<< Tumblelog - November 2008 | Tumblelogs | Tumblelog - January 2009 >>

Don't Panic > Magazine > Success > UNDERWATER SCULPTURES
The Daily Otter
2008: my year of living smaller - O'Reilly Broadcast
Start Viral Marketing Campaigns Using E-books | Boosh Online
Commentary: Cut taxes, don't raise spending - CNN.com
AuroraBorealis.jpg (JPEG Image, 1280x960 pixels)
Meditation Effective For ADHD - Study
The Transcendental Meditation technique may be an effective and safe non-pharmaceutical aid for treating ADHD, according to a study published in Current Issues in Education....The pilot study followed a group of middle school students with ADHD who were meditating twice a day in school. After three months, researchers found over 50 percent reduction in stress and anxiety and improvements in ADHD symptoms...."The effect was much greater than we expected," said Sarina J. Grosswald, Ed.D., a George Washington University-trained cognitive learning specialist and lead researcher on the study. "The children also showed improvements in attention, working memory, organization, and behavior regulation."
Machines Like Us | Science at the speed of thought
Vista: Windows Vista Screwed RAM Makers, But You Can Profit
We're Witnessing the Return of Religion as a Principle Cause of Warfare | | AlterNet
Jesus Chr--D'Oh!
Impostor syndrome - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Regardless of what level of success they may have achieved in their chosen field of work or study or what external proof they may have of their competence, those with the syndrome remain convinced internally they do not deserve the success they have achieved and are actually frauds. Proof of success is dismissed as luck, timing, or as a result of deceiving others into thinking they were more intelligent and competent than they believe themselves to be.
Text Messages Cost Carriers Nothing | Gadget Lab from Wired.com
Telcos are ripping you off...A piece in the New York Times goes into some detail on the cost of text messages to the cell carriers and concludes that it is close to zero. An SMS doesn't even take any bandwidth away from the regular channels which carry calls:

That's why a message is so limited in length: it must not exceed the length of the message used for internal communication between tower and handset to set up a call. The channel uses space whether or not a text message is inserted.

