As if I needed another reason to imbibe in one of my favorite beverages, beer, besides its great taste, beer may have some additional health benefits. In particular, a recent study showed that beer is a good source of dietary silicon. This dietary silicon has been shown to improve bone health and could help fight osteoporosis.
The study, conducted by researchers at the University of California, found that brews that were rich in hops and pale barley malts provided the most silicon. Pale malted beers were better sources of silicon than wheat beers or darker brews. Two beers could provide 30mg. of the dietary silicon. There is not a recommended daily allowance for silicon, but most get between 20-50mg. daily.
Like anything else, all things in moderation. More isn't always better. So, if you are concerned about your bone health, especially you ladies, go ahead and have a beer or two. I think I have a couple cans in the fridge, so I will lift a glass and drink to your health.
Congratulations to the New Orleans Saints who defeated the Indianapolis Colts to win their first Super Bowl. I have actually grown somewhat tired of the endless hype leading up to the Super Bowl, what with the six hour pre-game show and the extra long half time show. I just want to watch the damn game.
The other big thing with the Super Bowl is the hype of the commercials that will be shown during the game. I have to admit, that in past years, some of the commercials have been just as entertaining as the football. Aside from the usual assortment of beer commercials and Go Daddy commercials none really stood out to me, with the exception of the Audi Green Police commercial.
It isn't that I thought the commercial was particularly well done or clever, but that it is a frightening example of the direction of we are heading in as a society. Sure it is supposed to be a tongue in cheek, over exaggeration to show the Audi as an eco-friendly automobile, but how far away are we really from having a "Green Police?"
Let's just take a few examples. We have several jurisdictions that have banned the use of plastic bags in the grocery stores and several others that have passed legislation taxing those bags. Several states have already banned incandescent light bulbs, and current federal legislation will eventually phase them out in the next few years. Years ago, when I was a buyer for trash bags for a grocery chain, one local county passed legislation requiring blue trash bags for recyclables and clear trash bags to make sure people were not throwing out items that could be recycled.
Now, I am all for a cleaner planet and conservation. However, most of these things that the political elite are trying to force upon us are more costly and disproportionately impact the lower and middle classes. Do we really want to live in a society where every decision we make in our consumption is controlled by government forces? I don't.
I have spent the better part of the last two days shoveling out the two cars from the two feet of snow that fell Friday and Saturday. I am physically exhausted and unbelievably sore. The worst part is, I just saw a weather alert saying there was a winter storm watch is in place for the area for Tuesday night and we could get another 5 or more inches of the white stuff. There is just no place to put anymore snow.
I was checking the Capital Weather Gang and they say we only need one more inch to surpass the second snowiest winter in DC history and only nine inches to surpass the snowiest winter ever of 1898-1899. That is over 100 years ago for all you global warming cultists out there. Right now, they are saying that four inches is a decent bet and that eight or more inches a distinct possibility.
I don't know how much more of this I can take. I am definitely sick of the snow and suffering from a bit of cabin fever right now. I have made enough progress with the shoveling that I will be able to get the cars out tomorrow. So, even though it is a few more hours until Monday for me, here is my choice this week for Music Monday, "Boat Drinks" by Jimmy Buffett. It pretty much sums up how I feel today.
Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. One simple rule, leave ONLY the actual post link here. You can grab this code at LadyJava's Lounge Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.
PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!
Well the worst of the blizzard is over. Now the shoveling out begins. I actually have been out twice already to start the process. I have at least dug a path to get out to the front of our cars to begin the process being able to move them. To be honest, I don't expect to be able to get out anywhere until Monday at the earliest. I am not as young as I used to be and I am definitely not in as good a shape as I could be. I don't want to overdue it.
The plows have been through a couple times already and when I was outside a couple hours ago you could see pavement. Unfortunately, the plows also have piled snow in front of the cars. That is now frozen pretty solid and much harder to shovel. I came back inside after the plow driver told me not to kill myself too much yet because he would be back at least two more times tonight. I only asked that he not bury too much on his next passes through.
