A new study conducted at Florence’s Santa Maria Annunziata Hospital has found that a female can boost her sex life significantly by drinking two glasses of wine a day- probably because she’s loosey goosey

The study researched 800 Tuscan women between the ages of 18 and 50. They gauged each woman based on the Female Sexual Function Index (so official!). This index uses a scale from 2 to 36 to assess the sexual health and satisfaction of women.

Women who drank two glasses of wine a day scored an average of 27.3 points. Those who drank one glass averaged a 25.9 rating, and non-drinkers registered at a mere 24.4.

When scientists injected rats suffering from spinal cord injuries with the blue dye also known as Brilliant Blue G (BBG), the rodents were able to walk again –never mind the fact that it was with a limp or the fact that they turned blue –see inset photo. The rats that were not injected never regained mobility.

There is currently no standard treatment for patients with spinal injury when they reach the hospital emergency room. As of now, 85 percent of patients who leave the hospital, leave untreated. And, hospitals question the effectiveness of the steroids given to the other 15 percent who are treated.

Scientists believe that BBG will improve a patients condition rather than curing it. The trick is that the dose of BBG must be given to the patient immediately after the injury, before additional tissue dies.

Now for the best news, researchers are currently working on clinical trials of BBG on human patients. [cnnhealth.com]

“Clocks slay time… time is dead as long as it is being clicked off by little wheels; only when the clock stops does time come to life.” - William Faulkner

Article by Zen Habits contributor Jonathan Mead; follow him on twitter.

Have you ever wished that time would just go away?

I don’t mean time or “existence” in the literal sense. I mean time in the way we count things.

Because we’re always counting, aren’t we?

• What time is it?
• How much time do I have left?
• How much longer until we arrive?
• I hate waiting so long, I don’t have time for this.
• We need to hurry it up.
• If we’re late, we’re going to be in trouble.

When you really take a close look at all the hangups we have about time, it’s amazing how much we obsess over it. We think we can control time, how long things take, and what kind of results we get. Time management, after all, is how we achieve success, isn’t it?

Or so we think. Because there are so many other factors to success that have nothing to do with time, and nothing to do with counting it. There are priorities, there is leverage, relationships, resources, focus, commitment, and all of these other things. Yet we call it “time management.”

What I’ve personally found in my life is that the more I try to manage (control) time, the more anxiety I have.

I’m always trying to…

• Make sure there’s enough time.
• Schedule things efficiently.
• Make sure I have time for this, or time for that.
• Not let time “run away from me.”
• Not spend too much time tracking time.

See how ridiculous this gets?

Jim Loehr, author of The Power of Full Engagement, says that “managing energy, not time, is the key to high performance.”

I have to agree. Trying to constantly manage and monitor my time has only led me to greater anxiety, and always feeling like I’ve not “done enough.” I’m always thinking about how I could have “spent that time more wisely.” But the purpose of life is to enjoy it, is it not? So can’t we perform highly without the anxiety of counting every minute?

I think so; at least I’ve been doing my best to live this way. After all, it takes time to ditch decades of time-bound conditioning.

So here are a few things I recommend to kill the anxiety of the clock:

• Pick a theme for each month. A lot of people like to set goals. Well, I don’t. I find that goals give me too much anxiety because I’m always measuring myself up against what I could have done better. So instead, I like to set a theme for each month and focus my energy on that. This month, my theme is improving my ability to focus. Less email checking, distractions, and more highly focused, deep concentration work.
• Work by the week. This has made a huge difference for me in getting the most important tasks done. Instead of setting my most important tasks for the day, I set them weekly. I’ve found this helps me better focus on the bigger picture. You may have heard the saying “We overestimate what we can do in a day, and underestimate what we can do in a year.” I was always overestimating what I could do in a day, and beating myself up for not getting everything done. By focusing on the week, I’ve eliminated this issue.
• Follow your rhythms. This may seem like a vague concept, but it’s about following the rhythms of your energy and listening to your body. When you need to take a break, take one. When you feel like plunging in, plunge in. Pay attention to what you’re drawn to working on and what you’re attracted to.
• Schedule when you need to. We obviously can’t remove all scheduling commitments. There is a benefit to having a specific time and date setup for a meeting. This would be difficult otherwise. What you can do, though, is give yourself enough time to prepare beforehand and to transition afterward. That way you won’t always feel in a rush; the prime cause of time-based anxiety.
• Flow. I personally love structuring my work around big, amazing and exciting projects. When I do this, I lay out the action steps and milestones necessary. Then I get to work. But the most awesome thing about working on big, amazing projects is that you are inviting the flow state. When you’re deeply passionate about a project, it’s easy to get absorbed in the work and lose track of time.
• Stand still. We spend so much time trying to “go places” and “arrive.” And we spend a lot of time preparing for things in the future. While this is sometimes a necessary part of life, it’s also important to play, to let go, forget the future, and forget the past. What is so important that it cannot wait? It will be there tomorrow. And there will always be more. So relax, and let the world pass you by.

