Life - part 3

This is the last part of my presentation. So far I have mentioned some facts and definitions. Now I want to present some interesting (and surprising) breakthrough in the search for extraterrestrial life. Today I will write about ... Mars.

Mars

I think the Red Planet is one of the most characteristic planets in solar system and beyond. Mars was theme for many books, movies and games. However I will don't mention these, but rather state some facts.

Is Mars Earth-like?

Lets take a look at some numbers.

Mars mass = 0.107 Earths 

Mars surface = 0.284 Earths

Mars volume = 0.151 Earths

Mars radius = 0.531 Earths

As we can see Mars seems to be completely different, but... 

Interesting isn't it? 

Final words

I would like to thank for all the comments and participation. I hope that my presentation was a bit interesting. Personally I believe there is intelligent life beyond solar system  and I hope that one day we meet it. I also hope that this will be peaceful. Even though I can imagine that worlds capable of supporting life are rare and precious, and that finally could be reason for conflict. But, who knows?

Q:

[1] According to the video above; (again) Do you think that we find extraterrestrial life within decade? (assuming that they send ARES ... )

[2] What is your favorite (of course if there is any) book, movie or game related to Mars?
 

Life - part 2

It is perfectly reasonable that in the search for life in universe we look for life-as-we-know-it. In last part I mentioned few lifeforms that could survive in deadly environments - environments similar to those we can meet on alien worlds. 

Habitable Zone

In search for alien life astrobiologists follow a simple rule:"Where there's water, there might be life." When we look to the night sky, we can see a myriad of stars. Many of those stars are orbited by planets. The question is: where to look? The answer is: habitable zone (HZ). Try to imagine HZ as belt of space in which water can exists in liquid state. To estimate stars HZ we use Stefan-Boltzmann equation. We simply put stars luminosity into equation and do the calculations. However we don't get exact HZ, but rather estimated HZ. It is so, because Stefan-Boltzmann equation applies to completely black surfaces and as we know, planets aren't black. If we calculate HZ for Sun, we get some interesting results. (1) Suns HZ spans from 0.7 x Earths orbit to  1.3 x Earths orbit. (2) Venus lies in inner edge of HZ at 0.72 x Earths orbit. (3) Mars is beyond HZ (1.52 x Earths orbit). 

Venus

Let us take a closer look at Venus. It lies in Suns HZ, but as we all know there is no life on Venus. The fact is not surprising, isn't it? Maybe a little, let me show few characteristics

Venus mass = 0.815 Earths 

Venus surface = 0.902 Earths

Venus volume = 0.857 Earths

Venus radius = 0.949 Earths

and few more. It looks similar doesn't it? 

"Instead of a lava-strewn wasteland, Venus might have been a steamy-jungle world with lush vegetation and perhaps a diversity of animal life. So what went wrong?" [1]  

Indeed, what went wrong? Well there are two theories, but that's another story. If your interested just check the reference.

Europa Moon

I suppose the Jupiter's moon is quite well known. The interesting fact about Europa is that even though he lies far beyond Suns HZ and  he is not Earth-like many scientists believe that there is subterranean ocean on Europa. 

Summary

Story of Europa and Venus shows that still we do know little about HZs. I believe that discovery of alien lifeforms is only a matter of time. I can't say when or where it happens, but I am sure that place of this discovery will be surprising.

Q:

Do you think that we discover extraterrestrial life within decade? When?

Ref.:

[1] Life Everywhere by David Darling

   

Life - part 1

Hello everyone  

This week topic is life. Life in general. In my presentation I will cover informations

about some unique terrestrial lifeforms; major developments and theories in search for

extraterrestrial life; and in last part we move to mars.

So, what is life?

According to wikipedia „life is characteristic that distinguishes objects that have signaling and self-sustaing processes (biology) from those that do not.” It seems pretty straightforward and simple. There is no strict definition of life, but we can assume that this one is sufficient. However there are few more proposed definitions of life:

Living things are systems that tend to respond to changes in their environment, and inside themselves, in such a way as to promote their own continuation.

Life is a self-sustained chemical system capable of undergoing Darwinian evolution.

