Saturday, December 29, 2012
We men may be total apes! But, we can sure dance!
Is there a connection between stress and the spread of flu?
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A couple of research papers I've
recently come across hint to there being a causal effect existing
between the severity of a cold or flu and certain physiological or
psychological stress factors that a person might be experiencing.
Other studies likewise hint that by just being stressed, a person is
more susceptible to catching a bug in the first place! If true, then
that theory may be well tested this winter as forces that often
result in high levels of stress like unemployment and growing
poverty have never been higher. The ILI chart here does seem to indicate that we might
be in for a rougher than normal flu and cold season season.
Friday, December 28, 2012
Eating a bowl of chili….is it really healthy? Uh yeah, sure!
If you've ever asked; 1) how good does a bowl of chili really
taste and 2) whether it’s actually good for you to eat, you might get lots of
positives for the former and few, if any for the latter.
The truth be told, there are a lot of chili abusers out there. Individuals
who prefer to slather on the copious amounts of cheese or otherwise 'corrupt' the nutritional value of the dish with all sorts of wacky additions (see Cincinnati 5-way)!
I like to follow a much more mundane, (and hopefully) a nutritionally
safer route to my version of ‘chili heaven’! Read on…
-------------------------------------------------
In my world, a bare bones bowl of chili could contain the
following;
Beef – ground or chunks
Tomatoes – stewed, diced or whatever
Chili powder to add a little heat
Cumin – for that authentic chili taste
While this works out OK, the result is rather boring. As an option, here is my favorite recipe for chili:
1
lb ground beef (80% - 20% mix)
1
onion, chopped (as a topping for when you eat)
1
can petite diced tomatoes, 8 oz
1
can red kidney beans, drained
1
tsp brown sugar (optional) per lb ground beef
Directions: To
make it, you simply brown the meat in a frying pan,
drain off the excess fat and then dump this along with the rest of the ingredients
into a crock pot set to low. That’s it! The whole deal takes me about ten minutes to throw together in
the morning. Then, I can go out and play, work or whatever, and I’ll have a
steaming hot bowl of chili ready for me when I get home. This recipe will make
enough for four to five one cup servings depending on what you idea of a cup really is.
-------------------------------------
Now,
as to the nutritional factors. Here’s a label that combines all the ingredients. Note that the
sodium is low because I used low sodium beans and so-called fake salt (potassium
chloride) to flavor the dish. For added heat, I also used a shot of Tabasco sauce!
Note:
When I was figuring out what a true serving was, I figured that a
cup was about right and that's what I based the nutritional analysis on. The bottom line is that a good hot bowl of chili ain’t all that bad for your body
assuming you supplement it with lots of fruits and veggies!
Oh,
and how did this chili taste? Marvelous, just marvelous!
Jerry Holvick visits Forsyth!
A man I used to work with, Jerry Holvick was in town
recently and I had a chance to see him at a local eatery once cold December
morning. Eating with us was another friend, John Carnahan who, along with me
and Jerry, worked at the National Enzyme
Company many years ago.
Jerry, I learned is currently working for an enzyme company
by the name of Deerland Enzymes
located in Kennesaw Georgia
and was visiting the Forsyth area to see family and friends that still live in
the area.
I was good to see Jerry, who appears to be in fine health as
is his wife and family. We had a great time discussing the old days and I was
pleased to see that Jerry has done so well for himself.
Is a cold bug going around the Forsyth Mo area!
Interestingly, in one week (as of December 15), the number of reported flu cases in the Springfield Missouri area have nearly doubled, from 24 to 46. The Springfield-Greene County Health Department says the greatest increase was in children ages 5-14 years old. Children, especially young children, are typically more vulnerable to the effects of the flu than older children or adults. (A more recent report is expected to be released from the CDC later today)!
Yet another good reason to make sure everyone washes
their hands frequently and to stay home if they don’t feel well.
As a side note, the day after I posted this I too came down with the same bug!
As a side note, the day after I posted this I too came down with the same bug!
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Here we go – bravely onwards into 2013... and on over the cliff!
Unless Congress wrangles a deal in the next few days, Americans will ring in 2013 with champagne, funny hats -- and a knock-you-off-your-feet cocktail of tax hikes.
The Washington-imposed financial headache goes beyond higher taxes. Due to the inaction on Capitol Hill, certain industries could be hit particularly hard by budget cuts and millions of taxpayers could be held up in filing their 2012 returns.”
Read more if you dare: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/12/25/how-washington-failure-to-reach-budget-deal-could-spoil-your-2013/?test=latestnews#ixzz2G7AiYZov
My thoughts: If this were not my country, I'd be watching this 'theater of the absurd' and laughing my ass off (unfortunately, I am and I'm not). To those simpletons who actually voted for this idiot, I'll resign myself to follow you all to an abyss of unparallelled proportions.
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