The Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit (also known as the Stealth Bomber) is an American strategic bomber, featuring low observable stealth technology designed for penetrating dense anti-aircraft defenses. This flying wing aircraftt is able to deploy both conventional and nuclear weapons. The bomber has a crew of two and can drop up to eighty 500 lb (230 kg) -class JDAM GPS-guided bombs- or sixteen 2,400 lb (1,100 kg) B83 nuclear bombs. The B-2 is the only aircraft that can carry large air-to-surface standoff weapons in a stealth configuration.
Development originally started under the "Advanced Technology Bomber" (ATB) project during the Carter administration, and its performance was one of the reasons for his cancellation of the B-1 Lancer. ATB continued during the Reagan administration, but worries about delays in its introduction led to the reinstatement of the B-1 program as well. Program costs rose throughout development. Designed and manufactured by Northrop Grumman with assistance from Boeing, the cost of each aircraft averaged $737 million (in 1997 dollars). Total procurement costs averaged $929 million per aircraft, which includes spare parts, equipment, retrofitting, and software support. The total program cost including development, engineering and testing, averaged $2.1 billion per aircraft in 1997.
Because of its considerable capital and operational costs, the project was controversial in the U.S. Congress and among the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The winding-down of the Cold War in the latter portion of the 1980s dramatically reduced the need for the aircraft, which was designed with the intention of penetrating Soviet airspace and attacking high-value targets. During the late 1980s and 1990s, Congress slashed initial plans to purchase 132 bombers to 21. In 2008, a B-2 was destroyed in a crash shortly after takeoff, and the crew ejected safely. A total of 20 B-2s remain in service with the United States Air Force.
Though originally designed primarily as a nuclear bomber, the B-2 was first used in combat to drop conventional bombs on Serbia during the Kosovo War in 1998, and saw continued use during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. B-2s were also used during the 2011 Libyan civil war. Enjoy Learning !
The Paleolithic diet is an effort to eat like we used to back in the day…way back in the day. If a caveman couldn't eat it, neither can you.
This means anything we could hunt or find – meats, fish, nuts, leafy greens, regional veggies, and seeds. Sorry, the pasta, cereal, and candy will have to go!
Stop counting calories !
I don't like keeping track of how much I've eaten or obsessing over how many grams of a particular nutrient I've had. Not only do I hate counting calories, but I know that calories are really only half of the battle, as they’re not all created equal – 400 calories of Doritos do not affect your body in the same way as 400 calories of high-quality vegetables and protein.
Fortunately, if you can expand your horizons and remove certain types of food from your diet, you can stop worrying about counting calories forever. I'd love to suggest a particular type of eating that doesn't require counting a single calorie and allows you to eat as much as you want. Oh, and it will help you lose weight, build muscle, and get in the best shape of your life.
I know, that sounds like an ad for some really shady supplement or diet book that you'd see on TV at 4 AM. It’s not, it works. It’s helped many people achieve jaw-dropping transformations.
So how does the Paleo diet work?
Oh lord, another “diet.” I know, it sounds like a fad/marketing ploy, but it’s actually quite legit. You see, tens of thousands of years ago, before Nike, Cap’n Crunch, and Healthy Choice meals, our ancient ancestors thrived as hunter-gatherers. Although it’s been a really long time, our genetics have not changed that much since then.
The average Homo Sapien back then: tall, muscular, agile, athletic, and incredibly versatile.
The average Homo Sapien now: overweight, out of shape, stressed out, unhappy, sleep deprived and dying from a myriad of preventable diseases.
So what the hell happened? Agriculture! A few thousand years ago humans discovered farming, the agricultural revolution took off, and we advanced from hunter-gatherers to farmers. We settled down, formed societies, and the human race progressed to what we are today.
The problem is, our bodies never adjusted properly to eating all the grains that we are now farming. Think of a 100-yard football field. The first 99.5 yards are how long Homo-Sapiens spent as hunter-gatherers. As they became really good at hunting and gathering, our bodies adapted to that lifestyle over thousands of years. That last half-yard represents our species after the agricultural revolution, where our diet has shifted (but our genetics have not!).
