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HowStuffWorks Daily Feed

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By Bob – May 18, 2012

Pro Medical Pot Candidate Wins Primary For Oregon AG

Chalk one up for the good guys. On Tuesday, Ellen F. Rosenblum, a retired appellate court judge and the candidate backed by medical marijuana patients and activists, trounced her opponent, ex-federal prosecutor Dwight Holton, in the Oregon Democratic primary for state attorney general.

According to katu.com, Rosenblum had 184,410 votes – 64 percent – with only 103,784 ballots cast for Holton, a meager 36 percent.

Rosenblum, 61, a former Oregon Court of …More

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Posted in High Times.

Tagged with candidate, Medical, Oregon, Primary, wins.

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By Bob – May 18, 2012

Chinese Herb Kudzu May Help Drinkers Cut Down

In Small Study, Harvard Researchers Find Kudzu Extract Reduces Drinking

May 17, 2012 — An extract from the Chinese herb kudzu may help drinkers cut down on drinking, according to a new pilot study.

“It didn’t stop the drinking,” says researcher David M. Penetar, PhD, assistant professor of psychology at McLean Hospital and Harvard Medical School. “They still drank, but they drank less.”

He studied the extract puerarin. It is one of the substances known as isoflavones found in kudzu.

The study is published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

Drinking Problems

More remedies are needed to help drinkers who overdo it cut down, Penetar says. The medications approved for treating alcohol abuse and dependence don’t work for everyone, he says.

About 1 in 6 U.S. adults binge drinks, according to a CDC report. Experts disagree on the definition of binge drinking. According to the CDC, binge drinking is having four or more drinks on one occasion for a woman and five or more for a man.

Kudzu: A Brief History

In Chinese pharmacy books, kudzu is listed as a possible treatment for alcohol-related hangovers and cravings, Penetar tells WebMD.

“Some of the references go back to 600 A.D.,” he says.

Today, it’s used in China and other countries to treat coronary problems and blood-flow problems, Penetar says. “It has a good safety record already.”

It’s touted as a hangover remedy. However, studies looking at the effects of kudzu extracts have produced mixed findings, Penetar says.?

Herb to Cut Drinking: Study Details

Penetar’s team studied 10 men and women, average age 26. They typically drank about 18 alcoholic beverages a week.

“We set up a lab room to make it look like an apartment,” Penetar says.

The lab-turned-apartment had a reclining chair, TV, DVD player, and a refrigerator stocked with each person’s favorite beer. Non-alcoholic beverages were also available.

The researchers conducted four different sessions:

The first session was to make the participants familiar with the surroundings. They drank but took no herbs.
Before the second, they took either 1,200 milligrams of puerarin or identical-looking placebo pills for a week. They came to the lab and could drink as much as they wanted, up to six beers.
Two weeks later, they came back for a drinking session, without taking the herb or the placebo.
For a final session, they took whichever pill they didn’t take the first time. They took it for a week, then went to the lab again for a drinking session.

The participants provided urine samples so the researchers could confirm they were compliant.

They were given dinner after the sessions and sent home in a taxi once their blood alcohol level declined.

Results of Puerarin Treatment

“When they were treated with puerarin they drank about a beer less than when they were treated with placebo,” he says.

WebMD Health

Posted in Health.

Tagged with Chinese, down, Drinkers, help, Herb, Kudzu.

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By Bob – May 18, 2012

Week 1 for Dispensary App’s

We’ll wrap up our first week of accepting medical marijuana dispensary Registration Certificate applications today. We’ve received about 40 applications so far this week- and our team has been doing an excellent job of reviewing the applications for “Administrative Completeness” this week- so much so that we don’t even have a backlog (yet).

Any applications that are “Administratively Incomplete” (in other words, if they’re missing something) are being returned to the applicants so they can correct whatever is wrong. In June, we’ll be checking for “Substantive Completeness” (which is a more thorough, quality review), and the applicants will have another chance to make corrections. We expect to award all of the Registration Certificates on August 7. If there’s only 1 qualified applicant in a Community Health Analysis Area- that applicant will be awarded a Certificate. We’ll be holding a random drawing on August 7 to award Certificates in the CHAAs with more than 1 qualified applicant.

