I finally get it, it's taken years of careful study, intense observation but I've finally figured out why people order these crazy drinks at Starbucks.
They're trying to improve their vocabulary across multiple language.
Unfortunately, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) came to different conclusion, which leads me to believe that I may have erroneous results...
CSPI is currently waging war on Kentucky Fried Chicken (or should I say KFC, as it's been known ever since all Fried food became evil) for the high level of saturated and transfat that their products contain, and in general for the poor nutritional value of their food. Fine, fried food = bad I get it. But now, the center has set it's sights on your local Starbucks. Yes, Starbucks.
As a casual, one cup of decaf java a day kinda guy, this peaked my curiosity: what was so evil about Starbucks? wait don't answer that. I'm talking about health here, not how they're taking over the world, suppressing farmers, blah blah blah, et cetera ad infinitum.
So I took a trip over to starbucks.com to check out their nutritional information.
HOLY CRAP!
I was in for a shocker. So that nice Green Tea Frappacino you've been enjoying each and every morning (or perhaps it was just on weekends) contains a whopping 550 calories, 50 g of fat and 60 mg of cholesterol. That's 100% of your daily recommended fat intake, the calorie equivalent of a meal, and nearly 50% of your cholesterol allotment, and lets remember that not meeting your cholesterol requirements isn't the end of the world.
So I thought to myself, well that's all right, I only have decaf coffee, and that's only 10 cal without cream.... so if I switch to whole milk (non-fat just doesn't cut the coffee) I'm ok. I mean I only have the occasional coffee cake, and they say reduced fat, so I mean how bad can it be....
Scrolling down the PDF to marble loaf coffee cake I was getting a little worried.... I was seeing numbers in 300 calorie range but it was reduced fat right?
Marble coffee cake: 470 calories, 290 from fat, 28 g of fat, 5 g of those evil sat. fats, 100 mg cholesterol, and 440 g of sodium.
That innocent weekly (sometimes semiweekly) indulgence in a marble coffee cake was clogging my arteries faster than a Quarter pounder with cheese. My only thought was: what the hell are they putting in this thing? Lard?!
The truth is most of us are or at least should be aware of what were are putting into our bodies. I for one refuse to eat fast food simply because its nutritional value with a whole ton of shit you don't need anyways. besides did you see what it did to that guy in Super size me? .... and here the local Starbucks is serving up the same goods on a different platter.
Don't get me wrong, I love my chocolate cheesecake, pizza, and pint of stout as much as the next guy, but the reality is that it has to be taken in moderation...
I'd rather down a few extra pints than have my marble coffee cake. So to the Center for Science in the Public Interest I say this: keep on trucking, I have yet another reason not to like Starbucks... but stay away from the beer.
Before I go could someone please get me a grande decaf drip? one equal packet and whole milk. I'm dying over here!
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Thursday, June 22, 2006
The Inconvenient Reality
The debate on Global Warming and whether Al Gore will run in 2008 has been re-energized ever since the release of the documentary An Inconvenient Truth (trailer). Debate has ranged from whether Global Warming exists to whether this is actually a documentary (some have made the argument that it does not provide a balanced view from both sides and as such should not be considered a documentary).
Global warming has and still is one of the hot button environmental issues of the last 20+ years, but it has been brought more recently into the main stream American media, but not only by this documentary but also from the extremely wicked 2005 hurricane season which saw the destruction of New Orleans.
My interest is not just in global warming, but in the environment as a whole. That said, I don't want to turn this into a long discourse on my environmental views, but to focus on one of the principal arguments revolving around global warming.
There are basically two dominant camps in the global warming debate:
those who think global warming is occurring as a result of human activity,
those who think that global warming is occurring as part of a natural planetary cycle.
Those who don't believe global warming isn't happening have more or less disappeared from the scientific community. Given the evidence on record, it's pretty hard to dispute.
Al Gore belongs to the group who consider the influence humans have had on global warming to be a truth. Most of the scientific community seems to agree that there hasn't been sufficient debate to state that this is necessarily an absolute truth, but it is safe to say that those in the human influence sphere agree that immediate action should be taken.
