Get Your Blood Flowing Naturally

Yo! How's tricks? Hope you're having a caffo day. Ready for a mug of coffee and a virtual muffin? Why the heck not, I say. You may like to try adding a little cocoa to your coffee for that mocha taste. As my pal Dr. Al says, it's good for your heart as well. Read what he has to say about blood pressure...

If you have blood pressure concerns, your doctor will probably start taking steps to keep it under control.

Some of these steps can impact blood pressure by opening your arteries. But unfortunately, the effects don’t last very long. Sometimes a "nitrate tolerance" can begin, which may cause more harm than good.

But there’s an effective and natural alternative that some doctors don't know about. It works the same way – only without the side effects.

I’m talking about nitric oxide (NO). It’s a gas already made by your body. And one of the easiest ways to support normal blood pressure is to get your body to produce more of it.

But to understand how NO can help, let me first explain a little bit about how your arteries work.

If you have normal blood pressure, your heart can push blood through its delivery system – your arteries – without working too hard at it.

Healthy arteries are strong and flexible. Inside the walls of the arteries are endothelial cells, which produce NO. This gas sends signals to the muscle cells of your artery walls to relax – and your blood pressure eases. Blood pressure drugs with nitrates damage these endothelials and your ability to maintain normal blood pressure.

So, what can you do to get more NO into your bloodstream, and help out your arteries?

You can start by taking these steps to support healthy blood flow by increasing your NO levels:

• Take in more L-arginine. L-arginine is an amino acid that helps your body produce NO. Foods – such as organic dairy, peanuts, walnuts, and even chocolate – are all good sources. You also can supplement. I recommend 500 mg once a day. But you should always check with your healthcare professional when beginning an L-arginine regimen.

• Eat foods containing antioxidant-rich cocoa. Cocoa is good for you in so many ways, but it’s especially good for your heart. And one of the ways it helps is that the flavonoids in cocoa activate the endothelial cells in your arteries to produce NO. Plus, cocoa improves circulation even in healthy adults.

• Exercise. This boosts NO levels by increasing an enzyme called NO synthase. A high-intensity, short-duration workout, like my PACE program, is an easy way to get NO flowing throughout your blood. And the best part is it takes just 10-20 minutes a day.

• Eat natural foods rich in vitamins C and E. These nutrients can help preserve your NO levels. The best way to get these healthy vitamins? Eat your fill of citrus fruits, broccoli, blueberries, sunflower seeds, almonds, tomatoes, and green, leafy veggies.

New Nose Grown on His Forehead

Well, hey there! Wonderful to see you today. Thanks for clicking by. Coffee's hot and fresh and the virtual treats are just out of the oven. I'll bet your nose detected the delicious aromas as you came in, eh. Speaking of noses...

Meet 22-year-old Xiaolian. He is not wearing some bizarre special effects makeup, that is actually a real nose growing on his forehead. As strange as it looks, this is apparently a pretty common nose reconstruction technique.

No too long ago, Xiaolian was involved in a car accident that damaged his nose. After he refused medical treatment, the wound became infected and in a few months time the bacteria had corroded the cartilage of the nose, making it impossible for doctors to save. 

But since we’re living in an age where medical miracles are possible, they decided to remove the infected tissue and grow the young man a new nose. This was done by by placing a skin tissue expander onto Xiaolian’s forehead, cutting it into the shape of a nose and planting a cartilage taken from his ribs. 

It’s taken Chinese doctors in Fuzhou, Fujian province, nine months to grow the nose, but it was worth it, because the organ developed perfectly and it’s almost ready to be shifted in it the place of Xiaolian’s original nose. Judging by the picture, Xiaolian’s new nose appears to be almost twice the size of his original one...though maybe it's just the angle the picture was taken, eh.

Well how about that, eh? Medical miracle to be sure...though now it's common science. Say... I wonder if they could...nah, I doubt it. What I really need is a new lottery ticket - with the winning numbers... and they can grow it anywhere they want (almost)!

