HEALTH

QUESTION & ANSWER SESSION

Q: ? I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life; is this true?

A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that's it... don't waste them on exercise. Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that's like saying you can extend the life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Take a nap.




Q: ? Should I reduce my alcohol intake?

A: No, not at all. Wine is made from fruit. Brandy is distilled wine, that means they take the water out of the fruity bit so you get even more of the goodness that way. Beer is also made out of grain. Bottoms up!



Q: ? How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?

A: Well, if you have a body and you have fat, your ratio is one to one. If you have two bodies, your ratio is two to one, etc.



Q: ? What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program?

A: Can't think of a single one, sorry. My philosophy is: No Pain...Good!



Q: ? Aren't fried foods bad for you?

A: YOU'RE NOT LISTENING!!! ... Foods are fried these days in vegetable oil. In fact, they're permeated in it. How could getting more vegetables be bad for you?



Q: ? Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?

A: Definitely not! When you exercise a muscle, it gets bigger. You should only be doing sit-ups if you want a bigger stomach.



Q: ? Is chocolate bad for me?

A: Are you crazy? HELLO??? Cocoa beans! Another vegetable!!! It's the best feel-good food around!



Q: ? Is swimming good for your figure?

A: If swimming is good for your figure, explain whales to me!



Q: ? Is getting in-shape important for my lifestyle?

A: Hey! 'Round' is a shape!



Well, I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions you may have had about food and diets.

And remember:

"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO, What a Ride!"

C H E E R S !!!!!!!!!!!!

On Being an Architect - Written by Laurie Baker

On Being an Architect - Written by Laurie Baker

Most people have very differing ideas about what an architect is. The dictionaries say that an architect is one who practises architecture and architecture is the art and science of building! After I qualified as an architect I worked in two or three well known architects' offices but it was deadly dull work. I was relieved when World War II broke out and I was posted, after a time, to China , of all places. After a few years there in medical work I tried to return to England via India but I had to wait for a boat for three months. Everyone was telling me to quit India , which was very foolish because if anyone tells me to quit, I stay.

Looking back I realise that my architectural education was very different from that which is given to the architectural students here. My school of architecture was allied to the school of art and shared the same building. We rubbed shoulders with painters, sculptors, potters, fabric designers, stained glass window makers. Not only did we rub shoulders but in the evenings we budding architects had to take art courses. I did pottery, ceramics, stone carving and so on. Our engineering professors came to us from time to time and did what they had to and went away again. But here in Trivandrum the college of architecture is a branch of the engineering college, and as far as I know they have no connection with the college of art. I preferred my way and I have never run a proper architect's office. I have close to my bed a small, old drawing board— the same one I had in school. I broke my tee square quite a long time ago and never bought another. I have an old brass pair of compasses which belonged to my older brother and it was passed on to me when I first went to school. So I don't look the part at all!

To me probably the most interesting part of designing a building is dealing with the clients— getting to know them, how they live and work and finding out what sort of a building they dream of. It is exciting to put on to paper what you think is in their heads, and then to go on altering or adding or deleting until you think you have put down what they want. We were taught very firmly and consistently that the client should always be our prime consideration and, indeed, our inspiration. 'You will be putting up their building not yours,' we were often told. An equally interesting and absorbing part of practising architecture is translating your two-dimension drawings into three-dimension buildings. I have to be on the site to enjoy this transition from drawings to buildings. Not to be involved in building would be, to me, as foolish as buying a camera and film, viewing and clicking the trigger, getting a negative done, but not getting the print.

From a practical point of view also, while I clamber about on the scaffolding, I suddenly realise that I will get a much better view, or more breeze, if I move the window or make it bigger. And so on. I like to make the most of the colour and texture of materials, rather than to plaster everything over and then paint on colours. To do this I have to work with the masons and other workers to show them how I want them to use materials— not necessarily the same way in each building. So, to me, involvement in the construction work is a must and far more important than desk work.

Another aspect was drummed into us as students: we were told we were the only ones who had a complete overall view and understanding of our building— a unified product. 'You are not just doing a plan or an elevation, you even know how you hope to see your clients in their building after it is up and finished.' Our professor likened us to the conductor of an orchestra. He has the full score and he knows the musical item being performed. Each instrument player only has the music he is to play and the conductor controls his playing. Most famous conductors can even take over almost any instrument and show how they want it to sound at a particular time and place in the performance. Likewise the engineer may have perfect knowledge of his bit of the design— his specialized knowledge may be essential— but he knows nothing of the client's needs and desires, or of the total effect the whole completed building will have on its surroundings and on all who pass by. Similarly, with the plumber and sanitary man, the electrician, the paving expert, but overall, and' controlling and using to good effect all these, is the architect— the conductor.

