LS Man

Hang On Goopy, Goopy Hang On!

On the heels of the non-poisonous Fugu, comes this wee story. Australian scientists have said they are hoping to breed sheep that burp less as part of efforts to tackle climate change. The scientists have been trying to identify a genetic link that causes some sheep to belch less than others. Burping is a far greater cause of emissions in sheep than flatulence, they say. About 16% of Australia's greenhouse emissions come from agriculture, says the department of climate change. Australia's Sheep Cooperative Research Council says 66% of agricultural emissions are released as methane from the gut of livestock. "Ninety per cent of the methane that sheep and cattle and goats produce comes from the rumen, and that's burped out," John Goopy from the New South Wales Department of Industry and Investment told ABC. "Not much goes behind - that's horses." The scientists in New South Wales have been conducting experiments in specially designed pens where they measure how much gas sheep emit by burping. They have found, from tests on 200 sheep so far, that the more they eat, the more they belch. But even taking that into account, there appear to be "significant differences" between individual animals, Mr Goopy said. The scientists' goal in the long term is to breed sheep that produce less methane, which produces many times more global warming than carbon dioxide. "We're looking for natural variations so we'll steer the population that way, " said Roger Hegarty, from the Sheep Cooperative Research Council. The beauty of this article, other than the fact that it involves John Goopy, is the major finding that the more the sheep eat, the more they belch. I believe it is just a matter of time before John Goopy wins the Nobel Peace prize for agriculture.

Numb Lips!

For those of you who have tasted Torafugu and lived to tell about it, I am sure you have had quite a story to tell. I have only had Hirezake and I can tell you a few stories. The fugu is one of the world's most dangerous foods, thanks to a concentration of anhydrotetrodotoxin 4-epitetrodotoxin in the liver or ovaries that is 1,200 times more lethal than cyanide. The poison paralyses the nerves and prevents the lungs from working. There is no antidote and death occurs within minutes - with the first indication that all is not well reportedly a numbness of the lips. Only specially-licensed chefs are qualified to prepare this winter delicacy for human consumption and there are several fatalities every year, mostly among sport fishermen who think they know how to remove the poisonous parts. Fugu chefs consider themselves among the elite in the very competitive world of Japanese cuisine and are required to undergo three years of training and apprenticeship - followed by a test that just 35 per cent of applicants pass - before they are permitted to prepare their first fish. We can’t get this in the colonies, only in Japan. However, we can get the Hirezake, which is sake with just the fin of the fish. It, my little friends, is intoxicating in the truest sense of the word. I can only imagine what the whole thing would be like. If I ever get to the land of the rising sun, I will patronize a fugu restaurant. But this story is about the sterilization of our world. From not allowing children to play certain playground games because they will get hit in the face with a ball, to this: Now an aquaculture company based in the southern prefecture of Ehime said it had raised 50,000 non-poisonous fugu at a fish farm. But many fugu chefs - who are traditionally bound to commit ritual suicide with their own fish knife should one of their customers expire after eating one of their meals - said they preferred to take their chances with the potentially deadly wild varieties, I wonder where it will end?

Much Ado About Obesity!

Here is an interesting story that doesn’t have to do with masturbation or large women, and therefore, ought to keep me out of trouble at least with my conservative “watchdog” friend. If the government can mandate seatbelts and helmets to be worn for health and safety, why can’t a university do the same thing with another obvious health factor, obesity?

