Arguments for the Existence of God: Preliminary Issues

 

The following series is intended to lay out some helpful argument to demonstrate the existence of God. Philosophically constructed arguments as such are not the basis of my belief in Yahweh, the God of the Old and New Testaments, for he’s revealed clearly both in creation and in human nature (cf. Romans 1). The whole world is evidence for his existence. Nevertheless, i’ve attempted to take that evidence and reformulate it into helpful arguments that can be used to bolster the faith of Christians and refute those who contradict.

But before we delve straight into the arguments themselves we should note two things: the centrality of worldviews and the impossibility of neutrality in holding and formulating worldviews.

The importance of worldviews. The notion of worldview is key here. Technically speaking, the term worldview is looser than a philosophy, but the overlap is great. Here’s my working definition:

A worldview is a spoken (or unspoken), consistent (or less consistent), often assumed, though rarely articulated, comprehensive vision of life. Here’s a more philosophical definition, A worldview is a network of guiding assumptions regarding the nature of reality (i.e. metaphysics), knowledge and truth (i.e epistemology), what we should value (i.e. value theory) and how we should live our lives (i.e. ethics).

Here, given the definitions above, we all have a worldview. And, more importantly, we should develop their worldview. Since everyone thinks “worldviewishly,” the least we can do is do it well. Likewise, we should strive to be more self-conscious about our worldview development. Too often- and I’m the first to admit this about myself- we passively soak up bits-and- pieces of the worldview of the surrounding culture.

The problem of neutrality. Since we all have views regarding the most important issues of life (What’s real? How and what do I know? How should I live? What is valuable? ), to deny this is naïve. Now, let me clarify for a second. I’m not saying that we have views on every single thing. Personally, I have no views on string theory, or the status of quarks. So, if someone tries to persuade me of them views on those matters it’s fairly easy.  But talking about a worldview, the lens through which we integrate our entire lives, is something very different. No one is either neutral or objective. I also reject the modernist and enlightenment notion of objectivity. None of us has “God’s eye view” of reality. We’re always firmly planted in our historical contexts, with its biases (whether they’re helpful or harmful), and various ways of seeing things.

Now, one might be tempted to think that I’ve opened the door wide for relativism, but I don’t think that’s the case. When I reject the notion of objectivity, I’m not saying we can’t know truths that exist independently of our options. I do believe we can have such knowledge. What I reject as philosophically naïve is the notion that we can come to weighty matters without concern, without prejudice, and with the ‘cool detachment’ of Reason (notice the capital R).

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has sent out a warning to hospitals about a new antibiotic-resistant bacteria, carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, or CRE. While this strain of bacteria is not new, it has become more common in the last 10 years or so and has now become prevalent enough to warrant a higher level of concern.

It's worth backing up for a second to discuss what all of this means. We use antibiotics to treat bacterial infections. When we first started developing antibiotics, such infections were easier to cure. But over time, the bacteria evolved. They developed the ability to fight the antibiotics that we use. They pass on this ability to resist treatment to bacteria that follow. Over time, we are often forced to develop new antibiotics to beat infections that were previously treated easily.

 

Hospitals need to take action against the spread of a deadly, antibiotic-resistant strain of bacteria, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The bacteria kill up to half of patients who are infected.

The bacteria, called carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae or CRE, have increased over the past decade and grown resistant to even the most powerful antibiotics, according to the CDC. In the first half of 2012, 200 health care facilities treated patients infected with CRE.

"CRE are nightmare bacteria," CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden said in a statement. "Our strongest antibiotics don't work and patients are left with potentially untreatable infections. Doctors, hospital leaders and public health must work together now to implement CDC's 'detect and protect' strategy and stop these infections from spreading."

That strategy includes making sure proper hand hygiene policies in health care facilities are actually followed.

Patients should also be screened for CREs, according to the CDC. Infected patients should be isolated, or grouped together to limit exposures.

The good news is that not only is CRE seen relatively infrequently in most U.S. facilities, but current surveillance systems haven't been able to find it commonly in otherwise healthy people in the community, says Dr. Alex Kallen, a CDC medical officer.

"Of course, if this were to (spread to the community), it would make it much more difficult to control," he said.

Each year, hospital-acquired infections sicken about 1.7 million and kill 99,000 people in the United States. While up to 50% of patients with CRE bloodstream infections die, similar antibiotic-susceptible bacteria kill about 20% of bloodstream-infected patients.

This is what has happened here with CRE. Over time, these bacteria have become harder and harder to treat. The old antibiotics don't work as well. In this case, CRE infections kill about half of patients who have bloodstream infections. This is more than twice as many people who die from similar infections with antibiotic-susceptible strains.
 

Right now, CRE only are of concern to certain susceptible patients in the hospital. It's not common in the community, and most of the warnings are directed at hospitals, imploring them to take precautions to isolate patients and prevent spread in the inpatient setting.

The nightmare scenario, though, is that this bacteria will get out into the community.

This isn't fear-mongering. Years ago, Staphylococcus aureus infections were also relatively easy to treat. Over time, though, a strain of bacteria, known as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, became a problem in hospitals. The CDC issued warnings to hospitals to take precautions to prevent its spread. Over time, though, it got out into the community.

A 2008 study of children who came into an emergency department with skin abscesses, or infections, found that about 75% of them were caused by MRSA. Luckily, we still have medications, such as trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, to treat these infections. When that fails, though, things will become even more concerning.

Put another way, when I was training, we would have almost never considered MRSA as the cause of a skin infection. These days, though, we pretty much assume it's the cause, and treat with stronger drugs.