Things with the capacity for metabolism and motion.

Things with the capacity for reproduction and passing information.

and so on.  

Life as we don't know it.

When we think about living organism, we naturally assume that there must be a specific set of conditions for life to survive, i.e. water, proper temperature and some sources of energy. We all know that there is no life on Wenus due to its deadly environment – for example high levels of radiation exposure. However, there are microorganism called extremophiles capable to survive in most bizarre Earth regions. Extremophiles has adapted to withstand such extremities as freezing, starvation, very high temperatures, complete desiccation and many more. Understanding how these organism can survive such conditions is crucial for the search for extraterrestrial life.

List of extremophiles is long, but I will mention my favorite ones

Hyperthermophile - can thrive at temperatures between 80 – 122 C; thermophile lives at temperatures between 60-80 C.

Xerophile – an organism that can grow in extremely dry environment

Piezophile – an organism that lives optimally at high pressure i.e. deep subsurface or oceanic trenches.

Polyextremohile – an organism that qualifies as an extremophile under more than one category

Example of extremophile:

So, according to the information above, do you think that we may find extraterrestrial in the near future?

If yes, try to guess where (Mars, Europa (moon), Earth, other)? 

Our native supernatural creatures revival

Monsters from Greek/Roman mythology are generally well known. Celtic and Scandinavian legends are less popular, but their characters still appear in contemporary culture. What about our (Slavic) monsters?

(picture by great Alfons Mucha)

Demonology of Eastern Europe is also rich, but still waits to be discovered. In my opinion it has its own specific. Generally Slavic monsters derive from people who died in exceptional way. Most of them is not completely evil. Usually they have rather capricious personality - even dangerous sometimes help people. Also they have some special (almost nice) methods of killing - many creatures tickle, stroke or caress their victim to death.

Wiły are good example of this behavior. Before they became demons, they had been young and pretty girls. They loved to dance boys to death or to make them crazy. Still, they could help them to marry a proper girl or tell their future.

So, be cautious boys!

Other weird creatures were dziwożonas. Usually people imagined them as ugly very long-haired women with hairy bodies. Their breasts were so long, that they could sling them upon their shoulders or even use them for washing clothes. Dziwożonas were very dangerous for pregnant women and little babies. They could steal baby's shadow, make pregnant vomit or even swap newborn babies to their own. Luckily, dziwożonas had some feelings - to get your baby back, you had to abandon their children. If dziwożona hears baby crying, she will come to take care of it and will bring your boy or girl.

There are also male demons. If (by chance) you're going to commit a suicide, you have a chance to become a płanetnik. Płanetnik's job is taking care of clouds - if he's in good mood, he can help farmers bringing rain when needed. Otherwise, he can destroy all crops.

Water creatures were usually more wicked. If you are at water and meet a luring beautiful naked girl in time of new moon, don't come closer! It might be rusałka who can tackle you to death. Moreover, some utopiecs may wait hidden nearby. They are very smart and have many ways to attract people. If you really want to have bath in a lake, please do it after St. John's Night. Saint John baptisms all the waters and that make utopiecs less aggressive.

Although all these creatures are less popular then heroes of western mythologies, many people try to restore their memory. Slavic pagan habits are fascinating and we can watch them or even participate during some cultural events, for example Festival on Wolin Island or Midsummer Night. Moreover, Slavic legends which inspired our national bards are now present in music (like in Żywiołak's song above) or in cinema (especially Czech and Russian). There is even a computer game "Słowianie" which uses Slavic mythology.

Questions:
1. People's fascination of paganism increases nowadays and it doesn't concern only Central Europe. What could be reason of this social phenomenon?

2. What do you think about death caused by tackling or caress? Is it possible at all? Could it be pleasant?

Monsters as horror movies stars.

Monsters always have had their place in art and literature. However, some of them became real stars in the age of cinema. A lot of various monsters have appeared in movies: mythological Gorgon, sirens (not necessarily bad) or cyclops. Many of them have been created as stop motion by guru of monster animation, Ray Harryhausen. Here you can see some of his artworks (1930s-1950s).



