Archive for April, 2011
Peru Desserts – Peruvian Dessert Recipes
April 30th, 2011 |Peru Desserts – Peruvian Dessert Recipes
Desserts were introduced to Peru by Spanish Conquistadors in the 16th century. That isn’t to say that the native people of Peru never ate sweets or “after-dinner treats” . . . just that what we think of today as Peruvian desserts are heavily influenced by European sweet confections.
Here’s a list of awesome Peruvian desserts, along with a few short recipes.
Huevo Chimbo — a very rich dessert, something like an egg custard and something like traditional Spanish flan, usually served with local nuts and berries.
Encanelado — a light and fluffy egg-based cake loaded with cinnamon.
Bien me Sabe — originally made by nuns, this sweet treat’s recipe is too
complex for most of us to reproduce at home. A coconut-based cake with layers of cream and meringue.
Alfajores — a sweet custard pressed between two light pieces of pastry.
- 1 2/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 cups cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla rum
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1 (11.5 ounce) jar dulce de leche
- 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment. Whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and baking powder.
Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks one at a time. Beat in vanilla rum, vanilla extract, lemon extract, and lemon zest. Gently fold in the flour mixture with a spoon, making a crumbly dough. Press the dough into a ball. Wrap with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
Roll out the dough about 1/4 inch thick. Cut with a small round cookie cutter. Continue pressing the dough together, rolling it out, and cutting until you have used it all. Place cookies 1/2 inch apart on the prepared cookie sheets.
Bake in the preheated oven until set, 7 to 10 minutes. Remove the cookies immediately to cool on a wire rack.
Spread the underside of a cooled cookie with a teaspoon of dulce de leche, then sandwich together with another cookie until the caramel oozes out the sides. Roll the sides in the shredded coconut.
Tejas — these sweet treats are usually wrapped in decorative paper and given away at festivals.
- 2 cups dulce de leche
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups white chocolate chips, or chopped white chocolate
- 1 tablespoon vegetable shortening
- 12-15 pitted prunes, cut into halves
- 1 cup macademia nuts
Place the dulce de leche and butter in a very heavy pot. Heat on low.
Remove from heat, stir in vanilla, and let cool overnight in the refrigerator.
Use a melon baller to scoop small balls of the candy, then shape them with your hands into a cylinder. Press a couple of macademia nuts and half of a prune into the top of each. Place candies in the freezer while you prepare the chocolate.
Bring an inch of water to a boil in a saucepan. Place the white chocolate chips in a heat proof bowl that fits over the top of the saucepan without touching the water. Place the bowl over the water and turn off the heat.
Stir the chips until they are melted.
Dip the candies with the nuts and prune in the chocolate, and place in the refrigerator to harden. Keep melted chocolate warm by leaving the bowl over the pot of hot water.
Once chocolate has set, dip the candies a second time. Chill until firm.
How to Describe Yourself
April 27th, 2011 |How to Describe Yourself
Most of us aren’t comfortable with the idea of describing ourselves in any context. There’s lots of different reasons why you may need to be good at this. Online dating profiles are little more than self-descriptions with a few optional pictures and some emoticons. Even more serious–lots of job applications these days require you to describe yourself in a certain number of words. And what about meeting someone in public that you’ve never seen before? How would you tell them who to look for if you’re shy about describing yourself?
Here’s a guide to describing yourself. If you lack confidence or don’t really like yourself all that much, you may struggle with this at first, but I say “Fake it ’til you make it.”
1. Tailor Your Description to the Venue
The way you describe yourself to a prospective employer and the way you describe yourself to potential dates are two very different things. If you are describing yourself as part of a job application, you’ll want to tailor the adjectives to show off your compatibility with the company. Words like “hard-working”, “goal-oriented”, and “independent” are not words you’d want to use in an online dating profile, but they’d probably work great on a job app. Same goes for good adjectives to use for a dating profile–you wouldn’t want to tell an employer that you’re “looking for love” or that you have “a charming personality.”
2. Enlist the Help of Friends and Family
You may struggle with describing yourself, but you’d probably have no trouble at all describing your brother or your best friend. That’s why getting someone close to you to help you describe yourself is a great way to flesh out your description. Someone outside of yourself will help you see yourself from another person’s perspective. Don’t feel bad about getting help from someone else . . . the “describe yourself” box on your job application isn’t an essay question or a term paper. There’s nothing saying you can’t get a little assistance.
