What does an NBA All-Star do when he's more motivated than ever to help his team win a championship? He loses 11 pounds by doing nothing more than giving up his [gasp] 72-ounce-per-day Mountain Dew habit. Granted, Caron Butler is a physical specimen and a professional athlete, but if even he was carrying around an extra 11 pounds of "Dew" on his body, imagine how much the regular, non-athlete drinkers among us are hauling around.
NBA FanVoice Un-Doing The Dew
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Hold my baby?
This post comes from Greg Jarvis. The picture is sort of hard to see but you definitely get the idea...
Monday, October 19, 2009
Google taking suggestions for walkable/bikable routes
One of the handiest tools I regularly use for planning my cycling routes around the city (I'm always looking for a route to work with less traffic) is Google Maps and Street View. It's nice to see what I can expect along the way in terms of bike lanes, gutters, railroad crossings, etc. (though it never shows me where the hostile drivers will be).
The obvious shortcoming of Street View is that, since the images are all captured with a specially-equipped car, it is limited to routes where cars drive. And, as the astute among you may have already learned, bikes and and pedestrians are able to go places where cars cannot.
Though it doesn't appear that the project will be as extensive as Street View for cars, Google has begun taking suggestions for where to gather images with their new Street View Trike. Perhaps this will begin to fill in some of those bike route gaps (like the pedestrian/bike tunnel from Oakland Avenue to Forest Park in St. Louis) that you don't normally discover until you happen upon them.
I'm nominating Forest Park in St. Louis along with the Katy Trail for the Google Street View Trike. Jump in and vote for them as well, or nominate your own favorite walking/cycling route. While you're at it, go to Google Maps and use Street View to preview that walking/cycling commute you know you should try out.
The obvious shortcoming of Street View is that, since the images are all captured with a specially-equipped car, it is limited to routes where cars drive. And, as the astute among you may have already learned, bikes and and pedestrians are able to go places where cars cannot.
Though it doesn't appear that the project will be as extensive as Street View for cars, Google has begun taking suggestions for where to gather images with their new Street View Trike. Perhaps this will begin to fill in some of those bike route gaps (like the pedestrian/bike tunnel from Oakland Avenue to Forest Park in St. Louis) that you don't normally discover until you happen upon them.
I'm nominating Forest Park in St. Louis along with the Katy Trail for the Google Street View Trike. Jump in and vote for them as well, or nominate your own favorite walking/cycling route. While you're at it, go to Google Maps and use Street View to preview that walking/cycling commute you know you should try out.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Really QT? Really?
Thank you to Sarah Shelton for sending in this gem of a photo taken at a QuikTrip gas pump. I have been trying to capture this sign on the side of highway 44... but alas, I fear it isn't public health to try and snap a picture while driving down the highway at 70 mph. I am glad Sarah took the safer approach.
Really, QuikTrip? You tout that life is too short for oatmeal but I have to argue that life is only shorter if you opt out of eating oatmeal and instead go for this sugary cinnamon bun. Online estimates clock this morning treat at QT in at 260 calories which I think is an underestimation considering the fact that other sites say the average cinnamon roll contains 300-400 calories. Either way, this compares with the mere 150 calories found in your typical bowl of oatmeal. This also doesn't account for the health benefits of eating oatmeal which include (but aren't limited to):
- Reduction in total cholesterol levels
- Reduced risk for elevated blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, and weight gain
- Reduced LDL cholesterol during weight-loss
- Reduction in early hardening of the arteries
You know, I did an extensive search and was unable to find the comparable benefits of cinnamon rolls. I did however find some pretty sick recipes that involve a combination of artery clogging ingredients that you wouldn't believe. It isn't that enjoying a cinnamon roll is a bad thing, this is just a convoluted message from our friends at QT.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
More portion control billboard badness
My wife and I were in Chicago this past weekend to run the (bitterly cold) Chicago Marathon. We rode Amtrak from St. Louis, and on our way to Union Station in Chicago, we saw this billboard:
According to the Coke website (warning: PDF) a single serving size of Coca-Cola Classic is 8 ounces and contains 97 calories, all from high fructose corn syrup. A family of four would consume over 300 calories each of Coke-y goodness at a meal where the new 100-ounce twin-pack of Coke served as simply "enough."