However, some creatures have been depicted in cinema more often than others. I mean horror movies stars: vampires, werewolves and Frankenstein. Not many know, that word vampire's etymology is connected with Eastern Europe and has its Polish equivalent "wąpierz". There is quite likely hypothesis that stories about vampires have been popularized in early Middle Ages by Slavic nuns who used to take care of children in the West of Europe.

According to Slavic beliefs vampire come into being from unburnt dead bodies. Christianity brought habit of burring deceased instead of burning them, so there had to be a really plague of vampires ;-) In the beginning of XIX th century they gained even greater glory, when they became heroes of Romantic literature. The contemporary image of vampire had been created by Bram Stoker in novel "Dracula" screened and adapted in many variations. One of the most famous is version with Bela Lugosi made in 1931 by Murnau. Below you can see fragments of it in Bauhaus' cover:



I guess I don't have to mention how popular vampires are still in the movies, comics (eg. "Vampirella") or RPG games ("Vampire. Mascarade").

Contrariwise to vampires, werewolves' origin can't be situated in one particular place. They have appeared in every wolves-saturated regions of the world and have their form in almost every significant mythology. Since 1931 werewolves have been present in movies. The most known image of werewolf is probably part of Jack Nicholson in "Wolf".

Frankenstein can't be linked to any folk legends. His character had been created by 18-years old Mary Shelley in 1816. Although he was brought to existence in UK, Frankenstein made his biggest career in USA. Below there is Boris Karloff's interpretation with my beloved scene at the lake:



In the end, I would like to remind another countenance of monsters from famous Tim Burton's picture:

Questions:
Do you like watching old horror movies?
Why do people like watching monsters in cinema?
Can you name any computer games with vampires?

Monsters in history and culture.

It seems that monsters used to accompany humans for thousands years. They were embodiment of our fears and premonitions. People were trying to avoid meeting their hideous figures as well as their mysterious power. Luckily, there were always some brave heroes ready to face them and to rescue horrified community.

In the past people were afraid of monsters because they really believed in their existence. Nowadays monsters surrounds us but we don't care. We can find them in primary school books and Disney movies depicted as funny and friendly creatures. Does it mean that we finally domesticated them or we have no fears?

Below mix from Monsters & Co and beautiful Chech song:

In fact, the landmark of this change of attitude was very ordinary: electric light. Monsters, even if you could meet them also during the day, belong to the world of darkness. You never know what lies hidden in the shadow, while enlighten streets look safely.

Every civilization had its own gallery of monsters, however some of them appeared simultaneously in different parts of world and they were succeeded by newer cultures. The good example are dragons present in China and America as well as in Europe. In Christian symbolism dragons were identified with devil forces which must be defeated, while in Asia they are often benevolent.

Below Paolo Uccello picture form 1470 with dragon as incarnation of devil.

Fafner from picture below is one of the most interesting European dragons: wise and eloquent, use to talk with his killer about philosophy before he died. Fafner, known from German mythology, occurred in Wagner's opera "The Ring of the Nibelung" and he still inspires: lately he appeared in anime Soukyuu no Fafner.
Below Fafner painted by Arthur Rackham in 1911.

Another my favourite monster, which is also still popular (eg. in computer games and comics), is a huge wolf Fenrir. During doomsday Fenrir is going to gobble the most important Scandinavian god - Odin (and this is how the real Armageddon will look like ;-) Here you can see this smart beast while he's biting off a hand of another god:



Some monsters were perceived as bad creatures and later their image have changed. The good examples are Greek harpies. They used to be shown as dangerous birds with creepy female faces and later they shaped into beautiful winged ladies.

In modern history perception of monsters was changing. It depended on actual trends and fascinations. Poor dragons were combated by medieval knights until creatures from Greek and Roman legends got popular in Baroque. Romanticism restored monsters from local believes and Expressionism gave it deeper meaning - they began to represent darkness of human soul. Finally Modernism found beauty in their terrifying nature whereas Surrealism made whole world monstrous :-)

Questions:
1. Do you like monsters? Why/why not?
2. Do you have any favourite mythological creature?

