This week's compendium

Here’s this week’s compendium. This week…

1. the Zephyr unmanned solar plane set a record of 14 days 24 minutes aloft, thanks to its photovoltaic panels and lithium-sulphur batteries [1]. Go, Zephyr.

2. Blade Electric Vehicles [2a], Australia’s leading electric car manufacturer blasted the federal government for choosing an imported model to be our first electric trial fleet – even though Blade’s car’s better, cheaper and had been developed with federal government funding [2b]. Ho hum.

3. the effectiveness of so-called Hands-Only CPR, i.e. with heart compression only, was found no less than CPR that also includes respiratory assistance [3a, 3b]. It’s easier too, of course.

4. I learnt of the GrowFood website that matches farmers with potential paid or volunteer farmworkers [4a, 4b]. Pity it’s currently limited to US farms.

5. Nutrition Diva told us how to store half an avocado [5]. Yep.

6. Get-It-Done Guy offered advice on how to respond to important emails [6]. You’ve no excuses from now on.

7. Australian airlines said they have no policy to deal with overweight or obese passengers – even though the public wanted one [7]. As weight affects aircraft fuel consumption, lighter passengers should get a bigger baggage allowance – and vice versa.

8. the Age’s Jason Koutsoukis wrote that ‘Israeli troops removed several trees on the Lebanese side of the border fence that separates the two countries without incident’ [8]. The fence’s 200-300 metres on the Israeli side of the border. Even UNIFIL said so – as Koutsoukis wrote at the end of his article. Yet again Koutsoukis didn’t let the truth spoil a good story. He’s an apologist – not a journalist.

Finally, I wish you, dear Farmdoc’s Blog readers, a wonderful week.

This week's compendium

Here’s this week’s compendium. This week…

1. a new luxury shopping mall opened. Where? In Gaza [1]. What humanitarian crisis?

2. a study concluded that compared with normal-weight men, obese men reported more erectile function [2]. If you can’t see it, you can’t know what it’s doing.

3. the same study concluded that compared with normal-weight women, obese women were more likely to report unintended pregnancies. If you can’t see where he’s putting it…

4. the Port Phillip Leader reported that yet more trees in Albert Park are set for the chop [4]. What goes around, comes around. Will the Park’s subjugation never end?

5. though the American YMCA changed it’s name to the Y, the Village People are holding tight [5a]. And so’s the Aussie YMCA [5b].

6. the Get-It-Done Guy tells us how to prioritise [6]. Maybe some day I’ll learn.

7. in a 3-year controlled experiment on 345 people with hip arthritis, an avocado-soybean extract produced a statistically significant reduction in radiographic disease progression [7]. Ain’t Mother Nature grand.

8. that ‘amazing little farm punching well above its weight’ won a Gold Medal in the ‘From The Earth’ category at delicious. magazine’s 2010 Produce Awards [8]. Congratulations, Daylesford Organics. I’m so proud of you.

Finally, I wish you, dear Farmdoc’s Blog readers, a wonderful week.

Get your mojo working

Do you know what a mojo is? I didn’t, until yesterday. In its original meaning, in the African-American folk belief called hoodoo, a mojo’s a small bag worn under the clothes, often made of red flannel and tied with a drawstring, and containing animal, vegetable and/or mineral products thought to have supernatural powers, e.g. protecting from evil, bringing good luck [1, 2]. This is the meaning of mojo in the 1956 song [3, 4] immortalised by McKinley Morganfield, a.k.a. Muddy Waters (pictured) [5]

Latterly the meaning of mojo’s extended to include libido, charm, charisma, karma, talent, self-confidence, energy, cool, magical uniqueness; and cocaine [6].

All this introduces a piece titled ‘How to Get Your Mojo Back’, by the Get-It-Done Guy [7]. Quoting author Marshall Goldsmith, he defines mojo as ‘the combination of happiness and meaning that excites and motivates you’. He separates personal and professional mojo – which I think’s wrong because the former’s all-encompassing. And his suggested approach seems overmechanical. But I fully agree with his premise: that if your mojo’s vanished or lost, you need to get it back. In other words, ‘…when you find exactly which activities are driving your mojo down, fix them, eliminate them, or delegate them to regain your mojo’. So get your mojo working, folks.