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Want to know the ratio of caffeine between tea and coffee?

10/31/2015

6 Comments

 
We see plenty of reports telling us we shouldn't drink too much coffee, but what about tea? That contains caffeine too, but not much is published about the strength of the potion.

A recent study revealed a third of workers are putting their health at risk by drinking more caffeine than recommended. Research found that 30 per cent of us drink five or more caffeinated drinks during a typical working day.

Gulp! How much should we drink?
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The European Food Safety Agency advises a daily limit of 400mg of caffeine, equivalent to four mugs of instant coffee. An average mug of instant coffee contains around 100mg of caffeine while a filter coffee may contain up to 140mg. 
Picturepixabay.com
Now, we reach the facts on tea. A cup of tea is likely to contain around 75mg. Okay I see the ratio. A mug of coffee delivers 100mg of caffeine; a mug of tea transfers 75mg (a bit less, but not much).

One female psychology student took tea drinking to the extreme when she decided to put herself to the test and only drink tea brews for a whole week. The third year student at Lincoln University, stocked up on 1,200 tea bags and vowed not to touch any other drink for seven whole days.

Don't ask my why she tried this venture—she's a student, prone to wild ideas.

But her self-experiment made her feel permanently sick, and giddy from caffeine, after downing an impressive 60 cuppas. She said she craved a simple glass of water.

I've settled down at last after 73 years of wild living. I only drink three cups of caffeine tea a day. The rest of my imbibing consists of herbal tea and water.
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How about you?

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The Great Pumpkin hurtles toward Earth.

10/30/2015

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A newly discovered asteroid dubbed the Great Pumpkin will shoot past Earth on Halloween.

The size of four football pitches, the rock will come will come within just 300,000 miles (480,000 km) of Earth. Astronomers will get an excellent opportunity to gather data, capture radar images, and measurements from the passing asteroid. Scientists expect to learn about the asteroid's shape, dimensions, surface features and other characteristics.

Scientists said the fact they did not know the asteroid was meant to come so close until just three weeks ago showed the importance of vigilance.

Normally they rely on expensive robotic space probes to gather information about such rocky bodies.
Small space rocks rain down on Earth constantly, with most disintegrating as they blaze through the atmosphere. In February 2013, a 65-foot-wide (20 m) asteroid broke apart over Chelyabinsk, Russia, shattering windows and damaging buildings. injuring more than 1,000 people.

NASA is working to map potentially dangerous asteroids and comets that pass within 30 million miles (48 million km) of Earth. Source: The Mirror.

Of course, we all know about the asteroid or comet roughly six miles (10 km) in diameter that crashed into what is now Mexico's Yucatan peninsula. That catastrophe about 65 million years ago caused global climate changes that killed off the dinosaurs along with about 75 percent of life that existed at the time.
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NASA had better keep a sharp look out.
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​You might not be aware of the dystopian Higher Ground series I wrote with a co-author Edith Parzefall. They are based on the premise of an asteroid strike in 2027. At the beginning of every novel, an excerpt of a diary hints at events.
​

Here's a taster for you:
Journal of Tallulah McBride


March 23, 2027.

As the world ends, I've assembled my vellum and proper ink and pen. Vellum lasts longer than paper. I don't think anyone will survive the flood and devastation. The water is rising higher all the time and I haven't seen the sun for forty-eight hours. No light penetrates my room. I'm writing by candlelight. I'm not sure why I'm writing except that it might help me get a grip on what happened. And just maybe, someone will survive and read this journal.



Corn World. Britland.
Far in the future after the great flood.
​

Chapter 1


On the bed next to her mother, Cerridwen snuggled further into her sleeping furs. Wind roared over the town, and rains lashed against the thick wooden walls of the house nestled half way down a steep slope above the quiet village. Built in the before times when men knew how to construct things properly, the house resisted continual rain. A lightning flash lit up the small room. Thunder roared. In the cot beside her, Mother whimpered and turned in her sleep.

Cerridwen concentrated on creaking noises followed by a thud. A tree struck by lightning? Aware of possible danger, she bolted upright. Her brother Ivan had left before sunrise with a group of Red Roof men to hunt deer in the first light. She hoped for their safe return.
​

A mighty growl jarred her out of her drowsiness. What could it be? Not thunder. The sound lasted too long and grew into a rumble.

You can see all five books at an Amazon near you. I noticed the UK site is offering the paperback at the same price as the e-book right now, £3.48.