Visiting London - Entertaiment - Part 3

Visiting London - Entertainment - Part 3

In this part of my presentation I want to talk about entertainment in London. Where are many possibilities to get some fun there. From theatres through music clubs such as 'fabric' to football matches on great stadiums situated near to city centre with great public communication connection. So lets begin :)

Madame Tussauds

I was wondering in which part put some information about Madame Tussauds. In the end I decided to put this in entertainment. The internationally renowned waxwork collection continues to draw the crowds. It's not just visitors who can enjoy it, but also the eminent and celebrities keen to be immortalised. It is 'must see' place in London but to be honest only for one time. I have great time with this exhibition and I really recommend this.

Pubs & Clubs

The Cuban

I don't know the names of many pubs or clubs. But I can recommend some places. First one is 'The Cuban'. Great place with great drinks and food. Like "Cucumber Martini" a divine mix of cucumber, Zubrowka Bison Vodka and sugar as they say "Cucumber never tested so good". As you may see they use Polish vodka Zubrowka. You can find this great product of Poland in other drinks like "Bison Mojito" drink made from Zubrowka Bision Vodka with mint, basil, fresh lime and sugar topped with apple juice(similar to our "Szarlotka" :P). This bar is situated in heart of Stables Market(mentioned before in part 2 of my presentation) in lock area. An absolute must do when you are in Camden's markets. Great climate and atmosphere with live cuban music.

fabric

I'm not expert with clubs I have only been in few. But this place suited for me :) Especially 15 minutes version of Voodoo People remix by Pendulum.

Concerts

London offers you big list of concerts in every time in year. There are so many events and festivals so everybody can find something interesting for him. I have never been to a concert at Hyde Park but when you see photos like this...:

The Live 8 concert for Africa in Hyde Park in London.

It must be great experience to see your favourite band/singer in such a big concert. Next position in my to do list:)

Football

If you are football fan or maniac, London is a great place for you with five Premier League clubs( Arsenal, Chelsea, West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham) and two League Championship(Crystal Palace and Queens Park Rangers). If you don't get tickets for match, good choice is sightseeing Arsenal's new stadium the "Emirates Stadium" with capacity of 60,355 seats and also great club museum. "Stamford Bridge" home of Roman Abramovich Chelsea with 41,841 seats is worth seeing. When we are in stadiums you can forget Wembley Stadium. With huge 90,000 capacity is second largest stadium in Europe(only Barcelona's Camp Nou with 98,772 is bigger) . It is England football team national stadium and hosts the latter stages of the top level domestic club cup competition, the FA Cup.

Other places

Some places worth to go by night :)

Soho

Very famous area of the City of Westminster mainly because of sex industry in past but now it is a place where you can clearly see culture mix of London. Many pubs, clubs and restaurants and late-night coffee shops that give the streets an "open all night" feel at the weekends.

Leicester Square & Piccadilly Circus

In those places you can find many people during weekends walking and searching for some fun at night. Very busy but "with some thing in the air".

Thanks for reading, now time for questions :)

Questions

What kind of entertainment do you like the most ?
Do you have your favourite places(anywhere) ?

Visiting London - Shopping - Part 2

The arrival of spring signals it is time to refresh your wardrobe with the season's latest looks; and of all the fashion capitals none satisfy better than London.

The center of London

Start along Old and New Bond street and South Molton Street. Even if you can't afford these fantasies, the window shopping is sure to fill you with inspiration. There is always an extra buzz around the capital's chief shopping streets. The most multifarious choice is nowhere like Oxford Street, which mixes high-street fashion and high-end designerwear effortlessly. From Top Shop and H&M to Debenhams and even Primark, where clothes are very cheap, you are sure to find the right look for you. Nearby is Regent Street, where you can visit Hamleys toy store and Apple Store.

Brompton Road in Knightsbridge

One of the world's most famous department stores, established in 1849, is Harrods located on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge opposite Burberry. It offers everything you can only imagine - from furniture and sportswear to food and fashion. There are over twenty restaurants serving probably every kind of menu. You can find either pasta or sushi. The decor of Harrods is remarkable. There are several floors in this building. You must see the Food Halls, the Egyptian Hall and the Pet Department. At night the store is illuminated by 11,500 light bulbs. After Christmas you can't miss the January sales - no sale is more famous than Harrods. Bargain hunters come from all over the world to camp out the night before to make sure they are at the front of the queue for some unusual bargains.

