Police seize Viagra coffee in Bangkok

May the Great Pumpkin shine on you today! You're looking good today. Now...in case you are wondering...there is no truth to the rumour that my virtual coffee comes via Bangkok despite how much I love their 'cafe buran' or traditional Thai coffee.  Pour yourself a mugful, and grab a virtual pumpkin muffin, why don't'cha? Here's what I'm talking about...

A collaborated team of Metropolitan Police Bureau and Representative from Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seizure coffee claimed to have contained Viagra.

The team had conducted a search at a company in Kannayao district, Bangkok on Tuesday morning after the search warrant was issued by Minburi Provincial Court.

Several reports were made against a coffee brand ‘One Fan’ (Thailand) for mixing the illegal Sildenafil substance in their coffee.

Prior to the search, police claimed they had taken the sample of the coffee to be tested by the Department of Medical Science. The results then yielded that the coffee contains Sildenafil substance, which is commonly known as Viagra under its trade name.

Mr. Paitoon Saengseenil, a co-founder of the company, said that his company is only responsible for retailing the coffee, and has not been engaged in the manufacturing process of the coffee.

According to Mr. Paitoon, the company was under the governing of Saha Mang Khang Group. The man also denied knowing any clues about the containing of the illegal substance in the coffee.

Police then seized 66,264 packages of the coffee found at the scene worth no less than THB 3 million. (about $100,000 CAD/USD)

The items taken during the seizure will be tested again. However, if the test bares the same result, the manufacturing company will be facing charges for adding illegal ingredients into their food. The company may face up to two year in prison and no more than THB 20,000 fine.

So, like, how do you put a company in prison, I wonder? Perhaps they mean management of said company. Playing with English, eh! Still... it could be said to be putting a new meaning to the expression 'a stiff drink! Perhaps the idea of adding viagra came from wives who claimed their husbands were nodding off while they were...you know...


See ya, eh!

Bob

Mystery of the Crystal Skulls

G'day to you! I hope today's a 'caffo' one for you, eh! Full of good cheer and maybe some new information to crystalize your thoughts. Whoo...heavy! First though, fill your mug with a rich blend of Arabica  and manoeuver a virtual treat onto your plate. Now, on to today's post which I trust will be crystal clear, eh.

Scientists believe that the world is over 4 billion years old. Anthropologists state that Homo Sapiens date back as far as 500,000 years. Although natural quartz crystal has been part of the Earth since before the dawn of time, it is believed to have been used by man only during the last 12,000 to 15,000 years.

Nowadays, quartz is the key component in many of our modern technologies, including telecommunication devices and computers. Without quartz, there would be no way to program the computer; you would not be able to store any memory and most importantly, it would be impossible to retrieve any information. One small chip can hold thousands of photographs, songs, movies, books, data, etc. Just imagine what could be stored in a piece of quartz the size of a human head!

Ancient man may not have had computers as we know them today, but it is believed that they were familiar with the information-storing properties of quartz and therefore made use of a lasting receptacle that would be able to record, store, and transmit data for eternity. These "ancient computers" are the crystal skulls that we are rediscovering today.

Rather than storing precious information for mankind in an ordinary piece of quartz that could have been lost in time, the ancients chose to store their wisdom in a receptacle shaped like a human head. These would be used in many rituals and ceremonies, and passed down from generation to generation. In the same way that our human skull protects and holds the brain, a crystal skull is a mind-like container that holds a generational library of knowledge - from ancient history to a blueprint of possible futures.

If you've a mind to delve further into the power of crystals and crystal skulls, just search for 'crystal skulls'. You'll come up with some interesting sites.. and some skulls for sale up to $4,000 each. Some people believe in their power - that's for sure!

See ya, eh!

Bob

Woman Saved a Tree by Living in It for Two Years

Howdy! How're you faring today? Hope you are in fine fettle (whatever that is). Coffeepot's hot and fresh and the VTs are their usual magnificent selves so help yourself to a treet. Did I say treet? Must have been a typo. Couldn't possibly be related to today's topic,d'ya think?

In the face of greedy men with chainsaws in their hands, not even the enduring giant Redwoods stand a chance. But Julia Hill, a young American environmentalist showed the entire world the battle for the preservation of Mother Nature’s wonders is not yet lost, after she spent an astounding 738 days high up in a 60 meter Redwood she named Luna, in a desperate attempt to save the ancient tree and the forest around it.

When she was 22, Julia Hill was involved in a freak car accident which left her with a fractured skull and unable to speak for a year. Once a career and money driven woman, she rethought her entire life and set out to explore the world. In 1997, one year after her accident, she finally found what she was looking for – a group of activists protesting against the destruction of a redwood forest in Northern California, which stretched for hundreds of kilometers. 

She was enchanted by the ancient trees and decided to join their cause. Courageous and determined, Julia volunteered to climb one of the tallest trees in the forest – a 1,500 year old redwood, hoping to stop the Maxxam Corporation, the operator of Pacific Lumber, from chopping it down. Inexperienced, she managed to stay in the tree only for a few days at a time, which didn’t really impress the loggers or the media. 

