Each day as I browse newspapers and other "stuff" I find items that I think would interest someone in my life. I give the topic and the link but I don't identify who the message goes to. Each dispatch goes by email only to specific individuals who I think may have an interest in one or more of the items. This archives the postings for Q1 of 2014
Last year's postings are in "Dan's Daily Dispatch- 2013 Archive"
. hard at work
Postings are in reverse date order.
Last update 2014.02.24
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2014.02.24
SLEEP, NAPS, & HEALTH 4 items
1.
Finally, justification for taking a nap! Here is scientific proof that siestas are beneficial... PLUS: Perfect snooze length revealed
Sleeping for short periods in the day helps memory and cognitive function
But napping for 30mins or an hour can leave you with a sleep hangover
This is because you wake yourself during periods of deep sleep
Instead nap for 10-20mins for a quick refresh
Or sleep 90mins for a full sleep cycle, with no grogginess when you wake
By Katy Winter
PUBLISHED: 11:19 GMT, 28 January 201
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2547247/Finally-Justification-taking-nap-The-scientific-proof-mid-day-siesta-beneficial-long-perfect-length-snooze.html
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2.
Doctor Game: Melatonin good place to start for insomnia
Times Colonist
January 5, 2014 06:38 AM
Melatonin is linked to our biological time clock which decides what hormones are released at what times during the day. Studies show that levels of melatonin decrease with age, about 10 per cent each decade. So by age 50, the production of melatonin has declined by one half and, at 80, it isone-third of what it was at age 20. Some authorities believe this is why the elderly suffer from insomnia and why it's prudent to use a melatonin supplement.:
http://www.timescolonist.com/doctor-game-melatonin-good-place-to-start-for-insomnia-1.779035
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3.
Lack of sleep can lead to obesity, heart problems
Ottawa doctor says sleeping less than 6 hours a night can also lead to
performance errors
By Kristy Kirkup, CBC News Posted: Feb 19, 2014 5:30 AM ET Last Updated: Feb 19,
2014
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/lack-of-sleep-can-lead-to-obesity-heart-problems-1.2542088
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4.
Why sleep can help you become more fit
BY HELEN VANDERBURG, FOR THE CALGARY HERALD FEBRUARY 20, 2014 7:07 AM
http://www.calgaryherald.com/health/diet-fitness/sleep+help+become+more/9527239/story.html
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OTHER HEALTH
The dark side of acetaminophen
Jennifer Yang / Toronto Star
Chuck Campbell of Nanaimo, B.C., lost his 19-year-old daughter in 2006 after she overdosed on
acetaminophen. A Toronto Star investigation has found that acetaminophen has killed hundreds of
Canadians, hospitalized tens of thousands and cost the health care system tens of millions over the
last decade.
OurWindsor.Ca
By Jennifer Yang
"…potential dangers of acetaminophen — the ingredient that made Tylenol famous but can be found in everything from Nyquil and NeoCitran to
prescription painkillers such as Percocet. …….While Health Canada tried to address these issues by updating label warnings in 2009, it ignored stronger
changes recommended by its own scientists, according to internal documents obtained by the Star — language that was also opposed by the
non-prescription drug industry. "
http://www.mykawartha.com/news-story/4380130-the-dark-side-of-acetaminophen/
FOR ARTISTS
Bob Ross And Happy Little Trees Inspire Vancouver Art Show
The Huffington Post B.C. | Posted: 02/21/2014 6:05 pm EST | Updated: 02/22/2014 1:
""Happy Little Clouds: A Bob Ross Art Show" runs Feb. 22 until March 23, 2014 at The Fall Tattooing
and Artists Gallery."
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/02/21/bob-ross-vancouver-art_n_4834345.html?utm_hp_ref=vancouver
2014.02.04
HEALTH 2 ITEMS
1. SUGAR
Excess sugar may triple risk of heart problems: U.S. study
Lindsey Tanner, The Associated Press
Published Monday, February 3, 2014 4:26PM
"It doesn't take all that much extra sugar, hidden in many processed foods, to substantially raise the risk, the researchers found, and most Americans eat more than the safest amount. Previous studies have linked diets high in sugar with increased risks for non-fatal heart problems, and with obesity, which can also lead to heart trouble. But in the new study, obesity didn't explain the link between sugary diets and death. That link was found even in normal-weight people who ate lots of added sugar.
"Too much sugar does not just make us fat; it can also make us sick," said Laura Schmidt, a health policy specialist at the University of California, San Francisco. She wrote an editorial accompanying the study in Monday's JAMA Internal Medicine.
http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/excess-sugar-may-triple-risk-of-heart-problems-u-s-study-1.1668738#ixzz2sMrVTgDd
2. HEALTHY SELF TALK
February 4, 2014 Updated: February 4, 2014 | 10:27 am
Talking in the 3rd person lowers anxiety: Study
http://metronews.ca/health/930718/talking-in-the-3rd-person-lowers-anxiety-study/
FOR ANIMAL LOVERS
Dolphins and orcas mix it up off Vancouver Island
B.C. Ferries' passengers leaving Departure Bay near Nanaimo, B.C. treated to unusual spectacle
CBC News Posted: Feb 03, 2014 10:29 PM PT Last Updated: Feb 03, 2014 10:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/dolphins-and-orcas-mix-it-up-off-vancouver-island-1.2522268
FOR DREAMERS, DREAMS AND NIGHTMARES
"Are womens' nightmares different to mens?"