The roads were not too bad when it was time for me to head out to my pizza delivery job last night. The snow was just beginning to stick to the roads as I headed out to work. When I got to the store, they had decided to cut off delivery service to a couple of the areas we normally service. There are a lot of narrow, winding roads in our delivery area. Thankfully those areas were shut off early.
I made it through the night unscathed though there were a couple times I had some difficulty with sliding and stopping. Unfortunately, at least three drivers had some sort of accident. One driver slid off the road into a guardrail. Another missed a turn and ended up turning into somebody's yard and had to be dug out. The third driver had somebody slide into him. All in all, it was not worth it (other than keeping my job by showing up) since I ended up with about four deliveries and $28.
I am assuming that we are closed tonight. I checked the company website, and my store is not accepting online orders due to the inclement weather. I also tried calling the store and nobody answered. For the rest of this evening, I am going to check out some of my fellow bloggers, play some games, watch the Bud Shootout, and drink a bit of red wine to help me thaw out from my earlier bits of shoveling.
Have you ever had one of those days when nothing seems to go right? Today is shaping up to be one of those days for me. First off, as I was getting dressed this morning, the button popped off of my khaki pants. Fortunately, I found a second pair of khakis in the closet that fit. (I have to wear khaki pants for my part time pizza delivery gig.) When I pulled up to the parking garage of the office, I noticed that the seam in the crotch of the pants had split. So far it’s off to a rousing start.
Speaking of my part time pizza delivery job, it may be time to look for a new part time job. There are a number of reasons why I would want to get out of it. First and foremost, the job does come with its set of hazards. Several weeks back, one of the drivers was robbed at gunpoint. Fortunately nobody was hurt. Second is the wear and tear on the automobile that comes with the extra driving. Third is an incident that happened last weekend.
Saturday morning it began to snow. At about 10:00 AM there was about an inch or two of snow on the ground. I went out to run a couple errands. I nearly had one accident and did a lot of sliding in general. About 3:00 PM, we had about 5-6 inches in our complex and had yet to be plowed. I called the manager on duty to tell them I did not think I could make it in and was told that the roads were terrible and he didn’t blame me if I didn’t come in.
A couple hours later, I called to confirm that I would not be coming in to the night manager. He told me that he was aware and that they had gotten somebody else to fill the shift. He also dropped a bomb on me telling me that the district managers had said that they wanted anybody who did not show up for work that night to be fired. I was told not to worry about it, that they would say I was not scheduled.
I am trying to figure out when pizza delivery drivers became essential workers during a snow emergency. Doctors and nurses at hospitals, I understand. They pay us $3 something an hour plus tips and they want us to put our lives and property (cars) in jeopardy during hazardous driving conditions? I don’t think so! It should be interesting to see if they are going to adhere to this policy this weekend. In a few hours, we are expecting a major storm to come through the area. They are calling for over 2 feet of snow. I would like to think that we would be closed in that case.
I know sports fans are getting all geared up for the Super Bowl, and rightfully so. It should be a good one. I don't really care too much about who wins, though I am kind of pulling for the Saints to win. There is just something about Peyton Manning that bugs me. Maybe because you can't watch a game without seeing him in every other commercial.
Yes, the Super Bowl is a big deal, but I am also looking forward to the start of the NASCAR racing season which kicks off Saturday night with the Bud Shootout. Sure it isn't the official start of the racing season, which starts next week with the Daytona 500, but it is fun to watch.
Over the last couple of years, a lot of NASCAR fans have complained that the sport has become too corporate and too boring. Officials have announced that they are going to relax some of the rules regarding aggressive driving and bump drafting. They are also encouraging drivers to show a little more emotion and less corporate plugging.
Hopefully it will make for a more exciting brand of racing. A lot of the races I watched last year were pretty BORING. Today was the first day of practice for the Shootout on Saturday night. If the first practice is any indication, it could be an interesting year. Denny Hamlin and Mark Martin set off a 6-car accident about halfway through the first practice. In the second practice, Juan Pablo Montoya wrecked Kurt Busch. As Darryl Waltrip will say when the green flag drops, "Boogity, boogity, boogity. Let's go racing boys!"
