Since getting The New Canon XSi I decided to go with Flickr instead of Picasa due to load speeds & better features overall. You can view the my photostream here or click on the pictures of mom to the left. There will surely be more added soon. Next will be to get some quality glass to compliment the XSi's performance.
May 28, 2008
Flickr Photostream
Since getting The New Canon XSi I decided to go with Flickr instead of Picasa due to load speeds & better features overall. You can view the my photostream here or click on the pictures of mom to the left. There will surely be more added soon. Next will be to get some quality glass to compliment the XSi's performance.
May 22, 2008
May 19, 2008
Dog receives degree from a university
This sound retarded? What is next...running for a political position or attempting to fight for puppy right to vote? I am all up for getting animals trained to help out humans in need, but I hope your son or daughter graduated higher than the pooch this year.Ada, Ohio (AP) - A well-trained golden retriever will receive a bachelor's degree from Ohio Northern University today along with the rest of the graduating class.
Zeeke, a 1-year-old dog, will earn his bachelor's of science degree in canine companionship. The canine has spent thousands of hours training as a Canine Companion dog as part of a senior's honors project.
ONU President Kendall Baker said he believes this is the first time the university has ever awarded a diploma to an animal. Zeeke has learned to pull a wheelchair, open doors and retrieve fallen objects.
Canine Companions for Independence places service dogs with people in need for free.
May 16, 2008
May 14, 2008
Portion Size 20 Years vs Today
Over the past few decades, portion sizes of everything from muffins to sandwiches have grown considerably. Unfortunately, America’s waistbands have reacted accordingly. In the 1970s, around 47 percent of Americans were overweight or obese; now 66 percent of us are. In addition, the number of just obese people has doubled, from 15 percent of our population to 30 percent.
While increased sizes haven’t been the sole contributor to our obesity epidemic, large quantities of cheap food have distorted our perceptions of what a typical meal is supposed to look like. These portion comparisons, adapted from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s (NHLBI) Portion Distortion Quiz, give a visual representation of what sizes used to be compared to what they are today.
Those extra 350 calories, if eaten a two times a month, would put on two extra pounds a year, or forty pounds in the next two decades.
When our parents ordered a coffee two decades ago, they weren’t given as many size options—a standard cup of joe was eight ounces, the size of a small coffee cup. Nowadays, most of us feel like we don’t get our money’s worth unless the cup is at least twelve ounces; it’s not unusual to see thirty-two ounce coffee cups, four times the size they used to be. When made into a mocha, the morning coffee has as many calories as a full meal.
While the 12-ounce can used to be the most common soda option, many stores now carry only the 20-ounce plastic bottle, which contains 2.5 servings of soda. When presented with these larger sizes, humans have a hard time regulating our intake or figuring out what a serving size is supposed to be. A 2004 study, published in Appetite, gave people potato chips packaged in bags that looked the same, but increased in size. As package size increased, so did consumption; subjects ate up to 37 percent more with the bigger bags. Furthermore, when they ate dinner later that day, they did not reduce their food consumption to compensate for increased snack calories—a recipe for weight gain.
It’s not just food portions that have increased; plate, bowl, and cup sizes have as well. In the early 1990s, the standard size of a dinner plate increased from 10 to 12 inches; cup and bowl sizes also increased. Larger eating containers can influence how much people eat. A study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that when people were given larger bowls and spoons they served themselves larger portions of ice cream and tended to eat the whole portion.
What is normal?
Increased portion sizes give us more calories, encourage us to eat more, distort perceptions of appropriate food quantities, and along with sedentary lifestyles, have contributed to our national bulge. Unless you’re trying to gain weight, it might help to reacquaint yourself with serving sizes. The NHLBI tells us that a serving of meat should be the size of a deck of cards while one pancake should be the size of a CD. It’s unlikely that we’ll see a scaling down of food to these sizes anytime soon, so perhaps we should all become familiar with another image: the doggy bag.
Portion Distortion Quiz ONE & TWO...take them!
...article from DivineCaroline.com
While increased sizes haven’t been the sole contributor to our obesity epidemic, large quantities of cheap food have distorted our perceptions of what a typical meal is supposed to look like. These portion comparisons, adapted from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s (NHLBI) Portion Distortion Quiz, give a visual representation of what sizes used to be compared to what they are today.
 20 years ago: 500 cal |  Today: 850 cal |
Those extra 350 calories, if eaten a two times a month, would put on two extra pounds a year, or forty pounds in the next two decades.