Julia wanted to draw the attention of international media to the horrible deforestation that was taking place – a process called “clear-cutting” which implied cutting trees of all ages and sizes and then burning the entire area in preparation for replanting new ones. She knew the only way to get people’s attention was to break the record for tree sitting which was 42 days. And that’s exactly what she did – after 100 days, Julia was all over the news giving interviews and educating people on the importance of saving these trees that have been here long before us.

Good for you, Julia. When I was in San Francisco one year, I took a trip out to Redwood City and saw some of the magnificent trees. They had a representative 'slice' showing how they date trees (by the rings) and this ring showed dates well before Christopher Columbus came to America. Awesome! But hey...let's cut these useless trees down and build condos we can sell and make money!

See ya, eh!

Bob

Play a Board Game to Get Your Driver's License!

Well, there you are. I was beginning to wonder if I'd see you today what with billions upon billions out there in the cyber sky. But I had faith in your ability to navigate the intricacies of the cyber lanes. Thank goodness you made it here safely. Bet you're ready for a mugga and a virtual muffin, eh! Hey, listen, don't be surprised if they don't soon figure out some way to make you get a driver's license to navigate cyberspace. On the subject of driver's licensing, listen to this...

Authorities in Sierra Leone have found a really cool and ingenious way to deal with their very undisciplined and uneducated drivers who are involved in thousands of accidents every year – a fun board game meant to be played for several months by any newbie wanting a driver’s license. Before actually being allowed to get behind the wheel, players will find themselves in realistic situations where the only way out is to give the right answers to traffic law and conduct questions.

The game, called “The Drivers’ Way”, might look like your regular board game but it has a quirky twist – the rules of the game are real driving rules and players move pieces modeled like classic cars around a colorful board as they advance. 

The dice is cleverly made into a traffic light but even if the light is green, players still have to tackle tough traffic law tests to go further. If they fail the tests or have a broken tail light, they get a fine, just like in real life. The game, which apparently plays a bit like Scrabble, seems easy enough if you know your signs and speed limits. 

Thousands of copies of the game have already been made, each costing 60,000 Leones (about $14). Sarah Bendu, executive director of Sierra Leone’s Road Transport Authority explains that “they (novice drivers) will have to pay for it. Then they will play it for two or three months, or maybe just one if they’re smart enough, then they will come for their test.”  I’m guessing that after playing it months on end, the West African country will have some seriously determined drivers.

What will they think of next...

See ya, eh!

Bob

Nature's own blood pressure cure

Hi there! Thanks for clicking by today! Hope things are hunky dory with you. There's a full pot of Brazilian coffee for you to try today and an amazing display of virtual low-fat treats. Oh, and I have another interesting note from my pal, Dr. Al to share with you. Better sit down here and sip your coffee. It's a bit of a long post today.

Dear Bob,

I once put a patient on a treadmill to give her a test and nothing happened.

Did I tell you this story?

She got extremely short of breath, but her heart didn’t respond at all. It was still at 80 bpm (beats per minute). She couldn’t challenge her heart and make it stronger because of a drug her cardiologist had given her.

Over time, beta-blockers will turn your heart into a fat, lazy, incompetent water balloon. You already had high blood pressure to deal with, now you have a gross de-conditioning of your heart.

How did this happen? Because no one has messed up modern medicine more than cardiologists.

Well most cardiologists are all about the methodology of using heart drugs and technology, but are opposed to the general concept of analyzing your health and how to improve it.

It’s a true but sad state of affairs that a cardiologist can’t tell you any more about how to improve the health of your heart than the average person you meet on the street. They know virtually nothing about it.

They know how to use drugs. But the drugs are not health enhancing. In fact, there are no categories of cardiac drugs that I don’t disagree with. One by one, I ruled all the drugs out.

For example, if you are getting treatment for high blood pressure, you might be on beta blockers. But think of what cardiologists are doing there.

They’re now giving you a drug that blocks the regulation of your heart, down-regulates your capacity to get your heart rate up, and suppresses your heart’s natural ionotropic capacity to beat more firmly.

Initially, beta-blockers sort of work to artificially bring down your blood pressure, and your heart will calm down, but now you can never get the benefit of exercise.

But there are other steps you can take to lower your blood pressure naturally. And when you do, your chance of heart disease, heart attack, and stroke go back to normal. It’s as if you never had high blood pressure in the first place.

Step 1 – Use Nature’s Own Blood Pressure “Prescription.” I’m talking about magnesium, your body’s natural blood vessel relaxer. I’ve used it in my practice with great results.

It helps balance potassium, sodium and calcium, which all affect blood pressure. There are many studies that show the more magnesium you get the lower your blood pressure will be.

Why take a drug when this overlooked mineral can have the same effect?

New research even finds that if you get enough magnesium you have a lower risk of dying from any cause. The study followed 4,203 people over 10 years, and found that the rate of death from all causes was 10 times higher for people getting the least magnesium¹. And the rate of death from heart problems was more than 50% higher for those with low magnesium.