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A Pennsylvania university's requirement that overweight undergraduates take a fitness course to receive their degrees has raised the hackles of students and the eyebrows of health and legal experts. Officials at historically black Lincoln University said Friday that the school is simply concerned about high rates of obesity and diabetes, especially in the African-American community. "We know we're in the midst of an obesity epidemic," said James L. DeBoy, chairman of Lincoln's department of health, physical education and recreation. "We have an obligation to address this head on, knowing full well there's going to be some fallout." The fallout began this week on Lincoln's campus about 45 miles southwest of Philadelphia, where seniors - the first class affected by the mandate - began realizing their last chance to take the class would be this spring. Tiana Lawson, a 21-year-old senior, wrote in this week's edition of The Lincolnian, the student newspaper, that she "didn't come to Lincoln to be told that my weight is not in an acceptable range. I came here to get an education." In an interview Friday, Lawson said she has no problem with getting healthy or losing weight. But she does have a problem with larger students being singled out. "If Lincoln truly is concerned about everyone being healthy, then everyone should have to take this gym class, not just people who happen to be bigger," she said. The mandate, which took effect for freshmen entering in fall 2006, requires students to get tested for their body mass index, a measure of weight to height. A normal BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9. Students with one that's 30 or above - considered obese - are required to take a class called "Fitness for Life," which meets three hours a week. The course involves walking, aerobics, weight training and other physical activities, as well as information on nutrition, stress and sleep, DeBoy said. As of this fall, DeBoy estimated about 80 seniors - 16 percent of the class - had not had their body mass index tested nor taken the fitness class. Some of those students will likely be exempt from taking the class once they get their BMI results, he said. Health experts applaud the school's intent, if not its execution. Mark Rothstein, director of the bioethics institute at the University of Louisville's School of Medicine, said being forced to disclose such health information is "at least awkward and often distasteful." And it doesn't necessarily lead to the best outcomes, he said, noting that "when the (health) goals are imposed on people, they don't do that well in meeting them." DeBoy stressed that students are not required to lose weight or lower their BMI; they must only pass the class through attendance and participation. "It's the sound mind and the sound body concept," DeBoy said. "I think the university, to its credit, is trying to be proactive." Some experts said recent amendments to the Americans with Disabilities Act might lead to exemptions for morbidly obese students, who could argue that participating in the class would be dangerous. Also, students need more than exercise, said Marcia Costello, a registered dietitian in the Philadelphia area. The university should make sure its dining halls and vending machines offer healthy choices, she said. Costello, an assistant professor of nursing at Villanova University, also noted that body mass index can be misleading. Since muscle weighs more than fat, "it is possible to be overweight and still be physically fit," she said. Lawson, a mass communications major, said while she believes her current BMI would exempt her from the class, she's going to take it anyway "because I would like to be healthier." "This was a decision that I made," she wrote in The Lincolnian, "and that's the way it ought to be."

Can a university require any specific course for graduation? Yes

Can this university require this course for graduation? Yes

Will this open the door for universities to require course on hygiene or coiffing? Maybe

As long as one is aware of the requirements, can one choose not to attend a university? Yes

So what is all the fuss about? Don’t know but it sure beats some of the “crap” I usually write about.  

Now If Only She Would Kiss A Toad!

Slowly but surely this country is becoming more tolerant. On the heels of the last two blogs, one might think this blog to be facetious. However, despite all the local craziness, there is a general trend towards toleration. For lasting change to occur in any system we have to work at it from the top down, as well as, the bottom up. The last presidential election took care of the top down. But what about the roots?

Imagine Being A Ginger Jew!

It seems that “kicking” a particular group is in mode: Ten North Naples Middle School students were suspended last week after district officials said they participated in “kick a Jew day,” reports the Naples Daily News. District Spokesman Joe Landon said a student told the dean of students at dismissal that she was kicked because it was “kick a Jew day.” The next day the principal addressed the entire student body about the incident. The principal asked anyone with information to come forward and report what they knew. As a result, the district determined that 10 students should be punished. The students received a one day, in-school suspension. Parents of the students who were kicked were also notified of what happened. The first 20 minutes of the school day is normally used for reading time and tutoring time if students need help. Now that time is reserved for focusing on character traits, beginning with respect and kindness. Homeroom teachers will speak with the students about these traits and will focus on bullying prevention. The students were disciplined in accordance with the bullying and harassment policy, which can range from “positive behavioral interventions up to and including suspension or expulsion," as outlined in the Code of Student Conduct. I can’t imagine walking in a school and getting kicked because you are a “something.” We are all a something. Some parts of that something we can’t help but be. The rest of our something is either due to our nature or nurture or, as the more enlightened amongst us would like to think, our nature via our nurture.

Stop Spreading The Ginger Hate!

Just when you thought the world was safer because some parents complained about a video for this blog, Stop Spreading The Flus, and after what must have been hours of deliberation by leaders to be told to remove the video from YouTube, since this blog doesn’t seem to want to embed videos in it any longer, comes this story:

Dozens of students at a California middle school attacked their red-haired classmates as part of "Kick a Ginger Day," an event possibly inspired by TV show "South Park," police said. Sheriff's Lt. Scott Chew told MyFoxLA.com that up to four students were assaulted at A.E. Wright Middle School in Calabasas on Nov. 20. One 12-year-old boy, who has red hair and freckles, was reportedly attacked twice on Friday by as many as 14 students. The seventh-grader and the other victims were not seriously injured, according to Lt. Richard Erickson. A sixth-grade girl told KABC-TV that some fellow students kicked her in the legs from behind. The alleged attackers all are seventh- or eighth-graders at the school. A 2005 "South Park" episode entitled "Ginger Kids" satirized racial intolerance and is the apparent inspiration behind the Facebook group "National Kick a Ginger Day." Messages on the Web site urge people to participate by kicking and beating up redheads. Erickson said investigators still are not sure if the middle-school assaults were related to the Internet messages or the show.