See ya, eh!

Bob

The Great Lakes Triangle

G'day to you! How's it going? Wassup? Been caught in any weird fog lately? Electronically charge your mug with a fresh dose of java and grab hold of a virtual muffin, why don't'cha? Yesterday, I was on about electronic fog. Here's a video that got me interested in this in the first place. It's about a lady who went for a sail one evening on Lake Michigan. I saw this on William Shatner's Weird or What.  I'm always interested in anything suggesting a different dimension, time warp or other weird spacial thing.

Her boat was suddenly engulfed in a weird fog that seemed to take over her boat. She thought it lasted only a few minutes but when it disappeared as suddenly as it appeared, she looked at her watch and it was after midnight - two hours later than it should have been. Her captain's watch corroborated her own.

Watch the video and see what you think. It refers to the fellow I mentioned in my blog yesterday, too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6ISnU8vjys

There's another case of a whole lake freighter disappearing while travelling with a sister ship. Something's going on. I have no idea what it is but  maybe, as some suspect, it is a link between time and space...a doorway to another dimension. What do you think?

See ya in our own time-space continuum, eh!

Bob 

We're watching you... earthlings.
 

Electronic Fog: Time Travel In Our Grasp?

Hey hey! Great to see you. Thanks for clicking by. Are you in a fog today? I hope not...at least not an electronic one. Fill your mug and latch on to a virtual treat or twain while I tell you about electronic fog, okay?

Bruce Gernon, co-author of “The Fog”, claims to be a victim of electronic fog. If his account is true, he would be the only person to have survived an encounter with electronic fog. 

Gernon’s story is that while he, his father, and a guest were flying over the Bermuda Triangle, in December 1970, they encountered this fog, and flew through a “timestorm”. 

According to the witnesses, they watched a menacing cloud form a tunnel in front of the plane, and a tunnel behind the plane. These two clouds engulfed the entire plane. Inside the tunnel, a vortex formed and spiral shapes appeared. They then experienced weightlessness, instruments malfunctioned, the compass spun, and they saw nothing but nothingness and fog all around them.


They were only in the fog for a few minutes, but when they did finally emerge from the fog, they found that the plane was already over Miami and 40 minutes had gone by! The Miami air traffic controller could now see their plane on radar again. They had travelled not just in time, but space as well! Normally, that flight would take them around 75 minutes, but this time, only 35 minutes had gone by, and they had travelled over 200 miles in that time. How did that happen? They even had gas still left from the trip. The plane was verified as having left radar screens and reappeared on radar when they left the “tunnel”.

This is Gernon’s claim. And most of the facts have been verified. All three men have the same story. The only fact that can’t be verified, is of course, what happened inside the tunnel. Did Bruce’s plane travel through time and space riding some meteorological phenomena that produces electronic fog?


Okay, this is a fantastic claim, but you may be asking, has there been other instances of this electronic fog? And somewhere other than the Bermuda Triangle?

The answer is YES! Many instances of strange greenish fog or gray fog has been reported by witnesses. Many people have seen weird cloud formations, like portals or tunnels with strange swirling lights, and sounds – some kind of electromagnetic distortions. But Gernon’s story is the first that someone has survived an encounter.


Another famous fog case, is a story from 1915, when an entire Battalion disappeared in front of witnesses. The witnesses stated that the Battalion marched to the top a hill, then a fog engulfed the troops on top of the hill. When all members were at the top of the hill, and inside the fog, the fog lifted up and merged with the other clouds. No one in the Battalion has ever been seen again.  

There have been a number of people and places that have disappeared mysteriously, in front of witnesses, and outside the Bermuda Triangle.

Could electronic fog be responsible for these disappearing acts as well as other events in the Bermuda Triangle and Devil’s Triangle? Maybe. I'll have another story about electronic fog on the Great Lakes tomorrow for you. 

