Monthly Archives: April 2019

Culture

Artificial Stimulants In Energy Drinks Hurt Kids

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Monster Energy Drink 666 Hebrew Numbers

Why Your Kid Shouldn’t Be Guzzling ‘Energy’ Drinks
Vitamins & Minerals are Safer and More Effective than
Artificial Stimulants, Says Food Science Expert

Anxiety, hypertension, elevated heart rates, interrupted sleep patterns and headaches are just some of the side effects commonly associated with energy drinks, and those problems are more pronounced in children, according to a recent University of Miami study.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. These drinks have also been linked to heart palpitations, strokes and sudden death.

The term “energy” drink is an unfortunate misnomer, says food science expert Budge Collinson. They don’t give your body energy; they stimulate you with brief jolts of caffeine and unregulated herbal stimulants, he says.

“Soccer moms and dads buy these ‘stimulant’ drinks for their kids before matches because both kids and parents want that competitive advantage,” says Collinson, founder of Infusion Sciences and creator of Youth Infusion, (www.drinkyouthinfusion.com), an effervescent, natural multivitamin beverage that helps people maintain consistent and healthy higher energy levels. 

“For a few moments, you’ll get that spike, but it’s a short-term experience with a heavy long-term toll.”

So, what are some ways kids can get a healthy energy boost? Collinson offers the following tips.

•  Go for a speedy bike ride together, take a brisk walk or hold foot-races in the yard. Numerous studies demonstrate the power of vigorous exercise in boosting energy. Exercise pumps more oxygen – pure, healthy fuel — into the bloodstream and to the brain and muscles for a short-term energy boost. Exercising regularly will increase lung capacity, so the body will gets more oxygen on a sustained level for the long term. Exercise also releases endorphins, the body’s natural feel-good chemical, which makes us feel happy. And happy people are energized people.

•  Seek nutrition from a variety of sources. As humans, we need more than 40 different vitamins and minerals to keep our bodies functioning optimally. Since there is no single food that contains them all, it is important for children and adults to eat a variety, including as many different vegetables and fruits as possible. Adding a daily multivitamin supplement with essentials such as CoQ10, arginine, theanine, resveratrol and magnesium can help ensure bodies young and old are running at top speed.

•  Drink plenty of water – the natural energy drink. Even mild dehydration can leave children (and adults) feeling listless, so encourage children to make a habit of drinking plenty of water. Kids need more water than adults because they expend more energy, and they may not recognize when they’re slightly thirsty. Parents, too, often don’t recognize the signs of dehydration; a national survey of more than 800 parents of kids ages of one month to 10 years found that more than half feel they don’t know enough about dehydration. A quick, light pinch of the skin on the child’s hand or arm is an easy check. If the skin is slow to resume a smooth appearance, the child is likely at least mildly dehydrated.

About Budge Collinson

Budge Collinson was the beneficiary of his mother’s natural health formula as a sick baby, which led to a deep interest in health and wellness at a young age. After years of research and seeing the growing demand for natural products with clinical support, he founded Infusion Sciences, www.infusionsciences.com. Collinson earned a bachelor’s degree in food and resource economics from the University of Florida and certification from the National Academy of Sports Medicine. Recently, he became a member of the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine and consistently attends the Natural Products Expo, where he learns the latest science and news about nutritious ingredients. Collinson is also a go-to source for media outlets across the country for healthy lifestyle and food source discussions.

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Click to view on I-tunes
Culture

Selling An American Comedy Icon’s UFO House

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It took awhile, but eventually, Bob Hope’s UFO house sold for $13 million USD, after first being listed in early 2013 with a price tag of $50 million USD.  Having gone through a couple of price cuts over the years, the most recent cut lowered the ask to $25 million USD.  But with no comparable homes available, how does one actually price a concrete space ship?  Seems that when $25 million was thrown at the wall, $13 million stuck.

