Alex Santoso's Blog Posts

10 Reasons Why You Shouldn't Let Your Child Play with Smartphone or iPad

Alex

Before you hand your smartphone or iPad to your kid to keep 'em quiet, know this: pediatric occupational therapist Chris Rowan has outlined 10 reasons why you shouldn't.

Children aged 3 to 5 who are exposed to technology more than four hours a day - including use of handheld devices like cell phones, tablets, and electronic games - could develop serious behavioral problems and even child developmental delays.

So, Rowan is calling parents, teachers, and even the government to ban the use of all handheld devices for children under the age of 12 years. In this post over at Huffington Post, Rowan explained 10 reasons why, summarized below:

  1. Exposure to technology is bad for rapid brain growth of children from 0 to 2 years of age
  2. Technology use restricts movement, and thus results in delayed physical development
  3. TV and video game use correlates with increased obesity
  4. 75% of kids who use technology in the bedroom have sleep deprivation
  5. Technology overuse is a factor in child depression, anxiety, and other mental illness
  6. Violent media can cause child aggression
  7. "Digital dementia": too much digital media cause decreased concentration and memory
  8. 10% of children aged 8 to 18 are addicted to technology
  9. Potential radiation emission from digital devices
  10. The way children are raised and educated with technology is unsustainable

Rowan shares a guideline on the appropriate use of technology for kids of varying ages:


The McDonald's Diet: Man Lost 56 Pounds Eating Only McDonald's Food

Alex


Image: John Cisna

Move over, Jared - there's a new fast food diet in town!

Meet John Cisna, a high school science teacher in Colo, Iowa, who lost weight and gained fame by eating only at McDonald's. In his new book My McDonald's Diet, Cisna explained that he lost 56 pounds, shaved a total of 21 inches off his chest, waist and hips, and lowered his cholesterol by eating only at the fast food chain.

Cisna's McDonald's diet will end on March 15, and he told TODAY, "It's kind of scary to realize that in nine days, I'll have spent half a year of my life eating nothing but McDonald's. I'm not bored of the food, but I am missing other foods. I am craving seafood. In fact, my first night when I am done with this, I'm going to have some shrimp and some scallops and some salmon. Maybe some asparagus on a bed of rice pilaf." [More McFacts About McDonald's]

What? Missing seafood? Didn't he know he could have the Filet-O-Fish?

Turns out, Cisna wasn't the first person who tried the McDonald's Diet. Back in 2008, we covered the story of Chris Coleson, who lost 86 pounds eating nothing but food at the Golden Arches. And if you thought that's impressive, check out the story of Kansas State University professor Mark Haub who lost 27 pounds eating only Twinkies.


Machu Picchu is Under Attack ... by Naked Tourists!

Alex


Photo from mynakedtrip.com - sanitized by Munchification, just for you Neatoramanauts!

The Incan relic of Machu Picchu has survived five centuries of conquests and earthquakes, but it's facing what is probably the baldest attack yet: naked tourists!

A recent spate of naked tourists posing in their birthday suits at the ancient city is making the rounds on social media, including this video clip of a couple of streakers running through the complex with guards at their, uh, rears:

That incident has aroused the anger of the Peruvian authorities. Ricardo Ruiz Caro, the new regional director of culture, announced a prickly response: park guards would keep their eyes peeled to prevent future nakedness. No ands, ifs, or but(t)s.

The Guardian reports that there were more examples of this behavior:

A local travel agency obtained the handwritten police report on the incident last year, which details how the pair, a 30-year-old New Zealander and an 18-year-old Australian, were briefly taken into custody and told to erase the offending images from their camera before they were released. Somehow, the pictures still found their way on to the web.

"They were made aware that it is totally forbidden to take photographs of this magnitude," the report details.

We are assuming that by "magnitude" they're not referring to the pair's privates. Given Machu Picchu's high elevation, it's usually quite cold there.


Doctores

Alex


Doctores by Chema Bola8

Love some punk rock band/time-travelin' doctors? Chema Bola8 has got you, babe! The time has come today to get yourself this awesome Doctores T-shirt. Don't leave us on needles and pin - and don't wait till you're out of time. If you need something to believe in, believe in this: the NeatoShop has got some rockin' shirts.

Visit Chema Bola8's official website, Facebook and deviantART page, then check out his NeatoShop for more geeky shirts:

Tracy Trooper Turtle Flag Bamfperture Step by Step

View more designs by Chema Bola8 | More Funny T-shirts | New T-Shirts

Are you a professional illustrator or T-shirt designer? Let's chat! Sell your designs on the NeatoShop and get featured in front of tons of potential new fans on Neatorama!


