Moriarte's Weblog

Leonardo da Vinci Quotes

2011-12-16T15:38:00.000-08:00

Leonardo da Vinci (April 15, 1452 – May 2, 1519) was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer. Leonardo has often been described as the archetype of the Renaissance Man,and is widely considered to be one of the greatest painters of all time and perhaps the most diversely talented person that ever lived...(read more here)

Here are a picks of some of his many quotes:

Leonardo; A Man of Action

He who wishes to be rich in a day will be hanged in a year.

It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

He who walks straight rarely falls.

Where there is most feeling, there is the greatest martyrdom.

Leonardo; A Man of Experience

Learning never exhausts the mind.

Study without desire spoils the memory, and it retains nothing that it takes in

“Experience, the mother of all Knowledge.”

“Experience does not err; only your judgments err by expecting from her what is not in her power.”

“The organ of perception acts more readily than judgment.”

Leonardo; A Man of Vision

“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.”

“Average human “looks without seeing, listens without hearing, touches without feeling, eats without tasting, moves without physical awareness, inhales without awareness of odour or fragrance, and talks without thinking.”

“Develop your senses- especially learn how to see. Realize that everything connects to everything else.”

Leonardo; The Artist

“The artist sees what others only catch a glimpse of.”

The painter who draws merely by practice and by eye, without any reason, is like a mirror which copies every thing placed in front of it without being conscious of their existence.

“Make your work to be in keeping with your purpose”

Many are they who have a taste and love for drawing, but no talent; and this will be discernible in boys who are not diligent and never finish their drawings with shading.

Leonardo; The Man

“My body will not be a tomb for other creatures.”

“We must doubt the certainty of everything which passes through the senses, but how much more ought we to doubt things contrary to the senses, such as the existence of God and the soul.”

There will be many men who will move one against another, holding in their hands a cutting tool. But these will not do each other any injury beyond tiring each other; for, when one pushes forward the other will draw back. But woe to him who comes between them! For he will end by being cut in pieces.

Could This Be The Most Annoying Fifa World Cup Ever?

2010-06-12T05:37:00.000-07:00

I had been looking forward to watching the Fifa World Cup 2010, but so far have only been driven half way to implosion by the constant torturous sound of the hideous Vuvuzelas.

It has become such a distraction from the actual football taking place, that the only real choice is to turn the volume down and miss out on the commentary, but that also diminishes the enjoyment of the match.

These one metre long stadium horns emit a loud monotone sound like a foghorn,and are about as entertaining as a dose of the pox. In fact, they have unanimously been described as "a giant hive full of very angry bees" and been associated with a list of ailments, such as permanent noise-induced hearing loss and spreading colds and flu germs. But still they belt out their incessantly annoying drone.

This is increasingly shaping up to be the most annoying world cup ever, and I'm not sure exactly how I'm going to blot out this far from background interference. There is also little comfort in the fact FIFA, who proclaimed; "We should not try to Europeanise an African World Cup," at least banned vuvuzelas any longer than one metre in length.

Therefore, in the meantime millions of football fans must now endure one and a half hours of nonstop, unvarying, monotonic sound at every single match of the 2010 Fifa World Cup. Either that or hit their mute buttons!

Higgins And O'Sullivan: World Snooker Championship Rulers Of The 2000's

2010-04-29T14:32:00.000-07:00

Having just watched defending champion John Higgins and then Ronnie O'Sullivan dramatically crash out of the 2010 World Snooker Championship, I couldn't help but thinking that these two snooker giants of the 2000's may fast be approaching the 10 year reign allotted by the snooker gods for any World Champion.

Both aged 34 and born in 1975, Higgins won the World Snooker Championship in 1998, 2007 and 2009 and O'Sullivan 2001, 2004 and 2008 for a total haul of 6 world titles between them.

It would seem to follow a fairly regular pattern of 6 or so victories for whoever is the dominant force in the game that particular decade, with the exception that Higgins and O'Sullivan ended up sharing the spoils, unlike their greedy predecessors.

Despite having a history dating back to 1927, the modern era of the World Snooker Championship began in 1969 when it became a knock-out tournament. Since then, Ray Reardon was the undisputed king of the 70's and the won the competition a total of 6 times in 1970, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, and 1978.

