Hearing Aids for Men (and Women)

I am becoming hard of hearing as I get older. Truth be told I have been having problems hearing since I was 12 years old. 2020 hasn't been easy either. All the masking due to COVID means that when people are talking I cannot read their lips. I find it is easier to understand what people are saying when I can see their lips moving.

I should probably get a hearing aid... But I am in my 40s and I don't want to. Not yet.

But I am researching what it might cost when it comes time to get a hearing aid, possibly in my 50s or 60s.

I know a place in Woodbridge where I can get a free hearing test, and there are also free online hearing tests I could do...

But I am not ready to do that yet.

In the meantime I have been reading articles on the subject and doing research. So sometime soon I think I will go get that hearing test. Maybe in 2021 when the COVID vaccines roll out and things go back to normal. Or relative normal. I suspect this pandemic might last longer than we might think.

If you think you've suffered hearing loss you should probably get a hearing test too. You could do an online hearing test right now if you wanted to.

Hearing Health Articles

77% of Canadians with Mild Hearing Loss Don't Know

Are Oticon OPN S the Most Perfect Hearing Aids?

Don't Be A Human Hearing Aid

Earplugs Effective in preventing Hearing Loss after Loud Music

Funding Cuts to Hearing Impaired Schools

Hearing Aids boost Cognitive Function in Elderly

Hearing Loss hurts Quality of Life

Hearing Regeneration Pill enters Clinical Trials

Invisible Hearing Aids: Out of Sight, Out of Mind

Modern Teenagers More At Risk from Hearing Loss

Modular Hearing Aids

One in Ten Canadians Suffer from Tinnitus

Safe Listening Devices

Social Sounds improve Hearing

Speech and Hearing Awareness Month

The Health Benefits of Hearing Aids

The Tiny Signia Silk Nx Hearing Aids

Translator Hearing Aids

Wireless Smart Hearing Aids Growing in Popularity

World Hearing Day, March 3rd

Why You Should Get Your Hearing Tested

Hey Canada! Do you want nuclear radiation in your food?

Doug Ford.

The name brings fear to the minds of many people in Ontario.

Doug Ford is the Premier of Ontario, and he is a jerk. A real nasty jerk. He wants to dump nuclear waste in Bruce County, close to the town of Teeswater. The Teeswater River (and the underground aquifer beneath the region) supplies the drinking water to:

• Tens of thousands of people.
• Dairy cows.
• Water for agricultural farming (corn, potatoes, soy beans and more).
• Water for Aquafina bottled water.
• Cattle, pigs, turkeys and chickens. Bruce County is the Beef Capital of North America, but it also produces a lot of other meat products.

If you live Ontario you've eaten food many times from Bruce County. Guaranteed. You've drank the milk. You've eaten the cheese. You've eaten beef, pork, turkey and chicken. You've eaten the corn, the potatoes, the soy products. You've drank Aquafina water.

Even if you are a vegan and don't eat milk and dairy, you should still care where your soy products and other vegetables are grown and where your bottled water comes from.

And that is why you should care.

If you care about what you eat, then you should protect what you eat. Learn more at:

https://www.protectsouthbruce-nodgr.org/

If you care write to Doug Ford. Tweet him. Phone him and leave an angry voicemail.

Share this post. Copy/paste it to other websites. Share it on Facebook. Share it on Twitter. Share the memes below.

Show that you care about your food and where it comes from.

Protect your food and your health from Doug Ford.

Nose Jobs at Work

Rhinoplasty is a horrible cutthroat business (pun intended).

Like many kinds of plastic surgery, rhinoplasty is geared towards using people's poor self esteem about their appearance in order to make a lot of money off people's insecurities.

Take for example the attractive young woman's photo below, just one of many rhinoplasty patients whose photo is all over the internet. (Seriously, one half of rhinoplasty seems to be the giving away of before and after photos on the internet, mostly so the greedy rhinoplasty surgeon can make more money.) Anyway, back to my point. The woman in the photo is perfectly attractive, her nose is just a little crooked - so little that most people probably don't notice that much until you point it out.

So here is the important questions:

Did she NEED rhinoplasty?

No.

Was she attractive without rhinoplasty?

Yes.

Is society's obsession with "perfection" a mental disease?

Yes.

Did the surgeon make oodles of money off her insecurities and the insecurities of many other women and men?

Yes.

How many women vs men get rhinoplasty because they feel insecure about their appearance?

According to one source I found, 74% of rhinoplasty patients are women. According to a different source 221,000 Americans had rhinoplasty in 2013, which was down 9% from 2012.

And now to close, a scene from Seinfeld wherein a woman feels insecure about her nose thanks to Kramer's idiotic comment.

Exercising for Women - Why is it taboo?

There is a weird double standard within society when it comes to women exercising.

Women are expected to be beautiful - because men desire beautiful women, and women want to be desirable.

But in order to maintain the kind of beauty that men find desirable, women need to exercise.

However on a cultural level women who exercise are considered to be less than feminine. They are referred to by any number of derogatory names: Tomboys, dykes, etc. Even female athletes are treated poorly because they are seen as less than male athletes.

And yet judging by videos like the one further below, females who exercise (even those who aren't athletes) are highly desirable.

It is as if women are expected to have cake and they're allowed to eat it for once, but they're not allowed to make it somehow.

So how are women supposed to get this beautiful body they're expected to have without exercising? Diet? That just leads to eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia. Or worse, yo-yo dieting and stretch marks from rapid weight changes.


What really needs to happen is a cultural change wherein women who exercise are more revered by society as a whole - as opposed to one aspect of society supporting exercise for women and another aspect of society condoning it and treating women who exercise as less than feminine.

Having watched the video above do you think the women in the video were less than feminine? Probably not. They are very obviously feminine and very attractive to boot.

This means we need to endorse and applaud women who exercise and give young women more positive role models who are female athletes they can look up to. Not just in North America either, but globally.

From a male perspective this means two things - more attractive women out there - and it means that we men need to do better ourselves and exercise more because we aren't as fit as we like to think we are.

Farts, Farting and Fart Jokes

Oh and belching.

Let us not forget belching.

Farting and belching are two perfectly normal and indeed HEALTHY aspects of human existence.

"Fart proudly." 
- Benjamin Franklin.

Even back in the 1700s Benjamin Franklin and many others knew that farting was wealthy and perfectly normal. Same goes with belching. Nothing wrong with a good healthy belch.