I heard a story from a friend about some business men that went to vacation in Bali. They had purchased one of the typical vacation packages from the local travel agency, which of course, had a schedule of events. As they were sitting at an outside patio at the bar, they asked when the entertainment would be starting that evening. The hostess just said “Oh it will start when it starts.”

You can imagine how much this troubled the men. Uncertainty… lack of control. Not knowing.

The locals in Bali are famous for being an incredibly carefree and happy people. They are also well known for not caring much about measuring time, or trying to be on time. They don’t care much about it. They are also extremely happy.

Meanwhile, the business men’s day has been ruined. They can’t count the minutes till the evening’s event begins.

So what would you rather be: in control… or happy?

This article was written by Zen Habits contributor Jonathan Mead of Illuminated Mind.  For more ways to live deliberately, grab a copy of Reclaim Your Dreams.

I find inspiration in stupid places. Before you read further, let me say again:  stupid places.  Sure, I’ll quote Einstein and Emerson and Franklin from time to time.  Even guys like Napoleon Hill have a little bit of non-dumb cred.  But if you tell people you get inspiration from someone like Donald Trump or Adam Carolla, you’ll get a look or two.  It took me years to realize that if I enjoy metal music and get inspiration from it, I don’t need to feel bad about hating opera.

I’d like to think I’m a cultured guy. I am, by many standards.  I’ve studied four languages and still speak two of them.  I have read philosophy, poetry and prose til I’m blue in the face.  I play the flute and tuba, and back in the day could hold my own on the bass guitar.  I knew BASIC and Pascal.  I like country music (Hank Williams, Sr. era)  and drink cheap beer.  I love dumb sitcoms and heavy metal.  I’m all over the place in terms of culture.

You may think of yourself as the kind of person who needs inspiration from wonderful sources, but you don’t. Warren Buffet is a good guy to listen to, but let’s face it – if you get inspiration from Trump, there are bits and pieces to admire about his life, too.  People will tell you you’re a fool to draw inspiration from the dross – from Wayne Dyer or Kiyosaki – but there is something to be found in Seneca, and in the Secret; in Plato and in Oprah.

I spend more time than I should trying to find inspiration instead of acting on the inspiration I already have. It’s a failing of mine, and I imagine many people do the same.  How many self-help books suffice?  1? 10? 100?  I think if you read one and don’t act on it, two self-help books are too many, and by that standard I’m over the limit.

But find your inspiration where you can. I find it in movies and in books and even in music.  The point is not where you find inspiration – the point is whether you act on the inspiration you DO find.

photo by LancerE

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low brow inspiration

After vanishing from her home in Australia, Muffy the dog was found alive and well 1,200 miles away and nine years later.

Inspectors miraculously found the fluffy white dog sleeping on a scrap of cardboard while investigating a possible animal cruelty case. The owners of the house where Muffy was discovered said they found the dog about a year ago wandering along a street.

A microchip in Muffy’s neck was able to identify her owners who could not believe it and thought she was long gone after nine years. [thesun.co.uk]

So the mystery continues, where was Muffy eight years before being found and how did she manage to travel 1,200 miles? Hitchhike?

Muffy's Journey

A study, conducted by the University of Helsinki, claims beautiful women have more children than their less attractive counterparts. And, a higher proportion of those children are girls.

So, why do men have it so good? Well, scientists say the above mentioned pattern has led to women becoming more beautiful over the generations. (Sorry women, but the research did not conclude the same generational improvements for men.)

The study tracked about 2,000 American men and women for four decades of their lives, assessed their attractiveness from photographs taken during the study, and also recorded how many children they had.

Conclusion: the study found that attractive women (or attractive women according to these researchers. LOL) had 16% more children than their less attractive counterparts and very attractive women had 6% more. And, in regard to the males, the least attractive men had 13% fewer children than other men.

