Lilies of the valley

[5 things successful people may always do]

Rise and shine! Morning time just became your new best friend.

Love it or hate it, utilizing the morning hours before work may be the key to a successful and healthy lifestyle.
That’s right, early rising is a common trait found in many CEOs, government officials, and other influential people. Margaret Thatcher was up every day at 5 a.m.; Frank Lloyd Wright at 4 am and Robert Iger, the CEO of Disney wakes at 4:30am just to name a few. I know what you’re thinking - you do your best work at night. Not so fast. According to Inc. Magazine, morning people have been found to be more proactive and more productive. In addition, the health benefits for those with a life before work go on and on. Let’s explore 5 of the things successful people do before 8 am.

1. Exercise. I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again. Most people that work out daily, work out in the morning. Whether it’s a morning yoga session or a trip to the gym, exercising before work gives you a boost of energy for the day and that deserved sense of accomplishment. Anyone can tackle a pile of paperwork after 200 ab reps! Morning workouts also eliminate the possibility of flaking out on your cardio after a long day at work. Even if you aren’t bright eyed and bushy tailed at the thought of a 5 am jog, try waking up 15 minutes early for a quick bedside set of pushups or stretching. It’ll help wake up your body, and prep you for your day.

2. Map Out Your Day. Maximize your potential by mapping out your schedule for the day, as well as your goals and to dos. The morning is a good time for this as it is often one of the only quiet times a person gets throughout the day. The early hours foster easier reflection that helps when prioritizing your activities. They also allow for uninterrupted problem solving when trying to fit everything into your timetable. While scheduling, don’t forget about your mental health. Plan a 10 minute break after that stressful meeting for a quick walk around the block or a moment of meditation at your desk. Trying to eat healthy? Schedule a small window in the evening to pack a few nutritious snacks to bring to work the next day.

3. Eat a Healthy Breakfast. We all know that rush out the door with a cup of coffee and an empty stomach feeling. You sit down at your desk, and you’re already wondering how early that taco truck sets up camp outside your office. No good. Take that extra time in the morning to fuel your body for the tasks ahead of it. It will help keep you mind on what’s at hand and not your growling stomach. Not only is breakfast good for your physical health, it is also a good time to connect socially. Even five minutes of talking with your kids or spouse while eating a quick bowl of oatmeal can boost your spirits before heading out the door.

4. Visualization. These days we talk about our physical health ad nauseam, but sometimes our mental health gets overlooked. The morning is the perfect time to spend some quiet time inside your mind meditating or visualizing. Take a moment to visualize your day ahead of you, focusing on the successes you will have. Even just a minute of visualization and positive thinking can help improve your mood and outlook on your work load for the day.

5. Make Your Day Top Heavy. We all have that one item on our to do list that we dread. It looms over you all day (or week) until you finally suck it up and do it after much procrastination. Here’s an easy tip to save yourself the stress - do that least desirable task on your list first. Instead of anticipating the unpleasantness of it from first coffee through your lunch break, get it out of the way. The morning is the time when you are (generally) more well rested and your energy level is up. Therefore, you are more well equipped to handle more difficult projects. And look at it this way, your day will get progressively easier, not the other way around. By the time your work day is ending, you’re winding down with easier to dos and heading into your free time more relaxed.(Forbes)

A brave passenger was forced to land a plane himself last night.

The light aircraft, thought to be a Cessna, took off at 6.30pm, but moments later the pilot declared an emergency before falling unconscious, with one man on board.

Shaken up, the passenger seized the controls and, after several passes over Humberside Airport, landed an hour later while air traffic control talked him down by radio from the tower.

Roy Murray, one of two flight instructors who guided him through the landing, said the man had no flying experience and did a “remarkable job”.

Mr Murray, who works at a flying school at the airport, said:

“He made quite a good landing actually.

"He didn’t know the layout of the aeroplane, he didn’t have lights on, so he was absolutely flying blind as well.

“I think he’d flown once before as a passenger but he’d never flown an aeroplane before.”

にほんブログ村

Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge is the longest suspension bridge. It took more than ten years to construct the pearl bridge.

にほんブログ村

It has six lanes and links the island of Awaji and the mainland city of Kobe, a distance of four miles.

にほんブログ村

The concept of building a bridge across the Akashi Straits became urgent after a disaster in 1955.

にほんブログ村

A ferry carrying over one hundred children sank after colliding with another ferry, in the busy shipping lane. One hundred and sixty eight children and adults died in the disaster. Political pressure for a bridge increased and in 1988 construction began.