So, instead of loading up on meat, vegetables and seasonal fruits, we’ve become a species “dependent” upon grains – bread, pasta, rice, corn, cereals (Sara!) and so on. The government continues to recommend 6-11 servings of grains a day, and people continue to get fatter and fatter by the day.
66% of us are overweight, 33% are considered obese, and those numbers are only getting worse.
Clearly something’s not right. The Paleo diet is an effort to go back to eating how we're biologically designed to eat, allowing us to tap into our genetic potential and start living healthier immediately.
What is the Paleo diet?
Back in the day, grains weren't part of our diet.
As Mark from Mark’s Daily Apple points out in his “definitive guide to grains” article: grains cause kind of a funky response in our system. Grains are composed of carbohydrates, and those carbs are turned into glucose (a type of sugar) in our system to be used for energy and various other tasks to help our body function – any glucose that isn’t used as energy is stored as fat.
Rather than me explain that part with thousands of words, just watch this three-minute video – “Why You Got Fat“
Next, most grains contain gluten and lectins. What are they and what’s wrong with them? I'm so glad you asked:
Gluten is a protein found in things like rye, wheat, and barley. It’s now being said that much of our population may be gluten-intolerant (hence all the new “gluten-free!” items popping up everywhere). Over time, those who are gluten intolerant can develop a dismal array of medical conditions from consuming gluten: dermatitis, joint pain, reproductive problems, acid reflux, and more.
Lectins are natural toxins exist within grains to defend against consumption! Yup. Grains have evolved to keep themselves from being eaten by us. These lectins are not a fan of our gastrointestinal tract, prevent the tract from repairing itself from normal wear and tear. This can cause all kinds of damage.
As Mark so eloquently puts it in his article: grains are unhealthy at best, or flat-out dangerous at worst.
The Paleo diet also almost completely eradicates sugar. Unless you're getting your sugar from a fruit, forget it. Sugar causes an energy spike and crash in your system, turns to fat unless it’s used immediately, and wreaks all kind of havoc on our bodies.
To sum up : no grains, no sugar, no processed foods. Many studies have shown that an incredible number of diseases and lifestyle issues can be reversed with these three simple changes. Take a look at this time magazine article on cancer patients who switched to a zero-sugar diet and saw positive results.
But where’s my energy?
So, if we’re not eating 300+ grams of carbs every day, where are we supposed to get our energy from?
Our bodies are designed to operate on a lower amount of carbohydrates than what we're used to eating, so less carbs isn't an issue. When there is an absence of carbs (which is how we’re used to operating), our body will take stored fat and burn that for energy in a process called ketogenesis.
What I'm trying to tell you is that our bodies are pretty effin’ efficient.
To sum up: less carbs = less glucose in your system, which means your body will have to start burning fat as your fuel source. Win!
So all carbs are bad?
Nope. Carbs still serve a purpose in our diets, but they're not essential (check out the Inuit Paradox for a great read on societies that exist without almost any carbohydrates). I prefer to get my carbs from vegetables, sweet potatoes, and fruit. Why is that? These foods are naturally occurring in the wild and don’t need to be processed in any way (unlike grains) in order to be consumed.
The other great thing about vegetables is that you can eat as many of them as you like and you’ll never get fat. They're incredibly nutrient dense and calorie light – six servings of broccoli with a trickle of olive oil (and who would eat 6 servings at once?) has about 180 calories and only 36 grams of carbs. A single serving of pasta (and nobody eats just one serving of pasta) (without sauce) has at least 200 calories and about 42 grams of carbs.
What about dairy?
Dairy’s a tough one, as most Paleo folks tend to stay away from it – a portion of the world is lactose intolerant, and those that aren't usually have at least some type of an aversion to it. Why is that? Because no other animal in the entire kingdom drinks milk beyond infancy. Hunter-gatherers did not lug cows around with them while traveling – milk was consumed as a baby, and that was it. As with grains, our bodies weren't designed for massive dairy consumption.
