patrick.net

I just got another KB Homes email.

I got so many that they go automatically into the spam folder.

Healthy and not overweight in women is a European cultural thing, it applies in Canada, the US, Australia, NZ, etc.

It is probably a media thing. It is amazing how much control the media has on our value systems.

This is still my theory: obesity explains McMansions and SUV’s.

What about tiny airline seats?

Artificial Intelligence can speak, think and act to and through people telepathically, effectively forming your personality and any disfunctions you may experience.

Machines have no intuition.

What about tiny airline seats?

Not marketed to the obese consumer, rather, to an airline industry that calculates seat size based on maximizing carrying capacity to the limit of passenger tolerability. SUV's and McMansions are sold directly to the fat consumer.

In some periods in history, a well-fed look ruled supreme.

Being well-fed is more important.

Nowadays as McDonalds and Burger Kings rule the world, a thin look separates the upper class from the masses.

I assure you that it is possible to gain weight without fast food.

Peter P, skibum,

Our Dr. is big on the "Okinawan Program". What have you (or anyone here) heard about it from a health/diet program?

Our Dr. is big on the “Okinawan Program”.

What do they eat?

Actually, the Japanese food or sushi diet is very effective. It is even more expensive at exotic restaurants. You cannot get fat if you do not want to pay for entrees. :)

I think a fish diet is indeed very healthy.

Many "scientists" are saying that mercury can be a problem and they want to steer people away from eating fish. This should help busting some myths:

http://www.fishscam.com/

Peter P,

I'm still learning but obviously lots of fish, fresh fruit and vegetables. Oh and tofu. What was amazing about the study is that the more Okinawa becomes westernized the younger generations do not seem to enjoy the same level of health or longevity. Nor do Okinawans that migrate/assimilate so genetics seem to play a small part if any. It seems that although diet IS important this is as much about their attitude toward life and their concern for one another. Weird huh?

I seem to recall that Tuna is not OK.

The site I posted would probaby prove that most Hg guidelines are over-conservative. Many agencies are heavily influenced by environmentalists and animal "rights" activists.

It seems that although diet IS important this is as much about their attitude toward life and their concern for one another.

Yes. Diet is important. I actually believe that food drive cultural changes throughout history.

I love fish.

Well, Peter P has again linked us to a site sponsored by the Center for Consumer Freedom - Peter, are you affiliated with these guys somehow? It makes me laugh, your dogged support for these guys in the food industry.

Aside from this, I actually agree with Peter on fish. Mercury is clearly a problem if eaten in significant quantities. However, the amount of fish consumed by Americans doesn't even come close to the levels needed to cause problems. In Japan, there was a significant pandemic of Mercury-related disease later termed Minimata disease based on the area of Japan where industrial Mercury got into the fish food supply. But, the benefits of eating fish (omega-3 fatty acid intake, displacing unhealthy foods, protein intake, etc) far outweigh the risks.

@DinOR, I took a look at okinawa-diet.com. The diet seems reasonable and there doesn't appear to be much hooey like many "fad" diets. I'm just not sure about the unique benefits of the "Okinawan Diet." It looks like overall a very sensible thing, but it doesn't seem all that different from other sensible diets. If it works for you guys, go for it.

(Not medical advice).

I don’t allow people to drive me fast in their cars. They always overestimate their ability.

Exactly. 80mph is legal only on a few Texan highways. It is definitely not safe on highway ramps.

The car blew up and they identified him with dental records.

Sorry but I have to say it was a happy ending. He could have killed other drivers, passengers, or pedestrians.

People who like speed should learn to fly a plane. Even an Enzo cannot beat a Mustang (Cessna, not Ford) to Santa Barbara.

What was amazing about the study is that the more Okinawa becomes westernized the younger generations do not seem to enjoy the same level of health or longevity. Nor do Okinawans that migrate/assimilate so genetics seem to play a small part if any.

@DinOR,

That story's been played out in many cultures that have been only recently exposed to an American diet. Native Americans are a good example. There's a very important study following the Pima Indians of the Southwest - they have developed a ton of obesity and diabetes (no pun intended) since adopting a "modern" American diet (McDonald's and the like). The theory is that over generations many of these agrarian cultures lived on a feast-or-famine diet. Good harvest years lead to plenty of food, bad harvest years were lean. As a result, their metabolism has adapted to very efficiently extract energy and store it from food, particularly carbohydrates. Nowadays, on the US diet, their bodies can't "handle" the caloric overload, leading to obesity and diabetes.

CG

I see you've dropped the pretend-you're-an-immigrant ruse. Life getting boring at Microsoft again? Shouldn't you be working on getting Vista out or something better than weaving some self-imagined tapestry of trolldom on a bubble site?

I find, even now, I’m just waiting to time the purchase of a second home…. its not a matter “if” its “when”, and this is despite the fact that my dear friends (many of whom have more financial savvy than myself) have repeatedly walked me through the economics as to why buying a vacation/second home doesn’t make any sense and is just plain stupid.

scutter,

What part of the country are you in... Have you considered a "fractional" second/vacation home? This seems to me to be the most sensible as you can make peace with your "primal urges" without losing your shirt. A DIY fractional (aka TIC - tenants in common) is the most affordable, while buying a fractional share on the secondary market comes in a distant second. I consider buying a share from the developer idiotic (as it can lose as much as half its value walking out the door), but your mileage may vary.

