tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48107558976466200442024-03-12T17:30:01.314-07:00Wool and NutsAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12957545094274145852noreply@blogger.comBlogger851125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810755897646620044.post-72775663171709240692013-11-30T11:09:00.000-08:002013-12-03T04:42:03.828-08:00Bush Telegraph…This phenomena is real. Let me explain. In the outback of Australia I lost my lap-top - worse than that - I left it in a donga! In a place called Quilpie. I hand’t realised this until I’d got to Windorah and crashed out in the Western Star Motel, over 5 hours up an unsealed road. I felt sick. My life is on that machine and it wasn’t backed up. (my life wasn't backed up?) Near to tears I asked theAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326976631032076988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810755897646620044.post-1059019655291494292013-11-25T04:00:00.000-08:002013-12-03T04:42:03.767-08:00Dried mussels: A little plate with 160 g of protein (plus some comments on high-protein low-carbohydrate dieting)var citeN=0; Many hunter-gatherer groups employed various methods of drying to preserve meats. Drying also increases significantly the protein content of meats; this is the case with dried mussels. I discussed this effect of drying before here with respect to small fish (citeN=citeN+1;document.write(Number(citeN))). The photo below is of a plate with about 240 g of dried mussels that I prepared Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326976631032076988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810755897646620044.post-81089087919674806382013-11-24T17:08:00.000-08:002013-12-03T04:42:03.837-08:00...out of office (part 2)As time in the outback draws to a close, here is another one of those wonderful 'willy-willy's.' Sitting in a hotel (at last) in one of the most remote places on this continent, I'd like to rant just a little, about the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) treaty, which considering my presentation on Big Pharma last week, has never seemed more relevant. Click on the flowers below to find out a Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326976631032076988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810755897646620044.post-37553066305845404782013-11-20T01:23:00.000-08:002013-12-03T04:42:03.783-08:00...out of office!...please excuse the self-indulgent nature of this blog whilst your blogger is outback, chasing tornadoes! OK, well maybe not tornadoes, but Australia's very own, 'Willy-Willy's'! I promise normality soon. : | ...C.P..Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326976631032076988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810755897646620044.post-28469006581390092042013-11-15T23:45:00.000-08:002013-12-03T04:42:03.774-08:00...addendum Having made a 30 min version of my presentation and fended off those appalled by the 'drone', I have responded to the call to create something smaller, more compact, without the melancholic drone and with just a sense of the subject matter. Sensitive to this request, here is a gentle haiku version for you to unwind to. C.P..Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326976631032076988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810755897646620044.post-41938137975110432122013-11-14T22:59:00.000-08:002013-12-03T04:42:03.792-08:00...from AustralasiaWhat a blur this week has been! The conference has probably been the most interesting and engaging of all those I’ve recently attended. Whilst its been great to spend quality time with colleagues and friends from the UK, it has been fantastic to catch up with old friends from other parts of the world and make new ones too! (Be lovely see more friends from non-English speaking countries though) Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326976631032076988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810755897646620044.post-35972682915355156122013-11-11T04:00:00.000-08:002013-12-03T04:42:03.780-08:00Latitude and cancer rates in US states: Aaron Blaisdell’s intuition confirmedvar citeN=0; In the comments section of my previous post on cancer rates in the US states (citeN=citeN+1;document.write(Number(citeN))) my friend Aaron Blaisdell noted that: …comparing states that are roughly comparable in terms of number of seniors per 1000 individuals, latitude appears to have the largest effect on rates of cancer. Good point, so I collected data on the latitudes of US statesAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326976631032076988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810755897646620044.post-90120165982518230902013-11-11T02:44:00.000-08:002013-12-03T04:42:03.841-08:00Critical MassThis week sees people from around the world gathering for the 5th International Arts of Good Health and Wellbeing Conference, organised by Arts and Health Australia and this year, with a fantastic contingent of people from the UK...and a positive posse of people from the North East! The first event today, saw Mike White from the Centre for Medical Humanities, facilitate the 3rd Critical MassAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326976631032076988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810755897646620044.post-36154734623037644892013-11-10T00:33:00.000-08:002013-12-03T04:42:03.782-08:00lost for words... ...just a few small words from your disjointed blogger...following