Rained Out Of Blog

It is the perfect teacher. Holds the knowledge of several encyclopedias and recounts stories and anecdotes as entertaining. Emeritus Professor of Modern History at the University Rovira i Virgili de Tarragona, currently manages the largest rooms. He specializes in History of Medicine and Pharmacy. Versatile and charismatic, was provided as a model for the sculpture of Judas who take on the Holy Week procession in Tarragona.

- Have we been wise to keep the wine and beer as a beverage base from antiquity?

- Especially the wine. In the Mediterranean we have wheat, olives and vines, so do bread, oil and wine. The beer arrived as botellón. The brewers are old, but the wine was made in the houses, and allowing their sale less than a thousand people in churches and cathedrals people do.

- Do we really have in the Mediterranean, the secret of the perfect diet?

- We ate what we had. We have not begun to eat meat until 30 years ago. I took chicken for Christmas as a luxury. If you ate fish were sardines, blue fish that are very good for health. And to make the edge trees were planted, which produce oil also allowed for a whole year.

- They say we eat less than before.

- It is before the grandmother lived at home. Women no longer cook and also eat product that is not normal to eat all year. With the greenhouses do not know well. A tomato garden at their point of maturity with oil, and do not need steak. But now the owner of the garden you have paid the real estate and has put the money in Forum Filatélico. A disgrace.

- If you eat less, why we live longer?

- We live longer, but not better. We must not add years to life, but life to years.

- Now drink as much as medieval monks?

- Different drink. Medieval monks had cirrhosis, but now we have children of botellón. Chupitos the drink, which is pure alcohol, where once only men drank a glass of cognac. The tons of wine was always on the table, yes, but eating. Merendábamos pan with wine and sugar. We have become alcoholics because of American films, where the drink is a drink of whiskey. The Romans also revelry hit a thousand demons, and then came the fall of the empire. Christianity is based on the bread and wine.

- All the old recipes are based on white wine, why?

- It was the most common in the Mediterranean. The Red is drunk in the Ribera del Duero and interior.

- What is the biggest outrage that used before to heal?

- One was to eliminate tapeworms. Advised aspiring smoke soled shoe with an old colander. As it was believed that had entered through the mouth as the terrible smoke that came out to the rear. People keep doing atrocities to heal. Take a long hair on people.

- What medieval remedy still valid?

- There was a lot of medieval herb mixed with brandy for several remedies. Is still in the water pharmacy del Carmen, which is alcohol and fifty herbs to relieve the pains of menstruation. I gave as restorative tonic. Before, women were not to ask for a drink at the bar. Alcoholic is at home with water from Carmen.

- With the growth of medicinal plants and alternative medicines become a tradition?

- Everything depends on the faith of the people. There are no diseases but sick.

PROF. Josep Maria Sabate. / A. SALAS / The Truth, September 2008, see note

I imagine that many of you is nothing new that we are living now a little economic crisis. Companies like Lehman Brothers, AIG and other giants of the financial world have fallen dramatically and many of us are not even sleeping at night because we fear for our retirement money is gone. Other people fear that the money they have in their bank accounts is also a problem. Here they left a small FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) that will hopefully help you understand what’s happening.

How did all this?
The answer is complex but I will try to make it as simple as possible. Many banks, for wanting more profit (greed), mortgage loans to many low-income (and bad credit), knowing that these will be very difficult to pay the mortgage (Sub-Prime Lending). These people entered the contract with special offers that lasted about five years with low interest (Adjustable Rate Mortgage Loans), after five years of interest (and therefore monthly payments) increased as customers could not meet the payments. 1 in every 100 homes are estimated to have been millions of them, are being seized as www.consumeraffairs.com in a report made in February 2008. These loans were secured by the money from finance companies that serve as collateral for payment of loans (Freddie Mac, Fanny Mae which tenial money Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns who were insured by AIG). This caused a domino effect on the market in which mortgage companies, insurers of the mortgages and people who invested in these companies lose a lot of money. Less money, fewer jobs, the same charges, plus debt, pandemonium! Add to this equation the rise of oil and the fall of the automotive market (less work, less money to spend).

What happens to money in my bank?
The money in a deposit account (Savings, Current, certificates of deposits) are insured by the government to a limited quantity. In the United States says the FDIC up to $ 100,000 per person in Spain ensures you the FGD 20,000 Euros per account, per bank. This does not mean that if you lose more, but what will happen is that they sold the bank was broken and divided the rest among those owed money.

And what happens as my investments?
Your investments are other five, they are not insured. Usually people who have investments in the stock market (for retirement or planning for long-term) is invested in an investment fund that is diversified but are seriously affected by the market. If you have money in the bag and is an investment fund (mutual fund) is recommended as it still and do not let you make your money, even when you’re losing. The stock market will always have its ups and downs, but eventually always recovers. Many people recommended it to invest more now that the stock market is almost on the floor as this will help you buy more shares with your money when the stock market back to normal you’ll have a lot of money. Consult your broker or do your research needed before making a decision (the internet is a great tool.)

I am losing a lot of money. What do I do?
If you are about to retire (or reaching your goal to get your money in the bag), you should move most of your investments into bonds meantime. If you plan to use this money for many years here, do not worry, keep your investment strategy and constant at the end of the day you win money, no longer see your investment fund is performing so often.

And the worst has happened, right?
The answer is NO. Will spend a lot of things before we go to see the economic market rising again. Speculators predict that many companies will have to create a merger to handle the losses (eg JP Morgan and Bear Stearns). Many jobs will be lost which will cause less buying and selling. Also the price of houses will be reduced in order to be sold, many people will be losing money for the market to stabilize.

What do you think? Leave a comment.