3. Tell the Truth
If describing yourself didn’t mean anything, you could fill your past with degrees from Ivy League schools, contracts with worldwide modeling companies, and daring adventures on the peak of Mt. Everest. Since your description is going to be read by someone, be it a future employer or your future wife, you want to tell the truth, rigorously. For a dating profile, you should admit to being fat (if you’re fat) or nerdy (if you’re nerdy) the same way you should admit to getting an online MBA from University of Phoenix if you’re applying for a job. The truth is always best, especially when it comes time to describe ourselves.
At some point in your life, you’re going to be asked to describe yourself. If you shy away from it, or don’t prepare for the possibility, you’ll probably flub it and look like a jerk. Take a long look in the mirror, read over your resume, and put together a brief self-description, leaving it as a mental note at the back of your mind. You never know when you might need it.
How to Make Donuts
April 26th, 2011 |How to Make Donuts
I know what you’re thinking–who has the time to make donuts when Krispy Kreme is right down the street? Look up the nutritional facts on commercially-produced donuts. Go ahead, we’ll wait.
Making donuts on your own at home is a great way to control the ingredients that go into the fried, fluffy treats that everyone loves. Maybe there’s a cop that lives in your neighborhood and you want to get on his good side? Whatever your reason for wanting to make donuts on your own, we’ve got you covered.
Ingredients
Vegetable oil, for frying
3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons shortening
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
OPTIONAL: jimmies, chocolate sprinkles, or other traditional donut topping
This recipe makes about 24 donuts.
Instructions
1. Heat two to three inches of oil in either a deep fryer or a very heavy kettle. You want the oil to reach about 375 F–check the temperature of the oil before you begin frying. If your oil is too hot, you’ll burn the donuts. Too cool, and they won’t cook properly all the way through.
2. Beat 1 1/2 cups of flour and all the remaining ingredients in a large mixing bowl at low speed. Be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl for the 30 seconds it should take to mix the ingredients, otherwise you’ll have lump, uncooked donuts. After the first 30 seconds on low speed, continue to beat the ingredients at medium speed, scraping the bowl only occasionally. Do this for 2 minutes. Afterwards, stir in the remaining flour by hand.
3. Cover a cutting board or sheet of parchment paper with lots of flour. Turn your donut dough around and around in the flour, rolling it gently around so that it is fully coated. Then, roll your dough out to a thickness of 3/8 inch–a half inch actually is just too thick, so measure precisely.
4. Cut the dough into donut shapes with a floured donut cutter. If you don’t have a donut cutter, you can use two ring-shaped cutters, one smaller (for the interior hole) and one larger for the donut itself. The key is to flour the device you use to cut so the dough doesn’t stick.
5. Here’s the tricky part–frying the donuts. You want to gently slide the donuts into your preheated oil using a wide spatula or (if you have good coordination) a long wooden dowel. You want to put the donut into the oil the way you’d put your foot into a hot bath . . . gently, and a little bit at a time. Once the donuts rise to the surface of the oil, they’re ready to be turned and cooked on the other side.
6. Fry your donuts until they are golden brown. It should take no more than a minute and a half on each side at the proper oil temperature.
7. Remove the donuts from the oil, making sure not to poke or break their surface. Let the donuts drain on paper towels or a baking rack.
8. You can serve them plain, dusted with confectioner’s sugar, cinnamon sugar, glazed with icing, or dipped in chocolate. You can also sprinkle them with jimmies, coconut, chopped nuts, or any topping you like, just be sure to do it while the donuts are still slightly moist.
How to Propose
April 25th, 2011 |How to Propose
If a marriage proposal were just a matter of buying a ring, dropping to one knee, and asking the girl of your dreams to marry you, making a proposal would be easy. Unfortunately for you, buddy, you live in the year 2011. That means you have to make a special proposal of marriage–something unique that will knock your girlfriend’s socks off.
Asking a woman for her hand in marriage is one of the most stressful events in a man’s life. You feel pressure to buy the perfect ring, to make the perfect reservation, to look your best, and of course you have to worry about the woman’s answer.
AskDeb has your back. Here’s a quick guide to how to propose.
1. Be Creative
If you think that the perfect proposal or the perfect engagement has to cost you a ton of money, you’re way off the mark. Unless you’re dating a princess or the daughter of a
captain of industry, you don’t have to spend a ton of cash. The best proposals and engagements don’t cost a ton of money . . . they’re creative.
First and foremost, keep your planned proposal to yourself. The more people you let in on the big secret, the more likely someone is to spill the beans. Surprise proposals are the best, especially if you have something creative in mind.