last weeks news of the inequalities in cultural spending up and down England, as if by magic, this week’s blog brings you the state’s response - well Arts Council England’s ‘refreshed’ version of Great Art and Culture for Everyone. As with last weeks news on inequalities in spending on the arts, this latest fanfare Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326976631032076988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810755897646620044.post-33433380489784450462013-11-02T10:37:00.000-07:002013-12-03T04:42:03.777-08:00BLAH, BLAH, BLAH...Short and sweet this week, but of newsworthy comment are the plans of Narendra Modi, the chief minister in the state of Gujarat, to commission the worlds tallest statue, at an estimated cost of £200 million! The 182 meter cement and steel, bronze-clad effigy of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, India’s first leader after independence, is due to be completed in 4 years time. The number of Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326976631032076988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810755897646620044.post-54481995299289384542013-10-28T07:50:00.000-07:002013-12-03T04:42:03.803-08:00...notes from a beautiful worldThe fog, The Fog, The FOG, THE FOGThis week, I’m digesting the fact that my dear little island home is hell-bent on the development of Hinkley Point in Somerset. For our international readers, Hinkley Point is a good old-fashioned nuclear reactor. Hinkley Point A (now closed) was a real magnox-charmer and producer of plutonium. Hinkley Point B is a gas-cooled-reactor, and a ‘second generation’ (Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326976631032076988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810755897646620044.post-16948641304773203962013-10-28T04:00:00.000-07:002013-12-03T04:42:03.769-08:00Aging and cancer: The importance of taking a hard look at the numbersvar citeN=0; The table below is from a study by Hayat and colleagues (citeN=citeN+1;document.write(Number(citeN))). It illustrates one common trend regarding cancer – it increases dramatically in incidence among those who are older. With some exceptions, such as Hodgkin's lymphoma, there is a significant increase in risk particularly after 50 years of age. So I decided to get state data from theAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326976631032076988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810755897646620044.post-1821572558508174252013-10-19T10:02:00.000-07:002013-12-03T04:42:03.770-08:00...on with the showWhy oh why the SUN burning? Well, it was on the street just blowing around like a piece of trash. Why not the MAIL? Good question, but it was just time and place. Often the dear old BBC show us images of people in far-off places, waving flags and pictures of our illustrious leaders - whilst setting fire to them - and shouting this and that. I thought I’d simply do a restrained and uptight Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326976631032076988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810755897646620044.post-5537222575985338942013-10-14T04:00:00.000-07:002013-12-03T04:42:03.806-08:00Should you drink your coffee filtered?var citeN=0; Coffee is one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world. Arguably a key reason for this is that coffee has psychoactive properties that we may be hardwired to value, even if subconsciously. For example, it increases alertness; possibly a fitness-enhancing effect in our evolutionary past. Here the term “fitness” in “fitness-enhancing effect” means “reproductive success”, andAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326976631032076988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810755897646620044.post-87663883806649017992013-10-13T04:31:00.000-07:002013-12-03T04:42:03.838-08:00Set Fire to THE SUNOhhh, so much to say this week, but lets start with the popularist toilet tissue that offers radiant heat and robust forensic analysis of current affairs. This week, perfectly timed to enhance the importance of World Mental Health Day, it chose to report on the underfunded state of our mental health care system, which all too frequently misses out against more sensational health priorities. I’m Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326976631032076988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810755897646620044.post-64406809109136589892013-10-07T02:01:00.000-07:002013-12-03T04:42:03.821-08:00FOR HARDWORKING PEOPLE & FOR SHIRKING PEOPLE TOOSo last week I gave you a taste of Puffer Fish. Was that little morsel a tasty treat, or did it expand and stick in your gullet? Well, you’ll choke on this for sure. The story comes from Yangzhong in in Jiangsu province, China where one of the largest public arts commissions in the world is causing the usual flurry of polarised responses. I say art, but as of this moment, I’ve not been able to Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326976631032076988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810755897646620044.post-24950728036074355952013-09-30T04:00:00.000-07:002013-12-03T04:42:03.772-08:00How to handle a dog attackvar citeN=0; For most people, dog attacks are not very common. But they happen occasionally, and the experience can be traumatic. Incidentally, they are also a good reason why I am not a big fan of barefoot walking or running. Broken glass pieces and nails can be a problem if you are barefoot; so