Bottom line according to evolution expert Dr Jack da Silva “if you reproduce with an attractive partner, your children will inherit your partner’s genetic quality . . . which increases your children’s chances of survival and reproducing, thus the genes for beauty experience a high probability of being passed on to future generations.” [news.com.au]

If you’re interested, we urge you to look through the House Health Care Bill. We know that it’s 1,018 pages, but you can at least skim through and read parts of it. You’ll probably be surprised by some of the stuff you read. Certainly there are good parts of the bill - but that’s not what we’re concerned about right now. Instead, we’re concerned with the more radical portions of the bill. Here are just a few excerpts that caught our eye:

Pg 29 - Essentially, your health care will be rationed based on an “annual limitation” and “applicable level.” -Now, it seems to us that the idea of “rationed” health care is a bit crazy. Isn’t the whole idea of health care reform to provide all necessary health care to Americans, not just some of it?

Pg 30 - A health benefits advisory committee will be established to determine which benefits and health care services should be offered.

Pg 42 - The “Health Choices Commissioner” will choose your health care benefits for you.

PG 50 - HealthCare will be provided to ALL non US citizens, illegal or otherwise. –This is still a huge debate in our country

Pg 58 - They want to have real-time access to all individual’s finances, including whether the individual is eligible for a specific service with a specific physician at a specific facility. A national identification card will be issued to all individuals, in order to help the Government monitor everyone’s finances.

Pg 59 - They allude to having direct access to your bank accounts for electronic fund transfers of health care payments. This isn’t the worst thing we found, we just don’t really like the idea of the government having their hands in our pockets any more than they already do.

Pg 72 - A Health Insurance Exchange will be established, bringing all private health insurance plans under the Government’s control. –Doesn’t this defeat the purpose of having “private” health insurance plans?

PG 95 - The Government plans on using special groups to help get people signed up for the Government Health Care plan - these groups could include ACORN & Americorps –Seems like a conflict of interest, doesn’t it?

PG 110 - Employers not offering government health care will have additional taxes imposed on them –What a great way to help our small businesses! sheesh…

Pg 127 - Doctors will be organized into 2 classes: “Preferred Physicians” for those physicians who agree to the Government-established salary and “Participating Non-Preferred Physicians” for those physicians who do not accept the established salary. However, even for those Non-Preferred Physicians, the Government still limits how much they can charge. So, either way, the government is deciding how much physicians can make.  –But the most important point: The government will control how much money doctors make!

Pg 203 - Just read this: “The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax imposed by this chapter for purposes of determining the amount of any credit under this chapter or for purposes of section 55.”  –Yea, it sounds confusing, but aren’t they saying that this “tax” won’t actually be considered as “tax.” Sound curious to you?

Pg 241 - Doctors will all receive the same salary, regardless of their specialty.  –We’ve also heard this will be true for Nurses and other health care professionals.

Pg 253 - Doctors will no longer be able to place a value on their own time. Instead, the government will determine how valuable the doctor’s time is, along with the value of their: mental effort, professional judgment, technical skill, physical effort, and stress due to risk.  –I bet that will really motivate doctors…

Pg 425 - Individuals on Social Security will be required to attend “Advanced Care Planning” consultations every 5 years. These consultations will include end of life planning resources, a thorough explanation of end-of-life services available, such as palliative care and hospice, and and explanation of orders regarding life sustaining treatments.  –We have a sneaking suspicion that our Government is trying to discourage people from using life-sustaining treatments when they reach old age.

Pg 429 - You will be required to attend Advanced Care Planning Consultations more often if there is a significant change in your health condition or upon admission to a skilled nursing facility, a long term care facility, or Hospice. Again, you will be reminded of your end of life options.

Pg 429 - These consultations may include government orders regarding life-sustaining treatment.  –Again, the government may control how much care you receive!

Pg 430 - “The level of treatment indicated . . . may range from an indication for full treatment to an indication to limit some or all or specified interventions.”   –More government control

Pg 489 - The government will also control Marriage & Family therapy.  –I don’t know about you, but that’s just what our marriage was missing - government control!

That’s not the end of our story, but we must rest our eyes a bit before we tackle the rest of the House Health Care Bill. We urge you to take a look through it yourself and let us know if you come across anything that sounds strange. And even if you choose not to look at the actual bill, we urge you to do at least ONE thing:

Let your voice be heard!! Do the research, look into the health care reform proposal, and speak up! This proposed Health Care Bill would be a travesty to our nation. Program your elected representatives’ phone numbers into your phone and call often. Send e-mails & ask them to vote “NO” to this health care reform bill. Or send snail mail, if that’s more your style. Either way, SPEAK UP! Find all the contact information you need here: House.gov and Senate.gov.