Chocolate Chipster

Alex


Chocolate Chipster by Amanda Flagg

The Chocolate Chipster likes cookies before they were cool (he likes 'em piping hot, we think). Likewise, you should like this T-shirt and other nifty creations by NeatoShop artist Amanda Flagg before they went mainstream cool.

Check out Amanda's official website, Facebook and Twitter, then visit her NeatoShop for more awesome designs:

Corgisnail Belly of the Best YOLO - You Obviously Love Owls I Like Like U

View more designs by Amanda Flagg | More Funny T-shirts | New T-Shirts

Are you a professional illustrator or T-shirt designer? Let's chat! Sell your designs on the NeatoShop and get featured in front of tons of potential new fans on Neatorama!


5-Year-Old Kid Forges Mom's Signature

Alex

Seems legit! Redditor Lisa831's five year old kid attempted to forge her signature - I'd say the hearts really sold it. That kid is gonna grow up to be juuuust fine, dontcha think?

Did you ever forge your parent's signature when you were a kid? How did it go?


Is It Wrong to Tattoo Your Dog?

Alex

When his dog was sedated after a surgery, Brooklyn tattoo artist Mistah Metro decided to take the opportunity to make it the coolest dog of all New York City: by giving it a tattoo!

In an Instagram post that has since been deleted, Mistah Metro proclaimed that "My dog is cooler than yours!" The dog had her spleen removed, the artist explained, and the vet let him tattoo her while she was under. Mistah Metro chose the classic Cupid-style heart with the names "Alex" and "Mel" (for himself and his wife).

When the photo went viral, animal lovers were predictably outraged.

Chris Torres, the owner of Red Legged Devil's tattoo shop where the artist works, claimed that the dog was not tattooed there. "[it] didn't happen at the shop, so it's none of my business," he said. "Yeah, just be glad it wasn't a Chinese symbol or chain link," he later added.

Tattooing a dog is actually not exactly a rare practice - the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) itself does it all the time, but for a very different reason, as reported by Gothamist:

The ASPCA condones the use of tattooing for only identification purposes following spay or neuter surgery. This practice helps animal welfare professionals clearly identify animals that have been altered, thereby preventing unnecessary future surgeries. This painless procedure is performed by a licensed veterinarian or veterinary technician while the animal is under anesthesia. The marks are very small and have a specific purpose, which is to avoid inflicting undue pain and stress later if that animal is unknowingly brought in for a spay surgery a second time.

Tattooing an animal for the vain sake of joy and entertainment of the owner - without any regard for the well-being of the animal - is not at all comparable to the incident in question and is not something the ASPCA supports.

What do you think? Is it wrong to tattoo your dog?




The Father of Bitcoin Found?

Alex

You've probably heard a lot about Bitcoin recently - from the incredible rise (and subsequent crash) in its value, to the implosion of Mt. Gox - the playing card trading website turned world's largest Bitcoin exchange.

The invention of Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency that became the darling of the Internet, was attributed to a mysterious man (or group of men) called Satoshi Nakamoto. The name was widely believed to be a pseudonym, until Newsweek reported that it had found him. Astoundingly, he is actually named Satoshi Nakamoto, and that he's been living in plain sight.

Leah McGrath Goodman of Newsweek wrote the story of the (supposed) father of Bitcoin, including this illuminating exchange with a brother she tracked down:

"You want to know about my amazing physicist brother?" says Arthur Nakamoto, Satoshi Nakamoto's youngest sibling, who works as director of quality assurance at Wavestream Corp., a maker of radio frequency amplifiers in San Dimas, Calif.

"He's a brilliant man. I'm just a humble engineer. He's very focused and eclectic in his way of thinking. Smart, intelligent, mathematics, engineering, computers. You name it, he can do it."

But he also had a warning.

"My brother is an asshole. What you don't know about him is that he's worked on classified stuff. His life was a complete blank for a while. You're not going to be able to get to him. He'll deny everything. He'll never admit to starting Bitcoin."

And with that, Nakamoto's brother hung up.

Read the entire story over at Newsweek.