can dog attacks. The photo below, from Dreamstime.com, shows a charging dog. It reminds me of an Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326976631032076988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810755897646620044.post-57202152594003892132013-09-28T07:49:00.000-07:002013-12-03T04:42:03.809-08:00BAUBLES, BANGLES and BRIGHT SHINY THINGSFirst of all, a huge welcome to Manchester to all of you attending the Conservative Party Conference. Whilst I'm sure the weeks agenda is a full and exciting one, the wonderful world of Arts and Health offers you the most splendid welcome if you'd like to have a conversation about 21st Century well-being and health. Arguably the crucible of this growing global movement that sees culture and the Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326976631032076988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810755897646620044.post-66007595437885241142013-09-22T04:40:00.000-07:002013-12-03T04:42:03.825-08:00Hidden Mothers, Artlines, Music, Money and more...Looking up images of the niquab to enable a succinct contribution to the debate as to whether doctors and nurses should be able to wear the veil at work, I found myself rather distracted not by the usual images, but something I’d never seen or heard of before: HIDDEN MOTHERS. Good grief! In early photography, if the subject for the image was your squirming bundle of joy and poor old mamma was to Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326976631032076988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810755897646620044.post-48778592945868587402013-09-16T05:41:00.000-07:002013-12-03T04:42:03.801-08:00Quark for Health...A small blast from ItalyWhat a week! I AM: Art as an agent for change has seen the fourth partnership meeting in Pescara, Italy. As guests of the Italian health agency, FeDaSerD people from Pescara and Pistoia in Italy, from Kütahya in Turkey and from Liverpool and Manchester in the UK have begun designing an artists exchange between the three countries which will see a series of artist led Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326976631032076988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810755897646620044.post-42914905391817375992013-09-09T04:00:00.000-07:002013-12-03T04:42:03.794-08:00Waist-to-weight ratios in pictures: The John Stone transformationvar citeN=0; John Stone is a bodybuilder and founder of a bodybuilding and fitness web site (citeN=citeN+1;document.write(Number(citeN))). There he has provided pictures and stats of his remarkable transformation, which were used to prepare the montage below. John’s height is reported as 5' 11.5". Below the photos are the months in which they were taken, the waist circumferences in inches, Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326976631032076988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810755897646620044.post-4329253412241453162013-09-08T11:11:00.000-07:002013-12-03T04:42:03.795-08:00TWO BLASTS FROM AUSTRALIABLAST ONE ( B O O M )“MILLIONS of dollars in taxpayer-funded grants for obscure research projects - such as the role of public art in climate change - will be scrapped or redirected to find cures for dementia and other diseases as part of a Coalition crackdown on government waste.”There’s a sentence to strike fear into our hearts eh? Sounds like histrionics? Well actually, its from the Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326976631032076988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810755897646620044.post-78703033070326086702013-09-01T12:53:00.000-07:002013-12-03T04:42:03.831-08:00The (uncomfortable) Science of Self Realisation...So - the little film above is a taster for something larger that I'm working on around the thorny issue of what constitutes research and evidence in arts and health. It should be ready for November. What else to squeeze in today? Syria? Too removed from an Arts/Health agenda perhaps? The chemical attacks were as horrible as it gets. Unimaginable. Vile - whoever used them. Still, it has beenAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326976631032076988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810755897646620044.post-80187469123883472872013-08-26T05:58:00.000-07:002013-12-03T04:42:03.835-08:00Could we have evolved traits that are detrimental to our survival?var citeN=0; Let us assume that we collected data on the presence or absence of a trait (e.g., propensity toward risky behavior) in a population of individuals, as well as on intermediate effects of the trait, downstream effects on mating and survival success, and ultimately on reproductive success (a.k.a. “fitness”, in evolutionary biology). The data would have been collected over several Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326976631032076988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4810755897646620044.post-9546939885979167202013-08-25T16:05:00.000-07:002013-12-03T04:42:03.844-08:00This, That and the Other...I find facebook a pest and an irritant, but just occasionally I stumble upon interesting stories and individuals. Overwhelmed with work, (but with determination to provide some interesting texture, as well as funding and job opportunities), this week’s blog offers two-such links. Click on the photograph above to discover the work of Jill Peters and her documentation of burneshas, that is females Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15326976631032076988noreply@blogger.com