NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - There's new advice for older men who want to preserve their sexual function: have sex, and have it often, researchers say. In a study that followed nearly 1,000 older Finnish men for five years, researchers found that those who were regularly having sex at the start of the study were at lower risk of developing erectile dysfunction (Buy Viagra) by the study's end. In fact, the more often the men had sex, the lower their Buy Generic Viagra risk. The implication, say the researchers, is that men should be encouraged to stay sexually active into their golden years. Dr. Juha Koskimaki and colleagues at the University of Tampere in Finland report the findings in the American Journal of Medicine. The study included 989 men who were between the ages of 55 and 75 at the outset. Overall, those who said they had sex less than once per week were twice as likely to develop ED over the next five years as men who had sex at least once a week. Furthermore, compared with men who had sex three or more times per week, their Order Viagra risk was increased nearly four-fold. A number of factors contribute to ED development, many of which could also affect a man's sexually activity -- such as age, diabetes and heart disease. However, after taking account of those factors, sexual activity itself remained linked to Cheap Viagra risk, Koskimaki's team found. It may be a matter of "use it or lose it," according to the researchers. Just as exercise boosts physical fitness, they note, regular sexual activity may help a man preserve his erectile function. buy viagra online occurs when there are problems with blood flow to the penis. Regular sexual activity, Koskimaki's team writes, may help maintain healthy blood vessel function in the erectile tissue. SOURCE: American Journal of Medicine, July 2008.


The Box

I’m reading a book by a guy called Ian Marchant. It’s called Parallel Lines and is about the history of the British railway network: Beeching, Stevenson, Brunel and how the lines were built. Essential reading for commuters.

One of the most famous railway tunnels in Britain, if there can be such a thing as a famous tunnel, is Box Tunnel, which runs into Bath at a gradient of one in 60. There is a section on this in the book, explaining that it was the only way the engineers could get the line down the steep hills into the city. But also…

There are railway men who claim that there are secret tunnels hidden behind steel doors in Box … that hold … steam locomotives, the so-called Strategic Reserve. The argument runs that in time of nuclear war it would be almost impossible to move about the country, and that diesel and electric trains would be immobilised. Steam trains, which need only coal, water and a box of matches to operate would be the best way to transport people and materials. The engines that have been preserved for this purpose wait, painted black and without identification numbers, in a vast underground siding accessed through the Box… There is supposed to be a secret underground city down there, prepared for the government against an all-out thermo-nuclear attack.

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4 Responses to “The Box”

  1. Jacob Says:

    Intruiging and a little exciting, but I just did a quick google on the subject and found an interesting article that suggests steam trains would be an impractical ‘reserve’ - I see the logic. Nonetheless I’m sure there’s a few mothballed here and there.

    http://www.angelfire.com/mn2/Oubliette/Practical.html

  2. Christopher Brennan Says:

    If you’ve ever travelled to Swindon in the rain the Box tunnel will be famous as the slightest drop of the wet stuff closes it. Not only is the Box tunnel a nightmare but the Box line is a disaster area with shoddy drainage. Brunel designed the Box and it was blown with dynamite rather than dug, you were more likely to die building the tunnel than on the Somme. A day before or after Brunel’s birthday the sun sets and rises directly through the tunnel or so I believe. Not that I’m a geek you understand.

  3. Damian Mitchell Says:

    Slightly related, and a really good read is London on London - A subterranean guide, I had to order my copy several years ago, but it’s probably available on Amazon now. Loads of Secret underground tunnels in event of war e.t.c. Also of interest:-

    http://www.cybertrn.demon.co.uk/guardian/

    http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-news/873564/posts

    Damia Mitchell

  4. mpr Says:

    There are several sites dealing with the Box Tunnel steam reserve, and they are obviously spoofs, although things of a secretive nature seem to go on in this area.

    Countries which maintained stategic steam reseves have tended to do so quite openly, and in some cases have brought the engines back into use.

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