Ray Reardon (born 1932) enjoyed his reign at the more advanced age of 38 to 46, but considering the transformation snooker underwent in the 1970's to take it away from the working men's clubs into becoming a modern sport, this is hardly surprising.

With Steve Davis (born 1957), the age of snooker came down and he enjoyed his stranglehold on the World Snooker Championship in the 1980's, aged 24 to 32, winning the tournament in 1981, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1988, and 1989.

Alex Hurricane Higgins was the prerequisite exciting, quick player who competed against both Reardon and then Davis during their reigns,and in the process picked up a couple of titles of his own in 1972 and 1982.

Jimmy White (born 1962) then took over Alex Higgins' mantle as the biggest exponent of 'exciting' snooker, but despite appearing in a total of 7 finals between 1984 and 1994, including 1 against Davis and 4 against Stephen Hendry, the title of World Champion eluded him throughout his career.

In the meantime, Stephen Hendry (born 1969) reigned supreme throughout the 90's, and aged 21 to 30 became World Champion on 7 occasions, winning the competition in 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1999.

All of which takes us back to Ronnie O'Sullivan and John Higgins dominance of the 2000's, and their 3 titles a piece; O'Sullivan aged 26 to 33 and Higgins aged 23 to 34. It is probably the genius of O'Sullivan which allowed him to combine an exciting style of play with great ability to bludgeon the opposition, which saw him through to winning so many World titles.

I'm stilling hoping that there is more than a few surprises left in the dynamic duo of the 2000's, but in the meantime I can't help but looking ahead to what the 2010's may hold.

Considering the assortment of players currently on the snooker circuit, Mark Selby (born 1983) and Neil Robertson (born 1983) would seem to be the ones fast gaining a reputation as solid and dangerous opponents.

Although Selby and Robertson may find themselves being cast in the mould of the solid, yet entertaining modern player, it is unlikely they will be that type of player who will create the same interest in the game that has been created by the likes of Alex Higgins, Jimmy White or Ronnie O'Sullivan.

Professor Moriarty the Criminal Genius

2010-02-15T14:36:00.000-08:00

Professor James Moriarty was a criminal mastermind and the arch nemesis of Sherlock Holmes. In the nineteenth century up to his death at the Reichenbach Falls on the 4th May 1891, Moriarty was the head of London's underworld with a vast and subtle criminal network extending into Europe. As Holmes describes at the time:

"He is the Napoleon of crime, Watson. He is the organizer of half that is evil and of nearly all that is undetected in this great city. He is a genius, a philosopher, an abstract thinker. He has a brain of the first order. He sits motionless, like a spider in the center of its web, but that web has a thousand radiations, and he knows well every quiver of each of them."

Moriarty makes two appearances in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional detective stories; "The Final Problem" and "The Valley of Fear". However, he is mentioned in five of his other stories, including The Empty House, The Norwood Builder, The Missing Three-Quarter, The Illustrious Client, and His Last Bow. Moriarty is described as a man of good background and education, with phenomenal mathematical abilities which won him a seat at a university aged just twenty-one. Sherlock Holmes gives us a glimpse into Professor Moriarty's nature during those years when he commented:

"But the man had hereditary tendencies of the most diabolical kind. A criminal strain ran in his blood, which, instead of being modified, was increased and rendered infinitely more dangerous by his extraordinary mental powers. Dark rumours gathered round him in the University town, and eventually he was compelled to resign his chair and come down to London..."

Moriarty's attempts to eliminate his enemies would often involve arranging "accidents" such as falling masonry or a speeding horse drawn carriage. He would also sometimes take care of business personally using a silenced rifle cane to snipe targets with relative anonymity.

Real life inspirations for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's criminal genius are believed to include the master criminal Adam Worth, and also the Canadian-American astronomer and mathematician Simon Newcomb, who would ruthlessly seek to destroy the careers and reputations of his rival scientists.

C. Auguste Dupin : The First Great Detective

2010-02-14T07:50:00.000-08:00

In her autobiography Christie admits that with Poirot "I was still writing in the Sherlock Holmes tradition – eccentric detective, stooge assistant, with a Lestrade-type Scotland Yard detective, Inspector Japp.