Cost to telco: $0.00. Cost to customers: $0.20.
The Blog of Michael R. Eades, M.D. » A tale of two studies
Excellent article that reviews two recent studies on low carb / low glycemic index diets.
Across The Universe - Beatles Musical with Evan Rachel Wood
CCK & Views the ultimate combination - part 1 « The Venture Skills Blog
Drupal CCK and Views Tutorial : Awakened Voice Learning Center
Commodity Options
Adding .caption class to FCKEditor | drupal.org
Drupal Modules - Search, Rate, and Review Drupal Modules
Tips & Tricks | Drupal + FCKeditor
Commodity Options
Ways to Hedge Against Fall of U.S. Dollar
Are Android, Chrome-Flavored Netbooks on Tap for Google
California Surgeon Used Human Fat to Power Car | Medical News
"You want fries with that?"
Several ways to hedge against falling dollar
Two free tickets to Lotusphere -- is IBM's Lotus Notes Out of Touch With Web 2.0 World?
When I recently attended David's GTD seminar, I was struck by the contrast between his fresh ideas, and the outdated nonsense of the Notes 6.5 interface. During this podcast, David directly asked, "Why do end users hate Lotus notes?" And then pointed out that most Notes users have no clue of the power of the tools they are using.
Malcolm Gladwell - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Charlie Rose Interview with Malcolm Gladwell
Thoroughly enjoyed this Charlie Rose interview with Malcolm Gladwell. Gladwell was relaxed, passionate, involved, articulate--and Rose didn't interrupt too much, just letting him jazz out. The meaning makers.
Couple rings Salvation Army's bells - Local & State - News & Observer
Amateurs are trying genetic engineering at home - Yahoo! News
Slow Starvation of Brain Triggers Alzheimer's | LiveScience
Many universities use Drupal | Dries Buytaert
524504628_fa4a95b143_b.jpg (JPEG Image, 1024x655 pixels)
How To: How To Use Your New Digital Camera
Our unconscious brain makes the best decisions possible
Neuroscientists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky received a 2002 Nobel Prize for their 1979 research that argued humans rarely make rational decisions. Since then, this has become conventional wisdom among cognition researchers...Contrary to Kahnneman and Tversky's research, Alex Pouget, associate professor of brain and cognitive sciences at the University of Rochester, has shown that people do indeed make optimal decisions--but only when their unconscious brain makes the choice.
ZIM - A Desktop Wiki / Note Taking App [Linux, Windows] | MakeUseOf.com
50 Things We Know Now (We Didn't Know This Time Last Year): 2008 Edition
The use of social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace on company computers leads to increased productivity. More of my favorites
Spirituality Spot Found in Brain - Yahoo! News
Welcome Zine
Blog in python.
Concept: Nokia Handgun Cellphone Is Ultimate Redneck Convergence Device
New Solar Panels Produced at Less Than $1 Per Watt : TreeHugger
Home for the Holidays: Obama Tries to Escape in Hawaii - TIME
The Mystery of Consciousness -- Printout -- TIME
Pension Funds Collapse: The End of Retirement? | Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace | AlterNet
The economy has since nosedived, and many more retirements are being delayed. The unfortunate reality is that many who planned on retiring will work until the grave, joining the millions of other baby-boomers who never had such dreams.
Magpie | Users
Some app for inserting ads in your tweets...or something.
Apollo 8 astronauts remember historic voyage - CNN.com
Forty years ago this week, three men in a tiny spacecraft slipped their earthly bonds and traveled where no one else had before, circling the moon 10 times and bringing back an iconic image of a blue-and-white Earth in the distance, solitary but bound as one against the black vastness beyond.
Blind, Yet Seeing - The Brain's Subconscious Visual Sense - NYTimes.com
Malaria bed nets' usefulness is their downfall - health - 23 December 2008 - New Scientist
BED nets intended to slow the spread of malaria are not always being put to best use: some Kenyans are using them to fish.
Associated Press 2008 moments - New York - Los Angeles Times
Digg the Blog - New Twitter feeds!
Fry's: Fry's VP Arrested For Embezzling $65 Million
A Fry's VP was arrested last Friday for embezzling $65 million from the electronics retailer to fuel a gargantuan gambling lifestyle and feed his appetite for excess.
Being mean bigger deal than being nice - UPI.com
In everyday social exchanges, being mean to people has a lot more impact than being nice, University of Chicago researchers suggest.

Lead author Boaz Keysar said feeling slighted can have a bigger difference on how a person responds than being the recipient of perceived generosity -- even if the net value of the social transaction is the same.

"Negative reciprocity -- or taking -- escalates," Keysar said in a statement.
Scientists discover gene that explains why naughty children are popular - Telegraph
The reason why children who are naughty at school are often the most popular could lie in a 'Just William' gene, new findings suggest.
Pope Equates "Saving Gays" to "Saving the Rainforest"
Pope likens saving gays to saving the rainforest | Reuters
Pope Benedict said on Monday that saving humanity from homosexual or transsexual behavior was just as important as saving the rainforest from destruction...."(The Church) should also protect man from the destruction of himself. A sort of ecology of man is needed...The tropical forests do deserve our protection. But man, as a creature, does not deserve any less."

The Catholic Church teaches that while homosexuality is not sinful, homosexual acts are. It opposes gay marriage and, in October, a leading Vatican official called homosexuality "a deviation, an irregularity, a wound."

The pope said humanity needed to "listen to the language of creation" to understand the intended roles of man and woman. He compared behavior beyond traditional heterosexual relations as "a destruction of God's work."

He also defended the Church's right to "speak of human nature as man and woman, and ask that this order of creation be respected."

This is one reason why I am no longer Catholic. Intolerance. Arrogance. If Christ were here, I can't imagine he'd be concerned about gays. And why should I believe that any religious leader has the authority to tell me I should believe otherwise? I'm irreligious because I reject that any person has authority from God to say such things. We all must find the answers in our own hearts. Mine says Christ would love a gay person as much as a straight person. No one has the authority to tell me I should believe otherwise.

Merry Christmas TO ALL!
YouTube - Bill Maher's final comment from Religulous
Merry Christmas, Bill!

