If you are interested in math but always found it daunting, follow the new series starting today in the New York Times. It sounds like a great introduction to math. Check it out. If it delivers on its promise, it will be well worth your time. It might even be a good read for young students in grade seven or eight. Click the link.
From Fish to Infinity --- NYT
I've always had a certain love for numbers. I can still vividly recall getting scolded in grade one for not memorizing all my multiplication tables. I was asked, "What is five times ten?" I thought for a moment and said, "50." I took a bit too long to answer and so was asked another question from the five times table. This time I took even longer as I answered the question, "What is five times nine?" "45."
The teacher quizzed me, a little boy in grade one, and discovered that I knew how to multiply by ten, just add a zero to the number. I also understood division by two. And I could subtract ones.
To multiply an even number by five I was dividing by two and adding a zero. To multiply an odd number by five I was subtracting one, dividing by two, and finally adding a five as one added a zero when working with ten. Why I thought this was a better approach than simply memorizing the five times multiplication table I'm not sure.
Maybe I thought I had enough math tools. I didn't need anymore. I was just showing an early conservationist bent.
______________________________________________
Tomorrow, I am running Part Three: Killing ourselves with an unhealthy lifestyle.
*
Monday, February 1, 2010
Killing ourselves with an unhealthy lifestyle_Part Two
Paul Berton, editor-in-chief of The London Free Press, wrote in the pointofview (sic) column: "Many of us smoke too much, eat too much, eat too many of the wrong things, and not nearly enough of us get adequate exercise, whether we're teenagers or aging baby boomers."
He's right, of course. There are folk to be found doing all the above. But in some areas things are looking up. Take smoking. The number of young people smoking regularly or occasionally has dropped over the past decade. (At least by figures going up to 2008.)
As people typically start smoking in their teens, this drop indicates future smoking rates will be lower than today's. At 19.8 percent, you may be interested to know, the smoking rate in Ontario is below the national average.
As good as things look on the smoking front, they look quite the opposite when it comes to the battle of the bulge. And the problem is not confined to Canada. Obesity is a global epidemic affecting about a billion people worldwide. According to the World Health Organization: "Contrary to conventional wisdom, the obesity epidemic is not restricted to industrialized societies . . ."
"Increased consumption of more energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods with high levels of sugar and saturated fats, combined with reduced physical activity . . . ," these are fueling the global obesity epidemic. (More on this in the next post.)
In Canada 37% of adults are overweight and 24% are obese. Do the math --- 61% of adult Canadians are fat. The situation with children and teens is even more alarming. Among teen boys age 15 to 19, the proportion classified as overweight or obese rose from 14% to 31% between 1981 and 2009. Among teen girls, it increased from 14% to 25%.
I think it is rather simplistic to just damn the lazy Canadians who would "rather buy food prepared (and salty) than make it . . . " In many ways Canadians are trying to eat well. The question is: Why are they so often failing?
Take tea: Per capita consumption of tea has increased to 79.4 litres. Wow! This increase may be partially explained by the widely reported antioxidant properties of some teas. This looks like evidence that Canadians are trying; They do care.
According to Statistics Canada we have more fruit in our diets, more yogurts but less milk, we've increased our chicken while cutting back on our red meat. Oils and fats are on a downward trend, but vegetable consumption is also down and refined sugar use is up.
And where do all these food trends lead? Well, the total daily intake of calories per person has fallen to 2,382 calories, a decline of 131 calories since peaking in 2001. It does appear that if we give Canadian healthy choices, they will take them.
But making healthy choices is not always easy. Tomorrow we'll take a look at how food producers make it difficult to make healthy food choices.
And we'll be taking a look at the key priorities of the Heart and Stroke Foundation. I must tell you that as much as I disliked The London Free Press editorial, the news report on the Heart and Stroke Report Card was excellent, even going so far as to touch on the foundation's recommendations.
_________________________________________________
Are you a fatty? Try the BMI (body mass index) calculator.