The parents of the children in this story couldn’t protect their children from the terrors of the internet as readily and effectively as some other parents I have come to know. I can only assume that South Park was trying to demonstrate the futility of discrimination, however, it just may have had the opposite effect. I wasn’t aware of the negativity associated with having red hair until recently, which was reinforced by this story. One of my toughest friends had red hair. I assumed he was liked because he was such a nice guy, I know I felt that way. But perhaps nobody messed with him because of his toughness.

Notre What!

We are all aware of the woes that have befallen the once great football program at Notre Dame. From Rudy to anyone’s individual story, the mystique of this particular place is always shared by people. This must make the present conditions even more unbearable for all those same people. For the longest time Champion sportswear sponsored the Notre Dame Football program. The adage that it takes just a little bit more to make a Champion fit in very well with the great players and coaches at Notre Dame. The other day I received a catalogue from Champion as I used to buy their “stretchy” pants. It got so that there were no other colors other than white and since I don’t wear other shorts over my stretchies, it became a source of great merriment and ridicule. At my soon to be former school, parents would faint at the sight of white stretchies, other teachers and coaches would comment, and of course, kids would mock me. Apparently, in some assembly, one of the boys dressed as me. I will take that as a compliment. But I digress. So I was looking through the catalogue and I came across this picture. I am sure it is just a coincidence, but perhaps a tad ironic. For those of you who are more skeptical, I have magnified the important part.

Albert Would Have Approved!

Here is an illustration of the theory of relativity. Shaquille O’Neal is only one inch taller than her.

A US model measuring 205cm is set to feature on the cover of Australian men's magazine Zoo Weekly.

The model — Eve — appears on the cover of the magazine's current issue alongside a 162cm-tall Australian model.

"No other magazine has put a woman who's nearly 7ft tall on the cover," editor Paul Merrill said.

"We had ... her bikini specially made, but it was worth it."

 

 

Honest, I Met Abe Lincoln!

So a wee boy tells his classmates that he met the President of the United States over the weekend. His classmates mock him and tell him that could never be. The President somehow finds out and then to prove to the boy’s friends that he wasn’t a liar, the President writes a note and sends it to the boy. This is so Hollywood and such a cliché, that I think it has been the subject of many movies. But it really did happen in 1861. The letter sent by President Lincoln for George Patton will go on sale for a large sum of money very soon. But the worth of this document isn’t its age or the signature of the author. It is, rather, the time a President took to authenticate an eight-year-old boy’s story. A letter written by former US President Abraham Lincoln to a schoolboy nearly 150 years ago is to go on sale for $60,000 (£36,000) in Philadelphia. George Patten was with his journalist father when both met the commander-in-chief. The 16th US president wrote in 1861 after the eight-year-old was mocked by his disbelieving classmates. The handwritten, signed note confirms the pair met and was sent two weeks after the Lincoln's inauguration. The letter reads: "Whom it may concern, I did see and talk with master George Evans Patten, last May, at Springfield, Illinois. Respectfully, A Lincoln." Lincoln put pen to paper after the boy's teacher wrote to him.

All Good Things Come In Threes!

I was moved by a triumvirate of religious stories. The first had to do with a priceless cross. VATICAN CITY (AP) — One of the gems of the Vatican's priceless religious art collection — a 6th century reliquary containing what is revered as fragments of the cross on which Jesus was crucified — has been restored to its Byzantine-era glory. The Vatican on Thursday unveiled the restored Crux Vaticana, a foot-high (40-centimeter-high) jewel-encrusted golden cross containing what tradition holds are shards of Jesus' cross inside.

The Associated Press was given an early look at the piece, and Byzantine art experts said the restoration rendered the cross much closer to what it would have looked like at the time the Byzantine Emperor Justin II gave it to the people of Rome. Most significantly, the restoration corrected a botched 19th century restoration that threatened to corrode the piece. And it replaced the brightly colored gems that were added in previous centuries with the large, imperfect pearls that are emblematic of Byzantine-era imperial masterpieces, said restorer Sante Guido. Imagine how many people this would have fed or clothed. Wasn’t that what Jesus Would Do?

The second, rather irreverent, story was about a closet organizer. Actually there is no story just a picture.

And the third one, well look for yourself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRMiRFJzIKA&feature=player_embedded