Garlic Doesn't Lower Cholesterol (Or Not Very Well)

A newly published study, led by Christopher Gardner at Stanford University, has shown that use of garlic is inconclusive at lowering cholesterol. So, if you like the taste of garlic, eat it, and if you want to believe it helps, then go ahead, it won't hurt you, but if you have a cholesterol issue, then don't consider garlic to be medicine.
In addition to being the "Harvard of the West," Stanford has perhaps the finest distance running program in the country. Their teams can beat the best in the country in distance racing.
So, I salute the Cardinal (singular, they are NOT the Cardinals!) for good science and good running.

Shagmobile, Baby!

It's Pinewood Derby time for the Cub Scouts. We've decided to pay homage to the E-type Jaguars of the 1960's, aka the XKE. I wanted to really try to get close to the look, but my son didn't want to use a covered wheel design, so we'll try to capture the look and feel in an open wheel version. We're building the coupe, not the roadster, it was the roadster that legendary super spy, Austin Powers drove. So, the car won't exactly be the Shagmobile.

Here's a photo set from last year that you might enjoy, especially if you're looking for fun ideas. Results of last year's pack competition can be found here, and the district competition is here. Last year's announcement that the Pinewood Derby was coming is here, it shows our car from two years ago.

President's Day

Last Monday, February 12th, I told my son it was Lincoln's Birthday. He told me, "No, President's Day is next Monday." I then went over the facts that Lincoln's Birthday is February 12th and Washington's Birthday is February 22nd. Tonight, we went over the fact that Lincoln was born in 1809 and Washington in 1732. We also went over the fact that the Lincoln penny went into circulation on the centennial of his birth (1909) and its reverse was revised on the sesquicentennial of his birth (1959), changing from the wheat ears back to the Lincoln Memorial. The Washington Quarter went into circulation on the bicentennial of his birth.

Regelation

No, I didn't misspell regulation, I meant regelation.

Since I went curling a couple of weeks ago, I wanted to find out the word for ice's tendancy to melt when subject to pressure. Today, I spent a few minutes on the internet and found the answer, it's regelation. Now you know, too.

The Smell Of Snow

This morning, I spent a few minutes talking to one of the school crossing guards. He commented on the blank stares he gets from kids when he makes a comment like, "It feels like snow." I suggested that there's been a change in the perception of weather in the last generation or so. The advent of better satellite data and computer modeling combined with better access to that data as a result of the internet and TV and radio sources has almost eliminated the need for people to be able to read the weather from the conditions around them.

This morning, there was a biting chill to the weather. The air was moist and moving a bit. I commented about how as kids, we'd say things like, "It smells like snow." There was something that our noses could detect about when conditions were ripe for snow. I think technology has eliminated the need for people to pay attention to their environment in most cases. Still, whether you farm, or exercise outdoors, or do other outdoor activities, the understanding of what's happening around you can be very helpful and it seems like our kids have no idea that such a thing is possible. I think it's a shame.

Injury!

Nope, not running related. Eating related!

On Saturday evening, my family went out to dinner. We had some wings as an appetizer. As I took my first bite, my jaw seemed to cramp on the left side. I kept eating, and later in the meal mentioned that this had happened. While I felt fine, my wife and son pointed out to me that my face was swollen.

It blew up to where it was swollen about an inch, and covered from the bottom of my ear to about a third of the way down my neck. Other than some odd, slightly numb sensation which I felt was a part of the swelling, I seemed to have no significant ill effects.

As of right now, I have some very slight soreness near the jaw, about the equivalent of a bruise, and that seems to be the only lasting effect. Weird, huh?

Curling

Not happy with your locks, and you wanted to find out how to impart beatiful curls to them? Well, you aren't going to find out here. My longest hair is about an inch long, and graying, so to find the Farrah Fawcett look, go elsewhere.

Oh, and if bigger biceps is your aim, again, wrong place. If you want to use exercise and steroids to get bigger, ain't gonna find it here. My stance on steroids, DON'T!!! My stance on weight-lifting, maybe.

No, this post is about the sport of curling. I suspect most of you are scraping cobwebs out of some deserted corner of your brain, asking yourself, "Could he possibly be referring to that weird sport with the big rocks being slid on ice and the guys sweeping the ice with brooms?" Yep, that's the one.

The circumstances are a bit odd, but last Sunday I tried curling. My take on it: Surprisingly difficult. It consists primarily of two kinds of activity: 1) Sliding a 42 lb. stone and 2) sweeping the path of the stone. To slide the rock properly, you stand in a starting block called a "hack" and slide out briskly keeping yourself balanced while slipping on a teflon soled shoe and as you slide, directing the stone and simultaneously imparting a spin to the stone. It's this spin that both give a degree of control to the stone (think rifled bullet or spiral pass)and permits the stone to curl (think bowler's hook or curveball).

Keeping one's balance while sliding isn't terribly easy, even with a broom to aid you. And for a runner, the act of sliding requires a fair degree of flexibility, not my strong suit.

What did I think? Well, first, let me say that curling, like bowling is one of those sports that can likely be classed as competitive recreation. The athletic portion of it is limited. (It can even be reduced, in the USA, use of a delivery stick is permitted in most games, this permits those with physical limitations to play the game.) More than that, I won't argue this point. Suffice to say, like most competitive recreation, I had a lot of fun. It's a sport that center around a fair amount of cameraderie. I understand most clubs have opportunities for beginners to learn the sport and a post-match beer (or soda) is almost de rigeur. Put another way, if you want to add something unusual to your "sports I've tried" list, this is a good one...and unlike my hang-gliding experience, I didn't screw-up a shoulder.

Who Discovered The North Pole?

I shot this picture of the thermometer by my back door yesterday morning. Today was pretty much the same. I'm wimping out!

Oh, and the answer to the question above: Aaron Brrrrr! (Bad joke...I hope no kids do a search and find this for a paper they're writing.)

Down In Front!

Post to annoy a friend. This is him, standing up and not paying attention during last Friday's Millrose Games.

Miracle Cure!

About 3 years ago, my car's CD player stopped working. Just out of whimsey, I stuck a CD into the CD player and lo and behold, it played. The CD player seems cured, so I no longer have to use the portable player plugged into the cigarette lighter and feeding an FM transmitter or cassette adapter.

I had some car work done recently, and rational thinking would lead me to believe that was the cause, but that's hardly fun. I'm going to instead assign responsibility for this miracle where I think it belongs. Since I don't believe that God would have spent time on something as minor as this, and since religion based humor usually results in offending someone, I'm going to assign responsibility for this miracle to James Randi, aka The Amazing Randi. He's a magician (I think retired) who now spends his time debunking the paranormal.