Month: June 2004

Spinach power is not just for Popeye, it could work for computers too. US researchers have made electrical cells that are powered by plant proteins.

The biologically based solar cells, which convert light into electrical energy, should be efficient and cheap to manufacture, says co-creator Marc Baldo of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. They could even be used to coat and power laptops, providing a portable source of green energy.

Baldo’s team isolated a variety of photosynthetic proteins from spinach and sandwiched them between two layers of conducting material. When light was shone on to the tiny cell, an electrical current was generated. [Ball]

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Ball, Philip. “Could laptops run on spinach?: Solar cells turn over a new leaf.” Nature. 28 June 2004. <www.nature.com/nsu/040621/040621-9.html> (30 June 2004).

Few recent graduates likely would picture themselves on a year-long road trip across the United States in a 27-foot hot dog, but not so for Amanda Robinson.

After graduating in May 2003, Robinson accepted a position as “hotdogger” with Oscar Mayer.

“I was lucky enough to cut the mustard, and knew there was no job that would offer me the same experience, independence or knowledge as being a hotdogger,” Robinson says. “I knew this job could provide me with unparalleled experience in many aspects including marketing, event planning, media, public relations and so forth.”

Robinson began her self-described “coast-to-coast weenie roast” in June 2003. She has since traveled as far south as Texas and as far west as California, cruising about 500 miles per week. By the end of her journey, she will have traveled nearly 30,000 miles and added another chapter to Penn State’s relationship with the Wienermobile.

Since 1988, Penn State has produced 16 hotdoggers from a variety of colleges and majors. [Sampsell]

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Sampsell, Steve. “Wienermobile a popular choice for students.” Penn State Live. 23 June 2004. <live.psu.edu/story/7239> (30 June 2004).

Breakfast was a bowl of pineapple and banana slices, a glass of orange juice, and a cup of coffee. I weighed 155 pounds.

At the office I had a cup of green tea.

In the morning I walked over to the Lasch Football Building to check out their wiring for a new network. It was probably three miles, round trip.

Lunch was a spinach salad with feta cheese and Balsamic Vinaigrette and two slices of Italian bread. I went for a three mile walk around campus afterward.

I had an apricot slush after work.

Dinner was another slice of Gretchen’s Turkey pie, a garden salad, and a bottle of Saranac Pale Ale with a hand full of peanuts for dessert.

Breakfast was a bowl of pineapple and banana slices, a glass of orange juice, and a cup of coffee. I weighed 156 pounds.

I had another cup of coffee at the office.

Lunch was a romaine salad with feta cheese and Balsamic Vinaigrette and two slices of Italian bread. I took a four mile walk around campus and along the way I stopped at the IST building and grabbed a point of Penn State Creamery chocolate milk.

I ate a banana late in the afternoon.

For dinner, Gretchen made some really delicious Turkey Pot Pie, a spinach salad with cucumer, feta cheese, and Balsamic Vinaigrette, and two bottles of Saranac Pale Ale.

I was suspicious of the part about how to “nourish your vetebral disks,” but it does sound vaguely plausible:

Stretching helps counteract the muscle shortening that results from hours of sitting at a desk. Not only is that prolonged sitting poor at burning calories, studies suggest it may also increase the risk of generalized aches and pains, hike the odds of developing blood clots in the legs and raise the risk of developing herniated disks in the back.

“The only way that intervertebral disks can get nutrition is to move them, since they don’t have a blood supply,” [said Michael Bracko, an exercise physiologist with the Institute for Hockey Research and the Occupational Performance Institute, both in Calgary, Alberta]. “That’s why it’s a really good idea to stand up every 60 to 90 minutes throughout the day and do maybe five stretches.”

…

Here’s what Bracko advises to help desk jockeys stay stretched and flexible. As always, check first with your doctor if you have any health problems:

Counteract desk hunching. Stand with arms hanging at sides. Raise arms to make the shape of a cross. Keep elbows straight. Turn palms up, point thumbs back. Hold for five to 10 counts. Repeat throughout the day.

Stop in the name of stretch! Plinking a keyboard and keeping your hands on the mouse can take a toll on wrist flexors and extensors, which in turn can increase risk for carpal tunnel syndrome, tennis and golfer’s elbow. Standing or seated, put your right arm out in front of you, palm out like you’re stopping traffic. Keep elbow straight. Use left hand to gently pull the fingers of the right hand toward your face. Hold for about 10 counts. Repeat on other side. Then, with both arms straight out in front of you make fists and move hands toward floor to stretch wrist. Hold for 10 counts. If that’s uncomfortable, start with five and gradually build up to 10. Relax briefly. Repeat.