Prospective applicants can check out our Registration Certificate Application Checklist, Instructions, and the official Application on our Medical Marijuana Dispensary webpage. We’re refreshing our dispensary application page each weekday around the close of business to show how many applications we’ve received by Community Health Analysis Area. Applicants have until next Friday (May 25) to finish and turn in their paperwork.

AZ Dept. of Health Services Director’s Blog » medical marijuana

Posted in Marijuana News - Arizona.

Tagged with apps, Dispensary, Week.

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By Bob – May 18, 2012

Healthy Dieting in Pregnancy May Be Helpful

FRIDAY May 18, 2012 — Eating a healthy, calorie-controlled diet during pregnancy can helps prevent excessive weight gain and cut the risk of obstetric complications, researchers report.

In Europe and the United States, up to 40 percent of women gain more than the recommended weight during pregnancy and this excess weight is associated with a number of major health problems, according to background information in the study published online May 17 in the BMJ.

In the report, an international team of researchers reviewed the findings of 44 studies that included more than 7,200 women and found that dietary intervention resulted in an average reduction in weight gain during pregnancy of nearly 8.8 pounds, compared with 1.5 pounds for exercise, and 2.2 pounds for exercise and diet combined.

Dietary intervention alone also provided the most benefit in preventing serious pregnancy complications such as preeclampsia (a sudden spike in the mother’s blood pressure after the 20th week of pregnancy), diabetes and premature birth, according to lead researcher Dr. Shakila Thangaratinam from Queen Mary, University of London, and colleagues.

The study authors concluded that dietary and lifestyle interventions in pregnancy improve outcomes for both mother and baby.

However, an accompanying editorial suggested that there is not enough evidence to support dietary or any other type of intervention.

“At a time when more than half the women of reproductive age in the United Kingdom are overweight or obese, any analysis of weight management interventions in pregnancy is timely and welcome,” Lucilla Poston and Lucy Chappell of St. Thomas’ Hospital in London wrote in the editorial. But, they noted, the study does not provide the evidence needed to reassess guidelines for weight management in pregnancy.

The editorialists added that several ongoing studies may provide more insight into effective ways to prevent excessive weight gain during pregnancy.

More information

The March of Dimes has more about weight gain during pregnancy.

Posted: May 2012

Drugs.com – Daily MedNews

Posted in Drug News.

Tagged with Dieting, healthy, Helpful, Pregnancy.

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By Bob – May 18, 2012

A Judge’s Personal Plea for Marijuana

A judge in Brooklyn writes on the Op-Ed page about his willingness to break state law by using marijuana to alleviate the side affects of his treatment for cancer.
NYT > Marijuana and Medical Marijuana

Posted in Marijuana News.

Tagged with Judges, marijuana, personal, plea.

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By Bob – May 18, 2012

MJ Groups Hope Ore. Race Will Have Chilling Effect

Medical marijuana advocates have a message for Democratic leaders and federal prosecutors with an eye on political office: Don’t mess with pot. Pushing back against a federal effort to stem the proliferation of medical marijuana operations, one of the nation’s largest drug policy groups claimed credit Wednesday for the defeat of a former federal prosecutor who was the early favorite to win the Democratic primary for Oregon attorney general.

As interim U.S. attorney, Dwight Holton called Oregon’s medical marijuana law a “train wreck” and oversaw efforts to crack down on medical marijuana clubs and grow operations that he said were fronts for illegal marijuana sales. Federal prosecutors have led similar crackdowns in other states that have legalized marijuana for medicinal use.

“Drug war rhetoric and tactics will not be tolerated,” said Jill Harris, managing director for the campaign arm of Drug Policy Alliance.

