International Geek Song

Michael van Leest; It's all about RIA!: International Geek Song

Raise a Glass to Beer

A couple of friends of mine are saying AMEN!

Beer drinkers tend to get the short end of the stick. While wine connoisseurs are thought of as chic and sophisticated, beer drinkers are routinely portrayed as slothful, pot-bellied creatures planted in front of TVs. In one memorable news exposé several summers ago, beer drinkers on working-class Rockaway Beach in New York City were arrested (no open containers please), while the mayor sat comfortably ensconced among wine sippers at a philharmonic orchestra concert in Central Park.

But now there's good news for beer drinkers -- it turns out that by and large alcohol is alcohol, and socioeconomic stereotypes aside, the health benefits of beer are not all that different from the benefits of wine. Of course the key word here is moderation -- most experts advise no more than two alcoholic beverages a day for men and no more than one for women. So what's so good about beer?

HERE'S TO YOUR HEALTH

An increasing body of serious research backs up beer's benefits...
Bone protection. According to a medical team at Tufts University in Boston, beer may help prevent bone-thinning osteoporosis. Dietary silicon in grain products such as beer appears to reduce bone loss and promote bone formation. Beer contains silicate, a highly absorbable form of silicon that works by facilitating the deposit of calcium and other minerals in bone tissue. Margo A. Denke, MD, clinical professor of medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center, cautions that excessive alcohol intake is a risk factor for bad bones, perhaps because calories from nutrient sources are replaced with calories from alcohol.

Lower risk for cardiovascular disease. Like wine, beer has well-documented heart-healthy benefits. Regular moderate drinking has a protective effect in both men and women against cardiovascular disease, confirms Meir J. Stampfer, MD, DrPH, chair of the department of epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health. He told me that moderate alcohol consumption in any form has an equivalent benefit -- "Wine is not better than beer, red wine is not better than white and spirits in moderation are also associated with lower risk."
Better heart attack survival. A study at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston noted that moderate drinkers (who consumed more than seven alcoholic beverages a week) had a 32% lower risk of dying from a heart attack than those who drank no alcohol. Light drinkers (less than seven drinks weekly) had a 21% lower risk. Like other alcohol, beer acts as a blood thinner to help prevent clogged arteries. Other research links moderate alcohol consumption with improved blood circulation in the brain and lower risk for stroke.

Improved cholesterol levels. In her research, Dr. Denke discovered that people who consumed one to three drinks daily had higher levels of HDL, the "good" cholesterol. She also found that regular moderate intake of alcohol resulted in lower blood insulin levels. In a related US Department of Agriculture (USDA) study, women who drank one alcoholic beverage daily lowered their LDL ("bad") cholesterol and levels of harmful blood lipids known as triglycerides.

Sharper brains. In the long-term Nurses' Health Study, Dr. Stampfer and his colleagues found that moderate consumption of alcohol seemed to preserve the mental abilities of older women. From 1995 to 1999, more than 9,000 women between ages 70 and 79 were interviewed regarding their alcohol use, and seven different tests of mental function were administered. Moderate drinkers scored better on five of seven tests, and on total overall scores.

Healthier kidneys. At Harvard Medical School, Tobias Kurth, MD, ScD, assistant professor of medicine, and his colleagues examined data from 11,023 men enrolled in the long-term Physicians' Health Study. Over a period of 14 years, the participants reported their alcohol consumption and underwent regular physical exams and blood tests. Researchers found that men who consumed seven or more drinks a week experienced a 29% lower risk of developing kidney problems. (Read more about this study in Daily Health News, January 17, 2006.)

Antioxidant effect. Japanese scientists have found that antioxidants such as polyphenols in beer may offer protection against cancer-causing chemicals. This echoes earlier research conducted in Portugal, which suggested that antioxidants slow the proliferation of breast cancer cells. According to Dr. Denke, isoflavonoids in beer are phytoestrogens that mimic the activity of the natural human hormone estrogen. In laboratory experiments, isoflavonoids have also been shown to inhibit the growth of breast, prostate and colon cancers.
PROCEED WITH CAUTION
Promising as all this research appears, talking about alcohol always requires special caution. It's all too easy to slip over the line from healthful consumption to overconsumption and physical damage, warns Dr. Denke. Yes, regular moderate consumption can benefit the heart, kidneys, bones and more... but by the same token, drinking too much alcohol can seriously harm vital organs and processes in the body. While we all think of beer as having more than its fair share of calories, in fact it is not significantly higher than other forms of alcohol. As always, moderation in all things is the best path to follow.