And yet some people associate farting and belching with being impolite. They're sometimes embarrassing, but they are not impolite.

It is no more impolite than uncontrollable laughter. Why? Because it is UNCONTROLLABLE. Farting and belching are uncontrollable bodily functions, much like breathing, your heart beating, and the need to visit the bathroom for #1 or #2.

Sort of like Elaine's uncontrollable laughter in the following Seinfeld clips.



Farting and belching...

Perfectly natural.

Just not socially acceptable.

I will give you an example.

When I was in grade 9 (omidragon that was decades ago...) I remember drinking a Coca-Cola and then belching in English class. A girl who sat near me turned around and said "You sexist pig!"

Now tell me... What is sexist about someone belching?

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I could have farted and that would not have been remotely sexist either.

Piggish on the other hand. Have you ever seen a pig belch? I have not.

Although I did manage to find a video of a dog named "Pig" belching. Not the same thing obviously. Kind of cute really.



With a bit more effort I did eventually find a video of a pig belching. It wasn't remotely sexist either.



So here is the thing.

I think in that particular scenario, the girl from my English class... She was the one being sexist. She was following a sexist stereotype that men are rude sexist pigs that belch and fart all the time. She heard me belch, and immediately concluded - jumped to the conclusion based on a ridiculously sexist stereotype - that I must be a sexist pig just because I belched after drinking a Coca-Cola.

And honestly, its a freaking Coca-Cola. Who doesn't belch after drinking a Coke?

And to illustrate my point here is a video of a man drinking 2 litres of Coca-Cola and then belching.

Frigusphilia

Frigusphilia is a fetish whereby you enjoy having sex in cold showers, having sex in the snow, that sort of thing.

Having sex in a cold shower actually comes with a long list of health benefits. It burns calories, boosts the immune system, stimulates muscle growth and testosterone levels in men, increases sperm count, boosts metabolism and energy levels and a whole bunch of side benefits for your health.

See a list of the health benefits by reading the article Cold Showers Burns Calories.

The thing is when you consider all the health benefits, especially for men, I am surprised married couples aren't having cold showers together more often.

Just the hormone / testosterone boost alone helps to boost muscle growth, which means every man looking to build muscle should be standing in line to take a cold shower.

Let alone have sex in a cold shower! If you've ever done that then you know it feels absolutely amazing. After awhile you don't even notice the cold water, it just feels refreshingly cold.

And while we are at it having sex also boosts your immune system, metabolism, and so forth, thus having sex in a cold shower should be a health boost double whammy.

And seriously, do you really need more encouragement to have sex?

Also discovered something interesting... Hot baths apparently work as a contraceptive. It lowers a man's fertility to the point that if a man takes a 30 minute hot bath every day for 3 weeks his sperm count drops to almost zero. The heat from the hot baths kills sperm. Takes about 3 weeks to wear off too, so if you want to increase your sperm count and make babies its time to start having cold showers.

So yeah... Frigusphilia. Its a good thing!

Being Sexy at Work

SEX - Do you know what sells lingerie? Its not the sex, its the mystery of what lays beneath and it leaves the female body parts up to our imagination.

It doesn't even have to be lingerie. It can be any kind of fashion item provided it actually clothes the body.

Take the photo on the right as an example. It gets the point across. Its attractive and alluring... but all of this depends on the imagination. Skin by itself doesn't provoke much imagination. Its the shape of the skin and the flesh underneath. Muscles. Angles. Curves. And you don't need bare flesh to see curves.

And this works equally well with men.

What looks more attractive? A man wearing an extra large baggy shirt?

Or a man wearing a tight-fitting shirt which shows his physique?

The answer for most people is obvious, the tight-fitting shirt.

The problem however is if you are overweight... and have rolls of fat that you want to hide. That is when the baggy clothes comes in because you are looking to hide fatty rolls.

Lets look at the following photos as an example... two similarly attractive women both wearing grey... but you can see the curves of this woman on the right because her clothes are tight fitting.

Now once you've learned this fashion sexiness principle you realize why you its important to do two things when trying to attract a mate:

#1. Stay fit. Get nice abs. Do yoga and cardio.
#2. Wear clothes suitable for your size that is either tight fitting or not too baggy.

And provided you have a nice personality to go with your sexy body you will have no problem attracting a mate.

Jock Yoga at Work

HEALTH - There is Hatha Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga, Moksha Yoga, Bikram/Hot Yoga... but the instant favourite yoga for men of all is JOCK YOGA.

Now I will admit, I've been doing my own version of "jock yoga" for years now. For me its basically a combination of yoga positions + weightlifting, sometimes simultaneously.

However Jock Yoga, as its patented by Toronto founder Michael DeCorte, is different from my own particular brand of yoga. DeCorte's Jock Yoga focuses on strength and endurance, with less emphasis on flexibility. And his methods differ wildly from my own.

And for male beginners jock yoga offers something that other yoga practitioners do not: Your dignity.

The reason is because many men, despite being quite athletic or strong, are not very flexible. Sometimes its just a size/height issue too, like it was in my case wherein certain positions are more difficult because my legs are too long. (Men typically have longer legs proportionally compared to women.)

Jock Yoga, as a new branch of yoga designed specifically for guys, uses positions that any man can do, but combines various aspects of Power Yoga, Vinyasa Yoga (which focuses on breathing), and Ashtanga Yoga (eight-limbed yoga, which includes meditation, self-purification, morality, posture, breath control, sensory control, intentions and contemplation).

Within jock yoga the idea is to make you sweat buckets. The poses are designed to be difficult to hold the posture due to the physical strain, not because it requires flexibility.

(Speaking for myself and my own brand of yoga, I do something similar, but I use 30 lb and 25 lb weights, exercise elastic tubes and rope to put added pressure on the muscle building part of the exercise. I will also sometimes add headstand pushups and gymnastic exercises to my routine.)

But whatever! More power to Michael DeCorte for succeeding to get more men into the yoga studio. His classes have become notoriously popular with both men and women.

Michael DeCorte's classes are available at:

473A Church Street Toronto, "Jock Yoga" at Buddha Body Yoga (where I briefly attended back in 2009).