Creative proposals involve more than eating at a nice restaurant and dropping to one knee at the table. If you and your future fiancee are sports fans, consider asking for her hand at a baseball game. Get the crowd involved, or (better yet) talk to the park employees ahead of time and get your proposal on the Jumbotron.
2. Buy the Right Ring
Again, we’re not talking about the expense of the ring here. Just take care that the ring you buy meets two criteria:
- She will love it (meaning it fits her style).
- You love it.
If you are having trouble finding the perfect engagement ring, there’s no shame in purchasing a “placeholder” just so you can pop the question. Trust us–she won’t really be worried about the ring itself if you blow her away with the presentation.
3. Make it Personal
The way you pop the question should reflect your attitudes and identity as a couple. Your girlfriend sees your relationship as something unique, and you should too. Show her that you do by making your engagement unique and indicative of the two of you as a couple.
For example: my brother and his wife are both writers. When he was ready to ask her to marry him, he purchased classified ads at the newspaper she worked at that led her on a “wild goose chase” around the office. When she finally found him, he presented her with roses and gave her a dozen reasons why he wanted to marry her. If you heart didn’t melt just from reading that, I don’t know what to tell you . . .
Asking a woman to marry you is the most important thing you’ll do for quite some time, a keystone in the life of a young man. If you follow the simple advice above, it will be a proposal that you and your future wife will cherish forever.
What Is Bread Mold?
April 22nd, 2011 |What Is Bread Mold?
Bread mold is a type of fungus that likes to grow on bread because it is often warm and moist. Bread mold needs warmth and moisture, along with oxygen, to thrive. Bread provides an ideal substrate (or living surface) for various types of molds.
Bread Mold Facts
Believe it or not, bread mold is actually a type of plant. Molds grow much faster than traditional plants, due mostly to the fact that their reproductive parts float around in the air, constantly looking for a place to land and thrive. It just so happens that bread, with its warmth and moisture, is the perfect substrate for mold to grow on.
When bread mold spores find a warm and moist surface, they attach and start to reproduce and grow very rapidly. This spreading of spores further infects bread (if bread is the substrate) and sends even more spores into the air.
Each bread mold spore has two parts–one is long and black and the other is short and is capable of breaking into the bread to absorb food and moisture.
Mold doesn’t just grow on bread–it can also grow on anything moist and warm, like meat, shoes and clothes, even things that incidentally wet like books or a tile floor.
There are many different types of mold in all different shapes and sizes. They have names like Aspergillus, Monascus, Rhizopus, Penicillium, and Fusarium. Each of these species has its own unique color and apperance–Rhizopus is black and fuzzy, while Aspergillus is small and hard to see. The Penicillium species is more of a dark green color with a white border.
Harmful Effects of Bread Mold
When human beings come into close contact with mold of any type, they run the risk of absorbing mycotoxins through the skin, mucous membranes, and airways. These mycotoxins are produced naturally by any mold, but especially the mold that makes bread mold. Mycotoxings are very dangerous to human life, as once they attach to the inside of our bodies, they can easily spread and infect the entire body and immune system. Mycotoxins can create all sorts of health problems, from simple allergies and contact hypersensitivity, to more severe respiratory problems like asthma, and chronic coughing, and grave health conditions like permanent memory loss, depression, anxiety, reproductive system failure, sometimes even death.
Benefits of Bread Mold
Some molds that grow on bread are beneficial in the production of foods. Mold on cheeses, sausages, breads, and soy sauce (as well as alcohol like sherries and wines) actually add to the taste of many of these products.
When combined with special foods and a healthy lifestyle, cultured mold can be used to reduce cholesterol.
Bread molds are used in the production of some beneficial drugs.Most famously, the Penicillium chrysogenum mold is used to produce the life-saving antibiotic we call penicillin.
Other molds and bread molds are used to create other life-saving drugs, namely Aspergillus terreus which is used to create cholesterol-lowering drugs, and Tolypocladium Infatum which is used to combat the rejection of transplanted organs.
Bread Mold Growth
The growth of bread mold depends on many different factors, with temperature and moisture being the most important two. At lower temperatures, mold is able to grow, but it grows at a much slower rate. Most molds on planet Earth thrive in temperatures higher than 70°–this is why we refrigerate food. The average fridge temperature is between 39 and 41 degrees, seriously limiting the growth rate of molds.
Very cold temperatures, such as those found in an average freezer, will stop the mold of growth completely. Freezing temperatures kill molds and inhibit their growth.