NASCAR.COM - Judge refuses to dismiss lawsuit against NASCAR - Jan 28, 2006

NASCAR.COM - Judge refuses to dismiss lawsuit against NASCAR - Jan 28, 2006

Don't know much other than this is interesting. I did get a chuckle of NASCAR trying to say it is an open organization.

The Silliest Speech in the Union - What's wrong with the president's annual address. By John�Dickerson

The Silliest Speech in the Union - What's wrong with the president's annual address. By John�Dickerson

State of the Union - The first shot!

Tuesday night, President George W. Bush will lay out his 2006 agenda in his State of the Union speech, and working families will be listening closely. Time and again we have seen the president dress up anti-worker proposals with friendly sounding titles—but when his congressional allies adopt them, the results are disastrous for working families.

So when you’re listening to President Bush speak, think about what his previous proposals have really meant to working people:

• When Bush talks about health insurance, remember the disastrous Medicare drug prescription scam his team in Congress pushed through. It has stranded tens of thousands of seniors without needed medications and forced some 20 states to declare public health emergencies because President Bush put the interest of drug companies ahead of the interests of seniors.
  
• When the president talks about health care costs, remember that he and his allies in Congress refused to allow Medicare to negotiate with drug companies, costing taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars.
  
• When Bush talks about taxes, remember the huge tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans he and congressional leaders already passed and the ever-growing debt they are leaving to our children and grandchildren.
  
• When Bush talks about opportunity, remember how the income disparity is growing as wages fall and the cost of living rises for working families.
  
• When Bush talks about education, remember that he and leaders in Congress have pushed higher education out of reach for many by cutting student loans.
  
• When Bush talks about keeping America safe, remember his administration’s utter failure to rescue desperate victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Plugged in: Ready for $262/barrel oil? - Jan. 27, 2006

Plugged in: Ready for $262/barrel oil? - Jan. 27, 2006

Houston to tie teachers' pay to test scores

HOUSTON, Texas (AP) -- Houston became the largest school district in the country on Thursday to adopt a merit pay plan for teachers that focuses on students' tests scores.
By a 9-0 vote, the Houston school board approved a plan that offers teachers as much as $3,000 in extra pay if their students improve on state and national tests. The program could be expanded to provide as much as $10,000 in merit pay for teachers.
The vote came after several teachers told the board at its monthly meeting they believed the plan was flawed and unfair because some teachers will be eligible for larger bonuses than others.
"This is not a perfect plan, but it is a beginning," said school board president Diana Davila.
Other school districts nationwide have implemented various types of incentive pay programs for teachers in recent years. Denver adopted one in November, becoming at the time the largest district to do so. Houston, with more than 200,000 students, is the nation's seventh-largest district.
The plan is divided into three sections, with as much as $1,000 in bonus pay tied to each.
The first will award bonuses to all teachers in schools rated acceptable or higher, based on scores on the state's main standardized test. The second ties pay to student improvement on a standardized test that compares performance to nationwide norms.
In the third section, reading and math teachers whose students fare well compared with others in the district would be eligible for bonuses.
Teacher reaction mixed
The teachers' union doesn't approve of the plan, saying it focuses too much on test scores and is too complicated.
"Any time you divide one set of teachers from another, you are sending the wrong message," said Jana Angelov, a high school art teacher who has been with the district for eight years.
Ben Hernandez, 30, a kindergarten teacher who helped design the plan, said that even though he does not like the focus on test scores, he believes the plan will be a good way to reward teachers for hard work.
"If I am to continue to be successful as an educator, I must change," he said. "The system must change also. This proposal is a change from the past, a change for the better."
The district will continue working to increase teachers' base pay, Superintendent Abe Saavedra said. And he is open to modifying the plan if needed.
"It's time not only for this district but for every district in this country to start looking (to see) if there is a different way to compensate our professionals," he said.
In general, teachers across the country have been paid based on their years of experience and education levels. Starting teachers in Houston make about $36,000 a year. The average salary in the district is about $45,000.

I may offer $1 to identify every right wing homophobe, sexist nazi...

LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- An alumni group dedicated to "exposing the most radical professors" at the University of California at Los Angeles is offering to pay students $100 to record classroom lectures of suspect faculty.

The Web site of the Bruin Alumni Association also includes a "Dirty Thirty" list of professors considered by the group to be the most extreme left-wing members of the UCLA faculty, as well as profiles on their political activities and writings.

UCLA Chancellor Albert Carnesale on Thursday denounced the campaign as "reprehensible," and school officials warned that selling or distributing recordings of classroom lectures without an instructor's consent violates university policy.

