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Saturday, 5 May 2012
Is global warming just hot air?
Mood:
 chatty
Topic: Global Warming
World temperatures have remained almost stagnant in the last two decades, new figures have revealed. Temperatures across the globe rose by around a third of a degree last year from the average of 14 degrees Celsius recorded between 1961 and 1990. In some years, temperatures rose by just 0.29 degrees C while in others they rose by .53 degrees. The findings come as consumers feel the full force of a raft of environment policies introduced by the UK coalition and the previous Labour government in the name of climate change. By 2030, ‘green’ policy burdens could cost families an extra £267 a year and have already raised current energy bills by £78 annually. Full Story from dailymail.co.uk
Posted by Neil Bartlett DHyp M.A.E.P.H
at 01:01 MEST
Updated: Saturday, 5 May 2012 10:35 MEST
Friday, 4 May 2012
7 tips for creating a successful organic vegetable garden
Mood:
 a-ok
Topic: Health
There is nothing like enjoying the fruits of your labor, literally! The seeds you just planted turn out as little shoots and flowers until they grow into bulbs and finally young little things waiting for their weaning. Picking the tomatoes and leafy greens you've been waiting to grow for weeks, can give you a feeling of achievement and pride bordering almost on being a parent. If you don't have a green thumb, don't worry. Gardening, like all skills, requires time to develop. There isn't even a standard to follow. How you develop your garden will all depend on the resources on hand and how you want develop it. Gardening as a hobby Creating a vegetable garden is not rocket science. In fact, producing your own food and feeding your family in the process can be fun and inexpensive way of engaging in food production. It teaches you as well your family the value of self-reliance and food security.
You can indulge in this venture as a hobby and a source of physical activity, which contributes to the maintenance of mental health. As a means of making your own personal contribution, it is a delightful way to earn extra cash. The following are some techniques that you can use in plotting out your organic farming venture: 1. Avoid the use of chemical inputs - In organic farming, no chemical products like herbicides, pesticides or even fertilizers are used. Plants are allowed to grow without the intervention of chemicals allowing for safe handling from farm to plate guaranteeing a nutritious and healthy yield. Moreover, because no chemical inputs are used, it translates to large savings for farmers while keeping the environment safe. 2. Take advantage of the "biological fight"- In nature, agriculture can take advantage of organisms that are natural predators of parasites and are allies to plants. Insects like ladybugs and chrysopes feed on aphids, while frogs and birds eat insects, snails and worms. Welcoming these animals in your garden contribute to a healthy ecosystem that ensure your vegetables are safe from toxins. 3. Preserve hedges and thickets, replant along the borders to offer shelter and food to animals and insects useful to cultivation - To take advantage of the "biological fight," provide the necessary environment for insects and animals that feed on pests can take shelter and feed. Preserving hedges and thickets encourages these beneficial predators to stay in your property and assist in your efforts at organic farming. This symbiotic mutual relationship can help farmers improve their yield while providing a balanced and sustainable nature-friendly ecosystem. 4. Use cultivation - Cultivating the earth depletes it from nutrients. It is, therefore, necessary to give it fallow period, so it can regain what it had lost after a cropping season. This method allows for simplification of organic farming since it can provide some natural advantages. The interchange of different plants that undermine disease and pests is cost-effective, because it takes away pest control and disease prevention and is normally done as a commercial, agricultural venture that makes for an ideal option to farmers everywhere. 5. Use natural fertilizers -Nature has its own fertilizers. They are either of animal origin such as manure or plant origin, like green manure or organic leftovers from the kitchen. Fertilizers help the soil retain nutrients. Moreover, the introduction of legumes whose roots contain bacteria that convert nitrogen in the air to soluble nitrogen in crop rotation allows for keeping the soil's fertility intact. 6. Monitor seasonal conditions - Keeping tab on the environment to schedule the right moment to carry out treatments against certain diseases affecting plants can be identified, thus resulting in the use of the necessary products at the right time, saving money, time and effort. 7. Consider using raised beds -This method is advantageous for controlling aching backs and can help keep weeds at bay while saving space for other uses. Raised beds mean you don't have to walk on your beds, and they are no wider than a couple of meters. You can reach anywhere in the bed without stepping on the soil and once undertaken, the garden won't require some heavy digging. Gardening is neither a new concept nor is it a fad. It is the oldest and most practical means of producing food. Organic vegetables are prettier, healthier and tastier than their non-organic cousins. Moreover, it benefits not just you but the environment as well as the animals that live of the land, resulting to a balanced and healthy ecosystem. Article Source - naturalnews.com
Posted by Neil Bartlett DHyp M.A.E.P.H
at 01:01 MEST
Updated: Friday, 4 May 2012 10:02 MEST
Thursday, 3 May 2012
A Heart Touched By A Musical Soul