See ya in the fog, eh!

Bob

602-pound Media Sensation

Hi ya! How's it going? What'cha up to? Got time for a mug of freshly roasted coffee and a virtual treat? Of course you do. All the treats are no-fat so eat whatever you like. Finish off with a dozen doughnut holes! Hey, speaking of no fat, low fat, etc., there are always people who want to turn things around, right? Read on...
 
While the morbidly obese struggle with their health (and society's scorn), those who eroticize massive weight gain are capturing increased attention, according to a July (2010) ABC News report. Commercial and personal websites give full-bellied "gainers," such as New Jerseyan Donna Simpson, and their admiring "feeders" the opportunity to express themselves. 

Simpson became a 602-pound media sensation in March (2010), when she began offering pay-per- view video of herself to an audience of horny feeders. 

Wrote another gainer-blogger, "Lately, I've been infatuated with the physics of my belly ... how it moves with me." 

When he leans to one side, he wrote, "I feel a roll form around my love handle." 

One sex researcher called it a "metaphor of arousal." 

In the end, though, as a medical school professor put it, "The fetish may be in our heads, but the plaque is going to be in (their) arteries.

"Thin may be in
But fat's where it's at!"

See ya, eh!

Bob

Changing the Religion of the Dead!

Here's to a fine and caffo day to you! And why not? Today  it is exactly three months till Christmas. Bet you didn't think about that, eh? Well pour yourself a mug of Arabica juice and grab a virtual treat while I tell you about some bizarre happenings out there...

Outraged Jewish leaders complain periodically about Mormons who, in the name of their church, posthumously baptize deceased Jews (even Holocaust victims) -- beneficently, of course, to help them qualify for heaven. Church officials promised to stop, but in 2012 reports still surfaced that not all Mormons got the memo. 

Thus inspired, a "religious" order called the Satanic Temple conducted a July "pink mass" over the Meridian, Miss., grave of the mother of the founder of the Westboro Baptist Church, Rev. Fred Phelps Jr. -- posthumously "turning" her gay. (Westboro infamously stages small, hate-saturated demonstrations denouncing homosexuals and American tolerance.) Ten days later, Meridian prosecutors charged a Satanic Temple official with misdemeanor desecration of a grave.

Can you really alter the religion of the dead? Can you truly change someone's sexual orientation once they're deceased? Seems rather pointless to me, don't you think? Ah but... if it was possible to do such things and if there would be some effect to it...the possibilities boggle the mind.

See ya, eh!

Bob

PS: Have a merry 'Three Months till Christmas' Day! 

Crocs loose again in Thailand

Sawasdee! How the heck are you? Nice to see you today! I hope you're not up to your ying-yang in water like many folks are in Thailand. Pour yourself a mugga and grab a virtual treat before the critters eat them all. This is nothing new for Thai people. It happens every time it floods in the Thai kingdom but no one seems to learn from the 'experience'.

More than 30 crocodiles were on the loose after escaping from a flooded farm in Prang Ku district on Sunday.

The crocodiles got out of the Ban Sanai farm in Tambon Pimai late in the morning, Thai Rath daily newspaper reported. Provincial authorities quickly set up a unit to catch them, fearing they could pose a threat to the public. Well, I guess they might, eh!

The team had captured six of the escaped crocodiles by late Sunday afternoon and are trying to catch the rest of them as soon as possible.

Prang Ku is one of eight districts, including the municipality, hit by flooding caused by continuous rain and run-off from Phanom Dong Rak mountain.

Si Sa Ket Governor Pratheep Kiratiraekha said floodwater on Sunday had receded in five of the affected districts except in Muang where the water level continues to rise.

More than 600,000 Thais have been affected by flooding since July and more than a quarter of Thailand's provinces have been inundated, prompting officials to issue landslide warnings and begin evacuation measures on Monday. Lots of photo ops here for politicians to have their picture in the papers with local residents showing their concern over the situation. One hopes that eventually something would get done to prevent future croc 'escapes'. Higher fences? More secure facilities? Stricter laws (enforced) by the respective governments on maintaining facilities holding dangerous animals? Oh...did I mention pythons?  King Cobras?

