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Lying Prompts Need for Cleansing!

Lying makes you want to wash your mouth out, LOL! Who thinks up these studies?? I found this on AOL News:

Parents who punished their fibbing children by washing their mouths out with soap may have been onto something.

Researchers at the University of Michigan found that people who lie have the urge to wash their “dirty” mouths afterwards, apparently in an effort to wipe themselves clean of their bad behavior.

“Not only do people want to clean after a dirty deed, they want to clean the specific body part involved,” study author Norbert Schwarz, a psychologist at the university’s Institute for Social Research, said in a statement.

Schwarz and co-author Spike W.S. Lee asked 87 students to pretend they were lawyers who were competing with an imaginary coworker, “Chris,” for a promotion. They were told to picture finding an important document Chris had misplaced. If they gave it back to him, it would help his career and harm theirs.

Participants were instructed to send Chris an e-mail or leave him a voicemail message in which they either told him the truth — that they’d discovered the lost report — or lied to him, saying they couldn’t find the missing paper.

The subjects then had to rate how much they wanted certain products, including mouthwash and hand sanitizer, and what they were willing to pay for them. They were told the items were the focus of a market research survey.

The students who had lied on the phone felt a stronger desire for mouthwash and were willing to pay more for it than those who hadn’t told the truth over e-mail, the authors said. But those who lied over e-mail had a greater wish for hand sanitizer and were willing to pay more for it than those who’d fibbed on the phone, according to the research.

Those who had been truthful had less of an urge to buy either product.

In other words, the scientists concluded, verbal lies compelled the liars to want to buy mouthwash; lying with their hands by typing an untruthful e-mail made them more drawn to hand sanitizer.

“The references to ‘dirty hands’ or ‘dirty mouths’ in everyday language suggest that people think about abstract issues of moral purity in terms of more concrete experiences with physical purity,” Lee, a Michigan doctoral candidate in psychology, said in a statement.

University of Pennsylvania psychiatrist Dr. Christos Ballas told AOL Health that the compulsion to buy hand sanitizer may have been for another reason entirely.

“The preference for hand sanitizer may well be related to the fact that they were typing on someone else’s computer keyboard,” he joked.

He said the scientists should have examined whether the the cleaning products had any impact on the liars’ future behavior.

“An even better study to conduct would be whether the availability of mouthwash/sanitizer reduces ‘guilt’ feelings, or makes it more likely they’ll lie the next time,” Ballas said.

In the end, he believes the findings, which appear in the October issue of Psychological Science, tell us more about the relationship between language and our subconscious than they do about the desire to wash ourselves clean of our sins.

“We interpret this as ‘lies make you feel dirty.’ And so the resultant mouthwash makes sense,” said Ballas. “But this is a purely semantic relationship. What if lies made you feel … small? Would you reach for platform shoes? Thus, the real insight here wouldn’t be that lies make us feel dirty, but that our unconscious is entirely dependent on our language.”

October 1, 2010 Posted by | Character, Cultural, Lies, Statistics, Technical Issue, Values | Leave a comment

Super Harvest Moon Tonight

Thank you, BitJockey, for this news from 13 WMAZ on tonight’s enormous moon.

AdventureMan and I – before we even knew it was the Super Harvest Moon – took a walk tonight and the moon was glorious – glorious.

The autumnal equinox is Wednesday night — 11:09 p.m. sharp — and it’s a full moon, which can only mean one thing: Super Harvest Moon!

The two rarely occur at the same time — in fact; the last time this happened was almost 20 years ago.

A Harvest Moon is simply defined as the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox.
You may be wondering where the term came from. Well, from agriculture! Farmers, before the days of electric lights, depended on bright moonlight to extend the workday beyond sunset. It allowed them to gather their ripening crops in time for market.

The name “Harvest Moon,” came along, as it brought extra harvest.

What can you expect to see? As the sun sets, the full Harvest Moon will rise. The two sources of light will mix together to create a kind of 360-degree, summer-autumn twilight glow that is only seen on rare occasions.

The moon may appear strangely inflated, which is an illusion. A low-hanging moon appears much wider than it really is.

The moon will reach maximum illumination a mere six hours after the equinox. The brilliant planet Jupiter rises a little below the Moon, and they remain close throughout the night.

