Written by Rhonda Hackett

As a Canadian living in the United States for the past 17 years, I am frequently asked by Americans and Canadians alike to declare one health care system as the better one.

Often I’ll avoid answering, regardless of the questioner’s nationality. To choose one or the other system usually translates into a heated discussion of each one’s merits, pitfalls, and an intense recitation of commonly cited statistical comparisons of the two systems.

Because if the only way we compared the two systems was with statistics, there is a clear victor. It is becoming increasingly more difficult to dispute the fact that Canada spends less money on health care to get better outcomes.

Yet, the debate rages on. Indeed, it has reached a fever pitch since President Barack Obama took office, with Americans either dreading or hoping for the dawn of a single-payer health care system. Opponents of such a system cite Canada as the best example of what not to do, while proponents laud that very same Canadian system as the answer to all of America’s health care problems. Frankly, both sides often get things wrong when trotting out Canada to further their respective arguments.

As America comes to grips with the reality that changes are desperately needed within its health care infrastructure, it might prove useful to first debunk some myths about the Canadian system.

Myth: Taxes in Canada are extremely high, mostly because of national health care.

In actuality, taxes are nearly equal on both sides of the border. Overall, Canada’s taxes are slightly higher than those in the U.S. However, Canadians are afforded many benefits for their tax dollars, even beyond health care (e.g., tax credits, family allowance, cheaper higher education), so the end result is a wash. At the end of the day, the average after-tax income of Canadian workers is equal to about 82 percent of their gross pay. In the U.S., that average is 81.9 percent.

Myth: Canada’s health care system is a cumbersome bureaucracy.

The U.S. has the most bureaucratic health care system in the world. More than 31 percent of every dollar spent on health care in the U.S. goes to paperwork, overhead, CEO salaries, profits, etc. The provincial single-payer system in Canada operates with just a 1 percent overhead. Think about it. It is not necessary to spend a huge amount of money to decide who gets care and who doesn’t when everybody is covered.

Myth: The Canadian system is significantly more expensive than that of the U.S.Ten percent of Canada’s GDP is spent on health care for 100 percent of the population. The U.S. spends 17 percent of its GDP but 15 percent of its population has no coverage whatsoever and millions of others have inadequate coverage. In essence, the U.S. system is considerably more expensive than Canada’s. Part of the reason for this is uninsured and underinsured people in the U.S. still get sick and eventually seek care. People who cannot afford care wait until advanced stages of an illness to see a doctor and then do so through emergency rooms, which cost considerably more than primary care services.

What the American taxpayer may not realize is that such care costs about $45 billion per year, and someone has to pay it. This is why insurance premiums increase every year for insured patients while co-pays and deductibles also rise rapidly.

Myth: Canada’s government decides who gets health care and when they get it.While HMOs and other private medical insurers in the U.S. do indeed make such decisions, the only people in Canada to do so are physicians. In Canada, the government has absolutely no say in who gets care or how they get it. Medical decisions are left entirely up to doctors, as they should be.

There are no requirements for pre-authorization whatsoever. If your family doctor says you need an MRI, you get one. In the U.S., if an insurance administrator says you are not getting an MRI, you don’t get one no matter what your doctor thinks – unless, of course, you have the money to cover the cost.

Myth: There are long waits for care, which compromise access to care.There are no waits for urgent or primary care in Canada. There are reasonable waits for most specialists’ care, and much longer waits for elective surgery. Yes, there are those instances where a patient can wait up to a month for radiation therapy for breast cancer or prostate cancer, for example. However, the wait has nothing to do with money per se, but everything to do with the lack of radiation therapists. Despite such waits, however, it is noteworthy that Canada boasts lower incident and mortality rates than the U.S. for all cancers combined, according to the U.S. Cancer Statistics Working Group and the Canadian Cancer Society. Moreover, fewer Canadians (11.3 percent) than Americans (14.4 percent) admit unmet health care needs.

