KNIGHT WATCH

WILL GUNS AND ALCOHOL ALWAYS BE PROBLEMS?

Ken Pagano, the pastor of the New Bethel Church in Louisville, Kentucky was moved by the church members’ concern about the Obama administration’s views on gun control. He invited the congregation to bring their unloaded handguns – in holsters – to the church sanctuary to celebrate the second amendment – the right to keep and bear arms. About 40 people attended the “Open Carry Celebration”, which included a handgun raffle, patriotic music and information on gun safety. At the same time a coalition of peace and church groups held a gun-free event across town. Obviously, all citizens of Louisville aren’t “gun-ho” about guns.

The Arizona senate approved a bill allowing people with concealed weapon permits to bring guns into businesses selling alcohol. The bill needs the governor’s signature; but although Republican Jan Brewer has been a longtime supporter of gun rights, she hasn’t said that she will sign. Critics say that guns and alcohol are a dangerous combination. Supporters say that they have the right to protect themselves and their families. However, the measure bans drinking while carrying a gun; and restaurants can deny entry to gun-toters by posting a sign by their liquor license. Hopefully, disgruntled parties will just shoot off their mouths.

In June 2009 Utah ended a 40-year-old requirement that customers must become members of a private club before entering a bar serving alcohol. The system had been created to shield Mormons from alcohol, while letting drinkers partake of the heavily taxed spirits. About 60% of Utah’s citizens and more than 80% of its state lawmakers belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which tells its members to abstain from alcohol. However, the new rule which turns private clubs into public bars will boost Utah’s $7 billion-a-year tourism industry – not too hard to swallow in a hard economy.

Nevertheless, not even a badger in Goslar, Germany is safe from alcohol. It seems a motorist called the police to report that a dead badger was in the middle of the road. However, when the police arrived, they discovered the badger wasn’t dead. It was drunk. The nocturnal animal had feasted on cherries from a nearby tree that were overripe and had turned to alcohol. The badger refused to budge. Failing to scare the animal away, the police chased it off the road with a broom. After all, it is difficult to badger a drunken badger about being drunk.

WHAT SOFTENS HARD ECONOMIC TIMES?

Owners of a bar in Cullera, Spain – near Valencia – are providing a unique service for their customers to help them relax and deal with the hard economic times. They are serving free beer and tapas (costing about $2.10) to customers who release their recession-caused frustration by insulting them. The insults, however, have to be creative and good-natured. For example, a customer said one owner’s ears were so big they reminded her of a car with its doors wide open. As a promotion gimmick for their newly opened bar, the owners are literally “paying insults”.

Debit cards can be used almost anywhere credit cards can; and during the hard economic times of 2008, Americans are using them more. According to Visa, the country’s biggest card payment network, $206 billion was spent with its debit cards and $203 billion with its credit cards. Many banks extend credit-card type, $50-maximum-liability protection – something Visa expects from banks issuing its debit cards – but the law for debit card fraud is different. The longer it takes to report fraud, the less money customers are guaranteed to get back. It’s hoped Obama’s “Consumer Financial Protection Agency” will get credit for fixing this.

Because of hard economic times, the cost of medical care is an increasing concern for employers. According to the National Business Group on Health, median health care cost per employee in 2008 was $7,173. Nevertheless, companies can save $1.49 to $4.91 in health-related expenses for every dollar spent on wellness programs. A survey of about 500 human resources and benefit executives found that 50% of companies have, will introduce or will increase investments in wellness promotion. Thirty-two percent have, will introduce or will increase financial incentives for employee participation; and 45% are considering introducing or increasing penalties for non-participation. Good health is good business.

When states need money in hard economic times, they raise cigarette taxes, a move supported by public health groups as a way to discourage smoking. Among the states that raised cigarette taxes in 2009 are Arkansas, Hawaii, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Jersey, Vermont and Wisconsin. Florida raised its tax by a dollar. So did Rhode Island. In fact, the tax on a pack of cigarettes in Rhode Island is $3.46 – the highest in the country. However, with less than 20% of Americans smoking and the high cost of cigarettes dragging sales down more, cigarette taxes are burning out as a revenue source.

ARE THERE MORE HEROES NOW?

Chao Mu-he, a 96-year-old Taiwanese man, received his masters degree in philosophy from Nanhua University in June 2009. After being told he was too old to continue volunteering at a local hospital, Mu-he was bored. He said the hardest part of his studies was coping with a poor memory. To compensate he got up at midnight before a test and studied all night to keep the information fresh in his mind. He specialized in the works of Chuangtze, a 4th century B.C. Taoist master, known for being at ease and fighting no one – words Mu-he continues to live by.

Eric Sheptock, 40, is a homeless advocate for the homeless. He gets his message out via a Facebook page; a Twitter account; and using public libraries for e-mail and writing his blog, “On the Clock with Eric Sheptock”. He also has a cell phone for networking, paid for by being a part-time janitor. A full-time job wouldn’t give Sheptock time to also write for “Street Sense”, a D.C. paper for the homeless or work with the production group “Streats TV”, which advocates for the homeless. During these hard economic times, Sheptock’s work with the homeless is much closer to home.

Lidia Schaefer, a Washington, D.C. manicurist, returned to her Ethiopian village in the 90’s and saw children walking 3 hours both ways to classes under a tree. In 1998 when a girl walking home was killed by a hyena, Schaefer started saving one-third of her salary and all her tips to build a school. The mother of two, who worked 6 days a week, lobbied the Ethiopian government to donate land. When Schaefer needed more money, she sold her house and car. In 2006 the $250,000 she raised not only built a school – an 8-building campus for 1,500 students – it built a dream.

Major Nicole Malachowski was the first woman to fly in the ultra-elite Thunderbirds. WASP – Women Air Force Service Pilots – are Malachowski’s personal heroes. Because of her efforts, they’ve finally been awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. Wasp were the first women to fly military aircraft. During WWII they volunteered for non-combat duty as test pilots and trainers to free their male counterparts to fight in Europe. Because their contribution to the war was controversial, they were never considered part of the military. Their records were sealed and deemed classified in 1944. In 2009 Wasp are getting a heroes welcome.

WHO PUTS THE PRO IN PROGRESS?

Twenty-six women in Saudi Arabia completed the first course of its kind in the country – how to stock, fit and sell underwear. Training organizers hope the 40-hour course, using colorful bras donated by employees of Victoria’s Secret, will boost the campaign against banning women from selling underwear. As of 2009 staff in lingerie stores – except in a few women-only boutiques – are men, which is ironic in a country that segregates the sexes. The 2006 law saying that only women can be employed in women’s apparel stores is ignored by the religious conservatives. Perhaps they have incorrectly sized up the situation.

NASA satellite images could provide information to nut growers that would enable them to have better crops. Three universities shared a 3-year, $870,000 grant from the Department of Agriculture to study how data collected in orchards correlates with satellite images. Satellites can provide leaf temperatures. They can also provide images that show wave lengths created by the trees’ energy which tell about the trees’ health. If a nut grower could use the Internet to see his entire orchard, he could make precise, water-saving decisions about irrigation. Bringing satellite technology down to Earth doesn’t seem like a nutty idea.

Twitter is a popular service that lets users pass along 140-character messages to friends and followers from computers and mobile phones. During the May 2009 mission to upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope, NASA astronaut Mike Massimino was the first to send tweets from orbit. During the July 2009 flight to the space station, mission commander Mark Polansky also twittered. During the August 2009 flight on the space shuttle Discovery, Astronaut Jose Hernandez twittered in English and Spanish. Considering Hernandez started sending bilingual tweets about flight preparations before the mission, he must have been “twittering” with excitement.

Iconic buildings are going green to save money – and to attract tenants. One hundred twenty million will be spent on the Empire State building to retrofit all 6,500 windows; add extra insulation to radiators; and upgrade lighting, cold water and ventilation. Three hundred fifty million will be spent on Chicago’s Sears Tower to put solar panels, wind turbines and 35,000 square feet of sunlight-absorbing gardens on its roof. Eight and a half million has already been spent on the Christman Building in Lansing, Michigan to give it water-efficient plumbing, increased natural light and a reflective roof. Tenants want to be green – but not green with envy.