It is definitely a sight to check out, and with mostly clear skies shouldn’t be a problem in Central Georgia tonight!

Don’t miss it or you’ll have to wait until 2029!

September 22, 2010 Posted by | Beauty, Technical Issue | | 2 Comments

Jupiter Closest Now!

The planet Jupiter is the closest to the earth that it has been in 47 years. Watch from sunset to midnight to catch the clearest glimpse you will get in your lifetime. I found this on AOL Science News where you can read the entire article:

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Sept. 19) – Better catch Jupiter this week in the night sky. It won’t be that big or bright again until 2022.

Jupiter will pass 368 million miles from Earth late Monday, its closest approach since 1963. You can see it low in the east around dusk. Around midnight, it will be directly overhead. That’s because Earth will be passing between Jupiter and the sun, into the wee hours of Tuesday.

The solar system’s largest planet already appears as an incredibly bright star – three times brighter than the brightest star in the sky, Sirius. The only thing brighter in the night sky right now is our moon. Binoculars and telescopes will dramatically improve the view as Jupiter, along with its many moons, rises in the east as the sun sets.

“Jupiter is so bright right now, you don’t need a sky map to find it,” said Tony Phillips, a California astronomer under contract with NASA. “You just walk outside and see it. It’s so eye-catching, there it is.”

September 20, 2010 Posted by | Beauty, Technical Issue | , , | 4 Comments

“Why Are Barns Painted Red?”

This is what I love about long road trips with AdventureMan. We have hours together in the car, and you just never know where the conversations will go.

We saw a lot of barns. Most of them are red.

“Why are barns red?” AdventureMan asked. “Like we just accept that barns are red, when we are kids and we are told to draw a barn, we reach for the red crayon, why is that? Why red?”

So we looked it up at the next wireless stop and found the answer on Wiki answers:

Centuries ago, European farmers would seal the wood on their barns with an oil, often linseed oil — a tawny-colored oil derived from the seed of the flax plant. They would paint their barns with a linseed-oil mixture, often consisting of additions such as milk and lime. The combination produced a long-lasting paint that dried and hardened quickly. (Today, linseed oil is sold in most home-improvement stores as a wood sealant).

Now, where does the red come from?

In historically accurate terms, “barn red” is not the bright, fire-engine red that we often see today, but more of a burnt-orange red.

Farmers added ferrous oxide, otherwise known as rust, to the oil mixture. Rust was plentiful on farms and is a poison to many fungi, including mold and moss, which were known to grown on barns. These fungi would trap moisture in the wood, increasing decay.

Regardless of how the farmer tinted his paint, having a red barn became a fashionable thing. They were a sharp contrast to the traditional white farmhouse.

As European settlers crossed over to America, they brought with them the tradition of red barns. In the mid to late 1800s, as paints began to be produced with chemical pigments, red paint was the most inexpensive to buy. Red was the color of favor until whitewash became cheaper, at which point white barns began to spring up.

Today, the color of barns can vary, often depending on how the barns are used.

My dad and grandpa have been farmers their entire lives and they used to tease us kids that the barn was red because it was the most noticeable when the snow was falling sideways and you could barely see because of the sleet and hail.

September 4, 2010 Posted by | Arts & Handicrafts, Building, color, Cultural, ExPat Life, Living Conditions, Local Lore, Marriage, Relationships, Technical Issue, Travel | 3 Comments

Did You Get the Dashboard Gas Emissions E-mail?

I did.

Here is what I read this morning in the Qatar Gulf Times:

Steamy car interiors do not produce gas: expert
By Sarmad Qazi

The National Campaign for Road Accident Prevention (NCFRAP) yesterday dismissed as “false” a purported e-mail from “Saudi Geophysical and Environmental Consulting” making the rounds, saying that a poisonous gas forms in cars parked under direct sunlight.

There is no such company in Saudi Arabia, it has been learnt. However, a national organisation, “Saudi Geophysical” has been in operation since 1998.

“This is absolutely false. It is true that vehicles parked under direct sunlight get hot, but the formation of any poisonous gas is absolutely ridiculous,” Ademola Ilori, adviser to the Traffic Department said yesterday.