Traffic Generation Part 12 - The Power of Craigslist | Boosh Online
Prius: It's Not Just a Car, It's an Emergency Generator - Green Inc. Blog - NYTimes.com
[The] car's battery helped keep the lights on for some locals during the recent ice storms. The newspaper reports that John Sweeney, a resident who lost power, ran his refrigerator, freezer, TV, woodstove fan, and several lights through his Prius, for three days, on roughly five gallons of gas.
Increasing Blog Traffic - Great Content Isn't Enough | Brad Blogging
TweetDeck
Health Is A Human Right by Paul Farmer: NPR
I believe in health care as a human right. I've worked as a doctor in many places, and I've seen where to be poor means to be bereft of rights.
Nicholas Negroponte takes OLPC to Colombia | Video on TED.com
Negroponte is doing it! He's getting millions of laptops in the hands of poor children--it's not about "laptop" but "education." Very cool.
Brenny's Blog - When a movie makes you want to write again
Nothing like the mediocrity of life to shield you from profound emotional experiences. Very powerful and emotional account of Brenny's experience while viewing Slumdog Millionaire.
Y.P.R.: 11 Words That Sound Offensive, But Aren't
TED2009: Program Guide
Nice, diverse collection of curious minds.
Seaford dad Tony Williamson dies from freak illness (From The Argus)
A father who suffered a tiny cut died six days later after a flesh-eating disease spread through his body at the rate of three inches an hour....So sad.
YouTube - Four Hands Guitar
Kinda fun :)

Yahoo! 360 - Blogbeats - Brenny's Blog
New insight into effectiveness of colonoscopy - Los Angeles Times
A study suggests the test reduces risk of death 60% to 70% instead of up to 90% and finds that it's better at detecting cancer on the left side of the colon. Don't be overconfident of that recent colonoscopy's clean bill of health.
P2P-Banking.com » Review of peer to peer lending developments in 2008
Mechanism That Triggers Differentiation Of Embryo Cells Discovered
This is a big deal. I need to read this more carefully.
If you could reason with religious people, there would be no religious people - House
Merry Christmas, Dr House!
Smart kids are more likely to be heavy drinkers - Times Online
There's a link between a high IQ and developing alcohol problems. Yikes!
Inventor's 2020 vision: to help 1bn of the world's poorest see better | Society | The Guardian
What if it were possible, he thought, to make a pair of glasses which, instead of requiring an optician, could be "tuned" by the wearer to correct his or her own vision? Might it be possible to bring affordable spectacles to millions who would never otherwise have them?
Rules of Card Games: Golf
My uncle says this is a fun game.
comfortech: Don't Smoke
Christian dominionist)
I really don't see that as being Christ-like at all.
The science of the hangover - Times Online
Vitamin supplements don't fight cancer, studies show - Los Angeles Times
National Press Club Luncheon Video - Paul Krugman
A Higher Calling - NYTimes.com
The Power of Antioxidants and Tea | Cholesterol | Reader's Digest
Try green tea. Because it isn't fermented, green tea has even more antioxidant power than black tea does. It also has less caffeine. And it may provide some protection against certain cancers. Experiment with brands until you find one you like. Don't let green tea steep for more than a couple of minutes or it may become bitter.
Unbelievable facts about sleep | RedCarpetPuNk.com
New View of Statistics: P Values
TakeNote: Note taking and organization
I like this a lot. Like it more if it worked :) Seems buggy--at least the Windows install. May try reinstalling.
Partners In Health Vision - Whatever it takes
The PIH Vision: Whatever it takes - At its root, our mission is both medical and moral. It is based on solidarity, rather than charity alone. When a person in Peru, or Siberia, or rural Haiti falls ill, PIH uses all of the means at our disposal to make them well, from pressuring drug manufacturers, to lobbying policy makers, to providing medical care and social services. Whatever it takes. Just as we would do if a member of our own family, or we ourselves, were ill.

I have enormous respect for Paul Farmer, co-founder of Partners in Health.
Neural Plasticity And The Self-Repairing Brain
Researchers at The University of British Columbia have discovered why the brain loses its capacity to re-grow connections and repair itself, knowledge that could lead to therapeutics that rejuvenate the brain.
The Human Condition: Ageless, Guiltless: The New Yorker
Ellis bears no grudge toward the man who beat him out for the top spot on the A.P.A.'s influential-psychotherapist list (that would be Carl Rogers), but he had no kind words for the "bigot" who came in third. "Freud was out of his fucking mind," Ellis said. "He was as nutty as could be."

