1979 Cruising Permit

Published February 28, 2015  ·  All posts on Feb 28

In 1979, my mom and dad, and their friends the Hollisters, started a long-time tradition of chartering bare-boat sailboats in the Caribbean.

As I’ve been working my way through things I kept from the house, I recently got to scanning this cruising permit which my father had always kept framed on the wall near his work bench.

To all whom these presents may come
greetings
know all men that by
the powers vested in me by the Government
of the Virgin Islands
Bruce Constantine
Master of the Vessel Kona Kai
with his gallant crew of 4
is entitled peacefully to cruise and enjoy
the waters, beaches and reefs
of these blessed islands
from the 18 day of Nov 1979
to the 25 day of Nov 1979

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Carbohydrates and gallstones

Published February 27, 2015  ·  All posts on Feb 27  ·  

This entry is part 6 of 25 in the series M. Eades' Blog

A persuasive article in the June issue of Gut, a British gastroenterology journal, presenting data on the relation of excess carbohydrate intake in men to the development of gall stone disease.

Before we get to the article, let me give a brief review of gall stone disease…

~ Michael Eades from, «http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/low-carb-diets/carbohydrates-and-gallstones/»

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Today is not that day

Published February 26, 2015  ·  All posts on Feb 26  ·  

This entry is part 13 of 72 in the series My Journey

There will come a day when I can no longer do this.
Today is not that day.

…a wonderfully inspirational thought for us oldsters!

This photo of me at the crux of The Edge of Time (5.9R) in Estes Park Colorado was taken by Mike Bowyer in August 2014. I saw this caption on an image of a bicyclist posted by a cyclist friend of mine and wanted to make one that would hit closer to home.

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Fit for purpose

Published February 26, 2015  ·  All posts on Feb 26  ·  

For me, fitness and health are just a means to a larger end – something to enable me to live as I wish, to accomplish what I want, to face any challenge and adversity that may come my way and do my best to overcome it. Fitness isn’t the goal in and of itself; it’s just a tool, a part of my training which in itself is simply to allow me to follow my path for as long as I desire. It’s a by-product of living my life to the fullest, nothing more.

~ Dan Edwardes from, Are You Fit for Purpose?

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If you win the rat race, you’re still a rat

Published February 25, 2015  ·  All posts on Feb 25  ·  

This entry is part 12 of 72 in the series My Journey

Don’t ever confuse the two, your life and your work. That’s what I have to say. The second is only a part of the first. Don’t ever forget what a friend once wrote to Senator Paul Tsongas when the senator had decided not to run for reelection because he’d been diagnosed with cancer: “No man ever said on his deathbed I wish I had spent more time at the office.”

Don’t ever forget the words on a postcard that my father sent me last year: “If you win the rat race, you’re still a rat.”

~ Anna Quindlen from, A Short Guide to a Happy Life

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From Maria Popova’s A Short Guide to a Happy Life: Anna Quindlen on Work, Joy, and How to Live Rather Than Exist.

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Monopoly’s role in inequality

Published February 24, 2015  ·  All posts on Feb 24

Here’s the point: Maybe you couldn’t watch Jon Stewart for a week, but the problem had nothing to do with either you or Jon Stewart. He wasn’t asking for a raise; you weren’t balking at the price of watching the Daily Show. But both you and Jon were irrelevant when two giant middlemen had a power struggle.

~ Doug Muder from, Monopoly’s Role in Inequality

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Hingham Massachusettes

Published February 22, 2015  ·  All posts on Feb 22

In the fall of 2014, Tracy and I went to Boston for a Parkour event and added on a few extra days to visit family. Time well spent! Family, gorgeous sunny brisk weather, and then some New England clam chowda’!

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Magnesium and inflammation

Published February 21, 2015  ·  All posts on Feb 21  ·  

This entry is part 5 of 25 in the series M. Eades' Blog

The lipid hypothesis of heart disease is rapidly being supplanted by the inflammatory hypothesis, which, for my money, is much more on the mark. The researchers who have spent their careers doing cholesterol research are not going down without a fight, however.

~ Michael Eades from, «http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/uncategorized/magnesium-and-inflammation/»

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Gerrymandering

Published February 19, 2015  ·  All posts on Feb 19

So how did the People vote (narrowly) for a Democratic Congress but get a Republican one instead? That’s certainly not what the Founders intended: The reason there are more House districts than Senate seats and all congressmen have to go back to the voters every two years is that the House is supposed to closely reflect the will of the People.

Why didn’t that work? Why didn’t the House come out with a slight edge for the Democrats, or something closer to a 50-50 split reflecting a close popular vote?

~ Doug Muder from, How Gerrymandering Painted the House Red

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Conspiracy theories on facebook

Published February 18, 2015  ·  All posts on Feb 18  ·  

Do you believe that the contrails left by high-flying aircraft contain sildenafil citratum, the active ingredient in Viagra? Or that light bulbs made from uranium and plutonium are more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly? Or that lemons have anti-hypnotic benefits?

If you do, then you are probably a regular consumer of conspiracy theories, particularly those that appear on the Italian language version of Facebook (where all these were sourced). It is easy to dismiss conspiracy theories as background noise with little if any consequences in the real world.

~ Alessandro Bessi et al, from Science Vs Conspiracy: Collective Narratives In The Age Of (Mis)Information

Past, Future, Present

Published February 17, 2015  ·  All posts on Feb 17  ·  

If you are depressed, you are living in the past.
If you are anxious, you are living in the future.
If you are at peace, you are living in the present.

~ unknown

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They gavage with grain

Published February 15, 2015  ·  All posts on Feb 15  ·  

This entry is part 4 of 25 in the series M. Eades' Blog

They don’t gavage the ducks with steak, eggs, and ham – they gavage them with GRAIN, that wholesome stuff that most of the brain-dead nutritional advisers recommend you eat a half dozen times a day (the ducks only get it three times per day, and look at their livers).

~ Michael Eades from, «http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/saturated-fat/foie-gras-cest-moi/»

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Busy is an addiction

Published February 14, 2015  ·  All posts on Feb 14  ·  

The issue, just like exercise, is that each time you build, the high becomes slightly harder to achieve. Part of your hormonal reward is based on the fact the thing you just built has never been built before. It’s novel and your brain commensurately rewards the new because it has learned after millions of years of evolution that doing so is collectively good for our species.

~ Rands from, Busy is an Addiction

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Tired of chasing

Published February 11, 2015  ·  All posts on Feb 11  ·  

Giving up and moving on are two very different things. There comes a point when you get tired of chasing everyone and trying to fix everything, but it’s not giving up, and it’s not the end. It’s a new beginning. It’s realizing, finally, that you don’t need certain people and things and the drama they bring.

~ Marc Chernoff

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