Portobello Road Market

If you are looking for a one-off souvenir of your visit, the city with over 2000 years of history under its belt has more antiques for you to choose from than you can expect. London's antique street markets probably represent the best chance of a cheaple. The most popular is of course Portobello Road Antique Market in Notting Hill. Going along the street you pass George Orwell's house.

There are over 2000 stalls on Saturdays and you can pick up anything from a centuries-old antique to a piece of jewellery made only the day before. You can even find there some magazines from 1980s such as Vogue or Playboy :). Thousands of people are browsing second-hand clothing stalls or explore One of a Kind, a favourite of Kate Moss and stylists for magazines, who shop here for vintage finds that they can be sure they won't see anyone else wearing. There is also a stall with amazing pancakes served with nutella and strawberries or with ham and cheese. So if you are hungry, you must go there - no doubt.

Camden Town

The king of London markets, however, is Camden Market. Whether it is Camden Lock, Camden Canal Market, the Stables Market or the sprawling outdoor area and shops, there are fantastic range of stuff to buy.

Question

What do you think about travels only for shopping ?

Do you have your own recommendation ?

Visiting London - Classics - Part 1

In 'my' week on the blog I want to present my top places in London. This truly is a city for all seasons - open 24/7, 356 days of the year. Whatever time of year you plan to visit, the capital is packed with events, festivals, activities, exhibits and more. And it doesn't matter whether it's balmy summer's day or crisp autumn evening, London's world-famous attractions are all here to enjoy. First part will cover very classic places. So let's begin.

Buckingham Palace

First must see place is Buckingham Palace.

Some interesting and basic information about this marvellous place. Buckingham Palace has been official London residence of Britain's sovereigns since 1837. Today it serves as both the home and office of Her Majesty The Queen. Its nineteen State Rooms, which open for eight weeks a year, form the heart of the working palace, and more then 50,000 people visit each year as guests at State, ceremonial and official occasions, and Garden Parties.

Best way to get there is by underground. Stations: Green Park, Hyde Park Corner, St James's Park and Victoria are in near neighbourhood.

Changing the Guard is also very popular and famous. This is where 1 member of Queen's Guards exchanges duty with the previous guard. Both guards are dressed in traditional red tunics and bearskin hats, and the ceremony is set to music.
To catch the ultimate royal experience, stand outside Buckingham Palace at 11am. To be sure to see this great performance check full schedule on royal.gov.uk.

Also very interesting maybe for you the Royal Mews. It is where the State vehicles are housed and maintained. These include the magnificent Gold State Coach used for Coronations and those carriages used for Royal and State occasions, State Visits, Weddings and the State Opening of Parliament.

St James's Park

When you are near Buckingham Palace it is great occasion to see St James's Park. The oldest of the Royal Parks of London. St. James's Park is bounded by mention before Buckingham Palace to the west, The Mall and St. James's Palace to the North, Horse Guards to the east, and Birdcage Walk to the south. The park has a small lake with two islands. Duck Island and West Island. With bridge across lake with great view of official residence of Her Majesty The Queen framed by trees and fountains.

Big Ben

After some relax in the really nice park. You are only 5 minutes walk from the most famous monument situated in London. Big Ben is nickname of the great bell of the clock from Palace of Westminster. But also it is used to refer clock tower as well. As you can see in picture above this neogothic building looks great. Specially after sun goes down.

London Eye

When you are standing close to Big Ben it is hard not to see the London Eye. You must only cross the river Thames by Westminster Bridge Rd. Europe's largest ferris wheel, offers breathtaking views of London despite of the weather, night or day. All the variety and activity of London lies beneath you as you take in the spectacular panorama. From up height, look down at the River Thames winding through the city, gaze out to the edges of London.

Trafalgar Square

After I think 10 - 15 minutes walk from London Eye crossing the river by footbridge you can reach Trafalgar Square. During this very long journey from London Eye to Trafalgar Square I recommend to stay for a minute or two in Sherlock Holmes pub for one or to pints :).

