Optical Illusion 6

Optical Illusion 5

How to Store Coffee at Home

Melissa Aki, Yahoo Contributor Network  
Aug 21, 2012

Many people spend upwards of $15 on top quality coffee, only to do the unthinkable-have it ground before taking it home. From the moment you grind coffee, it begins to lose freshness and even after one day, the taste and smell are noticeably different.

The situation is made worse when multiple pounds of coffee are bought and ground at one time. No one would buy two or three bottles of wine, open them, and stick them in the refrigerator for weeks before drinking them, so why would you do the same with coffee?

If you are going to spend money on top-notch coffee, then it's best to invest in a grinder. A quality burr grinder can be purchased for less than fifty bucks. (A blade grinder will not give you a precise grind, therefore the coffee will not be the best.)

Once you have a grinder, storing the coffee at home is simple. Keep whole beans in a dark, air-tight container and leave it in a cool, dry place. Any opaque, sealable container or specially made coffee canister works well. (Exposure to light also affects the quality of the coffee).

If you don't have an air-tight container, keeping the beans in the bag is ok as long as you let the air out and seal it as tightly as possible and for God's sake, don't freeze or refrigerate the coffee! Moisture and cold causes the beans to lose taste and the beans also absorb odors from the refrigerator, much like baking soda. On the converse, don't leave whole bean coffee in a place where heat and humidity can get to it.

If you want to be a coffee purist, you can grind the beans fresh each time you make coffee. I tried this for awhile and it became a bit tedious every morning, so now I grind a small amount of coffee (enough for a day or two) and store it in an air-tight coffee tin.

When buying whole bean coffee, it's best to buy in small quantities. The date the beans were roasted also affects the flavor. Even unground whole bean coffee will eventually lose flavor, so there's no need to stockpile several pounds at a time.

Japanese Monkeys' Abnormal Blood Linked to Fukushima Disaster – Study

Japanese macaque perched on a tree. Photograph: Renee Lynn/Corbis

Primates in Fukushima region found to have low white and red blood cell levels and radioactive cesium.
 Damian Carrington 
 theguardian.com, Thursday 24 July 2014 11.34 EDT

Wild monkeys in the Fukushima region of Japan have blood abnormalities linked to the radioactive fall-out from the 2011 nuclear power plant disaster, according to a new scientific study that may help increase the understanding of radiation on human health.

The Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) were found to have low white and red blood cell levels and low haemoglobin, which the researchers say could make them more prone to infectious diseases.
But critics of the study say the link between the abnormal blood tests and the radiation exposure of the monkeys remains unproven and that the radiation doses may have been too small to cause the effect.
The scientists compared 61 monkeys living 70km (44 miles) from the the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant with 31 monkeys from the Shimokita Penisula, over 400km (249 miles) from Fukushima. The Fukushima monkeys had low blood counts and radioactive caesium in their bodies, related to caesium levels in the soils where they lived. No caesium was detected in the Shimokita troop.

Professor Shin-ichi Hayama, at the Nippon Veterinary and Life Science University in Tokyo, told the Guardian that during Japan’s snowy winters the monkeys feed on tree buds and bark, where caesium has been shown to accumulate at high concentrations.

“This first data from non-human primates — the closest taxonomic relatives of humans — should make a notable contribution to future research on the health effects of radiation exposure in humans,” he said. The work, which ruled out disease or malnutrition as a cause of the low blood counts, is published in the peer-reviewed journal Scientific Reports.

White blood cell counts were lowest for immature monkeys with the highest caesium concentrations, suggesting younger monkeys may be more vulnerable to radioactive contamination. Hayama noted: “Abnormalities such as a decreased blood cell count in people living in contaminated areas have been reported from Chernobyl as a long-term effect of low-dose radiation exposure.” But other blood measures did not correlate with caesium levels, which vary with the seasons.

Prof Geraldine Thomas, at Imperial College London, said the Chernobyl studies were not “not regarded as scientifically validated” and that the correlations between the caesium and low blood counts in the Fukushima study were not statistically strong.

“Unfortunately this is yet another paper with insufficient power to distinguish real effects and relevance to human health,” she said. “We know that one of the most damaging health effects comes from fear of radiation, not radiation itself.” She also noted that people, unlike the monkeys, could avoid eating contaminated food from the Fukushima region.

Another critic, Prof Jim Smith, at the University of Portsmouth, said: “I am highly sceptical of the claim. The levels of radiocaesium in the Fukushima monkeys are about the same as those found in sheep in some parts of the UK following the Chernobyl accident, i.e. extremely low in terms of damage to the animals themselves. I think it much more likely that the apparently low blood cell counts are caused by something other than radiation.”