Finally, in my day it was rubbed into us that the architect should have and show good manners and his architecture should be similarly good mannered! Very occasionally we are invited to design an isolated monumental building, all on its own in the middle of a park or campus with its own special surroundings. But 99 out of every 100 buildings we do will be in a row, or a block, or a nagar. The other buildings may be new, or indifferent, or good, or commonplace but we have to take our place among them and we must not show bad manners by competing or showing off, or by being defiant.

Again we were told, and how true it is, that a painter or sculptor will produce his masterpiece and it will be bought by someone and put in a room or a gallery— but only those who desire to will go and see it. But our artistry is there before all who pass along that road and they have little option but to look at what we have done. So we architects have to ask ourselves— is the building we have created going to stick out like a sore thumb? Or will it give joy and pleasure? Will it add to our culture? There's an old saying: manners make the man. I think they also make good architecture.

- By Laurie Baker

with a new idea !!!!!

Ant & Grasshopper

The Ant works hard in the withering heat all summer building its house andlaying up supplies for the winter.The Grasshopper thinks the Ant is a fool and laughs & dances & plays thesummer away.Come winter ,the Ant is warm and well fed. The Grasshopper has no food orshelter so he dies out in the cold.

Indian Version

The Ant works hard in the withering heat all summer building its house andlaying up supplies for the winter.The Grasshopper thinks the Ant's a fool and laughs & dances & plays thesummer away.Come winter, the shivering Grasshopper calls a press conference and demandsto know why the Ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while othersare cold and starving.NDTV, BBC, CNN show up to provide pictures of the shivering Grasshoppernext to a video of the Ant in his comfortable home with a table filled withfood.The World is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be that this poorGrasshopper is allowed to suffer so?Arundhati Roy stages a demonstration in front of the Ant's house .Medha Patkar goes on a fast along with other Grasshoppers demanding thatGrasshoppers be relocated to warmer climates during winter .Amnesty International and Koffi Annan criticizes the Indian Government fornot upholding the fundamental rights of the Grasshopper.The Internet is flooded with online petitions seeking support to theGrasshopper (many promising Heaven and Everlasting Peace for prompt supportas against the wrath of God for non-compliance).Opposition MPs stage a walkout. Left parties call for "Bharat Bandh" inWest Bengal and Kerala demanding a Judicial Enquiry.CPM in Kerala immediately passes a law preventing Ants from working hard inthe heat so as to bring about equality of poverty among Ants andGrasshoppers.Lalu Prasad allocates one free coach to Grasshoppers on all Indian RailwayTrains, aptly named as the 'Grasshopper Rath '.Finally, the Judicial Committee drafts the ' Prevention of TerrorismAgainst Grasshoppers Act' [POTAGA], with effect from the beginning of thewinter.Arjun Singh makes 'Special Reservation ' for Grasshoppers in EducationalInstitutions & in Government Services.The Ant is fined for failing to comply with POTAGA and having nothing leftto pay his retroactive taxes,it's home is confiscated by the Government andhanded over to the Grasshopper in a ceremony covered by NDTV.Arundhati Roy calls it ' A Triumph of Justice'.Lalu calls it 'Socialistic Justice '.CPM calls it the ' Revolutionary Resurgence of the Downtrodden 'Koffi Annan invites the Grasshopper to address the UN General Assembly .Many years later...The Ant has since migrated to the US and set up a multi-billion dollarcompany in Silicon Valley ..100s of Grasshoppers still die of starvation despite reservation somewherein India ...As a result of loosing lot of hard working Ants and feeding theGrasshoppers, India is still a developing country !!!-- You can judge your age by the amount of pain you feel when you come in contact with a new idea. -

Extract from a mail i got ...

