7 hours of sleep is what you need

WASHINGTON - PEOPLE who sleep more or fewer than seven hours a day, including naps, are increasing their risk for cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in the United States, a study published on Sunday shows.

Sleeping fewer than five hours a day, including naps, more than doubles the risk of being diagnosed with angina, coronary heart disease, heart attack or stroke, the study conducted by researchers at West Virginia University's (WVU) faculty of medicine and published in the journal 'Sleep' says.

And sleeping more than seven hours also increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, it says. Study participants who said they slept nine hours or longer a day were one-and-a-half times more likely than seven-hour sleepers to develop cardiovascular disease, the study found. The most at-risk group was adults under 60 years of age who slept five hours or fewer a night. They increased their risk of developing cardiovascular disease more than threefold compared to people who sleep seven hours.

Women who skimped on sleep, getting five hours or fewer a day, including naps, were more than two-and-a-half times as likely to develop cardiovascular disease. Short sleep duration was associated with angina, while both sleeping too little and sleeping too much were associated with heart attack and stroke, the study says.

A separate study, also published in 'Sleep", showed that an occasional long lie-in can be beneficial for those who can't avoid getting too little sleep. In that study, David Dinges, who heads the sleep and chronobiology unit at the University of Pennsylvania school of medicine, found that 142 adults whose sleep was severely restricted for five days - as it is for many people during the work week - had slower reaction times and more trouble focusing.

But after a night of recovery sleep, the sleep-deprived study participants' alertness improved significantly, and the greatest improvements were seen in those who were allowed to spend 10 hours in bed after a week with just four hours' sleep a night. 'An additional hour or two of sleep in the morning after a period of chronic partial sleep loss has genuine benefits for continued recovery of behavioral alertness,' Mr Dinges said. -- AFP

Just a side track!:



(Another side-track: DID YOU KNOW YOU CAN PLAY SNAKES WHILE WAITING FOR THE VIDEO TO LOAD? PRESS YOUR ARROWS, ONLY WHEN VIDEO IS LOADING!!!)


About the article:

• < 7 hours of sleep (including naps) = Increase risks of angina, coronary heart disease, heart attack or stroke



• > 7 hours of sleep (including naps) = Increase risk of cardiovascular disease



• The most at-risk group was adults under 60 years of age who slept five hours or fewer a night. They increased their risk of developing cardiovascular disease more than threefold compared to people who sleep seven hours.

My point of view:

It is indeed scary as it seems that nowadays, we are having less than 7 hours of sleep.

Sleep IS vital, but due to our modern daily lives, it is not easy having to sleep in peace for exactly 7 hours.

Did you know that there is no such thing as "replenish your sleep" the next day?

Our body works like clocks. So once you past this amount of time, it "refreshes" again and starts off for the new day.

So no matter how much you "pay back", you will not get back lost time.

Source: Some article I came across a few weeks back

I had plenty to write until I got distracted with the YouTube video.

To end off, I hope you find this post useful some way or another.

something FISHY in Resorts World

HOW MUCH WOULD YOU PAY FOR THIS FISH?





In this incident, a customer paid

SGD$1,224


A 35-year-old diner and four friends feasted on a steamed fish dish at a restaurant in Resorts World Sentosa (RWS). At the end of the meal, upon receiving the bill, his jaw hit the ground.

What seemed like a simple dish ended up costing a whopping S$1,224.

The diner, who only wanted to be known as Mr Liu, took his four friends to RWS’ Feng Shui Inn restaurant on June 12. He had initially asked for marble goby, better known locally as “soon hock”, but was told there was no stock for the fish.

A waiter then recommended the white sultan fish instead. The group agreed, without enquiring about the cost of the dish. But when the bill arrived, the five diners were shocked to find that the single sultan fish, weighing 1.8kg, set them back by a staggering S$1,224.

“(The waiter) didn’t mention the price (of the fish), and we also didn’t think too much about it and just said okay,” Mr Liu told Lianhe Wanbao.

He complained about the price of the fish during payment and the restaurant responded by giving him a 15% discount on the bill as a gesture of goodwill.

“The customer has the right to know and the restaurant should have made clear its price so we could decide whether it was worth it,” Mr Liu said.

In response to the incident, an RWS spokesman claims that the practice of not disclosing menu prices is common in upscale restaurants. “It is not always appropriate to state menu prices to high-end customers who have come to expect a certain discretion when they entertain high-level guests, ” he explains.

RWS conceded that the incident could have been a “lapse of judgement” but it was smoothed over quickly with an on-the-spot discount.

