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Can you be fat and fit?	October 18, 2008, 9:18PM
by: bloodyXtears
Men and women who are judged fit on a treadmill test but who are overweight or obese have a lower risk of death than those of appropriate weight but have low fitness levels. In a study published in the Journal of The American Medical Association researcher and exercise physiologist Steven Blair of the University of South Carolina tracked 2,600 people over age 60 years to determine how physical fitness and body fat affected their death rates over a period of 12 years. Blair found that those in the lowest 5th of fitness levels were four times more likely to die than those in the top 5th of fitness levels. This level of fitness provided protection against death whether an individual was of normal weight, overweight, or obese. Blair thinks his findings are important because people in the US and many other countries are increasingly inactive and obesity rates are high, and at the same time many of these countries populations are aging. "We should not ignore obesity," Blair said. "But what happens all too often is we focus nearly exclusively on obesity and forget the activity and fitness part." Blair's team assessed participants' fitness using a treadmill test, seeing how long they could walk while the treadmill's workout increased in intensity. They measured body mass index (BMI) a figure that is calculated from a person's height and weight, as well as waist circumference and percent body fat. Their results showed that even a small effort to improve fitness levels provides a health benefit and that people who are sedentary now don't need to take drastic steps in exercise frequency or intensity to make gains. "If you're overweight or obese and you're sedentary and unfit and you start taking three 10-minute walks a day and you do that at least five days a week, you're not going to lose an enormous amount of weight," Blair said. "You're going to still be heavy. But you're going to be much healthier if you do that," Blair said. Blair also recommends healthy eating patterns, including lots of fruit, vegetables, and whole grains. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), more than 1/3 of the US adult population is obese; obesity is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), some types of cancer, and type 2 diabetes. The CDC has also found that more than 1/2 of adults in the US do not participate in regular physical activity. Exercise can cut your risk of dying from CVD, as well as lowering your risk of stroke, colon cancer, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes. (I did not write any of this. found here
topic: Various
[reply] [69 comments]

On observing articles come and go...	September 29, 2008, 3:13PM
by: Herm
On observing articles come and go I've watched several start with a good idea, continue well and then deteriorate into the same old self-righteous garbage every angst-ridden teen tries (And usually fails) to spout. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying all the people who write these articles are angst-ridden teens. Far from it. I'm just saying that this is the sort of stuff teens wish they could come up with. Sometimes these article authors just sound like grown men and women who never grew out of being an angst-ridden teen, and now have the vocabulary to express their stunted views. At the same time I've seen many well-written and well-established articles detailing some interesting and challenging ideas, only to be shot down by the idiocy that is "You suck, this is gay" comments every article seems to attract. My point is simply this, and it's not a statement more than it is a question: Why is it that almost all good ideas are demolished by ignorance? This doesn't necessarily have to be just about articles, this is a wide-reaching inquiry. Debate at your leisure.