Most people believe that the injudicious use of antibiotics is to blame for these developments. Every time we use antibiotics, we give bacteria a chance to evolve. We kill off those susceptible to the drugs and leave those that have developed resistance. Each time we use antibiotics unnecessarily, say to treat a virus, we make the problem worse. Each time we use them improperly, or for too short a period of time, we do the same. These days, we're putting them in everything, from soap, to lotion, to the food that animals eat.

This is a real public health issue. Creating more resistant strains is a serious long-term problem. The new warning is panicking a lot of people, but for the wrong reasons. You're very, very unlikely to get a CRE infection anytime in the near future. It's important that hospitals work to prevent that problem from getting worse, but almost everyone reading about it this week will be unaffected by it.

It's much, much more likely, though, that these same people will ask for antibiotics when they get a cold. That's the kind of thing that will lead to future problems. That's the kind of thing we need to stop now.

Editor's note: Dr. Aaron E. Carroll is an associate professor of pediatrics at the Indiana University School of Medicine and the director of the university's Center for Health Policy and Professionalism Research. He blogs about health policy at The Incidental Economist and tweets at @aaronecarroll.

   

Aaron E. Carroll

Earth Hour Is a Colossal Waste of Time—and Energy

 

Plus it ignores how electricity has been a boon for humanity.

On the evening of March 23, 1.3 billion people will go without light at 8:30—and at 9:30, and at 10:30, and for the rest of the night—just like every other night of the year. With no access to electricity, darkness after sunset is a constant reality for these people.

At the same time, another 1 billion people will participate in “Earth Hour” by turning off their lights from 8:30-9:30.

The organizers say that they are providing a way to demonstrate one’s desire to “do something” about global warming. But the reality is that Earth Hour teaches all the wrong lessens, and it actually increases CO₂ emissions. Its vain symbolism reveals exactly what is wrong with today’s feel-good environmentalism.

Earth Hour teaches us that tackling global warming is easy. Yet, by switching off the lights, all we are doing is making it harder to see.

Notice that you have not been asked to switch off anything really inconvenient, like your heating or air-conditioning, television, computer, mobile phone, or any of the myriad technologies that depend on affordable, plentiful energy electricity and make modern life possible. If switching off the lights for one hour per year really were beneficial, why would we not do it for the other 8,759?

Hypothetically, switching off the lights for an hour would cut CO₂ emissions from power plants around the world. But, even if everyone in the entire world cut all residential lighting, and this translated entirely into CO₂ reduction, it would be the equivalent of China pausing its CO₂ emissions for less than four minutes. In fact, Earth Hour will cause emissions to increase.

As the United Kingdom’s National Grid operators have found, a small decline in electricity consumption does not translate into less energy being pumped into the grid, and therefore will not reduce emissions. Moreover, during Earth Hour, any significant drop in electricity demand will entail a reduction in CO₂ emissions during the hour, but it will be offset by the surge from firing up coal or gas stations to restore electricity supplies afterward.

And the cozy candles that many participants will light, which seem so natural and environmentally friendly, are still fossil fuels—and almost 100 times less efficient than incandescent light bulbs. Using one candle for each switched-off bulb cancels out even the theoretical CO₂ reduction; using two candles means that you emit more CO₂.

Electricity has given humanity huge benefits. Almost 3 billion people still burn dung, twigs, and other traditional fuels indoors to cook and keep warm, generating noxious fumes that kill an estimated 2 million people each year, mostly women and children. Likewise, just 100 years ago, the average American family spent six hours each week during cold months shoveling six tons of coal into the furnace (not to mention cleaning the coal dust from carpets, furniture, curtains, and bedclothes). In the developed world today, electric stoves and heaters have banished indoor air pollution.

Similarly, electricity has allowed us to mechanize much of our world, ending most backbreaking work. The washing machine liberated women from spending endless hours carrying water and beating clothing on scrub boards. The refrigerator made it possible for almost everyone to eat more fruits and vegetables, and to stop eating rotten food, which is the main reason why the most prevalent cancer for men in the United States in 1930, stomach cancer, is the least prevalent now.

Electricity has allowed us to irrigate fields and synthesize fertilizer from air. The light that it powers has enabled us to have active, productive lives past sunset. The electricity that people in rich countries consume is, on average, equivalent to the energy of 56 servants helping them. Even people in Sub-Saharan Africa have electricity equivalent to about three servants. They need more of it, not less.

This is relevant not only for the world’s poor. Because of rising energy prices from green subsidies, 800,000 German households can no longer pay their electricity bills. In the United Kingdom, there are now more than 5 million fuel-poor people, and the country’s electricity regulator now publicly worries that environmental targets could lead to blackouts in less than nine months.

Today, we produce only a small fraction of the energy that we need from solar and wind—0.7 percent from wind and just 0.1 percent from solar. These technologies currently are too expensive. They are also unreliable (we still have no idea what to do when the wind is not blowing). Even with optimistic assumptions, the International Energy Agency estimates that, by 2035, we will produce just 2.4 percent of our energy from wind and 0.8 percent from solar.

To green the world’s energy, we should abandon the old-fashioned policy of subsidizing unreliable solar and wind—a policy that has failed for 20 years, and that will fail for the next 22. Instead, we should focus on inventing new, more efficient green technologies to outcompete fossil fuels.

If we really want a sustainable future for all of humanity and our planet, we shouldn’t plunge ourselves back into darkness. Tackling climate change by turning off the lights and eating dinner by candlelight smacks of the “let them eat cake” approach to the world’s problems that appeals only to well-electrified, comfortable elites.