You can get more magnesium by eating 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.

Magnesium used to be in your drinking water but water with high mineral content – hard water – fell out of favor because most people don’t like the taste.

If you can’t get enough magnesium through food, you can take a supplement. I recommend between 600 and 1000 mg a day. Take it with vitamin B6. It will increase the amount of magnesium that accumulates in your cells.

Step 2 – Toss The Processed Salt. Salt itself isn’t bad. We naturally crave salty foods. In fact, when your blood is at its healthiest, it’s slightly salty.

Unfortunately, the salt you find in most foods today isn’t even close to what Mother Nature intended. It’s bleached and refined. When they’re done making it into the white stuff that goes into packaged foods and your salt shaker it’s like frankensalt, with residual chemicals from the processing.

Try to avoid the foods that have the most processed salt: bottled salad dressing, cured meats (beef jerky, salami), processed cheese, salt-covered snack foods and pickled foods (like olives and dill pickles).

Instead, look for sea salt. It’s unrefined, and has all the minerals and co-factors nature meant salt to have, like potassium and magnesium.

Regular salt is almost pure sodium chloride. Natural sea salt has sodium chloride, too, but also has over 50 other minerals (including magnesium) with all the co-factors and trace elements nature intended real salt to have.

Lowering your blood pressure is just one of the effective ways you can defend your body, heart and brain against time and illness.

Al Sears, MD

I take Magnesium daily to ward off leg cramps. Good to know it also helps lower blood pressure...though I don't have problems with that.

See ya, eh!

Bob

Garlic-Flavored Dark Beer

Hey there! Welcome! Wonderful to see you. Cyberspace crowded today, is it? Just wondering because I have to be out there a good part of the day. Now that you're here, slink over to the coffeepot and pour yourself a refreshing mugful. Throw a virtual cheese and garlic biscuit or two onto your plate with your other hand. Now, for the treat of the day: CALLING ALL BEER AND GARLIC LOVERS!

A Japanese company has combined its popular dark beer with the pungent, intense flavor of black garlic, thus creating the unique and rather bizarre Aomori Garlic Black Beer.

Featuring a sleek black label with elegant golden writing, the black garlic-flavored beer bottle – which costs 630 yen ($6.50) – looks very appealing to any avid dark beer lover.

The first sip of Aomori Garlic Black Beer doesn’t taste very different from any other quality black beer, but as the dark goes down your throat and into the stomach, the potent black garlic flavor starts to take over your mouth. Incredibly, those brave enough to actually try the Aomori Garlic Black Beer say the spicy, potent aftertaste is very addictive, making you want to drink more and more of the strange beverage. (Unlike most other beers, eh, where after the first one, you DON'T want more...yeah right!)

Though I'm no longer drinking beer (at least six years now) I can see it being used in, for example, beer-battered chicken or fish, can't you! A little pricy though, what?

See ya, eh!

Bob

Meet Boomer the (Human) Dog

G'day to you, eh! Great to see you! C'mon in the virtual cafe. How's it going? Pull up a mug of coffee, a virtual muffin and sit yourself down...right next to Boomer, whose on the floor there beside the table.

Reach down and shake paws with Boomer the Dog – a man with a canine soul, who often roams the streets of Pittsburgh in a large dog costume, barking at every passing car and digging holes in the backyard. Boomer takes his persona very seriously and wishes everyone would treat him like a real dog.

Born Gary Matthews, Boomer is now a 50-something unemployed computer technician who lives by himself. He wears ears made from his long hair and a collar with a dog tag with his adopted name, Boomer the Dog. He rarely dresses as a human as he loves wearing his full size paper dog costume and getting on all fours. He eats dog food with his snout from a special bowl on the floor, barks, chases cars and digs for bones in the backyard like any other canine would. 

The guy even sleeps in his own indoor doghouse which, according to him, is much more comfortable than a human bed. Boomer, who resides in Pennsylvania, adopted his canine persona after watching the NBC hit show “Here’s Boomer” when he was only a child. The popular TV series was about a mixed-breed stray called Boomer who travels around helping people in trouble. 

This idea appealed to Mathews and soon, his fascination with dogs in general as well as with the star of the show took a life of its own and became his ultimate obsession.

I certainly hope that if Boomer takes himself for a walk, he takes little black bags with him so he doesn't leave deposits on his neighbour's lawns!

See ya, eh! Woof!

Bob

Strike while the needle is hot, that's my new motto!

Hiya! How's trix? Glad you could come by today and, as usual, your timing is absolutely bang on. Tell me...do you sit out there in cyberspace listening to the coffeepot perking away, or what? Huh? Huh? Go ahead...fill your mug and snag a virtual doughnut or two. Got some pumpkin ones in honour of the season today...replete with orange and black sprinkles.

Remember yesterday? I was talking about getting your annual flu shot and I said I never bothered myself but that I might get one this year. Well I did! 