Retired state appeals court judge Ellen Rosenblum said she’d make marijuana enforcement a low priority. She easily defeated Holton with the help of Harris’ group and its allies, which chipped in at least a quarter of Rosenblum’s total campaign cash.

“What we’re hoping, and what we assume, is that any U.S. attorney who’s thinking of running for statewide office in a Democratic Primary anywhere in the country is going to think twice now before adopting a highly aggressive posture toward the medical marijuana law,” said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director Drug Policy Alliance and its campaign branch, Drug Policy Action.

Rosenblum downplayed the role of the marijuana vote in her victory in a brief interview following her victory Tuesday night. With most votes counted, she defeated Holton 64 percent to 36 percent.

“There’s lots of issues that played into my victory, and that may well be one of them,” Rosenblum said of the surprising emergence of medical marijuana as a defining issue.

About 55,000 people are registered marijuana users in Oregon.

Sixteen states allow people with a doctor’s recommendation to use marijuana, an issue that has long been a source of tension with the federal government. Federal officials have said some state medical marijuana laws are being used as cover to grow and sell pot for the black market. Law enforcement agencies have cracked down on some pot growers, dispensaries and clubs in several states, including California, Colorado and Oregon.

Campaign finance records show Rosenblum raised $ 600,000 through May 9, including $ 80,000 from Drug Policy Action and $ 70,000 from John Sperling, Chairman of Apollo Group Inc., who has financed medical marijuana campaigns nationally. Oregon has no caps on campaign contributions.

Citizens for Sensible Law Enforcement, a local organization working on a ballot measure to legalize marijuana, spent another $ 40,000 to boost Rosenblum, much of it on radio ads attacking Holton over marijuana.

“We’re glad to have played a role in her victory,” said Bob Wolfe, one of the organization’s directors. “But I do think Dwight’s defeat is directly related to his stance on marijuana.”

Holton declined to comment. The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Source: Associated Press (Wire)
Published: May 17, 2012
Copyright: 2012 The Associated Press

Cannabis News – Medical Marijuana, Hemp, Marijuana News, Cannabis

Posted in Marijuana.

Tagged with Chilling, Effect, groups, hope, Ore., race.

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By Bob – May 18, 2012

Remembering Gene Kelly in Toon Town

Legendary dancer, actor, choreographer and director Gene Kelly is being feted this week by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which is staging a centennial tribute to him. Kelly’s stint at MGM during the heyday of the movie musical, of course, resulted in such classics as Singin’ in the Rain and On the Town. But over the course of five decades, he also more than paid his dues in the toon trenches.

Kelly was actually a pioneer in the art of the seamless melding of live action and animation, first in the 1945 film Anchors Aweigh, in which he had a fantasy-sequence dance number with Jerry Mouse. Back in 1998 I spoke with veteran animator and director Ray Patterson, who was in MGM’s “Tom and Jerry” unit, headed by Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera, and who worked on the sequence. “He [Kelly] said it was one of the highlights of that picture,” Ray remembered, adding:

“They took a rotoscope. They had him over here. I remember when he was coming forward [in the dance], he too big steps. Jerry had little feet, and I thought, ‘How the hell is this going to work?’ Jerry kind of slid and did the same movement. Gene was going this far, and Jerry was only going this far, but it came out.”

(from left) Joe Barbera, Gene Kelly and William Hanna

Kelly returned to Hanna-Barbera for the more elaborate “Sinbad the Sailor” sequence of 1956’s Invitation to the Dance, and then again, in the mid-1960s, as Joe Barbera told me in 1999:

“Gene Kelly came over to the studio, smiling, and he said, ‘You remember that dance number we did with Jerry Mouse in Anchors Aweigh?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’ And that night I got the idea to do a Jack and the Beanstalk. I called him up and said I had a helluva idea. I said, ‘You try not to dance, but you keep the giant’s attention and you dance across the street, and grab the harp and beat it. Just on that alone he said, ‘Yeah!’ So we made a deal, and we let him do the live action. He had to go away for a year and a half for us to do the animation.”