For his part Conan Doyle acknowledged basing Sherlock Holmes on the model of Edgar Allan Poe's fictional French detective C. Auguste Dupin, who in his use of "ratiocination" prefigures Poirot's reliance on his "little grey cells".

C. Auguste Dupin is a fictional detective created by Edgar Allan Poe. Dupin made his first appearance in Poe's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" (1841), widely considered the first detective fiction story. He reappears in "The Mystery of Marie Rogêt" (1842) and "The Purloined Letter" (1844).Detective fiction, however, had no real precedent and the word detective had not yet been coined when Poe first introduced Dupin.

Interesting Facts

Doyle once said, "Each [of Poe's detective stories] is a root from which a whole literature has developed... Where was the detective story until Poe breathed the breath of life into it?"

In the first Holmes story, "A Study in Scarlet" (1887), Doctor Watson compares Holmes to Dupin, to which Holmes replies, "No doubt you think you are complimenting me ... In my opinion, Dupin was a very inferior fellow," despite the fact that the detective was evidently inspired by the other.

Strange facts about our Calendar

2010-02-13T06:14:00.000-08:00

* The Ancient Egyptians calculated the year to be 365 days in length, and divided it into 12 months of 30 days each, and 5 festival days thrown in for good measure.

* Originally the Roman calendar had only 10 months, starting with March and ending in December (10 or 10th in Latin).

* The Julian calendar was introduced by Julius Caesar in 45 BC and reformed the Roman calendar. January was introduced as the first month of the year, and was named after the two faced god Janus who's one face looked back on the old year while the other looked forward to the new one. The Julian calendar was eventually replaced by the Gregorian calendar.

* July was named after Julius Caesar and had 31 days while August was named after Augustus Caesar but had only 30 days. Not to be outdone, August took a day from Febuary and transported it to his own month; this is why Febuary is the shortest month.

* The Gregorian calendar was introduced on 24th February 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII, to correct the 11 minutes lost a year by the Julian calendar. It was not introduced into Protestant England until 170 years later.

* Jesus was probably born around 5 or 6 BC. The historical and biblical wisdom states that Christ was born in the reign of Herod the Great, a king who was known to have died in 4 BC.

*Our BC/AD system was proposed by Dionysius Exiguus. He incorrectly placed Jesus' birth as 1 BC because of an old text which related that Jesus was born in the 28th year of the reign of Augustus (Octavian). However, Augustus was accepted as Emperor four years before the official ceremony.

* Jesus Christ's first year of life was officially named by Pope John as 1 AD. The year in which this happened was AD 532. It was also 754 A.U.C (from the founding of Rome by Romulus and Remus).

Nikola Tesla: Genius From The Future

2010-02-05T09:39:00.000-08:00

Finding out more about this fascinating man it became apparent that he quite literally illuminated the world we now live in and brought us to the seemingly science fiction levels of technology we now enjoy. Nikola Tesla was truly an astounding yet controversial genius with a great mind far beyond his time.

"The present is theirs; the future, for which I have really worked, is mine."

* Nikola Tesla was born at midnight on July 10, 1856 during an electrical storm. He was later to become the father of electricity and invented so many modern marvels, that he has shaped the world perhaps more than any other inventor.

* He had a photographic memory, and lucid powers of visualization both awake and dreaming.He suffered an affliction in which blinding flashes of light would appear before his eyes, often accompanied by hallucinations. Much of the time the visions were linked to a word or idea he might come across; just by hearing the name of an item, he would involuntarily envision it in realistic detail. Modern day synesthetes report similar symptoms

* Tesla devised a better system for electrical transmission - the AC (alternating current) system that we use in our homes today. AC offered great advantages over Edison's DC system. By using Tesla's newly developed transformers, AC voltages could be stepped up and transmitted over long distances through thin wires. DC could not (requiring a large power plant every square mile while transmitting through very thick cables).

*Of course, a system of transmission would be incomplete without devices to run on them. So, he invented the motors that are used in everyday appliances in our homes.