Mood:
 happy
Topic: Inspirational
I was feeling a little blue because my mother had been laid off from her job and she had lots of bills to pay. It left me wondering what was going to happen to us now. But it reassured me some when my mother told me she was relieved to be leaving since her boss wasn't the nicest person to be around. I got off the college shuttle bus and started walking. That's when I heard piano music and singing rising above the noise of the people and the traffic. I walked a little slower so I could find out to where it was coming from. Through the crowd I saw a young lady sitting at a piano with a carriage next to her. She was singing songs about love, keeping on trying, and not underestimating the power within yourself. The way she was singing comforted me a bit. I stood there watching her play for about fifteen minutes, thinking that it must take courage to perform on your own in the middle of a crowded New York ferry terminal. So I stood there listening. She must have felt my presence because she would occasionally look in my direction. By now I was telling myself that if she could perform in front of hundreds of people she didn't know the I could at least tell her how good she sounded. I walked over and put some money in her carriage and she said, "Thank you." Instead of continuing my way home, I said to her, "I have been going through a rough time lately, but you've made me hopeful again." "I'm happy that I could help," she replied. "Why are you so sad?" "Well, my mum told me she had got fired from her job, and that made me sad. I'm not so sure what to do ..." "You see, here's the problem," she explained. "The way you were walking, your head was down. Don't look defeated, because opportunity come in different ways and if your head is down you might never see it. You should smile more ... lift your head up." I smiled faintly, amazed by how she was encouraging me. So, I asked her, "Why are you playing the piano in the middle of a crowded place? I've seen you do this more then once." She explained to me that she sees a lot of negative people in the world and she tries to alleviate the pain and bring more positivity by sharing motivational music. She told me that when she wasn't making music she studied psychology. So, that was how she knew some of the things she was telling me. I smiled a little wider because I knew that she was doing a good thing. So, after that we parted, my heart touched and lightened by a musical soul! Article Source - helpothers.org
Posted by Neil Bartlett DHyp M.A.E.P.H
at 01:01 MEST
Updated: Thursday, 3 May 2012 09:16 MEST
Wednesday, 2 May 2012
Living in blissful solitude with 120 giant tortoises
Mood:
 bright
Topic: Inspirational
Surely it’s what many of us dream about while trudging into the office during another April downpour. Why not escape the rat race and the grey skies to live on a sunny tropical island? Brendon Grimshaw has done just that. In 1962, the Yorkshireman bought Moyenne - a small island just half a mile wide - in the Seychelles for the princely sum of £8,000, and he has been living there ever since. The sprightly 86-year-old wakes to the sound of rustling palm trees and the Indian Ocean lapping against the shore. He spends his days caring for the island’s tortoises and birds that also call it home. When he bought Moyenne, it was overgrown with scrub so dense that coconuts could not fall to the ground. But Brendon worked tirelessly to transform the island into his own little patch of heaven. Living in this unique wildlife reserve, he has survived tropical storms, sharks, ghosts, a coup d’etat in the Seychelles and a mercenary raid. Full Story from dailymail.co.uk
Posted by Neil Bartlett DHyp M.A.E.P.H
at 01:01 MEST
Updated: Wednesday, 2 May 2012 11:02 MEST
Tuesday, 1 May 2012
10 Keys to Happier Living
Mood:
happy
Topic: Happiness
Action for Happiness has developed the 10 Keys to Happier Living based on a review of the latest scientific research relating to happiness. Everyone’s path to happiness is different, but the research suggests these Ten Keys consistently tend to have a positive impact on people’s overall happiness and well-being. The first five (GREAT) relate to how we interact with the outside world in our daily activities*. The second five (DREAM) come more from inside us and depend on our attitude to life.
1. GIVING: Do things for others Caring about others is fundamental to our happiness. Helping other people is not only good for them and a great thing to do, it also makes us happier and healthier too. Giving also creates stronger connections between people and helps to build a happier society for everyone. And it's not all about money - we can also give our time, ideas and energy. So if you want to feel good, do good!
Q: What do you do to help others?
2. RELATING: Connect with people Relationships are the most important overall contributor to happiness. People with strong and broad social relationships are happier, healthier and live longer. Close relationships with family and friends provide love, meaning, support and increase our feelings of self worth. Broader networks bring a sense of belonging. So taking action to strengthen our relationships and create new connections is essential for happiness.
Q: Who matters most to you?
3. EXERCISING: Take care of your body Our body and our mind are connected. Being active makes us happier as well as being good for our physical health. It instantly improves our mood and can even lift us out of a depression. We don't all need to run marathons - there are simple things we can all do to be more active each day. We can also boost our well-being by unplugging from technology, getting outside and making sure we get enough sleep!
Q: How do you stay active and healthy?
