day and night in vegas from Vimeo.
Little video project of mine during a business trip to vegas. Used the timelapse feature on my cheap JVC video camera to capture several hours worth of video from different spots along the strip — mostly the south end.
Music is an excerpt from Andy Hunter’s “Sound Pollution”
during a dentist visit, I was chatting with an assistant about chewing gum. she explained how gums like trident and spry not only loosen food stuck to your teeth and cause you to salivate more (saliva = good, it neutralizes acids), but since they contain xylitol, they can prevent cavities if you chew them after every meal.
The icing on this cavity-reducing cake? Xylitol is a sugar alcohol, so it tastes sweet and makes your mouth feel cool and fresh. So finally, a dentist-approved reason for chewing gum all the time. So I checked the candy isle to see if I could find some trident with this magical sugar in it, and there it was, in plain sight:
Xylitol’s awesomeness does not stop there. I’m presenting the reasons I think xylitol is so awesome. xylitol is pronounced like Xylophone. you’ll need to know this when you tell your friends and family how awesome it is.
xylitol is a warrior against bacteria.
so you have probably have bacteria feasting on your teeth right now. bacteria loves sugar, and xylitol is no exception. except when they feast on xylitol they get an unpleasant surprise because xylitol does not contain the nutrition that a growing bacteria needs to become big and strong. in fact it starves the bacteria.
xylitol, the silent killer. of bacteria that is.
you can shoot xylitol up your nose to prevent bacteria infections
perhaps this applies to other body parts too, but so far, I am only aware of nasal wash being readily available. google it. can’t say that about other sugars.
xylitol won’t cause brain damage or cancer
studies have been done to prove xylitol is harmless to humans, and for what its worth, the FDA has approved xylitol as a sweetener, even giving it the safest rating that a food additive can get.
the only known side-effect of xylitol is it acting as a laxative in large quantities.
warning: don’t feed to dogs. it can cause low blood sugar (hypoglycaemia) and even liver failure. its bad news for dogs. even one pack of trident.
and this is not to say other sugar substitutes cause brain damage and cancer, but if you are interested, you can read more about aspartame (a.k.a. Nutrasweet or Equal) and saccharine (a.k.a. Sweet ‘N’ Low) on wikipedia:
Aspartame Controversy
Saccharin and Cancer
to prevent brain damage and cancer, i never had aspartame or saccharine as a kid. love ya mom!
xylitol can be used to combat constipation
if you can get your hands on enough of it, xylitol can act as a laxative. around 30-40 grams a day should do the trick.
xylitol has fewer calories than sugar
….about 40% fewer calories than sugar. that means you could eat 1 cup of sugar at about 770 calories OR 1 cup of xylitol at about 462 calories. after a year, that is 281,050 calories of sugar (80 pounds) versus 168,630 calories (48 pounds) of xylitol. by substituting xylitol for sugar, you could lose 32 pounds!
fight bacteria and weight gain at the same time. and constipation, if you are really eating 1 cup a day.
xylitol in your clothes makes you cool
yes, you can currently buy clothes that have xylitol in them. from a clothing website:
Xylitol, which is manufactured from natural white birch or corn, absorbs the heat of perspiration…Regardless of the ambient temperature, Xilitol-impregnated Very Cool clothing lowers body heat by 3 degrees for cooler play.
can other non-magical sugars do that?
After installing a new battery, I needed to update the car clock in my 1993 Plymouth. The owners manual proved to be useless:
Electronic Digital Clock – The procedure for setting the clock varies slightly with each radio. The correct procedure is in the Chrysler Sound Systems Manual.
The Sound Systems Manual was not in the glovebox. I don’t think I’ve ever owned one. amazon.com had one for sale for about $20, but for $20, I’d just buy a wristwatch.
So I decided to provide an illustrated guide, because, after several mornings of fiddling around, I finally figured out the procedure. The images below were taken during rush hour, with one hand on the radio knob, the other on the camera, and my legs on the steering wheel. That evening, I was trying to set my clock to 4:30.
The wrong time on the Chrysler Clock. Note my cassette adapter, which effectively makes the stereo a high-tech MP3 player (via the wire hanging out the front).
Step 1: Turn the radio on. The Chrysler engineers were clever to make this a feature. I would suggest tuning into a station that plays soothing music, because you are going to need it. This is perhaps the biggest secret held in the Chrysler Sound Systems Manual.
Turning the Radio on. 92.7 is a local smooth jazz station.
Step 2: Press the SET button. This enters program mode. You should see a “P”. Since the radio is on, you could choose to set one of the 5 radio presets. Pressing one of the 5 buttons will set the current station to that button, but that is not our mission.
Press the SET button. You will see the “P” which means you are now ready to program this high-tech device.
Step 3: Press the SEL button. This will allow you to change the hour. If you want to change the minutes, press the SEL again. From here on out, the process seems a little less like a cruel joke, and more like a normal stereo.
switching from hours to minutes is easy as pie with another press of the SEL button.
Step 4: Use the TUNE knob to change the time In this example, I need to turn 7 back to 4. Or forward to 4, depending on which way I turn the knob. Brilliant! If you need to change the minutes, press the SEL button again as described in Step 3, and then turn the TUNE knob.
Turning the knob. The most fun part of this process.
Step 4: Press the SEL Button again to end your programming session
If you do not see the correct time, listen to some nice music and try again after you settle down.
Step 5: Enjoy the clock’s digital goodness.