Myth: Canadians are paying out of pocket to come to the U.S. for medical care.Most patients who come from Canada to the U.S. for health care are those whose costs are covered by the Canadian governments. If a Canadian goes outside of the country to get services that are deemed medically necessary, not experimental, and are not available at home for whatever reason (e.g., shortage or absence of high tech medical equipment; a longer wait for service than is medically prudent; or lack of physician expertise), the provincial government where you live fully funds your care. Those patients who do come to the U.S. for care and pay out of pocket are those who perceive their care to be more urgent than it likely is.

Myth: Canada is a socialized health care system in which the government runs hospitals and where doctors work for the government.Princeton University health economist Uwe Reinhardt says single-payer systems are not “socialized medicine” but “social insurance” systems because doctors work in the private sector while their pay comes from a public source. Most physicians in Canada are self-employed. They are not employees of the government nor are they accountable to the government. Doctors are accountable to their patients only. More than 90 percent of physicians in Canada are paid on a fee-for-service basis. Claims are submitted to a single provincial health care plan for reimbursement, whereas in the U.S., claims are submitted to a multitude of insurance providers. Moreover, Canadian hospitals are controlled by private boards and/or regional health authorities rather than being part of or run by the government.

Myth: There aren’t enough doctors in Canada.

From a purely statistical standpoint, there are enough physicians in Canada to meet the health care needs of its people. But most doctors practice in large urban areas, leaving rural areas with bona fide shortages. This situation is no different than that being experienced in the U.S. Simply training and employing more doctors is not likely to have any significant impact on this specific problem. Whatever issues there are with having an adequate number of doctors in any one geographical area, they have nothing to do with the single-payer system.

And these are just some of the myths about the Canadian health care system. While emulating the Canadian system will likely not fix U.S. health care, it probably isn’t the big bad “socialist” bogeyman it has been made out to be.

It is not a perfect system, but it has its merits. For people like my 55-year-old Aunt Betty, who has been waiting for 14 months for knee-replacement surgery due to a long history of arthritis, it is the superior system. Her $35,000-plus surgery is finally scheduled for next month. She has been in pain, and her quality of life has been compromised. However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Aunt Betty – who lives on a fixed income and could never afford private health insurance, much less the cost of the surgery and requisite follow-up care – will soon sport a new, high-tech knee. Waiting 14 months for the procedure is easy when the alternative is living in pain for the rest of your life.

Rhonda Hackett of Castle Rock is a clinical psychologist.

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Written by Jeryl Brunner

Turns out, your guilty pleasures (red wine, video games) may not be so guilty after all. And those pesky side effects of being an adult-stress, anyone?-can actually benefit you too. Read on to learn the positives of your seemingly negative habits.

Say Yes to Stress
As long as stress doesn’t completely overtake you (too much burns the body out), a little bit isn’t such a bad thing. “It can motivate you into action and clear the mind,” says Judith Orloff, MD, author of Emotional Freedom and a psychiatrist at UCLA. According to Dr. Orloff, good stress is defined as when you experience a short burst of the hormones adrenaline and cortisol, which rev up your system, propelling you to better handle and complete tasks. A little stress has helped actors give their finest performances and brides plan the most elaborate weddings. Adds Orloff, “The stress hormones help make you more present, so you are sharper.”

Meaty Subject
Meat often gets a bad rap-the threats of obesity, high cholesterol, and even colon cancer are enough to make anyone decline that next barbecue invitation-but experts now advise that you can have your steak and spare the guilt. “Some beef fat is monounsaturated, which is the kind of fat that is good for you and actually helps lower LDL, or bad cholesterol, like the kind found in olive oil and avocado,” says George Faison, COO of DeBragga and Spitler and owner of DeBragga.com, an online purveyor of high-quality meats. Meat from grass-fed cattle, Faison explains, is also lower in saturated fat than conventionally raised beef and has more omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin E, and conjugated linoleic acid-all healthy, beneficial components. In fact, according to the American Meat Institute, there are 29 cuts of lean beef that have fewer calories and are leaner than the same size serving of salmon. (And, really, who wants to serve salmon at a barbecue?)