The e-mail cautions motorists to leave the vehicle’s doors well and windows open for a while, to let the “gas” escape.

“Based on scientific research, it is found that there is a gas called gasoline, emitted from the seats, air fresheners and seat covers, when parking your car in the sun particularly when the temperature is higher than 15 degrees Fahrenheit or 6 degress Celsius,” one of the six paragraphs from the e-mail reads.

According to Ilori, on a typical sunny day in Qatar, the temperature inside a parked vehicle can easily exceed 50 degrees C in just ten to twenty minutes.

“Hot weather brings unique challenges to vehicles. It can present dangerous conditions for both the vehicle and its occupants but fortunately most incidents can easily be avoided,” Ilori said.
“Studies show that 75% of the temperature rise occurs within five minutes of closing the doors and goes up to 51-67C within 15 minutes. Leaving the windows (cracking) slightly open does not keep the temperature at a safe level,” he added.

Sharing summer driving tips, the official said that motorists should check oil, transmission fluid, windshield washer, battery level and strength, tyre pressure, etc before taking their vehicles out.
“Drivers need to stay cool as well, by drinking a lot of water (not ice cold) especially those who travel in vehicles without air-conditioning. Of particular importance for motorists is to keep an eye on the lights and gauges when driving in hot weather.

“If your temperature gauge moves up, turn on the heater to its highest and hottest setting. It will be uncomfortable, but it will help draw some of the heat away from the engine. If you are stopped in traffic put the vehicle in “P” (or neutral for manual gears) and lightly step on the gas to help circulate the coolant,” he said.

In case the temperature gauge enters the “red zone”, a vehicle should immediately be pulled off the road and the engine be shut.

However, at this point, motorists should not attempt to remove the radiator cap as the hot pressurised coolant will spray out with great force.

“Do not pour water over the radiator or engine, since a dramatic change in temperature could cause damage. After the engine cools, add a 50-50 mix of coolant and water to the reservoir to bring it up to its proper level,” Ilori said.

July 22, 2010 Posted by | Environment, Lies, Living Conditions, Technical Issue | Leave a comment

Sun in Ultra High Definition

You would never know my Kuwaiti friend is such a nerd. She is beautiful, she is gracious, and she is a lot of fun. She also sends me some of the most wonderful e-mail forwards, great stuff, stuff you can think about and go WOW. She knows I am a nerd, and she loves me anyway. 🙂

Today she sent me a link to Fox News where there is an article with new, ultra high definition series of sun shots – they are purely glorious:

At a second link, you can click on play and listen to the transliterated ‘sound of the sun.’ Give it a try. It is awesome.

June 26, 2010 Posted by | Adventure, Beauty, Experiment, Friends & Friendship, Kuwait, Technical Issue | 8 Comments

Kuwait Bans Blackberry?

I have always loved politics. I don’t love politick-ing, I love watching what politicians do. One of the first rules, in my book, is “Don’t pass laws you can’t enforce.”

It’s pretty basic. Have you ever watched parents who tell their children over and over “Don’t do (whatever)” but they are too lazy to get off their big bottoms to go over and distract the child or to enforce penalties for misbehavior? What happens? The child does – or continues to do – what he or she wants, while the parent either gives up or escalates to a punishment out of proportion to the infraction.

Governments are the same. Don’t make a big noise if you don’t intend – or can’t – follow through. Don’t create penalties you can’t or won’t enforce.

Trying to ban Blackberries in Kuwait – LLLLLOOOOOOLLLLLLLLL! Trying to ban message services? These tech-savvy young people can run circles around the politicians and bureaucrats who try. This is a total hoot.

BlackBerry Ban Eyed
KUWAIT CITY, May 23: The Ministry of Interior is planning to stop BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) service and a decision to this effect might be issued within the next few days, reports Al-Shahid daily. A security source said the service cannot be controlled by the Ministry of Communications or security authorities and hence, users of BlackBerry sets were taking advantage to spread rumors and call for strikes.

He added that the ministry came to the decision after conducting studies and holding several meetings in the last fortnight. The three telecommunication companies in Kuwait, however, said they had not received any official request from the Interior Ministry so far.
Arab Times Online

May 25, 2010 Posted by | Bureaucracy, Communication, Community, Cultural, Generational, Kuwait, Living Conditions, Political Issues, Technical Issue, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Scary Phishing

I received this letter today from Bank of America:

Dear Customer,

We have received an order by phone from you or someone other than you to make changes to one or more of your Bank Of America Online Banking Profile.

