Category Archives: Health

Health: Issues relating to the cells

tan(007) – The ISO Dated Shell Toes

May 29, 2009 d dot b Leave a comment

Year/Month/Day, a drag, Adidas

Not to go on a tangent but …

Year/Month/Day
There exists the ISO: The International Standards Organization. There primary role is to place standards for certain processes, services, and products. In the insurance, medical, financial, and educational fields there are thousands of errors that occur due to the misreading and/or misunderstanding of Date fields. For the date fields they can go Year/Month/Day, Day/Month/Year, Month/Day/Year, and with the latter two, you can only really know the format if the Month/Day or Day/Month has a number greater than 12. And every organization has their own date format – why? Could there not be a standard universal agreed upon format that everyone followed? For some, its always a mental game of trying to figure out what the format is, and its just really annoying and unnecessary.

Dragging Feet
In the literal sense. I hate when people at work or the mall or the street are walking and drag their feet on the ground. They make a unique annoying sound due to their lazy limbs not being able to take full steps off the ground. Is it really that hard to take your punk a– feet off the ground and walk properly? These lames, man, you can hear coming a mile down the road as the graze, rub their feet barely off the ground – you know if you had somewhat decent shoes, you would take more pride and conserve the grip on the sole for your shoes. Chumps.

Shell Toe Adidas
This will be quick and sweet. Adidas makes some very simple and clean shoes, I have several pairs that I have accumulated over the years – such as the shell toe (I have at least 3 pairs, all different colors). But why are Adidas shoes designed for the flat-footed individual? Can anyone explain to me the advantages of that? The advantages of designing a shoe that many people do not fit? The natural curvature of the foot is arced and rounded, not flat. I don’t have any more to rant about concerning this; Puma, Nike, Reebok all have shoes that are designed for the foot’s natural arc, and I don’t know of them to have any flat-footed shoes.

.:: LiBM ::.

Faith, Family, Health, Relationships, Social

Increasing Probability

May 26, 2009 d dot b Leave a comment

Image by snoppy

Increasing Probability

Changing the variables to produce a better result for the Black Family

As a society; parents, children, brothers & sisters, the best we can do is increase the probability of success. There is not an absolute definitive formula that if practiced, will guarantee that a child will grow up ‘successfully’; there is a combination of social and economic factors that can lead the best of children to a life of violence and/or drugs. Thus, we can only try to increase the probabilities of a positive result by trying to control the variables. Especially in the Black community, it is very important that we try to control these variables as too many of our youth slip through the cracks.

Spending time with your kids and doing family activities
Sounds pretty basic, and it is – just doing communal activities such as watching TV together, grocery shopping, cooking, walking, can yield positive effects on youth. In today’s climate, we are all busy – some working multiple jobs to get by, but even just making a phone call to see what is going on with your kids can foster a relationship of warmth and dialogue; and the more dialogue that you have with your children, the better chances are that they will come to you for guidance when something is troubling them in their lives. As the parent, you must be an authoritative figure, but you must not always exercise your title with an iron fist – yelling/screaming will not develop a relationship of open dialogue; as the child will most likely not be willing to discuss their problems with you. Parents must be open to dialogue and discourse or face a child that is unwilling to share and open up.

Positive reinforcement
Positive reinforcement is an increase in the future frequency of a behavior due to the addition of a stimulus immediately following a response. Giving (or adding) food to a dog contingent on its sitting is an example of positive reinforcement. Essentially this means ‘reward youth’, when they do good, it may be best to show a tangible appreciation (if possible, like a gift or item), or at least an intangible appreciation such as accolades and praise. The common argument I heard growing up for when I do good is ‘well, that is what you should be doing’, which has some merits, but rewarding youth for their performance is a preparation for the real work world – where bonuses are giving to those that perform well. As with the real work world, once a person receives a bonus, they will try hard to maintain their behavior that led them to that award; thus, promising your kids a specific video game or outing for their performance may be advantageous – and if they fail to meet the achieved requirement, still supplement them with something that is appropriate, because you do not want them to feel resentment towards you.