US family tries life without toilet paper

It is mid-afternoon in an airy, lower-Manhattan flat, on the ninth floor of a posh-looking building with a doorman.
It is a bit dark and there are no lights on. There is a strange quiet feel to the flat, perhaps due to the lack of any appliances - no fridge humming, no TV interference, even no air conditioning, though it is hot and humid outside.
Walk into the bathroom, and you will notice that there is no toilet paper, no bottles of shampoo or toiletries.
In the kitchen, berries and cheese are laid out on the counter and there are candles on the dining table.
This is the home of No-Impact Man, aka Colin Beavan, who describes himself on his blog as a "guilty liberal who finally snaps, swears off plastic... turns off his power... and while living in NYC turns into a tree-hugging lunatic who tries to save the polar bears".
While there are a lot of people who think that we're freaks, our friends have been really supportive, and they do come over and play Scrabble with us in the dark - Michelle Beavan
He has dragged his wife, Michelle, and young daughter Isabella, along for the ride.
"The concept is that we should have no net environmental impact, which is, of course, technically not feasible," says Colin.
"So the idea is that we would reduce our negative impact and increase our positive impact."
Cutting the trash
The 43-year-old writer says he is not manically trying to offset everything, but he tries to get involved in environmentally friendly or sustainable projects around the city.
The first stage of the one-year experiment was to reduce rubbish. The family buys only second-hand goods and takes a hamper to the market.
Colin uses a glass jar he picked up from the trash as a reusable cup when he orders take-out coffee or juice.
Food is bought every other day from the nearby farmers' market on Union Square, and put in the hamper without wrapping.
The family then stopped using all carbon-producing transport, so they now walk or cycle.
They then shut down electricity in the flat - no more dishwasher, fridge or washing machine.
Now they are trying to reduce the amount of water they use, from the 80-100 gallons (303-379 litres) a day used by the average American, down to seven.
The more the experiment advances, the more drastic the changes become.
"I was a typical American consumer - I shopped a lot, I ate most of my meals in take-out containers, I took cabs everywhere," said Michelle, a journalist with a weekly business magazine.
Although she still goes to the office every day (on her bike), uses the elevator to get to the 43rd floor, turns on her computer and uses a mobile phone, she has had to redesign her whole life.
"It has been a shock to the system."
Michelle admits there were times when she regretted agreeing to the no-impact experiment, but says it has been one of the best adventures of her adult life.
"In essence, the project has really slowed down time, which is pretty amazing considering how fast time has become, and especially with us living in New York - you come home to a quiet, soothing cocoon."
Worm farm
For news from the outside world, there is the solar-powered crank-up radio, although the family rarely uses it.
A solar panel on the roof provides power for a laptop and one light.
From the kitchen, Colin brings out a wooden box with air holes on the sides. He opens the lid and scoops up a handful of dark brown matter that looks and smells like earth. In fact, it's a combination of fruit and vegetable peels and worms.
"This is the compost box, the worms take the food scraps and they turn it into compost," explains Colin.
What happens in the toilet, where there's no toilet paper?
"What I'll tell you, is this: There are many places all over the world that don't use toilet paper," is all he will say at first.
He then adds that because people wash, it is a lot more hygienic.
For detergents, laundry, body soap and toothpaste, they use a combination of vegetable oil, baking soda, vinegar and borax.
The Beavans realise that not everybody can afford to embark on a similar radical experiment or live like that long-term.
They also make clear that it is an experiment, and they have had their doubts about what works and what really makes a difference.
They insist they do not want to force their ideas on anyone else, but they feel happy about the difference it has made to their own lives.
Their life is now centred around the kitchen table, as well as activities such as riding bikes together.
"While there are a lot of people who think that we're freaks, our friends have been really supportive, and they do come over and play Scrabble with us in the dark," Michelle says.
Creature comforts
But is it really possible to have no impact on the environment while living in a city where any resident is inevitably part of the system?
"There's no question that this city has an infrastructure and some of the impact of the city itself should get credited to us," said Colin.
"But the fact is that it is actually easier to live an efficient life in this city, and this is well documented. Here in New York, we emit about a third of the carbon per member of the population of the rest of the country, and it's because of the efficiencies of scale of this city."
We're not going to bring the air-conditioner back. We're going to continue to ride our bikes everywhere. The fridge will come back, but will be used minimally - Colin Beavan
The Beavans say that when the experiment is over, they will not simply revert to their old way of living.
"We're not going to bring the air-conditioner back. We're going to continue to ride our bikes everywhere. The fridge will come back, but will be used minimally," says Colin.
Michelle cannot wait to turn on the washing machine again. Hand-washing clothes has been the toughest change and a chore that has meant laundry is often not done, though Isabella enjoys stomping the clothes in the bathtub.
Colin is planning to write a book about his year as No-Impact Man - his publishers are looking at sustainable ways of publishing.
It may be a worthwhile experiment in the eyes of some, or a total waste of time by a tree hugger for others. But whatever you think of the Beavans, somehow when you leave their flat it feels like there is only one option - to walk down the nine flights of stairs
By Kim Ghattas, BBC News, New York

PC - MASCULINE OR FEMININE?

A SPANISH Teacher was explaining to her class that in Spanish, unlike English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine. "House" for instance, is feminine: "la casa." "Pencil," however, is masculine: "el lapiz."

A student asked, "What gender is 'computer'?"

Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into two groups, male and female, and asked them to decide for themselves whether "computer" should be a masculine or a feminine noun. Each group was asked to give four reasons for its recommendation.

The men's group decided that "computer" should definitely be of the feminine gender ("la computadora"), because:

1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic;

2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else;

3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory for possible later retrieval; and

4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your pay check on accessories for it.

The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be Masculine ("el computador"), because:

1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on;

2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves;

3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they ARE the problem; and

4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited a little longer, you could have gotten a better model.

LOL