In the News; April 30, 2008

They say that by watching your diet, eating vegetables, and exercising daily can increase your longevity. People who have lived a long live can also tell you that limiting stress helps too. And, there are genetics that can play into it all.

Here is a story about a man who lived to see 102. The twist?
Albert Hofmann, has died.
Many of us don't know who he was or may not remember the name.
Mr Hofmann invented the mind-altering drug LSD. His medical discovery inspired — and arguably corrupted — millions in the 1960s hippie generation.

Hofmann was a Swiss chemist who discovered lysergic acid diethylamide-25 in 1938 while studying the medicinal uses of a fungus found on wheat and other grains. For decades after LSD was banned in the late 1960s.

Hofmann defended his invention,"I produced the substance as a medicine. ... It's not my fault if people abused it."

Hofmann became the first human guinea pig of the drug when a tiny amount of the substance seeped onto his finger during a laboratory experiment in 1943.

"I had to leave work for home because I was suddenly hit by a sudden feeling of unease and mild dizziness," he subsequently wrote in a memo to his boss.

"Everything I saw was distorted as in a warped mirror," he said, describing his bicycle ride home. "I had the impression I was rooted to the spot. But my assistant told me we were actually going very fast." "The substance which I wanted to experiment with took over me. I was filled with an overwhelming fear that I would go crazy. I was transported to a different world, a different time," Hofmann wrote. The result was the world's first scientifically documented bad trip.


The intention was that LSD would make an important contribution to psychiatric research. The drug exaggerated inner problems and conflicts and thus it was hoped that it might be used to recognize and treat mental illnesses like schizophrenia.


Thanks to Harvard professor Timothy Leary, LSD was elevated to international fame in the late 1950s and 1960s. Leary who embraced the drug under the slogan "turn on, tune in, drop out."

I am in no way advocating the use of this drug for any purpose, especially living a long life. Living the Swiss lifestyle probably aided in Hofmann's longevity. I hear they make great chocolate.

-shakespere

Springfield Mo police say a man tried to steal T-shirts from a store while his girlfriend was in another part of the business applying for a job.
The man was arrested on suspicion of stealing and second-degree child endangerment. Investigators said the suspect had been watching the woman's 8-month-old son and dropped the child when employees of store tried to hold him for police.


A lucky cat is back home safe and sound after spending more than four days stuck in a drain pipe in his family's yard. The cat disappeared a week ago and the family searched high and low for him, nearly giving up hope.

In ANN ARBOR, Mich. - 13 members of a high school lacrosse team have been disciplined for baring their bottoms on which was written a prom invitation from one player to a girl.



A black hole has been spotted exiting its home galaxy, kicked out after a huge cosmic merger took place. While we may never know what it looks like inside a black hole, astronomers recently obtained one of the closest views yet. The sighting allowed scientists to confirm theories about how these giant cosmic sinkholes spew out jets of particles travelling at nearly the speed of light.

More news about recent stories.
Police are looking into possible links between a young woman's killing and the man who confessed to holding his daughter captive for 24 years and fathering her seven children.
And, one of the Texas polygamy teens has given birth to a baby boy.

Photo of the day...
Dogs Trained To Sniff Out DVDs Are Demonstrated By The MPAA. Do these people know that Walmart is selling DVD's for $5?