Avoiding Displacement
As with everything, from time to time we may have problems with our significant others, work, school, or just the mundane annoyances of life, but that doesn’t mean that we have to displace our frustrations to our children. Displacement operates in the mind unconsciously, and involves emotions, ideas, or wishes being transferred from their original object to a more acceptable substitute. It is most often used to allay anxiety. That safe ‘acceptable substitute’ is usually our children, as they become the recipient for our frustrations.

When reading the statistics on the black family, the numbers are alarming and troubling – as a whole, we all need to be better educated on familial relationships techniques and inner dynamics. Being aware of such will hopefully lead to better independent and familial functioning for both the child and the parent. Now for some of the rough statistics, ‘rough’ as in ‘bad’:

The net worth of a black fmaily in America is $5988 versus a white family of $88651

9 million Blacks in the U.S. are in poverty.

U.S. Black women outnumbered Black males in every decade of the Twentieth Century.

White Males with a high-school diploma are just as likely to have a job and tend to earn just as much as black males with college degrees

Approximately 60% of children in public kinship care are African American.

45% of Black Children live below the poverty line, compared with 16% of White children

Although African American youth account for 15% of the U.S.
population, they account for 26% of juvenile arrests, 31% of delinquency referrals to juvenile court, 44% of juveniles detained in delinquency cases, 40% in residual placements, 46% of juveniles transferred to adult criminal court, and 58% admitted to state prisons.

African American students account for 14.8% of the general population for the 6 through 21 age group, compared with 20.2% of the special education population in all disabilities. 18.3% are diagnosed with a specific learning disability, 34.3% are diagnosed with mental retardation and 26.4% are diagnosed as being emotionally disturbed.

Although African American youth account for only 15% of the
juvenile population, more African American juveniles than white
juveniles were murdered between 1988 and 1995.

Source: http://www.blackangelnetwork.org/?q=stats

Knowledge is power …
.:: LiBM ::.

Health, Social

tan(006) – Check your self with the fro in summer, see the curves?

May 25, 2009 d dot b Leave a comment

Self-checkouts, womenly fitness, and ‘Fro in the Summer

Not to go on a tangent but …

Self-checkout

Don’t know why there are not more of these devices at the major retail stores. They are so handy when you are in a big box store like Wal-Mart near closing time, only 2 cashiers are open, you have under 10 items, and there is a long line with people doing their monthly shopping – full carts. With self-checkouts for 10 items or less, you can virtually eliminate that cash register that was designated as ‘express only’. AND, customers are more than competent to bag their own groceries – let’s speed up the process people – the other day I was waiting in line at a Wal-Mart and I swore I was able to have a mini power nap.

Women Fitness

Its really asinine to hear the common objections from women and exercise, especially in relation to body toning/definition. Of course, women always want to lose weight, and the best way of doing so is by routine cardio activity – treadmill, bike, elliptical, etc. Try to bring up the topic of weight training, for the purpose of toning their arms or legs, get ready for strong objections – because you know, women working out with 5-10 pound weights will make them look like a man. They want to get rid of the flab on their arms/legs, but they don’t grasp the fact that cardio primarily loses weight mass; weight training tones and defines your body mass. But as much as I try to tell him that, picking up a dumbbell is like kryptonite to them. Furthermore, if I may, women to really burn fat, you need to get into your fat burning zone – meaning after a cardio routine, ‘you best be sweating’. That intense feeling where your heart is working hard to pump blood through your vessels, and you have to breathe extra hard and faster is your fat burning zone – brisk fully walking on the treadmill for 1/2 hour is not even equivalent to going full throttle, hard body on the same treadmill for 7 minutes. AND, don’t be afraid to sweat; its not ‘yucky’ or ‘eww’, it’s a sign of progress to a better you … lames.

