Commonplace Iris

Links for 2007-07-11 [del.icio.us]

• Easy Grocery Bag Shopping Tote From 2 Pillowcases - Instructables
  
  I wonder whether these would be sturdy enough in the long term for heavy groceries. Fun tutorial, and of course you could use the tote for lighter groceries, or other stuff!
• Easy as ABC: Asian-style Baby Carrier or Mei Tai - Instructables
  
  There are quite a few good online tutorials for making an ABC which I've read and taken direction from already. However, since I like to read as many as possible and then use all I learn to figure out how to make mine I'm adding this to my collection of bookmarks!
• The healthy heart guide - Independent
  
  " Heart attacks are our biggest killer – yet many are preventable. Julia Stuart on the simple changes that could save your life"
• Move to cut methane emissions by changing cows' diet | Climate change | Guardian
  
  "Experts at the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research in Aberystwyth say the diet of farmed animals can be changed to make them produce less methane, a more potent global warming gas than carbon dioxide. Farmed ruminant animals are thought to
• UK needs a two-child limit, says population report | SocietyGuardian.co.uk
  
  "While most of Britain's annual population rise of nearly 300,000 people is from immigration, only 21.9% of new births were last year to non-UK born mothers, says Prof Guillebaud. Each woman in England and Wales, he says, can now be expected to have 1.87 children, the highest total fertility rate for 26 years."
  
  Not sure I entirely agree with the logic of this article. I'm not sure it's getting to the root of the problem it brings up of the level of consumption of the earth's resources (really we need to work on that as much as human population). (Not to mention addressing the need to care for the older generation that would presumably become more of a problem than the baby boomers.)
• Top 10 eccentric British days out | Guardian
  
  "Is the weather raining on your holiday parade? The Far from the Sodding Crowd team come to the rescue with their pick of humorous, curious and downright ludicrous British tourist attractions"
• The yuck factor: How scientific research into revulsion is shaping our supermarkets - Independent
  
  "Rozin's research says that if something we perceive to be dirty or disgusting (such as a cockroach) touches something harmless (such as orange juice), in our minds the latter becomes "contaminated", even if the rational side of our brain knows there is n
• The Health Benefits of Journaling - Psych Central
  
  "There is increasing evidence to support the notion that journaling has a positive impact on physical well-being. University of Texas at Austin psychologist and researcher James Pennebaker contends that regular journaling strengthens immune cells, called T-lymphocytes. Other research indicates that journaling decreases the symptoms of asthma and rheumatoid arthritis. Pennebaker believes that writing about stressful events helps you come to terms with them, thus reducing the impact of these stressors on your physical health."
  
• Wake up. Feminism is more than just capitalism with tits | Guardian
  
  "Enough of the numbers game. The issue is not how many women are in power, but how many fight for collective rights "