January 2008 Entries

January 30, 2008

Four years to go then

Life may begin at 40, but research suggests that 44 is the age at which we are most vulnerable to depression.

Data analysis on two million people from 80 countries found a remarkably consistent pattern around the world.

The risk of depression was lowest in younger and older people, with the middle-aged years associated with the highest risk for both men and women.

The study, by the University of Warwick and Dartmouth College in the US, will feature in Social Science & Medicine.

The only country which recorded a significant gender difference was the US, where unhappiness reached a peak around the age of 40 for women, and 50 for men.

Previous research has suggested that the risk of unhappiness and depression stays relatively constant throughout life.

However, the latest finding - of a peak risk in middle age - was consistent around the globe, and in all types of people.

Researcher Professor Andrew Oswald, an economist at the University of Warwick, said: "It happens to men and women, to single and married people, to rich and poor, and to those with and without children."

He said the reason why middle age was a universally vulnerable time was unclear.

However, he said: "One possibility is that individuals learn to adapt to their strengths and weaknesses, and in mid-life quell their infeasible aspirations.

"Another possibility is that a kind of comparison process is at work in which people have seen similar-aged peers die and value more their own remaining years. Perhaps people somehow learn to count their blessings."

Professor Oswald said for the average person, the dip in mental health and happiness comes on slowly, not suddenly in a single year.

Only in their 50s do most people emerge from the low period.

"But encouragingly, by the time you are 70, if you are still physically fit then on average you are as happy and mentally healthy as a 20-year-old.

"Perhaps realizing that such feelings are completely normal in midlife might even help individuals survive this phase better."

Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of the mental health charity Sane, said: "This study raises intriguing questions about the processes that lead to depression in mid-life, as well as indicating what a common experience it is worldwide.

"Depression is a complex and challenging condition that remains poorly understood, with as many as one in ten people with severe depression taking their own life.

"We welcome any scientific contribution to our understanding of this illness, particularly if the research can aid the development of better treatments, both therapeutic and pharmaceutical."

Andy Bell, of the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health, said mental health problems were extremely common - but he stressed they could occur at any time in life.

January 29, 2008

Buff Airways

[found on El Reg]
A German company will later this year launch flights for nudists, aimed specifically at former East Germans who pine for the good old days under Communism when just about the only thing that wasn't illegal was getting your kit off.

The service will run from 5 July from Erfurt in southeast Germany to the Baltic Sea island of Usedom, with 50 unclothed passengers stumping €499 a pop to fly as nature intended.

Enrico Hess, founder of OssiUrlaub.de, told AFP: "In the former East Germany, naturist holidays were a much-loved way of spending the best weeks of the year. We want to make that freedom possible above the clouds too."

He added: "All the passengers will fly naked, but they are only allowed to undress once they are in the plane. But then they will be able to enjoy the hour-long flight in the way God intended."

In case you're wondering, the aircraft's crew will keep their clothes on.

January 23, 2008

Wok avoidance techniques, pt2

[found on Ananova]
A duck in China has become a celebrity for its singing, dancing and counting abilities.

According to Dahe Daily, Bengbeng (Silly), follows its owner, Du Xinai of Xingxiang city, to the local agricultural market to buy vegetables every day, wearing a small red scarf and a pair of tiny shoes.

"Each day someone asks him to dance or sing or count", says Du.

"If you ask him to sing, he quacks rhythmically while shaking his head and body. He quite enjoys it."

"If you put up one finger, he quacks once, then twice with two fingers, and so on."

Du says Bengbeng is also a good citizen, and always waits for the traffic lights.

"If he sees me waiting for a green light, he stops also, and waits quietly for the colour to change."

Du says Bengbeng has become quite a star. "Everywhere he goes, people welcome him like a super star."

January 18, 2008

Waiting to be invented

Burnt toast could soon be a thing of the past thanks to the world's first transparent toaster.

The new concept glass toaster, which lets you see your bread as it browns, is from product developer Inventables.

The idea is based on transparent heating glass technology and the idea is that the glass heats up enough to toast the bread.

It means people can keep their eye on their breakfast and eject the slice at the moment it turns the perfect colour.

This would eradicate the need to put the bread back down and run the risk of having to scrape burnt toast.

However, a traditional timer dial is still incorporated into the design, for people who are too busy to keep an eye on their bread.

A downside to the current design is that it only fits one piece of bread at a time.

January 14, 2008

When Darwinian cleansing fails

[found on stuff.co.nz]
A drunken Australian man who took a nap between railway tracks has had a miraculous escape after he was run over by a freight train and received only minor injuries and a bump on the head.