Cronut Inventor's New Mad Genius Creation: Edible Chocolate Chip Cookie Milk Shot

Alex

Dominique Ansel, the mad genius creator of the croissand/donut hybrid Cronut, is back with yet another culinary masterpiece. This time, the chef and owner of the Dominique Ansel Bakery in New York, has created an edible mash-up of chocolate chip and a glass of milk.

Ansel molds an extra-aerated cookie dough into the shape of a shot glass (it seems that he also lined it with chocolate to make it hold liquid), then fill it with ice-cold milk.

Ansel told TODAY that the inspiration of his latest creation actually came to him when he tried an Oreo for the first time (it was just "not a natural combination in French culture," he admitted). Everyone told him that he had to try it with milk, and so why not combine the two, he thought. "I love a good cookie, and it's funny because I never had one until I moved ot the U.S. This is my version 2.0," Ansel added.

That looks oh so delicious!


Beautiful Images From Rare Books of Science and Astronomy

Alex

If you're a big fan of woodcut illustrations of science and astronomy, you're in for a big treat. Swann Auction Galleries will host an auction of some rare astronomy and science books from the private collection of physicist Martin C. Gutzwiller, and have shared with us some of the fascinating images.

What Type of Companies Own Your State's Politicians?

Alex

What kind of companies top the list of political campaign contributions in your state's last election cycle? Mother Jones took the data from Follow The Money, a nonpartisan and nonprofit organization that compiles a database of verifiable campaign finance contributions across the 50 states for the 2012 election, and came up with the map above.

The data is admittedly incomplete: Mother Jones limited their search to the top business in each state and excluded contributions from unions, law firms, nonprofits, and PACs.

It's not surprising that gambling dominated the political contributions in Nevada, but I was surprised to find that it also dominated in Rhode Island. I'm also surprised to find that finance companies dominated the political contributions in only 4 states - why did I think it would've been in more places?

Real Estate companies pay the highest corporate campaign contributions in 14 states, health-related companies in 13, and energy companies in 12. Tech and telecom dominated in 3 whereas manufacturing in only two.

See which type of company dominated your state's politics over at Mother Jones.


By The Time You See It, You'd Probably Be Dead

Alex


Image: Art Wolfe - via Moillusions

You're the leader of an African expedition and danger lurks from every corner. Your team depends on your ability to spot the threat - it may be closer than you think ... can you find it in the photo above, before it finds you?

Renowned Washington-based photographer Art Wolfe (previously on Neatorama) snapped this intriguing photo back in 2010. Leave a comment how long it took you to spot the danger, or whether you saw it at all ...


When David Cameron Calls, The Internet Answers

Alex

When UK Prime Minister David Cameron posted on Twitter a photo of himself talking on the phone to President Barack Obama about the tense situation in Ukraine and looking super serious doing so, he inadvertently started a chain reaction of parody photos.

Comedian Rob Delaney jumped in:

Then Sir Patrick Stewart came on board:

... and hilarity ensued, when more Twitter users piled on with #Davecalls

Continue reading

10 Most Striking Images of Earth From Space

Alex

Published by Abrams, Earth From Space features more than 150 magnificent satellite photographs provided by European aerospace technology company Astrium as well as NASA. These photographs are much more than beautiful pictures of our planet - the detailed images can inform us about the health of our world by making clear the impact of deforestation, farming, pollution and urban sprawl.

Here are 10 Most Striking Images of Earth From Space.

Europe to America: Get Your Own Cheese Names!

Alex


American Cheese (Image: Steve Spring/Wikimedia)

Well, have you had that weird orange slices of processed food called American cheese? It's no wonder that American cheesemakers are miffed when the European Union proposed that they stop using European names when making cheese. No more "Mi queso es su queso".

As part of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership currently being negotiated by the United States and the EU, Europe wants us to stop labelling popular cheeses Gruyere, Brie, and Parmesan as those are names with historical ties to Europe. The EU has added "protected destination of origin" (PDO) status to 180 cheeses from various regions, including Roquefort, Beaufort, and Brie de Meaux.

American cheesemakers, naturally, are upset that Europe is moving their cheese. "People have spent a great deal of money on labeling, building traditions, building a name on a product," said foodmaker Steve Stettler of Decatur Dairy in Brodhead, Wisconsin, to NPR Morning Edition's Latoya Dennis. "And then not being able to use that name would be kind of horrific."

What do you think? No more American-made feta, Asiago, Gorgonzola, Roquefort and Muenster? Should American cheesemakers be forced to call these cheeses something else?


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Profile for Alex Santoso

  • Member Since 2012/07/17


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