 bob hope ufo house banner2

The Palm Springs spaceship/volcano house, designed for Bob and Dolores Hope by John Lautner in 1973, needed a buyer with deep pockets who would appreciate its futuristic leanings, had appreciation for architects who think outside the box and are young at heart enough to enjoy a bit of whimsy.  The buyer, California billionaire Ron Burkle, co-founder and managing partner of a private equity and venture capital firm, is well known in the Los Angeles area for his connections with the Clintons.  Sporting as interesting a persona as the house, Burkle is a prominent Democratic activist and fundraiser.  

 bob hope ufo house interior2

At 23,000 square feet under the dramatic high undulating roof, the unique house has open spaces in the walls and ceiling which allow daylight or stars to shine through casting shapely shadows into the interior. These curved openings also allow for stunning views across the landscape and mountains while appearing to be nestled comfortably into its well-designed desert landscaping and outdoor living areas. The house also has a spa with greenhouse wall, 6 bedrooms, 13 bathrooms, indoor and outdoor pools, a pond, putting greens and a tennis court.


Burkle collects other historic architecture and purchased the Frank Lloyd Wright Ennis House in 2011 and also owns Greenacres that was originally built for silent comedy film actor Harold Lloyd.  Patrick Jordan and Stewart Smith of Bennion and Deville Homes were the listing agents and Ron de Salvo of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage represented Mr. Burkle.  Even at the greatly reduced closing price of $13 million, the sale has set a record for the highest sale price in Palm Springs beating Lautner’s Elrod House that sold for $7.7 million two months earlier. For the Silo, Terry Walsh.

Gaming

Keno Online Means Worldwide Lottos At Your Fingertips

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Many of us enjoy playing the lottery. Whether it’s regularly as a group at work or as part of a bunch of friends or perhaps as an occasional indulgence at the corner store- there is always the chance that you will win. And unlike most betting games, the lottery is simple to understand and simple to play. By choosing a series of numbers often ranging from between 1 and 80, players hope that they have correctly predicted the outcome of numbered ‘ping pong’ balls that are randomly drawn by a machine. This machine uses air pressure to float a large number of balls about until all the receiving baskets are filled up by the no longer floating balls. Beautiful randomness.


Keno takes this idea a step further.

The basic rules and playing instructions are the same but allow for more variety. Modern day casinos have offered keno for decades and it continues to be a highly popular choice for gamers. The casino is able to modify the general lotto rules in order to make their version more attractive and fun. For example, they may decide to increase or decrease the amount of balls used or design their own type of keno betting slips making your odds of winning higher than a state or provincial lottery.


The move towards random number generators.

Not every casino or lottery uses a ball machine. Today, digital technology holds the lead in many areas and computers are able to quickly and efficiently generate a series of random numbers. In 1946 John von Neumann, an early computer programming pioneer, developed a mathematical way of generating random numbers using a computer.

After almost 75 years, the random number generator has proven to be reliable. That’s great news for gamers since this method is used by digital casinos ensuring keno draws are now available online 24/7.

It can now happen.

Even more exciting is the way that digital Keno is played. Instead of being restricted to your local lottery, you can now play lotteries all over the world from anywhere you are connected to the internet. Online sites offering keno payout by matching the official lottery rules and results.

This is an exciting change that leads to all kinds of fun and new ways of playing. For example, if you have family in another part of the world you can now join them and play together. Or perhaps you have always wanted to play the National lottery in England but live here in Canada- it can now happen.

For the Silo, Jarrod Barker.

Culture

How Societies Become Consumer Cultures Through Housing

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Alfred Marshall’s (Principles of Economics, 1891) view of housing still goes right to the heart of what makes housing and built environment an important anthropological topic. No artifact is so clearly multi-functional, simultaneously a utilitarian object of absolute necessity, and an item of symbolic material culture, a text of almost unending complexity.

In every house the economic, social and symbolic dimensions of behavior come together. This may be why the analysis of housing has had such a wide appeal in disciplines as diverse as social psychology, folklore, economics and engineering. Anthropologists themselves have shown a new willingness to consider the house as a key artifact in understanding the articulation of economic and social change during economic development.

An ethnocentric home.