*correct CG to GC, and so forth for all her aliases.

It probably makes no difference to the dead Ferrari driver or his friends/family, but no way he/she was driving an Enzo.

Anyway the world has one fewer reckless driver to worry about.

I am proud to be part of a great company that has continued to deliver tremendous VALUE to customers.

I agree Microsoft is probably one of the most important companies in recent human history. And they have stayed the course, unlike HP.

Maybe he/she wasn’t reckless. Maybe she got a flat! Or maybe a deer or a pedestrian jumped out in front of the car…

One should drive at a speed that is safe for the condition of the road. Unless the tree suddenly grow out of nowhere...

Why do you hate fast car drivers

I just hate juvenville behaviors.

Speed can be obtained safely with airplanes. For the price of an Enzo, you can almost get a Piper Malibu, which is faster and legal at high speed.

If this turns out to be true, that’s great news for anyone who can afford it, as fish is great for many health reasons, and the potential mercury has always been the bane of that diet.

Mercury is overhyped.

But one often has to go through that dangerous stage.

Why? And I speak as a sagittarian.

I don’t think his accident was speed-related though.

Why did it burst into flames?

One does not have to do street-racing to go fast. I have friends who do close to 100mph on public road regularly. I hope they get pulled over and have their licenses suspended before they have a chance to hurt themselves or others.

As you would say, it was fate.

True. This is why I was neither sad nor angry.

If he has done good things to the community, then it would have been more sad.

People die every day for silly reasons. The only thing that matters is what they have done in their lives.

TIME FOR A NEW THREAD: Where to park your horde of cash 2.0

Peter P, with all due respect, please don’t shoot off without knowing the facts.

Fine, Sorry, I take it back. I do not know of many single-vehicle accidents in which the driver is not at fault.

You can hate me now.

When I was in college, I spent a lot of time researching Diana's crash though. It was unfortunate that she did not wear a seatbelt.

I also think that columns and trees should be "protected" by guardrails though.

I know two people who did this:

Thanks.

Sorry for not extending sympathy earlier.

Do you want to pay the taxes to put guardrails around trees?

Sure.

It may be cheaper to cut down tress that are too close to a high-speed road though.

Peter P,

Just as an alternative suggestion - I recommend you live in a full service resort retirement community (transportation via golf carts) and telecommunicate for the rest of your life.

Better yet, buy a condo on a cruise ship. That's pretty safe unless the captain sails a little too close to icebergs.

Just as an alternative suggestion - I recommend you live in a full service resort retirement community (transportation via golf carts) and telecommunicate for the rest of your life.

Any chance in winning the age discrimination lawsuit? I am not welcomed in 55+ communities. :(

Peter P,

Indeed! I will testify that you're at least as peace loving and prejudiced against young people as the average 60 year old. Discrimination based solely on age is absolutely inappropriate.

SFWoman,

I can't believe I forgot about that! The Horn of Africa and Indonesia do indeed suffer from extensive piracy.

SFWoman,

My condolences to your brother.

The raiding party had AK47 and three motorized rubber boats.

Perhaps sailboats should be equipped with 50-cal Barrets? Are those legal in Washington?

SFWoman,

I believe she was in Dunster or Dudley (I remember it's something starting with D), whichever one that is located at the riverbank.

Peter, you don’t really need the 50-cal guns. Shotguns and M-16 should suffice, as long as you have gone through extensive practice (or better, training) and are mentally prepared for firefight.

But the Barret can sink their rubber boats (without harming the people) before they even get within range of their AK47s. :) See, no firefights.

Are you sure that you can hit a fast moving target with a rifle that has strong recoil?

I am sure I cannot hit anything.

Perhaps Boeing should market a laser for civilians to deflate pirate rubber boats. :)

A lot of gun owners, so I heard, weren’t emotionally prepared to pull the trigger. Some of them had their guns seized by the intruders and were killed by their own guns.

This is why a non-lethal weapon can be more effective. It is easier to pull the trigger. And if it is seized, it cannot be used to kill you.

My wife grew up in the valley when it was still full of orchards and horses, went to Los Altos High, and to her, Los Altos homes should never cost more than $1M, because she was used to going to her friend's modest homes on acreage in today's most revered parts of the western foothill, thinking to herself, this is a nice rural, ranch property and nothing more. She will absolutely castrate me if I dare to pay this kind of sky high price for any homes in this area.

Even when we bought more than 10 years ago, she was worried that we paid too much, but she was ok with the multiples to income in general. I think she puts me in perspective of what the evolution of the silicon valley was like throughout the last 3 decades or so. She actually comented that the Silicon Valley as it is known today was a much nicer, friendlier and hopeful place than today. People were not showy about their money, almost all families regardless of their financial situation sent their kids to local public high schools, where teachers were more competent.

She is one of the most pro-burst persons I know, wishing the bay area housing and funny money to crash hard to restore balance.