Remember that bread mold is a living plant organism, one that needs both moisture and oxygen to grow. Moisture is absorbed by the mold plant itself, causing the plant to grow faster just like when you water a plant in your garden.
Bread Mold Science Fair Project
A popular bread mold based science fair project is to determine if mold grows faster at higher or lower temperatures. It’s a popular topic because it is easy to prove with a simple science experiment. Here’s how you perform this classic bread mold science fair project.
Materials
- 15 slices of sandwich bread. This bread is used because it is inexpensive and each slice will be the same size, weight, and thickness.
- 15 sealable sandwich bags.
- 1 piece of film or clear plastic with a 10x10cm grid drawn onto it.
- Q-Tip
- Clean Knife
- Chopping board
- Sticky notes
- Marker pen
- Mold Spores. You can sometimes acquire these from science catalogs or other educational resources. There are plenty of mold spores in the air that will eventually grow on your bread, but getting mold spores and applying them yourself will take less time.
- Mask
- Gloves
Experiment
Label your bags with sticky notes. Mark 5 bags as ‘A’, 5 as ‘B’ and 5 as ‘C’.
Cut your bread into 10 x 10 squares.
After you place mold spores on the bread, put one slice into each bag and seal them tightly.
Place all of the ‘A’ bags into the freezer, the ‘B’ bags into the refrigerator and the ‘C’ bags in a warm room. Because the bags in the freezer and fridge will not be getting much light it is best to cover the ‘C’ bags as well so that the light difference doesn’t affect the outcome.
At the same time each day, count the number of square centimeters of mold on each slice of bread. Never open the bags.
Repeat this process for 10 days or until there are measurable results.
Keep careful notes on your results for every slice of bread for the duration of the experiment. You can even take pictures or draw the bread pieces. Now average the results for each sample type, A, B, and C.
You can plot the mold coverage on a graph and determine your results. Plot the amount of mold on each piece of bread and compare it to the number of days. Do this with a sheet of graph paper and colored pens or on a computer graph program.
What to Do with a Broken PS3?
April 21st, 2011 |What to Do with a Broken PS3?
You’re in the middle of a marathon Batman: Arkham Asylum session and your PS3 stops working. Maybe the disc simply won’t read or (even worse) the machine turns off and won’t turn back on. It’s happened to plenty of people before you–and unfortunately, there’s nothing saying it won’t happen again. Generally, Sony’s gaming systems are reliable. Give your PS3 a well-ventilated space, keep the dust away from the machine, and try to avoid throwing it up against the wall and you probably won’t have any trouble. But for those gamers who can’t bring themselves to dust their house every now and again, the PS3′s sensitivity to dust may be a problem.
When your PS3 breaks, you only have a couple of options. If you think you have a problem with the ventilation fan or the lens that physically reads the discs, you may be able to deal with this problem on your own. Again, most problems with the fan or the lens are caused by dust and grime–if the fan gets too clogged with dust and grime, the PS3 itself will pretty much shut down. This is a stop-gap measure to keep your nasty dusty gaming environment from completely destroying your
machine. If the lens gets too dusty, it won’t be able to read the discs you insert.
Broken PS3 Repair
Before you go digging around in your own PS3, remember that Sony offers a one-year warranty for most issues. If you haven’t had your PS3 for more than a year and you have proof of purchase, you can let Sony take care of the problem. In most cases, they’ll even give you a replacement machine rather than try to repair the problem.
If you don’t have proof of purchase or if you are outside the one-year warranty, it may be worthwhile to try to fix your PS3 problem on your own. WARNING: please don’t go trying to fix your own PS3 if you have no motor skills or aren’t comfortable trying to fix a machine in such a way that could damage it further. What you do is up to you–we don’t take any responsibility for any damage you cause with your clumsiness.
Your first step should be running your PS3 in “safe mode.” This is similar to running a PC in safe mode–you can restore default settings and even the entire file system. You can also restore the entire system or rebuild the database. Sony recommends that you backup your data before you attempt to run in safe mode. Here is Sony’s guide to working in safe mode on your PS3. Sony suggests only using safe mode if your PS3 is experiencing the following symptoms:
- When the PS3 system starts up, the XMB menu does not come up.
- When the PS3 system starts up, nothing at all appears on the screen.
- When the PS3 system starts up, a message stating “The hard disk’s file system is corrupted and will be restored” is displayed.