Prof Hayama said that caesium levels were used as an indicator of the radiation exposure of the monkeys. “The low haematological values in the Fukushima monkeys could have therefore been due to the effect of any radioactive materials,” he said. “We did not conclude the low-blood cell counts are caused by caesium but so far we cannot find other reasons except radiation.”

Engineers at Fukushima are currently working to contain thousands of tonnes of irradiated water groundwater by next March by surrounding the four damaged reactors by an underground frozen wall.

Never Too Late

Going Bananas!

Did You Forget?

Stop Destroying the World

CLEAN YOUR KIDNEYS

Years pass by and our kidneys are filtering the blood by removing salt, poison and any unwanted entering our body. With time, the salt accumulates and this needs to undergo cleaning treatments and how are we going to overcome this?

It is very easy, first take a bunch of parsley or Cilantro ( Coriander Leaves ) and wash it clean
Then cut it in small pieces and put it in a pot and pour clean water and boil it for ten minutes and let it cool down and then filter it and pour in a clean bottle and keep it inside refrigerator to cool.

Drink one glass daily and you will notice all salt and other accumulated poison coming out of your kidney by urination also you will be able to notice the difference which you never felt before. Parsley (Cilantro) is known as best cleaning treatment for kidneys and it is natural!

Health Potion

Top 10 Ways to Give Your Kid a 1970’s Summer

From: Mommy Page
 
It is officially the beginning of June. The Pinterest pages, Facebook feeds, and family magazine features are loaded up with all the activities you should do with your kid’s summer. AS. IF.   As if we need more activities. MORE I say!  As if I am sitting here, ok, really laying here in my end of school year coma, thinking, “OMG! I CANNOT wait to tackle that homemade moon sand recipe we will dye ourselves with the skin of organic vegetables, then shape our homemade sand into a perfect replica of the Millenium Falcon! ” Or, “Why yes, I am going to schlep 4 kids to that new science museum two hours away, where we will eagerly wander through the exhibits, each completing the 10 page scavenger hunt I created last night. Then we will come home and ‘discuss’ at great length the scientific theories we learned, because, brace yourself,  what if we don’t keep our minds active ALL summer? GASP!  Wait, hold it! We must, just MUST go to the dollar store and buy 125 pool noodles to construct a backyard water park! We will invite the neighborhoods kids over, serve vegan popsicles, watermelon chunks cut out like dolphins, and a vegetable crudité platter shaped like a palm tree.  And what summer pool party would be complete without nitrate, skin, meat, additive, and taste free hot dogs on gluten free buns covered in artisanal ketchup?” 

I am done. Sort of like I how I was done with the school year, but I am already done with summer. And by done, I mean I am done with all the forced smile-inducing, uber planned and supervised, over-the-top summer life experiences I am supposed to provide for my kids. You know what I want my kids to experience this summer? The same type of summer I would have experienced in the late 1970’s.  The exact same one.  I survived it, and they will too. As a matter of fact, it must have been pretty memorable because 30 years later I can tell you exactly what it entailed. It entailed FUN. Fun we made all on our own. What. A. Concept.

My top 10 ways to give your 2014 kids a 1970’s summer:

1 .   Let them watch TV. Plenty of it. But only the TV Land channel. I want my kids to watch The Love Boat, The Carol Burnett Show, The Jefferson’s, Charlie’s Angels, My Three Sons, The Bionic Man,  $100,000 Pyramid, and my favorite, Hart to Hart.  Seriously,  what little girl in the late 70’s  didn’t want to be an amateur detective married to the CEO of Hart Industries, driving around in a yellow Mercedes-Benz SL Roadstar, while sporting a matching lilac pant suit and  perfectly quaffed butterfly winged wavy brown hair?

2.   Eat whatever you want, and/or whatever can find.  There will be no more pantries full of organic vegetable chips, and non-GMO graham crackers. No more refrigerators full of anti-pesticide fruit, free range eggs, and cold pressed juice.  This will be the summer of Frito-Lay and Red Dye #5. I want to see my kid’s reaction when I tear open a tiny envelope of cherry Kool-Aid, sprinkle it into a BPA laden plastic pitcher, dump 4 cups of regular, granulated, white, and maybe even generic sugar (not raw, stevia, or agave,) then add water from the tap, and  viola! You are hydrated! I will be over here drinking a Tab. Lunch will be fried bologna and a blue can of Planter’s Cheese Balls, and for dinner we will pile in the car and go pick up a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken, a styrofoam quart of mashed potatoes,  and OMG, dessert will be pineapple upside cake! Made from canned pineapples in…wait for it…syrup!