As it turned out, we had to go to the local clinic yesterday to get the results of Nong's X Ray. She's been having neck, chest and back pain so to be on the safe side, the doctor ordered an X Ray last week. That turned out to be fine but the nurse asked us if we had had our flu shots. We had a discussion about the benefits with the nurse and later the doctor. The nurse said she could give be one right there and then.

In the US, a flu shot can cost you $20 or so. Here in Canada, it's free. My Scottish ancestry perked up on hearing the price so I made an executive decision to 'get 'er done' eh! Strike while the needle is hot and the cost is free. That's my new motto! I'm waiting until they can put caffeine in a needle then it would...nah, not such a good idea.

See ya, eh!

Bob

Flu Shot and Decreased Risk of Cardiac Events

Well, hi there! Glad you could click on by today. Bet you are on your way to get a flu shot, eh? Good idea to stop for a coffee and a virtual treat in case you have to wait a while for your shot. You wouldn't want to get caffeine withdrawals, now would you? I was just watching a clip on TV about the relationship between flu shots and your cardio health. In case you didn't see it, here's the skinny...

It is the middle of flu season; in fact, the season began as early as October in some parts of the country, and the flu will continue to be a problem right up to the end of May. Nobody likes having the flu; fever, coughing, a sore throat, and aches and pains are a sure way to ruin your holiday season. However, there are still surprisingly large numbers of people who choose to forgo the protection afforded by a yearly flu shot. If you’re one of those people, listen up. New research shows that a flu shot protects against much more than an inconvenient virus; it can also save your life.

Links between the Flu Shot and Decreased Risk of Cardiac Events

Two recent studies were presented at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress that highlighted a link between the influenza vaccine and a decreased risk of heart attack and stroke. The studies involved 3,227 patients with an average age of 60 years. The participants, half of whom had been previously diagnosed with heart disease, were randomly given either a flu shot or a placebo shot. The health of the participants was then monitored for 12 months.

The results were startling – the patients who received the flu shot were 50% less likely to suffer a major cardiac event and 40% less likely to die of cardiac causes than their fellow participant who received the placebo shot. The benefits of a flu shot are far greater than just protection against the flu.

The Flu Shot Benefits Your Cardiac Health

Although it would be incorrect to state that a yearly flu shot “vaccinates” you against heart disease, the recent studies clearly demonstrate that a flu shot decreases your chances of suffering a major cardiac event. You are likely wondering, “what is the link between these seemingly unrelated events?”

There have been a number of past studies that have shown a correlation between heart attacks and a prior respiratory infection. The flu is a respiratory illness that affects the lungs, nose, and throat and, in serious cases, can even cause pneumonia. Indeed, research shows that up to 91,000 Americans die every year from heart attacks and strokes triggered by flu-related respiratory infections. 

Theoretically, getting a flu shot could reduce this mortality rate by up to 40%.
Notably, the two new studies are not the only ones to show the correlation between a flu shot and cardiovascular health. A 2010 study showed similar results with a far larger patient population. 78,000 patients aged 40 or older were found to be 20% less likely to suffer a first cardiac event after receiving a flu shot. This decreased risk did not just occur in healthy people –even individuals at a high risk of heart disease, such as smokers and diabetics were less likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke.


I'm one of those who never gets a flu shot. This year, I may change my mind.

See ya, eh!

Bob

"Dance Your Ph.D"

Hiya! How's she going? Good to see you! Coffee's perky and the VTs are delicious as always so dance your way over to the coffee pot and dig in. Did I say 'dance'? What was I thinking...? Must have been related to today's topic...dancing and education.

The missing element in obtuse doctoral dissertations in science is that they cannot be danced to, according to writer John Bohannon and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, which has established an annual "Dance Your Ph.D" video competition, and this year's finalists were being selected at press time. 

Sarah Wilk was an entrant, featured in a Wall Street Journal report using glowing green balls and a flaming Hula-Hoop to help illustrate her "Odd-Z Transactinide Compound Nucleus Reactions Including Discovery of 260-Bh." 

So was Peter Liddicoat, using a chorus line of a juggler and a ballerina and others for "Evolution of Nanostructural Architecture in 7000 Series Aluminum Alloys During Strengthening by Age-Hardening and Severe Plastic Deformation." 

Uh-huh. With titles like those, one can see why they could use a little help with presentation, eh. Well, I for one think training for this kind of visual interpretation should begin much earlier. How about Kindergarten? There, the students would have no problem whatsoever coming up with a 'routine'.
With about 26 years of study and dance practice, they'd be super ready to wow their audience by PhD time!

I also think it should be on the electoral ballot, don't you?

See ya, eh!

Bob

Beer Belly Brewery!

Well howdy! Y'all come in and have yerself a mugful of coffee and use that to wash down a texas-sized virtual muffin, y'hear! Speaking of Texas and 'washing down', listen to this...

When a Texas man reportedly staggered into a local hospital, complaining of dizziness, staff made the rather obvious conclusion. They gave him a Breathalyzer test.

Sure enough, the 61-year-old appeared to confirm their suspicions. He blew .37 -- nearly five times the legal limit in Texas.

