Year: 2002

Protein May Help with Weight Loss

Ashley Bischoff1 Comment

From an article on MSNBC, protein may help with weight loss:

While all low-calorie diets lead to weight loss, recent research has shown that not all calories are created equal, Layman said at the meeting. For example, one new study looked at two groups of dieters: one with a high-protein regimen — 125 grams of protein and 171 grams of carbs — and one with a high-carbohydrate regimen — 68 grams of protein and 246 grams of carbs. Both groups were also required to exercise.

At the end of four months, people who ate more protein lost more weight — 22 pounds versus 15 pounds. Further, people on the high-protein diet had lost more fat and less muscle than the group on the high-carb diet. […]

Like yesterday’s news on weight training, this wasn’t very surprising to me. But, I’m glad to read it in print.

LighthouseBlue Theme for Gnome

Ashley BischoffLeave a comment

From the Gnome-announce mailing list:

Those of us that read OSNews regularly know that Eugenia writes some thorough reviews and have no inhibitions about commenting on what she thinks are bad UI design choices. Well Jan Rosczak read one of her articles and decided to try and make her happy. The result is a very nice Gtk+ 2.0 theme which I myself use. For screenshots and the full story check out the lighthouseblue homepage.

I really trust Eugenia’s opinions on UI design, and LighthouseBlue is a great looking theme that I think even she would be pleased with :).

Weight Training May Reduce Heart Disease

Ashley Bischoff4 Comments

According to a new study of 44,000 men, weight training may reduce heart disease:

Harvard University researchers studied more than 44,000 men who participated in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study and looked at the role different types of exercise played on heart disease risk.

Not surprisingly, aerobic exercises like running and rowing were shown to be beneficial for reducing risk. But one of the biggest surprises was the effect of weight training. Those who lifted weights for 30 minutes or more a week had a risk reduction of 23 percent. [&hellip]

I can’t say that I’m terribly surprised, but I’m pleased to hear that.

Civil Liberties Voting Guide

Ashley Bischoff1 Comment

In my last post, I lamented the lack of a civil-liberties based voting guide. Well, a quick search on Google lead me to the ACLU Scorecard.

Of course, like any voting guide, it has the deficiency in that it can only rate the incumbents (since, by definition, most challengers don’t have a voting record).

Still, even this voters’ guide is not infallible. For instance, they list the results of a vote on school vouchers (so far, so good). However, they note that “The ACLU opposed the amendment”, which seemed a bit odd to me since vouchers would only offer parents more choices in the education options of their children :-/.

Leave a comment below if you have any other voters guides to recommend.

High Tech Voting Guide

Ashley BischoffLeave a comment

If, like me, you’re having trouble deciding who to vote for, ITIC has a High Tech Voting Guide. There, they list whether Senators and Representatives voted “pro-IT”.

According to a C|Net article on the voting guide, apparently Republicans are generally more pro-IT than Democrats (which surprised me a bit).

The trade association released only a list of how individual politicians voted, but an analysis performed by CNET News.com shows that House Republicans voted in accordance with the tech industry's views 89 percent of the time, compared with just 43 percent of the time for Democrats. […]

But then, I came across this bit which explained how the (sometimes) freedom-restricting Republicans ended up with such a pro-IT rating. Essentially, the guide ends up being pro-IT business, and not necessarily pro-technology:

Two votes that ITIC liked—on a computer crime bill and on an exemption to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)—were controversial among civil liberties and privacy groups.

In July, the House voted for a computer crime bill that would allow for life prison sentences for malicious computer hackers and expand police ability to conduct Internet or telephone eavesdropping without obtaining a court order first. The liberal Electronic Privacy Information Center and the conservative Free Congress Foundation both opposed it, but ITIC and other business groups lobbied for the measure.

Hmm, maybe this particular “high-tech guide” isn’t so great after all... Now, if only I could find a freedom-based voting guide :-/.