topic: Philosophy
[reply] [48 comments]

Tips for adapting to low buget lifestyle	September 25, 2008, 9:04PM
by: Sunshine.Ragdoll
( The following is my slant on a timeless copy feature about the economic decline I wrote as a Lotus Leaf staffer at the request of our adviser, Gail Price. [The Lotus Leaf is Monroe High School's newspaper.] As this is journalistic writing and timeless copies have a 300 word max set on them, the feature has been edited down [I had to edit out 200-some words o(>.<)o] and a few tips have been removed, but it does get to the point and the remaining tips are hopefully helpful for those who aren't sure how to adapt to the changes the economic decline is causing. For those of you who don't know what a timeless copy is, by the way, it's a journalistic style story that can be run at any point in time for a certain span of time. For those who don't know what a feature is, it's essentially any journalistic story that isn't straight news or straight sports. There are five kinds of features and an example of a feature is an editorial or an opinion feature which is a lot of what show up here in the articles section of D.S. ) (P.S. I went over by one word. XP) BYLINE: Alyson Knezevich Recently the news has become a constant reminder of the economic decline in the United States, but why should this matter to you? Well, look around. Who’s missing? Lately everyone is struggling with their budgets; in particular, keeping roofs over their heads. Foreclosure rates are at an all time high and with so many people having to face this personally, everyone has to learn how to adapt. However, this is more difficult for some than others; so here’s a few tips to make adapting easier. Tip one: don’t be stubborn. If you want something, but it’s over budget, don’t get it. Of course, depending on what you want, you could get the cheaper, generic version that complies with your budget. You could even rent or borrow it from a friend if it’s a media item. Just don’t go out of your budget, otherwise you’ll regret it. Tip two: consider substitutes. Some activities are more expensive than others. So instead of going to say... that big concert, check if a local band you enjoy is playing somewhere closer for cheap or free. Tip three: be optimistic. Don’t get upset because you can’t do everything you used to. As they say, the best things in life are free; so cherish what you have. Enjoy that walk to a friend's over driving somewhere out of town. Just think, that walk is not only money in your pocket, but good for the environment. The final tip I offer you is… be open-minded. Remember, change is good. If you have to move out of town, keep in touch with your old friends, but be open to the new people you’ll meet and new experiences you’ll have. Don’t shoot everything down because it’s different. Embrace all those opportunities waltzing into your life and use them for self-improvement. Tips
topic: Advice
[reply] [0 comments]

Sed quis custodiet ipsos custodes?	September 19, 2008, 5:39PM
by: TheKinginYellow
The views of Internet "culture" and IRL from an admitted troll's perspective. Lets give this a proper send off. My name is of no value. Names are just something to give an object a sense of purpose. But their is no purpose really. Purpose is objective. I believe everything is objective. Hence my disbelief in good or evil. 100 years ago they thought killing some one for the color of their skin was fine, 1000 years ago rape was AWWWWWWWWWWRIGHT. So why in today's day in age are things different? They aren't. We try to dress everything up nice and pretty and try to make things seem fair. But they aren't. By nature people are self centered. They fear what they do not understand. That fear turns to blind hate. I understand this. I accept this as truth and don't allow it to hinder me. As a matter of fact I use it. Life has only the purpose you give it. I watch and see all these people doing all these things. But why? I constantly ask myself why do they do it. Why buy these clothes that cost so much? Why buy these things and waste away time doing all these moot things? Its beyond my understanding. It is not what you own or wear that makes you. So why do it? Because their lives are empty and they try to fill this void with purpose. But in the end, you have no purpose. How am I different? Understanding the bleak meaning of life would be a mind crushing experience to most I would assume. I don't understand how I myself handle it. I like many others give myself purpose. But my purpose isn't to get rich or famous or to be loved. I would rather be hated and forgotten, thus far I'm doing a great job at that. But why? I'll tell you why wonderful reader. I believe my purpose is to show everyone not to be serious. How do I go about that? By ruining peoples days, at times even lives. With out mercy or pity I hunt people down through out the Internet whom I believe deserve it. Like ICP? You're fucked. Love CP? So do I but you're extra fucked with myself and party V&. Think being a furry should be accepted and loved? I have your dox and your 40 pizza's are on the way. You want to be famous and think being a massive faggot is going to help you? Pray that theirs a god watching out for you lest I judge you unfunny and indulge in some ultra violence. Now, to the root of it all. I hate the term "hater". Its so... bland. The first website I was ever banned from I was called a troll purely because I disagreed with the majority of the staff of the website. I wasn't exactly what I am today, but I was well on my way. Anyways, I was deemed a troll merely because I disagreed. Now to that point, everyone that doesn't agree with you is obviously a troll and must be destroyed, amirite? Yes and no. And I'll leave that answer vague so one can come to his/her own conclusions. Because in the end... Its all objective and pointless. So lets just have a holocaust of self indulging lulzy fun. I hope what I've written has confused you more then its helped you to understand.
