03.25.2008 ---> Tuning Things Up a Notch

Season's Change

Spring is here in the U.S. and may be you are in the annual ritual activity of Spring Cleaning. I have to do research on exactly where did that phrase came from and why in Spring and who started it. That was then, in the old days people probably wanted to start out fresh in the new year by throwing away unwanted stuff and to disinfect; clean the environment around them. In modern world the house cleaning and discarding of unwanted items on the property can be done anytime in the year, right? So why still in Spring.

Season's changing and so is my interest in animated aviation. I shifted projects inspired by real-word airplanes for MSFS to sci-fi spaceships, as you witnessed in the homepage of this site. There are several others of this kind that I'm working on.

I didn't believe transportation in this genre, wasn't impressed nor had any interest in them few years ago. To me, simply becuase these things are a fantasy and most are impossible to be manufactured in real-life. And that only people labeled as being "weird" are capable of producing these in drawings or for animation. But I begin looking at more complicated and detailed objects to render as my skills in building 3D objects improved, and I found sci-fi objects are highly complex and sophisticated subjects that required highly detailed points/parts. And it took off from there which now fascinates me. Now I know where those people came from for drawing concept projects for various space agencies (i.e. NASA), sci-fi novels, and in the makings of futuristic films for Lucas and Spielberg. Well, like many of us say, whether in the music, visual arts, performing arts, production arts, fashion, designers of any kind,...etc, all artists are wacky !

News Summary 03/17/08 - 03/25/08

• Lake Tahoe is the second deepest fresh water lake in the U.S.. If the water were to empty out from the whole lake, it will flood the entire state of Texas 9 inches deep, that's how much water there is. Scientist worry that global warming may affect the creatures in the lake. The water is getting warmer every year and can inhibit salmon and trout growth.

• Few weeks earlier the world speculated that recent uprising in Tibet may affect the election in Taiwan towards the attitude faced from mainland China. But the voting outcome proved not so. Biography of the elected to-be President of Taiwan, Republic of China in wikimain, and wikinews.

• China recommends visitors to the Olympics bring their own chopsticks. Large or popular restaurants in Beijing uses an average 16,000 pairs of disposible chopsticks per day. China lumbers the size roughly a Tienanmen Square of wood (around 100 acres) for wood products daily, which contributes to part of the global warming the country's being critized for.

• San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom granted demonstrators to protest against China's human rights issues when the Olimpic torch relay arrives in the city on April 9th, 2008. San Franciso is the only destination in North America that the torch carrier stops for an 8-mile (for the Chinese lucky number "eight") run ceremony. The Olympic torch route is still in planning but the mayor says it would end somewhere near the Ferry Building.

• US Airways reported a 17.5 square-inch piece of a wing cover dislodged from one of their Boeing 757 aircraft, and hit a passenger window as it flew over Maryland traveling Saturday from Orlando to Philadelphia with 174 passengers and six crew members aboard. The plane landed safely in Philadelphia. The airline has grounded the plane out of service and is investigating the cause.

• Pilot's gun went off during landing. Read more: news.yahoo.com.

• New Mercury (the planet) photos revealed - linked via America Online (AOL). Pictures from NASA Messenger probe.

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Car Care Tip

Auto technicians say the key to keeping vehicles running well is routine maintenance. Yet many drivers tend to stall when it comes to keeping up with some everyday auto-basics. A recent survey by the Care Care Council found:

• 54% had low tire pressure.

• 28% had inadequate cooling protection.

• 16% had dirty air filters.

• 38% had low or contaminated engine oil.

• 19% needed new belts.

• 10% had low or dirty brake fluid.

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Tallest living man on earth...Leonid Stadnik - 8ft. 6in. from Ukraine...find out more about him ___ Leonid Stadnik.
(in Wikipedia)

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- YT
xo

03.20.2008 ---> Snack on These


Mr. Potato is not impressed.

Potatoes get a bad raputation as a waist-thickening gain of calories. But amazing new research injects life at the latest weight loss business, along with other unfairly carbohydrate buckets such as corn and rice. The reason: All these foods contain resistant starch, a unique kind of fiber we'll be hearing more about in the years to come. In fact, experts agree that it's one of the most exciting nutrition breakthroughs they've seen in decades. "Resistant starch has the potential to become the next hot nutrition trend," says Leslie Bonci, RD, author of the American Dietetic Association's Guide to Better Digestion. Indeed, more than 160 studies have examined this little known nutrient's remarkable health and weight loss benefits.

