Better Sleeping Through Nudity

Comedian Steven Wright once said that when people asked him if he slept well, he'd tell them that no, he'd made a few mistakes. Some people seem to revel in telling us that they sleep long and well - happily retired old farts like John and Mike, for instance. But for many of us, sleep doesn't always come quickly and it doesn't always refresh us as it should.

What to do?

Funny you should ask ... because I just ran across this article: Science Says, Sleep Better Naked.

There are several advantages to sleeping better naked, according to the article.

The part about getting more sex is, of course, a plus, nudity being conducive to power cuddling. But at my age my birthday suit is pretty wrinkled and I'm not sure that sleeping naked is necessarily an advantage unless the lights are off. But that leads to one of the other advantages, which is that - allegedly - you'll (eventually) look better. As the author writes, when you sleep naked your body cools down more than if you're clothed, and ...

"When you’re at a nice, cool sleeping temperature, in a deep, restorative stage of sleep, your body releases the anti-aging hormones, melatonin and growth hormone (HGH), which boost cell regeneration, and keep skin and hair looking healthy and young. When you’re sleeping coolly and well, your body keeps the stress hormone, cortisol, in check. That’s a good thing: High cortisol levels may not only trigger an increase in insulin, it can decrease fat-burning and appetite-controlling hormones."

Here's another view of the pros and cons of sleeping in the nude ...

Do your part for better sleep ...

No need to send pictures ... I'll take your word for it.

Have a good day. Sleep naked. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

Worms to the Rescue!

If there's any member of the animal kingdom that gets no respect, it's the lowly worm. Always underfoot, wriggling in the dirt, fit only to grace the fisherman's hook, the worm lives his short and brutish life without much more notice from us than a disgusted yuck! when he's found in the wrong place ... which tends to be just about anywhere.

But you may want to start treating worms with a bit more respect in the future, because it seems that they ... or one species of them, anyway ... may help save us from ourselves.

I ran across this interesting article the other day: Plastic-Eating Mealworms Could Help Reduce Landfill Waste.

Yes, Dear Readers, it seems that a scientific study* has concluded the lowly mealworm (or, to use his formal name, tenebrio molitor linnaeus) has gut bacteria which can break down and feast on various plastics like styrofoam and other polystyrenes, turning them into carbon dioxide and biodegradable droppings. You can read an abstract and download the full study here if you're so inclined ... and here's a picture of the hungry little heroes feasting on some of the millions of tons of waste plastic that would otherwise be with us for tens of thousands of years, being otherwise not biodegradable ...

Tests are still going on to determine whether the worms will remain healthy in the long term, and whether their ... poop ... is safe enough for use in growing crops, but so far the results appear to be positive.

I don't know about you, but I think this is pretty amazing. Who would have thought that common mealworms might be able to save us from one of our looming environmental disasters? And if we can find such valuable uses for mealworms, what might we be able to do with other worms ... candidates for political office, for instance? Right now, they consume vast amounts of cash and turn it into annoying campaign ads and hot air ... but might they be trained to make themselves useful by eating various waste materials ... like the hundreds of thousands of leftover campaign signs that litter the landscape after every election?

The possibilities are endless.

Have a good day. Treat those worms with respect, why don't you? Someday you might want to vote for one.

More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

* I know this won't mean much to Republicans, but just humor me and read on, anyway.

Great News!

As we bob helplessly in the swirling cesspool of political BS and chicanery, there's a ray of hope for those of us wishing for better! I call your attention to this article from last August 19th: Nearly Complete Human Brain Grown in US Lab.

Yes, Dear Readers, according to the article, a professor at a laboratory at Ohio State University has grown a brain equal in maturity to that of a five-week-old fetus, which would make it the intellectual equal of many current members of Congress, supporters of Donald Trump*, and the Tinfoil Hat Brigades. If the experiment continues and results in a fully-developed brain, we may be able to dispense with the expense and the scripted ass-clownery of elections by simply growing the brains we need, or replacing the ones that have gotten lost ...