ARE MINDS CHANGING ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE?

According to evolutionary theory, sheep get bigger in order to survive winters and to reproduce; but this isn’t the case on a remote island in Scotland. There the wild Soay sheep have gotten smaller over the past 25 years. According to a study published in the journal “Science”, climate change has made the Scottish winters shorter and thus baby lambs don’t need to put on as much weight in the first few months to survive. As these smaller lambs grow into sheep and mate, environment and evolution intertwine. The globally large problem of climate change is producing smaller animals.

According to Russian and U.S. scientists, Siberia’s Lake Baikai, the world’s largest, most biologically diverse lake, is facing severe ecological change because of global warming. The worst problem is that the lake’s food chain is dependent on algae. Shorter ice periods slow algae growth and algae are the principal food for crustaceans, which are the principal food for fish, which are the principal food for Baikai seals. Because the seals mate and give birth on ice, they could be forced into the water before molting, drastically reducing fertility. Doing nothing, however, is not a seal of approval.

According to environmental experts, the diverse coral reefs of the Coral Triangle will disappear by the end of the century if action isn’t taken to fight climate change. If the reefs disappear, so will the coastal economies supporting approximately 100 million people in Indonesia; Malaysia; Papua, New Guinea; the Philippines; the Soloman Islands; and Timor Leste. The Coral Triangle includes 30% of the world’s reefs, 76% of global reef-building, more than 35% of coral reef fish and numerous species of coral. Preventing this disaster requires regional attention to overfishing and pollution, as well as worldwide action on climate change. Climate change requires change.

According to the “Global Humanitarian Forum”, climate change disasters kill about 300,000 people a year and cause about $125 billion in economic losses – most being agricultural. The Forum also estimated that 325 million people are seriously affected by climate change and that number is expected to double by 2030. Rising sea levels, desertification and changing rainfall patterns reduce access to safe drinking water and food – which increases disease. About 99% of those who die because of climate change live in developing countries – countries which generate less than 1% of the greenhouse gases causing climate change. More than climate has to change.

DO WE TAKE THE HEAL OUT OF HEALTH?

A study done by the University of Chicago included 578 middle-aged adults – average age 40. A team measured their blood pressure and how long they slept. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend 7 to 9 hours of sleep. On average the volunteers slept 6 hours, with only 1% sleeping 8 hours or more. According to the study, missing an average of 1 hour of sleep a night over 5 years increases the risk of high blood pressure 37%. Because high blood pressure affects one-third of Americans and contributes to 7 million deaths yearly, this information shouldn’t be considered a sleeper.

A study done by “Trust for America’s Health” found more than 25% of adults are obese in 31 states. Adult obesity rates rose in 23 states and no state experienced a significant decline. At 32.5% Mississippi has the highest obesity rate; but in every state the rate of obesity is higher among 55 to 64-year-olds, causing Medicare to spend $ 1,400 to $6,000 more annually on health care for obese seniors. In 1991 no state had more than a 20% obesity rate. In 2009 Colorado is the only state that doesn’t exceed that percentage. Americans need to understand fat can become “fat-al”.

A study published in the “American Journal of Preventative Medicine” said when the health risks of smoking became well-known in the 1970’s and 1980’s, the tobacco industry spent millions studying social smokers. Because social smokers don’t smoke on a daily basis, they don’t consider themselves smokers. Smoking in the U.S. has declined for a decade, but social smoking is rising. Between 1996 and 2001 social smokers went from 16% of smokers to 24%. Until social smokers admit they are smokers, campaigns to help them quit are likely to go up in smoke.

Social smokers are one reason smoking remains the leading, preventable cause of death in the U.S., causing 20% of deaths. Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced in 2008 the percentage of smokers was under 20% for the first time, a survey of 2,375 adults found the failing economy is making 17% of men and 31% of women smoke more. When cigarettes were hit in 2008 with the largest federal tax ever put on them, experts said the increased cost of smoking would be a major inducement for smokers to quit. Smokers seem unwilling to consider the cost to their health.

DO GOOD IDEAS KEEP GETTING BETTER?