topic: Rants
[reply] [1 comment]

Got Purpose	September 18, 2008, 4:45AM
by: my_little_pony
I haven't written anything mind opening lately. I like to explore my thoughts and have anyone who reads respond. Not that I think my thoughts are going to change the world or anything, but they certainly affect who I am, and that matters a lot to me. I guess something I've learned lately is that every day should have a purpose. It feels great knowing that every day I need to drag my ass out of bed and haul it to work. You know why ir feels so fantastic? Because I am needed there, they need me and it feels good. Serving humanity daily, if only in a small way, is good soul food in my opinion. If you don't have a purpose then what is the point of living? If your purpose is finding a purpose higher other than feeding your own basic needs then I think that's fine, as long as you are happy. Some days my purpose is to do my job well, some days it's to make others happy, and some days it's to relax and serve myself so that I may help others in a better way. I don't think that anyone REALLY knows what they are here for. This could be heaven or this could be hell. This could be the only rock in the universe that we are ever going to live on and we should make our time on it as great as possible, because what else is there to do if you really don't know what comes after this place? Often I find myself wanting to see what's next, right now, because I am overfilled with curiosity about what could happen and what may not. I ponder this for a moment and realize that it would be a total waste, because I know that I'm not going to live forever and I will eventually find out what's next. It could be nothing, it could be everything. How do you know that your time here isn't up yet? You're still here. Make it a good one.
topic: Rants
[reply] [31 comments]

Big Foot Real or fake? An In Depth Analysis	August 20, 2008, 4:15PM
by: Crazydude13666
Sightings of Bigfoot, also called Sasquatch, were first reported in parts of the United States and Canada in the early 1800s. Since then there have been hundreds of reports of a large, hairy hominid or ape, with the distinguishing characteristic of a 16"-20" footprint. Similar stories from around the world about giant and elusive ape-like humans include the Yeren of China, the Yeti of the Himalaya mountains, the Yowie of Australia and the Mapinguari of South America... In 2008 two men, Matt Whitton and Rick Dyer, held a press conference to claim they had found a Bigfoot body in the forests of Georgia. I studied Anthropology in High School (the study of humans, evolution and habits, traits and customs) may I weigh in? First the bible had many references to Big Foot and the Indians had over 100 words in there language referring to big foot. So there is a good chance big foot was real just died off by now! Number 2 most sightings are close to a cave so maybe they are more of a cave dweller... They would have the upper hand down there if they know the caves... And we may never find there bodies. After some research I have also found out that the area in which the Georgia Big Foot was found had caves near by and did in fact have had many sighting over a period of 20 years. Why haven't we found any remains? Very few remains of ancient wood apes have ever been found in Asia, where they were much more abundant. Millions of gigantos (a branch of the wood ape line) lived and died in Asia over the ages. All the remaining physical evidence we have of them could fit into a few shoe boxes. Fossils of any land animal are very rare. Remains do not become fossilized very often, but unless that happens, all the remains will, in time, become completely reabsorbed into the ecosystem. There would be remains of animals everywhere if remains were not naturally recycled, including bones and teeth. Fossils or preserved bones of wood apes may exist in the Americas, but they will be exceedingly rare, because these animals are rare to begin with, and only a tiny fraction of that population will die in locations and soils that will preserve bones somehow. Odds are slim at best that any bones (which are normally fragmentary) will be found, collected and identified unless a focused effort is made to look for them. Until efforts are made in many places, over a long period of time, no one should be scratching their head wondering why "we" don't have any physical remains. Also if they did find Big Foot what DNA do they have to compare it to? Even Humans and Gorillas only have 2 common genetic similarities... So of course you would start by checking those two. Big Foot could possibly share a few basic mammal traits of the opossum. Unless we rerun the DNA and take a more in depth look we may never find the answers we seek. With time an Autopsy will be done with the specimen in Georgia and I feel we will have a better understanding of this creature we know so little about. Like most findings the information is in the eye of the beholder. So whether you believe or disbelief next time you find yourself in the woods you might want to keep an eye out for the one they call Big Foot!