Special Dark
Though milk chocolate might win in a popularity contest, many experts have been lauding dark chocolate (especially the variety containing high cocoa content) because it’s chock-full of antioxidants. And according to Jordan Rubin, New York Times best-selling author of The Maker’s Diet, the sweet stuff releases endorphins and serotonin, which act as antidepressants. Some proponents also say that just a few pieces of the excellent-quality dark chocolate can seriously curb your cravings. It’s rich in chemicals that stabilize your brain when it longs for sugar-so it goes a long way. For another healthy bonus, go organic, too: “Regular chocolate is sprayed with heavy pesticides that we end up consuming,” Rubin says.

Let the Sunshine In!
After all we’ve learned about the sun’s damaging effects-uneven pigmentation, sagging skin, premature wrinkles, and, most insidious of all, melanoma-who wouldn’t want to swear off the beach and see the parasol experience a sartorial renaissance. But let’s not act too hastily. Turns out, the sun helps your body generate much-needed vitamin D, which can combat osteoporosis. “Vitamin D is necessary because it helps you absorb calcium, which everyone needs,” says Alexandra Fingesten, MD, a doctor of internal medicine affiliated with New York University. “If you’re working inside all day, it’s important to get outside, even for a little bit. And consult with your doctor about taking calcium and vitamin D supplements.” Just don’t forget your SPF of 20 or higher when you do venture outside-even for the shortest jaunts.

Information Overload?
While some say multitasking dilutes your focus (and we know you’re tending to your Twitter account as you read this), for many people, the positives-like increased productivity-significantly outweigh the negatives. “I know people whose multitasking energizes and stimulates them and makes them feel at the top of their game,” says Dr. Orloff. That’s the case for Jim Sexton, CEO of Z-Line Designs, who employs thousands of people around the globe, sponsors NASCAR and Indy Car teams, and typically focuses on 20 or 30 design projects a day. “That’s the way I work and thrive,” says Sexton, whose schedule often results in his having had dinner in five different states in as many days. “I’ve always been this way.”

The Buzz on Coffee
While we recommend keeping your caffeine consumption in check, in Eat Drink and Be Healthy by Walter Willett, MD, (co-developed by the Harvard School of Public health), coffee is said to help decrease the possibility of developing kidney stones (because of its diuretic components) and gallstones (as it prevents stone formation). Also, the libation contains antioxidants, which have shown to lower the risk of diabetes and has antidepressant properties. “It helps elevate serotonin and dopamine in the body and boosts your mood,” says Dr. Orloff. However, she warns against drinking more than three cups a day: “It can burn out your gastric lining.”

Daydream Believer
As a third-grader at St. Pat’s Elementary in Hubbard, Ohio, Patrick Scullin was “lambasted” for his daydreaming ways, especially during math class. The word was that daydreaming was unproductive and unfocused. But allowing his mind to wander served him quite well in his adman career, as a founding partner of Ames Scullin O’Haire Advertising, a firm that has earned more than $110 million in billings. “My best ideas come when I’m not trying to think of them. If you want your muse to feed you, study a problem and then don’t think about it,” advises Scullin. “Daydream. Let your mind meander and your imagination run free. Soon the gift of ideas will be delivered.”

In Vino Veritas
We don’t have to convince you of wine’s pesky social side effects-you can check your text-message outbox for unsettling evidence of last night’s debauchery. But when it comes to various health benefits, oenophiles are in luck. “The resveratrol found in wine is a powerful antioxidant that is stronger than antioxidant vitamins,” says Richard Baxter, MD, a physician and author of The Red Wine Diet , scientist Roger Corder reveals that certain red wines, especially from southwest France, are more beneficial for living a longer, healthy life. Wines made from the tannat grape there have the highest levels of procyanidins (responsible for keeping blood vessels clear and preventing heart disease) than any another wine in the world.