The Akashi Straits is four miles wide at the bridge site with sea depths of one hundred metres and. This area is one of the busiest sea lanes in the world with over a hundred ships per day travelling through it. Furthermore, the bridge is in a typhoon region.

The construction of a suspension bridge involves the use of two main cables stretching between two towers. The roadway beneath these is suspended by more cables. To stop the towers, roadway and cables collapsing, they are held at either end by large anchor blocks (the Akashi anchor blocks weigh 350 000 tonnes). In the case of the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge, suspension bridge technology was pushed to the limit.

Too many Australians aren't getting enough sleep and it's costing us our health. Accredited nutritionist Caitlin Reid investigates the health consequences of not getting enough shut-eye.

In today's fast-paced living, many of us forgo our beauty sleep for hours in front of the computer working or catching up with friends. We sleep less in a bid to get more done, but what we don't realise is the negative effect this small sacrifice has on our health. Here are the top ways a lack of sleep can play havoc on our health.

1. It promotes weight gain

During sleep, our bodies secrete hormones that help to control appetite, energy metabolism and glucose processing. Sleep loss disrupts the balance of these and other hormones. For example, a lack of sleep increases the production of the stress hormone cortisol, as well as insulin secretion after a meal. Higher levels of insulin are associated with weight gain. Inadequate sleep is also associated with lower levels of hunger-suppressing hormone leptin, as well as higher levels of hunger-promoting ghrelin. As a result, we eat more the next day — as many as 1200 extra kilojoules. For better health, aim for eight hours sleep each night.

2. It increases the risk of developing diabetes

Less than five hours of sleep a night can double your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Research has found that a lack of sleep reduces insulin sensitivity in the body, meaning more insulin is needed to store the same amount of glucose. One short-term sleep restriction study found that a group of healthy subjects who had their sleep cut back from eight to four hours per night processed glucose more slowly than they did when they were allowed to sleep 12 hours. In addition, researchers have correlated obstructive sleep apnoea — a disorder in which breathing difficulties during sleep lead to frequent arousals — with the development of impaired glucose control similar too that which occurs in people with type 2 diabetes.

3. It increases the risk of developing heart disease

A US study of more than 71,000 women found that having a less than five hours of sleep a night increases the risk of developing heart disease. Too little sleep put the body into an alert state, increasing the production of stress hormones and elevating blood pressure. High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart disease.

4. It increases the risk of injury

A lack of sleep takes a toll on perception and judgement. It negatively impacts on mood, reduces our ability to focus and our ability to reason. People suffering from insomnia have an increased risk of accidents, as daytime sleepiness increases a worker's risk of injury. According to the Institutes of Medicine, over one million injuries and between 50,000 and 100,000 deaths each year result from preventable medical errors and many of these may be the result of insufficient sleep. Research shows sleep-deprived people whose occupations involve driving have a higher risk of driving accidents. Thirty-seven per cent of these people nod off at least once on the job during their career. The importance of sleep for performance should not be underestimated.(ninemsn:Woman's Day)

IN THE EAST CHINA SEA (AP) — Nearly two dozen Japanese nationalist activists and fishermen sailed on Sunday to a small group of islands at the center of a territorial dispute with China. They were closely monitored by Japan's Coast Guard, but there were no Chinese patrols in the area and no incidents were reported.

After arriving in waters near the islands, those aboard the five fishing vessels carrying about 20 activists and fishermen began fishing but did not appear to have any plans to try to swim ashore, which is forbidden by the Japanese government and would be seen as a border violation by Beijing .

Both countries claim the uninhabited islands, known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China, and have stepped up patrols to bolster their territorial claims. The dispute, which escalated rapidly after Japan moved last year to purchase them from a family who claimed to be their owner, has soured relations between the countries.

Japanese Coast Guard vessels monitored the ships closely, but an AP video journalist aboard one of them could not see any Chinese vessels. The trip was backed by Ganbare Nippon, a conservative and nationalist group, ostensibly to carry out a memorial ceremony at sea for about 80 civilians who died near the islets toward the end of World War II.

The outcroppings in the East China Sea are controlled by Japan but also claimed by China and Taiwan.

It is Ganbare Nippon's fifth visit to the disputed areas this year, and the 16th time in the last three years. The organization says these trips are necessary to assert Japan's claims to the islands.