Gene Kelly and Jerry Mouse in Anchors Aweigh

That project earned Kelly an Emmy Award. His last work in film was in animation: he served as choreographer for the 1997 feature Cats Don’t Dance. How does someone choreograph an animated feature? In 1994 put that question to the film’s producer, David Kirschner, who told me:

“Our director, Mark Dindal, would explain the emotions of the scene and what was happening, and Gene would go home and think about it, and come back with his thoughts. The storyboard artist would work with what his ideas and concepts were, especially for a huge number at the end, which is a take-off on Busby Berkeley, and an underwater, Esther Williams-like scene, with a hippopotamus and all these penguins.”

Gene Kelly and the crew of Cats Don’t Dance

So the next time you watch Gene Kelly in action, remember that it’s one thing to teach Debbie Reynolds to dance, but another thing entirely for Tillie the Hippopotamus.

3DS | Mario Tennis Open Review

The Video Review

Mario and friends take to the court, but will they serve up an ace or lose on a double fault? Find out in this video review for Mario Tennis Open 3D.

The Mario Sports games are known for being larger than life and filled with color, bombast, and hyper-unrealistic movesets. Mario Tennis Open eschews much of this, following in the footsteps of some of Nintendo’s earlier tennis games in an attempt to become a purer, more focused tennis experience. It doesn’t quite hit the mark, falling somewhere between the two styles. Despite being largely stripped back, it manages to be convoluted thanks to a variety of jarring control schemes. Above all, while it’s competent, it’s also mundane, with little incentive for you to stick at it beyond the occasional bout of multiplayer with friends.

The setup is simple. Mario and friends are playing tennis. There’s no usual Mushroom Kingdom plot and no backstory–it’s simply all about 13 characters competing in tennis tournaments. Progressing through the three-match tournaments is a matter of playing them one after another. When you win the fourth tournament, you’re given the option to promote your character to “star” status, meaning he or she can compete in the second set.

During matches, there are six shot types on offer: simple, topspin, flat, slice, lob, and drop shot. These shots can be performed with the face buttons, or by tapping the relevant icon on the touch screen. On the touch screen, the layout makes sense. The first four shots are laid out in a diamond, with topspin at the top, slice at the bottom, and simple and flat on either side. For some reason, however, the button layout doesn’t mirror this, with topspin mapped to A on the right-hand side. Why the button layout doesn’t match the touch screen layout is a mystery. It’s especially odd given that the touch screen controls are largely hopeless, requiring you to look down at the bottom screen first, thus having to take your eye off the ball.

Then there’s the option to use either gyro controls or circle pad controls. The latter sees you directing your player from a bird’s-eye perspective, whereas the gyro controls angle the camera over your shoulder and have you directing your shots by tilting the 3DS around. This is another convoluted aspect of Mario Tennis. If you opt to turn gyro controls on, the game takes control of your player, directing him or her to where the ball is going to land. You can move around with the pad too, but with your player moving independently, it often feels like you’re wrestling against the game. You also have to keep the 3DS vertical, as tilting it downwards will snap you out of that control method. Occasionally this happens mid-match, disorienting you.

Playing with gyro controls also disables the 3D, and this takes effect automatically, saving you the disorienting moment when you realize how incompatible gyro and 3D are. The 3D effects themselves aren’t very impressive, with barely any depth even on the highest setting. Turning the gyro controls off gives you full control of your character via the circle pad and is the preferable option, not least because with gyro controls on, it’s almost impossible to concede more than a couple of points within an entire tournament. Controlling your player with the circle pad also offers a bit more of a challenge, albeit only towards the end of the eight tournaments, thanks to a large difficulty spike in an otherwise incredibly easy game.