From the perspective of our own contemporary society, surrounded by houses of all shapes and sizes, where wealth and luxury are synonymous with housing, this seems obvious and commonplace. The 1980’s television show “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” and journals like “Architectural Review” are odes to the home as a shrine and symbol of wealth. But just as clearly, there are societies where all the houses look alike, even though all the people are not alike. Perhaps then, the assumption that there is something natural and obvious about spending on the house and home market as a marker of prestige is ethnocentric. Why the house instead of something else?

A number of anthropological approaches attempt to place the house in a theoretical context which answer this question by relating housing to social, economic, and psychological variation and change. For example, a utilitarian approach that views the house partially as a workspace links changes in the elaboration of houses to changes in the kinds of work done in the household (Braudel 1973:201). Or if the house is seen as a reflection of how all household activities are organized and divided, then the shape of the house will change as activities are modified, differentiated, or recombined (Kent 1983, 1984).

Utilitarian houses.

An even more utilitarian perspective relates the form of the house to climate, technology and the kinds of building materials that are available (Duly 1979).  For the Silo, Richard R. Wilk.

Read on..click here and read the full PDF document on your device.

Supplemental- Complete Text  Principles of Economics (London: Macmillan and Co. 8th ed. 1920).
Author: Alfred Marshall
About This Title: This is the 8th edition of what is regarded to be the first “modern” economics textbook, leading in various editions from the 19th into the 20th century. The final 8th edition was Marshall’s most-used and most-cited.

Culture

Places To Pick Provincial White Trillium In Ontario

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Trillium photo: D. Greenwood

The white trillium is a spring wildflower with 3 distinct leaves and petals.  It has been the provincial flower of Ontario since 1937 and is also the logo of the Ontario Government.  It’s white flower is seen as a symbol of peace and hope.

While it is a popular belief that it’s illegal to pick the White Trillium in Ontario, in reality they are only protected in provincial parks and land owned by conservation authorities.  However, if the leaves as well as the flower are picked, the plant could die as it no longer has any means to produce the energy it needs to take it through the winter into another spring.

Sometimes mutant plants with green striped petals are found in White Trilliums.  These plants are diseased — infected with parasitic mycoplasmas that cause the greening. Over time, the mycoplasmas will cause deformity in the petals and eventually the death of the plant. For the Silo, Dixie Greenwood.

Mutated Painted Trillium. by Roger Grinnell (Burnsville, NC) NOTE- the four leaves courtesy: www.dougsgreengarden.com

Reviews

‘Frail Absolute’ Book Not For Faint Hearted

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Cover of Frail Absolute

Plato’s The Republic challenged the way humankind thought. Now, a immigrant from then-Communist Hungary is posing a similar challenge: Is perception reality, why can one individual’s experience of reality differ so radically from another’s, and how can humankind’s search for a deity be what ultimately separates us from each other and from Nature?

Heady stuff, and Istvan Deak’s book, Frail Absolute, is not for the faint-hearted.

Neither is the author, who fled Hungary illegally with his wife and lived in an Italian refugee camp for six months before being allowed into Montreal, Canada. There, Deak secured a job using brooms and mops in an expert way cleaning hospital corridors, and eventually writing commercial business software programs. A short time later, he moved to Toronto, where he and his wife live now.

3rd Century AD scroll fragment of Plato’s Republic

A philosophy is born. As this self-described analytical introvert began revisiting the philosophers he had read as a teenager, long-quiet questions began to surface about religion, about matter and energy, about how humans interact with one another. And he began writing Frail Absolute.

“I understood that the Force of Reality blew up in the Big Bang and created our universe,” Deak says.

“That Force, that Absolute, has been and must be present in everything in a most profound manner. Otherwise, everything would cease to exist.”

As he wrote and thought and questioned, his epiphany came.

“I asked this Force of Reality, ‘Where can I find you?’ And the reply came back, ‘Who is it who stirs your mind so that you want to know this?'” the author says.

As in The Republic, where Socrates and others discuss the meaning of justice, happiness, soul and the roles of the philosopher in society, characters in Frail Absolute discuss the meaning of reality, perception and harmony. Where Socrates vision culminates in a city ruled by philosopher-kings, Frail Absolute ultimately creates a way to exist in what Deak dubs “the Continuum (All That Is).”