[H]e had devised his own method, based on the premise, set forth by the Stoic philosopher Epictetus, that people are disturbed not by what happens to them but by their view of what happens to them, and also on his personal observation that, as he said the other day, "all humans are out of their fucking minds--every single one of them."
toannoyemily
I made this website to annoy my girlfriend. She is a web developer who loves clean design. This site is made in HTML, with lots of attribute tags, no CSS, animated gifs galore, and is optimized for nothing.
Remember everything. | Evernote Corporation
Interesting app. It really does index text in photos, so taking a photo of receipt seems to work. Very cool. I also like the way it copies web pages--images, text, links and all. So far works very well.
IBM - social software
Very true. Having that social networking tool at work is a huge asset. Very useful for finding a resource and for getting to know your co-workers--especially for "remote" workers.

YouTube - Merry Christmas Baby
The Boss! and friends on Conan.

World Currency Options - Swiss Franc Product Specifications
EverBank | Foreign Currency - WorldCurrency Access Deposit Account
Where The Hell Is Matt? - 'Praan' Lyrics by Garry Schyman
Beauty of pollen
Recommended Diet for Diabetics May Need Changing, Study Suggests - NYTimes.com
People with Type 2 diabetes on a high-fiber diet kept their blood sugar under better control when they ate foods like beans and nuts instead of the recommended whole-grain diet, researchers have found. YES!
Majel Roddenberry, 'First Lady of Star Trek,' dies
ThoughtRocket Blog | The Greatest Thing You Can Ever Do...
The Twitter Forums - Powered by vBulletin
Low-Glycemic-Index Diet Beats High-Cereal-Fiber Diet for Glycemic Control
Nothing particularly exciting here, except that instead of a study drugs, this is a study on diet.
What are you looking at? Scientists find out - Science- msnbc.com
Japanese researchers have reproduced images of things people were looking at by analyzing brain scans, opening the way for people to communicate directly from their mind.
Darwinian Poetry: How it Works
Larry Elliott: Why such drastic action? The Fed is utterly petrified | Comment is free | The Guardian
How to protect yourself from martial law
Only 1,411 tigers left in the country, says govt data
The tiger population is indeed dwindling as according to latest government data only 1,411 stripped cats are left in the country.
Faoiseamh: Dutch Word of the Year
Today the Dutch word of the year was announced and the winner was swaffelen which means to sweep the male organ from side to side while banging against an object such as a building. The word came to prominence when a young man posted a youtube video where he 'swaffled' the Taj Mahal. Since then most of the world's major landmarks have succumbed to the same fate. Rival football fans have been known to 'swaffle' the opposition's stadium. This is obviously a human variant of territorial pissing and though I am sure the partakers are having a 'swaffily' good time I am not sure that this will be a stayer. Maybe next year the youth will just go back to mooning. No comment :)
YouTube - Air traffic in 24 hours.wmv
Yellow dots are individual planes...Wow!

Real-life Dilbert manager quotes
Science Friday Archives: 2008 In Social Media
NEJM -- Glucose Control and Vascular Complications in Veterans with Type 2 Diabetes
So the study uses drugs to lower blood sugar in diabetes 2 patients, PLUS researchers used insulin as needed achieve target blood sugar levels.

INSULIN?! The argument about lowering blood sugar as an aid in preventing heart disease is in large part founded on the harmful effects of insulin. Insulin causes artery walls to thicken, promotes inflammation, and promotes blood clotting--all factors contributing to heart disease. So the real goal is lowering blood insulin levels, yet this study doesn't address that at all.

Plus the patients were probably (I need to confirm) eating a normal diet, filled with carbs. Adding insulin to lower blood sugar for diabetes 2 patient, who by definition are insulin resistant, seems at odds with any intention of reducing heart disease risk.

So it's not really surprising that heart disease rates were not improved in this study.
Strict Blood Sugar Lowering Won't Ease Diabetes Heart Risk - washingtonpost.com
"The bottom line here is that diabetes treatment aimed at blood sugar of less than 7 percent on blood sugar tests is of benefit for eye, kidney, and nerve disease, which was established by other studies, but probably underpowered in the VADT, but [it] may not benefit heart disease outcomes,"

How did they control blood sugar? I bet it wasn't by diet.
HIV infects women through healthy tissue: U.S. study | U.S. | Reuters
Instead of infiltrating breaks in the skin, HIV appears to attack normal, healthy genital tissue, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday in a study that offers new insight into how the AIDS virus spreads.