Focusing on green R&D might not feel as good as participating in a global gabfest with flashlights and good intentions, but it is a much brighter idea.

Smartphone Bacteria

If you're a squeamish clean freak, then you may feel like not using your smartphone after reading this. It may look sleek and shiny, but your smartphone is actually crawling with bacteria and germs. While some of these bacteria may be harmless, some can actually be harmful to your body. 

A professor from the University of Surrey, Dr Simon Park, had his students imprint their smartphones onto petri dishes which can aid bacteria growth. They then let the bacteria grow for a few days. Here, most of the bacterial growth is clustered at the top and bottom of the smartphone. The petri dishes were blooming with various kinds of bacteria and fungi afterwards. You can trace the shape of the smartphone via the outline of the bacteria. 

According to Dr Park, such bacteria is also a record of your personal and cleanliness habits. "It harbors a history of our personal and physical contacts such as other people, soil," he wrote on his blog. Some even bring their smartphone to the washroom, which enhances growth of coliforms, when they place their smartphones on the various surfaces of the washroom!

To clean your smartphone properly, first switch off the phone completely or remove the battery. Then use special screen cleaners and a dry cloth to wipe down the phone. If you don't want to spend so much on cleaners, you can use a diluted mix of water and alcohol. 

Whatever it is, do not dunk the entire phone into water. You can also use sticky tape to remove all the grit and dust stuck between keypads or in tiny nooks and crannies. Wait for the phone to dry entirely before switching it on, or inserting the battery back in. 

Top 10 Genetically Modified Foods

1. Corn - Corn has been modified to create its own insecticide. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has declared that tons of genetically modified corn has been introduced for human consumption. Monsanto has revealed that half of the US's sweet corn farms are planted with genetically modified seed. Mice fed with GM corn were discover

red to have smaller offspring and fertility problems.

2. Soy - Soy has also been genetically modified to resist herbicides. Soy products include soy flour, tofu, soy beverages, soybean oil and other products that may include pastries, baked products and edible oil. Hamsters fed with GM soy were unable to have offspring and suffered a high mortality rate. Canola

3. Cotton - Like corn and soy, cotton has been designed to resist pesticides. It is considered food because its oil can be consumed. Its introduction in Chinese agriculture has produced a chemical that kills cotton bollworm, reducing the incidences of pests not only in cotton crops but also in neighboring fields of soybeans and corn. Incidentally, thousands of Indian farmers suffered severe rashes upon exposure to BT cotton.

4. Papaya - The virus-resistant variety of papaya was commercially introduced in Hawaii in 1999. Transgenic papayas comprised three-fourths of the total Hawaiian papaya crop. Monsanto bestowed upon Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in Coimbatore technology for developing papaya resistant to the ringspot virus in India.

5. Rice - This staple food from South East Asia has now been genetically modified to contain a high amount of vitamin A. Allegedly, there are reports of rice varieties containing human genes to be grown in the US. The rice will create human proteins useful for dealing with infant diarrhea in the 3rd world. China Daily, an online journal, reported potential serious public health and environment problems with genetically modified rice considering its tendency to cause allergic reactions with the concurrent possibility of gene transfers.

6. Tomatoes - Tomatoes have now been genetically engineered for longer shelf life, preventing them from easily rotting and degrading. In a test conducted to determine the safety of GM tomatoes, some animal subjects died within a few weeks after consuming GM tomatoes.

7. Rapeseed - In Canada, this crop was renamed canola to differentiate it from non-edible rapeseed. Food stuff produced from rapeseed includes rapeseed oi (canola oil) l used to process cooking oil and margarine. Honey can also be produced from GM rapeseed. German food surveillance authorities discovered as much as a third of the total pollen present in Canadian honey may be from GM pollen. In fact, some honey products from Canada were also discovered to have pollen from GM rapeseed.

8. Dairy products - It has been discovered that 22 percent of cows in the U.S. were injected with recombinant (genetically modified) bovine growth hormone (rbGH). This Monsanto created hormone artificially forces cows to increase their milk production by 15 percent. Milk from cows treated with this milk inducing hormone contains increased levels of IGF-1 (insulin growth factors-1). Humans also have IGF-1 in their system. Scientists have expressed concerns that increased levels of IGF-1 in humans have been associated with colon and breast cancer.

9. Potatoes - Mice fed with potatoes engineered with Bacillus thuringiensis var. Kurstaki Cry 1 were found to have toxins in their system. Despite claims to the contrary, this shows that Cry1 toxin was stable in the mouse gut. When the health risks were revealed, it sparked a debate.

10. Peas - Peas that have been genetically modified have been found to cause immune responses in mice and possibly even in humans. A gene from kidney beans was inserted into the peas creating a protein that functions as a pesticide.

10 Health Mistakes That Everyone Makes (6-10)

Health mistake 6: Silent worrying

You worry about the meeting at work, you worry about putting the bins out, you worry that you might forget to feed the cat, and it’s really getting you down. Whilst stress can be positive in helping to keep you alert and avoid danger, too much of it can be detrimental to your health.  

Endless worrying eventually leads to distress which causes headaches, high blood pressure, an upset stomach, chest pain, and sleep deprivation.

Whilst it’s natural to worry when you have a deadline looming, panicking too much about petty things needs to be sorted. When you’re worrying, ask yourself a few simple questions and answer them as honestly as you can. 

Will you still be worrying about this in a couple of week’s time? Can this problem be easily resolved? If you can’t let it go, tackle the problem head on until it is resolved.

If you can learn how to control your worrying, you’re well on your way to a happier, healthier lifestyle.