4. APPRECIATING: Notice the world around Ever felt there must be more to life? Well good news, there is! And it's right here in front of us. We just need to stop and take notice. Learning to be more mindful and aware can do wonders for our well-being in all areas of life - like our walk to work, the way we eat or our relationships. It helps us get in tune with our feelings and stops us dwelling on the past or worrying about the future - so we get more out of the day-to-day.
Q: When do you stop and take notice?
5. TRYING OUT: Keep learning new things Learning affects our well-being in lots of positive ways. It exposes us to new ideas and helps us stay curious and engaged. It also gives us a sense of accomplishment and helps boost our self-confidence and resilience. There are many ways to learn new things - not just through formal qualifications. We can share a skill with friends, join a club, learn to sing, play a new sport and so much more.
Q: What new things have you tried recently?
6. DIRECTION: Have goals to look forward to Feeling good about the future is important for our happiness. We all need goals to motivate us and these need to be challenging enough to excite us, but also achievable. If we try to attempt the impossible this brings unnecessary stress. Choosing ambitious but realistic goals gives our lives direction and brings a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction when we achieve them.
Q: What are your most important goals?
7. RESILIENCE: Find ways to bounce back All of us have times of stress, loss, failure or trauma in our lives. But how we respond to these has a big impact on our well-being. We often cannot choose what happens to us, but we can choose our own attitude to what happens. In practice it's not always easy, but one of the most exciting findings from recent research is that resilience, like many other life skills, can be learned.
Q: How do you bounce back in tough times?
8. EMOTION: Take a positive approach Positive emotions - like joy, gratitude, contentment, inspiration, and pride - are not just great at the time. Recent research shows that regularly experiencing them creates an 'upward spiral', helping to build our resources. So although we need to be realistic about life's ups and downs, it helps to focus on the good aspects of any situation - the glass half full rather than the glass half empty.
Q: What are you feeling good about?
9. ACCEPTANCE: Be comfortable with who you are No-one's perfect. But so often we compare our insides to other people's outsides. Dwelling on our flaws - what we're not rather than what we've got - makes it much harder to be happy. Learning to accept ourselves, warts and all, and being kinder to ourselves when things go wrong, increases our enjoyment of life, our resilience and our well-being. It also helps us accept others as they are.
Q: What is the real you like?
10. MEANING: Be part of something bigger People who have meaning and purpose in their lives are happier, feel more in control and get more out of what they do. They also experience less stress, anxiety and depression. But where do we find 'meaning and purpose'? It might be our religious faith, being a parent or doing a job that makes a difference. The answers vary for each of us but they all involve being connected to something bigger than ourselves.
Q: What gives your life meaning?
* The first five keys are based on the Five Ways to Wellbeing developed by nef as part of the UK Government's Foresight Project on Mental Capital. by ActionforHappiness.org Article Source - dailygood.org
Posted by Neil Bartlett DHyp M.A.E.P.H
at 01:01 MEST
Updated: Tuesday, 1 May 2012 10:53 MEST
Monday, 30 April 2012
Dad talks to his dead daughter after developing paranormal detection devices
Mood:
chatty
Topic: Paranormal
A grief-stricken electrical engineer believes he has found a way to communicate with his dead daughter eight years after her death. Using his expertise to design and build a series of electromagnetic detection devices, Gary Galka claims to have even recorded his eldest daughter Melissa saying, 'Hi Daddy, I love you.' Devastated by his girl's death in a car accident on her way home in 2004 at the age of 17, Gary and his family claim they started to experience unexplained phenomena at their Connecticut home days after the fatal accident, according to the Hartford Courant. Full Story from dailymail.co.uk
Posted by Neil Bartlett DHyp M.A.E.P.H
at 01:01 MEST
Updated: Monday, 30 April 2012 01:09 MEST
Sunday, 29 April 2012
The Power of Failure.....Best Motivation Video Ever
Mood:
happy
Topic: Inspirational
Brooding over your failures? No one rides unbridled success all the time. This film provides compelling examples of strong people who, undaunted by their failures, drove themselves to the pinnacles of success. This film reminds us: to fail is to live.
Posted by Neil Bartlett DHyp M.A.E.P.H
at 01:01 MEST
Updated: Sunday, 29 April 2012 02:14 MEST
Saturday, 28 April 2012
The Benefits of Daydreaming
Mood:
bright
Topic: Dreams
Does your mind wander? During a class or meeting, do you find yourself staring out the window and thinking about what you’ll do tomorrow or next week? As a child, were you constantly reminded by teachers to stop daydreaming? Well, psychological research is beginning to reveal that daydreaming is a strong indicator of an active and well-equipped brain. Tell that to your third-grade teacher. A new study, published in Psychological Science by researchers from the University of Wisconsin and the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Science, suggests that a wandering mind correlates with higher degrees of what is referred to as working memory. Cognitive scientists define this type of memory as the brain’s ability to retain and recall information in the face of distractions. Full Story from smithsonianmag.com
Posted by Neil Bartlett DHyp M.A.E.P.H
at 01:01 MEST
Updated: Saturday, 28 April 2012 01:18 MEST
Friday, 27 April 2012
Salt......friend or foe?
