This is a great post with a few specifics about gestures that mean something different in other places.
http://www.scienceofpeople.com/2014/07/gestures-shouldnt-making-abroad/
by Michiel Andreae from The Netherlands
( Read more...Collapse )

Don't forget to breathe while watching this. I would have passed out if I didn't remind myself to take a deep breath every now and then. THIS is why the ocean frightens me. Big water on the river is still itty bitty teeny weenie compared to this.

Wikipedia: It was only in 1998, at the Gotcha Tahiti Pro, that Teahupo'o became widely recognized as having some of the heaviest waves in the world. ...Teahupo'o translates roughly to "place of skulls" or "to sever the head". It is a shallow reef break located in the South Pacific, off the southwest coast of Tahiti in French Polynesia.
( Text from youtubeCollapse )

There's still room on the trip scheduled for May 2012. This may be the last time Mykl leads this trip, and he has been doing it for a decade now, so he has it wired. This trip is for advanced whitewater kayakers and their non-boating companions. The trip of a lifetime!

The level at the high bridge putin was 5.32. That's medium, or maybe medium-high. It was just right. The group was 10 kayakers including Joey, Craig and Michael that I've paddled with before. Several of the group were men who'd been in the "fast group" on Opal yesterday, or were just plain old new. Ken, Ben who works at Nike, Bradley, etc. I rode with and followed Bruce. Joey instructed both Craig and I to follow him, and when I told him that on the ride up it got him going. He's a cell biologist at age 60 with an illustrious career that discovered (with others of course) kinesin which is this very cool little walking protein that goes up a track inside our neurons. Axonal transport. He was interesting to follow on the river, reminded me somewhat of Dick with the way he would give instructions and then set out to lead. He wasn't easy to follow, either. I could never tell what he was going to do next, and he would paddle really hard to make difficult moves. One thing is for sure, if you start your beginners out following him, they will get to be better boaters fast. After a while I learned to hang back and see generally what channel he was headed down, and then read the close up water for myself. I cut a lot of corners and took one tenth as many strokes, and enjoyed it more. Funny how different people's river styles can be. I guess I'm lazy.
( about the river and more random train of consciousnessCollapse )

http://alpinewhitewaterfrancaise.com/
See a few pix from back when I went kayaking in France. The page hasn't been updated since 2007, but I'm glad it's still up. A little bit of history. I actually took this shot from the home page, with Mykl hanging on to a rock, and Janine standing by a ducky on the edge of the Verdon.

Which diet is the healthiest, according to the science, as reported by Dr Schor?
( the Mediterranean dietCollapse )

UPSHOT
(comparisons to normal-weight people of same gender)
obese women more likely to be celibate
obese men less likely to have more than one partner
obese men more likely to have erectile dysfunction
obese woman had no impairment of sexual function
obese women under 30 less likely to use contraceptives or to go see medical practitioner for them
obese women have 4.3x more unintended pregnancies

Obesity Linked to Lower Number of Sexual Partners and Increased Unwanted Pregnancies
study author: Bajos, N, PhD
medscape reporter: Emma Hitt, PhD
( notes on article from medscapeCollapse )

I didn't until just now but I have a feeling this info may come up again. There are two different kinds of casein found in milk. Type A1 is associated with disease. Type A2 is not. France has mostly A2 cows and New Zealand is transitioning to A2. I wonder why? How long have people known about this distinction? "Old fashioned" Jersey and Guernsey cows as well as goats and sheep produce A2 milk. Why is the new school milk dangerous? Is genetic engineering for maximum production at the root of this? Bottom line: We want A2 milk, especially for children. I just didn't know about it until today, but my friend Mary is always good for teaching me something new. I was already switched over to goat dairy (feta and kefir), which is easy to do here in Portland. Not so easy some places.
( the info paragraph from Mary's email to meCollapse )