It can't be any worse than what we have now, could it? And who knows, in time, the price of a new brain might come down to where anyone could afford one ... even for those who continue to support political parties that steadfastly work against their economic interests.

Have a good day. See you tomorrow for September's first collection of Great Moments in Editing. More thoughts then.

Bilbo

* The man memorably described in a wonderful Op-Ed article by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as, "... a last-call candidate who looks good in the boozy dark of political inebriation."

Pictures from Pluto

After a journey of about three billion miles, using technology more than a decade old, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft flew past Pluto last week, sending back amazing pictures of a dark and fascinating world we will not see again in such detail in our lifetimes.

The photos from New Horizons were taken with cameras designed and built ten years or more ago, and are probably sharper and more clear than the pictures you take with your top-of-the-line digital SLR camera or your cell phone. Think about that for a minute. How many of us are still shooting with a camera that old ... or even own a phone that's more than two years old*?

This is one of the pictures of Pluto's moon Charon (named for the boatman who ferried dead souls across the River Styx in Greek mythology). The dark area at the top of the image has been named "Mordor," after the realm of the Dark Lord Sauron in The Lord of the Rings, and you can clearly see a vast chasm across the surface in the upper right part of the image.

This is Pluto itself, with its mysterious heart-shaped area ...

Not close enough for you? This fantastic picture shows a closeup of a part of the icy plain that constitutes that heart-shaped space ...

And this amazing closeup shows mountains - probably of ice - on Pluto's surface.

This picture wasn't shot by New Horizons, but it's an artist's conception of the surface of Pluto, lit by sunlight reflecting off the rising moon Charon ... I think it's amazing ...

I don't know about you, but I'm feeling pretty humble right now out here on our pale blue dot in our distant corner of the Milky Way.

Have a good day. Be humble. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

* Well, besides Agnes and I.

Extremeophiles

I ran across an interesting concept the other day while reading an article about the exploration of other worlds in our Solar System and beyond: extremeophiles.

An extremeophile is an organism that exists in extreme environments such as hydrothermal vents deep in the ocean, or in total darkness and cold under thousands of feet of antarctic ice. Scientists are interested in studying such creatures because their ability to live in extremes of pressure, temperature and atmosphere can tell us about the range of conditions under which life might be possible on other worlds.

This is, of course, fascinating for exobiologists and science fiction writers, but the concept of extremeophile life forms has wider applicability. It helps explain why various types of parasitic creatures not only survive, but thrive in extremes of heat and pressure such as exist in Washington, DC. These include ...

Tomcottonus Arkansasensis Dumbassisus, noted for it's inability to comprehend the long-term consequences of immediately-gratifying actions;

Hillarious Clintonis Enigmatus, which camouflages its electrical emissions to hide them from predators;

Scottwalker Unionbustis Wisconsinensis, which aggressively seeks out and destroys groups of organisms that band together for mutual advantage and protection;

O'Reilly Reportatus Deceptoris, which - although of fearsome appearance - relies on bluster and volume for self-defense, compensating for its weaknesses by generating thunderous bursts of noise when it perceives an attack upon its nest;

And,

Tedcruzius Texanibus Insanis, limited in intelligence but extremely aggressive, particularly toward organisms which developed in other environments. Able to survive in frigid environments because of its unparalleled ability to generate limitless amounts of hot air.

Some of these creatures are cultivated by breeders who feed them huge amounts of cash in expectation of being able to milk them in the future, while others exist in an untamed and uncontrolled state, feeding on the negative energy generated during the political hissy fits that have replaced principled discussion and debate.

And most extremeophiles exhibit an amazing ability to change their colors and behaviors rapidly to adjust to changes in their political environments, often suddenly jettisoning long-held beliefs and positions in order to appeal to other organisms in new environments. Only the most extreme of extremeophiles, generally belonging to the subfamily Teapartius Crazius, do not reflect this ability, being absolutely resistant to any change, no matter what changes occur in their surroundings.

There are surely a lot more extremophiles out there ... which ones did I miss? Leave a comment.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo