Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Nail Biting - Bad for you!!

Dang, I do many of these bad habits myself - except smoking - I don't personally smoke, but fully support those who do. No one is subjected to more public disdain and unfair laws than smokers! I get the "no smoking on an airplane" but not in public and definitely not in a PRIVATE RESTAURANT or BAR. If an owner of a bar wants to allow smoking he should be able to. Period. It's all BS. Plus they tax the hell out of cigarettes and cigars so the Liberals should love them and give their users more freedom. Alas, this is not the case.

5 Habits to break in 2010

Everyone, and I mean everyone, has a bad habit (or three), and even if you’re not the resolution type, making one change this year can do wonders for your health, looks and self-esteem. Here are five common not-so-great habits, and how to break ’em for good.

1.) Bad habit: Nail Biting

Stop now: Biting your nails makes for ugly hands and over time can interfere with normal nail growth, damage the outer layer of your teeth, and cause nail deformities such as split nails. Harmful bacteria such as staphylococcus also live underneath nails—and you don't want to chew on that.

Break it: Go for a professional manicure once every 2 or 3 weeks, suggests Angelica Kaner, PhD, a clinical professor at Yale University Medical School, because when your nails look pretty, you'll be less likely to snack on them. At the very least, keep your nails trimmed short—you'll have less nail to bite, and that harmful bacteria has less space to grow. Nail biting is also a nervous habit that is often an expression of some deeper anxiety. "Ask yourself why you're feeling anxious," Kaner says. You can also try substituting a new, healthy behavior—instead of biting your nails, rub in a cuticle cream or oil.

Save money with home manicures


2.) Bad habit: Forgetting to Floss

Flossing helps prevent gum disease and keeps your teeth and gums looking good, but it may also stave off non-mouth-related diseases: A 2005 study in the journal Circulation showed that older adults with higher levels of four gum disease-causing bacteria in their mouths also tend to have thicker carotid arteries, which raise the risk of stroke and heart attack. That's scary business, because 90% of dentists say that most patients don't floss regularly.

Break it: Buy a floss-holding device, such as the Flossmate Floss Holder to make the process easier and faster. In an Indiana University study, 50% of previous nonflossers were doing so regularly 6 months after introducing floss to their routine; 85% of the new flossers used a holding device—only 15% preferred doing without the aid. Then incorporate flossing into your morning routine before or after brushing.

Surprising habits that protect your pearly whites


3) Bad habit: Late Night Fridge Raiding

Eating late at night in itself isn't bad for you, but chances are you're eating cold pizza instead of apple slices. Adding those extra calories does the late-night damage, according to a 2005 Oregon Health & Science University study. Snacking late at night can also exacerbate symptoms for those prone to heartburn, as lying down after eating makes it easier for stomach acid to flow into the esophagus.

Break it Boredom, not hunger, is of the root cause of late-night eating, says Pamela Peeke, MD, author of Fit to Live. Once the craving hits, focus on an activity that engages you until it's time to go to sleep, such as e-mail, a crossword puzzle, or meditation. It's also common for people to chow down while watching TV. In fact, a study from the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago found that people who were allowed to eat as many potato chips as they wanted ate 44% more chips while watching Letterman than while not watching TV. Keep your hands busy while you watch by folding laundry, using your BlackBerry, or knitting—that way you won't be tempted to break out the Ruffles.

Ate too much? Erase the damage with this simple plan.


4) Bad habit: Smoking

We don't need to remind you of all the health risks associated with smoking (heart attack, lung cancer, emphysema, and cancer of the mouth, throat, stomach, bladder, kidney, and cervix), but here's one you might not have considered: money. Lots of it. The cost of one pack plus taxes averages $4.49, so if you smoke a pack a day, you're turning a whopping $1,639 a year into nothing but smoke, ashes, and nice black spots on your formerly pretty pink lungs.

