Posts Tagged ‘Children & Teens’

Cotton Candy might actually be GOOD for your Health!

Sunday, August 9th, 2009

Experienced a bit of nastalogia this past weekend in eating cotton candy, aka “fairy floss” or “candy floss”.  Not only did I get to eat some of it, but I also, for the first time, got to operate the machine that makes it.  When you see how this thing works, you really have to ask yourself, what in the heck gave them idea for this??  Granted a lot of inventions come about purely by accident… you know, you really intend to solve one problem, but discover something entirely different instead and thus a new product/solution!  So did cotton candy come about this way or did someone really think, hey, let’s heat up a bunch of sugar, spin it around in a centrifugal device with slits in it, and I bet we can make a pretty tasty treat!!   … come on!  Where in the world did they come up with this idea???   I can’t believe this invention wasn’t an accident of some sort!

So I went out in search of an answer.  Haven’t found one yet, by the way.  So if anyone can help and point me in the right direction I would appreciate it.  I found who invented it and when it was first introduced, etc., but not how they came up with the actual idea for the invention…

But in the process of my research I also stumbled across an NPR news story about how two New York researchers are experimenting with cotton candy as a possible way to create artificial tissue for the human body.  yes you read that right!  can you believe it?  Cotton candy that might actually help save your life someday! 

Check out the full story here:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100721500&ft=1&f=6851565

Basically this idea is still on the drawing board and not ready for testing yet, but the basic idea is to use cotton candy rather then nanofibers to help create the small tiny network of artificial blood vessels and coat it using a liquid polymer.  Eventually the candy disintigrates and you are left with one well developed network of blood vessels.  Pretty slick idea, eh?! 

So next time you visit your dentist office, bring in some cotton candy with you, sit in the chair and eat it in front of him or her and explain how cotton candy might not be good for your teeth but it might just be the cure for some certain other body parts in the future!

:)

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Posted in Medical / Health, Personal | No Comments »

I DON’T want my MTV

Tuesday, July 28th, 2009

I am of the original MTV generation. By that I mean that MTV first began operations about the time I was in grade school.  If you grew up around the same time period as I then you probably also have the same Dire Straights phrase engrained in your brain, “I want my MTV!”.   

Well that was then.  Now almost 3 decades later the media scene has drastically changed.  MTV rarely plays music videos anymore.   Nowadays all the really cool media can be seen and heard first not on the broadcast media outlets but instead on  the internet.  Today, online media sharing sites like YouTube have replaced MTV as the medium of choice for aspiring bands and breakout artists.  

Forget email and online shopping.  To me this is the part of the internet that is really exciting.  Watching internet technologies and trends evole is like watching the birth of radio and television broadcasting a century ago.   The internet truly is it’s own unique medium. 

Take YouTube, for example.  Today when I want to watch a certain music video, I need not stare in front of my MTV screen all day waiting for it to play (like they actually play videos anymore anyway!).  Instead, I type in what I seek on YouTube’s website, and viola!  there it is!  I can even create my own personal playlist and listen & watch all my favorites to my heart’s content.  Not only that, but chances are that you will also find a lot of “amateur artists” posting videos of their own renditions of your favorites.  Some you may like, others you may not, but it does make for an interesting outlet to discover new “talent”.  Who knows, you may discover your next favorite performer online!

Lately I’ve been hooked on watching and listening to music videos on YouTube.  This is the version of MTV I always wanted.  Play what you want when you want it, and get recommendations for and discover new favorite songs & artists in the process! 

So I say, away with my MTV.  Just give me a fast internet connection and I’ll be a happy man. 

:)

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Quickstart Tennis

Monday, March 9th, 2009

Granted, not exactly a technology topic, so consider this article your “timeout” from the computer.  When I’m not staring at my computer screen, I enjoy being outdoors, especially playing sports.  And one of my favorite sports is tennis.   If you or your family is interested in learning the game of tennis, I encourage you to look into a new program called “QuickStart Tennis”.  The basic concept is instead of learning to play tennis on a full size court, you learn to volley on a much smaller court.  It was a concept designed for teaching young children the game of tennis.  With their short attention spans, kids can often become frustrated and bored with learning a new skill that requires much coordination, especially  if they don’t master it quickly.  But frankly, I can see a lot of value in this learning method for adults (ie. parents!), who, too, become just as easily frustrated!  Š

I find tennis to be a most enjoyable sport to play, whether you are doing so competitively or just for fun.  It’s a shame to give up on learning the game so easily.  Tennis, much like other sports, is a skill that can only be developed after much practice and patience.  

Here are some links if you’d like to learn more about this new teaching program:

Quick Start Tennis

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