- When the PS3 system starts up, a message stating “The hard disk’s database will be rebuilt” is displayed.
- If your PS3 system stops while restarting after a PS3 system update or while updating or rebuilding the database.
There are simpler ways to try and fix your system, namely cleaning your PS3 discs with a gentle cloth, cleaning the lens with Sony’s special lens-cleaning formula, or (if you’re really brave) cleaning any dust and grime from the fan yourself. I’m not gonna tell you how to do this–if you’re handy enough to clean the fan, you’re handy enough to know how to access it.
Broken PS3 for Sale
If you don’t want to fix your own PS3 and if you don’t have the proper papers to allow Sony to fix it for you, you may have considered trying to sell your busted PS3 system. You’re not going to make much money, but there are some people willing to purchase your broken PS3 machine.
Your first place to sell your broken PS3 is on eBay. There are always hundreds of broken PS3′s for sale there. People buy these machines to use the parts. Don’t ask what they do with them–presumably they use them to fix their own machines or to fix other people’s. Why do you care what they do with your broken equipment?
Selling your broken PS3 is a good way to recover some of your lost investment.
Broken PS3 Value
Depending on the size of your PS3′s memory, the style of the machine, and a few other details, you can expect to sell it for between $50 and $130 on any decent auction site. If you have a relatively new 160 GB PS3 slim model, you’ll get a pretty good amount of cash. If, on the other hand, you have a 40GB machine, the value of your broken PS3 shrinks considerably.
When your PS3 breaks, it isn’t the end of the world. In many cases, Sony will fix the machine for you–worst case, they’ll charge you $150 (US) to have the machine repaired. If you’re handy with electronics, you may be able to fix the machine on your own. If all else fails, you can get some of your money back by selling your broken PS3 on eBay or Craigslist.
What Is Aloe Vera Gel?
April 20th, 2011 |What Is Aloe Vera Gel?
Aloe vera is the scientific name of the plant known as “true aloe” or “medicinal aloe.” The plant form of aloe vera is a succulent, meaning it is a plant that stores water. These plants usually thrive in dry areas where retaining water is a survival tactic. Other types of succulent plants include pitcher plants and most species of cacti.
Aloe vera is prized in many cultures because of its uses in natural remedies. Reportedly, aloe vera and the extracts from the aloe vera plant can be used to treat wounds, burns, minor skin infections, certain types of cysts, and even chronic diseases like diabetes and elevated blood lipids. Aloe vera‘s uses in health remedies are said to be caused by the high saturation of chemicals in the sap–chemicals called polysaccharides, mannans, anthraquinones, and lectins.
Aloe Vera Gel Uses
Aloe vera gel is a generic name for any “gel” containing natural aloe vera extracts. People use aloe vera gel for many different purposes.
Soothing
People claim that aloe vera extract and aloe vera gel soothes the pain and itching of small wounds and burns. Unfortunately for proponents of the use of aloe vera gel for wound care, a study in 2007 found that wounds treated with aloe vera gel actually took longer to heal than wounds treated with conventional medical treatment. Having said that, the study went on to suggest that the use of aloe vera gel on first and second degree burns was medically plausible, showing that first and second degree burns treated with aloe vera gel healed faster and caused less pain to the patient.
Moisturizing
There is no scientific evidence yet that proves that aloe vera gel is a better moisturizer than anything commercially-produced. People swear that moisturizing products containing aloe vera gel or extract work well, and if you try an aloe vera gel moisturizer and like the results, there’s no reason to continue using it. The “gel” texture of aloe vera sap is the main reason for its use as a moisturizer and beauty product.
Antibacterial & Antifungal
The use of aloe vera gel in treating minor skin infections and fungal infections is widespread and has lots of science to back it up. Chemical compounds in the sap of aloe vera have antibiotic and antifungal properties that have been proven in the lab. Boils and cysts treated with aloe vera gel tend to heal faster and cleaner than the same wounds treated with medical products or nothing at all.
Healing
Besides simple wound and burn care, the ingestion of aloe vera has been shown to help control diabetes. An ingredient in aloe vera gel lowers blood glucose levels. Similar to its effect on diabetes, the ingestion of aloe vera gel has been shown to lower lipid levels in the blood. Even newer research has proven that ingesting aloe vera extract of any type can help to treat acute hepatitis and other diseases. Much of the research into the use of aloe vera as a medical treatment for diabetes or high blood lipids has shifted to using it as a cancer treatment, though this has only been proven in cats and dogs.
