Peon's Place

Another for-women-only post. I had been debating on whether or not to put these two up, but was encouraged by (female) friends when I asked their opinions.

I found this article in the NY Times. Reported this week in the Archives of Internal Medicine, this is based on a study of 19,220 United States women aged 39 or older who, at the start of the study, fell into the “normal weight” category based on their body mass index. They tracked the drinking habits across the span of 13 years; about 60 percent of the women were light or regular drinkers, while about 40 percent reported drinking no alcohol.

Over the course of the study, 41 percent of the women became overweight or obese. Although alcohol is packed with calories (about 150 in a six-ounce glass of wine), the nondrinkers in the study actually gained more weight over time: nine pounds, on average, compared with an average gain of about three pounds among regular moderate drinkers. The risk of becoming overweight was almost 30 percent lower for women who consumed one or two alcohol beverages a day, compared with nondrinkers.

Metabolic studies show that after men drink alcohol, they experience little if any metabolic change. But alcohol appears to slightly speed up a woman’s metabolism. The link between consumption of red wine and less weight gain was particularly pronounced in the Archives study. It has been suggested that resveratrol, a compound present in grapes and red wine, appears to inhibit the development of fat cells and to have other antiobesity properties.

The findings don’t mean women should rush to drink alcohol to lose weight. Other research shows that once a person is already overweight, her alcohol metabolism is more efficient, and so an overweight woman may gain more weight from alcohol than a lean woman. The data do, however, suggest that for many women facing weight problems, the extra calories are probably not coming from alcoholic beverages.

In a nutshell, a glass or two of wine a night, may actually help you.

I’ve long known about the hormonal benefits of the birth control pill. Not just the obvious contraceptive usage, but all of the beneficial side effects; or rather, the reason that it controls female bodily functions.

A new study has shown several health effects related to women on the drug; death from any cause was 12 percent lower among birth control pill users than among those who never took the drugs. Mostly from what I see, there is a lower risk of attracting cancer, heart disease, etc.

Read the article if you’re interested!

While, yes, we do have Pandora streaming on the iPhone / iPod Touch, there is one thing critically lacking; flash to play Netflix / Hulu content. YouTube doesn’t always cut it.

I enjoy being able to watch Netflix movies off of my Xbox 360 at home on my big screen, instead of on my smaller (22″) computer monitors, or my nifty new 15.6″ laptop. But now portability comes into play. Netflix streaming on my iPhone!

When connected to Wi-Fi only, Netflix will soon be able to allow you to view movies on your device; fun for a coffee shop sit, or while walking around cities which grant free Wi-Fi, such as Mountain View and San Jose. Even airplanes now offer free Wi-Fi.

For a further read-up on this amazingness, click here.

The L5 Remote has been introduced, and at a cheap price, will replace (supposedly) all remote controls in your house.

This will cute down the remote control clutter that has taken over your coffee table. If you’re like me, you have at least three remote controls sitting there. I was smart enough to purchase my plasma TV and 5-disc DVD system as Panasonic, so my DVD remote fully works with my Television set; however I still have my DVR remote (which does not work for my DVD player), a rarely used Xbox360/TV remote, a remote control for my stereo, etc. While I am uncertain about the gaming console, I am certain this would replace the other remote controls that take up too much tablespace, with an item I typically have on me anyhow.

The device sells for around $50 and the application is a free purchase and is completely customizable — position the buttons you frequently use, and remove the ones you don’t use. No batteries or wallplug is needed, and unlike other applications such as the Logitech Touch Mouse, you do not need a Wi-Fi connection inside of your network.

I plan on getting one of these badboys to see how awesome it is, and will let you guys know. Does anyone have one already?

Will videophone finally become a solid reality? Samsung, Panasonic, and LG are all adding a Skype application to some of their TVs coming out.

You have Skype on your computers and your mobile devices. You have high speed internet practically everywhere. Webcams around found on computers and laptops, video game consoles, etc. High resolution television sets are becoming the electronic standard in our living rooms. Why have we not already put these pieces of non-cutting-edge technology together?

Expect huge excitement over this when it releases. My Xbox already allows me to Facebook and Tweet on my 42″ plasma, as well as voice communicate over the headset using the camera (which I don’t have). This is one more step in the right direction to making the world a little closer for everyone.

Chad Ochocinco has already traded his cleats for dancing shoes. Now the Cincinnati Bengal is adding another reality TV star to his résumé.

The father of four will be featured in The Tournament, a new cable docu-soap that will follow the 32-year-old Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver as he searches for a new partner. Ochocinco will choose from 85 women and during the first 10 episodes he will narrow it down to 16, 4 from each region of the country.

Personally, I enjoy Chad Johnson’s antics off the football field. It doesn’t affect his play or give the team a negative attitude about him (I’m looking at you, T.O.) and actually makes his next game more exciting. Good thing the Bengals swept the division though, with all the trash talk he sent to Ray Lewis this past season.

Lady Gaga nude – do you need more proof?

The video is nine and a half minutes long and the song doesn’t start until the approximate three minute mark. Great video though, and I love the Kill Bill reference. ;)

P.S. – the AdBlock extension in Google Chrome will block the YouTube advertisement.