3.   Make them play outside. Like all day. All. Damn. Day. Hot? Drink from the hose. Run through the sprinklers. Swim in the pool until your hair feels like straw, turns green, and the bottom of your feet are calloused from the bottom of the pool. Search for ladybugs, play hide ‘n seek between the houses, run down the street gutters after a rain storm. Read under a tree. I hear this lady named Judy Blume writes good stuff.
4.   Send them to the movies for the entire day. I will drop you off at around 11 and pick you up for dinner. Its’ real simple. You sneak from one theater to the next. Nobody cares.

5.   Spend three nights in a row at your best friend’s house. No, you don’t have to call to check in every hour. And yes, it’s totally ok their parents will be at work and nobody will be home all day. It will give you plenty of time for #1, 2, and 3.

6.   Make stuff, like from stuff you find. No trips to Hobby Lobby for pre-cut, pre-stuck, pre-fabricated crafts.   Find crap in the garage and assemble it into something you can play with. No, you can’t Google how to do it. Ropes are fun.

7.    Have them put on a talent show. A real, genuine, sing and dance and entertain the hell out of me talent show.  I promise I won’t upload it to Youtube or share it on Facebook. I pinky swear. No, there is no theme, no requirements, no directions, no anything. No, there is no right way to do it. You have an imagination. Please use it.

8.    Play the old Simon game until you want to throw it against the wall, or smash into 1,000 pieces.  It’s the original train your brain app.

9.   Build a fort in the backyard. No, I am not gonna help. Yes, you can use the $125 Pottery Barn Kids duvet cover from your bed. I don’t care anymore. Making a memory trumps 400 thread count cotton.

10.  Finally, learn to find the amazing in the ordinary. Trust me. You will need this skill in your 40’s. I pinky swear.  

Thanks, Melissa Fenton, for this story! To enjoy more stories from Melissa, visit her blog here.

Who's My Daddy?

The Truth About Fukushima

The Truth About Fukushima

Melissa Aki, Yahoo Contributor Network

 
Feb 22, 2014

What is the truth about safety concerns regarding the Fukushima nuclear disaster, which occurred in Japan in March, 2011? For many years we have been told that everything was under control, but there is new information out there that suggests that it's not. How is radiation from the Fukushima meltdown affecting Japan and the whole world? What information is not being reported in the mainstream media?

The effects of radiation poisoning from the meltdown continue to be denied by officials in this country and worldwide despite evidence that suggests the opposite. As of February 4, 2014, Japan Times reported that eight additional children under the age of eighteen in the Fukushima prefecture were diagnosed with thyroid gland cancer and 44.2% of children in the area show signs of thyroid abnormalities. In addition, 70 U.S. sailors who participated in the USS Ronald Reagan's Fukushima relief efforts have come down with ailments such as leukemia, thyroid cancer, and brain tumors.

On this side of the Pacific, scientist in San Diego recently analyzed Bull Kelp and Giant Kelp collected from the California coast and confirmed that it contains cesium, a radioactive isotope. Large scale animal die-offs and other anomalies are also occurring along the West Coast of the U.S. One in particular is the "melting starfish" phenomenon, in which starfish develop white-colored sores and disintegrate, turning to goo in a matter of days or even hours.

The scope of the issue is far too big for many to comprehend. Those who are eager to spread the truth about the issues surrounding the Fukushima nuclear disaster are often called "alarmist" and dismissed by the general population, but it's hard to believe that there is no danger when there are reports of insurance companies refusing to cover any radiation-related claims and people stocking up on potassium iodide to protect themselves from radiation. Mixed-messages and lack of information in the mainstream media have left many people confused and alternative sources of information are often labeled as "conspiracy websites".

Blogger and journalist,Iori Mochizuki created Fukushima Diary as a response to the media blackout on the subject. On his website as well as his Facebook page, there is valuable up-to-date information on the Fukushima nuclear disaster and he even goes as far as offering info for those who wish to evacuate Japan. Fukushima Update is another valuable site whose mission is to "press for greater accountability, transparency and openness from government, regulators, and media with regards to nuclear power and its attendant risks."