My thoughts are this:
I agree there has not been sufficient scientific debate to determine with absolute certainty that global warming is being cause by humans; the planet is after all basically the most complicated system we know; just look to the inaccuracy of weather reports for a queue or our inability to
predict with any certainty when an earthquake will occur (a topic foremost on my mind when I read articles like this).
So let's assume for just a few minutes that we do have a good and true scientific debate on this subject; when is it likely to be resolved? 1 year? 5 years? 15 years? And what if it turns out that human activity is blame for the rising global temperature in our environment. How much damage will have been done, and how much of it will be irreversible? Once we reach a conclusion, we'll then need to determine how best to counteract these actions, and with a system as complicated as this how long will that take?
To people who are calling for more debate before action I say this: What is the harm of taking action how? We know that pumping millions of tons of green house gases (most notability CO2) isn't good for human health, it's dirtying our cities and changing plant life and habitats. Why do we need to wait until we know with absolute truth what is the cause of global warming? Asthma, and respiratory problems are on the rise, increasing the burden on an already over taxed health care system, pushing up insurance rates, cutting employer and employee spending money. If it turns out that global warming is due to a natural planetary cycle we'll be all the more thankful, breath a sign of relief with cleaner air, and improved health conditions.
Humanity is not somehow decoupled from the environment, as the species with the greatest influence and impact on our surroundings it is our responsibility as care takers to ensure that the environment will continue to support the speices of the world, if not for there sake, then for ours; they are all an integral part of our survival. If we do not maintain the balance of the system, it will readjust to reach a new equalibrium that may or may not include us.
Global warming has and still is one of the hot button environmental issues of the last 20+ years, but it has been brought more recently into the main stream American media, but not only by this documentary but also from the extremely wicked 2005 hurricane season which saw the destruction of New Orleans.
My interest is not just in global warming, but in the environment as a whole. That said, I don't want to turn this into a long discourse on my environmental views, but to focus on one of the principal arguments revolving around global warming.
There are basically two dominant camps in the global warming debate:
Those who don't believe global warming isn't happening have more or less disappeared from the scientific community. Given the evidence on record, it's pretty hard to dispute.
Al Gore belongs to the group who consider the influence humans have had on global warming to be a truth. Most of the scientific community seems to agree that there hasn't been sufficient debate to state that this is necessarily an absolute truth, but it is safe to say that those in the human influence sphere agree that immediate action should be taken.
My thoughts are this:
I agree there has not been sufficient scientific debate to determine with absolute certainty that global warming is being cause by humans; the planet is after all basically the most complicated system we know; just look to the inaccuracy of weather reports for a queue or our inability to
predict with any certainty when an earthquake will occur (a topic foremost on my mind when I read articles like this).
So let's assume for just a few minutes that we do have a good and true scientific debate on this subject; when is it likely to be resolved? 1 year? 5 years? 15 years? And what if it turns out that human activity is blame for the rising global temperature in our environment. How much damage will have been done, and how much of it will be irreversible? Once we reach a conclusion, we'll then need to determine how best to counteract these actions, and with a system as complicated as this how long will that take?
To people who are calling for more debate before action I say this: What is the harm of taking action how? We know that pumping millions of tons of green house gases (most notability CO2) isn't good for human health, it's dirtying our cities and changing plant life and habitats. Why do we need to wait until we know with absolute truth what is the cause of global warming? Asthma, and respiratory problems are on the rise, increasing the burden on an already over taxed health care system, pushing up insurance rates, cutting employer and employee spending money. If it turns out that global warming is due to a natural planetary cycle we'll be all the more thankful, breath a sign of relief with cleaner air, and improved health conditions.
Humanity is not somehow decoupled from the environment, as the species with the greatest influence and impact on our surroundings it is our responsibility as care takers to ensure that the environment will continue to support the speices of the world, if not for there sake, then for ours; they are all an integral part of our survival. If we do not maintain the balance of the system, it will readjust to reach a new equalibrium that may or may not include us.
Sexual Baking?!