 20 years ago: Coffee with milk & sugar 8 ounces, 45 cal |  Today: Grande café mocha, whip, 2% milk 16 ounces, 330 cal |
When our parents ordered a coffee two decades ago, they weren’t given as many size options—a standard cup of joe was eight ounces, the size of a small coffee cup. Nowadays, most of us feel like we don’t get our money’s worth unless the cup is at least twelve ounces; it’s not unusual to see thirty-two ounce coffee cups, four times the size they used to be. When made into a mocha, the morning coffee has as many calories as a full meal.
 20 Years Ago: 5 cups, 270 cal |  Today: Tub, 630 cal |
 20 Years Ago: 3" diameter, 140 cal |  Today: 5-6" diameter, 350 cal |
 20 Years Ago: 333 cal |  Today: 590 cal |
 Original: 8oz bottle, 97 cal |  12oz can, 145 cal |  Today: 20oz bottle, 242 cal |
While the 12-ounce can used to be the most common soda option, many stores now carry only the 20-ounce plastic bottle, which contains 2.5 servings of soda. When presented with these larger sizes, humans have a hard time regulating our intake or figuring out what a serving size is supposed to be. A 2004 study, published in Appetite, gave people potato chips packaged in bags that looked the same, but increased in size. As package size increased, so did consumption; subjects ate up to 37 percent more with the bigger bags. Furthermore, when they ate dinner later that day, they did not reduce their food consumption to compensate for increased snack calories—a recipe for weight gain.
It’s not just food portions that have increased; plate, bowl, and cup sizes have as well. In the early 1990s, the standard size of a dinner plate increased from 10 to 12 inches; cup and bowl sizes also increased. Larger eating containers can influence how much people eat. A study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that when people were given larger bowls and spoons they served themselves larger portions of ice cream and tended to eat the whole portion.
| 32oz, 388 cal, 99¢ | 44oz, 533 cal, $1.09 | 64oz, 776 cal, $1.19 |
What is normal?
Increased portion sizes give us more calories, encourage us to eat more, distort perceptions of appropriate food quantities, and along with sedentary lifestyles, have contributed to our national bulge. Unless you’re trying to gain weight, it might help to reacquaint yourself with serving sizes. The NHLBI tells us that a serving of meat should be the size of a deck of cards while one pancake should be the size of a CD. It’s unlikely that we’ll see a scaling down of food to these sizes anytime soon, so perhaps we should all become familiar with another image: the doggy bag.
Portion Distortion Quiz ONE & TWO...take them!
...article from DivineCaroline.com
Mom's First Broken Bone
Not long into a friendly game with some relatives this past Mother's Day weekend...mom breaks her first bone. Following, we were in the ER for a few hours, seeing fierce mullets & laughing at the fact that it has taken this long to break a bone...seeing that it's a pinky finger just makes it funny. Here is mom boxing with her one glove finger padding.
May 13, 2008
May 8, 2008
The New Picture Taker
I received my new toy last Thursday and am pretty excited about taking tons of shots this weekend...It's the new Canon EOS Rebel XSi. After months of research on different Digital SLR cameras by Canon, Nikon, and all the other brands that are always playing catch-up, I decided on the XSi. Newegg had a nice deal going on Tuesday last week...so some early learning of the camera before a trip this summer definitely doesn't hurt things. Expect pictures-a-plenty to follow.Here are the Key Features
- 12.2 Megapixel CMOS sensor
- Canon's EOS Integrated Cleaning System
- 3.5 frames per second
- 3.0" LCD with Live View shooting
- 9-point wide-area AF system with f/2.8 cross-type center point
- Picture Style image processing parameters
- DIGIC III image processor
- Digital Photo Professional RAW processing software
- Compact and Lightweight body
- Fully compatible with all Canon EF and EF-S lenses and EX-series Speedlights
Dad Dies in the Act of Saving His Daughter
With an out-of-control car bearing down, Joseph Richardson grabbed his 4-year-old daughter and held her up out of harm's way. It was his last act -- and one that apparently saved his daughter's life.
Joseph Richardson, 39, was walking with his daughter Kaniyah (right) when a car jumped the curb at 95th Street and Wentworth Avenue. Angelo Thomas (left), 32, has been charged in the fatality and injury.
Richardson, a 39-year-old father of three, was killed Monday evening by the car, driven by a man who police say was drunk. The car pinned Richardson and his daughter Kaniyah against a wrought iron fence at 95th Street and Wentworth, police said. Kaniyah survived and was listed in critical but stable condition Tuesday evening at Comer Children's Hospital, where a spokeswoman said she was doing well.