Resistant Starch: The New Power Nutrient

Although this may be the first we've heard of resistant starch, it's likely been a part of our diet most of our life. Resistant starch is a type of dietary fiber naturally found in many carbohydrate-rich foods such as potatoes, grains, and beans, particularly when these foods are cooled. It gets its name because it "resists" digestion in the body, and though this is true of many types of fiber, what makes resistant starch so special is the powerful impact it has on weight loss and overall health. As a dieter's tool it can't be wrong: Not only does it increase our body's ability to burn fat, but it also fills us up and reduces overall hunger. Its health benefits are truly impressive as well. Studies show it improves blood sugar control, boosts immunity, and may even reduce our cancer risk.

Resistant starch is bulky, so it takes up space in our digestive system. And because we can't digest or absorb it, the starch never enters our bloodstream. That means it bypasses the fate of most carbohydrates, which get stored as body fat when we eat more than we can waste. Here are two more key ways resistant starch can help us lowering pounds:

• It ups our calorie burn. Unlike some types of fiber, resistant starch gets fermented when it reaches the large intestine. This process creates beneficial fatty acids, including one called butyrate, which may block the body's ability to burn carbohydrates. "This can prevent the liver from using carbs as fuel and, instead, stored body fat and recently consumed fat are burned," explains Janine Higgins, PhD, nutrition research director for the University of Colorado's Adult and Pediatric General Clinical Research Center. In our body, carbohydrates are the preferred source of fuel, like gasoline that powers transportaions. Butyrate essentially prevents some of the gas from getting into the tank, and your cells turn to fat as an alternative. One study found that replacing just 5.4% of total carbohydrate intake with resistant starch created a 20 to 30% increase in fat burning after a meal.

• It blocks hunger hormones. Animal studies have found that resistant starch prompts the body to pump out more satiety-inducing hormones. A meal with resistant starch triggers a hormonal response to shut off hunger, so you eat less. Research shows that you don't reap this benefit from other sources of fiber.

Fighting Disease, One Potato at a Time

The research on resistant starch doesn't stop at weight loss. This powerful nutrient is also earning accolades as a major disease fighter from standard bearers such as the World Health Organization. Here's why scientists around the globe are so excited about its health benefits:

• It can prevent cancer. Research shows that the butyrate created by resistant starch may protect the lining of the colon, making it less vulnerable to the DNA damage that triggers diseases, such as colon cancer. It can also create a pH drop inside the colon, which boosts the absorption of calcium and blocks the absorption of cancer-causing substances.

• It may fight diabetes and heart disease.

Let's Dish

Like other fibers, resistant starch helps control blood sugar levels. "Because it skips routine digestion, we see lower blood sugar and insulin levels following a resistant starch–rich meal," says Christine Gerbstadt, MD, RD, CDE, spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. Blood sugar control translates into more energy and sustained energy. It also means long-term heart protection, because chronic high levels of blood sugar and insulin cause delicate arteries to become clogged and harden.

• It boosts the immune system. "When you have low levels of good-for-you bacteria in your digestive system, it's very difficult to fight off disease," says Joanne Slavin, PhD, RD, a nutrition professor at the University of Minnesota. Resistant starch may boost the growth of probiotics, the same kind of healthy bacteria found in yogurt that keep bad bacteria in check.

How to Eat Enough

• Right now, there is no specific target for resistant starch intake. But preliminary data shows that the average American woman consumes about 4g of resistant starch each day. Experts such as Gerbstadt believe the research is strong enough to advocate doubling that.

• Adding just ½ to 1 cup of cooled resistant starch–rich food per day can do the trick.

• Keep it cool. In cooked starchy foods, resistant starch is created during cooling. Cooking triggers starch to absorb water and swell, and as it slowly cools, portions of the starch become crystallized into the form that resists digestion. Cooling either at room temperature or in the refrigerator will raise resistant starch levels. Just don't reheat. That breaks up the crystals, causing resistant starch levels to plummet.

• Look for fortified foods. A growing number of commercial foods have been bolstered with Hi-maize™, the brand name of a resistant starch powder made from corn. We can use it in baking (and lower calories) by replacing up to one-quarter of traditional flour in any recipe without affecting taste or texture. Or, look for packaged products that include Hi-maize™, as another easy way to boost our intake.

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