Devastating floods in 2011 killed more than 800 people and caused massive disruption to industry, cutting economic growth that year to just 0.1 percent.

Four people have been killed in this year's flooding. More rainfall is expected later this week.

"Due to a heavier-than-usual monsoon season, 21 provinces are now experiencing flooding. We have issued a warning about landslides and have told boats in the Gulf of Thailand to be vigilant," Chatchai Promlert, chief of Thailand's Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, told Reuters.

Thais take it all in stride. If it is going to happen, it will because that's the way things are. 

Have yourself a caffo day. See ya, eh!

Bob

'Alien Bugs' Discovered In Earth's Atmosphere

Hi there! Thanks for dropping in from the wilds of cyberspace. You have to be careful surfing around out there...could be aliens lurking about. Before I tell you about it, fill your mug and snag a healthy virtual treat, why don't'cha? Now where was I...

Tiny organisms were discovered by University of Sheffield experts on a research balloon they had sent 27km (16.7 miles) into the atmosphere during last month's Perseids meteor shower.

The microscopic bugs were detected when the balloon landed back on the ground in Wakefield, West Yorkshire.

But the scientists insist the samples could not have been carried from the Earth's surface into the stratosphere - the second layer of our atmosphere, which stretches up to 50km (31 miles) from the ground. Strict tests were taken to avoid any contamination, they said.

Professor Milton Wainwright, who led the team, said: "Most people will assume that these biological particles must have just drifted up to the stratosphere from Earth, but it is generally accepted that a particle of the size found cannot be lifted from Earth to heights of, for example, 27km.

"The only known exception is by a violent volcanic eruption, none of which occurred within three years of the sampling trip."

He went on: "We can only conclude that the biological entities originated from space.

"Our conclusion then is that life is continually arriving to Earth from space, life is not restricted to this planet and it almost certainly did not originate here."


"If life does continue to arrive from space then we have to completely change our view of biology and evolution," Prof Wainwright added. "New textbooks will have to be written."

Could they be 'yorkies' lifted 'op, by gum? They're pretty tiny. 

See ya, eh!

Bob

The Dark Side of Cooking – Naturally Black Chicken

Hey there! How's it going? Wassup? Ready for a mugga and a virtual treat. We're talking food today...or should I say "Weird talking food today." Read on...

Did you know there was such a thing as black chicken? And I don’t mean as in dark feathers, but black skin, bones and even internal organs. There are actually several black chicken breeds in the world, especially in Asia, but the most popular of all has to be the Chinese Silkie.

Silkies are beautiful birds, covered in fluffy plumage, which is said to feel like silk, but underneath all that fluff they are far less attractive. Their skin is a dark-bluish color, the flesh is dark beige and the bones and some internal organs are pitch black

Although in the Western world silkie chickens are sold mainly for ornamental purposes, in countries like China they are considered a super food and are appreciated for their deep, gammy flavor. 

Called “wu gu ji” or “black-boned chicken”, the silkie has been prized for its medicinal value ever since the seventh or eighth century. 

Chinese women consume it after they have given birth to get a boost of energy, but it’s also said to have a positive effect on the yin, blood, lungs and stomach. 

Silkie meat is rarely roasted. To take full advantage of its curative properties, the Chinese mainly use it to make an amber-colored broth laced with ginseng , dried wolfberries and jujubes.

"Yo, bro.
Cut me some slack
Cause we got de black
Black is de word
De word is black
Fry me some thigh
Rest some breast
On ma plate
And don't be late

Gimme some chicken
And make it black
We don't have to eat no white chicken.
Cause we got de black.
De word is black.

See ya, eh!

Bob 

Who says you can't take it with you?