Personally, I'm split on dairy, as eat moderately yogurt without any sort of issue and I consider adding it back into my diet when I need to get enough calories to bulk up.
So no grains, no dairy: what do I get to eat on this diet? Here it is ...
Okay, so if we cut out the grains, almost all processed foods, and dairy, you're left with only things that occur naturally such as:
Meat - grass-fed (preferably not grain-fed). Grain causes the same problem in animals as they do in humans.
Fowl- Chicken, duck, hen, turkey… things with wings that (try to) fly.
Fish - Wild fish, as mercury and other toxins can be an issue in farmed fish.
Eggs - Look for Omega-3 enriched eggs.
Vegetables - As long as they're not deep-fried, eat as many as you want.
Fruits- Have natural sugar, and can be higher in calories, so limit if you're trying to lose weight.
Nuts - High in calories, so they're good for a snack, but don't eat bags and bags of them.
Tubers - Sweet potatoes and yams. Higher in calories and carbs, so these are good for right after a workout to replenish your glycogen levels.
Steak with asparagus and sweet potato fries, grilled chicken salad, massive omelets that will fill you up for the whole morning, apples dipped in almond butter (my favorite snack ever), and so on. Pick any of the things from that list, and eat as much as you want of them (with the noted exceptions). You'll feel better and be healthier.
How come I won't get fat?
Because these foods are so nutritious and filling, it’s almost impossible to overeat.
To get the equal number of calories from a bag of Doritos or bread (which, as you know, you can eat all day long and never really feel full), you’d have to eat 2-3 Mack trucks full of broccoli and spinach. Okay, that’s clearly an over-exaggeration, but you get the point. A giant plate of vegetables and a reasonable portion of meat can keep you full for hours, while eating carb-heavy foods can result in being hungry again soon after.
Whenever I need to lose weight for vacation, I go 100% Paleo and I can drop a few body fat percentage points in a few weeks.
But I can't give up my muffin/pasta/bagel/pizza/bread!
Okay then, don't try the Paleo diet! Simple as that.
If you're happy with how you look, your energy levels are good all day, and you don't see any room for improvement, then keep doing what you're doing – I won't force you to eat like this. However, if you've been struggling with weight loss, have no energy throughout the day, need eight cups of coffee, hate counting calories, and want to start turning your life around today, why not give it a shot for 30 days?
How much should I eat of each nutrient?
Keep it simple: Try to get a really good protein source with each meal (eggs, steak, chicken, fish, pork, tofu) with each meal along with some vegetables or fruit. That’s it. If you're having trouble getting enough calories daily, add some healthy fats to the equation: avocado, a handful of almonds or walnuts, almond butter, olive oil, etc.
Now, fruit does have quite a bit of sugar in it, and nuts have quite a few calories… so if you are following the Paleo diet but not losing weight, check your fruit and nut consumption and see if you are loading up on those at the expense of vegetables and healthy protein.
What I'm trying to say is this: fat should make up a big percentage of your diet.
Finally ...
I’m a fan of the Paleo diet because it makes logical sense to me. I know we existed as a species 150,000 years ago, I know the agricultural revolution didn't happen until 10,000 years ago, which means we had 140,000 years without grains. In that time we learned to thrive as a species without grains (or else we wouldn't be here).
The other reason I’m a fan is because you can eat what you want (provided it’s paleo), when you want, and eat however much of it you like. Eat a huge breakfast, skip lunch, and a big dinner. Eat a small breakfast, two snacks, and then dinner. Do whatever makes you happy and fits in your schedule. I like this kind of stress-free and flexible eating.
Regardless of whether or not grains should be vilified, I love this diet because I know it works. I know people that have lost incredible amounts of weight and changed their lives within a matter of months.
Regardless of how you feel about grains, we can all agree that eating more natural foods and less processed foods is better for you.
Where can I get even more info?
