Blog Ideas. Circle of Words. Spark. Weigh-in Wednesday. The Friday 5. Saturday Slant. Participation Positives. Have you ever wondered where people get ideas for what to write about? Have you noticed how some people's weblogs (including mine) reference a set of periodic questions and then answer them? One answer is "memes". Continue reading

I've started a new Yahoo group / mailing list called InsPURRation: CatPURRSons Life Support. The rationale is simple. We are the ones who have high blood pressure, ulcers, and heart attacks, not cats. — Roger Caras We all have bad days. The car won't start, your son has a fender-bender, the water pipes break, work… Continue reading

I couldn't quite decide if this was commentary or not, so I posted the same article to both of my weblogs; only the teaser paragraph is here; you can read the rest at vlb.typepad.com/commentary. Saccharin. Cyclamate. Aspartame. Sucralose. Tagatose. Alitame. Xylitol. Maltitol. Lactitol. Isomalt. Erythritol. Mannitol. Sorbitol. If it tastes like sugar, but it's not…… Continue reading

The dietary establishment has long argued it's impossible, but a new study offers intriguing evidence for the idea that people on low-carbohydrate diets can actually eat more than folks on standard lowfat plans and still lose weight. … [This] strikes at one of the most revered beliefs in nutrition: A calorie is a calorie is… Continue reading

I have been reading "The South Beach Diet" by Dr. Arthur Agatston. (The hardcover book is currently on sale for softcover prices ($15) at both amazon.com and Barnes & Noble; there are used copies available as well through amazon.com starting at $11.75. Dr. Agatston is a cardiologist who started investigating diet as a way to… Continue reading

From the San Francisco Chronicle ( Food in the News, http://www.sfgate.com, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2003) Low-carb craze grabs consumers Onslaught of new products tempts dieters You'd never buy most of them for their taste — even some people who sell them admit that. They're generally not low in calories. Nutritionists raise their eyebrows at all… Continue reading

There was an article in today's SF Chronicle about how the workplace contributes to the obesity problem. Here's an excerpt: The workplace study, a random sampling of 611 working adults from around the country, found that although 32 percent of workers usually skip breakfast and/or lunch, they aren't exactly doing a Gandhi impression. Eighty-nine percent… Continue reading

We drove up to Trinidad California (in Humboldt County, about 25 mi. north of Eureka, on the California North Coast) for a Storytelling festival this weekend. We headed up on Friday and drove back Saturday afternoon. In between, we heard from half a dozen storytellers, stories ranging from Japanese fables to the life story of… Continue reading

There have been a number of articles recently that indicate that milk (dairy) is very “good for you”. Unfortunately, while I’m willing to drink milk, I’ve always found yogurt to be sour. The question was, is there any commercial yogurt I’d be willing to eat? Continue reading

Everything about unemployment is wonderful… except for the lack of income. So, being one of many unemployed in the Tech industry, I've been trying to find a job. I've been trying since January 2002 (when I still had a contract but the miserable economy forced me down to 15 hours/week).I've joined a few mailing lists… Continue reading