I like the following site as it discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the BMI calculations. Nothing is black and white in my world; This is the BMI site for those who live in Rockinon's world.
BMI calculator background information.Lastly, be aware that some people believe BMI can potentially missclassify people as fat, even though their percentage of body fat is not excessive.
As people typically start smoking in their teens, this drop indicates future smoking rates will be lower than today's. At 19.8 percent, you may be interested to know, the smoking rate in Ontario is below the national average.
As good as things look on the smoking front, they look quite the opposite when it comes to the battle of the bulge. And the problem is not confined to Canada. Obesity is a global epidemic affecting about a billion people worldwide. According to the World Health Organization: "Contrary to conventional wisdom, the obesity epidemic is not restricted to industrialized societies . . ."
"Increased consumption of more energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods with high levels of sugar and saturated fats, combined with reduced physical activity . . . ," these are fueling the global obesity epidemic. (More on this in the next post.)
In Canada 37% of adults are overweight and 24% are obese. Do the math --- 61% of adult Canadians are fat. The situation with children and teens is even more alarming. Among teen boys age 15 to 19, the proportion classified as overweight or obese rose from 14% to 31% between 1981 and 2009. Among teen girls, it increased from 14% to 25%.
I think it is rather simplistic to just damn the lazy Canadians who would "rather buy food prepared (and salty) than make it . . . " In many ways Canadians are trying to eat well. The question is: Why are they so often failing?
Take tea: Per capita consumption of tea has increased to 79.4 litres. Wow! This increase may be partially explained by the widely reported antioxidant properties of some teas. This looks like evidence that Canadians are trying; They do care.
According to Statistics Canada we have more fruit in our diets, more yogurts but less milk, we've increased our chicken while cutting back on our red meat. Oils and fats are on a downward trend, but vegetable consumption is also down and refined sugar use is up.
And where do all these food trends lead? Well, the total daily intake of calories per person has fallen to 2,382 calories, a decline of 131 calories since peaking in 2001. It does appear that if we give Canadian healthy choices, they will take them.
But making healthy choices is not always easy. Tomorrow we'll take a look at how food producers make it difficult to make healthy food choices.
And we'll be taking a look at the key priorities of the Heart and Stroke Foundation. I must tell you that as much as I disliked The London Free Press editorial, the news report on the Heart and Stroke Report Card was excellent, even going so far as to touch on the foundation's recommendations.
_________________________________________________
Are you a fatty? Try the BMI (body mass index) calculator.
I like the following site as it discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the BMI calculations. Nothing is black and white in my world; This is the BMI site for those who live in Rockinon's world.
BMI calculator background information.Lastly, be aware that some people believe BMI can potentially missclassify people as fat, even though their percentage of body fat is not excessive.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Killing ourselves with an unhealthy lifestyle
 |
| Miss Baby will enjoy good homemade food. |
Plus, she has a pretty positive outlook. I've always thought nothing improves a woman's looks more than a smile. Miss Baby knows how to look beautiful. I think it's in Miss Baby's genes as her grandmother knows a thing or two about dressing up the face with a smile.
Killing ourselves with an unhealthy lifestyle
Paul Berton, editor-in-chief of The London Free Press, wrote about our unhealthy lifestyle in the Saturday paper pointofview column. (And yes it is spelled pointofview in the paper. Cute, eh?)
 |
| My wife making her own pasta. |
Stay out of my kitchen, Paul, because you'd confuse apples and oranges. Food processors are not knives. My wife uses both a food processor and a large stand mixer. They help her to quickly make good food from good ingredients.
The other night she made pasta using durum semolina flour bought at Arva Flour Mills. The pasta was quick to make and (she'll hate me for revealing this) her arthritic hands did not ache afterwards, thanks to the pasta maker attachment driven by her stand mixer.
 |
| The soup for salt addicts. |
This "Hearty Favourites" has 700 mg of sodium (salt) in 125 ml of the condensed soup or 1590 mg of sodium for the entire can. The U.S. Dietary Guidelines recommend an upper limit of no more than 1,500 milligrams for the middle-aged and older. That's the upper limit!