topic: Current Events
[reply] [3 comments]

Mirror to the soul?	August 15, 2008, 12:01AM
by: red_bleedinghearts
Do you ever look into a mirror as if you can look through yourself? As if you can peer into your own eyes and learn what you need to do to fix your problems, whether in life or just personal problems, things you hate about yourself? I do it all the time. In fact, I think everyone does at one point or another, and that it's perfectly normal. Of course, we all know the answers aren't in the mirror. Logic tells us there's nothing we can learn from it, but I know, at least in my own case, I do it anyway. It's hard to pinpoint exactly why. Perhaps I'm hoping to one day see something I didn't notice before, or maybe it's in the hopes that one day I'll look in the mirror, and I actually will see inside myself and be able to repair whatever I feel is wrong. Sometimes it's hard to pinpoint intentions. Not only the intentions of others, but those of yourself as well. Every once in a while, I find myself doing something and wondering why. Helping people and wondering if my intentions really are as pure as I believe them to be, or if they're something underlying, something lurking just below my consciousness, that throws little hints at my brain to do a good deed because there's a chance I might get something in return. Don't get me wrong, I'm a good person. I believe that with all my heart, but doubt creeps in. It always does at some point or another in every situation you will ever enter in your lifetime. I just don't like being selfish at all and get paranoid from time to time that I might be acting in a selfish manner. I guess some of this way of thinking was pre-programmed into me before I was born, because most people are either selfish, or they aren't from birth. Some of it most likely comes from the way I was raised as well. Constantly reprimanded for any type of behavior that even hinted at selfishness, and taught to be completely selfless at all costs. I believe that is what has instilled most of my "selfish paranoia", but I suppose that's what a by-the-book Christian raising gets you. It might even be just one small part in my decision several years back to become Pagan. And one more of many reasons why I peer into the mirror, wanting to discover something new, but all the same afraid of what might be found. All that being said, if there were such a mirror, a magic mirror per se, one that could show you your own soul, your true intentions in everything as well as your faults, would you be brave enough to look in? Even with the potential to see all of that and fix whatever is wrong with you, personally, would you have the guts? Would you steel yourself for the inside image of yourself, take it all in, and summon up the strength and courage to attempt mold yourself into the better, stronger, braver person you long to be? Or would you simply avoid said mirror and live the rest of your life just the way you are, fumbling in darkness and grasping for self-realization? To be one-hundred percent honest, I'm not sure what I would do. As much as there are things about me, about my personality, that I would love to correct, I would have fears. I would be afraid of seeing more negativity and broken parts in my soul than I'm capable of fixing. I just wonder...If such a mirror did exist, if I did look in and see answers I didn't like, would it break my soul? Change the person I am entirely? What could happen?
topic: Various
[reply] [0 comments]

	August 5, 2008, 1:58PM
by: nightside_shadow
New Study Finds 'Teens' Music Tastes Are Mental Diagnostic Indicators Musical key to unlocking teenage wasteland. DOCTORS should ask their teenage patients what type of music they prefer to determine if they are at risk of developing a mental illness or committing suicide, researchers say. A study, published in today's Australasian Psychiatry journal, found that teens who listened to pop music were more likely to be struggling with their sexuality, those tuning in to rap or heavy metal could be having unprotected sex and drink-driving, and those who favoured jazz were usually misfits and loners. The findings prompted a call for doctors to include musical tastes as a diagnostic indicator in mental health assessments. The study's author, Felicity Baker, said yesterday: "There is no evidence to suggest the type of music you listen to will cause you to commit suicide, but those who are vulnerable and at risk of committing suicide may be listening to certain types of music." She said an Australian study of year 10 students had shown significant associations between heavy metal music and suicidal tendencies, depression, delinquency and drug-taking. An American study had also shown that young adults who regularly listened to heavy metal had a higher preoccupation with suicide and higher levels of depression than their peers. Deliberate self-harm and attempted suicide were also associated with teenagers who listened to trance, techno, heavy metal and medieval music as part of the Goth subculture, while those who attended dance parties were much more likely than their peers to be taking drugs. Some genres of rap music, such as French rap, were linked to more deviant behaviours, including theft, violence and drug use. Teens who listened to hip-hop were usually less troublesome, Dr Baker said. "But it's important to point out that music doesn't cause these behaviours," she said. "It's more a case of teenagers who may have a mental illness or are involved in these antisocial behaviours being drawn to certain types of music." Michael Bowden, a child psychiatrist and the head of medical programs at the NSW Institute of Psychiatry, said most doctors already questioned teen patients about their influences, whether from their peers, the internet or music. "Over the years there have been concerns about suicidal themes in some music and whenever a famous person, such as (Nirvana singer) Kurt Cobain, kills themselves we see a copycat effect among teenagers," he said. "But sometimes an adolescent's musical tastes will reveal nothing. The key to understanding any teenager is to treat them with respect by listening to what they have to say, rather than typecasting them according to the type of music they listen to." WHAT STUDIES SAY ABOUT YOUR SOUNDS: POP: Conformists, overly responsible, role-conscious, struggling with sexuality or peer acceptance. HEAVY METAL: Higher levels of suicidal ideation, depression, drug use, self-harm, shoplifting, vandalism, unprotected sex. DANCE: Higher levels of drug use regardless of socio-economic background. JAZZ/RHYTHM & BLUES: Introverted misfits, loners. RAP: Higher levels of theft, violence, anger, street gang membership, drug use and misogyny. --- Taken from Frantik News. http://www.frantiknews.blogspot.com/#teens ----- Personally, I think its bullshit.