*He has over 700 patents and some of his other inventions include Radio, Wireless communications, Remote controls, Radar, Neon and Fluorescent lighting, the Ignition system that activate our cars, X-Ray photography, Microwave cooking, Vacuum tube amplifier, Speedometer, and much more.

* He had a burning desire to find 'free energy' sources which all people could share, and many of his free energy sources, as well as lethal weapons he devised, are still sensitive issues and have been kept secret.

- He created lightning which he was able to light wireless lamps with many miles away.

- Surmised that by pulling enough electricity from the ionosphere he could concentrate up to 2 billion volts in one area, enough to destroy any city on Earth.

- Discovered that Alpha waves in all biological systems resonate between 6 - 8 hertz and that the wave frequency of the Schuman Cavity resonates in the same range, such that if this area of space could be controlled electronically a person could profoundly affect all living things.

- During World War II he offered the US government his Death Ray system, a machine which accelerated a particle or beam of particles to a high velocity so they could do great damage, much like a high powered laser beam. This eventually became Ronald Regan's Star Wars programme.

*To find out more about this incredible man, you could visit the links below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1o70x9iUjg

http://www.pbs.org/tesla/

The Origins Of Religion

2010-01-28T17:34:00.000-08:00

"One of the most important realizations that any spiritual seeker can come to is that there are many valid ways to seek to explain the universal truth of God."

There would certainly be less destruction in the world if people of different beliefs spent at least some of their time trying to establish connections with one another instead of focusing on their differences. An integral aspect of religion is surely spirituality, love and understanding not fear, hate and ignorance.

By allowing some knowledge and analysis of other people's faiths it then becomes possible to see connections with your own, which might in turn help to unite people from around the world. The Christian Bible and the Muslim Koran, for instance, includes stories and characters from the Hebrew Old Testament, which in turn has its roots in the ancient religions of Egypt, Babylon, Mesopotamia, Sumeria, and so on in a long, rich bloodline.

As you travel further back into man's distant past, you would see the elemental forces of nature, such as storms, thunder, lightening and rain, being worshipped by people who lived close to the land and relied on the natural world to provide everything they needed for survival and pleasure.

The Sun, Moon and stars have always had a powerful hold on the collective human imagination and occupied a major place in most early religions. The Sun was a god who brought energy, light, warmth and made the crops grow each year, while the Moon brought light to the dark night and was spiritual and mysterious. To the Inca people gold was the sweat of the Sun and silver the tears of the Moon.

Today, most of the stars and constellations we see in the night sky still carry the name of the various mythological gods and goddesses who existed in man's distant and shared past.

Astronomy And Religion

2010-01-26T08:27:00.000-08:00

While searching the internet the other day, I was interested to come upon an article called 'History Of Astronomy' which appeared on an easy to follow website at Astronomy Trek.com.

In the article it was interesting to learn about mankind's struggle for a deeper understanding of the nature of the Universe and how, despite Aristrachus of Samos proposing a heliocentric model of the Sun and planets in 280 B.C., the idea that all objects in the heavens revolved around the Earth was generally accepted until the later part of the 17th century A.D.

At the heart of the misunderstanding seemed to be religion's conceit that man, as God's crowning glory, should occupy a place at the centre of creation. Aristotle was at the forefront of Western science until the 1500's and his belief that the Earth was stuck and imperfect, while the heavens were perfect and free to move around in space also became a doctrine of the Catholic Church until evidence to the contrary was produced by such renaissance giants as Copernicus, Johannes Kepler and Galileo.

Even then religion wasn't ready to give up its claim to hold all the answers and, as mentioned in the article, in 1632, "Galileo was tried by the church for heresy, forced to recant his theories and was condemned to spend the rest of his life under house arrest."

Eventually there was no holding back the tide of progress and with the church's waning power, having been helpless to prevent the devestating plagues which ravaged Europe, people started placing more faith in medecine, science and the clever inventions which began to appear.

Galileo's refracting telescope and Newton's reflector (seen above) also helped usher in a new Age of physics and Enlightenment. It was quite interesting to note, however, that it wasn't until 1922 that Galileo was finally absolved by the Vatican for his views. Better late than never I suppose.