889 Yonge Street Toronto, where it is known as "Athletic Flow".

661 Yonge Street Suite 300, Toronto, "Flow 1" at Iam Yoga.

1498 Yonge Street Toronto, "Jock Yoga" at Moksha Yoga Uptown.

155 Liberty Street Toronto, "Jock Yoga Bootcamp" at the LiV Yoga Studio.

1661 Queen Street East Toronto, "Jock Yoga" at System Fitness.

1977 Queen Street East Toronto, "Level 1" at Downward Dog at the Beach.

For more about Yoga and similar topics see:
Yoga Tips for Beginners
The History and Benefits of Yoga
Yoga Fashion
Ab Exercises
Parkour
Anti Aging Techniques
Women's Retreats

Anorexic Women and Arnold Schwarzenegger at Work

HEALTH - I totally understand why Arnold Schwarzenegger cheated on his wife Maria Shriver... and later separated from her in 2010 and now looks to be heading towards divorce.

Have you seen Maria Shriver? She is so anorexic she looks like a skeletal corpse.

When Arnold and Maria first met many years ago Maria Shriver was a thin but reasonably healthy woman. She was in many ways a trophy wife, but had intellect and was a member of the Kennedy Family (and thus a boon to Arnold Schwarzenegger's political career).

However as she got older Maria Shriver became more obsessed with dieting / cutting back on food that she began to look like somekind of undead monster. Combined with this is the associated mental disorders such an eating disorder like anorexia brings with it. She became irritable, obsessive, problematic... in short she became a mental head case.

To treat such a problem what you need is a psychiatrist, which Arnold Schwarzenegger is not.

But what Arnold Schwarzenegger is however is a bodybuilding health nut. To him this wasting away of muscle and fat to leave only skin and bones would have been seen as the opposite of what Maria Shriver should be doing. If she wanted to look beautiful the thing to do is to eat well and exercise. That Arnold certainly knows.

It is therefore perhaps no surprise that approx. 14 years ago that Arnold Schwarzenegger cheated on his wife Maria Shriver in favour of the much more attractive housekeeper Patty (Mildred Patricia Baena) and in the process fathered a son, who has recently been the centre of much media attention.

As a working mother Patty had to take care of Maria and Arnold's four children, cook, clean and do laundry. She was certainly eating healthy and getting lots of exercise. She was a virtual sexy amazon compared to Maria Shriver's withered corpse of a body.

The point I am making here isn't that Arnold cheated on his anorexic wife. I am not endorsing cheating whatsoever. The point I am making is that anorexia is NOT sexy. Never is, never will be.

Only some seriously mentally deficient person would want to have sex with a skeleton. That is just plain sick.

With respect to Arnold Schwarzenegger it is no surprise that he tried to do the honourable thing and hold his family together long enough so his children could all grow up with a family, including the bastard son who apparently spent a reasonable amount of time on his estate. While he kept it a secret from his family, he made the son a welcome part of their extended family.

I would speculate that Arnold Schwarzenegger will eventually find love again in his life, but this time he will pay closer attention to finding someone who shares his interest in healthy diet and exercise.

See Also
The Perfect Female Body at Work
Dissatisfaction with Our Bodies and Eating Disorders
Anorexia in Asia
Thinspiration Sickspiration
Bulimia and Depression

Bacon Flavoured Grilled Cheese Sandwich

HEALTH - I don't like to waste food.

Heck, I don't even like to waste food byproducts... like bacon grease.

Thus when I had bacon yesterday I kept the grease in the pan and had fried eggs later.

And this morning I still had grease leftover, but I had run out of eggs... And then I looked at the cheddar cheese in my fridge and an idea sparked...

Minutes later I was grilling not one but TWO grilled cheese sandwiches in the frying pan, using the bacon grease.

And yes, it was delicious.

However on the health side of things it was so ridiculously fattening that I now feel a tad sick. I think I overdid it by making two of them (in an effort to use up more of the leftover grease) and now my arteries are going to be paying for it.

My only solution is that I shall have to exercise a lot today to work off all those extra calories I just consumed.

So my advice for other men (or women) out there is that if you are tempted to try making a grilled cheese sandwich using leftover bacon grease is JUST MAKE ONE! No need to overdo it!

I realize that men often overestimate what we can eat, even when we feel like we are starving. ie. "I could eat a horse!" But we really need to cutback on unnecessary calories when we really don't need them.

Just because we can eat that much doesn't mean we should.

:p

Beer Goggles at Work

ENTERTAINMENT/SEX - According to Professor Lewis Halsey and two colleagues from Roehampton University they've discovered that "Beer Goggles" doesn't just impair one's judgement, but also effects our sense of beauty.

The trio interviewed a long list of students visiting a local pub near the university and did a series of tests by showing them photos of people to see if they could tell the images had been altered to make them less symmetrical.

Symmetry is considered to be an important aspect of what makes a person beautiful. After dividing the people into two groups (drunk vs non-drunk) using a breathalyzer they determined that drunk people are unable to differentiate assymetry.



Thus "Beer Goggles" really does make people around you look more attractive, at least as far as your brain is concerned.

Tracking the results the researchers also discovered women are more prone to losing their sense of assymetry. Not because they get drunk easier, oh no, its because men pay more attention to appearance... or more precisely, men leer at women and are checking out their breasts/etc in detail.

In which case leering may actually be an evolutionary skill designed to pick out women which are more symmetrical and healthy looking. Whoddathunkit?

Disciplining Your Kids at Work

HEALTH - I've put this under "health" because frankly good discipline is a mental health issue, plus knowing how to properly discipline your children without hurting them is certainly a health matter too.

There is essentially 5 levels of how to discipline your children. Some of them are more controversial than others, and the bottom two are basically illegal.

1. Minimalist / Anti-Discipline

Some parents don't like to discipline their children. They basically let their children run wild and only attempt to discipline them when they do something really bad. The problem with these parents is they've adopted a pacifist approach to discipline, so their methodology is things like "no dessert", "go stand in the corner", "no TV", "no computer", "no phone or cellphone", etc. Another problem these parents face however is children who cry, whine and act up until they get what they want. Such parents have a strong tendency to flip flop and renege on their punishment... sometimes even REWARDING bad behaviour by later offering to buy the kid a new toy just to get them to stop crying.

2. Pro-Discipline

These parents are no nonsense when it comes to discipline. They punish their kids, ground them, take things/privileges away and they refuse to back down on the issue. Their results may vary depending on the parent and the methodology, but at least they're not being wishy-washing and then rewarding the kid for bad behaviour.