I shit you not this was in my fortune cookie from lunch:
"Our first and last love is...self-love"
You don't even have to add "in bed" to make that funny.
Mark Cuban vs. The NBA
For those who don't keep up with the NBA, or the rich and famous. Mark Cuban is the billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks. He bought the team back in 2000, and has seen it rise to competitive success over the last few years.
Since he bought the team in 2000, Cuban has paid no less than $1,600,000 in fines to the NBA, the two most recent being a $200K fine during the San Antonio series, and then another $250K fine more recently during the playoff championship with the Heat.
I wish I could shrug off those kinds of fines, I'm pissed when I get a $50 parking ticket.
Cuban is a harsh critic of the NBA, and increasingly so over the last few years. The fines have been earned not so much because of the criticism, but the method of delivery. The most recent for telling a reporter to ask "A real fucking question." among other things.
So needless to say, after his latest appearance in the headlines for his $250k fine, I thought it was worth while to check out this blog at blogmaverick.com and it was well worth a laugh. A commentary from an unrepentant, unyielding critic of professional sport who speaks his mind and has the ability to put his money where his mouth is and on top of that doesn't really give a crap what management has to say about it. His case is reasoned, and at the same time entertaining showing that he's the same as guy as the sports nut at the end of the bar shouting down the ref through the TV.
To his credit, for those who don't share his views and/or this methods, it has been reported that Mark Cuban has matched his NBA fines dollar for dollar with a contribution to charity. Basically paying for the parking ticket and handing the guy on the corner another $50. Some might say that he's masking his guilt for inappropriate behavior by donating money, personally I see it as upping the ante and thumbing his nose at the NBA establishment. Basically saying "So you think money is gonna silence me?, ya well watch this."
Since he bought the team in 2000, Cuban has paid no less than $1,600,000 in fines to the NBA, the two most recent being a $200K fine during the San Antonio series, and then another $250K fine more recently during the playoff championship with the Heat.
I wish I could shrug off those kinds of fines, I'm pissed when I get a $50 parking ticket.
Cuban is a harsh critic of the NBA, and increasingly so over the last few years. The fines have been earned not so much because of the criticism, but the method of delivery. The most recent for telling a reporter to ask "A real fucking question." among other things.
So needless to say, after his latest appearance in the headlines for his $250k fine, I thought it was worth while to check out this blog at blogmaverick.com and it was well worth a laugh. A commentary from an unrepentant, unyielding critic of professional sport who speaks his mind and has the ability to put his money where his mouth is and on top of that doesn't really give a crap what management has to say about it. His case is reasoned, and at the same time entertaining showing that he's the same as guy as the sports nut at the end of the bar shouting down the ref through the TV.
To his credit, for those who don't share his views and/or this methods, it has been reported that Mark Cuban has matched his NBA fines dollar for dollar with a contribution to charity. Basically paying for the parking ticket and handing the guy on the corner another $50. Some might say that he's masking his guilt for inappropriate behavior by donating money, personally I see it as upping the ante and thumbing his nose at the NBA establishment. Basically saying "So you think money is gonna silence me?, ya well watch this."
Not a Poet
Let's get is straight right from the start:
I'm not a poet, screen writer, journalist, editor, or author.
My spelling stinks and my grammer is shakey at best so please if you're looking for Pulitzer Prize winning material, look somewhere else, and save the comments for someone who is interested. Heck, I won't be surprised if 1 in 10 posts barely makes sense due to left out words etc.
Done with the formalities, now on with the show!
I'm not a poet, screen writer, journalist, editor, or author.
My spelling stinks and my grammer is shakey at best so please if you're looking for Pulitzer Prize winning material, look somewhere else, and save the comments for someone who is interested. Heck, I won't be surprised if 1 in 10 posts barely makes sense due to left out words etc.
Done with the formalities, now on with the show!
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Exordium!
Ah the inaugural post. (the truth be told, I can't preview the site until I post something, but then I guess what else is a blog for?)
