Seven for Saturday: News You Can Use 4/16

Torrential downpours mean no games today… good day for science experiments and baking (which is really, in its own way, a series of science experiments). And catching up on my reading! 🙂

1. Scientists Develop Brain-Computer Interface for Cellphones

“…a group of researchers in San Diego have developed a system that allows users to dial a phone number on a cellphone using only their thoughts. The method is surprisingly accurate and would be a huge advantage for people with disabilities or anyone who needs a more hands-free experience or who regularly performs tasks that require a high degree of mental focus.”

Stop the world, I wanna get off.

2. Is Sugar Toxic?

“Sugar is not just an empty calorie, [Lustig] says; its effect on us is much more insidious. “It’s not about the calories,” he says. “It has nothing to do with the calories. It’s a poison by itself.”

If Lustig is right, then our excessive consumption of sugar is the primary reason that the numbers of obese and diabetic Americans have skyrocketed in the past 30 years. But his argument implies more than that. If Lustig is right, it would mean that sugar is also the likely dietary cause of several other chronic ailments widely considered to be diseases of Western lifestyles — heart disease, hypertension and many common cancers among them.”

I’m still thinking this one through, but the most immediate takeaway is the fact that HFCS is bad, but regular old sugar is also bad. Eat a wide variety of (healthy) foods and do everything in moderation.

3. Brazilian Blowout hair straightener draws fire from authorities

“While the product label says “formaldehyde free,” authorities say the formula is anything but. Regulators in several states have found levels of the cancer-causing substance in excess of a range of standards.”

My feeling about this is similar to my feeling about pesticides on our produce and lead in our children’s toys: don’t buy these products for your own health & your family’s health, BUT ALSO ESPECIALLY for the health of the people who have to work with these products all day. My own hair stylist is pregnant. I hope they don’t have her doing any Brazilian blowouts on people with more money than they have sense.

4. Mindapples

“Mindapples is a social enterprise that encourages everyone to take better care of their minds through simple daily activities, and is building a popular culture of good habits and self-care for mental wellbeing. We want to make looking after our minds as natural as brushing our teeth, by asking everyone: “What’s the 5-a-day for your mind?”

Love this idea of preventative mental health care. So much effort is put into educating us about taking care of our bodies, but our state of mind— not so much. (How much might a healthy mindset affect our physical health? Food for thought.)  Determine five acts a day you can perform for your own peace of mind (it’s going to be different for everyone).

5. Michael Vick: ‘I Wouldn’t Change Anything In My Life If I Could’

“I wouldn’t change anything about my life if I could,” he said. “As crazy as this may sound, going to prison really changed my life. I was able to go in and come out with a plan.”

I was not happy when the Eagles signed Vick. Sports are a big deal around here, and we love our teams, and the thought of all those kids rocking Vick jerseys made me ill. I didn’t want my kids cheering on someone who had deliberately tortured animals under his care, end of story. I thought maybe he could use his influence for good— raising money for animal shelters, for instance— but outside some token appearances at area high schools I haven’t seen a lot. I was looking forward to his Oprah appearance, to really hear his story and how he has learned from it, but then his handlers decided he wasn’t up to the task (some other excuse was given, but I think we can all read between the lines there).

This feels like one of the more honest things I’ve heard from him. I feel that everything happens for a reason, and that the very worst experiences and mistakes in your life are the most important. This was a risky, easily misinterpreted thing for him to say, and I’m not sure if he’s being insightful or a damned idiot. I’m curious to see if the Eagles will let Vick speak for himself more this year… and if he has anything to say worth listening to.

6. 5 Work-From-Home Habits Strangling Your Biz

“…our work-from-home lifestyle was packing on some unintended negative side effects. Like, I don’t know, this weight gain. Or the fact that I was becoming a hermit. And that I was never wearing pants.”

I didn’t write this… but I could have. Hey everybody, this is why I haven’t called. Or hung out in forever. And why the only pants I wear anymore are crankypants.

7. How Toy Ad Vocabulary Reinforces Gender Stereotypes

Er, it appears that high demand has caused the site to crash. Basically, these are the words being used to market toys to your girls (the bigger the font, the more often it’s used):

And to your boys:

If that seems like something you want to check out, you can like Achilles Effect on Facebook and I’m sure they’ll update when the site is live again. (I’ll link to this again next week as well.)

Backup link 7. Study: Half of supermarket meat may have staph bug.

This is not news, actually, I’ve read this before. It’s why they say to make sure you cook the living hell out of everything, because then the onus is on you.

I have more to say on this in a dedicated blog post, but for now just remember—

• Steaks & Roasts, Fish – 145 °F
• Ground Beef, Pork – 160 °F
• Egg Dishes – 160 °F
• Chicken & Whole Poultry – 165 °F

Bonus Video:

 
 
That just makes me happy.

What good reads did you see this week?

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