Bom Dia to you and a caffo one at that. Hope you're ticking right along. Got time for coffee and a virtual treat? Of course you do. That's why you're here...plus the stimulating conversation, eh! Speaking of ticking right along, one rich cavalheiro (gentleman) in Brazil is planning ahead for when he's no longer ticking along...

They say you can’t take your worldly possessions with you when you die, but a Brazilian businessman is going to try. Following the example of Egyptian pharaohs, Count Chiquinho Scarpa decided to bury his prizes Bentley Continental in his back yard, so he can enjoy driving it in the afterlife.

62-year-old Count Scarpa, a quirky millionaire from Sao Paolo, Brazil, announced he has decided to do like the pharaohs and entomb his $500,000 Bentley Continental Flying Spur in his back garden, on Monday, via Facebook. The message came with a photo of the successful businessman holding a cockatoo on one arm while resting the other on his luxurious limousine. 

To assure those who doubted him that his claim was sincere, the following day Scarpa posted another photo of him holding a shovel next to a big hole in his garden, with the car parked behind him, adding that he was going to put in the ground by the end of the week. 

His bizarre messages got thousands of “likes”and “shares”on Facebook, and eventually got the attention of the media. Count Scarpa was invited on the “Agora É Tarde” TV show where he told host Danilo Gentili he got the idea after watching a documentary on Sunday. ’I was watching a documentary about the pharaohs of Egypt, very interesting. They buried their entire fortune to have a comfortable life on “the other side”!’ he said.

How much you want to bet that there's a big sale on shovels the day after he's buried with his luxury car?

See ya, eh!

Bob

No More Zoos?

Hey, y'know I thought that was probably you I heard monkeying around out there in cyber space and what do you know...you drop right in. Nice to see you, too! An interesting story for you today but first...grab yourself a coffee and a virtual treat. Now tell me...what would you think if there were no more zoos in the world? Well we may be headed that way.

The Costa Rican government announced recently that it would close all its zoos, effective March 2014, and free animals either to the wild or to safe "retirement" shelters. 

Since the country is known for its expansive biodiversity (500,000 unique organisms, despite occupying barely more than 1/100th of 1 percent of Earth's area), it is time, the environment minister said, to allow the organisms to interact instead of imprisoning them. 

Costa Rica is also one of only four countries to ban the exploitation of dolphins. Aha! Letting nature and evolution take it's course instead of putting animals on display. What do you think about that? Let me know if you would be in favour of a similar policy where you live or not, okay?

See ya, eh!

Bob

Transient Global Amnesia

Well hi there! How's traffic in cyberspace. You'll soon need one of those new-fangled car gadgets that warns you about lane changers, getting too close, back-up warning signals etc. if it gets any more crowded out there, eh! Never mind. Take a few minutes break. Pour yourself a mug of java and wrap your teeth around a virtual megamuffin, why don't'cha? Say, I'm sure if you watch any US TV, you've seen Don Ennis from time to time. Well, read this...

Colleagues were stunned in May when ABC News editor Don Ennis suddenly appeared at work wearing a little black dress and a red wig and declaring that he had begun hormone therapy and wanted to be called Dawn Ennis. 

As co-workers accommodated his wishes (which did not seem so unusual in contemporary professional society), Ennis began to have second thoughts, and by July had blamed his conversion on "transient global amnesia," brought on by marital difficulties, and had returned to work as Don. 

Apparently the primary lingering effect is that he must still deal with Dawn's hormone-induced breasts. 

In case, like me, you haven't heard the term before, here's what the Mayo Clinic has to say on the subject: 

Transient global amnesia is a sudden, temporary episode of memory loss that can't be attributed to a more common neurological condition, such as epilepsy or stroke. 

During an episode of transient global amnesia, your recall of recent events simply vanishes, so you can't remember where you are or how you got there. You may also draw a blank when asked to remember things that happened a day, a month or even a year ago. With transient global amnesia, you do remember who you are, and recognize the people you know well, but that doesn't make your memory loss less disturbing. 

