Chinese Astrological Calendar

I've spent the last few weeks creating a Chinese Astrological Calendar to aid in my studies of astrology and general energy watching of the seasons. It contains the heavenly stems and earthly branches in an easy to read color-coded fashion for every day from now until august 2009 in a big 11x17 format. It also has the seasonal nodes, moon phases, and tidal hexagrams for the months, as well as a reminder of what that month is about. And because I made it pretty (see below), I've decided to offer it for sale. The cost is $25, please email me if you are interested.

References for my paper on Salt-Sensitive Hypertension

Over at Deepest Health, I put up a guest posting on a Classical Chinese Medicine view of a modern disease process, Salt-Sensitive Hypertension. Below are the references I site in the work, in case you are interested in perusing them further. I welcome your comments here, or on eric's blog.

[i] Am J Kidney Dis. 2007 Oct;50(4):655-72. Pathophysiological mechanisms of salt-dependent hypertension. Rodriguez-Iturbe B, Romero F, Johnson RJ.

[ii] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypertension

[iii] http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr55/nvsr55_19.pdf

[iv] Kempner W. Treatment of kidney disease and hypertensive vascular disease with rice diet. N C Med J1944; 5: 125–133

[v] Nephrol Ther. 2007 Sep;3 Suppl 2:S94-8. Abnormalities of renal sodium transport and blood pressure sensitivity to salt. Burnier M.

[vi] http://duedall.fit.edu/ocn1010eng/jan27sp.htm

[vii] http://www.palomar.edu/oceanography/salty_ocean.htm

[viii] Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky

[ix] Salt, Diet, and Health. MacGregor & deWardener. Cambridge University Press: 1998.

[x] Jones, E. The symbolic significance of salt in folklore and superstition. In: Essays in Folklore, Anthropology, and Religion. Vol. 2 Hogarth Press, 1951. London.

Omnivore's 100

Everyone is doing it these days, so now its my turn. Pass it on.

Here are the instructions:
1. Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2. Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3. Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4. Optional extra: Post a comment here linking to your results.

The Very Good Taste Omnivore’s Hundred:
1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects (thailand!)
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal (regrettably)
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Not bad. Fortunately, I'm only 31. I'm hoping to knock the rest out, especially once I know what some of these actually are.