Universal links for Amazon books:

Wind Over Troubled Waters: http://bookgoodies.com/a/B007X57XMS
Knights in Dark Leather: http://bookgoodies.com/a/B00A3EYR0M
Golden Submarine: http://bookgoodies.com/a/B00C8T4O0I
Long Doom Calling: http://bookgoodies.com/a/B00DT6QHFO
Seaweed Ribbons: http://bookgoodies.com/a/B00Q3IVJ1M



​


11 Comments

My experience on my first Health Walk.

10/29/2015

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Scientists have said a brisk daily walk of just 20 minutes could add years to your life.
They blame lazy lifestyles and the lack of exercise for shorter lives.

The Cambridge University study of 334,000 people found even a modest amount of activity prolonged life. And the least fit had the most to gain.

I come into the least fit category, left disabled after a hip operation went wrong. Doctors ordered a special hip with a metal shaft to insert into the femur after it shattered in 2002. The inner support is held in place with bolts and twists of wire. After the operation, I was reasonably fit and continued working on my feet for 8 hours a day. However, since retirement, my walking ability has deteriorated.

I decided to do something about it. Yesterday, I took my first organized walk. I live in Elstree, Hertsmere, UK. If you live in England, you should be able to find a scheme near you. Here's the one I joined:
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The Hertsmere Health Walks is part of a countywide programme of free, volunteer - led walks, which aims to help people get outdoors, get more active and reap the benefits. The walks are all sociable and you don't need any special equipment to join in, just comfortable shoes. The free programme runs all year round and offers choice of different walk grades, start points and times. Source: Hertsmere Health Walks: Walking for Health. 
PictureHealth Walks - pixshark.com
Well, I found the pace too strenuous on the short walk for disabled people I chose. Seeing as I only walk alone up and down a hill outside my home, I didn't have the fitness of the six regular walkers who turned up yesterday. They took off at a good pace, and soon they were small figures in the distance. The early rain had ceased, leaving the gravel walk beside flowing water littered with wet autumn leaves. My rollator rattled over loose stones and shook my arms, while jacket-wearing volunteer kept me company for as long as I felt comfortable to continue.
“
Do you stop walking in winter?” I asked, during out chat.

“We carry on rain, snow and cold,” he said. “We walk every Wednesday of the year.”

After crossing a street, I admired the Canada geese, ducks, and moor-hens where the waterway widened beside the smooth path. But, I turned back before the end. And I was glad I did because my legs dragged on the approach to the finish.

The volunteer driver, a retired doctor and gentleman arrived to take me home shortly after we stopped on the street outside a local café. He lifted my muddy-wheeled rollator into his spotless boot and then held out his elbow. I tucked my arm into his firm support on the way to his car, seated myself in his luxury car and he helped my legs in.

“Thank you. I'm so sorry about the mud,” I said. “I should have brought plastic to line the boot.”

“That will clean off. Don't worry about it.” He handed me the seatbelt strap, and then went around to his side, climbed in, and drove off. “Did you enjoy yourself?”

“I did, thank you. It's a treat for me to get out. Sometimes, my husband takes me shopping, but he has trouble lifting the heavy rollator. So I decided to do something on my own. I hope to do it again, but the man at Community Transport said I wasn't priority, so I might not be able to come often.”

We parted with the understanding that he would drive me again if possible.

Have you ever thought to join other walkers in your area? The social contact changes a lonely walk to an event.

10 Comments

Victorian diseases are reappearing in old London town.

10/28/2015

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Cases of malnutrition and other “Victorian” diseases are soaring in England, malnutrition being the worst.

NHS statistics show over 7,300 people were admitted to hospital with a primary or secondary diagnosis of malnutrition between August 2014 and July this year, a rise of more than 50 per cent in just four years.

The Trussell Trust, which runs a nationwide network of foodbanks, reported tens of thousands of people have been going hungry, missing meals and cutting back on the quality of the food they buy.

The Malnutrition Task Force, and the charity Age UK, said the rise in hospital admissions for malnutrition was deeply distressing.

A spokesperson said, “Older people and professionals often incorrectly assume that losing weight and having a reduced appetite are just a normal part of ageing. Much malnutrition is preventable, so it is totally unacceptable that estimates suggest there are at least one million older people malnourished or at risk of malnourishment. Cuts to social care mean many older people are being left to cope on their own.”

Since 2010, cases of other diseases rife in the Victorian era including scurvy, scarlet fever, cholera and whooping cough have also increased, although cases of TB, measles, typhoid and rickets have fallen.
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And yet, parts of London have higher rates of tuberculosis than Rwanda or Iraq, according to a report by the London Assembly.

