Power of Nature

clipped from www.linkinn.com

The underlying expectation -- that the present is supposed to be better than the past -- is a new phenomenon in history. No 18th-century politician would have asked "Are you better off than you were four years ago?" because it never would have occurred to anyone that they ought to be better off than they were four years ago.

(Also see Living in the Age of Abundance.)

clipped from online.wsj.com A Brief History of Economic Time Modern humans first emerged about 100,000 years ago. For the next 99,800 years or so, nothing happened. Well, not quite nothing. There were wars, political intrigue, the invention of agriculture -- but none of that stuff had much effect on the quality of people's lives. Almost everyone lived on the modern equivalent of $400 to $600 a year, just above the subsistence level. True, there were always tiny aristocracies who lived far better, but numerically they were quite insignificant. Then -- just a couple of hundred years ago, maybe 10 generations -- people started getting richer. And richer and richer still. Per capita income, at least in the West, began to grow at the unprecedented rate of about three quarters of a percent per year. A couple of decades later, the same thing was happening around the world.

The Three Secrets to Happiness

You can read more about three secrets at http://zenhabits.net/2007/03/the-three-secrets-to-happiness/

clipped from zenhabits.net We all know that money can’t buy happiness … but many times we act as if we’d be happier with a bit more money. We are conditioned to want to be rich (when we know the rich aren’t happy either); we are trained to want the latest gadget or style that television tells us to want; we want to earn more money because then we’ll have the good life. But none of that will bring us happiness. No matter how much we earn, no matter how much we have in the bank, no matter how nice our clothing or cars or toys, none of it will make us happier. And the sad thing is that it could take us decades of pursuing wealth and luxury items before we realize this. So what will bring us happiness? Luckily, it’s three things that don’t cost a thing. These three things have been proven by research — surveys of hundreds of thousands of people about what they have, what their lives are like, and how happy they are. Good relationships. Positive thinking. Flow.

Scientists find bird flu antibody

By Neil Bowdler BBC science reporter

It's hoped human trials of the bird flu antibody could begin soon

Antibodies that could protect against bird flu in humans have been isolated by an international team of scientists.

The discovery could lead to treatments that complement flu vaccines in the event of a human epidemic of the virus.

The H5N1 bird flu virus is estimated to have killed more than 180 people around the world since 2003.

Some countries are already stockpiling vaccines for a possible bird flu outbreak in humans, but no one knows how effective they might be.

'Emergency antidote'

This is because the particular strain of bird flu that might eventually spark a human pandemic is unknown.

But scientists working in Switzerland, Vietnam and the United States say they have isolated antibodies that they hope could offer protection against several different strains of the virus simultaneously.

Antibodies are used by our immune system to neutralise bacteria and viruses - in this case, the scientists have isolated antibodies that bird flu survivors in Vietnam produced to fight off the disease.

Professor Antonio Lanzavecchia, at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine in Switzerland, says the antibodies have already proven effective in the lab and in mice and he is confident that they could be used in humans.

"We in a way exploit the immune response of an individual who has been infected and has survived the infection and of course has made antibodies that neutralise these viruses," he said.

"And using this technique, we can isolate the cells that make these antibodies so that this antibody can now be reproduced in vitro and eventually massively produced to treat other individuals."

The antibodies could be used to protect key workers, such as nurses and doctors, in countries where a bird flu epidemic strikes.

The researchers say it could also be used as an emergency antidote in people who have already been infected with bird flu - if administered within a few days.

It is hoped human trials could begin shortly.

Religious belief is inconsistent with reason and corrosive to the human mind - Sue Blackmore

Blackmore: "Religious faith is something that we should struggle to throw off when we have better ways of learning the truth about the universe we live in; something we should overcome rather than something we should respect."

clipped from commentisfree.guardian.co.uk Faith is corrosive to the human mind. If someone genuinely believes that it is right to believe things without reason or evidence then they are open to every kind of dogma, whim, coercion, or dangerous infectious idea that's around. If someone is convinced that it is acceptable to base their beliefs on what is written in an ancient book, or what some teacher tells them they must believe, then they will have no true freedom of thought; they will be trapped by their faith into inconsistency and untruths because they are unable to throw out false ideas when evidence against them comes along. I want to be clear about some things I am not saying. First I am not saying that everything has to be rational. There is much about human life that has little or nothing to do with rationality; there's love and affection, art and poetry, happiness, beauty and intuition. But none of these things has to be taken on faith. I, for one, do not want to live in a world where religious faith is respected.

A collection of badass panoramas

Get out your wide-angle vision and prepare to be amazed!

clipped from www.ptgui.com

20 Words You Can Use Instead of AMAZING

clipped from www.thetrukstop.com Unimaginable Unanticipated Phenomenal Remarkable Unbelievable Breathtaking Tremendous Unexpected Spectacular Unthinkable Unforeseen Significant Stunning Startling Splendid Wonderful Overwhelming Stupefying Staggering Unpredicted

This Modern Life (image)

Just like me

clipped from www.wellingtongrey.net

Hardest Working Countries - hours worked

No matter how busy we think we are...there's always someone to top it.

clipped from money.cnn.com They work harder for the money A U.N. study finds the United States doesn't crack the top five developed nations for putting in extra long work hours. Among the developed nations covered in the report, ILO found that the countries with the highest percentage of workers putting in a longer than 48-hour workweek are: Japan: 39.3% United Kingdom: 25.7% Israel: 25.5% New Zealand: 23.6% Australia: 20.4% Switzerland: 19.2% United States: 18.1% Among developing nations surveyed in the report, the highest percentage of workers putting in more than 48 hours are in: Indonesia: 51.2% Peru: 50.9% Republic of Korea: 49.5% Thailand: 46.7% Pakistan: 44.4% Ethiopia: 40% Macao: 39.1% While 40 hours is a standard work week in many countries, many others have longer ones. For instance, 48 hours is the standard in Peru, Thailand, Ethiopia and Pakistan, the ILO found. Of all the countries surveyed, France has the shortest standard work week at 35 hours.

"What the World Eats" Photo Essay

42, 000 Togrogs doesn't buy what it used to.

clipped from www.time.com Chad: The Aboubakar family of Breidjing Camp Food expenditure for one week: 685 CFA Francs or $1.23 Favorite foods: soup with fresh sheep meat clipped from www.time.com United States: The Revis family of North Carolina Food expenditure for one week: $341.98 Favorite foods: spaghetti, potatoes, sesame chicken clipped from www.time.com Ecuador: The Ayme family of Tingo Food expenditure for one week: $31.55 Family recipe: Potato soup with cabbage clipped from www.time.com Mongolia: The Batsuuri family of Ulaanbaatar Food expenditure for one week: 41,985.85 togrogs or $40.02 Family recipe: Mutton dumplings clipped from www.time.com Bhutan: The Namgay family of Shingkhey Village Food expenditure for one week: 224.93 ngultrum or $5.03 Family recipe: Mushroom, cheese and pork clipped from www.time.com Germany: The Melander family of Bargteheide Food expenditure for one week: 375.39 Euros or $500.07 Favorite foods: fried potatoes with onions, bacon and herring, fried noodles with eggs and cheese, pizza, vanilla pudding