USMB Coffee Shop IV

[Spoonman]

A little note on red rice yeast. yes, it is effective in lowering cholesterol. the main reason, the active ingredients in it are the same as in most statins. people experience the typical side effects of statins at about the same rate too. but different drugs effect people in differnet ways because of the other components in them and how they react to whats in the medication you are takeing, or other medications you are taking, or how your body can process them.

so its worth trying alternatives if the medications you are on are giving you trouble. or even rotating them. 6 months on this one, a year on that, maybe back to the original for another 6 months.

I take fish oil, 1400 mg with 900 mg omega-3s, co Q-10 and red yeast rice for cholesterol and heart health. Didn't know RYR is a statin till I talked to my Dr, no apparent side effects here, my labs are back to normal.

oatmeal, fish, flax or omega's , olive oil, walnuts, almonds and foods with added plant sterols are some of the best natural cholesterol reducers. cutting out refined sugars is also one of the best ways to reduce your cholesterol too

 

[alan1]

I once read that the single best predictor of life expectancy was having parents and grandparents that lived a long life.
I've also read that things like education, happiness, marriage, exercise and healthy eating are key contributors.

Simply looking at family history (genes), I found this in my family history....

Maternal Grandfather lived to be 98. He had 5 siblings. Of his siblings, one died at 79, two died in their late 80's and two died in their mid 90's.
Maternal Grandmother lived to be 82. She had 4 siblings. Of her siblings, 2 died in their late 80's, one died in her 90's and one is 97 and still alive.
Paternal grandmother died at 91. No siblings.
Paternal grandfather died at 63 (the youngest of my family tree) but he smoked and he worked with asbestos for most of his life. He had 2 siblings. Both died in their late 70's.
I have five direct blood aunts and uncles. One aunt died at 82. The rest are all still alive and in their late 70's or early 80's.
Both my parents are still alive and in their late 70's.

Each generation seems to live longer than the previous one (in general). If genes matter, I'll die old.

 

[saveliberty]

Are you guys meant to be sleeping lol?

Yes. We just got up to keep you company, Noomi.

Good because its mid morning here and I am on earlier than usual. Usually when I get on at night everyone is asleep!

Hope your day goes well, a little boring on my inside of the blue marble.

 

[saveliberty]

I would like to know what it feels like to NOT have insomnia one night. Let me know will ya? Maybe not tonight, but on a night you can sleep.

Ok, here we go: get a frying pan....

I already do that. I need something new. My head hurts and I'm not thinking clearly anymore. What were we talking about again.

I fall asleep okay, but long about 5am my brain starts trying to think about the day ahead. Sometimes it is just best to get up and do some of the things I am thinking about for an hour and try to go back to sleep.

 

[saveliberty]

You could also try to count the number of times a cute kitty on a phone can be found in a political thread.

 

[Gracie]

I spoke to hubby about the pound. He said a resounding NO.

 

[SFC Ollie]

 

[Sarah G]

Awww. Nite Ollie.

 

[Nosmo King]

I gotta buy some new tennis shoes this week. East coasters call them 'sneakers', but here in the Ohio Valley, tennis shoes is the preferred term. Next weekend is the big pig roast (if you're in the area, call me and I'll get you in!) During the actual roasting of the pig, there is no need to pay attention to footwear. But, after we take the beast from the spit, we must carve it up for consumption. And that's where the right shoes are critical.

We roast a pig, average weight around 110 pounds, for eight or nine hours. It all depends on what the meat thermometer says after we test the hams, shoulders and ribs. Then the spit comes off the mechanical device attached to the Maytag wringer washer motor. The pig stays tied to the spit for another 45 minutes to an hour to rest and finish cooking from the inside. Then we take the spit from the pig and begin carving.

We line a sturdy table with butcher's paper and lay the pig atop it. Armed with carving knives, we dissect the whole animal, reserving the tenderloins for ourselves. I usually carve up the hams while my brother works the shoulders. And here's where shoes come into the picture.

There is about a gallon of free flowing fat and grease that quickly finds the tops of your shoes while carving. An old pair of lawn mowing shoes serves best, avoiding stains on new tennis shoes.

Back in 1989 we threw a pig roast for a friend's Master's degree celebration. We held it at the Shrine Club on the first weekend of May. The following weekend the Shriners held their annual Fishing Derby. There is a small lake, or a large pond, on the property. The Shiners would stock that lake with $8,000 worth of game fish. Small and large mouth bass, trout and walleye would be introduced to the lake two weeks prior to the Derby.

We showed up at the Shrine Club at 7:00 am and started the fire. Then we went into the clubhouse and fixed a big breakfast. Along about 8:00, we put the pig, already strapped to the spit, on to start cooking. And that's when a Grandfather brought his five or six year old grandson to ply the waters prematurely. One of the Shriners gently reminded Grandpa that the lake was closed to fishing until the next weekend and the big Fishing Derby.

Grandpa noticed us and our fire not far from the lake and came over to see what was going on. His grandson was in tow and was immediately entranced by the sight of a real pig spinning on a spit. We chatted for a while about the roasting process and our friend's accomplishments. All the while that little boy stood transfixed by the roasting beast before him.