Paul tells us, "We need to do something about this ourselves. . . We can't afford . . . to ignore it any longer."
It is interesting to note that Paul is just being gracious when he says "we." Paul must be in his fifties, but he is a young fifty something. He is tall and not obviously overweight. In the past, he rode a bike to work and not a fancy and efficient multi-speed lighweight; Paul rode a good, sturdy somewhat heavy old-fashioned two-wheeler.
Admittedly there is a lot to be done in improving our North American lifestyle which is quickly becoming a global lifestyle. But all is not lost, trust me, Paul. All the attempts to make us aware of our shortcomings have not "clearly been a failure." Just check the mirror. You're living proof.
Now, back to that Campbell's soup. Why 125 ml of condensed soup should have such an incredible amount of salt is simply beyond me. It is time to vote for better food, less salt and no transfats --- in fact, less fat of all kinds --- by voting with our pocketbooks and not buying the obviously questionable products and by voting with our feet by walking to the store, if possible, and by making our own soup with using our food processors.
I'm lucky; I live in a suburban home surrounded by grocery stores and all within walking distance and come spring there will be asparagus and strawberries and other good, fresh stuff available from a stand just a short walk away.
______________________________________________________
This post corrects the spelling of Robarts Research Institute. The institute was named in honour of John Robarts, a former premier of Ontario.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
More Boomer Bunkum
Don't you read stuff like this and think, "How do they know?"
According to CNW Marketing Research, a darling of the American car industry after their release of the report entitled "Dust to Dust" in which they trashed the green image of the Prius while praising the Hummer H2, the average age of new-vehicle buyers at the end of 2007 was the fine boomer age of 48. These folk, born in '59, were boomers by anyone's definition.
CNW claims the average age of shoppers choosing a domestic vehicle was 49.4 years old in 2007 — older than the average 42.5-year-old buyer of Asian cars but younger than the 50.6-year-olds choosing European nameplates. (It is interesting to note that all the ages given are boomer ages. But the Asian buyers are just barely boomers as they were born mid-way through 1964, the last year of the baby boom according to BabyBoomers.)
The oldest average shoppers were looking at the Ford brands, at 54.3 years. GM shoppers averaged 48-years-old, while Chrysler shoppers came in at 44.
The average age of Toyota shoppers was 46.6-years-old. Toyota buyers were younger than GM's and a lot younger than the shoppers for Ford brands.
It is thought that when times are tough, and they've been tough for the young and the middle class for a good decade in the States, and when the choice is between making a mortgage payment or a car payment, the house wins out. Many of the young are simply not in the market for a new car.
There does not seem to be any reason to claim that boomers were enamoured with Toyota, anymore than they were attracted to GM or Ford.
Now, I admit that these numbers are suspect as the source, CNW, is suspect but where does QMI get the figures to support its claims?
_____________________________________________
I just must do a post on this whole boomer foolishness. It is all so downright silly. Boomer talk reveals an erroneous way of looking at the world, divided and categorized and mythologized.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Rides stationary train according to Sun Media
This is one of those quotes without comment posts.
When I read the news report from QMI, Quebecor Media Inc., I was startled at first and then I smiled. It concerned a fellow who had hopped a train which, instead of slowing down, sped up as it left town. The fellow was forced to cling to the cold steel grab rails at the end of the freight car and pray he wouldn't freeze in the cold Prairie night. He wasn't dressed for the train ride. QMI reported:
" . . . he noticed a stationary train and decided to jump on, believing it would slow down . . . "
Huh? A train can't go much slower than stopped. Man, you must be really drunk to hop a stationary train and hope to get anywhere. Then again, maybe the world was already spinning fast enough for our novice train hopper as he spontaneously decided to ride the rails. (In the end he used his cell phone to call for help; The train was stopped and he was taken from the train to the hospital suffering from hypothermia.)