Break it: Ask your doctor about drugs that can help kick-start your quitting process and help you combat cravings and withdrawal. For instance, Zyban, an antidepressant, helps reduce psychological withdrawal symptoms such as frustration, restlessness, anxiety, and irritability. Chantix blocks the effects of nicotine on your brain, which helps reduce cravings. According to a study, 44% of smokers were able to quit after 12 weeks using Chantix, and another study showed that Zyban was nearly twice as effective as a nicotine patch in helping smokers quit.

11 biggest health sins


5) Bad habit: Sun Worshipping

Blame it on Coco Chanel—before she returned golden brown from a Mediterranean vacation in the 1920s, pale skin was in. But until the Morticia Addams look comes back in style, stick to self-tanning lotion: The sun's UV rays damage your skin's DNA, increasing your risk of skin cancer (not to mention sunspots, sagging skin, and wrinkles). In fact, as much as 90% of wrinkles, brown spots, and sagging are caused by sun damage, according to the American Skin Association.

Break it: Wear sunscreen daily on the parts of your body that are exposed to the sun, even during winter. The skin cancer foundation recommends applying 1 ounce of SPF 15 sunscreen with UVA and UVB protection to your entire body 30 minutes before going outside on a typical day, and then reapply every 2 hours. If you're spending the day outdoors, wear a wide-brimmed hat and cover exposed skin with clothing, preferably with built-in sunscreen.

Monday, June 29, 2009

Compare the Quotes... see how we vote...

"The main plank in the National Socialist program is to abolish the liberalistic concept of the individual and the Marxist concept of humanity and to substitute for them the folk community, rooted in the soil and bound together by the bond of its common blood." [Adolph Hitler]

"Comrades! We must abolish the cult of the individual decisively, once and for all." [Nikita Khrushchev]

"We must stop thinking of the individual and start thinking about what is best for society." [Hillary Clinton, 1993]

www.finallyequal.com

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

“American People Will Never Knowingly Adopt Socialism”

"The American people will never knowingly adopt Socialism. But under
the name of 'liberalism' they will adopt every fragment of the Socialist
program, until one day America will be a Socialist nation, without
knowing how it happened."


conservopunk

Norman Thomas
(1884-1968) six-time U.S. Presidential candidate for the Socialist Party of America

Source:
1948 - from an interview during the presidential campaign

Thursday, June 11, 2009

LOWER TAXES NOW

It used to be that to make the big money you had to start a business or get a job competing in the private sector. If you chose government work it was not as lucrative, but the benefits would be your reward for working in the public sector. The trade-off – lower salaries for better benefits.

How times have changed. Now (and for the foreseeable future) it seems the PUBLIC sector is the place to be for big salaries, while the private sector, burdened with high taxation and a slow economy, suffer. This sector is where the money comes from. This sector is where wealth is created. Consider:


conservopunk

GOVERNMENT FACTS

Local government in Orange County (Orlando) FL spends $7 billion annually

The 27 year old chief of staff to the Mayor makes $131,000 a year
The library director makes $192,000 a year
The toll authority director makes $246,000 a year

The average private sector wage in Orange County is $38,000

God Bless America.

www.reason.com
www.lowertaxesnow.org

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Couldn't be any simpler

Professor in classroom

An economics professor at a local college made a statement that he had never failed a single student before but had once failed an entire class.

That class had insisted that socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer.

The professor then said, "OK, we will have an experiment in this class on socialism. All grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade so no one would fail and no one would receive an A.

After the first test, the grades were averaged and everyone got a B.

The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy.

As the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too so they studied little.

The second test average was a D! No one was happy.

When the 3rd test rolled around, the average was an F.

The scores never increased as bickering, blame and name-calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else.

All failed, to their great surprise, and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great, but when government takes all the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed.


Couldn't be any simpler than that.

Letter to the Editor

I wrote this letter in response to a "blame America first" ZING post by a misguided liberal:

conservopunk