More Left-hander's Triva

The ancient Greeks were positive toward port-siders. Their word for left was "aristera", meaning "the best". This is where we get the word aristocrat.


Animated lefties

bart simpson from The Simpsons
SpongeBob from SpongeBob SquarePants
Gromit from Wallace and Gromit

The percentage of left-handed people is pretty constant around the world, but there are some regional variations. Dorothy Bishop, a scientist well known for her work on language and handedness, reported that 17 to 22 percent of the kwakiutl Indians of British Columbia were left- handed. This is the highest number she was aware of in any group.



Happy Birthday Bruce Campbell (6/22)

Give blood—its good for you and good for others

I believe that are we progress in knowledge we will keep rediscovering ancient knowledge. We now have tools that allow us to share knowledge and move closer to the Truth. I will blog more on this topic later (Pyramid of Truth), but right now I would like to speak on the subject for health. In systems theory all things affect all other things in unpredictable ways.

In The 4 Hour Body book, link, he mentions that give blood regular may have additional health benefits, especially for men (women’s menstrual cycle may have a similar effect) since blood have hold toxins that are introduced to the body. The ancients Greeks believed in the balance of the four fluids of the body. And during the dark ages “Blood letting” was a common practice as a cure for a variety of aliments. And during the industrial revolutions till now it was considered barbaric and ignorant. Now we are relearning that maybe there weren’t too wrong.

The bottom line is donate blood is good for the overall society. You might save a life. In addition there are other reasons and it might be healthier for you to give blood. Yes, there are stories about getting infected during blood donation, but I for one believe it to be safe.

The Save-a-blade

Ok, so we live in a disposable society and not only should it change, not only must it change, but eventually it will change. The real question is how bad things get before it does.

I recommend everyone take a look at:
thestoryofstuff.com


Enough preaching. An easy choice to improve things if you shave is the save-a-blade, check the link to the right to get it on amazon.  I have also seen them at Walgreens in the as-seen-on-tv section.

It sharpens razor blades (and those things are expensive!).

I have had mine for two years now. I would actually buy a higher end one is one was available. I changed the battery once.
I use it with the mach 3.


Gillette Mach3 Cartridge 12-Count, actually looks like that are cheaper on amazon.com than anywhere else I have seen them.

Beware though: some disposable razors work better than others. I use a Mach 3.

The four blade disposables have a clear wrapping or something you have to remove which is an additional pain. I have always had good results.

Now, nothing compares to a fresh new blade, but that lasts one or two shares at most at least for me. I have gone through 2 blades in the last 2+ years. Compared to getting maybe a full week without using the Save a Blade Automatic Razor Sharpener. Actually, I recently started growing my beard out- the best solution for me at least.

It seems like a little thing, but until we start with these little changes we are never going to get to the big changes than are necessary for our future.

Standing Desk- Warnings

I heard a few negative comments about my standing desk; actually less than I thought. Managers at work now ask me to sit during meetings- which I comply. (Note: best thing so far about a standing desk—I really appreciate a chance to sit down.)




Side note: People seem a little intimidated when I stand in the corner at a meeting. Psychology theory on body language states that being seated is the position of power- think the godfather who almost always sits or even better a king sits upon a throne (or a throne of swords for fans of Game of Thrones).



Again most comments have been positive or inquisitive. I did however receive two that I considered important enough to contemplate. One was from a friend that has a lot of experience breaking his own bones in the different competitive and fitness activities he pursues. He mentioned that prolonged standing may wear out joints and recommended taking L-glutamine supplements to counteract the effect. I am not sure if I will do that yet, but I will research it some more.



The second comment came from a neighbor with a background in health-care (nutrition, I believe) and she warned me about varicose veins. I did a search online and found that a cause of varicose veins is indeed prolonged standing, although it affects mostly women.



Part of why I converted to a standing desk was for health benefits over sitting. I feel the dynamic engagement of my leg, back, and ab muscle to maintain balance should be much better for you. I don’t know enough about it, but perhaps the increase in varicose veins in women is related to footwear. No way to know for sure, but just a guess.