Get Your Game On
Okay. We know what you’re thinking. But with the advent of the Wii, you can’t be a couch potato because playing requires you to move. (And now other companies are developing active programs too.) In fact, the game is a million times more interactive than watching TV. “Before the Wii, who ever worked up a sweat playing a video game in their living room?” says Paul Bragan, executive director at Wakefield Research, a leading gaming researcher. “Using a wireless controller, you can bowl and play baseball and tennis all from your family room.” And certain games inspire children to interact with parents and adults. “Last year, a British magazine revealed that Queen Elizabeth became an avid video gamer after joining her grandson Prince William in a game of Wii,” says Bragan. “I’d call that a royal vote of confidence.”

Bubblicious?
Reader’s Digest reporters interviewed 25 dentists for their story in the July 2009 issue “50 Secrets Your Dentist Will Never Tell You.” Their findings? Chewing gum actually prevents cavities. Studies show that if you want to reduce bad bacteria, xylitol (a sugar substitute found in chewing gum) helps change the chemistry of your mouth. Six or seven pieces of xylitol gum every day will help keep cavities away. “And chewing gum triggers saliva, which also aids in preventing cavities,” says the magazine’s deputy editor, Lisa Davis. (However, in a related study, gum cracking was found to be irritating by 100 percent of participants.)

Love Thy Frenemy
Can it really be good to have a one-upping frenemy? Actually, it is, say some experts. “It can definitely make life a little more challenging and interesting,” says Andrea Lavinthal, coauthor of Friend or Frenemy?: A Guide to the Friends You Need and the Ones You Don’t. “Some healthy competition can propel you in a positive way and keep you on your toes.” If your frenemy goes on a diet and loses a lot of weight, chances are you will hit the treadmill with more vigor and out-diet her. Besides, a frenemy can make you aware of your negative behavior and help keep you in check. “You know how there is always one girl in a group of friends who ‘tells it like it is’ whether you want to hear it or not?” says Lavinthal. “That honesty, while annoying and sometimes hurtful, can also be really helpful.”

Shout It Out
We all know the dangers of keeping emotions bottled up (err, psych 101?)-but some parenting experts say that it’s important to let off a little steam and show your kids when you are angry with them-for your sake and theirs! Yell at them, you ask? “Sometimes children do things to make you angry. They need to understand the consequences, and you have to be more stern and harsh to reinforce the message,” says Bennett Leventhal, MD, a professor of psychiatry at the Institute for Juvenile Research, University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago. And yes, in certain situations, it’s even acceptable to shout. “While as a guide, we don’t want to yell at our children, especially with routine communication,” says Dr. Leventhal, “in an emergency or crisis, yelling is good to gain their attention. But afterward you should always explain why you were angry.”

Written by 11points

Yesterday, I found myself in a discussion about the anti-abortion people. The reason: It’s just incomprehensible to us that people get so zealous about that issue that they’ll go as far as to murder doctors who perform abortions and bomb abortion clinics.

The conversation then took its natural turn to selective, self-serving interpretations of the Bible… finding a few verses that you can use to justify a position that lets you impose your morality on someone, and riding those verses hard and fast for the rest of your life.

So I thought it’d be a good time to find a bunch of stuff that the Bible bans… stuff that’s a lot LESS convenient. Don’t worry, though… just because I’m pointing it out, that doesn’t mean you now have to follow it. It’s a lot easier to keep discriminating against gay people for no particular reason than to stop eating bacon, after all.

Here are 11 things that are technically banned by the Bible. (All quotes are translations from the New American Standard Bible, but, because I’m actually trying to maintain serious journalistic integrity here, I cross-referenced several other translations to make sure I wasn’t missing the point.)