If you're looking to read more about the Paleo diet, I have a few resources to recommend. The main links are free resources:
Mark’s Daily Apple - Easily the most comprehensive resource on the Internet for the Paleo diet – Mark writes an article every weekday about everything Paleo, and it usually blows me away. Some of the posts can get overwhelming, so I suggest starting with his Primal Blueprint 101.
Robb Wolf - Another great resource, and a guy I've already referenced in this article multiple times. Check out his site for a comprehensive FAQ on all things Paleo, a shopping list pdf (right-click and save), and plenty of humor.
Loren Cordain - Loren is considered the leading expert on the Paleo diet – Robb is actually one of his students/disciples/padawans. Dr. Cordain is probably the foremost authority on this type of eating, which is why I really enjoyed reading both of his books.
Easing into it
The method I recommend is the 80% method – eat really well during the week (all paleo), and then give yourself a day on the weekend to eat whatever you want – pizza, ice cream, cheeseburgers, bagels, etc. Get it out of your system on that one day, and then get back on track the next day. For some people this helps them stay on track, when for others it can be derailing. That will be up to you.
Get rid of the temptation – if you're gonna go at this thing with a full head of steam, remove all the junk food from your house. It’s going to take a few weeks for your body to adjust to burning fat instead of glucose, and you might want to eat poorly here and there. If there’s no food in your house to tempt you, it will be much easier to stay on target.
Having been set up by Fernand Mondego (Pearce), the naive Edmond Dantés (Caviezel) is sent to the penal island of Chateau D'lf. There he befriends inmate Abbé Faria (Harris), a former soldier who schools Dantés in combat and the classics - in return for his help with an escape bid. But Faria does not live long enough and Dantés flees Chateau D'lf alone. Now with Faria's dying secret to guide him, Dantés begins his revenge plan, leaving his former identity behind as he becomes the Count of Monte Cristo, taking revenge on the men responsible for his unjust imprisonment.
“How did I escape? With difficulty. How did I plan this moment? With pleasure.”
While many would rightfully question why there is need for another take on Alexander Dumas' treasure, Reynolds has made a decent job of it. With a feel that recalls all those history-based epics you saw on Christmas TV as a kid, he deftly handles the two-hour plus running time, never getting bogged down in one aspect of the story and always keeping the set pieces at the ready.
He does however supply two major let downs. Firstly, the relationships between many of the characters aren't deep enough with Caviezel's time with long-lost love Mercédès (Dagmara Dominczyk) rarely, if ever engrossing. The scenes between Caviezel's Dantés and his loyal sidekick Jacobo (Guzman) are also too brief - they make a great double act and Reynolds should have invested more screen time in them. The other big problem is that for all the great visuals, Reynolds has overlooked the little details. The accents are shaky, the characters seem too clean for the 19th Century and the aging process is so poor that you'll find it hard to believe that 15 weeks nevermind 15 years have passed since Dantés was betrayed by Mondego.
Of course, it's fair to say that this movies is not a rigorous adaptation of the source material. In fact, much of what is interesting about the books has been swept away in the interests of developing motion pictures. All in all, it's a pretty good execution of a story that's a lot richer than the ones Hollywood action screenwriters usually come up with on their own.
I'm not sure who it's really for but I do know it's badass. The Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG 6×6 ($525,000) is the biggest, most rugged offroader Stuttgart's ever produced. As the name suggests, it features six wheels for increased traction, a twin-turbocharged 5.5L AMG V8 cranking out 536hp, a seven-speed automatic transmission, and all-wheel drive.
It's not all rugged capability, though, with an interior that features copious amounts of leather and Alcantara, sports seats, and other luxurious appointments. Just don't expect to see too many of them — word has it there's only going to be 20-30 built each year.
Teehan + Lax Labs conducted a hyperlapse - a technique combining time-lapse and sweeping camera movements typically focused on a point-of-interest - of landscape photos by using Google Street View and a little bit of programming ! The results are pretty stunning. You can generate your own right there: http://hyperlapse.tllabs.io