One in three boroughs in the capital suffer from high rates of TB, with more than 40 cases per 100,000 people. Prisoners, homeless people, substance abusers and migrants are particularly at risk, according to the report. Source: The Independent.

My husband and I are facing money worries as we age. While we were working, we ate well. Now, we cut costs wherever we can just to scrape together a nutritious meal.

General price rises apply to everything—food, power, heat and rent to name a few.

Most elderly English people have paid into the national pension fund through their wages for their whole life, expecting to live well after they retire. But costs are rising and the rate of the Government pension is not in line with everything else. Even my service provider is charging me extra for basic broadband, and now bills me, if I use more than the allowable quota, for any pictures I download to use for this blog.

So, I'm cutting costs today—hence no illustration. I'll paint a word picture instead. Envisage hospital waiting rooms. Under bright lights, skinny old men and women are seated in rows of chairs with hopeless expressions on their wizened faces.
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Do you know somebody who might be at risk of malnutrition?
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Do speeding tickets etc. keep us safe or raise funds?

10/27/2015

6 Comments

 

Parking restrictions:

Picture
 A 64-year-old retired Rover worker from Birmingham, UK, suffered an angina attack while driving through the city. He pulled over and went into a shop nearby to take his medication, but when he returned, he discovered that he had been given a parking ticket. The council sent him a £35 fine.

He appealed, and sent a doctors' letter, which stated he should stop what he was doing, take medication and rest. The letter took a while to organize. For his trouble and because of the delay, the council increased the fine to £70.

There was no way he could drive safely while suffering agonising chest pains. When his first appeal was rejected, he took his claim to a second independent appeal. The council accepted the second appeal and cancelled the fine.

Here are other cases from the UK in recent years.

1. Last November, a woman who had pulled over at 11am on Armistice Day to pay her respects, after hearing Big Ben strike. While she was standing by the car, observing a minute's silence, a traffic warden slapped her car with a ticket. She was urged to appeal.

2. In February last year, a motorist was ticketed for being stationary beside a bus stop: he was stuck in traffic at the time. The fine was later cancelled.

3. A month later, a man was fined for stopping for 90 seconds to check the parking restrictions. The photo sent with the fine clearly showed him checking the sign beside his car. The fine was eventually dropped.

4. In 2013, a woman was fined for pulling into a disabled bay on a city High Street. The warden ignored the fact she was a few feet away giving first aid to a woman who had collapsed in the street. The council withdrew the fine.

5. A year earlier, traffic wardens ticketed a lifeboat, after a crew member left it on a trailer outside the lifeboat station to pop back in for some paperwork. The ticket was eventually cancelled. Source Aol Money. 
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 Speeding tickets:


Okay, here's my story. My husband was driving along a street close to home when he was struck with a sudden urge. He wears a catheter and when it plays up, he is gripped with agonizing pain. He had to decide, whilst in pain, weather to return home, thereby doing a u-turn, or continue to the closest pub. Unable to think straight, he chose the latter.

When a fine came in the mail, he was staggered. There is a camera part-way along the street, which consists of steep rises and dips. In order to slow down on one hill, the driver has to ride the brakes and turn on the incline before the next dip. There has never been an accident on Allum Lane, nor do people cross the road.

He sent a letter of explanation. The council expressed their sympathy, but his claim was rejected and he's paid a £100 fine, which we can ill afford because of financial circumstances attached to his cancer.
This fine has nothing to do with public safety. Extenuating circumstances have no bearing on the money-making scheme of some hungry municipal councils.
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Do you have a story to tell?

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Life on Earth is older than we thought.

10/26/2015

8 Comments

 
PictureZircon - commons.wikimedia.org
The good 'ol Aussies and other scientists have discovered this fascinating fact locked inside zircons.
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Scientists previously thought life first appeared on Earth 3.83 billion years ago. However, the newest findings suggest life started 270 million years earlier.

This would also mean the spark of life began only 440 million years after the Earth formed—about
​4.54 billion years ago.

Researchers have suggested the rapidity of life springing up on Earth means life in the rest of the universe could be abundant. How little we know. Despite all mankind's searching, astrologers have yet to find proof of life on other planets.

The scientists came to their conclusion after analysing more than 10,000 zircons - heavy, durable stones used as imitation diamonds - which had formed from molten rock in Western Australia.

These time capsules preserve materials from their environment as they form.