Food
Modern chefs are starting to turn to various aloe vera extracts to add a special characteristic to their gastronomic creations. Aloe vera gel’s unique texture makes it a wonderful tool for chefs interested in “molecular gastronomy”, who are more interested in texture and appearance than traditional chefs.
Aloe Vera Gel Benefits
The benefits of aloe vera gel are many, as you should be able to tell from the wide array of medical and other uses for the gel listed above. Because aloe vera is inexpensive to cultivate, adding it to a medical treatment won’t carry the burden of adding other forms of treatment. You can buy aloe vera gel at health food stores and even grocery stores and other retail environments. The low cost of aloe vera gel is a huge benefit for people looking to use aloe vera extract or sap in their lineup of natural remedies.
Aloe Vera Gel for Acne
Unfortunately for acne sufferers, aloe vera gel won’t actually “heal” or prevent acne. But aloe vera sap and extract can help people suffering from acne.
The sap of the aloe vera plant can help to treat the redness and swelling that characterize acne. Basically, aloe vera gel can lessen the appearance of acne and help treat the pain and discomfort of lesions, but it will not keep acne from appearing.
Aloe Vera Gel for Face
Since aloe vera gel works well on acne, it stands to reason that using it on everyday pimples and blemishes is a good idea. Using aloe vera gel on problem blemishes is smarter (and cheaper) than using traditional medical treatments–you can keep an aloe vera plant in your backyard and break off a tiny bit of one of the leaves and apply it directly to your blemishes, rather than purchasing an expensive chemical treatment and smearing that all over your face.
Aloe Vera Gel for Hair
Adding aloe vera gel to your hair care products is a great way to turn an everyday hair product into a moisturizer. Aloe vera gel is an incredible moisturizer, and simply adding aloe vera gel to your commercial haircare product amps up that products moisturizing capability.
Aloe Vera Gel for Skin
Since aloe vera gel is a wonderful moisturizer on your hair, using it on your skin is a no-brainer. You can simply add some aloe vera gel to your favorite lotion or use aloe vera gel directly on your skin. Since aloe vera gel products are available in 100% organic or all-natural formulations, you can add aloe vera moisturizers to your skin without worrying about covering yourself in nasty chemicals.
Aloe vera gel and aloe vera extracts and saps are wonderful products with many uses. You can grow aloe vera plants in your yard, especially if you live in a hot or dry climate where aloe vera plants flourish.
What Are DUI Checkpoints?
April 19th, 2011 |What Are DUI Checkpoints?
You may have seen them on the highways and byways of America especially during high-traffic times, late at night, or during the holidays. In general, DUI checkpoints are regular points along high-traffic roads that allow police and other peace officers to examine drivers to make sure they aren’t driving in an impaired state.
DUI checkpoints take many forms–some are simply patrol cars checking speed and safety, and pulling over drivers who appear to be impaired for a closer check. Other checkpoints are more invasive–all cars travelling along a certain stretch of road must pull over and pass inspection. The kind of checkpoint that you encounter has more to do with a state’s laws and attitudes toward DUI checkpoints than anything else.
38 states in America conduct DUI checkpoints, also known as sobriety checkpoints, as part of their state policy toward impaired and drunk driving. The other 12 states have found that laws exist preventing or challenging the legality of such checkpoints.
DUI Checkpoint Locations
The best way to find DUI checkpoint locations is to watch local news and read your local newspaper. Most places that setup DUI checkpoints are legally bound to announce the location in some form. Your municipal or state police department may even post these checkpoint locations on their website.
DUI Checkpoint Locators
Websites like Roadblock Registry allow you to search for posted roadblocks by state and sometimes by city. You can also use your own two eyes to spot roadblocks–if you see lots of flashing lights between 9 pm and 2 am, you can bet you’ve just found a DUI checkpoint.
DUI Checkpoint Apps
Three apps for smartphones, called Buzzed, Tipsy, and Checkpointer, allow people with smartphones to instantly access roadblock and DUI checkpoint registries. These apps run from totally free to $4.99, and the more expensive the app the larger the database and the more often the updates. These apps are currently legal, though there are legal challenges to their existence and availability to the public.
DUI Checkpoint Laws
Depending on the state you live in, you may or may not have to worry about DUI checkpoints. Some states have ruled that such checkpoints are illegal–other states have specific interpretations of the Constitution that make such checkpoints illegal. There appears to be a geographic component to the legality of DUI checkpoints, with states in the Deep South and around New England favoring DUI checkpoints, while states in the West and Midwest tend to declare them illegal.