Researchers thought the virus only entered through breaks in the skin or other tissue, but HIV actually entered the body quite readily through the healthy vaginal tissue used in the study. Reinforces the need for condom use and fuels my anger against the Catholic Church's unforgivable policy of forbidding condom use.
Warren Buffett Granddaughter - Nicole Buffett - Marie Claire
Kinda sad story.
Raising Kids Without Religion : Wired For Noise
Basics - Solid-State Computing, Without a Whirring Drive - NYTimes.com
SHERMAN BLACK, a senior vice president at Seagate Technology, a leader in hard drive manufacturing, lies awake at night worrying that his teenagers are part of a new generation of computer users who don't care if their data is stored locally or in the Internet cloud.
Intel, Ericsson Offering Laptop Security Through Text Messaging
This will allow a user or IT department to send an SMS text message to the laptop that will disable the PC and protect stored data.
The Official Peter Coyote Web Site
Twitter / jemimakiss
Very interesting twitter feed. Too many post for me to follow, but worth a look for some WTF? moments.
Benjamin Wallace on the price of happiness | Video on TED.com
IGN: Top 10 Overused Plot Devices
Barack Obama-san - WSJ.com
So for today we thought we'd recount the history of the last major country that tried to spend its way to "stimulus" -- Japan during its "lost decade" of the 1990s. In 1992, Japanese Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa faced falling property prices and a stock market that had sunk 60% in three years. Mr. Miyazawa's Liberal Democratic Party won re-election promising that Japan would spend its way to becoming a "lifestyle superpower." The country embarked on a great Keynesian experiment... I'm not encouraged.
Why You Should Use Twitter and Become a ChirpMarketer | MarketingHackz
any person or business who uses Twitter or other similar services to create brand awareness with short, enticing messages that call for action
Mediterranean Diet NOT Best for Blood Sugar Control
A new study found that a diet of "low-glycemic foods" -- such as beans, nuts, peas, lentils and pasta -- was superior to a high-cereal-fiber diet -- think pumpernickel, rye pita, quinoa, large flake oatmeal and oat bran -- when it comes to lowering blood sugar and other risk factors for heart disease in people with diabetes.

It's a step in the right direction, but overlooks the obvious: people with diabetes 2 are producing insulin but many of their cells have reduced sensitivity to insulin. Without insulin sensitivity, blood glucose levels (from sugar and carbs) remain high causing all kinds of problems.

So why not simply focus on reducing carbs in diabetic 2 people so they don't need the insulin and blood sugar doesn't elevate? Seems so obvious.
Atheist Media Blog: Billy Connolly on Catholicism and Sarah Palin
A surprisingly calm Billy Connolly...I'm used to him jumping around like a wild man.

Aegisub: If programming languages were religions...
Brilliant!
Where do hot dog vendors go to the bathroom? - YesButNoButYes
No, it's not exactly into the hotdog water...but you're close.
Upload videos! Free home video sharing and editing. Secure Home Movie Archiving, Hosting and Storage.
Keith Connects The Dots: The Only True Measures of Cholesterol by Charles
Resident Heretic: Some Atheist Billboards I'd Like to see...[Holiday Edition]
The Real "Mother Of All Ponzi Schemes" - Social Security
Indeed!
US anti-kidnapping expert kidnapped in Mexico
A well-known U.S. anti-kidnapping expert was kidnapped in northern state of Coahuila.
Health Buzz: Hormone Therapy's Effect on Breast Cancer and Other Health News - US News and World Report
Women who take hormone therapy after menopause have an increased risk of breast cancer, but women who take hormone therapy and then get breast cancer are at lower risk of dying from the disease...I'm not sure that helps, but okay.
Why Asian automakers want a federal bailout of U.S. industry - Dec. 15, 2008
Overseas automakers, most notably Toyota Motor, all endorse some form of federal aid to keep General Motors (GM, Fortune 500), Chrysler LLC and possibly Ford Motor (F, Fortune 500) out of bankruptcy.
Colonoscopy Has a 'Right Side' Blind Spot - US News and World Report
The procedure does a good job of detecting early signs of disease on the left side of the colon, or large intestine, but is not as effective at spotting potential problems of the right side of the organ. This means a colonoscopy's success at preventing colorectal cancer deaths seems to lie with its ability to uncover so-called "left-sided" problems.
YouTube - Brian & Katie's Evolution of Wedding Dance
This is hilarious! Give it a minute or so and you'll see what I mean.