Diagnosis? Drunk.

The only trouble is the patient claimed he hadn't drunk a drop all day.

The re-diagnosis? Gut fermentation syndrome, also known as auto-brewery syndrome.

In a paper published earlier this year in Scientific Research Publishing, U.S. researchers Barbara Cordell and Justin McCarthy call it a "relatively unknown phenomenon in modern medicine." 

Cordell and McCarthy tested the theory on the Texas patient, keeping him in a hospital room for 24 hours and giving him heavy helpings of carb-rich foods.

Essentially, they found a common yeast called Saccharomyces cerevisiae was building up in his intestinal tract. In turn, the yeast caused starch to ferment sugar -- ultimately producing ethanol.
The Texas patient's stomach had become a micro-brewery, basically distilling booze from starchy foods like bagels and pasta.

"He would get drunk out of the blue — on a Sunday morning after being at church, or really, just anytime," Cordell, dean of nursing at Panola College in Texas tells NPR. "His wife was so dismayed about it that she even bought a Breathalyzer."

The prescription? A low carb diet and plenty of anti-fungals reportedly kept the man's intestines clean and sober.

Yeah but think of the money he saves on beer!

See ya, eh!

Bob

Spending too much time on Email?

Well, hi there! How's it going, eh? Ready for a mugga and a virtual muffin? Help yourself and then elbow your way over here to the table. Say, is it crowded in cyberspace today? Email overflowing? Me, too! Unbelievable sometimes. I must have close to 100 email accounts, maybe more...mostly with GMail; one Yahoo, 50 odd with Powweb and a scattering of other ones I seldom if ever check. On average, I'd say I get 300-500 emails a day and most of what comes in is useless. Drives me insane sometimes! Well, here's something for you to investigate. It's called Sanemail...

SaneBox does a number of things. It looks at your relationships and creates a gmail label called SaneTop. That is a list of your most important contacts. It’s smart, it evolves and it’s done automatically.

It also creates a label called SaneLater. That’s stuff that’s not important and not time sensitive. Those two things alone have made my email life better. 

SaneBox does other stuff too but those are the killer features. Plus it’s a breeze to setup. Two clicks and you are done. It all works within gmail instead of forcing me to another website or app. So my keyboard shortcuts, threads, send/archive, labs etc all remain. 

If you are a gmail user, check it out: www.sanebox.com.

There is one catch. It's free to try but then starts at $2 a month. Dang! I knew there was a catch somewhere. Don't be surprised if the likes of Gmail, Yahoo and Hotmail don't jump on the bandwagon and create their own sorter. Some already have labels...none of which I have bothered to check out yet. Too busy checking my emails!

See ya, eh!

Bob

Awesome Recliner Chair Mounted on the Side of a Cliff

Well look who dropped in! Wonderful to see you as always. Fill your mug and snag a virtual treat or two then climb on over to the table here and pull up a comfortable chair... though it's not quite as comfy as the one Dallin Smith has designed...nor is the view quite as stunning as the one in the picture. 

Take a seat and let your eyes feast upon the stunning views unfolding underneath your dangling feet. Designer extraordinaire Dallin Smith from Provo, Utah, made a rope chair and attached it hundreds of feet above ground on a steep rocky cliff at Rock Canyon, offering rock-climbers a new reason to tackle the challenging rock face.

Dallin says his chair wasn’t designed to hang off of cliffs, but as a comfortable lounge chair. “I was trying to figure out how to put it to use and I was originally planning on a type of furniture to place in the living room,” the industrial designer who is also an avid climber says. “The chair was a design project I have been working on as I had an excess amount of retired climbing rope lying around.” 

When the project was complete, it occurred to him that the chair’s place might not be in a home. “However the more renditions I made, the more it made sense to place something outside,” the man states.

So who took that picture, I want to know? And... who's going to get you your next beverage, eh? Oh sure, it looks specky but come on. Suppose you nod off and wake up suddenly with an urge to go toidy and just bound out of the chair? 

See ya, eh!

Bob

Funkybod Muscle Top Shirt gives you a Toned Physique (Look)

Hey there! What'cha been up to? Glad you could click by today. Coffee's awaiting and so is the amazing array of virtual muffins, doughnuts and pastries.  Say, y'know how guys like to 'suck it in' when passing a good looking lady on the street...or in a bar, eh? Well, a couple of fellows have come up with a shirt that... well, here...read this...

Are you one of those guys who likes being lazy; sitting on the couch all day and stuffing your face with junk food but dream of impressing girls with their toned physique? It sounds like an unreal fantasy but thanks to the ingenious undershirt designed by an amateur boxing coach and his accountant friend, it is very much possible.

Created by Ash Bhunnoo and Ricky Robinson, the “Funkybod Muscle Top” is a padded shirt meant to cover your flabbiness with pads which not only look like toned muscles but actually feel real thanks to a foamy material which stretches to accommodate the weak, saggy flesh underneath. It took a while before they finally found a material that worked as they had envisioned, but they finally got the effect they were looking for. 