Now, after 45 minutes or so, the pig begins to heat up. The skin sweats fat, making it glisten. The fluids trapped in the sinuses and brain pan begin to expand ejecting what looks like strawberry jam from the snout. This particular pig was felled by a .22 to the back of the skull, and that wound began to ooze blood. The little boy never looked away, but seemed to study the scene. I could tell that his mind was being tattooed with the image of a pig on a spit.

That was 26 years ago. The little boy has grown into a man by now. But I think he still remembers the day his grandfather took him fishing and he saw a pig on a spit. I wonder if he eats pork today?

Back in my pig roasting days, I discovered that it took just a little over half a bottle of Jack Daniels and 12 hours to cook a hog on our spit. Oddly enough, it only took about 4 hours for all the guests to consume the pig.

The 'open spit' method takes one hour per ten pounds, plus an hour. A 90 pound pig cooks in ten hours. But the modified oil tank not only cuts the time down considerably, but let's us add hickory chips to the beds of charcoal.

And we're single malt drinkers. Bourbon makes us surly.

 

[Foxfyre]

Good night darlinks. I love you guys.

And we're still keeping vigil for
Harper (Save's granddaughter),
Sunshine,
Pogo’s friend Pat and special comfort for Pogo,
TK, and TK's grandma,
Sheila’s friend Shirley,
Spoonie, Ringel, and Sheila's sore backs,
Sherry’s Mom,
BDBoop, her sis, and family,
Hombre,
Pix,
Becki and Becki’s hubby,
Sheila and son Andrew,
Noomi’s Auntie Marj and Nana and friend Tracy,
Sheila's sore foot post surgery healing,
Stat's aunt,
Smilebong and family as they deal with the passing of his brother-in-law,
Complete healing for Mrs. Ringel and assurance for Ringel,
Ollie, Mrs O and family in the loss of their Angie,
Bloodrock's father-in-law in Germany,
All of us and those we care about who are looking for work,
All who are dealing with colds and flu,
And all others we love and hold in concern.

And the light is on awaiting the return of Bigfoot, Oddball, and Sunshine.

P.S. Sometimes in the editing of the vigil list or when I have switched computers, somebody gets dropped that is supposed to be on it. This will always be inadvertent and if ya'll would call it to my attention, it would be much appreciated.

 

[Statistikhengst]

Woke up with a huge headache this morning, and no, I had nothing to drink last night, either. Only on rare occasions do I drink, anyway. The German National Train system (Die Deutsche Bahn) is renovating the tracks real close to my place and I think they sprayed something on the tracks while they were working on them in the middle of the night (from 02:30-05:30) and man, oh man, do I have a headache. Anyone got a hammer and a chisel? Ugh.

This is my last heavy business day before vacation begins. Should be fun to get through this one....

 

[Statistikhengst]

Good morning, everyone, and a happy Thor's-Day to you!

The Adventurers/Explorers & Coffee continues today, and it will be interesting:



Only one today, but a big one:

That's Peter Diamandis, co-founder of the Singularity University and also co-founder of ZERO-G (Zero G Corporation).


Here he is, floating in zero-G in the "Vomit Comet":

And his ZERO-G co-founder:

Engineer, Fighter Pilot and MIT Space-Shuttle Payload specialist Byron Lichtenberg.


ZERO-G is the first firm to offer flights up into the ZERO-G part of our atmosphere, quasi right on the edge between atmosphere and outer space. The flights are commercial, for wealthy paying passengers, and also for research purposes.


And THIS person was one of their first customers:

Yepp, that's Stephen Hawking, in Zero-G.


No, the pics don't show these gentlemen drinking coffee, but ZERO-G is at the front guard of exploration in flight and space technology and I felt it was worthy of an entry in the coffee shop.

 

[Statistikhengst]

And, today's Thor-Coffee funnies:

Answer: because they need coffee!!!

Happy Day of Thunder!!!

 

[Statistikhengst]

And musically, in honor of Thor's Day:










When I was in Grade School, my 5th grade Band Director gave me some marching band books as a gift, the ones that you can clip to a lyre on your instrument, and in the one book was a personal signature from none other than Henry Fillmore himself!! And he signed his signature right on this particular march!

 

[Noomi]

Evening all! Great class tonight - Tracy is back but she is still not 100% and will not be attending the tournament next weekend, although I know she would love to. Hopefully she gets better so she can attend the State Titles in September.

 

[kaz]

The first cup of joe of the day is the best!

 

[Jughead]

Woke up with a huge headache this morning, and no, I had nothing to drink last night, either. Only on rare occasions do I drink, anyway. The German National Train system (Die Deutsche Bahn) is renovating the tracks real close to my place and I think they sprayed something on the tracks while they were working on them in the middle of the night (from 02:30-05:30) and man, oh man, do I have a headache. Anyone got a hammer and a chisel? Ugh.

This is my last heavy business day before vacation begins. Should be fun to get through this one....

One option would be to try and cut back on the caffeine for today, and drink lots of water instead. Also, eat a sizeable portion of food. Sometimes a headache can be triggered when one doesn't have enough nourishment. Even if it's not, eating the extra food can't hurt ...

 

[peach174]

Morning!

 

[saveliberty]

I think your brain just wanted vacation a day early.

 

[saveliberty]

I think Wednesday leaked into Thursday.