1. Round haircuts. See you in Hell, Beatles… and/or kids with bowl cuts, surfer cuts or (my favorite) butt cuts. Leviticus 19:27 reads “You shall not round off the side-growth of your heads nor harm the edges of your beard.”
2. Football. At least, the pure version of football, where you play with a pigskin. The modern synthetic footballs are ugly and slippery anyways. Leviticus 11:8, which is discussing pigs, reads “You shall not eat of their flesh nor touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you.”

   And you’re doubly breaking that if you wake up, eat some sausage then go throw around the football. Or go to the county fair and enter a greased pig catching contest.

3. Fortune telling. Before you call a 900 number (do people still call 900 numbers, by the way?), read your horoscope or crack open a fortune cookie, realize you’re in huge trouble if you do.

   Leviticus 19:31 reads “Do not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God.” The penalty for that? Check Leviticus 20:6: “As for the person who turns to mediums and to spiritists, to play the harlot after them, I will also set My face against that person and will cut him off from among his people.”

   Seems like a lifetime of exile is a pretty harsh penalty for talking to Zoltar.

4. Pulling out. The Bible doesn’t get too much into birth control… it’s clearly pro-populating but, back when it was written, no one really anticipated the condom or the sponge, so those don’t get specific bans.

   But… pulling out does. One of the most famous sexual-oriented Bible verses… the one that’s used as anti-masturbation rhetoric… is actually anti-pulling out.

   It’s Genesis 38:9-10: “Onan knew that the offspring would not be his; so when he went in to his brother’s wife, he wasted his seed on the ground in order not to give offspring to his brother. But what he did was displeasing in the sight of the Lord; so He took his life also.”

   Yep — pull out and get smote. That’s harsh.

5. Tattoos. No tattoos. Leviticus 19:28 reads, “You shall not make any cuts in your body for the dead nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves: I am the Lord.”

   Not even a little butterfly on your ankle. Or Thug Life across your abdomen. Or even, fittingly enough, a cross.

6. Polyester, or any other fabric blends. The Bible doesn’t want you to wear polyester. Not just because it looks cheap. It’s sinfully unnatural.

   Leviticus 19:19 reads, “You are to keep My statutes. You shall not breed together two kinds of your cattle; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor wear a garment upon you of two kinds of material mixed together.”

   Check the tag on your shirt right now. Didn’t realize you were mid-sin at this exact second, did you? (Unless you checked the tag by rolling off your neighbor’s wife while you two were having anal sex in the middle of robbing a blind guy. Then your Lycra-spandex blend is really the least of your problems.)

7. Divorce. The Bible is very clear on this one: No divorcing. You can’t do it. Because when you marry someone, according to Mark 10:8, you “are no longer two, but one flesh.” And, Mark 10:9 reads, “What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.”

   Mark gets even more hardcore about it a few verses later, in Mark 10:11-12, “And He said to them, ‘Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her; and if she herself divorces her husband and marries another man, she is committing adultery.'”

8. Letting people without testicles into church. Whether you’ve been castrated or lost one or two balls to cancer isn’t important. The Bible doesn’t get that specific. It just says you can’t pray.

   Deuteronomy 23:1 reads (this is the God’s Word translation, which spells it out better), “A man whose testicles are crushed or whose penis is cut off may never join the assembly of the Lord.”

   Oh, and the next verse says that if you’re a bastard, the child of a bastard… or even have a great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandchild of a bastard, you can’t come to church or synagogue either. Deuteronomy 23:2 reads, “No one of illegitimate birth shall enter the assembly of the Lord; none of his descendants, even to the tenth generation, shall enter the assembly of the Lord.”

9. Wearing gold. 1 Timothy 2:9 doesn’t like your gold necklace at all. Or your pearl necklace. Or any clothes you’re wearing that you didn’t get from Forever 21, Old Navy or H&M.