KATY WALDMAN
Last updated 05:00 05/02/2014
http://www.stuff.co.nz/science/9684825/Are-womens-nightmares-different-to-mens
BC LEADS IN LOVE
February 3, 2014 Updated: February 3, 2014 | 8:06 pm
"North Vancouver fifth most romantic city in Canada"
By Emily Jackson
[Who writes these inappropriate headlines? Well, 4 out of top 10 is pretty good for BC]
"B.C. residents love love, according to the list. Victoria won the prize as the most romantic city, with Kamloops and Langley also sneaking into the Top 10."
http://metronews.ca/news/vancouver/930281/north-vancouver-fifth-most-romantic-city-in-canada/
2014.01.30
FOR IDEAS CAFE PARTICIPANTS 2014.01.29 "HOPE" AND LOTTERIES
RG mentioned what I now call "faint hope"
It seems to me there is a huge difference between "hope" and either "counting on", and "rely". Note the various wordings used.
"One-third of Canadians counting on a lottery win to fund retirement"
The Canadian Press
Published Thursday, January 30, 2014
"...34 per cent hoped to win a lottery."
Well surely everyone who plays the lottery hopes to win and if 34% of the population plays the lottery then this is not surprising. However to even think of it as a plausible factor in retirement is indeed surprising. It is even more surprising that a Bank was complicit in even mentioning lottery in connection with retirement unless it was a write in, which I doubt.
http://montreal.ctvnews.ca/one-third-of-canadians-counting-on-a-lottery-win-to-fund-retirement-1.1662830#ixzz2rtnWRJUa
For original source see:
http://newsroom.bmo.com/press-releases/bmo-rrsp-study-eighty-nine-per-cent-of-canadians--tsx-bmo-201401300924693001
The BMO press release did say
"Hoping to win the lottery (34 per cent, including 14 per cent relying "heavily")".
In BC it was 41% well above the National average of 34%.
Note also the slippery use of words when the BMO tabulation reported:
"% who are relying on winning the lottery to fund their retirement".
Methinks one more term is required "faint hope"
2014.01.24
FOR FRIDAY BOOK CLUB- FUKUYAMA
We read Fukuyama, Francis. Trust: The Social Virtues and the Creation of Prosperity. In that book he made a sharp distinction between countries with a relatively high level of trust, which tend to have a more robust economy, and countries with a low level of trust.
I recently used some data on trust level in various countries in one of my blog postings dealing with a different topic- Canada's place in the world. [see blog posting "Oh Canada…"]
The table below may not come out well in this email but does format well in the Dan's Daily Dispatch- Archive 2014 Quarter 1
Numerals are a measure of trust- high= more trust
Hi trust 2013 2014 Low trust 2013 2014
Germany 55 57 France 54 46
Japan 41 44 Italy 51 43
US 59 49 Korea 47 51
Average 51.7 50.0 50.7 46.7
Range of trust over all countries Avg
2013 80 36 57
2014 79 35 54
Source slide 5
http://www.edelman.com/insights/intellectual-property/2014-edelman-trust-barometer/trust-around-the-world/
My conclusion is that the countries which Fukuyama cited as high or low trust are NOT significantly different in trust level and were thus not supportive of his theme
HUMOR.. after the serious one above, some humor is called for.
Norway's 'slow-TV': Next 100 hours of chess with Magnus Carlsen
By Anne Sewell
Nov 5, 2013 - yesterday in Odd News
" Due to the success they have had with recent "slow-TV" epics like a 12-hour prime-time show of a burning fireplace and a solid 13-hours of shearing and knitting, Norway's NRK broadcaster has come up with its next slow epic."
Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/361553#ixzz2jsXfHI3Q
2014.01.12
HIGHER POWER, BELIEFS, AND SUPERSTITIONS
Scientists Find One Source of Prayer's Power
Communing with a higher power increases self-control
By Piercarlo Valdesolo
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=scientists-find-one-source-of-prayers-power
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HOW BELIEFS CARRY ON
"Faith in the family: How belief passes from one generation to the next"
By Matthew Brown, Deseret News National Edition
Published: Thursday, Dec. 26 2013 9:00 a.m. MST
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865593024/Faith-in-the-family-How-belief-passes-from-one-generation-to-the-next.html?pg=1
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GRIT, SCHOOLING, EDUCATION
Angela Lee Duckworth
"The Surprising Trait That's MUCH More Important Than IQ
6 minutes
http://www.ted.com/talks/angela_lee_duckworth_the_key_to_success_grit.html
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PERSECUTION FOR NON BELIEF
Atheists face death in 13 countries, global discrimination: study
BY ROBERT EVANS GENEVA Mon Dec 9, 2013
"But this year's more comprehensive study showed six more, bringing the full list to Afghanistan, Iran, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Nigeria, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
"The situation was severe in Austria, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Malta and Poland where blasphemy laws allow for jail sentences up to three years on charges of offending a religion or believers.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/10/us-religion-atheists-idUSBRE9B900G20131210
THE BRAIN, CONSCIOUSNESS, AND THEORY OF MIND
‘What has gotten into Thomas Nagel?’: Leading atheist branded a
‘heretic’ for daring to question Darwinism
"Though mind remains a major topic in philosophy, it has been traditionally shunted to the edges of the physical sciences, in favour of a quantitative, math-based understanding of physical laws. Even when it takes a central role, as in neuroscience, consciousness is frequently described as simple information processing, as if brains were nothing more than computers made of meat, with consciousness as a running program – known as the computational theory of mind.
" “Each of our lives is a part of the lengthy process of the universe gradually waking up and becoming aware of itself,” he writes."
http://life.nationalpost.com/2013/03/23/what-has-gotten-into-thomas-nagel-leading-atheist-branded-a-heretic-for-daring-to-question-darwinism/
