Eolake Stobblehouse thoughts

Wednesday, September 04, 2013

I don't recall if I've blogged it, but I've felt for a long time that the idea of living and eating healthy is hogwash. Certainly as far goes as to finding out what the heck is "healthy" and what is not.
So big thanks to Michael Johnston for writing this addendum on his blog:

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Here's a partial list of some of the assertions I read in my traversal of diet and nutrition books:

Beans are a wonder food and the best way to get all the protein you need on a vegetarian diet.
Beans are nearly indigestible by humans and responsible for many digestive ills.
Humans evolved to eat animals and raw plants and haven't been able to evolve to adapt to the produce of husbanded animals (dairy) and domesticated grains and agricultural crops yet.
Dietary fat is the cause of heart disease and therefore fat-free diets are essential to health. Carbohydrates should be the bedrock of your diet.
Carbohydrates are terrible for you because they spike your blood sugar and cause an insulin overresponse. A no-carb diet is the best way to lose weight.
Vegetarian diets are the healthiest.
Vegetarian diets are extremely unhealthy and can actually result in malnutrition.
It's calories in, calories out.
It's all a matter of metabolism.
We're all human and our bodies are all the same.
We're all different and respond to dietary inputs in radically different ways.
Diet is a health issue.
Diet is a moral issue.
Diet is personal.
Diet is cultural.
You need to eat a big breakfast.
You should be a vegan until 6 p.m.
Moderate exercise is crucial to a dietary weight loss plan.
Moderate exercise has no effect on your weight and weight loss is not the reason to exercise.
Your instincts will take care of you, so you should eat whatever you want.
You must avoid all processed foods.
You should never "graze," nosh, or snack.
Lots of small meals throughout the day are best.
Fructose is the "bad half" of sugar and should be avoided at all costs.
Fructose is found in fruits and therefore makes a good sugar substitute.
The body treats all kinds of sugar the same.
Honey, and brown sugar or "raw" sugar are much better for you than table sugar.
Nuts are high in fat and should be limited.
Nuts correllate with disease prevention the best of any food.
Sugar is the cause of the obesity epidemic.
High fructose corn syrup is the cause of the obesity epidemic.
Meat and dairy are the cause of the obesity epidemic.
Carbohydrates, breads, and potatoes are the cause of the obesity epidemic.
Laziness, lack of exercise, and lack of willpower are the cause of the obesity epidemic.
Antibiotics are the cause of the obesity epidemic, because they have affected the bacteria in our guts in ways we don't understand.
Industrial food is the cause of the obesity epidemic, and small, part-time organic farming is our hope for the future.
"Organic" is a marketing word that's been co-opted by Big Ag and everything associated with it is a fraud and a rip-off.

Michael Johnston

Melanie Masson's audition - Janis Joplin's Cry Baby

[Thanks to Signalroom7]

If you didn't like the little hardcore thrash-rock singer we had recently... or if you liked her... I think you'll like this. Don't miss this. Be surprised!

The song starts at around 1.40, but it's much more fun if you see and hear her first for contrast.
I knew, and I think everybody did, within one second that here was an extraordinary singer.

Sunday, September 01, 2013

van Gogh details

Details from van Gogh paintings.

The Google Art Project is a collaboration with museums large and small, classic and modern, world-renowned and community-based from over 40 countries. Together they have contributed more than 40,000 high-resolution images of works ranging from oil on canvas to sculpture and furniture.

Funny thing: I've been a "goggie" for decades, have read several books and seen several films about his life, and own books of paintings, including "The Complete..."

And he only worked for a decade, and only did the really good stuff in the last few years.

And yet I keep finding works from him I swear I have never seen before. That guy worked like a Tazmanian Devil (the cartoon version). It's like he knew he had limited time.

(Click for big pic.)

Cool colors. So dark and yet so clear and separated.

(This is one I swear I have never seen before.)

Saturday, August 31, 2013

A working "Mini Mac"

John Leake has created a working 1/3 scale model of the original Macintosh.
I'm amazed that A: it took him only 12 hours to build it, and 2: It has two USB ports, an Ethernet port, and an HDMI port, and thirdly: it actually works, and runs the original Mac software! (in emulation of course) on the famous tiny English Raspberry Pi processor.

It's not for sale, but if it ever becomes, I'm sure there'll be lots of customers, and I can't swear I won't be amongst them.

The age of video drones

I think that in film making, most crane-shots, as well as most helicopter shots, will very soon be replaced by remote-controlled-drone shots. It's much cheaper, and much more flexible, the small drones can go so many places cranes or choppers can't.
See examples here, notice especially the third video, play it full screen.

With which other method would you like to have your
camera sweep right in front of a rushing train?

Of course, as with anything else exciting happening ever, there is already talk about outlawing drone photography. God forbid any of them should catch us picking our nose.

Government spying

I can't believe that prez Obama stood up and defended the wholesale spying of goverment agencies on their own people. And having the nerve to say it's all "transparent", when nobody had been told about it!
How did Rush Limbaugh disguise himself as Obama? They don't look anything alike!

I hope this blows up bigger than Watergate, it's at the friggin fundamentals of civil rights. The government already have more power than anybody else. If we also grant them the rights to do anything they want in secret, then nobody has rights left.

NYPD officer faces up to 7-year sentence for fabricating charges against photojournalist

NYPD officer faces up to 7-year sentence for fabricating charges against photojournalist, article.
Police officer Michael Ackermann claimed that Stolarik had disobeyed "numerous lawful orders," fired a strobe repeatedly in the officer's face and "violently resisted being handcuffed." Now those claims have been disproven, and the officer faces three felony counts and five misdemeanors for fabricating the reasons for the arrest, and could face up to seven years in prison.

It's heartening to know that policemen don't always get away with everything. Sure, they have a hazardous job and deserve a lot of respect and support. But they are also in a rare position to push people around, and it's important that this should not be taken for granted as a "right" they have, because it's not.