But is S$68 per 100g for a sultan fish a reasonable amount?

A quick comparison with Capital Restaurant, which has been selling sultan fish for 36 years, reveals that the dish can go for as low as S$6 per 100g. This is less than a tenth of Fengshui Inn’s price tag on the fish.

Chef Pung Lu Tin, 50, of Seafood International Market and Restaurant, explained the sultan fish is sought-after because it was not easy to catch. He added that its meat was “very smooth”.

“The flesh is tender and snow white. It’s a wild river fish, so it eats fruits that drops from trees and bears the fragrance of fruit,” Chef Huang Ching Biao, 58, kitchen operations director at Jin Shan restaurant at MBS told The New Paper.

But despite its draw, both chefs added that they have not come across any commanding such a high price. One seafood distributor known only as Mr Lee even described the price of the fish at Fengshui Inn as “outrageous”.

This seafood shocker is reminiscent of an incident that occurred in March last year, where six American tourists were charged S$239 for a mere eight tiger prawns at Newton hawker centre.

The stall involved had its licence suspended for three months by the National Environment Agency (NEA) for breaching licencing conditions.

Incidents like these throw the spotlight on questionable charging practices in Singapore. For a country positioning itself as a tourism hub, these bad dining experiences are sure to leave a bitter after-taste.

credits: x


---

Upon reading the article, 3 point of view came to my mind.
The customer - Mr Liu, the waiter's, and my own.

From the customer's view:

It is of the waiter's responsibility to recommend the most suitable (in this scenario) fish, for the customer.
And of course, to suit the customer's budget.
Thus, it is his responsibility to inform the customer the price.

Fortunately (or not), the customers are always right.

The report states that the Sultan Fish sold in Resort world costs $68 per 100g, while over in regular restaurants, it can cost as low as $6 per 100g.
That's more than 6 fold of the original price!

It was apparent that Mr Liu was smoothed quickly after the on-the-spot discount given.
The restaurant gave an immediate 15% discount upon receiving the feedback.
15% of the price of the fish means $183.60 off! What a saving!

Moving on, From the waiter's view:

It is unfortunate that the highly-favored fish has been sold out.
Thus having to recommend a quality fish is important judgment call considering that (and of course assuming) that the customers are of affluent background.

Having not to mention the price, it may be on deliberate as the staffs may have been briefed on not mentioning on the price because some customers may get offended as a matter of fact.
Simple as it seems, the customers may feel that they are being "under-estimated" or "looked-down" on.

Last but not least, From MY view:

I feel that both the waiter and the customer are at fault, in their own ways.

The customer should had asked for the price, while the waiter should had mentioned.
But suggesting the fact that perhaps the waiter may had been briefed not to mention in case of any unforeseen circumstances, it is of the customer's responsibility to ask.

Because it is always better to ask.

Indeed the fish may be overpriced by more than 6 folds, it is of obvious reasons.

It was not mentioned on which restaurant in particular, but it was stated Resort World Sentosa.

Learning from this article, I hereby conclude that in future when opportunity arises for me to visit Resort World Sentosa,

• I will not eat in restaurants
  
• If i do i will ask for the price
  
• I will not order fish!

Let's just stick with grilled chicken chop.



Thanks for reading! ;)

2010 generation

FIRST, there was a spate of pictures of teens getting intimate in secluded staircase landings.

Now, it appears as if teenagers are becoming more and more brazen - in school uniform - going by pictures and comments on citizen journalism website Stomp.

Teenagers have been pictured making out on crowded buses and on trains, in full view of other commuters, oblivious to those around them. They kiss and sometimes fondle each other openly.

Stomp receives an average of four such pictures a month, said editor Chew V Ming.

Most of those responding say the teenagers are being disrespectful and behaving downright inappropriately.

One such disgusted Stomp contributor, known only as Wee, took pictures of two secondary school students in school uniform making out on a crowded bus on April 23 and sent it to Stomp.

He was so annoyed that he scolded the two teenagers on the bus.

He told Stomp: "Why are students wearing school uniform and making out in public for everyone to see all the time?

"They should have some sense of shame and show more consideration to the members of the public.

Some of the people who were sitting behind them had to resort to moving to the front seats so that they wouldn't have to tolerate such a scene for the whole journey."

Two days before that, another Stomp contributor sent pictures of another teenage couple sitting on the floor of an MRT platform and kissing openly.

Said the Stomp contributor: "By doing this in public, you are not only bringing down the name of your school but also being a disgrace in public.

- Asiaone

Click here for article


There's always a "growing up stage".
And definitely not everyone will you on your side.
So you have your first love, first kiss, and the list goes on.

