In a year when light-hearted day-drinking launched a thousand memes, it’s easy to forget that alcoholism is third-leading preventable cause of death in the U.S. Even prior to the pandemic, a 2020 study found that the number of alcohol-related deaths more than doubled between 1999 and 2017. No one has yet to determine if the … Read more
When you ask people what foods they learned to cook first as a child, most often they’ll tell you scrambled eggs. Even though a kid can do it, there’s a lot of variation to your scrambled eggs. They can be dry or watery, fluffy or flat. That goes for other egg methods too – there’s … Read more
Designated Autoimmune Disease Awareness Month, March recognizes the more than 23.5 million Americans who fall under the category of immunocompromised, a number on the rise according to a 2020 study. Some autoimmune diseases are common (e.g. type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease), and others are extremely rare. What they all have … Read more
It’s finally happening: Vaccines are rolling out, and immunized people are one step closer to a normal, post-pandemic life. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released its highly anticipated guidelines earlier this week for people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. This means parents and grandparents who’ve been vaccinated and haven’t seen … Read more
It’s been a long pandemic year. With COVID-19 cases on the decline since the start of 2021, stir-crazy Americans are aching to make up for a year spent mostly at home. Though the CDC still advises against non-essential travel, travelers are nonetheless flying the friendly skies, whether because they’re missing faraway family, following the siren’s … Read more
A lot of foods exist on a spectrum of suitability, from “really bad” wheat to “not so terrible” rice. Well, what about the rest of them? Since I get a lot of email asking whether oats and oatmeal are good for you, I figured I would dig into that question for this post. Though I … Read more
By Russell Bruce Those pushing the idea that the ISP can make a breakthrough on the list vote do so despite no indication the ISP can achieve a vote share that would give them any MSPs in May, just 11 weeks away. An ISP supporter kindly pointed me to the ISPs detailed calculations by which … Read more
Peter Brown argues that tax, invested well, is part of what being a civilised nation is and offers two ideas on radically simplifying taxation as a part of what we hope will be an ongoing contribution to how taxation policy is likely to be very different in an independent Scotland. By Peter Brown It’s not … Read more
Dear Mark, A friend of mine just found out that I’ve been eating a keto diet for the past few months, and they told me I should stop right away and get my selenium levels checked. They said I could be at risk of a heart attack because of keto. Now I’m freaking out a … Read more
A comedy of errors By Russell Bruce With apologies to Oliver Hardy for borrowing his catch phrase used in 17 films between 1931 and 1951. Hardy was born in Georgia which has been in the news recently in providing Biden with 2 Senators to take control of the Senate following Trump’s endless rants and persecution … Read more