Health mistake 7: Stopping medicines suddenly

Most of us are guilty of this one; we’re feeling much better and stop taking our medication, but suddenly end up feeling a whole lot worse.  

How often do you consider the health risks of this? Depending on the medicine you are taking, going ‘cold turkey’ can cause all sorts of health risks which range from mild, to moderate, or serious.

Discontinuing your medicine suddenly can cause mild headaches, rapid return of the illness that you were treating, and seizures, to name only a few. Abruptly stopping certain medications can be life threatening, so keep taking it until your doctor tells you to stop, and when you do get the ‘all clear’ take medical advice when you’re discontinuing them.

Health mistake 8: Forgetting to floss

Flossing is a key component when it comes to oral hygiene, but it’s a step that many of us skip because we don’t feel much different whether we floss or not.  

It’s worth changing your routine though, because plaque between the teeth can be more serious than you may think. If the bacteria finds its way into the blood stream it can cause chronic inflammation and increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer, and premature birth. 

The cosmetic implications of not flossing are another obvious concern; unless you would like to lose all your teeth in favour of some rapper-style gold ones, it’s recommended that you floss at least once a day to stop your pearly whites from being weakened by plaque and eventually falling out.

It looks like we need to start brushing up (get it?) on our dental hygiene routines for the good of our health.

Health mistake 9: Skipping breakfast

Skipping your breakfast and then continuing with your day is like trying to drive your car with a very low tank of fuel – it will feel fine to start with but eventually slow down and cut out.

Not only will you feel less active and sluggish, skipping breakfast – whether it is due to lack of time or fear of putting on weight – is linked with a higher risk of diabetes and can lead to obesity as your body stores up more fat to use as fuel throughout the rest of the day.  

Eat breakfast to feel happier, more functional and, most of all, healthy.

Health mistake 10: Drinking water from the warm tap

“Throw salt over your left shoulder”, “say ‘white rabbits’ at the start of each month”, “never drink water from the warm tap” – you’d be forgiven for thinking that the latter statement was an old wives’ tale like the others.

But scientists suggest that drinking water from the warm tap could cause lead poisoning. Lead can enter some water systems – normally homes that were built before 1930 – from corroded plumbing work, but drinking high levels of it can have potential health risks, particularly in children where it can lead to brain damage.

Although scientists emphasise that the risks of lead poisoning are small, it’s recommended that you use the cold tap for preparing baby formula, drinking, and cooking.

10 Health Mistakes That Everyone Makes (1-5)

Health mistake 1: Driving with the windows down

We feel pretty content cruising up the motorway with the wind blowing through our hair on a warm day, but we never spare a thought for our poor lungs as we breathe in the harmful pollutants emitted by cars.

A study from the University of Southern California has found that spending a mere six per cent of our day driving in the car with the windows down exposes us to around 45 per cent of the pollutants that we encounter in 24 hours - that’s a lot of pollutants to come into contact with in such a short amount of time. 

In cities, driving with the windows down poses an even higher threat to your health. Instead of winding the windows down during a traffic-ridden commute, try letting some fresh air in before you start your journey and save having the wind blowing through your hair for your voyage through the countryside.

Health mistake 2: Carrying a heavy handbag

You’ve packed your makeup, baby wipes, phone, purse and keys. And your camera too (were you planning on taking pictures of anything interesting during your trip to the chemist?)

Oh, good to see you brought the old batteries from the remote – never know when you might need them. Those broken headphones could come in handy – thank goodness they found their way in there too.

Erm, ladies (and gentleman, if you’re quite partial to carrying a ‘manbag’) do you really need all this stuff?  

Surely these ‘essentials’ could be cut down a bit? Lugging a heavy load around can really take its toll on your health by causing back spasms, disc degeneration, neck problems, arthritis, and poor posture.

Spring clean your handbags and manbags, and possibly consider trading them in for a smaller version.

Health mistake 3: Spending too long exercising

It’s pretty common to think that the more time we spend on the exercise bike, the better.  

The truth is, too much of a good thing can be counterproductive and that goes for exercise too. Working your body too hard can lead to abnormal hormonal changes (which can trigger weight gain), a weaker immune system, muscle damage, shin splints, and knee, foot, or back problems. 

Whilst it’s important to reap the benefits of exercise for a healthy lifestyle, don’t go overboard; expecting abs like Arnold Schwarzenegger on week two of your workout routine isn’t going to happen and it isn’t going to be healthy.

Health mistake 4: Scrimping on sleep

You’ve crammed everything you can possibly fit into twenty four hours and more, when suddenly you look at the clock and it’s way past the time you hoped to go to bed and closer to the time you need to get up for work.

Scientific research has proven that we look less attractive when we’ve had little sleep, but droopy eyelids and pasty skin are the least of our worries when it comes to our habit of scrimping on sleep.  

No matter how healthy you are, how much you exercise, or how much you weigh, getting too little shut-eye can seriously affect your health.

Scientists studied 5,600 people of a healthy weight and size for three years and found those who skipped sleep quadrupled their risk of stroke and heart disease. Fix a specific time to go to bed and stick to it. 

Health mistake 5: Avoiding the scales

In many households across the world, the scales are the one piece of equipment gathering more dust than the treadmill.  

A common way to gloss over our weight problems is to avoid going on the scales altogether; we go by the mantra “If I don’t see that I’ve gained weight, then I don’t have to believe it”.

If you feel like you’ve gained weight, it’s best to face the facts to see how much you’ve gained so you can do something about it before it gets out of hand.