   “Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments.”

10. Shellfish. Leviticus 11:10 reads, “But whatever is in the seas and in the rivers that does not have fins and scales among all the teeming life of the water, and among all the living creatures that are in the water, they are detestable things to you.” And shellfish is right in that wheelhouse.

    Leviticus 11 bans a TON of animals from being eaten (it’s THE basis for Kosher law); beyond shellfish and pig, it also says you can’t eat camel, rock badger, rabbit, eagle, vulture, buzzard, falcon, raven, crow, ostrich, owl, seagull, hawk, pelican, stork, heron, bat, winged insects that walk on four legs unless they have joints to jump with like grasshoppers (?), bear, mole, mouse, lizard, gecko, crocodile, chameleon and snail.

    Sorry if that totally ruins your plans to go to a rock badger eat-off this weekend.

11. Your wife defending your life in a fight by grabbing your attacker’s genitals. No joke. Deuteronomy actually devotes two verses to this exact scenario: Deuteronomy 25:11-12.

    “If two men, a man and his countryman, are struggling together, and the wife of one comes near to deliver her husband from the hand of the one who is striking him, and puts out her hand and seizes his genitals, then you shall cut off her hand; you shall not show pity.”

    That’s impossible to misinterpret. Ladies, if your husband is getting mugged, make sure to kick the mugger in the pills. Do not do the grip and squeeze (no matter what “Miss Congeniality” might advise). Or your hand needs to be cut off.

As a final note, I know that nine of these 11 cite the Old Testament, which Christianity doesn’t necessarily adhere to as law.

To which I say: If you’re going to ignore the section of Leviticus that bans about tattoos, pork, shellfish, round haircuts, polyester and football, how can you possibly turn around and quote Leviticus 18:22 (“You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination.”) as irrefutable law?

But that’s me trying to introduce logic to religious fanaticism (or, at least, trying to counter some mix of ignorance, bigotry and narcissism with logic). And I should probably know better.

Written by Bruce Owens

I want you all to look at this column as a summer reading list. These are the 10 beers you must drink this summer. Some of these beers you are probably very familiar with, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale for example. Think back when is the last time you had an ice cold Sierra Nevada Pale Ale on a 90 degree day? This is all about rediscovering some classics and finding new favorites.

There are a ton of other great beers out there to beat the heat. Alaskan Summer Ale and Yuengling Lager come to mind. That being said I am trying to make sure these beers have a wider distribution so that all reading this column can enjoy.

10. Victory Prima Pils – The perfect BBQ beer. This beer has the body and flowery aroma of a pilsner but is one of the hoppiest pilsners on the market. This allows Prima Pils to stand up to the spiciness of peppery BBQ’ed meat coming off of your grill. Prima Pils also has a great sparkling carbonation that not only is refreshing but will cleanse the pallete of thick BBQ sauces and pasta/potato salads.

9. Landshark Lager – I first had this refreshing Lager on a 105 degree day in Las Vegas. This is a perfect summer session beer. This larger is crisp, clean and satisfying and is a perfect beer to ice down by the six-pack in a bucket. The perfect cooler companion.

8. Saison Dupont Farmhouse Ale– Perfect for those scorching August nights. This beer is very dry and crisp with a lot of characteristics of a Sauvignon Blanc. During those moonlit summer nights this is the beer to be shared with someone special. Dupont’s caged, corked finished bottle will add a little class to your special evening.

7. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale – You can go home again. Admit it this is the beer that started you off on your journey into the world of microbrews. Now that you have trained and sharpened your palette this is the perfect time to rediscover this classic.

6. Pabst Blue Ribbon – I have a cold can of PBR in my hand right now as I write this. This 2006 Great American Beer Festival Gold Medal winner is so under rated. Not only is this a hoppy American style lager it is inexpensive. At $15 dollars per 30 pack it is a perfect beer to fill you cooler to the brim. Available in 12 ounce cans it is an awesome companion for the golf course or beach.