So rejoice fellow couch potatoes.  Broad shoulders, a flat six-pack and firm, well-defined pecs and triceps don’t require a single visit to the gym thanks to this revolutionary invention. 

I don't know about you but my shirts all seem to be shrinking. I'm not sure if it is the laundry detergent we use or perhaps Cornwall water. Whatever it is, the shirts seem to be fitting more snugly these days. Do you have the same problem? I think we need a royal commission to study the problem and come up with a 250 page report that outlines the problem and possible solutions...in five years time. Here in Canada, we are exceptionally good at royal commission reports. Not that we're good at activating solutions...but dang good at producing reports!

See ya, eh! I have to go and wash/stretch a couple shirts...

Bob

Thai Fortuneteller Uses Chess to Predict the Future

Sawatdee, krup!  Thanks for clicking by. Great to see you. (Nice to feel wanted, isn't it?) How're things going for you so far today? Let me ask you...have you ever visited a fortuneteller? Before you answer that, help yourself to a marvellously refreshing mug of java and a scrumptilious virtual treat. Now then, look into my crystal ball and...

If you’re eager to know when you’re going to get that much-awaited promotion or if you will ever meet the love of your life, move your pawn to C3 and let Amunnata Lamwanna  (Ajarn Nong, by her prophetic name) predict the outcome of the chess game that is your life. That’s right, Ajarn Nong, a fortuneteller from Thailand, uses chess to predict the future.

After a failed marriage, giving birth to a premature child and being homeless for a while, Amunnata Lamwanna got a job in public relations, working for a famous fortuneteller who thought it would be wise of her to pursue the same career. After studying everything under the stars, she finally became a fortuneteller herself and adopted her current name, Ajarn Nong. (Ajarn is Thai for teacher).

The idea of chess prediction came to her when she saw people playing chess in the park. She soon began developing a new method of telling the future that involved the popular strategy board game. “I invented a way of fortunetelling using a chessboard set up to show the position of the stars in Thai-style astrology, as well as cards and feng shui, in which each star indicates your horoscope. The method was completed in 2010, and the first person I used it on was my husband,” she explains. (That would be her ex-husband, eh!)

Thais are ga-ga over fortunetelling. These 'Mor Doo' walk along the streets or the beach or set up their blanket (usually a rattan mat) anywhere they can find a spot and invite folks to have their fortune told. Nong, which means either young lady or young sister, and can be used when trying to get the attention of any younger person...such as a young sales person, either male or female...and is also a common nickname (as in my wife's nickname).  I keep telling (my) Nong that I am a fortune teller. I predict that tomorrow will be mainly Friday! She is not impressed with my fortunetelling talents... otherwise, she claims, I would have already picked the winning 6/49 lotto numbers and we'd be living in a huge condo somewhere. Ah well...these things take time...and the stars have to be in the right configuration. I'm working on it, hon!

See ya, eh!

Bob

Creative Food Towers That Destroyed Salad Bars in China

Hey there! What's happening out there in cyberspace? Anyway...it's great to see you. Thanks for clicking by. Fill your mug and grab hold of a virtual treat. Maybe stack two or three on your plate. Since we're talking about stacking, here's some Chinese ingenuity for you...

If you could only make one trip to the salad bar, how would you go about carrying as much food as possible in one go? To deal with this predicament, some ambitious Chinese foodies invented “salad stacking” – the art of stacking vegetables, fruits and croutons on a single plate in order to create extremely tall and elaborate salad towers.

This fad began when Pizza Hut restaurants in China introduced salad bars serving veggies and fruits to promote healthy eating. When the buffets opened, customers were given a one trip opportunity to fill their plates with as much food as they could. Seeing as they couldn’t go back for seconds, hungry patrons decided to utilize the small plates they were given to their full potential and started piling up their food with so much care and precision that complex structured meals were born.

The fad became very popular on the internet where enthusiastic “salad engineers” posted pictures of their monster creations and even exchanged techniques for making the tallest towers. According to most of them, the trick is to build a stable and straight base and cover it with carrot sticks glued together with salad dressing so that it can hold the actual salad “structure”. All kinds of goodies can go on top – melon slices, peaches, cucumbers, croutons, oranges etc., depending on preference. These must be placed in such a way that the pieces interlock and create a mesh. The entire thing can be topped with a bit of salad dressing and smaller foods for decorative purposes.

Now I have to tell you that I coined the phrase 'Salad Engineering' about 10 years ago in Thailand where the same thing happens in Pizza Hut and Pizza Company salad bars. There though, it is college girls who will go into a restaurant in groups, say four girls, and with one small side plate, feed all four girls. I suggested that that had learned to do it in a course offered in Thai universities - and that course was 'Salad Engineering'. So there! Eat your heart out you Chinese pizza places you. Though I have to admit they've taken it to skyscraper proportions.

See ya, eh!

Bob

New York Restaurant’s Silent Dining Experience

Shhh! (Whispering... Wonderful to see you. What're you up to? Shhh! Tell me later. Help yourself silently to a mugful of Arabica juice and a virtual muffin!)