Spicing up the tennis somewhat is the “chance shot” mechanic. During rallies, glowing circles appear on the court, corresponding to one of five shot types. Performing a shot on the colored circle causes you to perform a smash shot that can stagger your opponents, curve around them, or lob over their heads. It’s not too over the top–the focus is on largely sensible tennis mechanics after all–but it’s enough to give you an edge in rallies. During earlier tournaments, these chance shots basically function as win buttons, and you almost always score a point if you hit one. This is particularly exaggerated if using the gyro controls, as the game will direct your character right into the chance shot spot. As if that weren’t easy enough, while you can press the correct shot button (yellow for lob, red for topspin, and so on), chance shots can also be activated by performing a simple shot, which leads the game to perform the correctly colored shot without your having to worry about complicated things like pressing the right button.

GameSpot’s Reviews

Posted in Wii.

Tagged with Mario, Open, Review, Tennis.

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By Bob – May 18, 2012

Capcom Reveals 3DS Spin-off to Lost Planet Series

With Lost Planet’s roots firmly planted on consoles, it comes as a surprise that the series will soon be making a trip to portables in the form of E.X. Troopers for the Nintendo 3DS. Taking an anime-inspired look and featuring gameplay similar to its console brethren, it appears that the franchise will be bringing some familiar elements to Nintendo’s smaller screens. As sudden as the announcement is, Capcom seems to be taking an unexpected approach for the franchise on portables.

1UP NEWS RSS feed

Posted in Game News.

Tagged with Capcom, Lost, Planet, Reveals, Series, SpinOff.

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By Bob – May 18, 2012

Aristotle

Bashfulness is an ornament to youth, but a reproach to old age. Discuss

Quote of the Day

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By Bob – May 18, 2012

‘Psychic’ pig to make Euro tips

KIEV | Fri May 18, 2012 7:16am EDT

KIEV (Reuters) – A psychic pig is set to take over where Paul the Octopus left off at the 2010 World Cup by predicting the results of matches at the European championships in Ukraine and Poland.

Kiev’s city government said on Friday it would wheel out the porky tipster to give daily forecasts once the tournament kicks off next month.

“A unique oracle hog, a real Ukrainian pig and a psychic which knows the mysteries of football,” a statement said. “Every day at 16.00 it will predict the result of the upcoming match.”

Paul, who has since passed away, shot to fame at the 2010 World Cup after his feeding behavior was used to correctly predict the winner of each of the Germany’s seven matches.

He also tipped World Cup winners Spain to beat the Netherlands in the final in South Africa from his tank at an aquarium in Oberhausen.

Kiev officials said they wanted bring similar excitement to Ukrainians by bringing the telepathic pig to the city’s fan zone before matches.

‘Psychic’ creatures have become the rage since Paul blazed his tentacled trail.

A rare two-headed tortoise called Magdalena embarked on a new career as a tipster at last year’s ice hockey world championships in Slovakia.

Germany discovered a cross-eyed opossum called Heidi, who made an appearance on American television earlier this year to predict the Oscar winners. She died last September.

The hog will be eager to sniff out the correct result himself to avoid the chop as pork is a staple of the local cuisine.

(Reporting by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Alastair Himmer)

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Tagged with EURO, psychic, Tips.

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By Bob – May 18, 2012

10 Materials Keeping Your House Warm

It’s fairly well-known that a house must have a well-insulated building envelope to be structurally sound. But we may not know how important this shell really is. You can decrease the amount of energy you use to maintain the interior climate of your house by minimizing the transfer of heat through this envelope.

Insulation can dramatically block the transfer of heat through this layer, as well as help control for sound. When insulating your home, it’s advisable to get the R-value recommended by the Department of Energy or that specified by your area’s local energy code, according to the North American Insulation Manufacturers Association. R-value is simply a measure of thermal resistance; the bigger the R-value, the more effective a home’s insulation will be. To select high-quality insulation that will wear well for years in your geographic area, ask the local gas or electric utility company for their advice on good insulation for your location. In the following pages, we’ll discuss some of the various forms of insulation they might recommend.

HowStuffWorks Daily Feed

Posted in HowStuffWorks.