5. Sam Adams Summer Ale – This is a great American style wheat beer. What makes this beer stand out among the throng of American Wheat Beers is grains of paradise, a rare pepper from Africa. The lemon zest makes this beer a no brainer to pair with grilled lemon pepper chicken or shrimp on the barbie.

4. Ommegang Witte Ale – This is a light Belgian style wheat beer with tart citrus flavors and a touch of coriander. This beer is best paired with a fresh citrus fruit salad. Throw some chilled grapefruit, orange and tangerine in a bowl with some mandarin oranges now you have the perfect companion for this great beer.

3. Harpoon Summer – The classic Kolsch Ale. It has the body and color of a pilsner, with the fruit esters of ale. I call this beer the crowd pleaser. It is light enough to appeal to American Lager drinkers and has more than enough flavor to satisfy any beer geek or even snob. Harppon summer is also great with all of your outdoor fare. Harpoon Summer matches up just as well with a New England Clambake as it does with burgers and dogs.

2. Stone Cali-Belgique IPA – What can I say, Stone does it again. This is a huge American IPA with Belgian yeast. When I say huge I want you to understand this beer is coming at you at 77 IBU’s. Cali-Belgique is not only the hoppiest of our summer drinking list it is the strongest. This beer is weighing in at 6.9%, not quite an IIPA but with the IBUs an alcohol by volume Stone Brewing Co. could have given this beer that moniker. The spiciness of the Belgium yeast playing off of the Chinook hops makes this a very interesting summer sipper.

1. Erdinger Weissbier – This is a classic German style wheat beer. This is a cloudy beer due to the fact it is unfiltered and bottle conditioned. Banana and spice aromas are obvious in the aroma of this beer along with a touch of grass and lemon. Traditionally this style of beer is served with a lemon slice. Ignore the status quo and go with an orange slice or a wedge of grapefruit. Better yet cut up a bowl of mixed fresh melons. Some cantaloupe, honeydew and watermelon mixed in a bowl with a bit of pineapple are the perfect back deck companion for this great brew.

There are my ten. I wouldn’t call it a top ten but it is close. If my summer drinking is truncated to 10 beers there is something wrong going on. I could easily have 10 different beers this summer from Sam Adams, Victory or Stone Brewing Company alone. Still I hope this gives you a good start on your summer drinking.

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Written by Amit Agarwal

You may find this technique useful even if you are not a very tech-savvy user.

Before getting into the actual process, let’s look at a couple of real-world situations that explain why you may want to turn your home computer into a web server.

Situation #1. Say you have music MP3s, documents and other important files on the hard drive of your home computer. If you turn this home computer into a web server, you will be able to access all these files from office or any other Internet connected machine including your mobile phone.

Situation #2. You have some personal photographs that you want to share with other family members. You can either upload these pictures online to a site like Flickr or better still, just convert the computer into a web server. Now you can connect the camera to the computer, transfer the digital pictures to some designated folder and they’ll instantly become available to your friends and family anywhere in the world.

Situation #3. You want to host a website on the internet but the web hosting jargon like FTP, DNS, etc. is way too complex for you. The workaround therefore is that you setup a web server on your home computer (it’s easy) and then host a website in seconds without spending a single penny on external web hosting services.

Now if any of the above reasons look convincing enough, here’s how you can convert your Windows, Mac or Linux PC into a web server in less than two minutes – no technical knowledge required.

Go to labs.opera.com, download the Opera Unite software and install it. Congratulations, you are now running a web server on your machine and just need another minute to configure local file folders that you want to share with others over the internet.

Here’s an illustrated screenshot of the configuration panel – nothing technical here again.

Start the Opera Web browser (yes, that’s also you web server now) and enable the Opera Unite service from the lower left corner. Now double click the File Sharing link and select the folder whose content you want to share on the web. Any file or folder inside this folder can now be accessed over the internet – you can either use a public URL or specify a password for private sharing.

