farmdoc's blog post number 657

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

1. I came across Greenpeace’s recently released Guide to Greener Electronics 14th Edition [1]. Makes for interesting reading.

2. the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society reported on Australian research which concluded that among the elderly, having a Body Mass Index in the overweight range (25.0 to 29.9) may confer a lower mortality risk than having one in the normal range (18.5 to 24.9) [2]. Counterintuitive, but interesting. More research is needed.

3. top Hamas commander Mahmoud Abdel Raouf Al-Mabhouh, who was in charge of smuggling weapons and explosives from Iran into Gaza, died in his Dubai hotel room [3]. He who lives by the sword, dies by the sword.

4. Hepburn Wind announced it had placed an order with a German company for the supply of two wind turbines, and their installation at Leonards Hill (near Daylesford) [4]. Wonderful news – for the community and the planet.

5. current Australian of the Year, Professor Patrick McGorry, was appointed a patron of RSPCA Tasmania. He’s the brother of RSPCA Tasmania director Suzanne Cass [5]. WTF – ignoring the nepotism, the good professor doesn’t even live in Tasmania.

6. I read and liked this Journal Watch Psychiatry titled ‘How to Stay Healthy’ [6]. Sounds eminently sensible to me.

7. Nutrition Diva wrote that to get the most nutrient from citrus fruits, when you peel them, leave some of the white pith attached to the fruit [7]. Why not.

8. Darling Indi, Jazzy and Zephyr started the new school year. I hope they have a fun time. And that they learn a bit along the way – which they’ll do if they have a fun time.

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

farmdoc's blog post number 646

Yahoo Answers! I’ve belittled it [1]. But when I sought the provenance of the aphorism ‘The more things change the more they stay the same’, Yahoo Answers! offered the best account [2]. (Its origin is French, dating from the nineteenth century.) Why did I search for it? Because Farmdoc’s Blog’s 2009 Australia Day post [3] is just as applicable today. If not more so. I continue to feel blessed I live in a free and democratic nation. But simultaneously I’m ashamed of its weak-kneed approach to the mankind’s greatest problem – due to its subservience to Big Business and especially the coal industry. Fie! The 2009 Australian of the Year – Mick Dodson – was well known, a celebrity even, but at least not a sportsman or entertainer. Which is a step in the right direction. His 2010 successor – 57-year-old Professor Patrick McGorry (pictured) – was, until his appointment last evening, not even well known. Which is a further step in the right direction. From Victoria, he’s a youth psychologist and an advocate for mentally ill young people [4]. I’m 110% in favour of his appointment. Talking of numbers, he was clear favourite to win, with betting agency Centrebet rating his odds at $1.36 – well ahead of his nearest rival at $3, with the third favourite a distant $9 [5]. This year’s the 50th anniversary of the first Australian of the Year [6]. Unless major global warming abatement happens soon, there mightn’t be an Australian of the Year in 2060. Ho hum.