Trafalgar Square is the most famous square in United Kingdom and one of the most famous in the world. It is situated in heart of London. With Nelson's Column in the centre. Square are surrounded by roadways on three sides and on the other side are stairs to the National Gallery, the one of the city captivating galleries, which always provide fantastic day out.

Questions

Have ever been to London ?
What is your favourite places in London ?
Did you enjoy time in London ?

HEALTHY LIFESTYLE - 'THE KILLERS'

In 3rd part i'm not going to tell you stories about famous band from USA but about unhealthy drinks, drugs, narcotics which are damaging our organism.

Tobacco:

Tobacco contains nicotine which is both a stimulant and a sedative to the central nervous system. It is known to be a very addictive substance. Smokers can become physically and psychologically dependent. The long term health risks of smoking cigarettes include emphysema, heart disease, stroke, and cancer of the mouth, larynx, pharynx, esophagus, lungs, pancreas, cervix, uterus, and bladder.

Alcohol:

Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant. Short term effects of excessive alcohol intake may include impaired judgment and coordination, distorted vision, slurred speech, nausea, and blackouts. Death from alcohol poisoning begins to be a possibility if the blood alcohol level reaches .30. The long term health risks of heavy drinking include hypertension, stroke, cirrhosis of the liver, heart problems, brain and nerve damage, sexual dysfunction, and stomach ailments.

Marijuana:

Marijuana contains THC (Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) which accounts for most of its psychoactive or mind altering effects. The short-term effects of using marijuana include sleepiness, memory and concentration problems, impaired motor coordination, increased heart rate, dry mouth and throat, and decreased social inhibitions. The long term effects of using marijuana include impaired lung functioning, sexual problems, breast tissue development in men, and possible immune system damage.

Narcotics

Narcotics are painkillers or analgesics. These drugs include morphine, heroin, codeine, and Dilaudid, all of which are derived from opium. Synthetic narcotics include drugs such as Demerol, Percodan, and Darvon. These drugs tend to reduce sensory feeling and sensitivity of all kinds, to pleasure as well as pain. In large doses, they induce drowsiness, mental clouding, lethargy, and even sleep. They are highly addictive. Overdose risks include convulsions, coma, and death.

Anabolic Steroids are synthetic derivatives of the male hormone testosterone. These derivatives of testosterone promote the growth of skeletal muscle and increase lean body mass. The long-term, high dose effects of steroid use are largely unknown. Major side effects of anabolic steroid use include liver tumors, jaundice, fluid retention, high blood pressure, acne, and trembling. Aggression and mood swings as well as other psychiatric side effects may result from their abuse.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HU85kV-WLbU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEFPdNv2Ddk&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEpTTolebqo&feature=related

Which from above have you already tried?

Healthy lifestyle is now in fashion - do you think people will follow it?

HEALTHY LIFESTYLE - ACTIVITIES

Regular exercise can help protect you from heart disease and stroke, high blood pressure, noninsulin-dependent diabetes, obesity, back pain, osteoporosis, and can improve your mood and help you to better manage stress.

For the greatest overall health benefits, experts recommend that you do 20 to 30 minutes of aerobic activity three or more times a week and some type of muscle strengthening activity and stretching at least twice a week. However, if you are unable to do this level of activity, you can gain substantial health benefits by accumulating 30 minutes or more of moderate-intensity physical activity a day, at least five times a week.

If you have been inactive for a while, you may want to start with less strenuous activities such as walking or swimming at a comfortable pace. Beginning at a slow pace will allow you to become physically fit without straining your body. Once you are in better shape, you can gradually do more strenuous activity.

How Physical Activity Impacts Health

Regular physical activity that is performed on most days of the week reduces the risk of developing or dying from some of the leading causes of illness and death.

• Reduces the risk of dying prematurely.

• Reduces the risk of dying prematurely from heart disease.

• Reduces the risk of developing diabetes.

• Reduces the risk of developing high blood pressure.

• Helps reduce blood pressure in people who already have high blood pressure.