3. Pro-Spanking & Ear Tugging

Spanking or ear tugging your child is perfectly legal. The exact wording of local laws may vary (and this may not be allowed in certain European countries), but in North America all parents have the right to spank or tug the ears of their children when they misbehave. Brazil and several South American countries have also outlawed spanking. Spanking and ear-tugging causes no damage, only light bruising which fades very quickly. The biggest aspect of this form of punishment is that its more about humiliation and embarrassment. The child will be embarrassed by the spanking and will think twice before doing activities that might induce another embarrassment.

4. Legal Grey Zone

This could be anything really. "Cruel and unusual punishment" could for example be forcing the kid to apologize to all the neighbours they had wronged and atoning for their misdeeds. But it could also be forms of physical punishment / work which we normally don't think of... ie. Having to chop wood for the woodstove for 3 hours before being allowed to eat; 200+ pushups; etc... some of these get into areas which most people would consider to be abuse and parental neglect. Twisting a child's arm for example on purpose would be crossing the line.

5. Out Right Illegal

Beating up the child, starving them, forced isolation, serious physical harm and then covering up the injuries with stories of falling down the stairs, etc. It doesn't take a lawyer to figure out these are going overboard.

Conclusions: Now evidently options #2 and #3 are the best ones and parents might even use the "cruel and unusual punishment" part of #4 if the situation warrants an unusual punishment. ie. You probably won't spank your teenager, but you might confiscate their cellphone and cut off their internet for the whole summer when they're caught gambling online... combined with forcing them to help out at a homeless shelter until they realize the road gambling can sometimes lead to.

The end goal is not to enact revenge on your child, but to encourage them through positive and negative reinforcement that certain types of behaviour will not be tolerated especially as they get older. As parents we have a responsibility to discipline our children so they don't grow up and turn into psychos because of parental neglect. Children can get into all sorts of trouble if allowed to run amok, raising children who eventually as adults run amok is a sure sign that the parents failed in their duty to properly discipline their kids.

DISCLAIMER TO YUPPIES: You may think you're doing your child a favour by not disciplining them or "sparing the rod and spoiling the child", but in reality you are doing them and the rest of society a disservice by raising someone who will ultimately be spoiled rotten.

Ouch that hurts

SEX - Oh the pain, oh the pain!

Skinny Dipping and Nudity at Work

ENTERTAINMENT/HEALTH - I must say everytime I do a post with the words "at Work" at the end I have to wonder what people are thinking... Obviously I am not talking about skinny dipping and nudity at work work... I am amazed everyone reading the blog has managed to figure this out on their own. You'd think there'd be one dumbass out there who doesn't make the connection.

Anywho, back to the main dish: Skinny Dipping.

For people who love to swim, skinny dipping is often the ultimate experience of freedom in the water... as long as its not infested with piranhas or crocodiles. Whether you consider swimming a form of exercise or a competitive sport, skinny dipping itself is really more of a recreational activity.

Last week Vancouver tried to set a Guinness World Record by having the largest group of people skinny dipping together... they failed, but the participants enjoyed it.

If you decide to go skinny dipping, either alone or with a friend, there is some general rules of thumb you should follow:

#1. The 200 Meter Rule

If you have neighbours or people that might notice try to stay at a distance of 200 meters or more. They won't be able to see anything of importance at that distance unless they're using binoculars (in which case I don't think they mind).

#2. Avoid Mosquitoes

Skinny dipping during the height of mosquitoe season is very unwise. The best time of the year is August when most of the mosquitoes are gone.

#3. The Boat, Canoe or Dock Solution

One solution for people who are shy is to swim on the far side of a dock, boat or canoe so the neighbours can't see you. Other solutions are to wait for dusk, swim really early in the morning, behind a rock outcropping, etc.

#4. Know the Laws

The Canadian Criminal Code forbids being “so clad as to offend against public decency.” As long as you take steps not to offend people or are around consenting people, then its no big deal.

Meanwhile toplessness is completely legal in Canada, for both men and women. So if you can't find the courage to swim nude, you can always go topless instead.

See Also
The Top Topless Beaches

Veggie Burgers at Work - Yuck!

HEALTH - I tried to eat a veggie burger yesterday but only managed to finish 75% of it... let me explain why.

I can't eat mushy foods. Foods like squash, scalloped potatoes, really runny mashed potatoes, anything with consistency of baby food... For whatever reason it provokes my gag reflex and makes me want to vomit.

I think it has something to do with bad memories of mushy foods and vomiting. Even vomit itself is mushy.

Thus my attempt yesterday, in order to please my vegetarian dinner partner, was nothing short of daring. Around the 72% mark my gag reflex was going nuts and the mushed up ingredients in the veggie burger patty was simply too much. I had to stop before I puked in front of 25 vegetarians, all presumably enjoying their restaurant meal.

I picked the Deluxe Veggie Burger off the menu because it was really the only thing that looked vaguely familiar.

I had tried to order a Caesar salad, but their version of Caesar salad came with a whole bunch of extra veggies on it that I didn't like. I tried speaking to the waitress about ordering a normal basic Caesar salad (you know, the kind with croutons on it) but she informed me they don't have croutons... WTF! How can you have a Caesar salad without croutons???

Nothing else on the menu looked edible to me. Even the Soup of the Day looked like a spicy mixture of veggies and vomit. (The soup was "Spicy Tomato w/Chipotle & Spinach".)

The name of the restaurant in question was Fresh. Presumably the ingredients were all fresh, but the menu left much to be desired. You can see their menu in PDF format and what it is essentially is a trial in vegetarian extravaganza, like they're trying really hard to impress you by tossing all sorts of weird combinations at you... so many vegetables mixed together that there is bound to be more the one vegetable in the mix the average person won't like.

Lets take that Spicy Tomato w/Chipotle & Spinach Soup of the Day for example... I hate spinach, I am disgusted by Chipotle and I can only tolerate tomato.

Even the protein shakes were enough to make my stomach queasy. The Swoosh Shake contains: peanut butter, dark cocoa, maple syrup, banana, soymilk, cinnamon + protein powder. Peanut butter in a milk shake? Mixed with banana and cinnamon? WTF.

Might as well be sticking ketchup on my ice cream because that is how disgusting it sounds. Or chocolate on my pizza. Or some other combo that just doesn't work.

