Daryl’s Brain

I love the “How Stuff Works” site!  One of my favorites.  Today, I read up on how to prevent a heart attack and learned some interesting things.  I’ve summed up the full article below and marked the ones that had surprising information (to me) in them with an *, but you’ll need to read the article to find out what the surprise is.

10 Steps to Avoiding a Heart Attack

#10 Exercise; specifically cardiovascular exercise
#9* Sleep; get 8 hours of sleep each night
#8* Aspirin; A daily, low amount can help
#7 Lower your cholesterol
#6 Lower your blood pressure
#5 Chill out; relax dude
#4 Stop smoking; obvious, but awfully difficult
#3* Undergo preventive screenings; hmmmmmmmm
#2 Know your family medical history

And the number 1 step to preventing a heart attack is…

#1 Adopt a heart-healthy diet

Okay, so most of this I already know, and some of it I even already follow.  At least that’s what I initially thought.  Then I thought “wait…how much of it do I really already follow?”  Well, lets see.

#10 – I’ve decided to start, but only just.
#9 – I try, but usually fail
#8 – Not at all
#7 – Haven’t thought about it
#6 – Haven’t thought about it
#5 – If you know me, you know I’m usually relaxed.  Often when stressed.
#4 – Done.  (btw, NEVER tell someone to “just quit!”  It doesn’t work like that.)
#3 – Never done.
#2 – I know my immediate family’s history.
#1 – What’s a heart-healthy diet???

My answer to #1 was not rhetorical.  I clicked on the links to figure out what they thought a heart-healthy diet was and why.  They listed out the top five foods in such a diet.  Again, I will list them, but you will need to read the article.

#5 Whole grains
#4 Legumes
#3 Alcohol – huh
#2 Nuts
#1 Fish

So, my conclusion is that I need to think more about this and make a couple of changes.  Of the top ten things to do to prevent a heart attack I have 3/10 which isn’t the best odds in the world.

How many of the ten items do you think you have achieved?

In an attempt to distract my mind so it won’t blubber like a little girl at how much it misses Stella, I will put forth another question to everyone:

What is the most important room in a house for you and why?

For me, it is the private study that is accessed by that secret passage way behind the library’s bookshelf. It is important to me because it is a place where I can read without being disturbed.

One of the evolutions in the World Wide Web that has occurred over the years is the move from personal websites to blogs (web logs). This is so prevalent, in fact, that it is considered one of the defining characteristics of Web 2.0 (a silly catch phrase meaning the latest internet trends). So, with that in mind, I would like to ask you the following question:

“Seeing as blogs keep friends, family, and others up-to-date with what’s going on, and forums allow for public and private discussions of issues and concerns, what’s the purpose of a personal website?”

(The question is intentionally very broad.)

I am very interested to hear what people have to say about this. If you know someone who has their own website, ask them this question and let me know what the answer is (or direct them to this post). I know what I think, but that’s only what I think. I would like to know what everyone else thinks. Also, if you feel that you have a lot to say about this, just post a summary and then contact me directly with your detailed answer.

I am especially interested in the opinions of people who do NOT work in the IT industry, but I will listen to everyone’s opinion with the same attentiveness.