Posts filed under 'The Loose Change'
I’ve always been a believer that nature offers some of the best solutions for our health and well-being. Food being one of them :) For those of you dealing with inflammation, either chronic or acute, there is an herb out there that has been used for centuries. It’s called Turmeric, or Curcuma Longa. And it’s part of the ginger family. It’s also been used not only medicinally for centuries, but as a spice for our foods. It’s in the well known yelllow/orange herb in curry dishes from the east. It’s also in a lot of the mustards on the shelf.
But for the past several years, I have taken turmeric on and off. And I have personally observed noticeable anti-inflammatory responses as a result of taking turmeric. I take it by the capsule, 500 to 1000 mg a few times per week, when needed. It’s been suggested that it even acts like a mild cox-2 inihibitor, further backing up the idea of it being a anti-inflammatory solution.
Recent studies have shown that Tumeric to have pronounced anti-oxidant properties, and even tumor suppressing properties. And it’s been suggested that a little turmeric is actually better than a lot of turmeric. I have experimented with higher doses and lower doses, and for me, found the lower doses to be just as effective. Taking more, turmeric didn’t reduce inflammation any more or longer. So just one or two capsules seem to work just fine.
There are also tons of recipes out there so that you could just as easily add turmeric into your lifestyle. Try it and see for yourself.
September 4th, 2007
If you haven’t heard by now, the government is in the process of killing online poker gambling. The stupidity of this new law could be one of the dumbest things ever done by Congress and they have done some dumb things.
In a land where the laws are supposed to protect our freedom, you will very soon not be able play poker online for ‘real’ money. How does that protect my freedom exactly? From my understanding, it was snuck in with a port security bill. Sleazy, in my opinion.
If you have ever seen any movies about congressmen, especially the one made by Michael Moore, where the congressman on camera says something to the tune of ‘We don’t have time to read everything that comes across our desks’. I believe they were referring to the patriot act on that one. That’s scary. Apparently they were asleep at the wheel on this illegal gambling bill as well. Inspires a tremendous amount of confidence in our supposedly elected officials.
What right does the US Gov’t have to tell me that I can’t spend my money on something as inncouous as a few hands of poker?? Especially if it’s in the supposed privacy of my own home?? But then again, the new wiretapping bill gives the gov’t the right to legally eavesdrop. Invasion of privacy? Absolutely. All in the name of our homeland security. It makes me concerned how much harm has been done in the name of my ’safety’.
Freedom, supposedly what we are fighting terrorists for, means “exemption from external control, interference, regulation, etc.”. I think that alot of people on Capital Hill either have forgotten that or simply are so self absorbed with their continued reign that they don’t care what the people who elected them actually want.
Limiting my FREEDOM is not something I am ever interested in. Even if it compromises my so-called safety. Which one is more important to you? Perpetuating the concept that we all should be quaking in our boots and instantly give up our constitutional rights is NUTS. The very rights our forefathers fought and died for is something we should be protecting at all costs.
Poker was a big part of our history. It’s 100% AMERICAN. It’s as classic as classic gets.
So, if you are interested in trying to fix the train wreck that is about to occur in the poker world, I recommend the poker players alliance. I am not affiliated with them, don’t know them, but think they could be a very sane voice in a drone world. Having recently elected Greg “Fossilman’ Raymer and Chris “Jesus” Ferguson to the board of directors, I think that’s the one I would support to help put a stop to all this bullshit.
October 3rd, 2006
I just starting taking phophatidylserine every few days. About 100 mg in the evening. Years ago I took this saliva test (to measure free coritisol and other things) and it suggested that phosphatidyl serine supplementation would be helpful. At that time is was extremely expensive, now it’s only mildly expensive. So I bought a small bottle from the Vitamin Shoppe to try it out. You can get it at any vitamin store.
The interesting thing I noticed immediately after taking 3 softgels of PS was I slept better. ALOT BETTER. More solid and certainly deeper. On occasion I wake up a bit groggy, but lately I’ve been feeling great when I wake up. I don’t take it everyday for some reason, I just take it every once in a while. Just an intuitive thing.
The second thing I noticed was how vivid my memories are. Like in great detail. Pretty cool.
Phosphatidylserine is a phospholidpid found in brain tissue. It’s also found in soya and egg yolks. It’s thought to have a positive impact on memories and age related decline of mental function. It has also been suggested that it’s helpful in reducing cortisol and helpful for managing stress.
I did try another brand besides the Vitamin Shoppe. It had a blend of neuro compounds in them (I am always a little leary of those). This blend was rich in L-alpha glycerylphosphorylcholine (or a form of choline) and also had phosphatidyl serine, I took it around dinner time (which they suggested not to do) and it gave me nightmares and I felt a little depressed the next day. So I don’t think that’s a good blend for me. I never really cared for choline anyway, always makes my mucles tense. it was called cognitive something??
So, in the meantime, I think I’ll stick with the pure phosphatidylserine from the Vitamin Shoppe, I like it. Sleep great, feel better. Think more clearly. So far so good.
August 27th, 2006
Recently I drank alot of green tea and decided to hook up 2 surround sound systems - 1 for my TV and 1 to my computer system. For my TV, I have a digital cable box and a digital video recorder as well as a HDTV. In order to get true ‘digital’ surround sound, then you’ll need a 5.1 or better surround sound receiver WITH a fiber optic digital sound input (many stereo receivers these days are also DVD players - just make sure your DVD home theater system has a digital fiber optic cable input option). My receiver has the fiber optic input, but didn’t come with the cable.
So after reading the instructions for the 4th time, I went out and bought the fiber optic cable at Radio Shack for $20, not knowing why exactly I was buying it. My surrround system (5 speakers hooked up to my receiver and cable box sounded great already. I was just using the red and white sound in cables). But an interesting thing happened, when I hooked up that fiber optic cable from my cable box to my stereo receiver the quality instantly and dramatically improved. And a little light came on telling me I was now receiving ‘digital’ surround sound. And wow, the sound quality is awesome. Who knew. Combined with hi def channels, the result is that I am going to be spending a lot more time than I already do vegging in front of the TV. Great 
So if you are hooking up a surround sound system and have ‘digital’ cable and want true ‘digital’ sound then make sure your receiver has the fiber optic input and go get the cable. It’s a nice addition to a home theater and it’s only $20.
Now, my computer didn’t have the fiber optic option, and I wasn’t going to hook up a digital reciever to my computer, but maybe someday when I have nothing better to do. Right now, I just have the Creative Labs 5.1 speakers (under $50) and a sound blaster live 5.1 surround sound card and it’s pretty good. The 3-d sound I experience from sitting at the computer is very cool, games are great and music, espcially from Yahoo, is really amazing.
I wonder what they’ll think of next….
August 26th, 2006
Welcome to the Loose Change. This site is just some random stuff, thoughts and ideas I threw together. Some of it might actually be interesting and worthwhlie, who knows! Stay tuned.
August 26th, 2006
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