I was raised in a farming community north of Kitchener. Almost everything is home grown or homemade or both. My parents regularly visit and bring me homemade jam, pies, potatoes they grew themselves, maple syrup from our neighbours' and even meat from the butcher shop several miles down the road. Nothing is grown in a "factory farm" and the community has a large and growing number of Mennonites (they breed like rabbits).

That said I am used to what I would call normal vegetables, fruits and grains. Corn, peas, beets, carrots, lettuce, peppers, oatmeal, apples, pears, etc.

The moment you start adding non-normal vegetables to the mix the combination of flavours mushed together is such that I do two things: 1. I worry if I can even swallow such a mushy combination. 2. The thought of the flavour combination boggles my brain.

ie. Avocado Smoothie: Avocado, banana, spinach, pure coconut water.

Spinach and banana and avocado? What stoned vegan pothead thought up that mixture? (That is not a joke, there have been a number of recent newspaper articles about chefs who smoke pot either at work or after work. "Everybody smokes dope after work," says Anthony Bourdain, an author and chef who made his name chronicling drugs in professional kitchens. "People you would never imagine.")

Seriously, I don't know how else to describe it. Vegan chefs must be high on something to be making such weird combinations. They've lost touch reality and their taste buds have gone so haywire that they're coming up with new ways to make normal people puke.

(Oh and by the way, I did a test on Yahoo! Answers. I am not the only one who gets nauseated by mushy foods. My mother for example can't chew gum because she doesn't like the texture. My uncle Duncan can't eat peanut butter because of the texture and the stickiness of it. Its apparently a quite normal gag reflex. I also posted the question to the TV show Dr Oz and am waiting for a response.)

Oh and there's one more thing I wanted to comment on... years ago vegetarians were pretty basic... but then along came vegans and they upped the ante by refusing milk, dairy or anything else made from animal. (And yet count the number of times their clothes contains wool, silk or leather.)

And then came the people who insist upon organic pesticide free food. (To be considered organic a farmer's field has to be pesticide free for 8 years and can't be downwind from any other farm which uses pesticides. Suffice to say it is very difficult for farmers to switch to becoming organic because they have to go through 8 years where their crop won't sell for as much, and farmers are already struggling to pay their bills.)

The problem with organic food however is that it relies more heavily on genetically modified plants. So now many veggie eaters insist that they won't buy food which is GMOD, but frankly good luck proving which is which.

The point I am getting at is this is a hugely slippery slope. First the vegetarianism, then veganism, then organic foods, then anti-GMOD. What is next? Food that is grown using green technology and no fossil fuels used to transport it?

I think that is coming. Seriously, the way the green movement is going I wouldn't be surprised if the super-vegans out there don't start insisting their food be hand planted and grown, no tractors or combines, it has to be grown in a local greenhouse using solar and wind power in a pest free environment.

And then once the food is grown it has to be transported by bicycle to the Uber-Vegan Store which runs on solar power. No dog sleds allowed because that would count as animal cruelty. No sailboats either because you might hurt some fish on the way.

Now I admit that sounds ridiculous, but I am willing to bet there are people out there who would start insisting on these things once they realized it was an option.

At some point practicality needs to kick in.

Ten years ago I met a girl in university who described herself as a practical vegetarian... she will eat meat, but only so it doesn't go to waste. She and other practical vegetarians believe it is more important that food is not wasted or thrown out. She doesn't worry whether her ice cream or salad dressing has some non-organic product in it. Her food doesn't have to be quote unquote organic and I presume she didn't worry whether it was genetically modified or not.

As an omnivore I am all about practicality and taste. I don't like wasting money on food that I won't enjoy. To me that is highly unethical to buy food, taste it and then throw it away because I didn't like it. Hence why I managed to eat 75% of the above mentioned veggie burger. I tried to stomach it as best as I could because it was $9. (It didn't even come with fries!!!)

In retrospect I should have gone down the street and paid $3.50 for a Polish sausage on a bun. And enjoyed every last bit of it, not letting a single bite go to waste.

I think I can safely say I will never become a vegetarian. Not just because I love meat and I am on a high protein diet to compliment my weightlifting regimen, but also because the vomit-inducing, holier-than-thou, impractical veggie eating lifestyle just isn't for me.

Its just too nauseating.

Premature Ejaculation at Work

SEX - You have to feel sorry for those men who can't last more than 2 minutes while having sex. Something is either wrong with them or they're in a rush for no apparent reason.

Some men (and I am proud to say I am one of them) can "get it on" for hours at a time. Endurance, stamina... its all good.

So to me its mindboggling that the "average man" can only have sex for 5 minutes before ejaculating. Because that means if there's other men like myself who can go for hours... there must be the reverse... men who can only last mere seconds.

Obviously in that case it can't be a matter of just being in a rush. No "wham bam thank you mam" in that scenario... these poor suckas can't hold it together long enough for the time it takes to brush your teeth.

But there is good news on the horizon. A new drug called Priligy, also known as dapoxetine, allows men to last approx. 3 times longer during intercourse. Clinical trials of Priligy involving men with a mean time of 0.9 minutes from penetration to ejaculation showed the drug increased time before orgasm by an average of three minutes.

Spokesperson Dr. Thom Van Every expects the drug to become as popular as Viagra and is ideal for men who orgasm within the first 2 minutes of penetration... aka sufferers of premature ejaculation.

Right now the pill is pretty expensive. It costs approx. $117 CDN (76 British pounds) to purchase on Lloydspharmacy.com's online drug store. The pill was only released and became available today, but already the company has thousands of applications.

“There’s a lot of pressure to be good in bed,” says Dr. Thom Van Every, who received heart-rending applications from men seeking online consultations, which are required before the drug can be prescribed. The men complained, “I worry that I can’t satisfy my partner” and “My previous relationship ended because of premature ejaculation.”

The drug in question is also an antidepressant, so it boosts self-confidence too. An useful thing in bed. It needs to be taken 2 to 3 hours before for it to become useful.

Although this is the first drug licensed as a treatment for premature ejaculation, doctors have long known that antidepressants can delay orgasm and have been prescribing them “off label” for years now.

Dapoxetine is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, similar to Zoloft and Prozac, which affect neurological functions. Doctors aren’t quite sure how they delay orgasm, but the effect is well-documented.

