Early Retirement?

From the 4 hour workweek:

An American businessman took a vacation to a small coastal
Mexican village on doctor's orders. Unable to sleep after an
urgent phone call from the office the first morning, he walked out to
the pier to clear his head. A small boat with just one fisherman had
docked, and inside the boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The
American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish.
"How long did it take you to catch them?" the American asked.
"Only a little while," the Mexican replied in surprisingly good
English.
"Why don't you stay out longer and catch more fish?" the American
then asked.
"I have enough to support my family and give a few to friends,"
the Mexican said as he unloaded them into a basket.
"But... What do you do with the rest of your time?"
The Mexican looked up and smiled. "I sleep late, fish a little, play
with my children, take a siesta with my wife, Julia, and stroll into the
village each evening, where I sip wine and play guitar with my
amigos. I have a full and busy life, senor."
The American laughed and stood tall. "Sir, I'm a Harvard M.B.A.
and can help you. You should spend more time fishing, and with the
proceeds, buy a bigger boat. In no time, you could buy several boats
with the increased haul. Eventually, you would have a fleet of fishing
boats."
He continued, "Instead of selling your catch to a middleman, you
would sell directly to the consumers, eventually opening your own
cannery. You would control the product, processing, and distribution.
You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village, of course,
and move to Mexico City, then to Los Angeles, and eventually New
York City, where you could run your expanding enterprise with
proper management."

The Mexican fisherman asked, "But, sefior, how long will all this
take?"
To which the American replied, "15-20 years. 25 tops."
"But what then, sefior?"
The American laughed and said, "That's the best part. When the
time is right, you would announce an IPO and sell your company
stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions."
"Millions, senor? Then what?"
"Then you would retire and move to a small coastal fishing village,
where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids,
take a siesta with your wife, and stroll to the village in the evenings
where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos ..."

howtopickmeupoline

Do you think that the girl who everyone agrees on is hot is going to get the most views, the most winks and probably too many emails to reply to you? Well it turns out, so does everyone else...

A recent article written by a well known dating site has reviewed the mathematics of attractiveness online. What its found is that guys go after girls they know everyone won't like... It makes sense after all. I'm always looking for the tatted up, nipples pierced, catholic school girl who learned skills in a special house of ill repute in Beijing... Secretly knowing she's a 9 but figuring other guys will just take her for a freak...

The problem is, the math says alot of other guys are thinking the same thing as me. So... What's the easiest way to win at a game? Play one that 99% of people don't play. You've already beat out most of the competition!

The next time you try and find some eharmony send a message to the girl you know and everyone else knows is hot... Guess what... The math says your odds just got better by 200-300%!!!!!

http://blog.okcupid.com/index.php/the-mathematics-of-beauty/

If you see me laughing

I remember laughing with you about Alexis and Bill and how they are going to demand to be healthy this weekend. Like it's such a big deal to eat 'normal food' for a weekend. Even though every other weekend we go out and eat like shit. When there's the expectation to eat normally everyone has to make a big stink about it.

If you see me laughing this weekend you'll know why.

Choose Life

I like black and white.

I want Snape to be evil. I need Luke to be good. I'm always the hero protagonist while fighting the flood. I like that trainspotting has one alternative.

I live in grey.
There's always a 2 for 1 discount. You will take less if I pay you cash. When you tell me this is the way it is don't expect me to believe you. I will question everything that i'm told, and I will find something better.

Have you ever pretended your life was a video game. Only there was no save button? Don't BS me, don't tell me you're risk adverse. You have 1 thing to lose, just 1.

You live in black and white.

You listen when they tell you their computer can't do it like you want it. You give in when they screw up and don't want to admit it because it's too difficult. When they tell you to do it this way at work you rationalize why. You stop thinking because nothing makes sense. Choose LIFE.

Who Wins?

You read the paper, I gave them something to write. You pay your mortgage down in 15 years instead of 20. I have the time of my life every week for 20 years. No one will ever say that you made a bad choice. Everyone will say I've taken chances. You'll count your pennies, I'll count my memories.

Democracy

Wouldn't it be fun to walk down the street and be arbitrarily questioned and subsequently arrested. It happened to about 900 people this weekend.

What's the big deal after all. It's a special event that happens once every 10 or 20 years. You should have known better anyway, it was all over the news.

What about the next special event? What about the next protest? What about the next walk around your block? Where does it begin and end? How do we determine when it's appropriate to take away peoples rights and when not?

Personally I don't feel safer living in country that has the power to arbitrarily arresting you for no reason except the place that you're walking.

Here is what happened to 2 different people:
Wearing dark jeans, a dark t-shirt and no shoes, Mr. MacDonald said he was arrested for obstruction of police, but that he was released without charge. He said he suspects he was arrested for wearing a bandana, but said it was on his head, not his face.