In summary, I am going strong standing most of the day and overall I personally like it much better than sitting—although I do have the option to sit if I need to. They is no way for me to determine long term affects of standing versus sitting, but I figured I would put this out there for anyone with an opinion on the subject.



Thanks for reading, comments and sharing are always appreciated.

Standing Desk- 3 week report

I started on Wednesday May 18th- 14 days standing while working in the office so far.

So today is my third week with the standing desk. So far I love it. I took a big hit to my running time and I still haven’t recovered. Actually, that will be my real judge on how long it takes me to adjust to standing all day- when I again improve my best 3 mile time (currently <38 minutes). After three weeks I am almost there, but no quite. I have a general level of fatigue all the time and I sometimes have to skip my daily 3 mile run. I have still made my 20 mile a week performance goal two out of the last three weeks. I actually only missed it once out of the last eight weeks. In fact, once I lose a little more weight I may change my performance goal by reducing my total mileage down to 15 miles per week so I have more energy for my runs. I really feel that for fat loss a “less is more” tacit is appropriate and it is high intensity which give the body response of fat loss. (I really feel it is done with a hormone response- but no need to make a more specific determination- I just want the result.)

So I am still standing (pun intended) and I like it overall. I am tired at the end of the day, but I feel I am making progress. While I don’t feel the additional calories I burn lead to additional weight loss accepting this habit will reduce bounce back and weight gain in the long run.



To be continued…

More lefty stuff

From the Left-Hander's Calendar

Inspiration
" Never bend your head. Hold it high. Look the world straight in the eye."- Helen Keller

Name that Lefty
Q: This lefty artist, philosopher, and mathematician was a man ahead of his time. Not only did he conceive of a flying machine with flapping wings, he also sketched the design for a telescope one hundred years before it was invented.  Can you name him? Answer below.

Sinistral SIG is a high IQ society open to left hand people requiring members to be left handed and have IQ in the top 2 percent.  Apparently it is either defunct or they can't figure out how to start a website-- I couldn't find one, but I did find the address.

More inspiration: "Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."
- Winston Churchill

And just for the fun of it, Lefty Birthdays:

May 12 : Yogi Berra, Bruce Boxleitner, Mike Weir, Lou Whitaker
May 20: George Gobel, Bronson Pinchot, Ron Reagan Jr., David Lee Wells
June 1: Morgan Freeman, Cleavon Little, Marilyn Monroe

Answer: Leonardo da Vinci

New favorite abbreviation: BHAG

So I am listening to the audio book Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies while driving.  I am really enjoying it so far and they have introduced my new favorite abbreviation: BHAG = Big Hairy Audacious Goal.

That is all, for now.

More left-handy factoids

from The Left-hander's Calendar, Wednesday- June 8th.

If your daughter uses her left hand consistently for many activities at the age of two years, you can be fairly certain she will be a lefty. If your son is doing the same thing, he might still switch over to the right at some point. Girls develop hand perference earlier than boys.

*****

I also remember another one about left-handiness more prominently male versus female.  Now if I could just find it.

Inspiration from lefties

As a left hander myself I got "The Left-Hander's Calendar" as a gift from my sister. Strangely while in other animals handiness is 50/50 right/left (I remember reading a study years ago- certainly not a real reference) handiness in humans is skewed so that only 10-12%.  What is more interesting is how surrounded by left-handers I am.  I lived in one apartment with two roommates who were both lefthanded and another apartment with four roommates where 3 of the others were leftlanded.  I have also noticed a disproportionate number of lefthanders in risk/reliability analysis.  Anyway, Monday's information on the desk calendar included information on one of my favorite actors: Bruce Campell and I felt the need to share it here:



 Actor Bruce Campell is perhaps best known for his starring role as Ash in the Evil Dead Film Trilogy.  He has also appeared in films such as The Hudsucker Proxy, Fargo, and My Name is Bruce. Most recently this left-hander can be seen on the small screen in the role of Sam Axe in Burn Notice. In addition to acting, Campell worte an autobiography, If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor.

If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor

I read the book when it came out and really enjoyed it.  I might have to watch "Army of Darknesss" this weekend.