30% of men experience premature ejaculation, not all the time in most cases, but some of the time. Other recommended treatments include topical lotions containing anesthetic as well as condoms and special exercises.

Priligy is awaiting approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and isn't available in Canada yet either.

Health Canada could not confirm whether it has received an application to license the drug.

I think (and this is purely my belief) that premature ejaculation is the result of lack of sexual confidence and control. If these poor men simply had more confidence in their abilities they'd be able to last longer. Knowing when to slow down a bit, take it easy, get more practice, enjoy some kama sutra positions would certainly help in my opinion.

Those exercises might be useful for regular or above average men too, those that want to last even longer. In which case that should make a lot more happy couples.

Control Premature Ejaculation with the Start/Stop Technique

Learning to control premature ejaculation without the use of drugs or desensitizers involves learning to read the signals your body is giving you, knowing when you are about to ejaculate, and pulling back from that point. The technique below is my variation on the common “start/stop technique”. Before you begin you should take some time to understand the basics of premature ejaculation, a bit about male sexual response, and what Kegel exercises are.

Time Required: The most important part of these exercises is to practice (daily if possible).

1.Use a stroking technique.
Begin masturbating by stroking your penis up and down. This is the best method for these exercises as it most closely approximates penetration. Don’t think about premature ejaculation or trying to last longer. Just pay attention to the physical sensations in your penis and pelvic area as your masturbating.

2.Try to notice the “tickling” sensation prior to ejaculation.
As you get close to ejaculation pay particular attention to the physical sensations in your body. Try to notice the “tickling” sensation that occurs just before you ejaculate. Once you know what that feeling is like, you can concentrate on the feelings that occur just before this stage, when it is still possible to stop ejaculation.

3.Get comfortable recognizing the “tickling” sensation.
Continue masturbating without trying to last longer or think of anything special. Just pay close attention to how your body feels as you become more excited, and to recognizing the “tickling” feelings. Do this for at least the next three times you masturbate. Don’t stop yourself from ejaculating, just try to recognize the “tickling” feeling, and the feeling in your body just before the tickling feeling.

4.Start and stop masturbating to learn control.
Once you can tell when the “tickling” sensation is going to come you’re ready to begin the exercises. Try to avoid fantasizing more than necessary, and don’t use lubricant or sex toys while doing these exercises (they’re great, but they’ll come later).

5.Begin stimulation while paying close attention to the physical sensations in your body.
Masturbate until you start to feel turned on and have an erection. Then stop the stimulation for at least 15 seconds and concentrate on the feelings of decreasing excitement in your body. Notice how your penis and pelvic area feel, and how that changes when you stop stimulation. Notice how the rest of your body feels.

6.Continue until you get close to the “tickling” sensation.
Begin to masturbate again, and continue to start and stop periodically until you feel you are getting as close to the “tickling” stage as possible. When you feel yourself getting close stop until you feel you are back in control. Some men find that doing and Kegel squeezes helps them get back in control.

7.Don't worry if you lose your erection.
You may lose your erection when you stop the stimulation, but just start again. You may need to use fantasy to get excited again, but once you're turned on, try to focus on your body. Bring yourself close to the tickling point three times. After this you can just masturbate until you ejaculate.

8.Pay close attention to your body, and repeat this exercise daily.
You may find it difficult to do these exercises at first. You may lose your erection, your mind may wander, you might get bored. But try to stay with it, and practice this daily. As you do, two things will happen. First, the length of time you have to wait to regain control will gradually decrease. Second, the length of time you can continue stimulation between stops will increase.

9.Visualize your sexual response.
Look at the diagram on this page which gives a visual representation of the start and stop technique. Each time you stop stimulating yourself try to picture your body responding as if on this graph.

10.Build up the number of times you stop.
Increase the number of times you stop stimulating yourself until you have reached six. Once you can do the entire exercise ( stimulating yourself just before the “tickling” point, stopping stimulation until you regain control, and then starting again) six times, begin to practice this daily.

11.Use a good lubricant.
Once you’re feeling confident with the exercises, and are able to stop six times, you can increase the stimulation, and the usefulness of the exercises by using a good oil or water based personal lubricant. Because this is only for masturbation, an oil based lubricant is fine to use (but not safe for use with condoms, and not recommended for use in vaginal penetration).

12.Using the lubricant to simulate penetration, start the exercise.
As before, stimulate yourself as closely as possible to the point of ejaculation and then stop until control is regained. Begin by stopping three times before going on to ejaculate, then gradually increase the number of stops to six per session.

13.Once you feel comfortable, include a partner.
If you are in a relationship, ultimately you need to bring your partner into the exercises. Don’t rush this, but once you feel confident with your ability to know when to stop and wait until you regain control, you can involve your partner in the exercises.

Tips:
1.Don’t ever try to stop ejaculation once it has begun. If you go past that point, just let yourself ejaculate.

2.Try to use fantasy only as much as you need to. Because of the starting and stopping, you might need it to get yourself aroused again, but once you are turned on, try to focus back on your body and how it feels.

3.If you usually masturbate by rubbing your pelvis against something, try to use a stroking method. For these exercises, this makes it easier. If you have to change your usual method for the exercises, take a few sessions to get comfortable with this new method.

4.Some men find Kegel exercises help them both by increasing their knowledge of their sexual response, but also the Kegel squeezing can return a feeling of control when you are approaching the point of no return.

5.As you go on to each new step you may find yourself losing some of the control you have developed. This will happen, but if you keep practicing you’ll continue to progress.

Exercise at Work

HEALTH - I have this horrible habit I do, its called exercise.

Let me explain... I was online chatting to a woman and I mentioned hurting my elbow lifting weights at the gym. To make a long story short she started giving me this whole attitude like "Oh, you're one of those people..." meaning people who exercise regularly. She wasn't referring to the muscle-bound professional weightlifters... or the people obsessed with working out every freaking day, she was referring to people "who believe in the value of exercise."

You see from her perspective exercise is a waste of time. You're either fit or fat and there's nothing you can do about it. "Its all genetics!" she argued.

If it was truly genetics how do explain the following?

#1. Obesity rates skyrocketing during the last 20 years in the United States. Is she saying Americans are genetically inferior? Highly doubtful.