Summer w/ the Fro

Even without a fro I dislike summer, because every activity, regardless if it is sitting (passive) or running/sports (active), your body temperatures jumps by like 5 degrees. Sweat increases from a light drizzle to torrential storms, and the funk is kicked up to George Clinton styles. You got to wash your hair more frequently, when cooling down from a workout you have to wait a little while longer as you spend most of your time mopping your towel on your head for sweat. I know the obvious fix to this ‘problem’ is to cut the fro, but I have and currently am reluctant to do so as I am the few that like the fro … so I guess I just have to make do, but I just wanted to get that off my chest (didn’t sweat at all when writing this).

.:: LiBM ::.

Health, Interrogative, Logic

tan(002) – Important Info for the Media at Breakfast

April 30, 2009 d dot b Leave a comment

Tangent numero 2

Important Info for the Media at Breakfast

Important Information
I get a lot of mail; most of it are bills and/or statements, the rare occasion I will get a cheque from the government for like $40 (woo-hoo!). Thus, I usually allow the mail to sit for a couple of days as it does not bring me any excitement. From time to time I will be tricked into opening something instantly; as I may think that it actually has something beneficial for me – you know those envelopes that are very vague in nature, “Important Information”, or “Time Sensitive Material”. And I guess is the hope that something meaningful will be inside the envelope – but it never is, it is always some dumb credit card offer or a chance to join some dumb club for ‘exclusive discounts’. Whenever you see something that says ‘Important Information’, it rarely is not.

Breakfast
It is the most important meal of the day that we all should make time for, but it always seems we are running late and never have time to eat a real breakfast. We may grab a Yop, those nutrigrain bars just to tie us over, but we all know that isn’t enough. After the hour commute, most times I get to work hungry, and the whole day I am eating a meal behind; my lunch is making up for my breakfast, dinner for lunch, et cetera. We could buy breakfast on the go (McD’s, Timmy’s, cafeteria), but we all know that if that is done a daily basis – it adds up, and multiplies. And taking a little extra time in the morning to make those eggs or oatmeal, can make a big difference – in our wallets and our tummies.

Media and Pandemics
This whole swine flu thing needs to be really put into perspective; A) it is not a new virus, it has been around since 1930, though relatively dormant until now. B) In the event that it does swing out of control, there are sufficient quantities of the vaccine to treat people. C) In comparison to the average Influenza flu that millions of people get each year, and of which 30,000 die annually in the U.S. – this swine flu has only claimed a few people in Mexico, and 1 infant in the U.S. So let’s not panic, and let’s return back to the real news story – the troubling recession. I am sure the Obama administration is enjoying this break from the media critiquing its economic stimulus packages and recession policies.

.:: LiBM ::.

Health

Iron Fatigue

April 27, 2009 d dot b Leave a comment

Importance of Iron

The ills of Iron deficiency

Fatigue is one of our worst enemies – it causes us to lose energy and motivation to complete tasks, enjoy company and/or entertainment. For the Yuppy, this fatigue may be onset due to long hours, high temperature, physical activity, or stress. Any or a combination of these symptoms, mixed in with irregular eating, can lead to decrease functioning. So, you may have an iron deficiency, which can be described as; a reduction in hemoglobin, which is the key factor in providing oxygen in the blood stream. Not having the required amount of oxygen in the blood stream causes the lethargic, fatigue feeling that some may experience on a daily basis.
Here are some common symptoms
– irritability
– weakness
– shortness of breath
– low blood pressure (especially when going from lying or sitting to standing)
– sore tongue
– brittle nails
– unusual food cravings (called pica)
– decreased appetite (especially in children)
– headache
To correct iron deficiency, one could take iron supplements (pills) that are available at your local pharmacy without prescription OR you can change your diet to include foods with plenty of iron. Meat, fish, poultry are all good sources of iron, and for the vegan crowd, legumes and dark-green leafy vegetables like broccoli, kale and oriental greens are especially good sources of iron. Of course after a change in your diet, and you still notice that you have fatigue, and it may be an iron deficiency, you should contact your local physician.

.:: LiBM ::.