I'm also not sure why the Coca-Cola Company would go to the odd measure of bottling 50 ounces of Coke as a single unit, if the bottles would always be packaged as twin-packs, effectively creating a 100-ounce unit. Were they worried that even the least savvy and nutritionally-minded consumer might flinch at the sight of a single 100-ounce bottle of liquid candy?
Of course, every person has the right to choose how much Coke to drink, but doesn't it seem a little irresponsible for Coke to be actively marketed in 100-ounce quantities as "enough" for a single meal?
Just down the road from this sign at Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine, a recent study found that "sugary soda consumption may be associated with kidney damage, although moderate consumption of 1 or fewer sodas [daily] does not appear to be harmful." But Coke is actively marketing more than three servings in a single meal as "enough."
It is enough. Enough to make you or your child obese and contribute to your eventual kidney failure.
According to the Coke website (warning: PDF) a single serving size of Coca-Cola Classic is 8 ounces and contains 97 calories, all from high fructose corn syrup. A family of four would consume over 300 calories each of Coke-y goodness at a meal where the new 100-ounce twin-pack of Coke served as simply "enough."
I'm also not sure why the Coca-Cola Company would go to the odd measure of bottling 50 ounces of Coke as a single unit, if the bottles would always be packaged as twin-packs, effectively creating a 100-ounce unit. Were they worried that even the least savvy and nutritionally-minded consumer might flinch at the sight of a single 100-ounce bottle of liquid candy?
Of course, every person has the right to choose how much Coke to drink, but doesn't it seem a little irresponsible for Coke to be actively marketed in 100-ounce quantities as "enough" for a single meal?
Just down the road from this sign at Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine, a recent study found that "sugary soda consumption may be associated with kidney damage, although moderate consumption of 1 or fewer sodas [daily] does not appear to be harmful." But Coke is actively marketing more than three servings in a single meal as "enough."
It is enough. Enough to make you or your child obese and contribute to your eventual kidney failure.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Clean plate club gone terribly wrong.
This post comes from Nupur. 
I saw this sign in the window of Amici's Italian restaurant on Kirkwood Rd.
I saw this sign in the window of Amici's Italian restaurant on Kirkwood Rd. The restaurant is challenging us to finish huge portions and will further reward us with dessert if we do! So, either don't clean your plate and waste food while people are going hungry in the world, or just overeat and finish with additional dessert.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Are you tired of us complaining about sidewalks?
"Oh my god," you think to yourself. "Are they seriously still going on about sidewalks and curbs and crosswalks?"
I see your point. It really is annoying. You should mention how annoying it is at your next neighborhood association meeting. Bring it up in a friendly email to your city alderman.
But in the meantime...
I enjoyed lunch at Pi in The Loop this afternoon with some friends. It was totally great. And then the experience was tainted as I crossed back over Delmar toward the Pageant and was met at the end of the crosswalk with a totally awesome curb:
View Larger Map
Yay, a post-lunch obstacle course of inaccessibility! Enjoy crossing the street.
Seriously, email city aldermen. It's super-duper easy.
I see your point. It really is annoying. You should mention how annoying it is at your next neighborhood association meeting. Bring it up in a friendly email to your city alderman.
But in the meantime...
I enjoyed lunch at Pi in The Loop this afternoon with some friends. It was totally great. And then the experience was tainted as I crossed back over Delmar toward the Pageant and was met at the end of the crosswalk with a totally awesome curb:
View Larger Map
Yay, a post-lunch obstacle course of inaccessibility! Enjoy crossing the street.
Seriously, email city aldermen. It's super-duper easy.
Funny public health signs...
Thank you to Sally for sharing an e-mail with me today that included these pictures. These are all good examples of public health in action. I am sure they are probably widely viewed but their messages are both important and funny.
Yet another sidewalk to nowhere...
Thank you to Diana for sharing these pictures. Even more examples of silly sidewalk planning:
I guess this sidewalk is leading walkers to a beautiful NO PARKING sign...
and this one to a sewer drain...
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Sandbagged.
This post comes from our friend Ashby.
It was observed in St. Louis City.
I didn't measure the width of the opening between these rusty sign uprights, but I'd be surprised if there was enough room for a wheelchair. This just seems lazy. What other reason could the city have for leaving this stuff on the sidewalk when it's not in use?
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