If you did not authorize this change(s) please Sign On to your Bank Of America Online Banking and verify/cancel this change.
Sign On below and verify your details and ensure to be accurate. Also, note that entering invalid entries to your details will lead to Online Account lock down.
For your security we have issued this

Click Online Banking Sign On . (this was in hypertext)

Kind regards.
Security Advisor,

Copyright 2010 Bank Of America. All Rights Reserved.

It had the right logo, and purported to be from secureonline@boa.us.

OOps! I need to deny the changes were made by me? Just click right here?

No no no!

I forwarded this e-mail to:

abuse@bankofamerica.com

Who replied with a letter confirming that it was, indeed, a scam.

If you get letters like this pretending to be from your bank, do not click on anything in the letter, but go online to your bank’s online fraud section, get the e-mail address and forward the letter to them. The banks are fighting a bitter battle to protect their customers, and the sooner they know the newest scams, the sooner they can scourge the earth to eliminate these monsters, who will steal your identity and your property and your cash if you let them.

May 15, 2010 Posted by | Bureaucracy, Crime, Financial Issues, Technical Issue | | 2 Comments

Oil Slick Barriers in Pensacola

Last night while we ate at Billy Bob’s, we watched the weather station showing a huge weather system blowing up from Mexico towards the east coast of the US. It wouldn’t be so bad except there is that huge oil slick sitting out there, and no matter where it hits, it is going to be bad.

The beaches here are sugary white beaches, and the sand is like powder. If oil hits these beaches, they will be damaged for years and years to come.

Worse, there are all kinds of wetlands that can be damaged, and shrimp farming, and shell fish of all kinds, not to mention the water birds and the marine life. It is one huge, horrible mess.

We saw the barriers going up along the Pensacola Coast, and shudder at how small and ineffective they seem against the gallons of oil spewing into the Gulf on an hourly basis. It is a horror.

In our church, we pray for “this fragile earth, our island home . . . ”

God of all power, Ruler of the Universe
you are worthy of glory and praise.
Glory to you for ever and ever.
At your command all things came to be:
the vast expanse of interstellar space,
galaxies, suns, the planets in their courses,
and this fragile earth, our island home.
By your will they were created and have their being.

(Eucharistic Prayer C, Book of Common Prayer, p. 370)

Please, when you are praying, give a little prayer for all the communities along the Gulf Coast threatened with this man-made tragedy.

May 2, 2010 Posted by | Beauty, Florida, Health Issues, Living Conditions, Technical Issue, Weather | Leave a comment

The ’50’s Automatic Car Wash

Not too far from where we will live is this old fashioned car-wash, with all these car washing machines.

It costs $5.00. That is it. No additional taxes, it is all included. You can get the fancier treatments, but I just needed to get the pollen and sap off my new car. Within seconds, I was in, and finished.

It could make you a little claustrophobic (well, it makes me just a little claustrophobic) because you have NO control! You have to keep your hand off the steering wheel and your foot off the brake! You just sit there while water shoots from different directions, and then you are covered with soap suds and you cannot see a thing except the lights from the car in front of you, oh no!

And then huge gusts of wind and it is over except for the optional – and free – vacuums you can use to clean out the car interior.

My car looked like new! I think me and the 50’s car wash are going to be good friends.

It does remind me of the automatic car wash we used to visit in Saudi Arabia. In a country where labor is cheap and the harshness of the weather and climate makes specialized machinery hard to maintain, things happen. We don’t know if the machines broke and couldn’t be fixed or whether they were sabotaged, but while it was billed as an “automatic” car wash, it was this thing where the car got on tracks but while water squirted and suds squirted, there were people, not brushes, with rags and towels, washing, drying, spraying, scrubbing and finally buffing. The end result was the same, but people, not machines, did the work.

April 14, 2010 Posted by | Adventure, Cultural, Customer Service, ExPat Life, Financial Issues, Humor, Living Conditions, Local Lore, Pensacola, Saudi Arabia, Technical Issue | Leave a comment