“I have always sought a way to transcend what separates us from one another and from the force that exists everywhere. No matter what one believes in “science, a strict or a benevolent deity, even a non-existent god such as atheists do“ searching for this concept keeps humans apart. All reality is relative to the individual experiencing it,” he says. “Since there can be no single, absolute truth, I imagine how we can instead pursue the shareable values of love, compassion and harmonious collaboration in our daily existence.”

Recent photograph of Istvan Deak

Istvan Deak grew up in Hungary, reading the works of ancient and modern philosophers. As a young adult, he taught math and physics before fleeing Communist Hungary for a refugee camp in Italy with his wife. They emigrated to Canada, where he eventually joined a railway company and then began writing software applications as a freelancer. He plans for Frail Absolute to be just the first of many philosophical books.

Istvan Deak’s Wikipedia Page

Sample page from Frail Absolute

Culture

Yoga Legend Offers 7 Ways To Make Morning Time Your Favorite

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Most people dread the moment the alarm clock goes off having to fight their way out of bed to start the day.  But what if you could turn morning time into your favorite time of the day, where waking up is actually easy and more enjoyable?

Aadil Palkhivala
Aadil Palkhivala

Yoga legend Aadil Palkhivala, known across the world as the “Godfather of yoga in the west,” and author of Fire of Love: For Students of Life and Teachers of Yoga, offers these tips that will make it easier to get going in the morning:

1. Wake up to something pleasant: The very first thing most people think about when they wake up are all the things they have to get done that day.  It quickly makes them feel overwhelmed, frustrated and stressed out. Instead, start your day thinking about the things you are grateful for, and focus on the fun activities you have planned for the day. Do some Heartfull TM Meditation that focuses on deep breathing that will wake you up peacefully and put you in the mood to create throughout the day.

  1. Lose the traditional alarm clock: Jarring the body from a deep sleep is unhealthy for the nervous system. Waking up to a softer noise that gradually increases in volume is a much better choice. Sounds from nature are soothing and naturally awake the body.

  1. Drink a glass of warm water right away: Before you head for the coffee, drink a glass of warm water. Warm water will open up the circulation in the throat and stomach. It helps the body naturally hydrate and feel awake and alive.  It also helps enhance circulation and removes toxins from the night and day before.  People who drink water right before bed and when waking up are also less prone to heart attacks.
  1. Have an organic smoothie: They say garbage in equals garbage out, so start your day with a powerful organic smoothie.  Anything that contains green fruits/veggies is a good choice, along with plant-based proteins. Avoid animal-based proteins which are more difficult to digest.
  1. Stretches: Just like you would warmup your car on a cold winter day, you need to break up the tension from the night before and get the body ready for action.  Do some simple stretches that focus on the neck, shoulders, hips and spine.

Warm Shower6. Take a warm shower: It’s as common as the chicken and egg debate: should you shower in the morning or at night?  The answer is actually both, but especially in the morning because a warm to hot shower will increase circulation in the skin, and help awake the nervous system.

  1. Clean air: When you sleep in a room that has clean air, you’re going to wake up feeling refreshed and ready to take on the day.  Use an air ionizer and purifier with HEPA filter that removes odors and fumes from cleaners, aerosols, carpet and paint. HEPA filters remove more than 99 percent of airborne irritants.

For nearly thirty years, Aadil has been regarded as a “teacher of teachers,” and many of the world’s top yoga instructors have studied with him. He has a unique teaching style, mixing melodious instructions with recitations of poetry, philosophical insights, and in-the-moment humor.

Alive and Shine Center LogoAadil and his wife, Savitri, are the founders of Purna Yoga, a holistic synthesis of yogic traditions based on the work of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother. Discover more about Aadil  and the Alive and Shine Center.  For the Silo, Alex Smith.

Supplemental- A short history of Yoga http://swamij.com/history-yoga.htm

Sony’s Nature Sounds Alarm Clock- now discontinued but still available via Amazon and Ebay.

Culture

It’s A New Era Of Smaller House Living

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With an increasing demand for housing in the UK and strict planning restrictions, developers are attempting to fit as much “house real estate” as possible within smaller and smaller areas.