• Reduces the risk of developing colon cancer.

• Reduces feelings of depression and anxiety.

• Helps control weight.

• Helps build and maintain healthy bones, muscles, and joints.

• Helps older adults become stronger and better able to move about without falling.

• Promotes psychological well-being.

Specific Health Benefits of Exercise:

- Heart Disease and Stroke. Daily physical activity can help prevent heart disease and stroke by strengthening your heart muscle, lowering your blood pressure, raising your high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels (good cholesterol) and lowering low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels (bad cholesterol), improving blood flow, and increasing your heart's working capacity.

- High Blood Pressure. Regular physical activity can reduce blood pressure in those with high blood pressure levels. Physical activity also reduces body fatness, which is associated with high blood pressure.

- Noninsulin-Dependent Diabetes. By reducing body fatness, physical activity can help to prevent and control this type of diabetes.

- Obesity. Physical activity helps to reduce body fat by building or preserving muscle mass and improving the body's ability to use calories. When physical activity is combined with proper nutrition, it can help control weight and prevent obesity, a major risk factor for many diseases.

- Back Pain. By increasing muscle strength and endurance and improving flexibility and posture, regular exercise helps to prevent back pain.

- Osteoporosis. Regular weight-bearing exercise promotes bone formation and may prevent many forms of bone loss associated with aging.

- Psychological Effects. Regular physical activity can improve your mood and the way you feel about yourself. Researchers also have found that exercise is likely to reduce depression and anxiety and help you to better manage stress.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrgrFpwSoMc

Do you do sports? If yes what kind of?

HEALTHY LIFESTYLE - FOOD

I'm often asking myself if i'm taking care of my body well. We often ask ourselves if our lifestyle is healthy. The most important factor that influence directly on our health is obviously food.

Eating is one the most important events in everyone’s life. We enjoy eating - it’s part of who we are and part of our culture. In fact, eating is the hottest universal topic of all times. We depend on eating: the foods we eat are the sole source of our energy and nutrition. We know so much about eating: we are born with the desire to eat and grown up with rich traditions of eating. But we also know so little about eating - about how the foods we eat everyday affect our health. We are more confused than ever about the link between diet and health: margarine is healthier than butter or not; a little alcohol will keep heart attacks at bay but cause breast cancer; dietary vitamin antioxidants can prevent lung cancer or can not. Eating is a paradox and a mystery that our ancestors tried and modern scientists are trying to solve.

Based on experiences and traditions, our ancestors have used foods and plant materials to treat various kinds of illness. Manuscripts discovered from a tomb (dated 168 B.C.) in China described prescriptions for 52 ailments with herbs, grains, legumes, vegetables, animal parts, and minerals. Ancient Sumerians recorded the use of 250 medicinal plants on tablets five thousand years ago. Today, plant and food remedies are still the major medicinal source for 80% of the world’s population.

The pharmacological roles of everyday foods have long been neglected by modern medicine due to lack of proven scientific validity. The main focus of modern medicine has been on pharmaceuticals. With the invention of modern chemotherapy and antibiotics in the 1930’s and 1940’s, it seemed as if chemical medicines would take care of all our ills. However, while there continues to be great strides made in the understanding and use of pharmaceuticals, there is also widespread dissatisfaction with both them and the system of medicine that utilizes them. This dissatisfaction is centered around the feeling that they are too disease-oriented, and perhaps too limited by their precision to cope effectively with the subtle factors and interrelationships that compromise human health and disease. The precise and pure nature of modern biomedical pharmaceuticals also tends to increase their side effects. In addition, with the victory over many common infectious diseases, more people are concerned with chronic degenerative processes and with prevention of disease. The increasing concerns have started a new movement in medical research. More and more mainstream scientists are reaching back to the truth of ancient food folk medicines and dietary practices for clues to remedies and antidotes to our modern diseases.