Most of us have past our "i don't care how people look at me" stage, mainly because we've grown out of it.

Honestly, I feel that the society should not scold or lecture the kids because first of all,
how are you related to them? No one.
Would they even bother? Answer is no.

That is because you are NO ONE to them. Unless you claim you're their long lost relative.

So what should you do? Definitely the uploading pictures to stomp issue should stop because you should respect the kids' privacy.

Just call the police! They'll handle everything.

How? By taking the kids' details down. I.e Name, I/c number, address, school.

First timers runs away with warnings.

I have no clue about second timers but I assume letters would be sent?

Image you get a letter from the police stating,

"Dear parents of (child name), your child, ________ (i/c number here) has been found kissing in public."

How awkward if your dad reads it.

In short, it takes 2 hands to clap.

Kids could keep their tongue in their own mouth.
And the audience should buy a iPad each and watch youtube - Annoying Orange throughout their journey.

But if you happen to see it, FILE A REPORT!

That is why the train station has been saying, "If you see anything suspicious, inform our staff or call 999."

Interesting controversy.

Stopping a potentially devastating slick from a damaged oil well in the Gulf of Mexico is only part of the headache currently facing BP.



The company also faces a massive clean-up bill, plus legal action from those affected and possible damage to its global brand.



It is not the first time BP has faced controversy and anger in the US.



An explosion at a refinery in south Houston in 2005 killed 15 people and injured 170, the worst US industrial accident since 1990.



BP leases the Deepwater Horizon rig that suffered a huge explosion on 20 April and later sank. Eleven workers are still missing, presumed dead.



As alarm spread through US coastal communities most at threat from the giant spill, White House spokesman Nick Shapiro said on Thursday that the cost of cleaning up the spill would fall on BP.



Tony Hayward, BP's chief executive, was quick to grasp the gravity of the situation, flying to the US shortly after the accident, and saying his company was being "very aggressive" in its approach to the problem.



"This is the biggest response by anyone in the industry ever, and we're able to do it because we planned for it," he said. "We will be judged by our response."



Doug Suttles, BP's chief operating officer of exploration and production, said the company was spending $6m a day trying to clean up the spill and stop the leak.



It is more likely to prompt a gut feeling [in the markets] that the crisis will be expensive and damaging for the company

Russell Corn, corporate analysis firm Diligence



But he said it wasn't clear what had caused the spillage.



He told US broadcaster ABC: "The company that owned the drilling rig and that owned the blow-up preventer was Transocean and they were actually operating the rig.



"At the time the accident happened, the safety devices, we would have believed would have stopped the flow of oil, they didn't do that. We don't know why they didn't do that and ultimately we will find out."



BP's share price has already taken a big hit - dropping by 6.5% on Thursday after the US Coast Guard said five times as much oil as previously estimated was pouring into the gulf.



In all, BP stock has fallen by about 4.5% since the explosion.



'Wave of litigation'



Oil industry expert Michael Lynch, writing on the website of Gerson Lehrman Group, said containment and remedial costs could easily exceed $500m - and a wave of litigation seems sure to follow.



"Control of the well is without question the responsibility of BP," he said.



-Extract of BBC news



My thoughts on this article:



Whenever I chance upon an article with regards to oil spills, it saddens me as the thought of so many marine life dying because of the spillage/explosion.



Not only, this also leads to global warming.

It is indeed amazing how one things leads to another.



Even though the company has been fined, but from my point of view, money is not everything.



But my question is, what now? The company paid a huge amount of fine but what cause does will it occur to the environment?



Many marine animals' lives have been lost in such accident.

As Scientists are trying to breed specific species to stop extinction, it is an irony that such accidents happens.



I feel that at the rate oil spillages occurs, not only does that affect the marine animals lives, it will also affect the economy.



This is because, since many oil has been lost during the spillage, therefore we will not entitled to that much amount of oil. Oil will become scarce thus the raise in oil prices.



And when prices increases, taxi fares (for an example) will increase.



And when taxi fares increases, people like me won't be able to take a cab to school when we're running late because the price is simply too expensive.



See the impact? Do you see the chain effect?



To summarize my entire junk of words, it's an extract of an article from BBC news & my point of view about oil spillage and the effects of it.

There, now we all know what we are having difficulties pronouncing that volcano's name.

Blame the cat for that.



The pronunciation for the Eyjafjallajokull Volcano as "AY-yah-fyah-lah-YOH-kuu".

Tongue twisting much?

I'm supposed to write something fabulous here so that I can get an A for eff com.