First paper... psyche!

So I keep wanting to write about the first paper that I was going to publish, but apparently there's some shenanigans still pending. Yes, that's right, what I wrote turns out to have potential legal issues associated with it-- which is odd, considering the triviality of the solution in the paper. Until the _second_ paper comes out (advisor, I'm looking at you...), this blog will continue to be about useless, trivial things. Which is what most blogs are about anyway, so it's not like I'm not in good company.

First up: Maha batteries. These batteries are the best, bar none, thanks for playing, see ya later. I've had some duracell rechargeables, and those damn things, even though they're rated for 2650 mAh, last about five minutes in my sb800 flash. The maha's, though, those things last for a good couple of hours, even on repeat mode, and I only need one set of 5 batteries (the flash has a fifth battery for fast recycle times) to last for most of a wedding. If you want batteries to go with your digital camera, look no further. Plus, my charger was making odd crackling noises, so I called up Maha tech support. They shipped me a new charger, which arrived the next business day (last Monday), for free, and it works like a charm. How's that for customer service? They have a customer for life, if they keep this up.

Second up: how much fat in dairy products? (How's that for a random topic...) If you look at the conventional wisdom, you can eat low fat (or no-fat) dairy products, and still get your vitamins and minerals. That same website states that we get most of our vitamin D from the sun. As a programmer, I go in the sun only when forced; for me, then, I need to get it from food. Vitamins are only absorbed in fats, according to the physiology text I've been studying and teaching out of for a few years now. The upshot? You need fat in your diet to absorb vitamins. It's that simple-- an entirely fat-free diet will mean that your body will have no mechanism for absorbing (some) vitamins in your gut, and that can mean certain anemias crop up, bone problems, etc etc. So while everyone's all worried about not eating fat, make sure that you're still eating fat with your milk and yogurt, otherwise a lot of the good it can do you disappears. Some of you know why I'm harping on this, some of you don't, and since there's only about two people who are reading this, I think you already know why I'd care so much about nutrition at the moment.