Health, Social

Phases of the Migraine

April 21, 2009 d dot b Leave a comment

Phases of the Migraine

Different phases of pulsating pain
Phases of the Migraine

The Yuppy, Nerban, bum, herb, dude, trick may differ in their values and characteristics, but they all are exposed to mental strains – the stress of the world, mixed with a lack of sleep, with a sprinkle of annoying mofo’s, can be the recipe for concurrent migraines. You know what a migraine is; the heavy feeling in your head, the throbbing, occurs when you really don’t need it – when you have to focus on an important task, when you are in the company of loved ones, or when you are at work. Migraines have the ability to affect our mood, and subsequently our behavior. Upon reading, I found out that there are different phases of migraines that can attack us:

Prodrome phase
Prodromal symptoms occur in 40–60% of migraineurs (migraine sufferers). This phase may consist of altered mood, irritability, depression or euphoria, fatigue, yawning, excessive sleepiness, craving for certain food (e.g. chocolate), stiff muscles (especially in the neck), constipation or diarrhea, increased urination, and other visceral symptoms. These symptoms usually precede the headache phase of the migraine attack by several hours or days, and experience teaches the patient or observant family how to detect that a migraine attack is near.

Aura phase
For the 20–30% of individuals who suffer migraine with aura, this aura comprises focal neurological phenomena that precede or accompany the attack. They appear gradually over 5 to 20 minutes and generally last fewer than 60 minutes. The headache phase of the migraine attack usually begins within 60 minutes of the end of the aura phase, but it is sometimes delayed up to several hours, and it can be missing entirely. Symptoms of migraine aura can be visual, sensory, or motor in nature.

Pain phase
The typical migraine headache is unilateral, throbbing, moderate to severe and can be aggravated by physical activity. Not all of these features are necessary. The pain may be bilateral at the onset or start on one side and become generalized, and usually alternates sides from one attack to the next. The onset is usually gradual. The pain peaks and then subsides, and usually lasts between 4 and 72 hours in adults and 1 and 48 hours in children. The frequency of attacks is extremely variable, from a few in a lifetime to several times a week, and the average migraineur experiences from one to three headaches a month. The head pain varies greatly in intensity.

Postdrome phase
The patient may feel tired, have head pain, cognitive difficulties, “hungover”, gastrointestinal symptoms, mood changes and weakness. Some people feel unusually refreshed or euphoric after an attack, whereas others note depression and malaise. Often, some of the minor headache phase symptoms may continue, such as loss of appetite, photophobia, and lightheadedness. For some patients, a 5 to 6 hour nap may reduce the pain, but slight headaches may still occur when standing or sitting quickly. Normally these symptoms go away after a good night’s rest.

Now the remedy part to ‘alieve’ migraines, I usually go with the common-sense theorem; don’t do the things that are taxing to your body (i.e. not sleeping well, not eating properly, etc.), but that is better said than done – especially with the ambitious and simple-minded alike. There are the over the counter drugs like Aspirin and Tylenol, but I am not really a proponent for drugs because though they may help, one may develop a dependency on it that may be detrimental. And further, one is not solving the precipitating problem, but just allowing a mechanism to cope. Thus, the experts suggest that one way to significantly lower the frequency of migraines is to do physical activity for at least 15 minutes a day – its funny, it seems that excursive/vitality is the remedy to most ailments, yet we never find time to do so, and that is why a good 2/3+ of the U.S. population is obese – go figure. Sexual activity is also another viable way to decrease migraines – I am sure the fellas will subscribe to that … and it may even lead to an increase in men reporting migraines.

