500 cal/day v. 300 cal/hr

The standard figure cited for breastfeeding is that it uses an extra 500 calories per day; an incentive to loose the pregnancy weight.

The English National Health Service (their agent of evil socialism), reports something even better. Sex will use up 300 calories per hour. Giving you a whole-body cardiovascular work-out and reducing the risk of heart disease. I suppose this figure depends upon how ... enthusiastic ... you are.

And, yet again even better:

If you're worried about wrinkles - orgasms even help prevent frown lines from deepening
.

71% chance

We had the nicest Summer I can remember in my entire adult life. Really.

I'm not entirely sure what constitutes a "mild Winter" here in the Northern Midwest. We're supposed to get one, I guess. And, based upon Sunday's visit to an orchard, the woolly bear caterpillars support NOAA's predictions. (A fact I pointed out as one was crawling up Jr.Gopher#2's arm, to the great distress of Jr.Gopher#1.)

The 10-day straight run of temperatures below 0°F ( -18°C) last January reinforced my need for long johns to survive waiting for the bus/train. It actually got to -25°F ( -32°C) one night; it was up to -22 at 7 a.m. Mind you, that's here in urban-warmed Minneapolis. Up in Ely & Embarrass, it was -36°F ( -38°C) with a wind-chill of -52°F ( -47°C).
The metric units are for Mr.Gopher & Dr.Nuke. Sorry, Joachim, I figure everyone ought to have goofy names, and The Nuclear Physicist takes too much time to type. If you'd rather something else, let me know.

Ug. I'm okay if the temps get to 0°F; they don't really need to go further to convince me it's Winter here.

Now, for those of you who get annoyed when older people - say, your parents or grandparents - say "it was colder in my day" ... well, it isn't really global warming. The method used to calculate windchill changed. Rather than measure wind speed at 10 feet above ground, they now calculate it at 5 feet. Less wind = less windchill.

At 0-10 mph, the old & new are about the same. By the time you get up to 100 mph, they're back to be the same again. So, if it's calm, or if you're in the middle of an F-5 tornado, you can tell Grandma that it's really the same as the last century.

holy cow ...

It's always nice to know one's professional opinion is valued. Sure, the annual "you didn't totally screw up" review from you boss is the ticket to the "oh, well, you can't have one" bonus.

10 Ten best things about swine flu: #1 is from yours truly.

I'm suddenly struck by the fear that someone is going to write MPR and say "what a total screw up, why did you listen to her?" Although one would also hope that they asked someone else before quoting me..... Somehow the idea of telling my employer/employees this pales in comparison to the biggest radio station in the state quoting me.

Toxic sugar

Did you know ...

The LD50 for table sugar is 4.9 pounds?


There's a 50:50 chance that eating this much sugar all at once will kill you.

Homeless

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences requires all Oscar nominees to sign a contract specifying that they will not sell their statuette without first offering it back to the academy for $1.

This I Believe ...

National Public Radio gives access to recorded archives from the original 1950s broadcasts of This I Believe ...

Some of the more intriguing records are from the not-so-famous. If you're interested, however, the NPR archive has 2-4 min. essays from Pres. Harry Truman, Martha Graham, Margaret Meade, Sen. Margaret Chase-Smith, Justice William Douglas, and Jackie Robinson.

I particularly enjoyed one on a Doubting, Questioning Mind.

The page will lead you to the modern essays produced for NPR (rather than the originals for Edward R. Murrow/).
From someone I can honestly say I admire a great deal: Health is Human Right, by Paul Farmer.



Out of the mouths of babes: Thirty Things I Believe In.

Free school, but no free burgers

Free law school?

U.C. Irvine won't be charging tuition when their new law school opens its doors in September. While the article offers the advice:
How to Spend the Money Saved on Tuition: In-N-Out burgers. Lots and lots of In-N-Out burgers.

They fail to mention that you'll be eating In-N-Out because you can't afford anything else in California, even without paying tuition.



U. Minnesota isn't free, in fact I've heard it's pretty pricey for a big state school, "churning out the nation’s fifth-highest average debt loads".

Although, thanks to the Fates - who kept the last Bush from gutting the Dept. Health & Human Services, and kept him from abolishing (among other occupational offices) NIOSH - I am getting a tuition-free ride ($14,432/yr).
Thank you, my fellow taxpayers.

[def.] Road v. Street

What is the difference between a road and a street?

A road usually runs between two more distant points, such as between two towns. A street is described as being a paved road or highway - in a city, town, or village, especially one lined with houses, shops, or other buildings. The implication is that if a street does not have these things, it will probably be called a road. When a town expands, sometimes what was formerly a road will become a street. The word road is the more general term, though, and can be applied to a street. Street is the narrower term.

from dictionary.com faq ... really really cool

Did You Know ...

Wearing heavy, insulated mittens makes it really difficult to carry a cup of hot coffee in one hand?

And

Doing this, when it's 6F is just long enough to cool it down to drinkable temperatures?