Out of the thousands of zircons they studied, 79 of them looked like they might contain graphic, which is made of pure carbon which life depends on.

'As an element, carbon occurs in a striking variety of forms. Coal, soot, and diamonds are all nearly pure forms of carbon. Carbon also occurs in a form, discovered only recently, known as fullerenes or buckyballs. Buckyball carbon holds the promise for opening a whole new field of chemistry.
Carbon occurs extensively in all living organisms as proteins, fats, carbohydrates (sugars and starches), and nucleic acids.' Source: Chemistry explained.

But only a single zircon in the study contained graphite, which turned out to be 4.1 billions years old.
'The study's co-author, a geochemist at the University of California (UCLA), told the Live Science website: "It was nerve-wracking to manipulate the sole tiny zircon fragment — about half the width of a hair on your head — containing the graphite inclusions.' Source: Express. 

Anyone for chemistry? Well—not me, and I suspect you have no interest either. However, we can now astound our friends with the amazing fact that life on Earth began 4.54 billion years ago.

I'd prefer to think about when MY life on Earth began—(this one. I'm not talking reincarnation). Born on the eighth of January 1942, I entered the world as a bonny baby. How about you?

8 Comments

Why should hunters get licences to gun down bears?

10/25/2015

5 Comments

 
Who makes up these rules? The planet supports all kinds of life—animals, birds, fish, insects and … man. Somehow, humans have given themselves the top position. And they're gunning for any other creature who gets in their way.
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Despite the fact that only four USA Florida residents have been injured in bear attacks in the past two years, a huge proportion of the bear colony will be annihilated—320 in total.

I can understand people wanting to cull a huge rogue animal—well four of them to be exact. But not decimating so many. Here in the UK, recent badger culls have been largely unsuccessful in the hope of controlling TB in cattle. I think every animal, no matter how large or small, has a right to be here.
PictureFlorida black bear - en.wikipedia.org
The Wildlife Commission's advice on encountering a black bear is to remain standing upright and speak to the bear in a calm, assertive voice while backing up slowly towards a secure area and leaving the bear a clear escape route. This must be founded on the fact that a bear won't harm a human if treated with respect.


​But now, Florida is holding its first bear hunt in more than two decades, despite opposition from animal rights campaigners and lack of public support.


The state's Wildlife Conservation Commission has issued 4,000 permits for licensed hunters to shoot a total of 320 black bears with the aim of stabilising the growing number.

More than 200 bears were on target on Saturday. The hunters included a 16-year-old boy who said he fulfilled a dream when he potted an 80kg bear.

I hope the count is accurate and up to the minute, because 4,000 hunters are out to shoot them down. There'll be a lot of disappointed men out there in them there hills. I hope someone bows the whistle to halt the game of 'hunter and hunted' when the tally is reached.
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This is not the image I want to see for mankind. How does that make man kind?

5 Comments

 Would you care for a sick passenger?

10/24/2015

3 Comments

 
After waking from an unconscious state on the way home, a student found a heartfelt note a stranger had left beside her.

Ellie was travelling by train from Surrey to London on Wednesday to teach a fitness class when she fell ill.
When the 27-year-old came around she noticed a note left for her by a man called Tom.

The note read: "Hi Eleanor. I hope by the time you read this you are feeling better. You had a seizure on the train and I took you off.

"You didn't hit your head but I may have hurt your leg as I walked on it before realising you were on the floor having a fit! sorry!

"I'm also sorry I can't stay with you now but here is a coffee to perk you up later and £10 to make sure you get a taxi home.

"Sorry I don't have anymore money so I hope you don't live far away. I've contacted people from your phone and medical help is on its way and you're with train staff.

"Wishing you all the best and a quick recovery. Love Tom."


The part-time acupuncture student said the action Tom took had "restored her faith in humanity". She is now trying to locate him.

Ellie told the Evening Standard: "I have no idea who this man was or if he was sitting next to me but I wanted to show how grateful I am to him.

"If Tom does come forward, first of all I would like to give him back his money and then thank him for what he did. He deserves a lot of praise.

"It was so nice of him, it's one thing helping people but doing additional things like what Tom did is something else."
Source: The Huffington Post UK.
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www.geograph.org.uk The Good Samaritan
Nowadays, people live such busy lives. Everyone has deadlines to meet and places to be. It's understood that if you're travelling on a train you have to reach your goal.

Wikipedia says: Good Samaritan laws offer legal protection to people who give reasonable assistance to those who are, or who they believe to be, injured, ill, in peril, or otherwise incapacitated. The protection is intended to reduce bystanders' hesitation to assist, for fear of being sued or prosecuted for unintentional injury or wrongful death.