Research on pharmacological effects of foods is fast-paced and the results are exciting. The mystery of what foods can do for or to us has started to unveil. In order to effectively use foods for our health benefits, the following issues need to be considered:

• Keep up with the most recent scientific findings and make use of them for our health benefits
• Try to use variety of whole foods as much as possible instead of isolated dietary supplements for your health problems - they are safer, cheaper, and usually more effective since they can provide multiple and balanced disease fighting capabilities
• Choice of foods is important: since healing power of a food is depending on the content of pharmacologically active constituents that differ among foods, and certain foods may need to be avoided due to their disease encouraging activities
• How do you prepare and eat your foods can affect their pharmacological effects
• Concerns about multiple health conditions: foods that benefit one health condition may be harmful to others
• Overall nutritional values of foods

How food companies cheats with their products

Nutrition tips

For those who still didn't saw SuperSizeMe:

Part1

Part2

Part3

Part4

Part5

Part6

Part7

Part8

Part9

Part10

McDon 'food' test from SSM

Do you eat in fast foods?

Do you think that healthy food influence on our life expectancy?

The End. Part three.

When you think about prophecies you wonder how many were actually fulfilled. Well.. as you might have guessed not many really. The nature of prophecies is that they are symbolic. They use allegories, don't name any dates, places or people involved. This means that they have to be interpreted and in most cases connected with facts that already happened.

Let's take Nostradamus for example, some say that he predicted lady Diana's death in 1997 in his Century VI Quatrain 74:

"She chased out will return to the realm, Her enemies found to be conspirators: More than ever her time will triumph, Three and seventy to death very sure."

Where is the prophecy? It's not here, someone connected "three" with three men that were in the car and "seventy" with a 70 speed limit sign that was standing in front of the tunnel. As you can see it's open to interpretations.

Some prophecies from the past about the end of the world:

• 30AD - when interpreted literally some passages from the New Testament (Matthew) say that Jesus predicted his second coming sometime during the 1st century.


• 90 - Saint Clement 1 predicted that the world end would occur at any moment.


• 500 - This was the first year-with-a-nice-round-number-panic. The antipope Hippolytus and an earlier Christian academic Sextus Julius Africanus had predicted Armageddon at about this year.


• 1000 - Many Christians in Europe had predicted the end of the world on this date.


• 1284 - Pope Innocent III computed this date by adding 666 years onto the date the Islam was founded.


• 1669 - The Old Believers in Russia believed that the end of the world would occur in this year. 20 thousand burned themselves to death between 1669 and 1690 to protect themselves from the Antichrist.


• 2000 - y2k bug will start a nuclear war.

As you can see some are misinterpreted, other drive people to radical things, some are funny.

I think the key is not to look for the world ending but to live your life and not regret anything. This way you won't feel that you are loosing anything.

The End. Part two.

When you look at possible scenarios for the end of the world you can divide them into three groups: natural, human-made, supernatural.

Natural

• World wide pandemic
• Climate change
• Black hole sucking in the Solar system
• collision event

Human-made

• global warming -> climate change
• nuclear war/terrorism
• Revolting machines (think of the movie "Terminator")
• Creating of a artificial black hole (LHC anyone?)

Supernatural - see "The End. Part one."

The end will come in 2012...

... at least many prophecies say so.

Some facts and theories:

• On December 21 the Maya calendar will finish a 5,125 year long cycle. Many New Age speculators say that the world as we know it will come to an end.

Maya calendar.

• A web bot project which scans the web for specific keywords predicted that the world will end on December 21. In the past it is said that it predicted September 11 events. Another proof that you can find everything in the web.

• Planet X will collide with Earth. Another New Age belief. Problem is that so far this planet is invisible, very convenient.

• A black hole will reign havoc on the Solar system, so far noone noticed it, yet.

Flash movie presenting end of the world

What do you think about these prophecies, are they possible?

PJWSTK investors are moving to India

According to information which can be found on PJWSTK front page, the Polish Japanese Institute of Information Technology will move to India by the end of 2011.

On a meeting between prime ministers of Japan and Indian all decisions were made. Additionally a new logo was shown and the main building which IJIIT will be using.

Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and Yukio Hatoyama.

Suggested logo of the university.

Main building of IJIIT.

The official reason for moving the institute to India is lack of interest in posting comments on blogs. Tuition fee is not a subject for a refund, although every student is free to move to India to continue his studies there.