Imagine you are sitting at your desk at work. You are a little bored and decide to do a little internet browsing. So you find some hot pictures of Australian model Miranda Kerr. All is good, except one of your coworkers is doing a live television interview and the images on your computer screen are being broadcast out for all the world to see. Then you turn around and look straight into the camera just as the interview is ending. BUSTED!
Needless to say, the video has become a YouTube hit. I have worked for a few different companies over the years. Everywhere I have worked they have had some sort of filter to block some websites. Granted, the pictures were on GQ, so I could see how that might escape the filter. But look at the setting. It isn't like he is in a private office. He is in a cubicle farm and anybody could see what is on his screen. I can't imagine sitting in an open office area looking at pictures like these.
The pictures are very sexy. She is nude in some, but as Monty Python used to say, the "naughty bits" are covered more or less. If you want to get a better view of what the banker was looking at on his computer screen, here is the link to the slide show on the GQ website. Miranda Kerr: Photos Photos: GQ.com
Since last night was Grammy night,I decided to choose one of the winners for my Music Monday choice. Keith Urban won the Best Male Country Performance for his song "Sweet Thing." Here is his performance of that song at the 2009 Country Music Television Awards Show.
Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. One simple rule, leave ONLY the actual post link here. You can grab this code at LJL Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.
PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!
The DC City Council passed a bill that would allow gay marriage in the District of Columbia. They did so despite calls from religious leaders and others to put the bill to a referendum of the citizens. The bill was signed by Mayor Adrian Fenty. Since DC is still a federal district, any of the laws passed are subject to Congressional oversight. With the overwhelming Democratic majority in the House and Senate, it does not appear that Congress will step in to change that legislation.
My state, the state of Maryland, has defined marriage as between a man and a woman since 1973. While marriage is defined in Maryland as between a man and a woman, the law regarding recognizing marriages is a little more vague. Maryland recognizes marriages performed in other jurisdictions under the "full faith and credit" clause of the US Constitution. Same sex marriage is not specifically addressed.
As liberal as my state is, I fully expected that the issue of gay marriage would come up sooner rather than later. With gay marriage looming so close in neighboring Washington, DC., a member of the Maryland house of delegates, Emmett Burns (D-Baltimore County) has introduced House Bill 90 that would ban the state from recognizing gay marriages performed in states or countries where the act is legal. As I said, I expected the issue to come up sooner or later. What I didn't expect was that a Democrat would be the one to propose a bill that would ban the recognition of gay marriage.
My current view of gay marriage is not typical of most conservatives. I do not have a strong feeling either way. I believe it is an issue to be determined by the individual states. I believe that if a state legislature or the citizens by referendum decide to allow gay marriage, then so be it. I do have a problem with the matter being decided by activist courts. I do not believe that churches should be compelled to perform gay marriages in states that allow it. That being said, I do feel that marriages that are conducted in a legal fashion, including gay marriages, should be recognized by states, even if those states do not allow gay marriage. Let's face it, with nearly half of heterosexual marriages ending in divorce, it isn't like we are getting it right ourselves.
More and more jurisdictions across the country are implementing bans on using cell phones. On the whole, I am against these bans and have talked about it here and here. The main reason that I am opposed to banning hand held cell phones is that I believe that existing reckless driving laws cover cell phones. If you cause an accident, you are at fault, whether it was caused by using a cell phone or some other distraction.
A recent report issued by the Highway Loss Data Institute shows that in those states that have banned the use of hand held cell phones, there has been no impact on the number of accidents. The studies do show that the use of hand held devices has declined in those states. The study cites that the reason for the lack of decline is that even with hands free devices a driver can become distracted by just the act of carrying on a conversation.
I don't know if the release of this study makes me feel any more justified in my belief that banning of cell phones isn't necessary. I do know that when I am driving that if I do come upon a driver not keeping up with traffic they usually have a phone up to their ear. So now there are some that are even calling for the ban of any cell phone, even with hands free devices.
Where does it end? There are a number of things that can distract a driver whether it is eating or drinking, using a cell phone, trying to read a map, or putting on makeup. Having your kids in the car can distract drivers, especially if they are arguing. Are we going to get to the point where we are going to ban every activity that could possibly distract a driver? Let's take out the radio and CD player. No more GPS devices. Do we have to have the government telling us everything we can and can not do?
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