CBC reported:
So, what was our QMI writer drinking? (Maybe QMI could use an editor. There are lots available in Canada. And with years of experience, too.)
______________________________________
More laughs --- this time at my expense.
I, too, could use an editor. The morning after posting this I noticed that I had, in my haste, spelled stationary wrong in my title. Stationery refers to writing paper or writing materials; Stationary, with the 'a', means stopped. I also hang my head over pray. To pray is to make devout supplication; Prey, with the 'e', refers to hunted animals.
If this blog proves anything, it is that many of us need editors. (. . . and that my mind doesn't work perfectly at the best of times, let alone at one in the morning.)
Cheers,
Rockinon
When I read the news report from QMI, Quebecor Media Inc., I was startled at first and then I smiled. It concerned a fellow who had hopped a train which, instead of slowing down, sped up as it left town. The fellow was forced to cling to the cold steel grab rails at the end of the freight car and pray he wouldn't freeze in the cold Prairie night. He wasn't dressed for the train ride. QMI reported:
" . . . he noticed a stationary train and decided to jump on, believing it would slow down . . . "
Huh? A train can't go much slower than stopped. Man, you must be really drunk to hop a stationary train and hope to get anywhere. Then again, maybe the world was already spinning fast enough for our novice train hopper as he spontaneously decided to ride the rails. (In the end he used his cell phone to call for help; The train was stopped and he was taken from the train to the hospital suffering from hypothermia.)
CBC reported:
A check of other news reports all had the fellow hopping a slowly moving train with the intention of hopping off after a few blocks. As I said, the train sped up and derailed his plans."I was going to back where we started originally, and I seen the train slowly going by and I thought I could save myself five blocks … "
So, what was our QMI writer drinking? (Maybe QMI could use an editor. There are lots available in Canada. And with years of experience, too.)
______________________________________
More laughs --- this time at my expense.
I, too, could use an editor. The morning after posting this I noticed that I had, in my haste, spelled stationary wrong in my title. Stationery refers to writing paper or writing materials; Stationary, with the 'a', means stopped. I also hang my head over pray. To pray is to make devout supplication; Prey, with the 'e', refers to hunted animals.
If this blog proves anything, it is that many of us need editors. (. . . and that my mind doesn't work perfectly at the best of times, let alone at one in the morning.)
Cheers,
Rockinon
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Tommy Smothers more impressive
Recently I reminisced about the yo-yo man who would stop twice a year at my public school in Canada. This was decades ago and I must admit that I thought the yo-yo was essentially dead.
Nope! It has gone hi-tech, or sure looks it from this video from England. This chap may be trying to set a world record but Tommy Smothers has it all over this dude. See my original post.
Cheers,
Rockinon
Nope! It has gone hi-tech, or sure looks it from this video from England. This chap may be trying to set a world record but Tommy Smothers has it all over this dude. See my original post.
Cheers,
Rockinon
Taking the blog on the road
On blogging: When I started blogging I said I wasn't going to do any belly button gazing but it's been a little more than a year since I took the buyout from The London Free Press and a lot has happened.
First, I got to blog about a lot of stuff that is important to me and I've met a lot of people who have opened my eyes to a world I had only an inkling existed. It's been a year of growth.
When I check my e-mail in the morning I may find a message like this: "Have a wonderful day,
greetings from Paris." It is a very pleasant way to start the day and I like it.
On photography: I have taken pictures all my life; It was how I earned my living. Now I take pictures for fun and I do it with just a simple point and shoot camera. No zoom lenses. No motor drive. But I get pictures. I am now moving my favourite shots over to Artwork Portfolio where keen amateur shooters make helpful comments on my work.
I have had as much fun taking pictures for my blog as I had shooting for the paper. Check out my portfolio, think about the camera I use (a simple point and shoot), and get out and shoot some art. You can do it. If you have any problems, drop me a line. I'll try and help.