Okay..that should set the tone for today's topic. Do you remember how you always had to be quiet at the dinner table when you were young but never understood why? Now that you’re all grown up, with children of your own, you probably wish you could have just one more of those quiet dinners. 

If quiet is what you seek, you’re in luck, as now you can enjoy a four-course meal in complete silence at the Eat restaurant in Greenpoint, Brooklyn where you have to be quiet and enjoy the food, whether you like it or not.

Nicholas Nauman, head chef and curator of the silent-dinner experience, got the idea for the event during a trip to India where he admired the Buddhist monks having their breakfast every morning without uttering a word. In a competing market where restaurant owners are coming up with the most unusual concepts to attract customers – such as dining in pitch-dark, the 28-year-old thought this idea would gain popularity. 

“It’s just an opportunity to enjoy food in a way you might not have otherwise,” he says. This way, he hopes to “reconfigure the relationship between a space and food” by forcing customers to focus on their plates rather than on the countless distractions that occur while sitting at the dinner table.

I have read quite a bit about za-zen,...one Buddhist sect in Japan. Za-zen means 'seated meditation'. Za-zen monks begin their day around 3:45 am when they are awakened for a two hour meditation session to begin their day. Then at 6:00 am, they have breakfast...silently. The principle is to focus on doing only one thing. If eating is what you are doing, that should take 100% of your focus.

Focus...I guess that's why police don't want you driving and texting at the same time, eh. Some folks even have trouble walking and chewing gum!

See ya, eh!

Bob 
 

Household Sewage: A Vast New Energy Resource

Hi ya! How's tricks? Keeping well? Slurp down a mug if coffee and gobble down a virtual treat while I tell you why sitting on the pot (not the coffee pot!) make be even more important to your future than it is now!

In a finding that gives new meaning to the adage, "waste not, want not," scientists are reporting that household sewage has far more potential as an alternative energy source than previously thought. They say the discovery, which increases the estimated potential energy in wastewater by almost 20 percent, could spur efforts to extract methane, hydrogen and other fuels from this vast and, as yet, untapped resource.

Elizabeth S. Heidrich and colleagues note that sewage treatment plants in the United States use about 1.5 percent of the nation's electrical energy to treat 12.5 trillion gallons of wastewater a year. Instead of just processing and dumping this water, they suggest that in the future treatment facilities could convert its organic molecules into fuels, transforming their work from an energy drain to an energy source. Based on their research, they estimate that one gallon of wastewater contains enough energy to power a 100-watt light bulb for five minutes.

And, in a study completed just days ago, scientists in California have come up with a novel device that uses only sunlight and wastewater to produce hydrogen gas could provide a sustainable energy source while improving the efficiency of wastewater treatment.

So next time you 'sit on the throne', remember, you're creating renewable energy. Good for you! 

See ya, eh!

Bob

5 Tips for Cooking Chicken Safely

Yo! Wassup? Great to see you. Mosey on over to the coffee pot and pour yourself a mugful. Then cast your eyes on the mouthwatering display of delectable virtual treats awaiting you...and no chicken among them. Did someone say chicken? Must have been me as a bad segue into today's topic...avoiding salmonella and other nasty things.

While the current salmonella outbreak in the USA may have people concerned about eating chicken, experts point out that raw meat products always carry risk.

"Chicken in general carries risk, whether it's part of this outbreak or not," said Ben Chapman, a food safety specialist and assistant professor of food science at North Carolina State University.
"There's pathogens on raw chicken regardless of where it comes from," he added.

So far, 317 people in 20 states have been sickened by an outbreak of Salmonella Heidelberg. Forty-two percent of ill people have been hospitalized, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Health officials say Foster Farms chicken products are the likely source of the current outbreak, but no recall has been issued.

Chapman gave some tips for reducing risk of illness when cooking and handling raw meat:

Avoid cross contamination
It's important to keep in mind that juices from meat can contaminate other objects and surfaces they come in contact with — such as your hands, kitchen counter, cutting knife or uncooked food — and spread around, Chapman said.

Cross-contamination can happen at any point in the cooking and handling process, starting at the grocery store.

To avoid cross-contamination when buying meat, consumers should first make sure there is nothing dripping from the package, Chapman said.

Chapman said he also places meat in a separate plastic bag so that it doesn't contaminate other food or reusable bags. 

When preparing food, people should clean their hands after touching raw chicken products, and clean other utensils and appliances that come in contact with raw chicken, such as a cutting board or knife, before using them again, Chapman said.

Don't wash your chicken
Although some people have been taught to wash raw chicken, this practice really promotes cross-contamination, Chapman said. Washing poultry can spread juices around, and sometimes spread bacteria up to three feet away, according to the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Chapman advised consumers to avoid this practice. "It can only increase risk," he said.

Thaw properly
There are several methods for thawing raw chicken that has been frozen, including placing it in the refrigerator, in cold water or in the microwave, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. You should not thaw raw chicken on the counter, the USDA says.