Everyone’s weight naturally fluctuates so don’t panic if you’ve gained a couple of pounds here and there, but if you gain more than five pounds, you should probably reign in your eating habits.

Checking your weight on a regular basis allows you to nip it in the bud if you discover a weight problem – losing the odd few pounds is much easier than trying to shed a stone.

A Sweet Lesson On Patience & Kindness

Every once in a while, a beautiful moment will touch us and make us cry, and for a good reason too - To show us the beauty of human patience and kindness. It was also one of those "What If" moments that I always have. Also, the fact that perhaps one day, this might be me, I really hope that someone will be patient and kind enough to show me an act of kindness like this.

I read this article a few times and still can't stop crying. 

Read on, and prepare lots of tissue...

A NYC Taxi driver wrote:

I arrived at the address and honked the horn. After waiting a few minutes I honked again. Since this was going to be my last ride of my shift I thought about just driving away, but instead I put the car in park and walked up to the door and knocked.. 'Just a minute', answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor.

After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 90's stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940's movie.

By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets.

There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware.

'Would you carry my bag out to the car?' she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman.

She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb.

She kept thanking me for my kindness. 'It's nothing', I told her.. 'I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother to be treated.'

'Oh, you're such a good boy, she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address and then asked, 'Could you drive through downtown?'

'It's not the shortest way,' I answered quickly..

'Oh, I don't mind,' she said. 'I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice.

I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. 'I don't have any family left,' she continued in a soft voice..'The doctor says I don't have very long.' I quietly reached over and shut off the meter.

'What route would you like me to take?' I asked.

For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator.

We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.

Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, 'I'm tired.Let's go now'.
We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico.

Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move.
They must have been expecting her.

I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.

'How much do I owe you?' She asked, reaching into her purse.

'Nothing,' I said

'You have to make a living,' she answered.

'There are other passengers,' I responded.

Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug.She held onto me tightly.

'You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,' she said. 'Thank you.'

I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning light.. Behind me, a door shut.It was the sound of the closing of a life...

I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in thought. For the rest of that day,I could hardly talk.What if that woman had gotten an angry driver,or one who was impatient to end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?

On a quick review, I don't think that I have done anything more important in my life.

We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments.

But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.

Organic Food No More Nutritious Than Non-Organics

Organic produce and meat typically isn't any better for you than conventional food when it comes to vitamin and nutrient content, although it does generally reduce exposure to pesticides and antibiotic-resistant bacteria, according to a US study.

"People choose to buy organic foods for many different reasons. One of them is perceived health benefits," said Crystal Smith-Spangler, who led a team of researchers from Stanford University and the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care.

"Our patients, our families ask about, 'Well, are there health reasons to choose organic food in terms of nutritional content or human health outcomes?'"

She and her colleagues reviewed more than 200 studies that compared either the health of people who ate organic or conventional foods or, more commonly, nutrient and contaminant levels in the foods themselves.

The foods included organic and non-organic fruits, vegetables, grains, meat, poultry eggs and milk.

According to US Department of Agriculture standards, organic farms have to avoid the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, hormones and antibiotics. Organic livestock must also have access to pastures during grazing season.

Many of the studies used, though, didn't specify their standards for what constituted "organic" food, which can cost as much as twice what conventional food costs, the researchers wrote in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Always Full = Positive Thinking

Take it from this picture, that logical and scientific minds alike would agree, that no matter what it is, the glass is always full - be it half full of water and half full of air. 

The glass has never been empty, or half empty, if that's the case, then there is a vacuum we cannot account for. 

Morons would suggest that if you see the glass always full or half empty, you're either in denial or delusional, do NOT believe them! 

They would rather have you see it as half of something they cannot comprehend or be optimistic/pessimistic about, do NOT let them bring you down to your level.

The glass is ALWAYS FULL is the best way to think positively, no matter what you do! 

Which Is The Right Camera For You?

Your camera doesn’t matter. 

If you can shoot well, all you need is a disposable, toy camera or a camera phone to create great work. If you’re not talented, it doesn’t matter if you buy a Nikon D3X or Canon EOS 1D. Your work will still be uninspired.

It’s always better to spend your time and money on learning art and photography, not by spending it on more cameras. I’ve seen friends who have purchased very high-end cameras but do not know how to operate any of the great functions on the camera. Here are a few factors you should look at.

PURPOSE OF BUYING

If you are not shooting Tyra Banks, there is absolutely no reason for an amateur to purchase a camera system that is worth more than maybe $5000? $10000? Unless you are rich, then I have nothing to say.

If you just want to purchase a camera for your daily purposes or traveling, then perhaps it is recommendable to get something light/small, easy to fit into your bag. Through some photography guidance, you still are able to achieve great award winning shots while enjoying the convenience of having a light-weighted camera. 

And if you are a tech geek or photography lover like me, no harm investing slightly more in better cameras/DSLR to obtain better functionalities and effects. 

SPECIFICATION - THE MEGAPIXEL MYTH

Many people always think buying the camera with the highest MEGA PIXEL will get you the best picture. Today, even the cheapest cameras have at least 5 or 6 MP, which enough for any size print. Sharpness depends more on your photographic skill than the number of megapixels, because most people’s sloppy technique or subject motion blurs the image more than the width of a microscopic pixel. There are more than things to look at such as lens, sensor, flashes and memory storage capability. 

Comfort & Liking

Hold the camera and see if you like the grip. Or even try taking a few shots to hear if you like the shutter sound. Compare and contrast different cameras. You must “like” your cameras in order to produce great award winning pictures. Be proud of your chosen camera. 

Here are some of the cute and favorite gadgets I would to introduce to everyone.