The DARE project was the 1950’s idea of well-known linguist Frederick Cassidy, who sent field workers across the country to record obscure, regional expressions. In Maine “monkeys’ weddings” are chaotic situations. In New Jersey “cockroach killers” are pointed shoes. In North Carolina “mumble squibbles” are noogies. The first volume of DARE – “Dictionary of American Regional English, Volume 1: Introduction and A-C” - was published in 1975, with additional volumes following. After 50 years of research the final volume “S-Z”, completing 75,000 entries, will be published in 2010. Because Cassidy died in 2000, his gravestone reads, “On to Z!”

Car manufacturers are having difficult times because of the recession, but sales remain strong for the nation’s best selling car – Little Tykes Cozy Coupe. The Little Tykes factory in Hudson, Ohio runs 24-hours-a-day, turning out one molded-plastic, yellow and red, sub-subcompact every minute. The biggest design change was made in 2009 when a happy face was added to the car’s front end. While celebrating its 30th anniversary, the Cozy Coupe was inducted into the Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum in Cleveland. Considering the Little Tyke costs a very reasonable $49 and doesn’t need gas or batteries, hopefully Detroit will soon pedal cars that are as fuel efficient.

Air New Zealand developed a unique way to make certain that all travelers on their Boeing 737 domestic service flights watch the pre-takeoff, safety video. In the video the pilot and crew are wearing only body paint. Nevertheless, carefully chosen camera angles managed to provide the video with a “G” rating. The same attention-getting tactic was used in Air New Zealand’s marketing campaign for its low-priced fares. This video includes staff, as well as the chief executive officer, wearing only body paint. This must be new, light-weight packaging for a body of knowledge.

Scientists use weather satellites to track cloud cover and the sea’s surface temperature. Both are indicators of heavy rain, which can be an indicator of disease. In September 2006 Dr. Assaf Anyamba, who tracks climate data at NASA’s Goddard Earth Science Center, predicted heavy rain over east Africa. Heavy rain causes flooding, which causes the hatching of a specific type of mosquito eggs, which contain Rift Valley fever. The first case of this fever occurred in mid-December, giving authorities almost 4 months for mosquito control, public education and vaccination – which prevented an epidemic. Sometimes even scientists have to look high and low for answers.

WHO ARE THE INVENTORS OF INVENTIVENESS?

Joseph Carnevale, a student at North Carolina State University, made a 10-foot, roadside monster using orange-and-white, safety barrels. The smiling monster leaned toward traffic, right arm extended with thumb out, as if  hitchhiking. After Carnevale was arrested and charged with 2 misdemeanors, hundreds of people in Raleigh wrote to the city, saying they liked the sculpture and wanted Carnevale’s charges dropped. The company that owned the $120-barrels didn’t press charges, wanting to use the monster for advertising. Unfortunately, because Carnevale was already on probation, he faces 6 months in jail. By stealing the safety barrels, Carnevale stole the show.

Georgie Davis, a British fashion student, designed a dress with mobile-phone maker Sony Ericsson as part of a school project. The project was to incorporate modern technology into today’s fashion. The result was a dress that lights up when the wearer’s mobile phone rings. Actually, it’s the translucent, white scales that decorate the right shoulder of the dress that light up. They also move. The knee-length, sleeveless, white dress is also designed to be connected to the wearer’s phone via Bluetooth wireless technology so the wearer can hear it ring too – making the dress quite a little number.

Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg unveiled the “Solar Impulse”, a prototype solar-powered plane they plan to fly around the world in 2012 after 2 years of test flights for the $98-million project. With the wingspan of a Boeing 747 and weighing less than a small car, the plane will be flown day and night using approximately 12,000 solar cells, rechargeable lithium batteries and 4 electric motors. Flying at about 44 mph, the flight will be made in 5 stages, with airtime lasting up to 5 days per stage. Because solar panels are necessary for day flying and charging batteries for night flying, the need for sunlight is a “plane” fact.

John Joseph Houghtaling, who died in 2009, was also an inventor. In 1958 in his New Jersey garage he invented the coin-operated Magic Fingers machine, which was a feature in motel beds in the 1960’s. For 25 cents the guests got 15 minutes of relaxing vibrations. Although Magic Fingers made millions, Houghtaling continued inventing. In the mid 1970’s he invented a machine that reads magnetic strips on plastic cards. He also expanded his coin-operated business with a scale that gives customers their weight and a lotto number. Houghtaling, however, was a self-made winner.