topic: Various
[reply] [5 comments]

Forum and Group Updates	August 2, 2008, 7:51PM
by: eon
I've made a series of small updates and refinements to the forum / group platform. While small, some of these changes will make things a lot easier or more interesting to use. Updates: 1. Video posts, BBCodes and you: It is now possible to display YouTube, Google and MySpace videos directly inside of forum and group posts. Previously, if you tried to do this, the embed code would be stripped out (for security reasons) and the video would not appear. Well, if you use an embed code it will still be stripped out, but I've introduced new BBCodes which will allow you to do this safely (and more quickly and easily). It's as simple as taking the address of the video page and putting it inside of the correct BBCode tag. As an example, you could post a YouTube video with a code like this: [tube]Address to YouTube video page goes here[/tube] In addition, when you post videos this way, a 5-star rating icon will appear, allowing viewers to rate the video. These ratings will be unique to DS (separate from the video site where the video is hosted). To view the guide to the new BBCodes, click the New Post link and then click the link for BBCodes. Or just edit any post and scroll down a bit. There are other newly added BBCodes which will make it easier to add links, images and other things to your posts. 2. Search functions. Searching in forums and groups has been updated to include two new fields. One will limit the age of posts you search (so you can narrow down your results if you only want more recent posts). The other will let you display search results as either 'Topics' or 'Messages'. Previous search results have all been in 'Topic' format. That is, when you search for a certain keyword, you just get a list of topics containing posts which match, and you need to go hunting through them to find whatever you're looking for. Now, if you set results to 'Messages' you'll get to see a preview of each individual post which contains the keyword you searched, as well as a link directly to that post. In most cases, this makes it much easier to find what you're looking for. Try it! 3. Andromeda signatures in forum and group posts. The optional 10 rotating signatures that are available to Andromeda members will now appear in forum and group posts. This is significant because images are allowed in these signatures (they are not allowed in regular signatures). Previously, my concern here was that I didn't want the forums cluttered with too many large or obnoxious images that are repeatedly posted in sigs. To help keep our forums and groups from being cluttered this way, I have set a limit on the size of images which may be posted inside of these signatures. That limit is 400 pixels wide by 100 pixels high. 4. Refinements and bug fixes. I've made a number of other small refinements and bug fixes to the forums and groups. For example, signatures and "updated by" notices are now stored separately in the database from the actual messages. What this means is that when you quote posts, the sigs and "updated" notices will no longer appear in the quoted text. They will also be absent from search results. This will reduce clutter overall and make things easier to read. I fixed quite a few pesky bugs as well, many of which were long standing. So if you had any favorites, they are probably gone now. (Sorry.) This is all a part of my overall plan to modernize our forum/group platform to increase it's features and ease of use. There will be more to come in this department (eventually). For now: Enjoy...