Here is a breakdown of all fifty states, whether or not they conduct DUI checkpoints, and how often.
Alabama–DUI checkpoints are legal and are conducted throughout the year.
Alaska–DUI checkpoints are illegal because the state has no legal authority to run them.
Arizona–DUI checkpoints are conducted at least once per month.
Arkansas–DUI checkpoints are conducted weekly.
California–DUI checkpoints are conducted once or twice a month.
Colorado–DUI checkpoints are conducted once or twice a month.
Connecticut–DUI checkpoints are legal but are not conducted regularly.
Delaware–DUI checkpoints are legal and are conducted once a month between January and June and weekly from June through December.
D.C.– DUI checkpoints are conducted once or twice a month.
Florida–Florida is the DUI checkpoint capital of the world. DUI checkpoints are legal and are conducted 15-20 times monthly.
Georgia–DUI checkpoints are conducted weekly.
Hawaii–DUI checkpoints are conducted weekly.
Idaho–DUI checkpoints are illegal by state law.
Illinois–Illinois is almost as DUI checkpoint-crazy as Florida, conducting several hundred checkpoints randomly throughout the year.
Indiana–DUI checkpoints are legal and are conducted randomly.
Iowa–DUI checkpoints are illegal because of a state law that authorizes roadblocks but does not specifically authorize sobriety checkpoints.
Kansas–DUI checkpoints are legal and are conducted once or twice a month.
Kentucky–DUI checkpoints are legal and are conducted weekly.
Louisiana–The state Supreme Court recently authorized the use of DUI checkpoints.
Maine–DUI checkpoints are legal but rare.
Maryland–DUI checkpoints are legal and are conducted weekly.
Massachusetts–DUI checkpoints are conducted year round.
Michigan–DUI checkpoints are specifically classified as illegal by the Michigan state constitution.
Minnesota–DUI checkpoints are illegal by the Minnesota state constitution.
Mississippi–DUI checkpoints are conducted weekly.
Missouri–DUI checkpoints are conducted twice a month.
Montana–By state law, only “safety spot checks” are allowed.
Nebraska–DUI checkpoints are conducted 6 – 10 times per month.
Nevada–DUI checkpoints are conducted twice a month.
New Hampshire–According to the New Hampshire DPS, DUI checkpoints are conducted weekly, “weather permitting.”
New Jersey–DUI checkpoints are conducted once or twice a month.
New Mexico– New Mexico law states “DUI checkpoints set up to detect and apprehend drunk drivers are constitutionally permissable as long as law enforcement follows . . . guidelines to ensure their reasonableness.”
New York–DUI checkpoints are legal and conducted weekly.
North Carolina–DUI checkpoints are conducted weekly.
North Dakota–DUI checkpoints are legal but not often conducted.
Ohio–DUI checkpoints are conducted regularly throughout the year.
Oklahoma–DUI checkpoints are conducted once or twice a month.
Oregon–DUI checkpoints are illegal under state constitution.
Pennsylvania–Pennsylvania conducts the third-most DUI checkpoints in America, at a rate of “several hundred per year.”
Rhode Island–DUI checkpoints are illegal by Rhode Island law.
South Carolina–DUI checkpoints are legal but not conducted regularly.
South Dakota–DUI checkpoints are conducted weekly.
Tennessee–DUI checkpoints are currently under challenge at the state Supreme Court level.
Texas– DUI checkpoints are illegal under Texas’ own interpretation of the Federal constitution.
Utah–DUI checkpoints are conducted six times a year.
Vermont–DUI checkpoints are conducted weekly.
Virginia–DUI checkpoints are conducted weekly.
Washington–DUI checkpoints are illegal by state law.
West Virginia–DUI checkpoints are conducted weekly.
Wisconsin–DUI checkpoints are prohibited by law.
Wyoming–DUI checkpoints are illegal due to the state’s interpretation of Federal roadblock statutes.
What Are 8 Pack Abs? How Do You Get 8 Pack Abs
April 18th, 2011 |What Are 8 Pack Abs? How Do You Get 8 Pack Abs
Ab muscles are the holy grail of abdominal workouts. You could even go one step further and say that a good set of ab muscles is the ultimate goal of most people’s entire workout plans. Sure, people will say that the goal of their workout routine is to be “physically fit” or “healthy”, but really they want that sexy 6 pack and the respect and attention it gets them.