Mood:
happy
Topic: Health
For many years we have been told by medical experts and nutritionists alike that it is crucial for our health to cut down on sodium as much as possible. Statistical data seems to show that a high dietary salt intake (primarily consisting in sodium chloride) can put people at risk of cardiovascular complications. Consequently, salt has been vilified to such extent in the media that may people strive to remove it from their diets completely. But is wiping salt out of the menu really a wise choice? According to a recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, not exactly. To understand both why salt is healthy and why it has the potential to be dangerous, let's look at what it can do for us. The primary biological role of sodium is to regulate blood volume and blood pressure by maintaining adequate body fluid levels. When the kidneys detect too little sodium levels in the body, they decrease sodium excretion. But when there is too much sodium, an antidiuretic hormone kicks in and causes the body to retain water. The kidneys will then try to gradually release excess sodium and water through urine, thus bringing the body's fluid and sodium levels back within normal ranges. Water and salts are also lost through excessive perspiration, associated with hot climates and physical effort. This can severely offset the body's internal regulating mechanisms, and adequate rehydration is advised as soon as possible. In normal conditions however, sodium regulation is left almost entirely up to the kidneys. Medical experts usually warn us that if for some reason, the kidneys are unable to excrete excess sodium, the increased blood volume will exert extra pressure on blood vessels and make the heart work harder. But now scientists say that too little sodium is just as bad. On the one hand, sodium deficiency can cause a range of problems, including headaches, nausea, fatigue and muscle cramps. On the other hand, commercially available foods contain large amounts of hidden salt which makes it difficult for people on a traditional diet to control their sodium intake. The research of professors Martin J. O'Donnell and Salim Yusuf of McMaster University in Ontario, Canada now reveals that if we have very low levels of sodium in urine, we are at risk of cardiovascular death and congestive heart failure. The study looked at 28,880 people, with an elevated risk of cardiovascular disease, over a seven-year period. The scientists explained that "clarifying the optimal daily intake of sodium is particularly important in patients with established cardiovascular disease, where it has been inadequately studied." However, there is no scientific consensus as of yet regarding optimal salt intake, since body sodium levels also depend on how much an individual sweats. "As a general rule, if people are adding salt to their diet they are taking in too much and they are on the higher end of our spectrum. The first thing people need to do is stop adding salt," said O'Donnell. Fortunately, certain foods are naturally rich in sodium and can help balance a diet without added salts. Seaweed, green leafy vegetables and tuberous vegetables are natural sources of sodium, as well as other essential salts, such as magnesium and potassium. Sources for this article include: http://fhs.mcmaster.ca/main/news/news_2011/sodium_intake_study.html http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/238164.php http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1091079 http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/sodium/NU00284 About the author: Raw Michelle is a natural health blogger and researcher, sharing her passions with others, using the Internet as her medium. She discusses topics in a straight forward way in hopes to help people from all walks of life achieve optimal health and well-being. She has authored and published hundreds of articles on topics such as the raw food diet and green living in general. In 2010, Michelle created RawFoodHealthWatch.com, to share with people her approach to the raw food diet and detoxification. Article Source - naturalnews.com
Posted by Neil Bartlett DHyp M.A.E.P.H
at 01:01 MEST
Updated: Friday, 27 April 2012 01:09 MEST
Thursday, 26 April 2012
Neolithic acoustics of Stonehenge revealed by academics
Mood:
 loud
Topic: Archaeology
A team of academics have revealed the "sonic experience" that early visitors to Stonehenge would have heard. Scholars from the Universities of Salford, Huddersfield and Bristol used an American replica of the monument to investigate its audio history. Salford's Dr Bruno Fazenda said they had found the site reacted to sound "in a way that would have been noticeable to the Neolithic man". He said the research would allow a "more holistic" view of its past. The acoustic experiments could not be carried out at Stonehenge, as the derelict state of the site meant only a "few weak echoes and no noticeable reverberation" could be studied. As a result, the team used a full-sized concrete reconstruction of it in Maryhill, America, which was built in 1929 as a memorial to WWI soldiers. In February, scientist Steven Waller published a paper suggesting the design of Stonehenge could have been inspired by music. Full Story from BBC
Posted by Neil Bartlett DHyp M.A.E.P.H
at 01:01 MEST
Updated: Thursday, 26 April 2012 02:08 MEST
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