Fortunately, transient global amnesia is rare, seemingly harmless and unlikely to happen again. Episodes are usually short-lived, and afterward your memory is fine. 

Did I just have a doughnut? Can't remember. I think I have transient doughnut amnesia? Better have another...unless, of course, I didn't have one in the first place...

See ya, eh! 

Bob

Promoting a Healthy Heart

Well, hi there! Thanks for clicking on by today. It’s always a treat to see you. I hope you’re having a ‘caffo’ day. Help yourself to a big mug of delightfully refreshing coffee and a virtual carrot muffin... chock full of vitamin C. And while we’re on the subject of Vitamin C, I got another e-letter from my pal Dr. Al yesterday. Here’s part of it...

“I’ve decided to develop a heart health kit. It’s going to be a collection of proof and advice on things like how to keep your homocysteine down, why cholesterol is your friend not the enemy, how to cure the inflammation problem, the real dietary changes to make for heart health, and the real exercise you need to strengthen your heart.

Let me give you an example. It’s a simple heart cure that most people don’t know… because regular doctors don’t want me to tell you about it.

You see, collagen is the most abundant protein in your body. It’s how your body makes blood vessels, and the tissue of your heart.

Collagen is stronger than steel wire, and as part of a network of an elastic-like substance called elastin, it makes up the connective tissue that holds you together.

That means that without collagen, you would literally fall apart. Your joints would disintegrate, your blood vessels would break open, and your heart would fail.

And do you know how you make collagen?

From vitamin C.

That means your heart would fail without vitamin C.

Cardiologists hate when I talk about this. They would rather you take drugs for your heart.

Yet in one clinical trial after another, researchers find links between low levels of vitamin C and risk of stroke. And people who get the most vitamin C show a dramatic decline in death from heart disease. Vitamin C even helps prevent plaque from being deposited in your arteries.

And here’s a shocking study you’ll never read in the mainstream media. Researchers looked at group of mice that, like people, couldn’t make their own vitamin C.

As these mice without vitamin C grew, they were exposed to normal stress for only an hour a day. Their heart cells died, and the mice were dead within two weeks.

But researchers also took a group of these mice and gave them vitamin C as they grew. The researchers wrote, “All of the findings in vitamin C-[deficient] mice were completely prevented by the supplementation of a sufficient amount of vitamin C.” 

Medical professionals continue to claim that it’s bad to supplement with nutrients, especially vitamin C. And the RDA for adults is only 90 mg for men and 75 mg for women.

But here’s the thing… animals that make their own vitamin C produce between 3,000 mg and 10,000 mg a day. That’s over 100 times more than the RDA!

Unfortunately, we only get a small amount of vitamin C from our food. The foods with the most vitamin C include dark green, leafy vegetables, and “superfruits” like the acerola cherry.

Peppers, parsley and watercress are all little-known but rich sources of vitamin C… but you’d have to eat a lot of them to get enough for heart protection.

That’s why I recommend you supplement with 1,500 mg twice a day if you’re healthy. If you’re under a lot of stress, or if you are sick, you can take as much as 20,000 mg per day. Your heart will thank you for it.

This is just one simple recommendation for heart health that goes against everything you hear from standard medicine. There are many more and I’m going to put them all together in my Doctor’s Heart Health Kit. When it’s ready, you’ll be the first to know all about it.

To Your Good Health,

Al Sears, MD

Now where did I put that bottle of Vitamin C. It’s in the back of this cabinet somewhere... Maybe it’s time for me to buy a new, large bottle if it’s half as good as Dr. Al says it is. Besides it's the start of the winter six month long cold and flu season Aah..aah...choo!!!

See ya, eh!

Bob

Canadian Sets Speed Record on the Crapper!