Chapman said that, regardless of the method people use, they should ensure that the outside of the chicken is not above 41 degrees Fahrenheit for more than four hours. Consumers should also take measures to prevent the spreading of juices that collect from the meat while it thaws, he said.

Cook properly
Consumers should not look at the color of meat or its juices to determine if it's cooked. The only way to know for sure whether you've reduced your risk of foodborne illness is to cook the meat to an internal temperature of 165 F.

Chapman recommends using a tip-sensitive digital thermometer, and checking the temperature of the meat in several spots.

Reheat to the right temperature
Any leftovers you have should be quickly cooled by placing them in a refrigerator, Chapman said.
If consumers properly cooked their meat the first time to 165 degrees F, and quickly cooled down the leftovers, then they can heat up leftovers to 145 or 155 degrees F, Chapman said. But to be extra cautious — for instance, if there's any question that the meat was cooked properly the first time — consumers can heat leftovers to 165 degrees F, Chapman said.

Using a thermometer is especially important if you reheat leftovers in the microwave, Chapman said, because a microwave may not cook the meat evenly, and some spots of the chicken may be undercooked.

Y'know, we've been looking at meat thermometers and I reckon it's time we bought one.

See ya, eh!

Bob 

Your Brain On B Vitamins

Hey! Hey! There you are. I thought I heard you fluttering about in cyber-orbit waiting for the virtual cafe to open. I'm tickled pink that you dropped in to day and as usual, your timing is spot on. Coffee's freshly perked and the array of virtual treats is truly splendiferous today! Help yourself, eh! 

Got another message from my pal, Dr. Al. He's big on keeping you healthy ans so am I. In this message, he's on about Vitamin B. My doctor wants me to take about 1200 mcg daily and I get pretty close. Whatever B12 I get in food is supplemented with a 1000 mcg evening power pill so that ought to do it, eh! Here's what Dr. Al has to say...

Dear Bob,

The constant stream of media stories about the power of vitamin B12 for heart and brain health is great, but it’s not really news. We’ve known the benefits of B12 for years.

To me, the real importance of the stories is that they deal another body blow to modern diet recommendations, which tell us that protein from meat is the enemy of good health.

The story the media should be telling is that protein is where nature meant us to get our B12 from. Not from processed grains with added vitamins.

That’s because the only natural food sources of vitamin B12 is meat from animals, including fish.

And make no mistake, B12 is important. In clinical studies, vitamin B12 has been shown to protect and even rescue brain cells.¹ It also improves nerve conduction, which means it enhances the speed of the messages your brain is sending.

The worst part is that if you don’t have enough B12, doctors typically misdiagnose the deficiency and then prescribe drugs that do nothing to address the problem, but instead have plenty of side effects that only serve to make you feel worse!

But you can avoid falling into that trap by remembering that the message is about what’s missing from the foods you’re offered.

Like always, I recommend replacing missing nutrients with food first. Supplements come in if you can’t get enough of the nutrient from food.

With that in mind, here my favorite food sources of vitamin B12:²

Type of Food	Micrograms (mcg) per serving	Percent of RDA
Liver, beef, braised, 1 slice	48.0	800
Clams, 3 ounces	42	700
Crab, raw, 3 ounces	7.6	130
Trout, rainbow, wild, cooked, 3 ounces	5.4	90
Salmon, sockeye, cooked, 3 ounces	4.9	80
Beef, top sirloin, broiled, 3 ounces	2.4	40
Yogurt, plain, 1 cup	1.4	25
Haddock, cooked, 3 ounces	1.2	20

A couple of tips on vitamin B12:

One thing you might notice is that although it definitely has protein, chicken is not on the list. You’d have to eat almost half a chicken to get the same amount of B12 as you can get in just one egg. And eggs don’t have that much vitamin B12.

Also, reflux and ulcer drugs like Pepcid, Prilosec and Zantac, plus some diabetes drugs, can stop absorption of B12.

Which means that in today’s world of processed foods and synthetic medicine, it can be difficult to get enough vitamin B12 from food alone.

If that’s the case, it’s a good idea to take a B12 supplement.

You can get it in a good B vitamin complex that gives you at least 500 mcg (half a milligram) of B12, which you’ll find as cyanocobalamin or methylcobalamin. The latter is a more active form.

There are also B12 sprays, which is a good way to get your B12 as it gets absorbed quickly.

Another way to take B12 is from a lozenge. They dissolve fast and absorb quickly. A good one I’ve seen is from my colleagues at Stop Aging Now. Each of these lozenges gives you 1,000 mcg of the methylcobalamin form to give you more energy, normal cognitive function, and maintain your overall health. 

This effective nutrient is crucial if you want to maintain a strong heart and keep all your memories.

To Your Good Health,
  Al Sears, MD

And a caffo day to you as well!

See ya, eh!

Bob 

PS: Speaking of cyber-orbit, Nong and I went to see 'GRAVITY' on Tuesday. It was in 3D and quite spectacular visually. Don't think I'll watch it again when it hits TV, though. Only two actors in the movie - George Clooney and Sandra Bulloch