On my sister: A number of you have asked about my sister: She's coming along quite nicely, thank you. It has been three weeks since she took a tumble in her kitchen, breaking her hip. The operation was a success with the surgeon finding good solid bone. The break is knitting well and she is up and walking about with assistance. Today she's leaving the rehab centre and heading home.
Her family rallied beautifully to the crisis with her five children taking turns returning home to assist their dad and spend time each day visiting their mom. A broken hip is always a disaster for older women but somehow the loving reaction of my sister's family muted the pain. I'd even go so far as to say their actions washed a heart-warming patina over it all.
On newspapers: When I worked at the paper, I was always upset at what I perceived as decisions that weaken the franchise. Stuff like the ad on the right.
This is the Nov. 21 2001 ad introducing zero interest purchase financing. The claim is made that you will pay no interest. The interest will be 'Null', 'Nada', 'Zero', 'Zilch', 'Nothing' -- "0%."
I tried to buy a Pontiac with a 0 percent loan. The dealer would not do it; McMaster Pontiac Buick on Wonderland Road refused to sell me the car for the advertised price unless I paid cash. The advertised price was the cash purchase price. If I wanted the car at 0% financing, I had to pay $1500 more.
Not only would the editors at the paper not run a story on this scam, they ran articles on how the loss of interest income was damaging the automobile industry. Huh?
Later ads carried small print giving the equivalent interest rate. This was calculated by looking at how much more it cost car buyers to buy a car with a "zero interest loan" over what they would have paid for the same car if they had paid cash. (In some cases it was cheaper to pay the cash purchase price and take out a bank loan, rather than taking the 0% interest deal from the car company. My wife bought her car that way and saved a bundle.)
The paper continued to run stories on zero interest loans for years as if all these offers were on the up and up. (I slid in the word all as there were a few offers that actually delivered as promised.)
Forgive me, but when editors-in-chief like Paul Berton run what amounts to lies in their paper simply because they are paid it brings to mind a famous remark often attributed to George Bernard Shaw.
Shaw, according to the story, asked a woman at a dinner party if she would go to bed with him for a very large sum of money. She gave it some thought and said yes, for that kind of money she would. Shaw then asked if she would go to bed with him for what amounted to spare change. Shocked, she sputtered that she was not a common prostitute. Shaw replied, "Madame, we have already established what you are. Now we're just haggling over the price."
The newspapers don't even haggle over price.
Since leaving the paper I've finally been able to tell the other side of the story. And it feels good. It feels the way it should feel when one is working for a newspaper. Ah, for the days of Gord Sanderson, backed as I recall by Sue Greer. This team was responsible for The London Free Press Sound Off column for many years.
Today the paper runs the ads for Miracle Heaters rather than running the Sanderson/Greer-type consumer warnings. The paper leaves it to bloggers to warn the public.
It has been a busy year. But this one will be just as busy if not busier.
Come late May, this blog is hitting the road. I'm taking my little camera, a notebook computer and my 40-year-old Morgan and heading off for California with my wife. I just have to run Highway 1, the Pacific coast highway south of San Francisco. If I wait, it will be too late, they are closing a small part of the famous highway to automobiles in 2011. If you want to run the whole route, you've got to do it now.
Judy and I will be seeing small town U.S.A. as we are taking scenic, two lane roads most of the way. We'll hit some tourist attractions like Yellowstone Park and Mount Rushmore but we'll also do some small stuff like seeing the twistiest street in the United States as we did five years ago.
Just so you know, the twistiest street is not in San Francisco, California, but in Burlington, Iowa. That is Snake Alley on the left. And that's the Morgan enjoying the run.
Sorry about the belly button gazing; We'll try and keep it to a minimum.
Correction:
I have problems with "it" and "they." A company is an "it." If a company does something, "it" does it. The pronoun "they" must refer back to people. I must watch my antecedents.