This means that most new builds are half the size of the homes being constructed at the start of the 20th century.

Despite this eye-opening reality, there are plenty of people who are happy to sacrifice space for location – especially moving closer to the capital.

We’ve looked at this trend, determined the main pros and cons of smaller house living and even looked around the world for extreme examples of homes which push the limits of square footage. Want to weigh up the pros and cons of small house living? This graphic from our friends at storageworld.co.uk provides a great start point for your research.

Read on to find out whether you’re cut out to thrive in this new era of space-efficient living. For the Silo, Georgia Davies.

Supplemental- The Story Behind Toronto’s Little House

Gaming

Fast Track To The Future With Virtual Reality

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Occulus Rift Xray ImageThe implications of what Virtual Reality can achieve are vast, and it is predicted that VR will seep into every area of our lives in the very near future. VR is not just a concept that excites the entertainment business, but has a very real presence in some of the world’s most essential industries. However, many people remain skeptical about the impact virtual reality will actually have and suggest that it is only an attractive concept for gamers. Although it is true that VR is a fantastic way to improve online gaming, it has already been used in the medical and manufacturing industries, proving that virtual reality is not just a tool for play. Others fear VR could replace physical social interaction and they are therefore reluctant to consider the many benefits it actually presents. By taking a selection of real-life situations in which virtual reality is already used, we can assess its impact and perhaps decide whether it is to be embraced or discarded.

Surgery

It may not surprise you to know that the health sector is one of the biggest users and advocates of virtual reality. VR is of exceptional benefit in surgical training, improving student skills whilst minimizing risk to potential patients. This type of training can improve confidence and allow students to explore surgical procedures and options that would otherwise be inaccessible to them during the initial stages of their training. Virtual reality is already used by surgical staff, trainee nurses, dentists, and in numerous other health settings, world wide, allowing students to quickly gain skills without putting themselves or other individuals at risk.

Therapy

The authentic nature of VR allows therapists to assist patients with certain phobias. VR promotes controlled environments which can quickly be changed or eradicated during a course of therapy. For example, a person suffering from arachnophobia would perhaps find it more helpful and less daunting to experience holding a spider via VR rather than in a real life situation, and of course, a virtual reality headset can be turned off immediately should the situation require it. Other phobias and aversions could be tackled through the use of VR, including water aversion, acrophobia (fear of extreme heights) or aviophobia (fear of flying).

Occulus Rift Hot Babe VR PornEntertainment

For some people, the online world is their only connection to society and if virtual reality gaming can help them continue to connect, then this can only be perceived as a positive thing. There is no denying that virtual reality is an amazingly entertaining concept and, when done well, is an excellent way to experience online gaming. Being fully immersed in a game is a highly attractive idea: whether it be one that takes you to a battlefield, or a game that allows you to feel as if you are actually being dealt cards at a plush casino in Vegas. Currently, gamers can connect with people from all over the world, or play slots in the comfort of their own home by visiting a site such as  www.luckynuggetcasino.com yet imagine the thrill of full immersion through the power of virtual reality.

Transport and Training

Again, we touch upon the benefits virtual reality provides to many aspects of training and, in this particular situation, to the world of transport. For years the aviation industry has been using simulations to help train pilots and virtual reality is a welcome advance in such training. VR flight training presents minimal risk to both the pilot and passengers whilst allowing pilots to experience the difficulties that may arise whilst being in control of the aircraft. The most spectacular example of virtual reality based vehicle training is perhaps that used by NASA to train its astronauts. The training includes various simulations including that of an astronaut having to perform repairs during zero-gravity conditions, as well as a simulated detachment from the shuttle with the astronaut having to use a powered backpack to return. NASA has even managed to use VR in space, keeping astronauts up to date with training whilst on a mission and it has been suggested that VR will be used to entertain astronauts in space in the future. Just imagine, you could soon be sharing your virtual poker table with the astronauts of tomorrow!

Supplemental- Gamers are talking about the Oculus Rift and the Playstation VR but the HTC Vive looks pretty sweet too!

A Musical Journey for Robots and their masters~ CLICK ME
A Musical Journey for Robots and their masters~ CLICK ME