Many citizens are now doing their own research and purchasing Geiger counters to test for radiation on beaches, in the water, and in food. Blogs and Facebook pages such as Sherrie Questioning All and Fukushima Cover-Up have also taken to warning people about the dangers of radiation from Fukushima. In the end we must gather information from all news sources in order to know how to proceed. Some good resources on Fukushima information include RT (Russia Today), ENE News, and Global Research.

Sources:

Fukushima Kids Have Skyrocketing Number of Thyroid Abnormalities - Report, RT (Russia Today).

Eight more Fukushima Kids Found With Thyroid Cancer; Disaster Link Denied, The Japan Times

Mikael Thalen,Scientists Confirm Fukushima Radiation in California Kelp, Story Leak

Elizabeth Weise, The Starfish Are Dying, and No One Knows Why, USA Today

Crab Mutations in Alaska

Anchorage Daily News, July 12, 2014 : Alaska The crab’s shell was a deep periwinkle, likely the result of a naturally occurring genetic mutation, Kent said. The rare discovery thrilled Norton Sound fishery managers and biologists in the Northwest Alaska city. [...] Justin Noffsker [assistant plant manager at the Norton Sound Seafood Center] said he’s never seen anything like this [...] In his 11 years with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Kent had never seen a blue red king crab either [...] In September, during a pot survey in Cape Nome, Kent saw his first white red king crab, another rare coloration believed to be caused by a genetic mutation. He has also recently seen piebald crabs, spotted with irregular patches of white. Another had a red carapace but yellow legs. All the variations are considered to be the kind of “normal, random, very rare” mutations that occur within animal populations, Kent said. The environment and the crab’s diet could play a role, he said, but he doubts it. [...] In January, wholesalers in Hokkaido, Japan, found [a blue-colored red king crab] in a Russian shipment. Read more...

Love's Baby Soft - Questionable Ad

 

Was this ad written by a pedophile?

What Time Is It?

‘Melting’ Sea Star Epidemic Reaches Oregon Coast

 by Mikael Thalen
May 7th, 2014
Updated 05/07/2014 at 8:21 pm

Scientists announced the discovery of “melting” sea stars off the coast of Oregon this week, the state’s first known sighting of the mysterious condition that began appearing throughout West Coast waters last year.

Image: Sea Star (Oregon Coast Aquarium).

According to Jim Burke, Oregon Coast Aquarium’s director of animal husbandry and dive operations, several species of sea star in Yaquina Bay were recently found in the advanced wasting stage.
“One could speculate that it’s just beginning and will continue to be detrimental to the sea star population,” Burke told the Statesman Journal. Oregon now joins California, Washington state and Western Canada, where disintegrating sea stars continue to baffle scientists.

“There’s a lot of scientists and researchers still scratching their heads,” Burke said. Others such as Kristen Milligan, program coordinator for the Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans, noted the severity of the situation as well. “The current outbreak along the West Coast is ‘true’ wasting disease, meaning that sea stars have these extreme symptoms while in suitable ‘healthy’ habitat,” Milligan said.

Oregon Coast Aquarium divers will be joined by experts at the University of California at Santa Cruz to begin weekly surveys of two effected dive sites. Although samples from other states have been sent to several labs for analysis, a conclusive cause has yet to be determined according to researchers.

Last November, Storyleak spoke with veteran videographer and underwater explorer Laura James, who discovered more than 100 melting sea stars in the waters of West Seattle. “We don’t know what is causing it,” James said. “The sea stars that are dying are apex predators of the seafloor and a keystone species. What will be interesting is what will happen to the biodiversity now in the aftermath.”

Underwater footage captured by James first revealed just how devastating the die-off had become, with some scientists calling it one of the worst ever recorded. “This was beyond my imagination,” James said. “It was like carnage or a mass grave. Dead and dying sea stars, body on top of body.”

While scientists have remained tight-lipped on possible causes, the public continues to question the die-off’s link to the ongoing nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan. Given radiation’s ability to bio-accumulate in sea life, other recent anomalies such as the sardine population’s historic decline have many worried.

Just as researchers at the Institute for Cross-Disciplinary Physics and Complex Systems in Spain predicted, increasing amounts of radiation have begun accumulating along the West Coast since the beginning of 2014. Although sea life such as Tuna have been contaminated with “low levels” of nuclear radiation from swimming through the pacific since at least 2012, scientists analyzing kelp off the coast of San Diego confirmed the presence of cesium earlier this year.

The recent discovery of “never before seen” conjoined gray whale calves off the coast of Northern Mexico has also sparked increased debate. While scientists continue to downplay the situation in Japan, a fuel fragment from Fukushima just found in Norway has proven the situation to be much more disastrous than previously thought.