I received an e-mail correcting me. The e-mail read: Back a few items ago, on your attempt to buy a Pontiac, you said: "Not only would the paper not run a story on this scam, they ran articles on how the loss of interest income was damaging the automobile industry." The "they" is incorrect. The proper pronoun is "it," referring to the newspaper. Had you referred to the editors, "they" would have been correct. Is this clear?
First, I got to blog about a lot of stuff that is important to me and I've met a lot of people who have opened my eyes to a world I had only an inkling existed. It's been a year of growth.
When I check my e-mail in the morning I may find a message like this: "Have a wonderful day,
greetings from Paris." It is a very pleasant way to start the day and I like it.
I have had as much fun taking pictures for my blog as I had shooting for the paper. Check out my portfolio, think about the camera I use (a simple point and shoot), and get out and shoot some art. You can do it. If you have any problems, drop me a line. I'll try and help.
Her family rallied beautifully to the crisis with her five children taking turns returning home to assist their dad and spend time each day visiting their mom. A broken hip is always a disaster for older women but somehow the loving reaction of my sister's family muted the pain. I'd even go so far as to say their actions washed a heart-warming patina over it all.
This is the Nov. 21 2001 ad introducing zero interest purchase financing. The claim is made that you will pay no interest. The interest will be 'Null', 'Nada', 'Zero', 'Zilch', 'Nothing' -- "0%."
I tried to buy a Pontiac with a 0 percent loan. The dealer would not do it; McMaster Pontiac Buick on Wonderland Road refused to sell me the car for the advertised price unless I paid cash. The advertised price was the cash purchase price. If I wanted the car at 0% financing, I had to pay $1500 more.
Not only would the editors at the paper not run a story on this scam, they ran articles on how the loss of interest income was damaging the automobile industry. Huh?
Later ads carried small print giving the equivalent interest rate. This was calculated by looking at how much more it cost car buyers to buy a car with a "zero interest loan" over what they would have paid for the same car if they had paid cash. (In some cases it was cheaper to pay the cash purchase price and take out a bank loan, rather than taking the 0% interest deal from the car company. My wife bought her car that way and saved a bundle.)
The paper continued to run stories on zero interest loans for years as if all these offers were on the up and up. (I slid in the word all as there were a few offers that actually delivered as promised.)
Forgive me, but when editors-in-chief like Paul Berton run what amounts to lies in their paper simply because they are paid it brings to mind a famous remark often attributed to George Bernard Shaw.
The newspapers don't even haggle over price.
Since leaving the paper I've finally been able to tell the other side of the story. And it feels good. It feels the way it should feel when one is working for a newspaper. Ah, for the days of Gord Sanderson, backed as I recall by Sue Greer. This team was responsible for The London Free Press Sound Off column for many years.
Today the paper runs the ads for Miracle Heaters rather than running the Sanderson/Greer-type consumer warnings. The paper leaves it to bloggers to warn the public.
It has been a busy year. But this one will be just as busy if not busier.
Come late May, this blog is hitting the road. I'm taking my little camera, a notebook computer and my 40-year-old Morgan and heading off for California with my wife. I just have to run Highway 1, the Pacific coast highway south of San Francisco. If I wait, it will be too late, they are closing a small part of the famous highway to automobiles in 2011. If you want to run the whole route, you've got to do it now.
Just so you know, the twistiest street is not in San Francisco, California, but in Burlington, Iowa. That is Snake Alley on the left. And that's the Morgan enjoying the run.
Sorry about the belly button gazing; We'll try and keep it to a minimum.
Correction:
I have problems with "it" and "they." A company is an "it." If a company does something, "it" does it. The pronoun "they" must refer back to people. I must watch my antecedents.
I received an e-mail correcting me. The e-mail read: Back a few items ago, on your attempt to buy a Pontiac, you said: "Not only would the paper not run a story on this scam, they ran articles on how the loss of interest income was damaging the automobile industry." The "they" is incorrect. The proper pronoun is "it," referring to the newspaper. Had you referred to the editors, "they" would have been correct. Is this clear?
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