Warren Buffet On Dynastic Wealth

2009-10-26T16:20:00.000-07:00

Warren Buffet has already pledged a great proportion of his wealth to charity and, even though the richest man on the planet, in 2007/08 payed himself just $100,000 with a $75,000 bonus.

He applies his honest work ethos to all areas of life including his three grown up children Susie, Howard, and Peter. They will be taken care of but will not be the major beneficiaries of his extraordinary wealth. As Buffet said:

"I want to give my kids just enough so that they would feel that they could do anything, but not so much that they would feel like doing nothing

2009: Predictions Going Forward

2008-10-22T11:42:00.000-07:00

With the turbulence in the stock markets and the downturn in the real economy in mind, here is a good explaination I read regarding the situation complete with predictions going forward. Read on and enjoy:

seekingalpha.com

There Is Pleasure In The Pathless Woods

2008-10-18T10:55:00.000-07:00

'There Is Pleasure In The Pathless Woods'
by Lord George Gordon Byron

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man the less, but Nature more,
From these our interviews, in which I steal
From all I may be, or have been before,
To mingle with the Universe, and feel
What I can ne'er express, yet cannot all conceal.

Current Financial Crisis and The Great Depression

2008-10-09T12:28:00.000-07:00

(Taken in entirety from Seekingalpha.com

Today marks the one year anniversary of the all-time closing high set in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. On October 9th, 2007, the DJIA set an Intra-day high of 14279.96. One year later, we are off 35.8% (as of midday Thursday). Since this current situation is currently being compared to the Great Depression, let's do some comparisons...

On September 3rd, 1929, the DJIA reached a record intra-day high of 386.1. One year later, September 3rd, 1930, it had fallen 38.5% Notice how closely that parallels the current crisis.

So looking at the current level of the Dow, are you ready to jump in at these bargain-basement levels? Before you act, let's look at what happened in years two and three of the Great Depression. Suppose you jumped into the market in September of 1930 thinking you were looking at similar bargains...

By September 3rd, 1931, the Dow had fallen 65.5% from its peak just two years before.

On July 8th, 1932, the Dow had an intra-day low of 40.56, or 89.5% off its peak in less than three years.

So the next logical question is, how long did it take to recover back to the peak of 386.1? Are you ready for this?

November 26th, 1954...a full 25 years after the peak set in 1929.

Seeing how the first year of the current crisis is trading on par with the first year of the Great Depression, one could draw the conclusion that we may not see Dow 14K again until 2032.

Brown's Bottom

2008-10-09T12:03:00.000-07:00

In 1999 Gordon Brown somehow managed to flog more than half of Britain's painfully acquired gold reserves (400 tons) just before the gold price took off, costing us a mind-boggling £2bn. He actually managed to trade at the worst prices in the last quarter century.

It was May 1999 and the gold price had stagnated for much of the decade. The traders present — including senior executives from at least two big investment banks — warned that Brown, who was not at the meeting, could barely have chosen a worse moment.

In the room, just behind the governor’s main office, they cautioned that gold traditionally moved in decades-long cycles and that the price was likely to increase. They added that even if the sale were to go ahead, the timings and amounts should not be announced, as the gold price would plunge.

Martin Stokes, former vice-president at JP Morgan, who was also present, said: “I was surprised they had chosen the auction method. It indicated they did not have a real understanding of the gold market

Sources: TimesOnline
:burningourmoney.blogspot.com

Confessions Of An Economic Hitman

2008-10-02T12:50:00.000-07:00

This is a rather revealing look into the world of an NSA operative, in this case John Perkins. Here he talks about his book 'Confessions of an Economic Hit Man' the Inside Story of How America Turned From a Respected Republic into a Feared Empire.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=_WRmdSND9Vg

1903 - First Silent Movie: The Great Train Robbery

2008-09-20T04:18:00.000-07:00

First Silent Movie, The Great Train Robbery (1903): Produced by Thomas Edison but directed and filmed by Edison Company employee Edwin S. Porter, The Great Train Robbery was the first narrative movie, one that told a story. The film is a classic western with four bandits who rob a train and its passengers of their valuables and then make their grand escape only to be killed in a shootout by a posse sent after them.