Canon G12

Pros: 10MP sensor with superior image quality in low light and higher ISO values, an optical viewfinder, a fully articulated LCD monitor, many dedicated external controls, Raw format, reasonably fast autofocus even in low light, and a powerful flash. 

Cons: Sluggish at times. Controls might be difficult. 

Overall a great traveling toy!

Fujifilm FinePix X100

Featuring a retro design that bears more than a passing resemblance to the Leica M-series, the X100 is a blend of old and new, bringing together a very traditional control system with some distinctly cutting edge features. At the heart of the X100 is a 12.3 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor, a 23mm fixed focal length F/2 lens, and a newly developed Hybrid Viewfinder. This cleverly combines an optical viewfinder and an electronic viewfinder together, with the former similar to those found in rangefinder-type film cameras but overlaid with vital shooting information. 

Retro….but kinda exp

Rollei Telephoto Lens for iPhone 4

Rollei has announced an add-on telephoto conversion lens for the Apple iPhone 4. With an angle of view of 16°, the manual-focus Rollei telephoto lens allows the iPhone camera to capture distant subjects in great detail. Focusing is by way of a traditional focus ring, and is helped by a distance scale that goes from 3m to infinity, with markings at 10m, 20m, 30m and 40m.

Leica M9

Buying Leica is like buying Hermes Birkin Bag instead of a prada bag. This is so far the most expensive camera system I know and adore.

This system (camera + lens) can worth more than $20000. The brand is famous for their M series for their small form factor, light weight and minimalist design.

You might want to check out their website to find out why their camera so expensive: http://us.leica-camera.com/home/

*Leica is not just a camera it’s a way of life.

Choosing a camera is important because it can affect how you produce your pictures. A pricey camera must comes with a great skill set. There is no harm or shame in buying a cheap non-DSLR camera as you still can produce awesome looking pictures.

Always remember… Don’t blame it on your camera. Blame it on you.

Garlic

Adding garlic to chicken pate could reduce the chances of getting food poisoning, research indicates.

Scientists have found a compound in garlic 100 times more effective at fighting common type of bacteria tha causes food poisoning, called Campylobacter, than two types of antibiotic.

Campylobacter is commonly found both on the surface of poultry and inside the flesh. Cases of related food poisoning have been rising in recent years, due partly to an increasing fondness for serving 'pink' chicken liver pate.

Now researchers at Washington State University in the US have found that a compound derived from garlic, called diallyl sulphide, is particularly effective at penetrating the slimy film that protects colonies of Campylobacter.

They found that, in a laboratory setting, it was 100 times more effective than the antibiotics erythromycin and ciprofloxacin, and would often work in "a fraction of the time".

Barbara Rasco, associate professor of food science, said,"Diallyl sulphide could make many foods safer to eat. It can be used to clean food preparation surfaces and as a preservative in packaged foods like potato and pasta salads, coleslaw and deli meats."

The study is published in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. However, the authors said that while eating garlic was generally a healthy thing to do, they could not be sure it would help prevent Campylobacter-related food poisoning.

There were 18 outbreaks of Campylobacter poisoning reported last year, causing 443 people to fall ill. Most were from eating out. There are certain to be many more unreported cases from normal kitchen cooking.

Levels of Campylobacter in most raw chicken are high, so it's really important that chefs cook livers thoroughly to kill any bacteria, even if recipes call for them to be seared and left pink in the middle.

 

The only way of ensuring the pate or parfait will be safe to serve to guests or customers, is by cooking the livers the whole way through.

However, the article didn't conclude whether or not diallyl sulphide, while effective against Campylobacter poisoning, was any good against other types of food poisoning like Vibrio, Salmonella or Shigella-related food poisonings.

With more research in the future, I'm confident that researchers will be able to find more interesting compounds that will be organically effective against these types of food-poisoning bacteria.

How to Survive the 10 Grueling Levels of Office Hell

Even those of us that love our jobs can have days where office life just seems like a terrible punishment from the beyond. If your job is crushing your soul piece by piece, here are some ways you can deal with the pain and suffering of office life.]

10. The Mild Annoyance of Eating at Work

The need to eat at the office doesn't really feel like hell—at least not the eternal-pain-and-agony kind. It's more like the constant splinter in your skin that just keeps annoying you all day. You have to deal with the always-unappealing brown bag lunch, eat at your desk, and deal with nasty coworkers stealing your food. Of course, there are ways to deal with this problem—specifically, make your brown bag lunch more appealing, make it something that's keyboard friendly, and if you really can't deal with the office thieves...just stick some laxatives in the food and call it a day. 

9. The Challenge of Staying Awake

The next level of hell, slightly more annoying than food, is the sheer boredom of your job. Between meetings, mundane tasks, and listening to your coworker's all-to-detailed story about her cat Mittens, it's like your job is trying to put you to sleep. There are a few things you can do to help keep yourself awake, both at your desk and during excruciatingly boring meetings, but you can also give into the temptation and sneak yourself a nap at work. Power naps are the best way to go, and with a few strategies, you should be able to get through a quick nap without anyone the wiser.

8. The Constant Paranoia of Being Monitored

Whether your office has a simple web filter on your computer or they're monitoring your every move, it can make life very difficult. Here's how to tell if you're being monitored at work, and what to do about it if you are. And if its web filters that are the problem, you can always bypass them with your own proxy server, or by grabbing some portable apps and turning a thumb drive into a tiny privacy toolkit to browse without a trace.