Hi there! How're ya going, as they say in Oz? Great to see ya. Okay so I'm guilty of running the occasional post about bathrooms and/or poo. I admit it. Oops...here's another one...and we came in first. Yea!

Most speed records that involve the toilet are set by people who have to run to one, but one Canadian stuntwoman made history by riding one.

She's Jolene Van Vugt, 31, and she's flushed with excitement after riding a motorized toilet into the Guinness World Record book at a speed of 46 mph.

"I flew into Australia yesterday and came out here to jump straight on the toilet," she told the BBC. "That was so fun and I'm stoked to get the record."

It wasn't easy. To win the record, she had to drive the craptastic contraption -- which, according to National Post, was basically a go-kart with porcelain toilet in place of a driver’s seat -- 330 feet in both directions. Early on, her chain kept falling off, but finally got repaired.

At one point, the whole attempt was almost dumped because Van Vugt couldn't stop wobbling all over the place on the bumpy track.

"The cobblestones were a bit dangerous and proved problematic for me,'' she told the Telegraph. "The kick off them almost threw me.''

World records are nothing new to Van Vugt, whose previous Guinness records include being the first female to backflip a dirt bike, performing the longest backflip and backflipping a dirtbike over Arizona's Grand Canyon,according to Sky News.

Still, when all is said and done, she keeps thinking about the toilet.

"I've broken Guiness World Records before but I never thought I'd be the fastest toilet rider in the world,'' she told the Sydney Morning Herald.

This is really a case of "Go Canada Go, eh!" Talk about dumping on the competition!

Can't you hear the conversation at Aussie Customs...

"G'day. Are you bringing any fruits, veggies, firearms or anything else into 'stralia?"

"Just a toilet."

"A toilet? We do have 'em here, you know, Sheila."

"Nah, this is a special racing toilet, eh. And my name's Joylene."

"Hey, Bruce, get a load of this, mate. This Sheila's brought her own crapper to Oz."

"Oh yeah. I was reading about that in the papers. They actually race toilets in Canada. Race's tomorra."

"Are you serious, Bruce?"

"Fair dinkum, mate!"

"Well, good on you, Sheila. I hope you beat the crap out of the competition..."

See ya, eh!

Bob

Coconut Held In Black Magic Vote-Rigging Row

G'day to you and caffo wishes as well. Hope you didn't hurt yourself as you tumbled out of cyberspace. Perfect timing, I must say.  The coffee's perky and as soon as you have a mugful, you'll be perky as well. As for virtual treats, I'd suggest you try a doughnut with coconut sprinkled all over it but I don't want to influence your decision in any way...and you never know with coconuts...

A coconut is being held by police in the Maldives amid allegations that black magic was used in an attempt to disrupt a bitterly-contested presidential election.

The coconut, bearing inscriptions, was found close to a school which is to be used as a polling station on the remote Kaafu atoll, Guraidhoo, one of the hundreds of islands that comprise the Indian Ocean archipelago state.

The local Minivan News website reported that police "took the coconut into their possession" after receiving a complaint.

Black magic is often used in an attempt to prevent people from voting or influence them on the islands, with coconuts used in rituals and inscribed with spells.

It was reported earlier this year that the school authorities on Guraidhoo had resisted using their buildings as polling stations, citing previous instances of problems being caused by magic.
In a bid to allay their fears the national election commission said it would accept responsibility "if anyone falls under a spell or comes down ill".

As for the ‘kurumba’ (young coconut) detained by police, officers brought in a 'ruqyah' practitioner or white magician, to examine the fruit, who found there was no case to answer after ruling it was a fake. No arrests have been made.

The election is being fought between Mohammed Nasheed, the former president who claims he was ousted last year in a coup, and a leading Maldives’  businessmen, the outgoing president and the half-brother of former dictator, Mamoun Abdul Gayoom.

Nasheed is hoping to win outright and avoid a run-off second election. So there you go. Coconuts rule! 

