful that what you take comes from a reputable brand. I won’t buy any of my raw materials from China anymore because some of them are contaminated with things you don’t want in your body.

To Your Good Health, Al Sears, MD

See ya, eh!

Bob

PS: I take a calcium + magnesium supplement to ward off leg cramps. Seems to help...usually.

Health Ministry Warns Of Mormon Outbreak

Well hello there and sawasdee, krup! Glad you could make it today. If this post looks a little slanted it's because I'm typing with the middle finger on my right hand. I tried to grate the end off my index finger a couple days ago so I've put it on the 14-day disabled list. Fill your mug and grab hold of a virtual treat, why don't'cha? 

Y'know...one of the funny papers I try to read every now and then is the Thai "Not the Nation" - a parody of news featured in "The Nation" - one of Bangkok's two English dailies. I'm not sure if Not the Nation is still up and printing but here is an article from some time back. I think it is hilarious. I know the symptoms and have seen the poor missionaries trying desperately to convert the patient Buddhist majority. Read on:

Infectious condition known to kill all joy, pleasure

BANGKOK – The Health Ministry has issued its most serious health watch since the SARS outbreak of 2002, warning all Thais that the country is under threat of a major Mormon outbreak.

The condition, originating in the central United States, is known to be highly contagious and in many cases terminal. Symptoms include pale, pimpled skin, social unpopularity, and a severe loss of pleasure and happiness in life. Virginity at the age of 30 is considered a major marker of the disease.

“Those who have full-blown cases of Mormon rarely die from it, but experience a quality of life that’s almost not worth living,” said Health Minister Jurin Laksanawisit. “And the suffering it inflicts on the family is almost like losing a loved one.”

A health official questions two suspected victims of Mormon.

Carriers of Mormon, recognizable by their stylistically challenged wardrobe featuring pleated black slacks and short-sleeved white shirts, have been spotted in downtown Bangkok and as far upcounty as Udon Thani. Each carrier is capable of infecting dozens of others with Mormon.

The Ministry further warned that communities that experience endemic widespread Mormon are in danger of social collapse. “In the worst-case scenarios, entire cities can become empty of all arts and culture, lose all their diversity and interest in the real world around them, and even engage in a collective mania to build ugly marble buildings with gold statues on top.”

Jurin was quick to point out that there was no need to panic, as many populations had demonstrated a natural resistance to Mormon, with the highest incidence of immunity recorded in large cities with vibrant, international culture.

“The WHO guidelines for containing Mormon suggest that maintaining a sense of humor, keeping an open mind, and studying real American history can all decrease the chances of catching Mormon,” the minister said. “But the best cure is still prevention.”

“If any pale, nerdy, white-shirted carriers are spotted in public, avoid talking to them,” Jurin recommended. “I mean, even more than you would have anyway.”

See ya, eh!

Bob

...beauties from Germany!

Guten tag! Und how are you today? Alles ist in ordenung? Das ist gut! Und vunce you have some kaffe in your mug und a nice pastry to munch on, I shall tell you all about those beauties from the Fatherland, ja?

Americans/Canadians/Aussies/Brits all stage dog shows, and Middle-Easterners stage camel beauty contests, (I'm going to have to cover the camel beauty contests in a separate post) and in June, the annual German Holstein Show took over the city of Oldenburg, with the two-day event won by "Loh Nastygirl," topping bovine beauties from Germany, Luxembourg and Austria. 

The event is also a showcase for the cow hairdressers, who trim cows' leg and belly hair (to better display their veins). Said one dresser, "It is just like with us people -- primping helps." Groomed or not, cows with powerful legs, bulging udders and a strong bone structure are the favorites.

With all those bovines it must have been udder confusion for the judges!

See ya, eh!

Bob

'Cannabis' Found In Newport Flower Displays

'Allo! Allo! Glad you stopped by to say 'High!'. Got a funny one for your today but first things first. Charge up your mug with some perky Arabica and munch on a virtual treat while I tell you about some perplexing plants in jolly old England. 

Officials in Newport are on the look-out for a mystery gardener after cannabis plants were apparently spotted in council pots. Around 30 of the illegal plants were photographed in the flower displays close to the city's castle and high street. However, by the time council gardeners were told about the distinctive plants they had disappeared.

Steve Reynolds, who owns a shop in the indoor market, said he smelt the plants before he saw them.

"It was about a week ago we spotted them," he said. "Walking into work I would see the council there with their vans watering the plants every morning, so the person who planted them also had the advantage of the council tending them."

Dean Beddis, the owner of Kriminal Records, managed to take photos of the plants before they disappeared.Speaking to Sky News, he said: "It was the fact they were in the Newport Council official plant pots with the Newport logo on there.

 

"Where they were and what they were planted in was the funny aspect of it. It made us smile." Newport City Council told Sky News it had been unable to find evidence of the plants. It said: "The photographs provided appear to show mature plants added to a council planter.

"Although this could be a hoax, it is a serious issue and Newport City Council will be informing the police and checking its CCTV cameras for additional evidence." 

Newport has won the prestigious Wales In Bloom competition seven times, but there are those who believe the council should be spending less time on the plants and more time trying to grow local business. Some have suggested the cannabis plants may have been a stunt to embarrass council officials.

Didn't the workers doing the watering notice them? All a bit of harmless fun, eh. Taking the mickey on the local government, 'at's all! Bit of a giggle and all! Breaks up the daily monotony!

See ya, eh!

Bob

Tokyo’s Amazing Underground Bicycle Storage System

Hey there! Did you just pedal in from cyberspace? Probably not, eh. Nowhere to park out there anyway. Soon as you fill your mug and snag a virtual treat, I'll fill you in on how the Japanese are solving the bicycle parking problem in Tokyo - their largest city. As of April 1, 13.2 million people live there.  

Tokyo is such a crowded place that even finding a place to park your bicycle can be a daunting task. But leave it to the Japanese to find a genius solution to this growing space problem. The ECO-Cycle Park is an automated bicycle storage system buried 11 meters under the city streets that can hold up to 200 bikes.

Although Japan is one of the world’s leading car manufacturers and its public transportation system is probably the most advanced on the planet, the bicycle is still a very popular means of getting around in the busy traffic. Unfortunately parking spaces are at a premium, and owners are often forced to leave them on the sidewalk where they become obstacles for pedestrians. 

To solve this problem, Japanese company Giken Seisakusho, which specializes in tidal and flood protection systems, created ECO-Cycle, a series of five underground storage bicycle storage facilities where owners can safely “park” their bikes in just 8 seconds. The buried cylindrical structures are only seven meters wide, but deep enough to safely store up to 200 two-wheel vehicles each.

Quite the engineering feat, eh. Somebody told me once about a lady of the evening who bought a bicycle so she could pedal it all over town...whatever that means. Ah well...

See ya, eh!

Bob