A bit about the name first I guess... Reach Ix.... I've spent the better part of the night trying to come up with something original, catchy, short, succinct and distinctly me. I'll let you all decide if I failed or not, but frankly at this point: Frankly dear... I don't give a damn.
It all comes down to history...Mayan history or mythology I guess. I was always fascinated with one fact about Mayan history that for reasons that have not been fully explained the Mayan civilization more or less just disappeared. True it was likely due to some drought, famine, war or the such, but what I found interesting as a young kid was that the Mayan calendar more or less predicted this.
The Mayan calendar comes to an abrupt end on December 22, 2012, when they believed the fourth world we live in now will end and the fifth and final world would begin. They thought of it as more of a renaissance rebirth rather than total destruction; and according to one site, the end of the age of Materialism and a return to a more natural state of living. All of which I finding interesting, in a mythological way.
So next task: how to express December 22, 2012. This date in the Julian calendar is December 9, 2012 and expressed in Latin: Dies Saturni IX December 2012. So we got the Ix... thought Dies Saturni might be interesting... but too long. I also found the the letters Ix figure predominately in Mayan mythology, so the search was for a shorter expression.
Ix is also tied into Frank Herbert's Dune my favourite Sci-fi series, but for another time.
A buddy of mine has a website called "pushstudio" simple straightforward and to the point (check out the site too... good stuff!). So I thought Reach... trying to reach for more, reach back, reach forward, reach for.....whatever you're looking for, desire, want.
So Reach Ix was born.
love it. hate it. be indifferent. It is what it is.
A bit about the name first I guess... Reach Ix.... I've spent the better part of the night trying to come up with something original, catchy, short, succinct and distinctly me. I'll let you all decide if I failed or not, but frankly at this point: Frankly dear... I don't give a damn.
It all comes down to history...Mayan history or mythology I guess. I was always fascinated with one fact about Mayan history that for reasons that have not been fully explained the Mayan civilization more or less just disappeared. True it was likely due to some drought, famine, war or the such, but what I found interesting as a young kid was that the Mayan calendar more or less predicted this.
The Mayan calendar comes to an abrupt end on December 22, 2012, when they believed the fourth world we live in now will end and the fifth and final world would begin. They thought of it as more of a renaissance rebirth rather than total destruction; and according to one site, the end of the age of Materialism and a return to a more natural state of living. All of which I finding interesting, in a mythological way.
So next task: how to express December 22, 2012. This date in the Julian calendar is December 9, 2012 and expressed in Latin: Dies Saturni IX December 2012. So we got the Ix... thought Dies Saturni might be interesting... but too long. I also found the the letters Ix figure predominately in Mayan mythology, so the search was for a shorter expression.
Ix is also tied into Frank Herbert's Dune my favourite Sci-fi series, but for another time.
A buddy of mine has a website called "pushstudio" simple straightforward and to the point (check out the site too... good stuff!). So I thought Reach... trying to reach for more, reach back, reach forward, reach for.....whatever you're looking for, desire, want.
So Reach Ix was born.
love it. hate it. be indifferent. It is what it is.
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Current Events
"The public have an insatiable curiosity to know everything. Except what is worth knowing. Journalism, conscious of this, and having tradesman-like habits, supplies their demands."
-Oscar Wilde
06/28/2006 An Inconvenient Reality Update
06/26/2006 The End of an Era: A Canadian Icon Turns 30 - Reporting on the anniversary of the CN Tower.
06/26/2006 An Inconvenient Reality Update
06/22/2006 Mark Cuban vs. The NBA - Comments on Mark Cuban's blog.
Lifestyle
Our bodies are machines and deserve only the highest premium fuel. The choices we make everyday affect our physical and mental well being.
06/24/2006
I'll have a Venti decaf non-fat soy latte
The latest target on the fat radar. What to watch out for at Starbucks
07/31/2006
Creative Industrial Design
Check out the scoop on Castor Canadensis.
06/24/2006
I'll have a Venti decaf non-fat soy latte
The latest target on the fat radar. What to watch out for at Starbucks
07/31/2006
Creative Industrial Design
Check out the scoop on Castor Canadensis.
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