I came across this article which I thought to be very fitting, considering the times.
While you may not be able to control the price of oil or the prime rate, there are some simple things you can do to shore up your finances, safeguard your future and ride out whatever the economy throws at you.
With the 2008 presidential nominations in full force, both sides have placed major emphasis on the economy. There is little doubt that the national economy has left a lot to be desired. As a result, candidates’ are making it the central issue of their campaigns. Being reminded that there are things you can do to help yourself get through these times always helps. Placing your spare change into a big jar at the end of every day may not seem like much, but it adds up. After two years, my family completely financed a vacation to visit my extended family by simply saving our pennies, so it does work if you’re serious.
According to this article, it doesn’t.
While there’s no proof that certain foods directly enhance libido, eating a well-balanced diet improves cardiovascular health, which in turn improves total body and sexual health. And if eating dark chocolate or oysters sets the mood, go right ahead. Just balance your calories with ample physical activity—in the bedroom and elsewhere.
This is definitely news to me as I identify certain foods such as the ones mentioned above as aphrodisiacs. Am i disappointed? Absolutely not, the last thing we need is food to get ourselves or mates in the mood. I think I may take a second look at my diet to certify its “hearth-healthiness”.
From today’s Huffington Post [via Real Clear Politics] End of a Romance: Why the Media and Independent Voters Need to Break Up with John McCain
The John McCain they fell in love with in 2000 — the straight-shooting, let-the-chips-fall-where-they-may maverick - is no more. He’s been replaced by a born-again Bushite willing to say or do anything to win the affection of his newfound object of desire, the radical right.
I’ve been thinking the exact same thing since his CPAC Speech and Bush’s endorsement of the Senator.
Dont feel bad, I really did not know either.
I don’t use them nor do I condone the use of these artificial sweeteners. The warning label alone is enough to keep me away, natural cane sugar suffices. This scientific study states that “rats that ate food sweetened with saccharin ate more, gained more weight and stored more fat over time than rats that ate regular sugar.” The use of these artificial sweeteners causes a biological change in rats, slowing down their metabolism. This has not been tested in humans, but the research suggests a likely correlative effect in humans. When our body ingests something sweet, it is programmed to speed up our metabolism to burn off the incumbent calories, but when the calories just aren’t there, that metabolic response will not kick in. This is the inherent flaw in these artificial sweeteners, they seem to circumvent our bodies natural ability to metabolize calories because it simply does not recognize them for what they are.
I know many people who swear by the artificial sweeteners and none of them are in their “best” shape. I have always had a bad feeling about these things and always favored the natural alternative and this study definitely supports that. This is often my philosophy but, don’t trust the engineered substitute. Nature was perfect before we intervened. Just be informed on what you ingest in your body folks!
Apparently men are predisposed to video game addiction. Male brains seem to struggle to let go of video games once they start them. I’ve been there. I’ve done that. I think its the drive to succeed and persist when you fail.
Full disclosure: Paul Krugman, the author of this article, is a staunch liberal, and by no means unbiased. I say this because his claims of Clinton’s progressive policies, while progressive, are fiscally messy. Her proposal is estimated to cost between $100 to $150 billion extra in government spending a year.
While both plans will cost someone money, Clinton’s plan will be paid directly through increased tax base (except for those whom already have employers pay for insurance, which instead are paid by the employers who receive tax benefits as a result). In contrast, Obama’s plan would require employers to extend healthcare to employees. This is much less burdensome to the average taxpayer.
Krugman’s focus seems to be the hype of covering every person. This is nothing but hype because most people don’t have insurance not because they don’t want it but because they can’t afford it.
The reason this is important is because the nature of universal healthcare, if the government is willing to insure everyone, they’re not necessarily worried about the costs of acheiving this goal. Unfortunately, this means that tax payers will be paying more for healthcare that, unfortunately, extend less benefits to Americans, due to the lack of free market forces at work.
While Obama’s plan will not cover everyone, it will cover every child. In addition, because of the purchasing power of companies insuring all of their employees, and their interest in getting the most for the least, working Americans will on average, receive better coverage for less (not to mention the tax relief your receive when your employer pays for your insurance).
If you want to read more about Obamacare versus Hillarycare before making your decision, definitely read Obamacare, Better than it looks.. Another article, although less interesting:Obama vs. Hillary: Universality.
I will more throrougly cover this topic in an upcoming article.
Take a quick gander at Ron Paul’s voting record. If you were to choose a candidate based purely on fiscal responsibility Ron Paul is your candidate. A reversion to a truly small federal government would be an amazing sight to see, but I think it is a pipe dream, considering the size of our modern bureaucracy.
After playing around for a full day, I must say, Twitter really excites the mind. It allows me to tend to my tasks, and focus less on distractions. Twitter, in a single day distilled my communication habits. I now share things on my own time, rather than constantly needing to respond to others’ IM chimes. Its a great feeling.
I’ve learned a bit more about the service:
- While Twitter is primarily used for public communication, I can send a private message that cannot be read by others if I begin my post with “D + username”.
- Replies are my favorite part of the Twitter system. By typing “@username”, you can reply specifically to another user’s tweet.
- Because Twitter is essentially a light blogging system, each user entry creates an RSS post, which can be subscribed to. Twitter search engines (such as Terraminds) exist where you can search for specific terms and create user-centric feeds. While replies from people on my friends list (or followers list as Twitter calls it) automatically show up for me, I cannot see other replies to my tweets if they are not my friend. What this means is that I can create a feed made solely of replies to my tweets, and view what others whom I’m not following say. This is killer!
- My absolute favorite thing about Twitter is that I can post from anywhere. This includes my cell phone, my computer, this site, AIM, email, etc.
I began using Twitter today.
Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?
Why? Read more