http://www.stardestroyer.net/Mike/Ramblings Just because I can Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:13:05 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Seriously, it sounds like a joke, but it's not. Some giant obese man literally sat in a chair and waited for God to heal him, until he finally died. Here's some stuff from the news article: Obese man dies after 8 months in recliner, believed God would heal him Posted: Nov 19, ... http://www.stardestroyer.net/Mike/Ramblings/?p=131 With all of the talk of Wall Street bonuses in the news lately, there's a pretty interesting article in today's Globe and Mail. Here's an excerpt: In 2008, Dan Ariely, a professor of behavioural economics at Duke University and the author of Predictably Irrational, led a series of experiments to determine ... http://www.stardestroyer.net/Mike/Ramblings/?p=127 Today we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the most unusual method of mail delivery ever attempted: mail delivery via guided missile. On June 8 1959, a missile was installed into the USS Barbero (which had been temporarily established to be a "postal branch") and 3000 letters were stamped and inserted as ... http://www.stardestroyer.net/Mike/Ramblings/?p=115 You can file in the "that's obvious" folder if you want, but it's interesting to see it confirmed through scientific study. It seems that the April issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine published some studies on childhood obesity, including the following: At age three, the children took part ... http://www.stardestroyer.net/Mike/Ramblings/?p=112 Is it time to retire all of those old "a drink a day is good for you" studies yet? Especially since they were generally funded by associations of brewers and wineries? According to this CBC article: Downing as little as one alcoholic drink a day seems to increase a woman's risk for ... http://www.stardestroyer.net/Mike/Ramblings/?p=68 Today we celebrate the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln, both of whom struggled mightily against backward-thinking reactionaries in their respective spheres of influence. We all know the political controversies surrounding Darwin's evolution theory (note that there is no scientific controversy, only a political one), and it may come ... http://www.stardestroyer.net/Mike/Ramblings/?p=65 Seriously, the more I look at Catholic feast days, the more perplexed I am. Did you know that they actually have an official patron saint of banking? It may be amusing at this point in time, with all of the bad news about the US banking system, to recall what some ... http://www.stardestroyer.net/Mike/Ramblings/?p=61 Believe it or not, the Catholics actually have an official patroness saint of bell-ringers. Luckily, loud bell-ringing is not quite as prevalent today as it once was, but it's still damned annoying. From America Revisited (1883) by George Augustus Sala: "The bell-ringing nuisance is nearly as offensive in England as it is ... http://www.stardestroyer.net/Mike/Ramblings/?p=59 From Josiah Quincy III (1772-1864), mayor of Boston: "The journey to New York took up a week. The carriages were old and shackling, and much of the harness made of ropes. We generally reached our resting place for the night, if no accident intervened, at ten o'clock, and after a frugal ... http://www.stardestroyer.net/Mike/Ramblings/?p=57 On this day in 1709, the Scotsman Alexander Selkirk was rescued after being stranded for 5 years on a deserted island. After returning to civilization, he became friends with Daniel Defoe, who would eventually write the novel The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe. Apparently, the real inspiration for ... http://www.stardestroyer.net/Mike/Ramblings/?p=54