7. The Temptation of Constant Distractions

There's always something nagging at you to ignore your work and do something to take your mind off the slave driving, whether it be browsing the web, talking with a coworker, or push notifications from all directions. If you really want to focus while you work, we've got some tips to help you out. If you can't figure out exactly what's distracting you all day, I really recommend using a time tracking program like RescueTime to find out—it'll make it a lot easier to crush those distractions once and for all.

6. The Exhaustion of Long Hours

If you haven't actually counted how many hours you work in a week, it's time to start—and if that number's over 40, you may have a problem. Not only is it exhausting, but it can even lead to health problems like depression, so you need to take charge. At the end of the day, go the f**k home. If you need more motivation than that, there are a few things you can do to make leaving your work behind easier, too.

5. The Sacrifice of a Not Getting Paid

You'd think a hellacious office job would at least pay well, but sadly, that's just not the case. If you're unhappy with the money you're making—and remember, the new salary happiness tipping point is about $50,000—it's time to see if you can get a raise. Don't be tough, be honest, and do your homework beforehand. You're a lot more likely to get paid what you're worth with a well thought out negotiation than going in angry.

4. The Nagging Pain of RSI

You sit at a desk all day, and not only is it making you fat, but it's destroying your eyes, wrists, back, and the rest of your body, slowly and meticulously. The best thing you can do? Take some time to ergonomically optimize your workspace and change your habits for pain-free office work. And if you're having a problem with eye strain, there are a few things you can do in that area too—including trying out these Lifehacker-tested computer glasses.

3. The Stress of Problematic Coworkers

Distracting coworkers is a mild annoyance, but the truly difficult people are a whole new level of hell. You can't change other people, so the best thing you can do is focus on your own triggers to deal with difficult people. And, if things get really out of hand, you can complain about them to management without getting them in trouble. Of course, you could always just tell them you don't like them, too (without being an asshole).

2. The Agony of a Horrible Boss

If your office is hell, your boss is the devil, slowly driving you into madness faster than everything else. Maybe he steals your ideas, or maybe you just dream about killing them because they're so bad at managing. We've talked a lot about how to deal with every kind of crazy boss, and how to effectively complain about them on the off chance you can actually get them to change.

1. The Frustration of Quitting with Your Sanity Intact

Deep in the bowels of office hell, the thing that nags you the most as you endure hours and hours of torture, is whether your job is actually so bad that you should quit. After all, jobs aren't growing on trees these days. If you've gotten so miserable that you just can't survive your job anymore, it may be time to quit. Take some time to prepare yourself for the jump, and make sure you do it with all your contacts and class intact—you may hate everyone at your current office, but they can still be helpful to you in the future (and they're a lot less horrible when you aren't with them all day long). Lastly, if you're looking to get out of the office gig entirely and start freelancing, you may want to wait a bit—you can start freelancing without quitting to see if it's really right for you—because sometimes, it's really, really not, and being jobless is an entirely new type of hell.

If you have any of your own tips for dealing with a hellacious job, be sure to share them in the comments section below. And for those of you that love your job...why don't you just go sit in the corner quietly, alright?

Hygiene Claims Just Won't Wash

Proper hand washing is key for removing unseen bacteria.

Using a hand dryer after washing your hands “is so unhygienic that it might be better to not wash at all”, according to The Daily Telegraph. The newspaper said that the moisture left after only partially drying your hands with an electric dryer makes the spread of bacteria more likely.

The news comes from a laboratory study which compared different hand-drying techniques in 14 volunteers who washed their hands in standard ways. It suggested that ultra-rapid hand dryers and conventional warm-air hand dryers removed similar amounts of bacteria from the hands as long as the dryers were used for an adequate length of time. It also suggested that rubbing your hands together while drying them may release more bacteria from the surface of the skin after washing. These results do not mean that using hand dryers is “unhygienic”, or that not washing your hands is better.

Effective hand washing is very important for reducing the transfer of bacterial and viral infections, so studies identifying the best hand hygiene methods are useful. Larger studies, and studies under normal hand-washing conditions, would be helpful to confirm the findings of this study. While the Telegraph seems to imply that avoiding hand washing may be a better idea, this is unlikely to be the case, and the best option is likely to be simply washing and drying your hands thoroughly.

Where did the story come from?

The study was carried out by researchers from the University of Bradford and the Microbiology Department of Dyson Limited. The study was also funded by Dyson Limited, the company that manufactures the ultra-rapid hand dryer tested in the study. It was published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Applied Microbiology.

This research was reported by the Daily Express and The Daily Telegraph. The Express suggests that “the safest options are paper towels or modern dryers that rapidly strip off moisture”, but the study suggests conventional warm-air dryers can perform as well as these methods if the hands are dried for the full amount of time that the airflow continues. The Telegraph said that using a hand dryer after washing your hands “is so unhygienic that it might be better to not wash at all”. This statement is not supported by this study, which did not assess the amount of bacteria on the hands without any hand washing.

What kind of research was this?

This laboratory study in human volunteers compared a conventional warm-air hand dryer with the Dyson Airblade, a newer ultra-rapid hand dryer manufactured by the company that funded the study. It was specifically interested in whether the dryers differed in how much bacteria they left on the hands, which could be transferred to other surfaces. The researchers were also interested in whether rubbing hands during drying affected the amount of bacteria left on the hands that could be transferred.

The researchers reported that although certain aspects of hand washing (such as types of antibacterial handwash used or hand-washing techniques) have been extensively studied, less research has looked at the contribution of hand drying to the effectiveness of hand washing.

The study used standardised laboratory conditions, and each volunteer used each of the drying methods, with the different methods tested in a random order. These were appropriate methods for testing the effects of the different hand dryers. The effects of the dryers in real-life situations, where conditions are not as controlled, may differ to some extent.