.:: LiBM ::.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Migraines#Abdominal_migraine

Family, Health, Love, Work

Stretching Thin

March 5, 2009 d dot b Leave a comment

Stress

Stretching Thin

Staying on the equilibrium path of momentum for the Yuppy; CAUTION, challenges ahead, usually from within

The Yuppy goes ‘hard’, our lives is a constant balancing act as we try to maintain a steady equilibrium of forward movement. Some of us have vices that we use to sustain the movement; alcohol, drugs, avoidance, detachment, and we think that this will stretch our movement. However this is counter-productive thought, our vices usually are a quick fix for us to escape our fears, insecurities and problems which are probably interfering with the forward movement that we are desiring to achieve. Being self-aware of such a fact, and taking a hard look at your inner self can make one realize potential hazardous behaviors. I am not saying that social drinking is not acceptable, but if after every stressful event in your life, you cope with a bottle of Jack Daniel’s, then one is creating a dangerous dependency.

Personal relationships can be the worse as we may not be able to enjoy the company of others (our family, friends, loved ones). Sometimes yuppy’s are so passionate about their own projects, their agenda, that they can’t relate to others’ accomplishments and stories. It’s like our sister and brothers can be telling us something about their day that they find interesting, and we will show an attitude of of un-interest and nonchalant behavior. Appreciating others may be a first step in appreciating our own selves and accomplishments.

In all, the Yuppy goes hard, and the Yuppy has a lot to deal with. A lot of pressure and stress can come from various sources, and how we deal with them ultimately defines how far we will go, and at what cognitive/physical/social expense.

.:: LiBM ::.

Health, Logic, Social

Mad Dashes

February 12, 2009 d dot b Leave a comment

Mad Dashes

Situations that you gotta get out of ASAP

Watching a bad performance can be gruesome – not only for the performer whom may not know that they are bad, but it is bad for the viewer. From live performances or even on T.V., I cringe whenever I see someone giving it their all – and they suck; and the genuinely are trying, but the performance is so bad, that you must change the channel or distract yourself immediately. Part of me feels for the individual as we all know how hard it can be to come to the stage, but then another part of me feels like such lack of talent should not be viewable (to anyone). Not only does it apply to performances, but their are other situations in life, where I just got to get the hell out – As Soon As Possible.

Change Room

I don’t know why, but in the fitness gym environment, old men like to walk around nude as if it is their own house. Old, fat, and the like all just put out their junk in the gym, around a bunch of men, and there is something kinda gay about that – that is why, when I get to the change room – its no time to ‘relax’ or ‘cool down’ … I get the hell outta that place fast.

Friend’s Washroom

You know when you just gotta go, you gotta go – and it can hit at anytime. But it is bad when you have to go at your friend’s house. Of all things that people are particular about – the bathroom is very paramount. To many, the bathroom is one’s throne; their thinking space, their relaxing space, and people usually do not welcome ‘foreigners’. Thus, if I have to do my business, I handle my business and go – no time for the usual relaxing and reflecting as I do on my own throne.

Doctor’s Office

Whenever I go, this place feels like a place of walking bacteria and viruses. Living on every seat, door knob, mandatory reno magazine, and airborne through the dull colored walls of the office. To the left and right of me, everybody is sick – and the reasons to why they are sick (the reasons that they are there) run rampant in my mind: are they contagious, is it easily communicable, et cetera. Just in that environment, sick people, staff that is over-worked, under-funded, and under-appreciated, makes me want to get out of there ASAP.

I am sure there are other universal mad dashes, leave comments below.

Peace,

.:: LiBM ::.

Health, Logic

Lefties

January 27, 2009 d dot b Leave a comment

Lefties

I was watching President Obama sign a few executive orders this week, and noticed that he was left-handed. And then upon further research, some 5 out of the last 7 U.S. Presidents were lefties including Ford, Reagan, Father Bush, Clinton, Obama. The prevalence of left-handed people in the U.S. population hovers around 7 to 10 percent; so it is unique in a sense that more than 1/2 of the presidents in the last century have been left-handed. The cause of left-handedness can range from high levels of testosterone during pregnancy, genetics, and/or learned preference by observing which hand the child uses most often during infancy. In a historical sense, lefties were frowned upon by society, and were subjected to ridicule and hardships; currently in today’s society, most tools and products are oriented for a right-handed world. It has been well documented that in the early 20th century, many schools discouraged children from writing with their left hand; this may have lead to detrimental learning affects on the child’s development.