China says the private owners had no legal claim to the islands, and strongly protested Tokyo's purchase from them last September. Chinese marine surveillance ships have routinely been patrolling the waters around the islands since then. More recently, Beijing has been sending ships from the Chinese Coast Guard, which was formally inaugurated in July and gives Beijing greater latitude to patrol its claims by centralizing operations in a single body.

Japan has expressed unease about China's activities near the islands and is bolstering its own surveillance capability — including plans to use drones capable of wide-range, high-altitude monitoring around the clock .

Activists from Hong Kong called off plans to sail for the disputed islands this week, according to Japan's Kyodo news agency. Members of that group landed on one of the islets last year and raised Chinese and Taiwanese flags before being arrested by Japanese authorities.

No criminal charges were filed. But the landing of Chinese activists prompted Japanese activists to make similar efforts to assert Japan's sovereignty.

The news validates what scientists have long known;

Eating breakfast consistently pays off through nutritional and mental health benefits, both in a child and an adult.

"Breakfast happens to be the easiest time to get in heart-healthy fiber from whole grain cereal and oats, which can help lower blood pressure and cholesterol," says Lisa Mosokovitz, a registered dietitian and owner of Your New York Dietitians.

That's not the only reason the first meal of the day is a particularly bad one to bypass.

Here's a few more:

Skipping breakfast makes you fat.

Breakfast-skippers have a higher risk of obesity, according to a 2003 study published in the journal of Epidemiology. Eating earlier in the day prevents people from overeating later in the day. It also suppresses concentrations of insulin, a hormone in our body that encourages fat cells to take up fatty acids and store them.

It makes you forgetful.

A small 2005 study published in the journal Psychology and Behavior, found that elementary school kids who ate a breakfast of oatmeal had better short-term memory than students who did not eat breakfast.

It increases your risk of type 2 diabetes.

Women who regularly miss breakfast have a higher risk of type 2 diabetes versus women who eat breakfast every day, according to a six-year study that was published in August in the American Journal Of Clinical Nutrition.

It makes you mean.

Breakfast foods contain vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients to jump-start your day. If you're running on empty, it won't be long before you begin feeling tired and cranky. A 1999 study published in the journal Psychology and Behavior showed that adults who kicked off the day with a solid breakfast had a "greater positive mood" than subjects who ate nothing.

It's not just enough that you eat breakfast, but that you're eating the right foods as well.

An ideal morning meal would be one that is low in sugar, saturated fat, and cholesterol, like a egg-white veggie omelet with avocado on whole wheat toast, says Mosokovitz.

"Always look for at least 5 grams of fiber when choosing breakfast cereals (which keeps you full for longer) and use any milk with 1% fat or less — no one over the age of two should be drinking higher fat cow's milk ." (business insider)

KESENNUMA, Japan (AP) — A stranded fishing boat that became a symbol of the devastation of Japan's 2011 tsunami has long divided a northeastern coastal city — between those who wanted to keep it as a monument of survival and those who wanted a painful reminder gone.

Last week, the city announced it will be torn down after a heated debate and citywide vote. The soul-searching over the ship highlights how the aftermath of the tsunami disaster continues to torment Japan two years later.

The 330 metric ton (360 ton) Kyotokumaru was swept by the towering tsunami from the city's dock for about 750 meters (800 yards) into a residential district.

It has become a landmark for Kesennuma, a port city of 70,000 people, and a testament to the destructive power of the tsunami set off by the magnitude-9.0 earthquake on March 11, 2011, which killed nearly 19,000 people.

The nearby smashed buildings and debris were cleared, but the 60-meter (200-foot) tuna-fishing boat has stood, majestic but oddly jarring, on dry ground for more than two years.

Opinion on the ship had been so divided it had been put to a vote by the city residents last month. Of the 14,083 responses, 68 percent, or 9,622 people, voted to have the ship destroyed. Only 16 percent voted to keep it. Yoshimi Abe, a 72 year-old housewife and Kesennuma resident, was among those who wanted to get rid of the ship.

"It's just a constant reminder of the terrible disaster," she said.

"When I walk by it every morning, my heart aches."

The house that Abe grew up in was destroyed by the tsunami, and she now lives in temporary housing.

In contrast, Shigeru Saito, 80, voted to keep the boat, which he saw as a plus for drawing business.

"My son owns a store in the temporary market near Kyotokumaru. Many of his customers are out-of-town visitors who drop by to see the ship," he said.