News of the campaign prompted former Republican congressman James Rogan, who helped lead impeachment proceedings against former President Bill Clinton in the U.S. House of Representatives, to resign from the group's advisory board.

"I am uncomfortable to say the least with this tactic," Rogan, now a lawyer in private practice in California, said in an e-mail resignation made public by the Los Angeles Times. "It places students in jeopardy of violating myriad regulations and laws."

At least two other members of the group's advisory board, which consists of more than 20 individuals, also have quit over the group's efforts to have students record their professors.

The group, which is not affiliated with UCLA or its official alumni association, is the creation of Andrew Jones, a 2003 UCLA graduate who said he runs the organization mostly on his own with $22,000 in private donations.

Jones told Reuters that he is out to "restore an atmosphere of respectful political discourse on campus" and says his efforts are aimed at academics who proselytize students from either side of the ideological spectrum, conservative or liberal.

"We are concerned solely with indoctrination, one-sided presentation of ideological controversies and unprofessional classroom behavior," Jones said on his Web site.

Jones' site describes his campaign as "dedicated to exposing UCLA's most radical professors" and his list of the university's "worst of the worst" singles out only professors he says hold left-wing views.

Jones said he would accept recordings only from students whose professors consented in writing to have their lectures taped. And students would be paid $100 only if they furnished complete recordings of every class session, as well as detailed lecture notes and all other teaching materials from the class.

Jones, who also is offering to pay $50 for only notes and materials, said so far one student has signed up to participate and two others have expressed interest.

UCLA spokesman Phil Hampton said the university planned to send Jones a letter warning him that faculty hold copyrights to all their course materials and that his campaign encouraged students to violate school policy.

Copyright 2006 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

This will be the republicans undoing

Just like the far left continues to undue the Democrats. Statistics say America is ripe for the 3rd party. The question is not if but when on all counts.

A picture is worth 1000 words

I am waiting for the right to begin screaming big over intrusive government. And don't say its ok because its a war on terror or my response is "slippery slope." Its the ludicrous side of the rights arguement. No government intrusion except on moral issues of our sides choosing - woman's choice, gay marriage but not guns...

News-Leader.com | Nation/World

News-Leader.com Nation/World
Give me that on-line religion.

FOXSports.com - NFL Playoffs- Ref in controversy has house vandalized

FOXSports.com - NFL Playoffs- Ref in controversy has house vandalized

The idiocy of America.
Get pissed about a call making that did not effect an outcome but be ok over little things like real social injustices.

OH I WISH!!!

FOXSports.com - COLLEGE FOOTBALL- Virginia Tech kicks Vick off team

FOXSports.com - COLLEGE FOOTBALL- Virginia Tech kicks Vick off team: "Virginia Tech kicks Vick off team
/ Associated Press
Posted: 11 hours ago
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Virginia Tech quarterback Marcus Vick was dismissed from the team Friday, the result of numerous legal transgressions and his unsportsmanlike conduct in the Gator Bowl.
University president Charles Steger announced the dismissal on the same day that coach Frank Beamer met with Vick and his mother in their Hampton Roads home, the school said in a statement. Beamer informed them of the decision during the meeting.

'I'm very disappointed that this didn't have a better ending,' coach Frank Beamer said of Marcus Vick (pictured). (Steve Cannon / Associated Press)
Vick, the younger brother of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, was suspended from school in 2004 for several legal problems. The junior came under new and intense scrutiny this week after replays showed he stomped on the left calf of Louisville All-American defensive end Elvis Dumervil during the Jan. 2 bowl.
No penalty was called on the play and Vick claimed its was accidental. He further hurt his cause by claiming to have apologized to Dumervil, the NCAA sacks leader, but the Louisville player said no such apology was ever offered.
On Friday, it was revealed that Vick had been stopped for speeding and driving with a revoked or suspended license in Hampton on Dec. 17, Cpl. James West said. Vick's license had been taken away in August 2004 when he was cited for reckless driving and marijuana possession in New Kent County.
Steger suspended Vick from school at that time, and warned that any additional problems would effectively end his time as a member of the Hokies' football team.
'The university provided one last opportunity for Vick to become a citizen of the universi"

Post Holiday Hell-o

Well the Christmas Season has come and gone. We somehow skipped Kwanza and only wished a couple of friends happy hannakuah but we made it. All in all a good break. The kids had a ball. They had fun, Santa was great and we all enjoyed each others company.

And now back to work and school. The Hell of Winter begins. Short days and long hours. Cold with no snow and that wintewr cold that gets better but just won't go away. Oh well...soon it will be Spring...I hope.