Market Skeptics
The danger of hyperinflation lies in a dramatic increase in the velocity of money due to a loss of confidence, not in changes in the money supply.
Credit cards: Dirty little secrets - by Peter Johns - Helium
I managed to find a way to charge only 3 cents each time twice a month for a total of 6 cents a month. What I do is I charge 3 cents every time I fill up my car with gas. I use one credit card to do the actual filling up and then I take my "0% card" and put 2 or 3 cents additional gas. Since I only fill up my car about twice a month it works out nicely. I've been doing this for 3 years now and my finance charges are just 50 cents a month as opposed to the more than $30.00 a month it used to be. That's a combined total of $1080.00 savings over 3 years, And that's not counting the interest saved!
FORA.tv - Dan Piraro: If Jesus Had Died in Electric Chair
Sacrilege...and I love it! Particularly at the end when Piraro notes that if Christ were to return, probably the last thing he'd want to see is that damn cross--represent the worst day of his life.
The Beauty Of Street Photography
Indeed. This the kind of photography I love to do. It's spontaneous.
Nobel Economist Says More Stable Currency Needed
John Nash (of Beautiful Mind) comments on economic crisis, saying we need stability of currency value through gold standard (or something similar). Sees bailout as mistake. Feels government focused on short term, Keynesian approaches. Again, says we need longer term, stabilizing of dollar through gold standard.
Amish Community Immune to Heart Disease, May Lead to Preventative Drugs
A rare genetic abnormality found in people in an insular Amish community protects them from heart disease...About 5 percent of Old Order Amish people in Pennsylvania's Lancaster County have only one working copy rather than the normal two of a gene that makes a protein that slows the breakdown of triglycerides, a type of fat that circulates in the blood, the researchers wrote in the journal Science.
WaterBoxx Grows Forest in the Desert
WaterBoxx allows trees to grow under harsh conditions and can provide them with sufficient water.
Atheist may sue if law on Las Vegas officiants won't change - Los Angeles Times
Nevada law requires licensed officiants to belong to a religious group. It's unfair, says Michael Jacobson, who wants the state Legislature to rework the law that so he can preside over nuptials.
Photography by Jordan Breckenridge
Pete Carroll - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Saw a 60 minutes piece on this Pete Carroll. Yeah, he's USC's coach, but he's so much more. He makes frequent visits to LA's inner city, seeking out gang members. He doesn't bring security or an entourage. He only brings his contagious belief that the young gang members he meets can do better, want to better, can be coached to do better. It's not something many people could do. But Pete can and does. Thanks Coach!
Note to Detroit: Consider the Refrigerator: The New Yorker Blog
The transition to more efficient fridges has saved the equivalent of all the energy generated in the United States by wind turbines and solar cells. "I cannot impress upon you how important energy efficiency is," Chu said.
The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan (June 22, 2008) - The Joys Of Non-Driving
It proves I'm not an American, I guess, but I still don't know how to drive, don't have a license and have managed to get to the age of 44 without missing one.
Del Toro Will Never Film In Mexico Again
Director Guillermo Del Toro will never make another movie in Mexico - because he fears he might be kidnapped by terrorists.
A primate's spontaneous whistling shocked scientists - allvoices.com
[R]ecently an orangutan's spontaneous whistling only after hearing a caretaker make the sound shocked scientists at Great Ape Trust of Iowa, and lead them to a new insight in to the evolution of speech and learning.
Christmas lights or FSM lights?...You decide
One for the Ages: A Prescription That May Extend Life - New York Times
Dr. Roy Walford, a legendary pathologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, who spent much of the last 30 years of his life following a calorie-restricted regimen. He died of Lou Gehrig's disease in 2004 at 79.