Find your inner cat. This will help nourish your vetebral disks. Stand. Bend knees slightly, placing hands just above knees. Now arch your back gently up and then down like a cat. The middle of the back should move the most and with it, all vetebrae. This exercise “is really good for getting nutrition to the disks and to loosen up the back,” Bracko said.

Be hip. Hip flexors often tighten with sitting. Stand. Place left leg forward, right leg back. Bend both knees slightly. Keep feet flat. Move hips slightly forward. Hold position for 10 counts, gradually increasing time to one minute. Repeat on other side.

Tune your hamstrings. Tight hamstrings are a common complaint of the desk bound. Stand and elevate your right leg on something stable that is about 12 to 16 inches high. (A wastebasket or open desk drawer will do.) If needed, place one hand on a wall, door knob or file cabinet for balance. Keep both knees slightly bent, especially the elevated knee. With back straight, slowly lean forward until you feel hamstring stretch at the back of the thigh. Stick out your derriere to stretch hamstrings farther. Hold for 10 counts. Repeat on other side. [Squires]

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Squires, Sally. “Week Five: Desk Sets.” The Washington Post. 27 April 2004. <www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A44831-2004Apr26> (29 June 2004).

Tonight’s MBNA Fitness Center workout:

1. 5 minute warm-up on the treadmill at 4.2 miles-per-hour
2. 12¹ repetitions at 125 pounds on the Compound Row
3. 12¹ repetitions at 60 pounds on the Overhead Press
4. 11 repetitions at 75 pounds on the Lateral Raise
5. 12³ repetitions at 125 pounds on the Lower Back
6. Broken Abdominal.
7. 12² repetitions at 55 pounds on the Biceps Curl
8. 12² repetitions at 45 pounds on the Triceps Extension
9. 8 repetitions at 5+1 on the Leg Curl
10. 12³ repetitions at 100 pounds on the Leg Extension
11. 11 repetitions at 90 pounds on the Super Pullover
12. 10 repetitions at 135 pounds on the Lat Pulldown
13. 12¹ repetitions at 70 pounds on the Vertical Chest
14. 8 repetitions at 65 pounds on the Incline Press
15. 8 repetitions at 90 pounds on the Seated Dip
16. 12³ repetitions at 105 pounds on the Adductor
17. 12³ repetitions at 195 pounds on the Abductor
18. Campers on the Rear Delt
19. 9 repetitions at 100 pounds on the Pec Fly
20. Campers on the Rotary Torso

Breakfast was a bowl of pineapple and banana slices, a glass of orange juice, and a cup of coffee. I weighed 156 pounds.

I had another cup of coffee at the office. One of the managers brought in doughnuts this morning, so I also had a cake doughnut. Mmmm… forbidden donut.

Lunch was a spinach salad with feta cheese and Balsamic Vinaigrette. It was raining today, so I did not take a walk.

I ate a banana late in the afternoon.

I had an apricot slush after work.

Dinner was roasted root vegetables — potatoes, carrots, and rutabagas — pan fried sweet haiku turnips with garlic scapes, a buttercrunch salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette, and a bottle of Saranac Pale Ale.

The Lift for Life event will take place on July 8, 2004, the Thursday of another State College tradition: Arts Fest! This year?s event will be open to the public, so plan on coming to watch while you?re in town. A minimum donation of $10 per person or $25 per family will be asked at the door…

The event is a strength competition where Penn State football players and other student athletes complete as teams of four in a 11 event challenge. The exercises range from the ordinary (bench press) to the extreme (giant tire flip).

I was disappointed to find this in my RSS aggregator this morning:

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I am not sure why, since there still seems to be a Dining & Wine section at The New York Times.

Breakfast was a bowl of pineapple and banana slices and two cups of coffee. I weighed 157 pounds.

Lunch was two grilled cheese sandwiches — that Gretchen made using some of her homemade Italian bread and topped with a slice of bacon… tasty! — and a bottle of Saranac Pale Ale.

During the afternoon I had another bottle of Saranac Pale Ale.

While we made dinner, Gretchen made us each an apricot slush.

Dinner was chicken marsala, pan fried asparagus, a spinach salad with feta cheese and Balsamic Vinaigrette, and a bottle of Saranac Pale Ale.