“They surrounded us and told us to leave,” he said, “but how was I supposed to read the situation?” He said police never once told them how to leave or when the last warning would be before arresting him. He was initially arrested for obstructing the police, he said, but released without being charged.

The arrest figure of more than 900 people includes only those who were taken to the detention centre, not those who were temporarily detained by police, Const. Murphy said. Most people were released without being charged.

RePost Grass Fed cows better than grain!

Jennifer Sygo, National Post · Thursday, Jun. 10, 2010

Do cows get enough respect? In our increasingly eco-and health-conscious world, beef and dairy products make an easy target. After all, raising cattle requires a great deal of energy and water inputs, and yields a heavy output of methane, a greenhouse gas that is thought to contribute to climate change. Couple that with clinical evidence that shows a diet rich in red meat could increase our risk of developing heart disease and cancer, and you've got a recipe that calls for the avoidance of bovine-based products at the dinner table.

But maybe there is more to the health benefits in beef and milk than meets the eye. A new study, published in the May edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, has drawn enough attention to warrant a second look. In the study, slightly more than 1,800 heart attack sufferers in Costa Rica were matched with an equal number of individuals with similar demographics and health profiles, but who had not suffered a heart attack. In analyzing the subjects' adipose (fat) tissue, researchers from Harvard and the University of Michigan found higher levels of conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA, a compound previously touted for its potential heart-health and cancer-fighting benefits, in the tissue of those who had not had heart attacks.

The twist, however, is that higher levels of CLA were associated with consumption of beef products from grass-fed cows. While raising cows on grass is still common in Costa Rica, it has become a relative rarity in North America, as the majority of cattle are raised on grain. This raises the question: Are there other potential benefits to raising cows on a diet of greens?

COWS ON GRASS

What happens when you feed a cow grass, instead of a more typical (at least in recent decades) corn-and grain-based diet? Put simply, you get a different kind of cow. According to a small but growing body of research, grass-fed cows produce meat and milk with a more favourable fatty acid (read: fat) profile than grain-or corn-raised cattle.

Not only do grass-fed cows produce a higher level of CLA, but according to a review published in the March edition of the Journal of Nutrition, they also have higher levels of a precursor to CLA, known as trans vaccenic acid, as well as heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids (yes, those are the same fats that you usually have to eat fish to get -- cows can produce them naturally when they graze on grass). Beyond the beef, the milk of cows raised on grass seems to be healthier, with higher levels of CLA than grain-fed beef.

Even more interesting, it seems that, while grass-fed beef does contain a similar amount of saturated fat as grain-fed beef, the profile of the saturated fats can actually be less harmful to humans vs. grain-fed meats. (There are several types of saturated fats in food, each of which can characterized by their length, which in turn affects their potential for raising your risk of heart disease.) Translation: Grass-fed beef not only contains more of the stuff that seems to help your heart, it has fewer of the compounds that could harm it.

GRASS-FED TASTE?

Health benefits aside, there is some debate as to whether or not consumers prefer the taste of grass versus grain-fed beef. Since the majority of us were raised on beef from feedlots, research from the U.S. suggests we tend to prefer the taste of grain-fed beef. That doesn't mean grass-fed beef is unpalatable; it just has a slightly different taste that might require some getting used to.

SO, WHERE'S THE GRASS?

In the '80s, we were asked "where's the beef?" Now, the question might be "where's the grass?" If grass-fed cows are indeed healthier for us (and there is evidence to indicate that it's healthier for the cow, too), then why aren't more of our cows fed grass vs. grain? The answer is complex, but cost is a big factor: It simply takes longer to raise a cow exclusively on grass than on a mixed or grain-based diet. Higher production costs then translate to more expensive product for the consumer.

So why devote oneself to pasture-raising cattle when the process is more painstaking and less profitable? For some, it's simply a way of life, passed down through generations. For others, it's about sustainability, with farming practices that could range from better conditions for the cattle, to protecting habitat of local animals and birds. But since there is no governing body to oversee standards of practice when it comes to producing grass-fed beef and milk, it's up to the individual to learn about the practices at each farm. While that might seem like a nuisance to some, it's a great way to connect with those who produce our food first-hand.

If you're interested in trying grass-fed beef or dairy products, your best place to start is your local farmer's market. Look for products from cows that graze on grass through the summer, and hay in the winter, and try a few different products to see how you like the taste. You can also check your local health-food supermarket for grass-fed products. Either way, while you might pay a premium, the payoff in terms of your health might well be worth it.

- Jennifer Sygo is a dietitian in private practice at Cleveland Clinic Canada ( clevelandclinic.ca),which offers executive physicals, prevention and wellness counselling and personal health care management in Toronto.

jsygo@rogers.com

Read more: http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/toronto/beefs+about+feed+cows/3134565/story.html#ixzz0qUNJWi5O
The National Post is now on Facebook. Join our fan community today.

The Top 20 Summer Festivals in Toronto

The Top 20 Summer Festivals in Toronto