The Great Train Robbery was hugely popular with audiences. The approximately twelve minutes of film that starred Gilbert M. "Broncho Billy" Anderson was played across the country in 1904 and then played in the first nickelodeons (theaters in which movies cost a nickel to see) in 1905. The Great Train Robbery's popularity lead directly to the opening up of permanent movie theaters and opened up the possibility of a future film industry.

This was taken from an article written by By Jennifer Rosenberg, About.com

Why Do We Never Notice The Obvious?

2008-09-19T10:30:00.001-07:00

Ever wondered why we rarely see that which is obvious or 'under our very noses'? I found a great explaination on this phenomenan written by Richard Wiseman. For the solution click here

Ozymandias

2008-09-19T10:30:00.000-07:00

Recently I've noted a few examples of artists who have mentioned or cross referenced their work with that of some of their contemporaries. For instance, David Bowie's song 'Sound and Vision'and Nick Lowe's 'Breaking Glass'. Also David Bowie's 'Space Oddity' and Elton John's 'Rocket Man'.

A historical example is the sonnet "Ozymandias" by Percy Bysshe Shelley, published in 1818. It is probably Shelley's most famous short poem and was written in competition with his friend Horace Smith, who wrote another sonnet entitled "Ozymandias".

'Ozymandias was another name of Ramesses the Great, Pharaoh of the nineteenth dynasty of ancient Egypt. Ozymandias represents a transliteration into Greek of a part of Ramesses' throne name, User-maat-re Setep-en-re. The sonnet paraphrases the inscription on the base of the statue, given by Diodorus Siculus as "King of Kings am I, Osymandias. If anyone would know how great I am and where I lie, let him surpass one of my works'. (Wikipedia). Enjoy.

OZYMANDIAS by Shelley

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shatter'd visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamp'd on these lifeless things,
The hand that mock'd them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains: round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

OZYMANDIAS by Smith

In Egypt's sandy silence, all alone,
Stands a gigantic Leg, which far off throws
The only shadow that the Desert knows:
"I am great OZYMANDIAS," saith the stone,
"The King of Kings; this mighty City shows
"The wonders of my hand." The City's gone,
Nought but the Leg remaining to disclose
The site of this forgotten Babylon.
We wonder, and some Hunter may express
Wonder like ours, when thro' the wilderness
Where London stood, holding the Wolf in chace,
He meets some fragments huge, and stops to guess
What powerful but unrecorded race
Once dwelt in that annihilated place.

Schadenfreude And Mudita

2008-09-15T15:33:00.000-07:00

Hera are some interesting explanation of certain emotions I found interesting:

Schadenfreude is enjoyment taken from the misfortune of someone else.

Envy is unhappiness in another's good fortune.

On the other side there is:

Mudita, "sympathetic joy" or "happiness in another's good fortune,". It is cited as an example of the opposite of schadenfreude.

Pity or Compassion, is "unhappiness at another's misfortune",

Onwards and Beyond

2008-09-04T09:14:00.000-07:00

It emerged from the primordial slime,
It had a rendez-vous in time,
With it's great, wise eye at once it knew
what it was it had to do,
And in its outstretched arm did grow and was lead
by the all embracing Cosmic Egg

List of international enclaves and exclaves

2008-08-30T13:55:00.000-07:00

http://geosite.jankrogh.com/exclaves.htm

How Do I Lose Fat?

2008-08-29T10:11:00.000-07:00

(Other Health and Fitness topics can be found at http://trainingandexercise.blogspot.com/

Quite simply, in order to lose fat you have to be consuming less calories than you are using up. The two ways you can achieve this is by eating less and/or exercising more.

Step 1 is to find out your body's calorific maintenance level. Counting calories and weighing yourself for a week should provide you with this figure.

Step2 is to ensure you consume 500 calories less than your body's maintenance level each day.
500 calories is an important amount as any more will be interpretated as times of famine by your body and so when you do eat, more calories will be stored as fat. It is best to eat 5 to 6 small meals spaced out to every 3 hours to increase your body's metabolism but ultimately your fat loss will be determined by the calorific deficit in your diet. Remember to drink plenty of water as this is essential to the fat burning process, allows maximum absorption of nutrients from your food and facilitates the removal of toxins from the body.

Step 3 is to concentrate on cardiovascular exercises. Do at least four sessions per week for a minimum of twenty minutes building up eventually to five sessions of45 minutes. Try to maintain your heart rate in the optimal fat burning zone

Step 4 is to measure and monitor your results.

Fact: You need to burn off 3,500 calories in order to lose 1lb of fat. Therefore, by reducing your calories by 500 per day you will be able to lose 1lb of fat by the end of a week (7 x 500 = 3,500 calories).

Recommended Exercises:

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
Aerobic Exercise maintaining a heart rate in the fat burning zone.
Weight Training.

Have other Health related questions answered at http://trainingandexercise.blogspot.com/

Does Oxypowder Really Work?

2008-08-29T09:39:00.000-07:00

My 7 Day Experience With Oxy-Powder

(More on this and other health related issue can be found on http://trainingandexercise.blogspot.com/)

THE DAY BEFORE

I'm a 41 year old male, 6'2", reasonably healthy and try to exercise and eat the right types of food when I can. I've been reading about the benefits that colonic cleansing can have on your overall health and so have decided, after a bit of research, to give the much advertised Oxypowder 7 day course a go.

This morning (30/03/08) my body stats were:

Weight: 173.3lbs, Body Fat: 12.8%, Water: 60.8%.

Just before going to sleep I took 4 capsules to start the process going.

DAY 1

This morning (31/03/08) my body stats were:

Weight: 171.7lbs, Body Fat: 12.1%, Water: 61.5%.

At 9.30am, 12, and 2pm I had small, dark and liquid bowl movements (bms), which were odourless and looked like wall paint. Generally these occurred soon after food.I have felt a bit light headed and drowsy today.Just before going to sleep I took 6 capsules to increase the effect which, for me, had been at the lower end of the 3 to 5 bms a day range.

DAY 2

This morning (1/04/08) my body stats were:

Weight: 173.2lbs, Body Fat: 12.8%, Water: 60.8%.

10am, 1pm, (1.30pm) I had good size dark, liquid movements with no odour. I felt fine and not lightheaded or drowsy like yesterday.

DAY 3

This morning I took 8 capsules as 6 didn't seem enough.This morning (2/04/08) my body stats were:

Weight: 170lbs, Body Fat: 11.5%, Water: 62%.

11am I had large, soft, odourless bms (the consistency of porridge, if you forgive the analogy). 5pm, 6pm, 6.30pm I had a semi liquid bm with no odour. I have noticed black dots/specks in the stools. I found this explanation at http://www.enzymestuff.com/rtstools.htm 'Black specks may be seeds, foods, or from die off of yeast or bacteria.If you start any supplement that might create looser stools, temporary diarrhea, or die-off of yeast or bacteria (like an antibiotic, pro biotic, digestive enzymes, anti fungal, laxative, etc), you might see dark or black flecks in stool during this 'cleaning out' period. Certain types of adverse bacteria in the colon can produce dark residues and this is getting cleaned out'.Just before going to sleep I took 10 capsules.

Day 4

This morning (3/04/08) my body stats were:

Weight: 171.7lbs, Body Fat: 12.4%, Water: 61.2%

11am, 3pm I had good size, soft , odourless bms. I have noticed more black dots/specks in the stools.6.30pm I had a smallish, semi liquid, odourless bms with more black specks in the stool.

DAY 5

Early this morning I took 10 capsules.This morning (4/04/08) my body stats were:

Weight: 170.5lbs, Body Fat: 11.7%, Water: 61%

10am, 3pm I had good size, soft odourless bms. I have noticed more black dots/specks in the stools.8pm I almost had to encourage myself to go in order to reach the minimum 3 bms a day. The stool was odourless, small and what might be called butt-pee with some soft flakes in it. The black specks were present.

DAY 6

Early this morning I took 10 capsules.This morning (5/04/08) my body stats were:

Weight : 171.7lbs, Body Fat: 11.9%, Water: 61.6%

12pm, 2pm I had good size, soft, odourless bms. This was followed by a bit of diarrhea probably due to the amount of water I had drunk . I noticed more black dots/specks in the stools.Just before going to sleep I took 12 capsules as 10 didn't seem enough today.

DAY 7

This morning (6/04/08) my body stats were:

Weight: 171.6lbs, Body Fat: 12%, Water: 61.5%

10am, 11.30am, 1pm I had good size, soft, odourless bms. This was followed by a bit of diarrhea. I noticed more black dots/specks in the stools.

DAY AFTER

This morning (7/04/08) my body stats were:

Weight : 171.3lbs, Body Fat: 11.9%, Water: 61.6%

12pm went to loo and bm back to usual pre-Oxypowder state.

SYNOPSIS

Overall I would say that this is a fair product, although I would assume there are stronger products out there. My experience with Oxypowder was that:

-I felt a little lightheaded on the first day on Oxypowder but much less so thereafter.

-Regardless of the amount of capsules I took, (up to 12 capsules a day) I still had the 3 bowel movements a day.

-Most bm's came a little after food and throughout the course I never felt like I wouldn't make it to the loo in time.-Aside from the black specks in the stools, I didn't notice anything unusual or foul smelling.

-I lost 1.7lbs, probably due to the balance of foods I consumed over this period.

-I feel it has been worthwhile and that I've benefited from a good, healthy flush out.

http://trainingandexercise.blogspot.com/

USA, European and Russian Manoeuvring

2008-08-29T03:36:00.000-07:00

This is taken from an article in Turkish newspaper Zaman, (29/08/08)

At the heart of Washington’s weapons shield plan, coupled with NATO’s expansion policy, is a classic divide-and-conquer multi layered stratagem.

First layer: Divide the EU from Russia. This is done by placing a firm wedge between Moscow and Brussels -- thus the US scuttles the possibility of a non-confrontation EU approach towards Russia, which could possibly lead to a Europe “whole and free” or, as President Francois Mitterrand once suggested, to an area of prosperity stretching from the “Atlantic to the Urals.”
Washington also seeks to rally its increasingly unruly European partners around the principle of NATO’s collective security blanket, using rhetoric that recalls the old evil empire hegemon as a convenient scarecrow to unify the alliance. Russia’s new bugaboo status in Brussels, only further cows central European states to do Washington’s bidding. This stratagem also impedes any chance the EU may one day cast off Uncle Sam’s stewardship of European defense in favor of a CFSP (common foreign and security policy).

On another level, the US has also sought to divide in the continent between “old” and “new” Europe.

And finally in 2008, with the installation of the missile shield Washington seeks to divide the citizenry from their government. The ruling pro American elite in central Europe persist with the project, giving little or none consideration to public opposition.

William Blake - Auguries of Innocence

2008-08-19T13:50:00.000-07:00

These are my favourite verses from:

William Blake - Auguries of Innocence

To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.

A robin redbreast in a cage
Puts all heaven in a rage.

............

The wild deer, wand'ring here and there,
Keeps the human soul from care.
The lamb misus'd breeds public strife,
And yet forgives the butcher's knife.
...............
A truth that's told with bad intent
Beats all the lies you can invent.

..................

It is right it should be so;
Man was made for joy and woe;
And when this we rightly know,
Thro' the world we safely go.
.............
Joy and woe are woven fine,
A clothing for the soul divine.
Under every grief and pine
Runs a joy with silken twine.

The babe is more than swaddling bands;
Every farmer understands.
Every tear from every eye
Becomes a babe in eternity;

The beggar's rags, fluttering in air,
Does to rags the heavens tear.
................

The poor man's farthing is worth more
Than all the gold on Afric's shore.

One mite wrung from the lab'rer's hands
Shall buy and sell the miser's lands;
Or, if protected from on high,
Does that whole nation sell and buy.
.....

The winner's shout, the loser's curse,
Dance before dead England's hearse.

Every night and every morn
Some to misery are born,
Every morn and every night
Some are born to sweet delight.

Some are born to sweet delight,
Some are born to endless night.

We are led to believe a lie
When we see not thro' the eye,
Which was born in a night to perish in a night,
When the soul slept in beams of light.

God appears, and God is light,
To those poor souls who dwell in night;
But does a human form display
To those who dwell in realms of day.