Tagged with house, keeping, MATERIALS, warm.

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By Bob – May 17, 2012

New York Judge’s Plea For Medical Cannabis

A sitting judge who is still hearing cases made his support for marijuana as medicine public in a moving op-ed piece in the New York Times. Gustin L. Reichbach, a justice of the State Supreme Court in Brooklyn, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer three and a half years ago. He has survived far longer than his doctors anticipated. And on Wednesday, he further demonstrated his strength of character and conviction by publicly endorsing medical cannabis.

Judge Reichbach explains …More

HIGHTIMES.COM –

Posted in High Times.

Tagged with Cannabis, Judge&#8217s, Medical, plea, York.

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By Bob – May 17, 2012

Cognitive Therapy for Depression

Are your thoughts dragging you down?

Almost everyone has dark thoughts when his or her mood is bad. With depression, though, the thoughts can be extremely negative. They can also take over and distort your view of reality.

Cognitive therapy can be an effective way to defuse those thoughts. When used for depression, cognitive therapy provides a mental tool kit that can be used to challenge negative thoughts. Over the long term, cognitive therapy for depression can change the way a depressed person sees the world.

Recommended Related to Depression

Seasonal Depression (Seasonal Affective Disorder)

Do the bleak winter months get you down — more than you think they should? Maybe you have seasonal depression, also known as seasonal affective disorder or SAD. Seasonal depression is a mood disorder that happens every year at the same time. A rare form of seasonal depression, known as “summer depression,” begins in late spring or early summer and ends in fall. But in general, seasonal affective disorder starts in fall or winter and ends in spring or early summer.

Read the Seasonal Depression (Seasonal Affective Disorder) article > >

Studies have shown that cognitive therapy works at least as well as antidepressants in helping people with mild to moderate depression. Treatment with medication and/or psychotherapy can shorten depression’s course and can help reduce symptoms such as fatigue and poor self-esteem that accompany depression. Read on to see how cognitive therapy or talk therapy might help you start thinking and feeling better if you are depressed.

Cognitive Therapy for Depression: A Thinking Problem

Cognitive therapy was developed in the 1960s as an alternative way to treat depression, says Judith S. Beck, PhD. Beck is director of the Beck Institute for Cognitive Therapy and Research located outside Philadelphia. She tells WebMD that the principle underlying cognitive therapy is “thoughts influence moods.”

According to cognitive therapists, depression is maintained by constant negative thoughts. These thoughts are known as automatic thoughts. That means they occur without a conscious effort. For example, a depressed person might have automatic thoughts like these:

“I always fail at everything.”
“I’m the world’s worst mother.”
“I am doomed to be unhappy.”

Beck says automatic thoughts “may have a grain of truth. But,” she adds, “the depressed person distorts or exaggerates the reality of the situation.” This negative distortion helps fuel the depression.

With cognitive therapy, a person learns to recognize and correct negative automatic thoughts. Over time, the depressed person will be able to discover and correct deeply held but false beliefs that contribute to the depression.

“It’s not the power of positive thinking,” Beck says. “It’s the power of realistic thinking. People find that when they think more realistically, they usually feel better.”

Cognitive Therapy for Depression: How It Works

Cognitive therapy posits that most problems have several parts. Those parts include:

the problem as the person sees it
the person’s thoughts about the problem
the person’s emotions surrounding the problem
the person’s physical feelings at the time
the person’s actions before, during, and after the problem occurs

The way cognitive therapy works is a patient learns to “disassemble” problems into these various parts. Once a person does that, problems that seemed overwhelming become manageable.

During regular cognitive therapy sessions, a trained therapist teaches the tools of cognitive therapy. Then between sessions, the patient often does homework. That homework helps the person learn how to apply the tools to solve specific life problems.

“They make small changes in their thinking and behavior every day,” Beck says. “Then over time, these small changes lead to lasting improvement in mood and outlook.”

WebMD Health

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Pro Medical Pot Candidate Wins Primary For Oregon AG