I've seen stories about Walford. I hadn't realized he'd died.
One for the Ages: A Prescription That May Extend Life - New York Times
Aside from direct genetic manipulation, calorie restriction is the only strategy known to extend life consistently in a variety of animal species. Both monkeys fed some form of monkey chow. I assume they controlled for nutrient (vitamins, etc.) but altered fat, carb, protein content to adjust calories.

[M]utant roundworms that live six times longer than normal, largely because of a mutation in a single gene [that] encodes a receptor on the surface of cells similar to a receptor in humans that responds to two important hormones, insulin and the insulin-like growth factor.

Insulin is necessary for the body to transport glucose into cells to fuel their operations. Dr. Kenyon and other researchers suggest that worm cells with mutated receptors may be tricked into sensing that nutrients are not available, even when they are. With its maintenance machinery thereby turned on high, each worm cell lives far longer and so does the worm.

Many experts are now convinced that the energy-signaling pathways that employ insulin and IGF-1 are very involved in fixing an organisms life span. Some researchers have even described Type 2 diabetes, which is marked by insensitivity to the hormone insulin, as simply an accelerated form of aging.

Calorie restricted diet monkey vs. normal calorie diet monkey
Dilbert on the economic crisis
Brilliant! But I think the economic crisis is more like having a few sick cows along with healthy cows, then grinding up all the cows into a big pile of hamburger and distributing the hamburger all over the world. How do you know if the hamburger you received does not contain any of the sick cows? You don't. Which is the problem with making hamburger this way (which we do, BTW), and with the "securitizing" of home mortgages.
NPR Salaries: Raw Data
Who said there was no money in public radio?
Power Point: Buffett on 0% interest rates - Postcards
"This should be bullish for Berkshire. With great foresight, I long ago entered the mattress business in a big way through our furniture operation. Now mattresses have become fully competitive as a place to put your money, and sales will soon take off."
Mental calculation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Calvin on the future
More Gripes About Carbohydrates for True Anti-aging Results by Lorne Caplan | Anti-Aging Beauty
Self-organization - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Self-Organizing Systems FAQ for Usenet newsgroup comp.theory.self-org-sys
If every American saw this, there would be a revolution! // Current
Breaking News, Current Events, Latest News and World Events at allvoices.com
The Clever Zebra Blog | Clever Zebra
Nick Wilson's current site. The man's an internet nomad. Never know where he's going to pop up.
Did our cosmos exist before the big bang? - space - 10 December 2008 - New Scientist
Einstein's relativity fails to explain the very birth of the universe
Concern for Climate Change Defines Energy Dept. Nominee - washingtonpost.com
Suppose you had a small electrical fire at home and a structural engineer told you there was a 50 percent chance your house would burn down in the next few years unless you spent $20,000 to fix faulty wiring....You can either continue to shop for additional evaluations until you find the one engineer in 1,000 who is willing to give you the answer you want -- 'your family is not in danger'
YouTube - A Charlie Brown Ad Agency
There's something very satisfying about hearing peanuts characters cuss.

Free Online Stock Trading, Discount Options Trading, & Discount Stock Brokerage
The Chase - Video
Beats Casino Royale's foot chase...Amazing stuff.
Plastic surgery for the dead | Metro.co.uk
[Dead] people want to be remembered. A funeral is their last major event and they want to look good for it. Oh...my...God.
How to Solve Toddler Tantrums - Think Like a Neanderthal | LiveScience
His method is to speak in short phrases that reflect the primitive emotions of the child ("You are angry") rather than addressing the adult modern Homo sapiens situation of the moment ("Please stop. Big girls don't scream in stores.")