#2. Obesity rates are only high in countries where people spend a great deal of time watching television and/or on computers, in contrast to spending time exercising. The average American watches 30 hours of television/movies per week and spends 14 hours per week on the internet. Combine that with an increasingly sedentary lifestyle in workplaces (and schools which have cut out Physical Education) its no wonder Americans are the fattest people on the planet. Please note that this has nothing to do with genetics and everything to do with lack of exercise.

#3. Some people eat a lot but don't gain any weight. This is because they have an active lifestyle. The more active and energetic you are, the faster your metabolism, the more easily you can consume food without gaining any weight... indeed if you are weightlifting the only weight you do gain is muscle mass (as opposed to fat).

But you see none of these points seem to matter to the woman I was talking to. From her perspective exercise to lose weight is a myth, a hoax forced on us by the weight-loss industry. She is absolutely convinced its all one big grand conspiracy to suck money out of people by forcing us to pay for gym memberships and exercise equipment.

Which is silly because exercise is free... anybody can go jogging, do aerobics and various traditional exercises like push ups, chin ups, etc., lift heavy things (ie. buckets of water or stacks of books) as a form of exercise. Having a gym membership is more about convenience because then you don't have to worry about breaking things in your home, you can get advice and you have all the extra space and useful machines at your disposal. (Heck my gym even has TVs on the treadmills and internet access.)

But regardless her mindset was clear she had a bit of a screw loose when it came to exercise. I did some checking online and there's a whole culture of people out there who think obesity is a genetic deficiency and on that basis they don't believe in exercise because they think its a waste of time and too troublesome.

At which point I am starting to wonder if the fat cells are blocking the flow of blood to their brains. Their arteries are so clogged with cholesterol their brain isn't receiving the proper amount of blood flow and its resulting in a brain malfunction. Its NOT genetic, its just a symptom of their condition.

Scientists have already proven that elderly people who exercise are less likely to develop Alzheimer's Disease and go senile. Regular exercise reduces the amount of cholesterol blocking their arteries, increases blood flow to the brain and results in the brain being healthier because it regenerates more.

Ergo people who exercise more often have less clogged arteries and healthier brains.

That might explain why some people can delude themselves into thinking exercise is a hoax... but I also think its part of their whole laziness mindset. They don't WANT to exercise, therefore they come up with reasons not to. Eventually all these reasons are combined until they've convinced themselves that exercise must be a complete waste of time because every time they do they never lose weight...

I think part of the problem is they expect instant results. Exercise is often combined with the word "regular" to imply regular daily exercise. Its not going to happen overnight. It will take months and years to achieve the final goal. That for some people is too long of a wait and they're simply too stubborn, stuck in their ways and lazy to make the prolonged effort.

Its like the people who say "Oh, I can't do art. I just don't have the talent." Bullshit. A baby has no talent. Talent is learned through practice and repetition. If you draw Charlie Brown 100 times by the time you get to number 100 you will probably be reasonably good at it. Artistic skill is learned ability. People aren't born with it. Some people might point out that other family members are also artistic, but thats because they also practiced their skill constantly. Their family values creativity and thus encourages it more, resulting in children who are better at it due to the amount of practice time.

The same thing can be applied to families of fat people. If the parents are lazy and spend all their free time watching television its guaranteed the children will do the same thing. Parents who are into exercise or sports are going to have active healthy children because they encouraged those activities.

And if you need further proof lets look at Type II Diabetes.

Type II Diabetes is caused by too much sugar (glucose) in the blood. Its not a genetic problem, its purely the result of overeating sugary foods. All that extra sugar results in hypertension, elevated cholesterol, various syndromes and will eventually kill the patient. Scientific studies have determined that the ONLY cure for Type II Diabetes is "consistent and continuing exercise" combined with healthy eating habits. In other words the patient needs to burn off all that extra sugar in their blood.

The human body isn't meant to eat large doses of sugar. We're meant to be outside hunting, fishing, foraging for food. We're supposed to be eating fruits, vegetables and meat. We're omnivores, not glucosevores. We're supposed to be outside, exercising, the wind in our hair... not trapped in a cubicle, eating prepackaged sugary foods and spending our evenings watching television or on the internet.

And now with much adieu I have to go to the gym now. Maybe I should take up archery? That sounds like fun.

Growing Old at Work

HEALTH - I think men and women approach aging differently.

#1. When women worry about their age they do two things: Lie about their age and try to cover up their wrinkles using cosmetics. Some even go for more extreme measures like botox or surgery.

#2. When men worry about their age they think in terms of exercise and diet... but ultimately many men take a fatalistic approach and say "Bah, I'm still in good shape."

I think there is a lot of people who do that. They kind of lie about their level of fitness and try to ignore the fact that their body is starting to fall apart at the seams. Once their eyesight, hearing, etc. starts to go the next thing you know they've got no teeth and their bowels flush whenever they hear running water.

Comparatively few can actually say "I'm still in pretty good shape." Its reminds me of that scene in "Never Say Never Again" (with Sean Connery as James Bond)... check out the video below.



The difference of course is that James Bond does exercise (as shown by the weightlifting in the video above, an excellent way of staying young and fit), but his constant drinking and smoking have left him with a liver that will likely be what finally kills him.

Meanwhile the pharmaceutical industry is working overtime trying to make a variety of pills that will help keep people younger, utilizing everything from bat DNA (bats are very long lived for their size) to human growth hormone. In the meantime there are plenty of other ways to stay young and active.

Diet wise red wine is one of the big names and its been proven to work wonders. Any wine blog will tell its the red skin from fruits (not just grapes) that helps. The red skin of apples, ripe mangoes, tomatoes, red pears, strawberries, raspberries, cranberries, cherries, etc. protect the fruit from the sun's harmful rays and contain nutrients that will also help protect your skin as you grow older. That and its just plain good nutrition to eat lots of fruits and vegetables, especially the older you get.

Another problem with growing old is many people don't seem to keep their mind active (television apparently is not good for the brain BTW because its not interactive). Some elderly people can't handle simple tasks like programming a DVD player (or worse, a VCR), using a microwave or an office phone system. Its one of the reasons many old age homes are now stocking Wii games in an effort to get the elderly more active but also simultaneously using their brains so they don't collect dust and fall to bits.

A lot of scientific studies have been done in recent years that prove people who exercise both their bodies and their brains tend to live longer and have a significantly better standard of life in their old age.

At my gym for example there is this elderly woman who looks like she is in her 90s, but she's in there doing aerobics and lifting weights 7 days a week. I see her there EVERY time. She's in better shape than most teenagers.

