FIRE's Last Resort Excuse

[don]

SPOTLESS SUNS: Yesterday, NASA announced that the sun has plunged into the deepest solar minimum in nearly a century. Sunspots have all but vanished and consequently the sun has become very quiet. In 2008, the sun had no spots 73% of the time, a 95-year low. In 2009, sunspots are even more scarce, with the "spotless rate" jumping to 87%. We are currently experiencing a stretch of 25 continuous days uninterrupted by sunspots--and there's no end in sight. This is a big event.

Derivatives, CDOs, sub, alt and all-beef prime...and sun spots. Who knew :eek:

[Mega]

Re: FIRE's Last Resort Excuse

The Earth will start to COOL very soon!
Mike

[flintlock]

Re: FIRE's Last Resort Excuse

Great, first we drown from melting ice caps and then our dead bodies freeze from the lack of sun spots.

[Jay]

Re: FIRE's Last Resort Excuse

Great, first we drown from melting ice caps and then our dead bodies freeze from the lack of sun spots.

How soon until Gore starts the global cooling bandwagon? He's probably still got his notes from the 70's.

[lakedaemonian]

Re: FIRE's Last Resort Excuse

Would there possibly be any relationship with skin cancer rates?

Does this mean getting a tan could become fashionable again?

Or do we still have to hide indoors and be pasty white?

[Sharky]

Re: FIRE's Last Resort Excuse

Would there possibly be any relationship with skin cancer rates?

Does this mean getting a tan could become fashionable again?

Or do we still have to hide indoors and be pasty white?

Completely OT, but there's good research now showing that the increased risk of cancer from sun exposure is more than offset by the increase in other types of cancer from reduced production of vitamin D.

By avoiding the sun, you're basically trading the risk of getting a type of cancer that's easy to cure for a higher risk of getting one that's impossible to cure.

[marvenger]

Re: FIRE's Last Resort Excuse

glad I always just enjoyed the outdoors then. feels healthy to me. you have to trade in looking like an old leather boot when you get older too though apparently. got to be tough to fight those other cancers.

[lakedaemonian]

Re: FIRE's Last Resort Excuse

Completely OT, but there's good research now showing that the increased risk of cancer from sun exposure is more than offset by the increase in other types of cancer from reduced production of vitamin D.

By avoiding the sun, you're basically trading the risk of getting a type of cancer that's easy to cure for a higher risk of getting one that's impossible to cure.

Ahhhhh!

I guess we will continue to slip, slop, slap and grease the kids and ourselves up like we are albino, and keep going to the beach behind the house.

And get molemapped every now and again.

[BadJuju]

Re: FIRE's Last Resort Excuse

Completely OT, but there's good research now showing that the increased risk of cancer from sun exposure is more than offset by the increase in other types of cancer from reduced production of vitamin D.

Except vitamin D can be supplemented, which renders the argument moot. :p

[Sharky]

Re: FIRE's Last Resort Excuse

Except vitamin D can be supplemented, which renders the argument moot. :p

Except most people who avoid the sun don't supplement. The social message is "avoid the sun," not "avoid the sun and take vitamin D supplements."

[BadJuju]

Re: FIRE's Last Resort Excuse

Except most people who avoid the sun don't supplement. The social message is "avoid the sun," not "avoid the sun and take vitamin D supplements."

[don]

Re: FIRE's Last Resort Excuse

Turn of the century, this was the look. Soft hands and white skin meant you did work with your head, not your back. Working men were tanned, not accountants. Following the route from there to tanning booths in an historical timeline would be an interesting read.

[flintlock]

Re: FIRE's Last Resort Excuse

Completely OT, but there's good research now showing that the increased risk of cancer from sun exposure is more than offset by the increase in other types of cancer from reduced production of vitamin D.

By avoiding the sun, you're basically trading the risk of getting a type of cancer that's easy to cure for a higher risk of getting one that's impossible to cure.

Good point. In moderation sunlight is actually healthy. A lot of people suffer winter depression due to the lack of vitamin D.

[mikedev10]

Re: FIRE's Last Resort Excuse

i was under the impression you were supposed to convert uv to vitamin d through sun exposure, or eat funky stuff like skin or some other foods not consumed so widely anymore, and that vitamins were not really a very good substitute at all. and any supplement should be in the form of something like cod liver oil. yes/no?

[bungee]

Re: FIRE's Last Resort Excuse

i was under the impression you were supposed to convert uv to vitamin d through sun exposure, or eat funky stuff like skin or some other foods not consumed so widely anymore, and that vitamins were not really a very good substitute at all. and any supplement should be in the form of something like cod liver oil. yes/no?

The majority of trials on the benefits of supplements do not give a statistically clear indication of a benefit as say a drugs trial would since most people have already got some of the natural vitamin/mineral/oil in their diet anyway. Thus it's a comparison of some supplement vs more supplement rather than some drug vs no drug.

Hence detractors can question their validity and supporters can point to their advantages.

Cod liver oil is a source of omega-3 fatty acids. The balance of omega-3 : omega-6 fatty acids should be 1:1 whereas the typical diet is 1 : > 10. This is caused by all the omega-6 fatty acids stuffed into processed food that we don't see. There is growing evidence that this imbalance contributes to lots of inflammation related health issues (arthritis / asthma etc). People have been put off eating fish, a good source of omega-3, as a result of mercury / PCB scares making the ratio worse.

Since supplements are relatively cheap it seems to me to be a sensible precaution to take some if you know your diet is less than perfect.