Thudfactor » Heavy.

Think better

Published on 2010-08-21 19:08:00

There’s a lot of difference between “Sufi-run Islamic community center in Manhattan” and “Ground Zero Victory Mosque.” I’ve been thinking about that, and a lot of other words, since listening to this Radiolab episode. Radiolab argues that language doesn’t just … Continue reading →

Drink lots of milk, but not too much.

Published on 2010-08-17 08:48:17

This is the kind of thing parents who are not dietitians and biochemists are up against: So here’s a registered dietitian telling parents to serve their children chocolate milk as snacks, actually suggesting that kids need a post-game sports drink … Continue reading →

Choosing between sane and crazy

Published on 2010-08-04 05:24:03

The basic problem with the two party system is that when one party goes massively, rat-chokingly insane, you’re pretty much forced to go with the sane candidate. “Sane” is a low bar for public office. It includes the subsets of … Continue reading →

What’s for breakfast?

Published on 2010-08-03 07:04:54

When I tell people I’m eating a low-carbohydrate diet a lot of them think I’ve eliminated carbohydrate altogether. I guess they imagine me frying three pounds of bacon for myself every morning, eating massive porterhouse steaks every night, and avoiding … Continue reading →

Just call people fat

Published on 2010-07-29 06:36:59

The Elf and I watched See No Evil, Hear No Evil the Richard Pryor / Gene Wilder comedy about a blind man and a deaf man struggling to clear their names after they are framed for murder. One of my … Continue reading →

The Thrifty Gene

Published on 2010-07-24 08:11:34

Here’s a story that will be familiar to a lot of people. I call it “The Thrifty Gene:” In ancient times, food was scarce and uncertain. Then the Thrifty Gene moved in, giving us the power to store energy during … Continue reading →

Dad’s low-carb tale of danger

Published on 2010-07-23 05:25:01

Dad responded my post about low-carb dieting with one of his own. A lot of people tell us these diets are dangerous — and they are. After they went home, we stayed low-carb. We cut out grains. we started counting … Continue reading →

No entries in dumb writing contest

Published on 2010-07-22 21:14:40

The HG Wells youth writing contest entered its second year with a requirement that all entries be about “contemporary life in Kent” rather than science fiction. Oh, and they have to be hand-written. The result: no entries. Rather than realize … Continue reading →

A calorie is not a calorie

Published on 2010-07-21 06:14:28

I tried the Hacker’s Diet a couple of times. The premise is attractive: rather than counting calories, you track your weight daily using a trend line. If your weight is going up, then you need to eat less. If your … Continue reading →

All I had to do was forget everything

Published on 2010-07-20 07:47:26

Between 1996 and 2010 I added three “X”s to my shirt size and my waist grew from forty inches to fifty-two. This didn’t happen without me noticing, but I had known since elementary school that I was fat. I was … Continue reading →