For now, Kyotokumaru still towers over the flattened neighborhood, its blue and red paint rusting, propped up with iron beams and fenced off with yellow tape. It's surrounded by bouquets of flowers left by people. They pray and take photos. Some just stand and stare.

Much of the tsunami-hit region's rebuilding remains untouched. Fears grow about people, especially young people, leaving. Some areas will be ghost-towns for decades because of the radiation from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant that went into multiple meltdowns.

The Fukushima fishing company, which owns the Kyotokumaru, has signed a contract with a nonprofit organization that recycles ships. The dismantling is likely to start in the next few weeks.

Kesennuma Mayor Shigeru Sugawara was disappointed the landmark would soon be gone.

"I wanted to leave a visible symbol of what happened here for generations to come," said Sugawara. "The decision has been made, and there's nothing much more we can do."

By Leika Kihara and Stanley White

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's economy grew at a slower-than-expected rate in the second quarter, offering ammunition to those seeking to delay a scheduled sales tax increase even as government debt has risen past 1,000 trillion yen ($10.4 trillion).

Capital expenditure unexpectedly fell for a sixth straight quarter, a sign that companies are yet to boost spending despite the feel-good mood generated by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's reflationary policies over the first half of 2013.

The world's third-largest economy grew an annualized 2.6 percent in April-June, a third straight quarter of expansion but below both a forecast of 3.6 percent growth and a downwardly revised 3.8 percent rate in the first quarter.

"There is no need to raise the sales tax in a hurry," Koichi Hamada, a key adviser to Abe and a professor emeritus at Yale University, told Reuters.

"One idea is to delay everything by one year. I feel that raising the sales tax as scheduled might hurt the economy."

Abe was elected last December on a platform of aggressive fiscal and monetary stimulus to revive Japan's economy.

An immediate impact of 'Abenomics' was a sharp weakening of the yen, a surge in share prices and exceptionally strong personal consumption in early 2013, but there are questions over his commitment to the third leg - structural reform.

As part of efforts to curb its debt, which is about double the size of its GDP, Japan is due to raise its 5 percent sales tax rate to 8 percent next April and then to 10 percent in October 2015.

Public debt exceeded 1 quadrillion yen -- or 1,000 trillion yen -- for the first time in June, Finance Ministry data shows, highlighting the need for higher taxes or other new revenue.

But the GDP data may weaken the case for the tax hike, and sources have said Abe is worried it may dampen spending and delay Japan's escape from 15 year of deflation.

"Growth above 2 percent is still considered high, so it wouldn't lead to a complete postponement of the sales tax hike. But the government could make tax hikes more incremental, without delaying the timing," said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute.

The Nikkei 225 share average fell to its lowest since the end of June as confidence was hit by the combination of weak capital spending and the expected sales tax increase affecting consumption, but the market ended off its lows.

STRONG SPENDING, WEAK INVESTMENT

On a quarter-to-quarter basis, Japan's economy grew 0.6 percent in April-June, data released by the Cabinet Office showed on Monday. External demand added 0.2 percentage point to growth, while domestic demand contributed 0.5 point.

Private consumption rose 0.8 percent from the March quarter, more than a median market forecast of a 0.5 percent increase, on robust spending on food, travel and consumer electronics.

But capital expenditure slid 0.1 percent, much weaker than a median market forecast for a 0.7 percent increase and marking the sixth straight quarter of decline.

"The economy has been steadily rising since the inauguration of the Abe administration last year," Abe told reporters.

"I'll continue to take all possible care about the economy. I'd like to focus on the economy, including implementation of further growth strategies in the autumn."

Government officials have said the preliminary GDP data and revised figures due on September 9 would be key factors in the tax debate, with a final decision possible by early October.

Critics of the planned two-stage tax hike are calling for a delay or at least a more moderate pace of increase.

"Growth is lower than I expected, so you cannot say that the conditions are appropriate to raise taxes as scheduled,"

Etsuro Honda, a professor at Shizuoka University and an influential adviser to Abe, told Reuters.

Honda has repeatedly said he favors raising the sales tax by 1 percent per year and that he is worried about Japan's progress in escaping 15 years of mild deflation.

But Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda has said the tax hikes are needed and would not hurt the economy. Kuroda has also said Japan can raise taxes and still escape deflation. ($1 = 96.2550 Japanese yen)

(Additional reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto, Shinichi Saoshiro and Chris Gallagher; Editing by John Mair)