IS PARENTING GETTING HARDER?

According to a study in the “Journal of Human Capital”, there is evidence breast-fed babies are more likely to do well in high school and go on to college than bottle-fed babies. Comparing 126 siblings in 59 families allowed researchers to account for such variables as parental intelligence, home environment and socioeconomic status. The researchers concluded an additional month of breast-feeding was linked to an increase in high school grade point averages of .019 points and an increase in college attendance of .014 points. This is information that parents – especially mothers – should stay abreast of.

According to a study done in the Netherlands, children who are overweight at age 6 to 7 have an increased risk of having asthma symptoms when they’re 8 years old. Each year until their children were 8 years old, parents of 3,756 children reported their children’s weight, instances of breathing difficulties and use of steroid inhalers. Children who were overweight between the ages of 6 to 7 were 68% more likely to have asthma symptoms at age 8. However, children who developed normal weight by this age didn’t experience increased risk. This study puts more weight on parents’ – shoulders.

According to a study done at Florida State University, boys who have the “warrior gene” – variants of a specific MAOA gene – are more likely to join gangs. Previous research linked low-activity MAOA variants with a range of antisocial and violent behavior. In fact, variants of this gene can predict which gang members are more likely to act violently and use weapons. The MAOA gene affects levels of neurotransmitters - such as dopamine and serotonin - that are related to mood and behavior; and unfortunately, those variants related to violence are hereditary. They represent a violent cry for more DNA research.

According to a study published in “Child Development”, the more parents know about their teenagers’ friends and activities, the less likely their teens are to have sexual activity. Researchers surveyed 3,206 teenagers yearly for 4 years. All were ages 13 to 18 and from 2-parent families. The researchers asked about sexual and parental relationships. On a 5-point scale, each point higher of personal knowledge for mothers equaled a 3% lower rate of teenage sexual activity. Each point higher of personal knowledge for fathers equaled a 7% lower rate of this activity. However, one extra family activity a week equaled a 9% lower rate. Parenting requires “twogetherness”.

DOES IT TAKE BRAINS TO STUDY BRAINS?

Richard Restak, author of “Think Smart: A Neuroscientist’s Prescription for Improving Your Brain’s Performance”, says the key to maintaining a healthy brain is to exercise the 3 different types of memory. Long-term memory can be exercised by remembering a particular year and associating as much as possible with it. Sensory memory can be exercised by testing your sense of smell with your eyes closed. The working memory – the ability to keep several things in mind simultaneously - can be exercised by playing video games or by naming U.S. presidents in different orders. Basically, our memories need “brainercising”.

Wandering minds can activate the brain’s problem-solving network. In a study done at the University of British Columbia, participants were placed inside an MRI scanner, where they were to press a button when numbers appeared on a screen. Attentiveness was tracked by brain scans, participants’ subjective reports and task performance. The more the participants’ minds wandered, the more activity there was in the network that handles routine mental activity and the network that handles complex problem solving. This is an especially important finding because previous studies have shown daydreaming can occupy as much as one-third of our waking lives.

Scientists from Belgium and the UK discovered a gene that enables brains to be more active as they tire. After 24 volunteers stayed up all night, they were put in a brain scanner to perform simple memory tests. The volunteers with genetically short PER3 genes did much better on the tests. The scanner showed that the short PER3 gene recruited extra brain structure to help with the tests. Volunteers with genetically long PER3 genes had less brain activity – even in brain structure normally used for such tests. When handling sleep deprivation, PER3 is the long and short of it.

Neurotheology is the study of what happens in the brains of people who believe they connect with the divine. Researchers have found that the brains of people who pray or meditate more than an hour daily are different. Brain scans have shown that frontal lobes – which handle attention - are active; but the parietal lobes – which integrate sensory input - aren’t. This causes a decreased sense of self and an increased sense of oneness. The more you focus on something, the more it is written in the brain’s neural connections and the more it becomes your reality. At least researchers are praying that’s what happens.