topic: Site News
[reply] [6 comments]

The Etiology of the Pyramids and Sunburns on White People	July 23, 2008, 5:31PM
by: quirky_one
A long time ago in a galaxy very, very near here there was the Earth. Of course Earth is in our galaxy but it was named Dirt World at the time so it is kind of different. At the time (the time being the somewhat less than definitive "long time ago") humans had just finished evolving from dinosaurs and were really tired. While they lay down to take a nap, aliens came and started poking around the Earth (still at this time named "Dirt World"). They were employees of an intergalactic real estate firm looking to buy up planets that had been foreclosed on. They apparently liked what they saw because they bought it despite the price being significantly higher than they expected. Needless to say, the newly evolved humans were quite shocked to awaken to aliens moving all their stuff around. The aliens were equally surprised to find that the humans had not gotten the eviction notice. Of course Earth had gotten the notice but at the time everyone had been dinosaurs and nobody could read. The aliens, already upset at the Earth's steep price, held a meeting to decide what to about the humans. After digging up some violent dinosaur footage meant strictly for home viewing, it was deemed convenient to label them as "savages" and have them placed into reeducation camps were they would be forced to watch reruns of pro-alien films like E.T. and My Favorite Martian. The aliens couldn't have expected better results. Stephen Spielberg was nominated for best director and violent xenophobic uprisings dropped by 90%. Unfortunately the good times came to an end when a bootleg copy of Alien III fell into the human's hands. Public opinion polls showed a marked decrease in the alien approval rating. People began questioning the laser force field prisons and soon angry youths were throwing rocks and calling the aliens hurtful names. Meanwhile, intellectuals huddled in coffee shops and wrote petition letters to the ISCS (redundantly named "The Intergalactic Space Congress of Space" in true bureaucratic style). The letters didn't seem to have any effect and the authors got old and died. Tensions continued to get worse and soon human forces under the command of Dan Quail's distant ancestor, Steve Quail, drove the aliens from the Earth (now no longer named Dirt World but actually named Earth). In response, the hard line intergalactic government under pressure from real-estate special interest groups launched an invasion fleet to Earth. The original name of the operation was dropped by the administration in fear that "Operation Earth Smash" gave the mission an overtly aggressive feel. The newly named "Operation Earth Hug" deployed on Stardate <*<>* (which admittedly means very little to anyone who doesn't run on Northern Quadrant Sector 5112A Standard Time). Congress however only approved a single landing zone just west of the Nile River. Having found this information by looking at the ISCS's user friendly website, the human decided to build up defenses in the area. After reviewing several promising designs, a brilliant defense was selected. The pyramid provided a perfect anti-landing device and humans began building them all over the useless alien landing strip now called Egypt. When the aliens arrived and tried to land, the pyramids kept poking the bottom of their spaceships. It was very frustrating. They sent an appeal to the Intergalactic Space Congress of Space for a new landing zone but by the time the Bylotar Opposition Party exhausted its filibuster, their attempt at landing in central Mexico had been thwarted as well. On Stardate <*<<* Grommela Purgonotte, the first female Fishmander to become President, came to power. It had generally been forgotten that a Starfleet had continually circled Earth (still often referred to as "Dirt World" in a derogatory sense) for over a thousand years. The gas prices at the time induced severe budget cuts and the fleet was recalled. After several days of drunken street celebrations, mankind received its many political prisoners who had been held on Pluto for around eighty generations. The result however was a gangly race with a pale, snow-like complexion. The new arrivals found that rather than returning to a glorious homecoming, they were made fun of by their peers. As if that was not enough, the sun that had provided their ancestors with sustenance now burnt their skin and turned it unattractive shades of red. They appealed to a now much more sympathetic ISCS which granted them compensation for their unjust treatment and minimal exposure to sunlight as part of "alternative interrogating techniques". The ghostly white humans received an oddly timed outpouring of alien sympathy because the now two thousand year old "laser force field prison notes" that had only recently been leaked to the press. The result was that whites in return for their suffering were given three eternal gifts: sunscreen, really big shade hats, and Europe. Of course the Palestinians who were given a small arid region along the Mediterranean in return for the Continent were not pleased but they were given strong assurances that their new home would remain theirs forever.
topic: Life
[reply] [36 comments]

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