Well-defined ab muscles have a specific appearance that gives them the nickname “6 pack”–if you look at the photo in this article you’ll see why. Ab muscles are joined with connective tissue that creates a “peak and valley” look, separating the individual ab muscles and making them stand out against the other muscles and flesh in the abdominal area. The phrase “6 pack” refers to the six bulging ab muscles that are grouped in threes on either side of the belly button.
But for some ab workout enthusiasts, a six pack is just not enough. The elusive “8 pack” abs are just what they sound like–8 individual ab muscles that stand out, rather than just 6. While some people say that anyone can have 8 pack abs, others claim that genetics has more to do with the development of an 8 pack than diet or proper exercise.
Are 8 Pack Abs Possible?
If you look at an anatomical drawing of the area where ab muscles develop, you’ll see that there are indeed 8 individual bulging muscles in the abdomen. What creates the unique “6 pack” or “8 pack” look are the valleys between the muscles created by connective tissue. The reason why most people feel they can’t develop 8 pack abs is that the connective tissue that joins the lowest ab muscles (the 2 that turn a 6 pack into an 8 pack) is not the same as the tissue that joins the upper abdominals. This special connective tissue juts out between the lower ab muscles, thereby avoiding the “valley” look that leads to the development of the “pack” look.
The short answer is that yes, 8 pack abs are possible. As for the best way to develop an 8 pack . . . well, that’s a different story altogether. Opinion is divided about how much your DNA has to do with your ability to turn your sexy 6 pack into an outrageous 8 pack. If genetics is a big component of the 8 pack, then you can workout as hard as you want and slam back protein like a dinosaur and you’re never going to get that 8 pack look.
Workout
Your ab muscles are actually a single long “sheet” of muscle known as the rectus abdominus. There are three lines of tendons that hold the ab muscles in place over the intestines, and a long piece of tendon that separates the muscle into two vertical groups–so really, everyone “has” an 8 pack, we just can’t always see it.
People who say you can improve your ab workout to further develop the 8 pack claim that the reason most men just have a 6 pack is that they only work the upper part of the rectus abdominus. According to these people, working out both the upper and lower sections of your abs will lead to an 8 pack.
You do this by first getting rid of the fat that hides the lower section of your ab muscles. Even if you have a well-defined 6 pack, chances are your lowest two ab muscles are hidden under a layer of fat. Most 8 pack enthusiasts claim that a series of 8 ab exercises that work the ab muscles from all angles and in all directions is the only way to find out if your 8 pack can rear its awesome head.
What are these exercises? Here’s a quick list:
- Ball curl-up
- Ball curl-up with knee tuck
- Twisting medicine ball toss
- V raise
- Hanging trunk twist
- V raise with knee tuck
- Single resistance double crunch
- Double resistance double crunch
Diet
Different studies give different numbers, but in general it is thought that about 3/4 of your ability to lose weight is tied up in what you’re eating. Your fuel accounts for more of your ability to shed pounds than your actions.
The first thing you need to do is eat six times a day. If you eat quality food every three or four hours, you’ll never be hungry or tempted to eat garbage. This also keeps your metabolism working which will help you lose weight and burn fat. Eat three normal meals and three smaller snacks. Here’s your new eating schedule:
8 am: Breakfast
11 am: Snack
1 pm: Lunch
4 pm: Snack
6 pm: Dinner
9 pm: Snack
So what foods should you eat? A trainer taught me the phrase “ABS DIET POWER.” Each letter in that phrase is a different food that you should be eating.
Almonds (or any nut)
Beans (or any legume)
Spinach (or any leafy green)
Dairy
Instant oatmeal
Eggs
Turkey
Peanut butter
Olive oil
Whole grains
Extra protein (whey)
Raspberries (and other berries)
If you eat these power foods 6 times a day and do your ab workouts, you’re on your way to the 8 pack you’ve always dreamed of having.
Genetics
Unfortunately, my friend, it appears that the last component of developing 8 pack abs is simple genetics. Some people can eat all the proper foods at the proper times, do all the right ab workouts, and still never see those final two pieces of the 8 pack come together.
If you’re lucky enough to have genes that lead to tighter lower tendons in your rectus abdominus, you’ll find out soon after starting the abs diet and proper workouts. If not, you’ll find that out too.
Building a sexy set of 8 pack abs isn’t rocket science. Eat the right foods, do the right workouts, and luck out in terms of your genetics, and you’ll have the 8 pack that blows away any and every 6 pack you could ever see. Stick to your diet, do your workout, and flash your 8 pack at all those 6 pack punks at the gym.
