Click for the real article.

From time to time, I’ve read seen the “eat this, not that” blurbs and they tend to be fairly informative.  Who knew that you should pick a Big-Mac hands down over a Whopper?  This “20 Worst Drinks” is all about sugar content, not so much about fat or calories, but they are mentioned.  There are some beverages out there that no healthy human being should consume, moderation or not.   For me, the visual comparison to junk foods is pretty convincing.

Some of the points might be a bit mis-leading, as they are all the uber-jumbo size if available.  Also, its worth noting the food comparisons are only on sugar content, I am willing to bet that a Moo-latte is indeed better for you than a dozen Krispy-Kreme donuts or whatever… maybe.

Moral of the story: Stay away from “regular” pop, some “health” drinks are just the opposite so read the label,  and when you must indulge go for the small size.

I suppose the *real* moral of the story is that you should just drink water.  That’s pretty boring though, isn’t it?

–Nat

This show might be heavily steeped in sexuality and drug use but it was a fantastic show.  The emotional roller coaster was so strong and the characters portrayed so well that it is easy to see why it garnered so much praise.

But one thing I have to say about it, after watching so much TV lately, is that this a show that ended gracefully when it got to where it need to be and *paid off* in the finale in a huge way.  Its five seasons and probably about sixty five hours of your life (which is sadly about 13 days of TV watching for the typical American) but I can think of very few other ways to invest your time in front of the TV that might be more thought provoking or moving.

If you have a list of TV shows to watch, this should be on it.  You can get into it now knowing that it won’t leave you hanging on some random ending due to its being canceled.   More TV shows should go out like this.

Finally, everyone should have a pre-need on file at a funeral home somewhere.  Seeing how much strife it can cause the deceased family to have make all those decisions when emotions are running so high, it is only fair to those you love.

–Nat

Jeff L. sent me the link to this site and I found it to be quite hilarious.  Its full of demotivational posters based on classic Star Trek.

The Awesomeness is self explanatory.

Since there are many more, four pages of them, head on over to this great website and browse through them.  I think the hardcore Trekkies will get even more kicks out of it than I did.

–Nat

It is pretty common knowledge these days that when the sales of your widget go down, it is likely due to lower demand.  With lower demand, typically prices drop in order to capture more of the market who would buy your widgets if they only cost less .   To, you know, drive up demand to make sure you keep making money.

If you sell music or theaters tickets, you are evidently exempt from this rule,  the equivalent of defying gravity.

Well, it appears at least some of the record companies have realized the folly of this and are actually lowering prices to spur demand.  According to one study talked about in that article the link leads to, lowering prices to $10 ($9.99, to fool us) upped demand by 100%  I guess if you defy gravity long enough, coasting back down the hill is easy and in the short term should be very profitable.  While its only Universal at this time, you can see that they represent many popular artists and it is likely the other big music labels will follow suit.

With any luck at all this will quiet the claims that piracy is destroying the music industry.  If this is successful, we’ll all know it was just idiotic pricing practices as many of us have theorized all along.

–Nat

I think it is pretty interesting, sitting in my graduate classes in which we have readings about how technology fears in the past came to nothing, people right now are chatting about the evils of new technologies.

For instance, it was once thought that reading too much stressed the brain and “learning too much” could lead to insanity and infirmity of the mind.  A few generations later, there was fear about how radio was cheating those used to reading, that the value of information passed on by the radio was inherently less valuable than what you learned from reading.  A generation later, TV was corrupting “family radio” time… now no one seems to be bemoaning the impact of the Internet, texting, etc. on our TV consumption, but the current fear is how constant stimulation from ipods, Facebook, etc. is corrupting the current generation.

Let’s face it – history says we’ll likely be OK.  This sharing of information and shrinkage of the world is part of the human evolution…  we should be responsible enough to recognize the symptoms of addiction in those around us and step up to the challenge of being a good friend for family member, but that again is nothing new.    Studies have shown that while things might be changing, it likely isn’t for the worse.  If it can be argued that not all change is good, then it follows that not all change is bad.  There are several studies out there showing that while TV does in fact have some negative impacts, computer is largely positive.  Exercise your brain and find them yourself!

Welcome to the digital age.

Hey, put down your phone, I’m talking to you!  🙂

–Nat

Well, 26 years in…

Today should be a great if gloomy day.  The day started a little after midnight when I turned in an assignment for class… that’s a weight off my shoulders.  Of course it was late, you don’t even need to ask 🙂  Meeting my dad for supper tonight, I suppose I should fill him in on those plans soon!  It is pretty cool that he is up here anyway, glad the stars could align for this week.  After that Kristin, Rick and I are heading back to Blaine to chill out and enjoy the evening.  Just have to make it through the day!  20 minutes until lunch time and an episode of Reaper…

It is also pretty cool watching my Facebook page get hit with a wave of well wishing.  There is a least one good reason to have a Facebook profile!

–Nat

1) Kristin and I drove to work this morning, no drama.

2)I got some things done this morning at work.  It feels nice to have taken care of something.

3) Kristin and I walked out of the building and got lunch.

4) I heard back from the Forest Lake FFA Chapter, they might want some help with Ag Marketing.  Finally, a volunteer effort I feel excited about.

5)xkcd.com and meninhats.com

6)It was still light outside when I left.  Hello, Sun.

7) Your friends love you anyway.  Sometimes you just need to hear that – or read it on the wall at Jimmy Johns.  Either way, I feel relieved for no reason I can put a finger on.

8) Class tonight – but Friday tomorrow.

9) With any luck, I’ll get to talk to some distant friend on the drive home tonight.

10) Guilt free Mass Effect when I get home to wind down the day.

11) Going to bed 🙂

–Nat

PS:  Yes, I know that number eight is borked.  I am just not messing with an accidental smiley today…