But what is a Good Samaritan? In the Bible, a man fell ill beside the road. Many men passed by without offering aid. Then, the man who had more to lose than the others stopped and did what he could to help.

​ Even now, Christians, Muslims, Jews, Catholics, Protestants, Hindus, Buddhists, African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanics, Asians, the poor, the homeless, the unattractive, gays, lesbians, the handicapped, the mentally ill, and countless other groups are still sometimes the victims of ridicule, hatred and discrimination.
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What would you do if faced with a similar situation in which Tom found himself? Would you continue riding the train to your destination, or would you stop to help?
3 Comments

 Lonely people need to talk.

10/23/2015

6 Comments

 
 A UK radio station invited a regular listener into the studio for coffee when he admitted he was feeling lonely.

95-year-old 'Bill' from Southampton called BBC Radio Solent during a mid-morning show last week.

During the conversation, Bill revealed his wife had been taken into a nursing home after a bad fall.

The pair had been friends for 30 years before they wed last year. Bill said he was "missing her" and he visited her every day, BuzzFeed reported.

On hearing his story, the radio station team organised a taxi to pick Bill up and bring him to the studio. He became an honorary 'special guest' and even fielded calls from listeners. Source: The Independent.

What a great Good Samaritan story. The gesture benefited both parties, and spread the feel-good factor to their listeners too.

After all, a lonely person just wants a sympathetic listener.
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Picture
Loneliness by Hans Thoma (National Museum in Warsaw). en.wikipedia.org
 Opera says: 

A small gesture—an offhand invitation to lunch—is often a better antidote than showering someone with too much attention.

Offer to accompany someone to a medical appointment. One study found that doctors said they treat socially isolated people less well than patients with supportive families, and they've seen other health practitioners do the same.

(Our neighbour always takes my husband to his hospital appointments, and sits in to give him mental support.)

Remind your friend that doing things alone—going to a movie, eating out—is hard for a lot of people, especially the first time. You might take her to the coffee shop that gives you a sense of community when you're on your own and volunteer to help find a place in her neighborhood.

When I answered the loneliness quiz questions, I got a high score. However, by reaching out to people over the WWW, I feel as if I'm conected. Of course, nothing would beat a real cup of coffee with someone I respect.

Take your own loneliness quiz. 

Go out and spread the kindness, people. Be a friend to someone in need.
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 Don't take up manual work if you want to live longer.

10/22/2015

10 Comments

 
PictureDancing couple - pixabay.com
 Affluent men in England and Wales are outliving the average woman for the first time since official records began. The Office for National Statistics has stated that higher managerial and professional men can expect to live over 82.5 years longer than the 82.4 years of life expectancy for the average woman.

These latest ONS figures, for 2007-11, mask deep inequalities between social classes and geographical areas of the country.

The research pointed out while male solicitors, clergy, surveyors etc. have an average life expectancy of 82.5 years, men working in jobs such as street-sweepers, fishmongers, welders and window fitters will survive to only 76.6 years.

Even what we think of as super-fit male fitness instructors have a lower life expectancy than the average male journalist. Meanwhile, female florists live shorter lives than female care workers and several years less than a female estate agent.

According to the ONS, women have outlived men throughout recent times. Back in the early 1980s even women in the poorest group could expect to live longer than the most advantaged group of men.
However, since the 1970s, men have caught women up in terms of survival thanks to the sharp reduction in smoking and the decline in manual work.

The biggest gains in life expectancy are enjoyed by those earning the most. So, having money does count in the strongest possible way.

Health professionals warn that the epidemic of obesity and diabetes could throw into reverse improvements in lifespans. Source: The Guardian.

Here's a case where physical fitness shows no benefits. From the statistics, it would seem that sitting at a desk and working with your brain will give the fullest life possible.

I'm okay then, sitting here at my computer. It hardly matters that I have difficulty walking. I exercise my mind day after day, and go to bed each night tired, the way I would expect after a hard day of walking for miles.

Tomorrow, my husband will have lived for 77 years. He's fighting C, and although stress gets to him, he's enduring. Having a slender, elegant body, he's always worked at a sit-down job, and is a member or Mensa. Maybe his past employment has contributed to his survival.
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Do the ONS statistics on life expectancy ring true to you?

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    Francene Stanley
    From England, I use news items in my novels which you can see below, all linked to an Amazon near you.

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