Part of the problem I think is retirement. Lets say you're a business consultant for 40 years and the day after you turn 65 you retire. What do you do with all your free time? Do you keep reading the financial news or let it pass you by? DO you remember to keep visiting your local Toronto dentist or do you forget you have teeth entirely? Do you keep active, take tennis and golf lessons? Maybe take up sculpture, painting or photography?

Lets take photography as an example. Sure you could take photos of family members, your dog that is as old as you are (in dog years at least), your 20+ cats and the local landscapes... or you could become more artistic about it, submit your art to Canadian art galleries or even to photo contests like Lenzr which recently changed their voting structure rules so now users can vote for whomever they want to win (its essentially a popularity contest now).

Some people when they retire just seem to watch TV, visit their relatives and go for the occasionally walk. They don't want to go outside because its cold out so they stay inside and vegetate in front of the TV, their brains and bodies slowly wasting away... which might explain why so many elderly people move to Florida, because they can enjoy the weather more.

And while I do think men and women approach aging differently, we do share a commonality in that we all think we're going to live forever... right up until the point we are confronted with our own mortality. Those of us who are scared of dying tend to become religious, worried that they'll just cease to exist after they die (which is what most atheists believe). Frankly I don't mind the whole ceasing to exist thing, just so long as I leave the planet having contributed something towards making it better.

Maybe thats what more old people should do with all their free time: Become environmentalists. Heck, old people vote more than any other age group. They're a huge voting bloc and could force lots of changes if they really put their minds to it. Its time for the elderly to stop pissing away their lives and being complacent when they could actually do something that will make a difference for everyone.

Plus they could exercise and use their brains at the same time. Protesting is a workout for the brain and the body.

Bullies at School (and at Work)

CANADA/HEALTH - According to a new study Canada has some of the worst bullies in the world. At least insofar as our schools are concerned. The study by Queen's University in conjunction with the World Health Organization documented both bullies and victims of bullies and the bullying methods used in 40 different countries.

Boys face homophobic slurs, insults, verbal and physical abuse, to say nothing of emotional trauma that will haunt their self confidence for years to come and in many cases leads to depression, suicide attempts and violent behaviour.

Girls are no less humiliated either, but methods girls use to bully each other differs slightly.

The victims of bullying (regardless of gender) often end up cutting themselves and contemplating / attempting suicide. They also tend to become more shy, despondent, develop phobias of school or meeting new people, their marks slide and they end up wholly traumatized by the experience.

Author's Note: Having been bullied myself I know these things to be true. I still get upset just thinking of past instances from my own high school years.

The problem in Canada is that many school administrators do several things:

#1. They think its a problem that will go away with time and that there will be no lasting harm.

#2. They think it would take too much effort to enact anti-bullying policies, or that such policies could make problems worse.

In the United States however bullying is taken VERY seriously. In a country that averages a mass school shooting every 3-4 months there is a constant effort to prevent or put a halt to bullying, for fear that "Your School could be the next Columbine".

In Canada this lack of support in the schools' administration results in bullies basically running the place, getting away "Scot-free" with whatever antics they feel like. This is the reason why Canada is ranked the 5th worst country for bullies in schools out of the 40 countries polled.

• 14% of Canadian boys report being physically bullied.
  
• 30% of Canadian boys report verbal / psychological bullying.

Currently the status quo for punishing bullies is to suspend the offending student for 1-3 days. Afterwards the bully returns and due to lack of teacher supervision the bullying frequently becomes worse. (So going back to point #2 above, yes, band-aid solutions do make the problem worse, but it doesn't mean there isn't a good solution.)

The province of Ontario (where approx. 33% of all Canadian school children live) has taken steps in recent years like the Safe Schools Act and a training program that has thus far trained 25,000 teachers and 7,000 principals in how to address/prevent bullying. And this week is "Bullying Awareness Week", something which many schools take part in.

But if you look at the statistics for bullying incidents you see the it hasn't dropped, but has remained relatively steady. Anti-bullying group PREVNet (Promoting Relationships and Eliminating Violence Network) says there is little evidence that above measures have done anything, once again its just a band-aid solution.

You have to wonder what this "training program" for teachers really involves. Its likely just a weekend where teachers gather, talk about different ways to deal with bullies, eat lunch together and get a stamped certificate at the end proving they were there. Afterwards they make up their own mind on how to deal with bullies instead of following any kind of protocol.

That is a key problem. The current protocol (or lack thereof) doesn't work because administrators/teachers are not investigating allegations of bullying and are instead preferring to sweep it under the rug and ignore it.

Here is a solution for you...

Make it a CRIME.

If 14% of Canadian boys are being physically bullied and abused, that is ASSAULT. It is already a crime as far as the law is concerned, the problem is that school administrators have a strong tendency to turn a blind eye to bullying and either give the bully a "slap on the wrist" or give a suspension (Woohoo, 1-3 days of no school!), which is hardly a punishment.

If it was treated as a crime and bullies received criminal records (and possibly time in juvenile hall or the threat of jail) then they would be more likely to be scared shitless of getting in trouble again. (After all, if you go to juvenile hall you frequently are no longer the bully, but become the victim. There's always someone who is bigger than you are.)

Now I admit treating bullying as a crime is a lot more time consuming, but so is trying to teach students who are traumatized. They're distracted and despondent, too stressed about the bullies in their life to worry about school work. The students who don't suffer from bullies inherently have better marks (and less sick days from trying to avoid a bully).

An effective solution to bullying will doubtlessly raise the grade average of students and result in happier and more productive students.

The countries polled with the least amount of bullies (Norway, Sweden and England) have strong policies in place and they are under constant evaluation for improvement. What we need in Canada therefore is to adopt identical policies and protocols and FOLLOW THEM. Don't ignore them at your leisure.

After all its not just students who were shot in the Columbine massacre, it was teachers too. For their own safety teachers need to be taking bullying more seriously.

And FYI, on a per capita basis Canada has had more school shooting fatalities than the USA. Remember the Killer Goth in Montreal in September 2006? Or the C. W. Jefferys Collegiate shooting in May 2007? Or the Bendale Business and Technical Institute shooting in September 2008? Apparently Canada averages a school shooting every year, which when you consider our population is one 10th of the USA's that is a pretty high rate.