Come to think of it...I remember seeing students wandering the halls with coconuts under their arms. They wouldn't have been trying to influence the results of their exams now would they? Nah.  The schools rule is no cell/mobile phones or coconuts in the exam room!

See ya, eh!

Bob

Rent a Japanese Middle-Aged Man for $10 an Hour

Aha! There you are! Thanks for dropping out of the cybersky today. Wonderful to see you as always. What'cha been up to? Coffee's freshly brewed and the virtual treats are right out of my virtual oven so help yourself. 

While you're sipping and munching, here's another scheme out of Japan. You have to admit they do come up with some crazy ideas...but then there are so many people there that there's bound to be a market for almost anything.

Ossan Rental (or “Middle-Aged Guy Rental”) is the newest bizarre rental service in Japan. As the name suggests, it allows people to rent an average middle-aged Japanese guy for ¥1,000 ($10) an hour.

There are a lot of crazy people-renting services in the Land of the Rising Sun, from the now famous Soine-ya Prime rent-a handsome-boyfriend service, to simple rent-a-friend options and even a rent-a-bare-thigh advertising service. 

So we have hot young guys and girls for rent, but what about middle-aged folks, is no one interested in paying for their time? Surely there has to be a market out there for them, too, right? 

That’s probably what the masterminds behind Ossan Rental thought when they decided to open the first rental service for middle-aged guys in Japan. The company currently offers only two options to choose from, either the 46-year old Takanobu Nishimoto, a college lecturer in fashion and styling from Osaka, or Mikio Sendou, a former baseball player and current sports commentator from Gifu Prefecture. They both seem like interesting dudes, and the company’s roster is only going to get bigger once the business gets off the ground.

Do you think a rent-an-average-person would fly where you are? Might be an interesting and low-cost business? Let's mull this over and brainstorm here. Now that school is back in how about a rent-a-person-to-do-my homework or rent-someone-to-walk-the-dog or nah...they have those already, right? Go on...you can think of something. Let me know what you come up with, eh. You may be on to something!

See ya, eh!

Bob

Government Continues to Amaze!

Well there you are. Wonderful to see you. Wassup? Boy these entities we call governments are continually outperforming each other in their race to demonstrate their stupidity, aren't they? Pour some fresh java into your mug and nudge a virtual treat or two onto your place while I tell you what the government of our illustrious Quebec province is up to now.

They has tabled a new "Charter of Values", If passed, the amended charter would bar public servants, bureaucrats, teachers, hospital workers, daycare workers, etc. from wearing "conspicuous religious symbols."

The move most affects Muslim women who wear any sort of headdress, Sikh men who wear the turban and/or the kirpan, Jewish men who wear the kippah, and possibly even Hindu women with a bindi.

Christians would be prohibited from wearing visible and "overly large" crucifixes around their neck, but smaller ones are permitted.

As for crucifixes mounted in public parks and the walls of Quebec's public buildings? "The crucifix is there to stay, in the name of history, in the name of heritage," according to Bernard Drainville, Quebec's minister of democratic institutions, the man charged with navigating the new charter through the national assembly.

So, it would appear under the proposed charter of Quebec values, some are more valuable than others. That suggests a possible violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and its protection of freedom of religion, which would obligate Ottawa to fight it tooth and nail. That, of course, could all be part of Quebec's separatist government plan. If they want to keep everything in the province French, they should make that part of their immigration acceptance policy...not that I'm advocating that. It's like closing the door to the 'horses only' barn after the chickens, cows, sheep, donkeys, goats, rabbits, deer, moose, bears, cougars, foxes, coyotes, ducks and geese are all inside. They need a reality check!

I don't want to get into their ulterior motives but a sign I saw the other day sums it up nicely:

"Unfortunately, there's no cure for stupid!"

See ya, eh.

Bob

PS: One member of the government has already quit  because of this charter and one hospital in Ontario is running a recruiting ad saying "We don't care what's on your head...just what's in it"