The following screencast video has more detailed instructions on how to get started with Opera Unite or you may refer to the User Guide if you get stuck somewhere.

Opera Unite looks pretty useful but there are other services around that can also do pretty similar stuff. For instance, both PurpleNova and Dekoh Dekstop enable users share content on the Internet directly from the hard drive without having to upload it anywhere.

Update: It’s important to note that your computer must be in running state and also connected to the Internet for others to download files and web pages since Opera Unite streams content directly from your machine – it doesn’t upload or caches anything to its own servers. Give it a shot. [flickr]

Written by Hung-Su

Nike to sports, McDonald’s to hamburgers, Apple iPod to mp3 players; almost every major consumer industry has a handful of iconic companies that embody almost everything that industry is about. But what about the video gaming industry? An industry that has existed for decades, is the love of schoolkids everywhere and whose subject matter sparks the interest of art galleries, movies, the Guinness Book of World Records, must have icons of its own!

This list hopes to pick out the icons that not necessarily look the coolest or the most beautiful, but are recognisable and punchy like the Nike tick.

Number 5: The NES Controller

Everyone who plays games knows what the NES controller looks like, even if they haven’t used one! This highly unergonomic but punchy device began a revolution in gaming for the masses. While not the first gamepad, it was the first to take off and become popular.

Prior to the NES controller, gamers had two button joysticks, remote controls, even keyboards with teletype printers to receive game messages. The ease with which we kick back and relax in our couches with our wireless controllers was done almost as well two decades ago with this controller. In addition, wIth its bold black Dpad and bright red button design, it definitely stood out from the pack, and its simple image remains burned into the heartfelt memories of many millions of veteran gamers today.

Number 4: The Space Invader

Just like every other popular icon, the Space Invaders arcade game concept is one that has been burned into the public consciousness. Everyone knows that you’re a little ship that shoots these guys. What is most interesting about the space invader however, is that it is the only icon in this list…with multiple forms.

Few people have a solid idea of what the Space Invader looks like, but everyone knows a space invader when they see one. This room for interpretation has allowed the Space Invader to literally invade our world, from crop circles, memes, even underwear! A truly iconic piece of gaming history that is worthy of this list.

Number 3: The T-shaped Tetris block

In spite of its relatively tender young age of 23, Tetris is a game that feels as old as time. It has graced almost every gaming platform and operating system conceived since its birth, and whose concept is so simple it makes an ideal practice piece for fledgling gaming programmers.

It has a mental quality named after it, features prominently in Japanese television, and may even cure post traumatic stress! More importantly though, of all the different tetrominoes, why the T-shaped one?

Because it’s a T which stands for Tetris!

Number 2: Mario Mario

Quite possibly the most popular of video game icons today, Mario has been around for so long and invaded so much of our culture, Nintendo may have created someone more badass than Chuck Norris! Mario has appeared in hundreds of games crossing multiple genres from beat-em-ups, racing and even RPGs, creating some of the most memorable games in videogame history.

The Mario theme is one of the best known songs in gaming history, Mario’s italian accent is one of the most distinctive voices in gaming history, and even his game’s sound effects have more punch and notoriety than the rev of a Harley Davidson! What icon could possibly beat that?

Number 1: Pacman

Now this, is an icon. Everything an icon requires – simplicity, distinctiveness, global recognition, if there’s any icon to represent all of gaming, it’s Pac-Man. But you may protest, why did he beat Mario? First, unlike Mario, Pac-man is so simple that he could actually be a logo – not a mascot! Second, while many may think of Mario to represent all of gaming, he can’t be because he’s Nintendo’s mascot!

Playstation, Xbox, PC, mobile and every other form of gamer needs an icon as well, and Pac-man is the only icon with enough character and distinctiveness to do so…without any loyalty to a specific platform.