10 thoughts for November 17, 2013

I have a lot of thoughts going through my head, all the time.  Here's my way of getting a bunch of them out of my head, without taking the whole day to write long form.

1. Watch this video.
2. USC returned to the polls, #23 in the AP and #25 in the USA Today Coaches' Poll.  Recruits are excited.  Fans are thrilled.  We'll have to wait until the end of the season, but Ed Orgeron's already got a big stamp of approval by a majority of folks.  Win out and it'll be unanimous.
3. Coincidentally, while USC went preseason #1 in 2012 to out of the polls, and now back into the polls this weekend, Notre Dame has gone from finishing the regular 2012 season at #1 to a final ranking of #3 (AP) / #4 (USA Today), to 2013 preseason #14 (AP) / #11 (USA Today), to being unranked since last week's loss to Pitt.  I strongly think USC could and should have beaten ND in South Bend.
4. On Carson Palmer's resurrected career: I know it's against the worst team in the NFL, but today Palmer was 30 of 42 for 419 yards and 2 touchdowns.  That's impressive in its own right.
5. That fasting diet (calorie limiting to 1/4 normal adult daily intake) might seem like a means to lose weight to most people.  The real appeal is in how it changes your blood chemistry to keep diabetes away, and pushes your body off from growth mode to repair mode.
6. Speaking of growth mode, this is why you don't take hormones (hormone replacement therapy / HRT) in old age, and why focusing on living longer through cellular regeneration is probably misplaced..  Primary focus, when it comes to aging, should be to fix DNA that goes awry, as tough of a job that will be.
7. There's an active volcano under the Antarctic Ice.  Wouldn't it be crazy if, in the future, they discover that it's one of those rare volcanoes capable of effecting global climate change?
8. Because my Nexus 5 is Qi Wireless capable, I've been looking online for a wireless charger. Some are rated less than 1000mA, which means it'll take very long to charge your device.  Even at 1000mA, that's less than what you'd normally get from a plug-in charger.  What a trade-off, huh?
9. With the next generation Nexus 7 (2013) model out, the pogo plug docks have dropped in price.  Definitely gonna get one.
10. Comet ISON is nearing its rendezvous with the Sun, and it's now bright enough to see with the naked eye.......if you're camping out in the middle of nowhere.  You'll still need binoculars if you're in the city.  Of course, because it's nearing the Sun, it also means that you'll only be able to see it just before the Sun rises, early in the morning -- near Mercury if you're looking.  If it survives its perihelion approach, then the time between the sun rise and visibility will increase and could be bright enough to match that of the most visible planets.  As always, I use heavens-above to track where ISON is, and how bright it is, among other objects in the sky.