A Firm Resolve

From CoolBuzz, a Smoker Bell

I have no idea if this is serious or not, but CoolBuzz calls it a Smoker Bell.  Here's a great quote:

So now, when you worry about roaming outside the restaurant or theater, you can relax under a ‘Smoker Bell’ and draw that fag with peace, while sipping into your drink — as it will take all care of the hazardous smoke you exhale while smoking.

If it's real, I hope it will suck in all that yucky secondhand smoke.  Yucky!

Weather forecast for 2008 Walt Disney World Marathon (Sunday, January 13, 2008)

Here's the weather forecast for the 2008 Walt Disney World Marathon, which happens on Sunday, January 13, 2008.  Though we are still 7 days away, the weather forecast for next Sunday is a low of 53 and a high of 80.

At least in terms of the marathon (meaning roughly 4am to 1pm), this is average for January.  The average low temperature for Walt Disney World on January 13 is 51 degrees.  The average high isn't as relevant since it tends to occur mid to late afternoon, but for the records the average high for January 13 is 71 degrees.

Avoiding cold germs and flu viruses

Here's 23 tips from Stealth Health on avoiding cold germs and flu viruses:

1. Wash your hands and wash them often.
2. Wash your hands twice every time you wash them.
3. Use this hand-drying strategy in public restrooms.
4. Carry hand sanitizer with you.
5. Use your knuckle to rub your eyes.
6. Run your toothbrush through the microwave on high for 10 seconds.
7. Get a flu shot every fall.
8. Stop blaming yourself when things go wrong at work.
9. Put a box of tissues wherever people sit.
10. Leave the windows in your house open a crack in winter.
11. Lower the heat in your house 5 degrees.
12. Buy a hygrometer.
13. Sit in a sauna once a week.
14. Inhale air from your blow-dryer.
15. Take a garlic supplement every day.
16. Eat a container of yogurt every day.
17. Once a day, sit in a quiet, dim room, close your eyes, and focus on one word.
18. Scrub under your fingernails every night.
19. Change or wash your hand towels every three or four days during cold and flu season.
20. At the very first hint of a cold, launch the following preventive blitz.  Suck on a zinc lozenge until it melts away. Then suck another every two waking hours. Take one 250-milligram capsule of the herb astragalus twice a day until you are better.  Cook up a pot of chicken soup.  Roast garlic in the oven, then spread the soft garlic on toast and eat.
21. Wipe your nose -- don't blow.
22. Sneeze and cough into your arm or a tissue.
23. Don't pressure your doctor for antibiotics.

Portugal's Anti-Smoking Law Broken by Creator of Law

Oops!

The president of Portugal's food standards agency, Antonio Nunes, was caught smoking at a casino on the outskirts of Lisbon by the newspaper Diario de Noticias.  Ironically, he's the one who passed a public smoking ban, but claims he didn't know this applies to casinos. 

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61 year old man breaks record in 544 mile ultra-marathon (back in 1983)

Here is "The Legend of Cliff Young: The 61 Year Old Farmer Who Won the World’s Toughest Race". 

When the morning news of the race was aired, people were in for anoth er big surprise. Cliff was still in the race and had jogged all night down to a city called Mittagong.  Apparently, Cliff did not stop after the first day. Although he was still far behind the world-class athletes, he kept on running. He even had the time to wave to spectators who watched the event by the highways.

When he got to a town called Albury he was asked about his tactics for the rest of the race. He said he would run through to the finish, and he did.  He kept running. Every night he got just a little bit closer to the leading pack. By the last night...

I'll let you read the full article for the complete story.  Quite inspirational.

France Bans Smoking in Cafes

As evidence that the world continues to move toward a smoke-free future, France has banned smoking in its cafes.  Most people in France support the ban, because most people in France do not smoke. 

About a quarter of France's 60 million people smoke. The Health Ministry said one in two regular smokers — or some 66,000 people annually — dies of smoking-related illness here, and about 5,000 nonsmokers die each year from second-hand smoke.

Health Facts We Didn't Know Until 2007

Per a post on my SquirrelNet blog  called "From the BBC: 100 Things We Didn't Know Until 2007", here are some health facts we didn't know until sometime during 2007:

3. Adding milk to tea negates the health-giving effects of a hot brew.
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5. Cloudy apple juice is healthier than clear, containing almost double the antioxidants which protect against heart disease and cancer.
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6. Dishcloths are purged of 99% of their bacteria during two minutes in a microwave.
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20. More than half (52%) of smokers haven't told their parents about their habit.
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46. Peanuts can be made into diamonds.
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90. Chickens can be diagnosed with depression.
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