What did the research involve?

Two types of warm-air hand dryer were studied in this research, one operated with a push button and one automatic, as these are typical of hand dryers in common use. These dryers blow warm air downwards to dry the hands, which are also rubbed under the airstream. The manual dryer stays on for 30 seconds and the automatic dryer for 35 seconds.

The study compared the two warm-air hand dryers to an ultra-rapid dryer. The researchers say the ultra-rapid dryer uses two high-pressure “knives” of filtered room-temperature air to blow water off the hands, which are held apart and drawn through the airstream. The manufacturer’s recommended drying time for this dryer is 10 seconds. New dryers were used for this test to avoid any microbial contamination in a used dryer being transferred to the hands.

The researchers recruited 14 adult volunteers to take part in their two-part study. In the first part, volunteers handled fresh raw chicken and then washed their hands in a standard way using an unmedicated liquid soap. They then dried their hands in a variety of ways with conventional warm-air hand dryers, the newer ultra-rapid hand dryer or by allowing the hands to air-dry naturally.

The conventional driers were used either for 10 seconds (the same time as the ultra-rapid drier) or for their recommended length of drying time (30 or 35 seconds, the full length of time the airflow remained on after a single activation). Each volunteer used each drying method on a separate occasion, and the order in which they used the different methods was randomly assigned. After drying, volunteers pressed their fingertips onto sterile foil, and tests were carried out to assess the number of bacteria transferred.

The second part of the study aimed to see whether hand rubbing affected the results of hand washing and drying. In contrast to the first part of the study, it did not use deliberate contamination of the hands with raw meat, and soap was not used during hand washing as the researchers thought it might hide the effects of hand rubbing. This part of the study compared the two conventional warm-air hand dryers (with and without hand rubbing), the newer ultra-rapid hand dryer, and drying the hands with paper towels. All drying methods were used for 15 seconds. The amount of bacteria on palms, middle of the fingers and fingertips before and after washing and drying was compared for the different washing methods.

People with sores or cuts on their hands were not eligible to participate, nor were people who were being treated for skin problems or who had recently used antibiotics or antibiotic creams, which are used to kill bacteria.

What were the basic results?

In the first part of the study, the researchers found that the average amount of bacteria transferred to the foil sheets after the ultra-rapid dryer was lower than after use of the conventional warm-air hand dryers used for 10 seconds or unassisted air drying for 10 seconds. There was no statistically significant difference in bacterial transfer after using the conventional dryers for 10 seconds and air drying hands for 10 seconds.

Using the conventional warm-air hand driers for their recommended amount of time (30-35 seconds) improved their performance, and the levels of bacteria transferred after drying in this way were not significantly different from after using the ultra-rapid dryer.

In the second part of the study, the researchers found that if people rubbed their hands while using the conventional hand driers for 15 seconds, fewer bacteria were removed than if they kept their hands still during drying. If the hands were kept still while using the conventional dryers, the amount of bacteria removed was similar to the amount removed using the ultra-rapid drier for all regions of the hand tested.

Using paper towels to dry the hands removed a similar amount of bacteria from the middle of the fingers as using the dryers, and removed more bacteria from the fingertips than the dryers, although it was not clear whether this difference was statistically significant.

How did the researchers interpret the results?

The researchers concluded that effective hand drying is important to reduce the transfer of remaining bacteria from the hands onto other surfaces after hand washing. They say that rubbing hands during warm-air hand drying removes the benefits of hand washing.

They also suggest that the ultra-rapid hand dryer, manufactured by the company that funded this study, was “superior” to the warm-air dryers. They say that its faster drying time means that people are more likely to dry their hands, and therefore reduces bacterial spread.

Conclusion

Overall, this study suggests that newer ultra-rapid air dryers and conventional warm-air hand dryers perform similarly if used for the recommended lengths of time. It also suggests that rubbing hands together while using a conventional warm-air dryer may reduce the effects of hand washing. There are a few points to note:

• New hand dryers were used in this study, and volunteers used standard methods of hand contamination, hand washing and drying. This is an appropriate way to compare the potential effects of different hand dryers. However, these conditions may not be representative of what happens when people wash and dry their hands in real-life settings.

• The ultra-rapid hand dryer was only better than the conventional warm-air hand dryers if the latter were used for shorter periods than intended by the manufacturers (10 seconds as opposed to 30-35 seconds). This suggests that, for maximum effect, the hands should be left under the drying airstream of warm-air dryers for the full length of drying time.

• It was unclear whether researchers were blinded to which hand-drying method the subjects used. Ideally, the researchers would not have known which drying method was used to provide each sample being tested for bacteria.

• Many bacteria are harmless. However, the type of bacteria found on the hands, and therefore whether they might be harmful, was not assessed in the study.

• The second part of the study, which assessed the effects of hand rubbing, only used the conventional driers for 15 seconds. Had they been used for the recommended 30-35 seconds, the results might have been different.

• The study was relatively small. For each drying method, there was variation between individuals in the amount of bacteria transferred after hand drying. Testing in larger groups of people would be helpful to confirm results.

• New hand dryers were used in this study, so any bacteria found on the hands after drying would have come from the hands themselves or contact with meat in the first part of the study, not the dryer.

This study does not suggest that you are better off not washing your hands than using a hand dryer. It did not compare the amount of bacteria on the hands without any washing and after washing and drying. 

Effective hand washing is very important to reduce the risk of passing on infectious agents, so studies looking at the best way to reduce bacterial transfer are useful.