"He held the baby up to keep the car from destroying the baby, but it totally destroyed him," said Richardson's father, the Rev. L.V. Richardson.
Richardson was walking his daughter to a McDonald's for burgers at 6:40 p.m. Monday when a 1990 Chevy Cavalier jumped a curb and careened towards them, police said, citing witness accounts. He grabbed his daughter just before the car slammed the two into the fence, police said. Richardson was pronounced dead shortly after the crash -- a loss his twin, Timothy, said he felt before he was told.
"All day I just had a real bad gut feeling that something tragic was gonna happen," the hospital maintenance worker said. "And then when I was at home I could feel him and see, visualize what happened. . . . Right before they called me I could see him being in an accident. I knew he was gone. "We had a very special connection and I just felt it."
The driver of the car, Angelo Thomas, 32, of the 200 block of West 95th Street, was charged with two felony counts of aggravated driving under the influence, police said. He was also cited with driving without a valid license or insurance.
Joseph Richardson, the father of two girls and a boy, all under the age of 11, was described as a devoted father. His other love was music. He was a gifted pianist and organist and performed in choirs at Cottage Grove Baptist Church and Greater Revelation Missionary Baptist Church, where his father ministers. His idols were Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder, his family said.
He wanted to go back to school for a degree in music or theology and become a practicing minister, his brother said. One of four tight-knit siblings who grew up in the Roseland neighborhood, Joseph Richardson was adept at keeping those close to him safe. "We looked out for one another," said Timothy Richardson. But Joseph, the larger twin, did most of the looking out, Timothy admitted.
"We used to go to St. Willibrord Catholic High School, and a guy was picking on me a little bit one time and [Joseph] stepped in," said Timothy. "I tried to talk him out of fighting, but him and the guy fought and went through a window together." On Tuesday, Timothy wanted to remember the good times.
"I am five minutes older than Joseph. But he used to always tease me that even though I'm older, he figured he was better-looking. He always got me with that one."
Joseph Richardson, 39, was walking with his daughter Kaniyah (right) when a car jumped the curb at 95th Street and Wentworth Avenue. Angelo Thomas (left), 32, has been charged in the fatality and injury.Richardson, a 39-year-old father of three, was killed Monday evening by the car, driven by a man who police say was drunk. The car pinned Richardson and his daughter Kaniyah against a wrought iron fence at 95th Street and Wentworth, police said. Kaniyah survived and was listed in critical but stable condition Tuesday evening at Comer Children's Hospital, where a spokeswoman said she was doing well.
"He held the baby up to keep the car from destroying the baby, but it totally destroyed him," said Richardson's father, the Rev. L.V. Richardson.
Richardson was walking his daughter to a McDonald's for burgers at 6:40 p.m. Monday when a 1990 Chevy Cavalier jumped a curb and careened towards them, police said, citing witness accounts. He grabbed his daughter just before the car slammed the two into the fence, police said. Richardson was pronounced dead shortly after the crash -- a loss his twin, Timothy, said he felt before he was told.
"All day I just had a real bad gut feeling that something tragic was gonna happen," the hospital maintenance worker said. "And then when I was at home I could feel him and see, visualize what happened. . . . Right before they called me I could see him being in an accident. I knew he was gone. "We had a very special connection and I just felt it."
The driver of the car, Angelo Thomas, 32, of the 200 block of West 95th Street, was charged with two felony counts of aggravated driving under the influence, police said. He was also cited with driving without a valid license or insurance.
Joseph Richardson, the father of two girls and a boy, all under the age of 11, was described as a devoted father. His other love was music. He was a gifted pianist and organist and performed in choirs at Cottage Grove Baptist Church and Greater Revelation Missionary Baptist Church, where his father ministers. His idols were Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder, his family said.
He wanted to go back to school for a degree in music or theology and become a practicing minister, his brother said. One of four tight-knit siblings who grew up in the Roseland neighborhood, Joseph Richardson was adept at keeping those close to him safe. "We looked out for one another," said Timothy Richardson. But Joseph, the larger twin, did most of the looking out, Timothy admitted.
"We used to go to St. Willibrord Catholic High School, and a guy was picking on me a little bit one time and [Joseph] stepped in," said Timothy. "I tried to talk him out of fighting, but him and the guy fought and went through a window together." On Tuesday, Timothy wanted to remember the good times.
"I am five minutes older than Joseph. But he used to always tease me that even though I'm older, he figured he was better-looking. He always got me with that one."
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