Mediterranean diet significantly reduces the risk of mortality in elderly people

From here: 

Following a Mediterranean diet can extend a person's lifespan and reduce the risk of mortality in elderly people, according to a new study.

Italian researchers from the Department of Epidemiology and Prevention of the IRCCS Neuromed, in Molise, Italy, analysing the relationship between a traditional Mediterranean diet and mortality found the life-prolonging link when studying participants over the age of 65 who adhered to the diet.

According to the findings, the diet, comprised of a mix of fruit, vegetables, fish, olive oil, and moderate wine consumption, is associated with a 25 per cent reduction of “all-cause mortality” and the effect remains when considering “cardiovascular or cerebrovascular mortality” as well.

Well, at least I eat plenty of fish and olive oil and nuts.  But very little in terms of vegetables and fruit (unless potatoes count), and no wine (although I drink lots of lager).

Similar to those who claim that studies reveal consuming 5 to 10 portions of fruit and vegetables a day will help prevent heart disease, diabetes and some cancers, and hence extends one's life, I would like to know how they know it's the consumption of these foods that are of primary importance rather than the avoidance of ultra-processed/junk foods?  That is to say, perhaps it's not so much what you eat, but what you don't eat?  I do not believe that studies distinguish between these 2 possibilities since eating through humongous amounts of vegetables and fruit every day will leave very little appetite for any junk foods.

Autonomous cars and human drivers are incompatible

I've been thinking. It just simply won't be possible to create fully autonomous cars (i.e level 5 cars) that share the same roads as human drivers. Google etc are wasting a lot of their money attempting to do this.

There needs to be a rethink. Autonomous cars need their own lanes. Stop wasting money Google, Musk etc and give it to me instead.

Also see my original blog post on these cars here, and another post here.

Dwelling on our mortality

Some people dwell -- unduly in my opinion -- about their own deaths and the meaning of it all. Yes we are all going to die -- just as ~ 100 billion people did before us (this is a rough estimate of the total number of human being who have ever died).

We either survive, or we don't. If we don't then it will be exactly the same as the time before our lives. It will be akin to deep sleep. If we survive? Then it's an adventure which will happen at some unspecified time in our futures. Meanwhile let's just lose ourselves in our lives. Enjoy ourselves.

Life is interesting. Existence is fascinating. Let's not lose sight of that.

The sheer meaninglessness of all things

According to modern western wisdom we are mere meat robots, with no free will, living out our purposeless lives in a purposeless Universe, marching to our inevitable annihilation. An annihilation that can occur at any time. All our actions, all our thoughts, all our emotions, all our hopes, all our fears, everything we ever say, everything we ever do, is ultimately to no avail. In a million years time, each and every one of us will have long been forgotten, as if we had never existed. And, perhaps, the human race itself will have long since disappeared and will have been forgotten, as if it too had never existed.

Moreover, the Universe itself is dying. Eventually, all conscious creatures will die everywhere in the entire Universe. And eventually, nothing will ever happen ever again . . not anywhere and not ever.

Let the sheer meaninglessness of our existence and the Universe suffuse through you!

But wait! Richard Dawkins has some words of consolation:

"We are going to die, and that makes us the lucky ones. Most people are never going to die because they are never going to be born. The potential people who could have been here in my place but who will in fact never see the light of day outnumber the sand grains of Arabia. Certainly those unborn ghosts include greater poets than Keats, scientists greater than Newton.

We know this because the set of possible people allowed by our DNA so massively exceeds the set of actual people. In the teeth of these stupefying odds it is you and I, in our ordinariness, that are here...

After sleeping through a hundred million centuries we have finally opened our eyes on a sumptuous planet, sparkling with color, bountiful with life. Within decades we must close our eyes again. Who, with such a thought, would not spring from bed, eager to resume discovering the world and rejoicing to be a part of it?" (Richard Dawkins, Unweaving the Rainbow: Science, Delusion and the Appetite for Wonder p6)

Now doesn't that make people burst with happiness? Let us spring forth from bed with alacrity and enthusiasm for the forthcoming day! To savour the sweetness of existence. To know that you're one of the infinitesimally small proportion of potential people who have been granted the miracle of being alive! To be bestowed this gift of a momentary window of existence before entering into eternal nothingness. Oh, how fortunate we all are!

That's one way of looking at it I suppose! Ha Ha!

Good looking women

Why do guys act so sycophantically around good looking women? Get sick of hearing stuff like:

You have intelligence, courage and a keen sense of self and your place in the universe. You're a very feisty lady that can handle pretty well any challenge that is thrown at you, dare I say you have inspired me with how you live your life? Your awesomeness emanates from your very being, it is almost a tangible thing! OK . OK . .I made that last sentence up.