The 20-year-old, whose name was not released, fell asleep at a level crossing at Port Augusta, in South Australia state, when the train approached about 3.40am, newspapers said on Friday.

The driver saw the man and slammed on the emergency brake, but the train, carrying 3000 tonnes of freight, was unable to stop in time and rolled over him, halting only after it had passed.

The General Manager of the train company, Tony Aldridge, said railway tracks were "not the best place" to take a nap.

"It was probably lucky he was lying in such a way that the train actually went over him rather than across him," he told The Australian newspaper, adding that the clearance under the train was only 30cm (11 inches).

The man was taken to Port Augusta hospital with minor injuries. He apparently hit his head on the train while trying to sit up.

January 12, 2008

Only in America

[found on Ananova]
A Texan woman had a wedding cake made into a life-sized model of herself.

Chidi Ogbuta, 35, had the 5ft cake made to renew her vows after 10 years of marriage to husband Innocent.

Healthcare assistant Chidi, from Dallas, said: "Growing up, I always wanted a doll in my likeness.

"So when we started planning our wedding I told my husband I wanted a unique wedding where my dream would come true.

"I told him I wanted a life-size cake in my resemblance, as I would look on my wedding day. He gave his consent without reservation."

The £3,000 cake took five weeks to make, needed two gallons of amaretto, 50lbs of sugar, 200 eggs and weighed a whopping 400lb.

It needed four men to lift it into the wedding venue.

Chidi added: "Originally, the plan was for two cakes, one of me and one of Innocent, but unfortunately we ran out of time."

January 8, 2008

my sweet old etcetera by e.e. cummings

my sweet old etcetera
aunt lucy during the recent

war could and what
is more did tell you just
what everybody was fighting

for,
my sister

Isabel created hundreds
(and
hundreds)of socks not to
mention fleaproof earwarmers
etcetera wristers etcetera, my
mother hoped that

i would die etcetera
bravely of course my father used
to become hoarse talking about how it was
a privilege and if only he
could meanwhile my

self etcetera lay quietly
in the deep mud et

cetera
(dreaming,
et
cetera, of
Your smile
eyes knees and of your Etcetera)

January 7, 2008

New year, new divorce

Today is the most popular day of the year for couples to file for divorce.

InsideDivorce.com surveyed 100 UK law firms and 2,000 people who were either married, divorced or separated.

The survey found that one in five of all marriages are near breaking point, reports The Sun.

Family lawyer Suzanne Kingston, of Dawsons Solicitors, said: "If you're not spending time together then the issues between you are not so apparent because they are disguised by what you are doing on a day-to-day basis.

"But over Christmas people are spending longer periods of time together. There is also the financial worry and the impact of relatives.

"And at New Year people often make resolutions and think about what they want for the future."

January 4, 2008

Pterodactyl causes car crash

[from El Reg]
A 29-year-old Washington driver who last Thursday night drifted into the oncoming lane before crashing into a light pole failed to convince police officers that flying dinosaurs were to blame, HeraldNet reports.

The 29-year-old Wenatchee man apparently wandered off course "for less than a block" while oncoming traffic obligingly stopped to let him pass en route to said pole. Wenatchee police Sgt. Cherie Smith said that a breathalyzer test showed "a minimal amount of alcohol", although officers' queries as to what had caused the prang were met with the single-word answer "pterodactyl".

The man was treated in hospital and later released. He has been charged with first-degree negligent driving.

January 1, 2008

When Santa got stuck up the chimney

Firefighters in Australia have rescued a man who was trapped up a chimney for more than 10 hours at Christmas.

They believe the man was trying to break in to the Gapview Hotel in Alice Springs at midnight when he got stuck.

The 21-year-old man was discovered by a staff member who heard him moaning the next morning, reports ABC News.

Firefighters and ambulance officers spent one-and-a-half-hours trying to free the man, eventually removing a brick fireplace with jackhammers and masonry saws before pulling him out.

Alice Springs fire station officer Mark James said the man had been stuck for about 10 hours with his knees jammed tightly into his chest.

He said: "He was like a grub in a cocoon when we found him. He was really wedged in there. Imagine being in the tightest ball you can, and being in that position for 10 hours.

"He was pretty embarrassed and ashamed, so he didn't say much when we got him out. He was obviously feeling sore and sorry for himself."

The man was taken to the Alice Springs Hospital where he is stable with minor back and leg injuries. Police will interview him when he is released.