In terms of intelligence, a study out of the University College London argues that the proportion of left-handed people as a group have historically produced an above-average quota of high achievers. Chris McManus argues that left-handers’ brains are structured differently in a way that widens their range of abilities, and the genes that determine left-handedness also govern development of the language centres of the brain(1). This may explain why a good amount of academic achievers, entertainers, politicians, are left-handed, such as:

Music and Entertainment

Angelina Jolie, movie star
Jerry Seinfeld, comedian
Paul McCartney, musician
Jimi Hendrix, guitar player
Ringo Starr, musician
George Burns, comedian
James Cameron, Hollywood bigshot
Drew Carey, comedian
Tina Fey, writer, performer, producer
Steve Harvey, comedian

Art, Science, Technology

Leonardo da Vinci, genius of the Renaissance
Matt Groening, The Simpsons cartoonist
Benjamin Franklin, inventor
Marie Curie, physicist
Linus Pauling, biochemist
Bill Gates, businessman

Sources:
(1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-handedness#cite_note-33

Health, Social, Technology

Masdar City

July 6, 2008 d dot b Leave a comment

Masdar City
The Green City in an Oil Rich Country

The project is headed by the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (ADFEC). Initiated in 2006, the project is projected to cost US$22 billion and take some eight years to build, with the first phase scheduled to be complete and habitable in 2009. The city will cover 6 square kilometres (2.3 sq mi) on a site 6.4 km² (2.5 sq mi) in size and will be home to 50,000 people and 1,500 businesses, primarily commercial and manufacturing facilities specialising in environmentally-friendly products, and an expected 40,000 workers will commute to the city daily. It will also be the location of a university, the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology (MIST), which will be assisted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Automobiles will be banned within the city; travel will be accomplished via public mass transit and personal rapid transit systems, with existing road- and railways connecting to other locations outside the city.

Masdar City will be the latest of a small number of highly planned, specialized, research and technology-intensive municipalities that incorporate a living environment, similar to Novosibirsk, Russia or Tsukuba Science City, Japan.

Renewable Resources

Masdar will employ a variety of renewable power sources. Among the first construction projects will be a 40 to 60 megawatt solar power plant, built by the German firm Conergy, which will supply power for all other construction activity. This will later be followed by a larger facility, and additional photovoltaic modules will be placed on rooftops to provide supplemental solar energy totalling 130 megawatts. Wind farms will be established outside the city’s perimeter capable of producing up to 20 megawatts, and the city intends to utilise geothermal power as well. In addition, Masdar plans to host the world’s largest hydrogen power plant.

Water management has been planned in an environmentally-sound manner as well. A solar-powered desalination plant will be used to provide the city’s water needs, which is stated to be 60 percent lower than similarly sized communities. Approximately 80 percent of the water used will be recycled and waste water will be reused “as many times as possible,” with this so-called greywater being used for crop irrigation and other purposes.

The city will also attempt to reduce waste to zero. Biological waste will be used to create nutrient-rich soil and fertiliser, and some may also be utilised through waste incineration as an additional power source. Industrial waste, such as plastics and metals, will be recycled or repurposed for other uses.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masdar_City

.:: d.b ::.

Isn’t it messed that one of the world’s richest oil nations is taking this green initiative, while nations such as the United States have not even considered taking on such a project?

Life in B Major

Category Archives: Health

tan(002) – Important Info for the Media at Breakfast

Tangent numero 2

Iron Fatigue

Importance of Iron

Stretching Thin

Stretching Thin

Lefties

Lefties

Producer of Things

Year/Month/Day, a drag, Adidas

Increasing Probability

Self-checkouts, womenly fitness, and ‘Fro in the Summer

Self-checkout

Women Fitness

Summer w/ the Fro

Tangent numero 2

Importance of Iron

Phases of the Migraine

Stretching Thin

Hot or Cold – Its all good

Mad Dashes

Change Room

Friend’s Washroom

Doctor’s Office

Lefties

Producer of Things