Apparently, nothing infuriates these little Neanderthals more than Homo sapiens logic. They just want to be heard and their emotions acknowledged and a tantrum is best controlled by the simple, "I hear you. I feel you."
Scientists extract images directly from brain ::: Pink Tentacle
This reminds me of some recent whodunit/scifi movie where a killer is caught by recreating the images on the retina of the victim....Weird.
Enroute: Career Opportunities
Cancer Virtual Community Forums - Powered by vBulletin
[How-To] Automatically follow your new followers on Twitter | Technofriends
Op-Ed Columnist - While Detroit Slept - NYTimes.com
Whatever can be done, will be done. The only question is will it be done by you or to you. Just don't think it won't be done.
The best films of 2008... and there were a lot of them :: rogerebert.com :: News & comment
Recent study proves sugar can be as addictive as cocaine - Pennsylvania Health Examiner
A recent study performed by researchers at Princeton University have proven that sugar indeed is an addictive substance in the body. This sentiment has long been suspected but finally there is research to definatively prove it.
Orlando Sentinel - NASA has become a transition problem for Obama
NASA administrator Mike Griffin is not cooperating with President-elect Barack Obama's transition team, is obstructing its efforts to get information and has told its leader that she is not qualified to judge his rocket program, the Orlando Sentinel has learned. Wow! That's a surprise.
Low-carb diets can affect dieters' cognition skills | Science Codex
A new study from the psychology department at Tufts University shows that when dieters eliminate carbohydrates from their meals, they performed more poorly on memory-based tasks than when they reduce calories, but maintain carbohydrates. When carbohydrates were reintroduced, cognition skills returned to normal.

VERY interesting. I believe it. When I've gone low carb I'm a mess for at least a week. I wonder if the deficiency persists beyond 3 weeks. The diet-babble I've seen seems to suggest the body switches over to ketones at some point during a low-carb regimen, and once that has occurred, all is well. Dunno if that's true.
Pavlov's Dog
Abstruse Goose - The Purposeful Life
Tired of clicking incessantly on your address bar trying to highlight the whole URL? Press F6. : reddit.com
Gmail Enables SMS Messaging From Chat
15 Dazzling Modern Library Designs | WebUrbanist
SEO and Findability blog
YouTube - Shanghai Lady Drives Off With Tow Truck
You'd think the guy would know better.

BBC NEWS | In Pictures | In pictures: Your chaotic work spaces
This is sad, but my workspace isn't that much better.
UGC Refresher Course | Top Legal Issues to Watch with User Content
The Blog of Michael R. Eades, M.D. - Oprah's plight
Winfrey also writes that her goal is no longer to be thin; instead, she wants to be strong, healthy and fit.

Uh huh. I'm not trying to be sarcastic because I think the situation is pitiful. Here is a beautiful, intelligent, creative, talented woman who is giving up on a relatively easy quest. All her other accomplishments were much more difficult than losing weight, but she knew what she was doing. For weight loss, however, she is listening to idiots. And their advice is wrong. And she hasn't lost. So she's giving up. It's really sad. Especially since one can't really be fat and be healthy. She's fooling herself. If she's overweight, she's got a metabolic problem that isn't being dealt with.
Jostens - Class Rings and Yearbooks
Cognitive Daily: Do people's memories about their life history follow a predictable pattern?
Many studies have found that people appear to remember much more from their teens and 20s than the rest of their lives. A fifty-year-old might remember more about her 20s than her 30s, even though the events in her 30s were more recent. Is there something about the teens and 20s that make them more memorable? Or do our brains just lose the ability to form lasting memories as we age?
Baylor study: Women more likely to die after heart attacks | Top stories | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle
Women are less likely than men to receive appropriate and timely treatment after being hospitalized for a heart attack and more likely to die if it's severe, according to a new study....women nearly twice as likely to die of massive heart attacks as men. When researchers adjusted for the fact female patients tend to be older and sicker, they were 12 percent more likely to die.
Selenium, Vitamins E and C Won't Prevent Prostate Cancer - US News and World Report
Selenium, vitamin E and vitamin C won't prevent men from getting prostate cancer

Have to see the study, but I'm not terribly surprised. I'm convinced that vitamin supplements are not the magic bullet some hope. Instead of trying to guess what nutrients are missing in the processed foods we eat, the healthiest approach is to simply avoid processed foods--eat whole foods (fruits, veggies, nuts, meats, eggs).

Interesting that today a report came out that cancer deaths are expected to displace heart disease as the number one killer in the U.S. (see next entry).
Cancer to Surpass Heart Disease as World's Leading Killer - washingtonpost.com
By 2010, cancer will be the leading killer in the world, surpassing heart disease, causing more deaths than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined.
Art by Lynn B. (Hutchins) Haney: Portraits from life and photographs; Southern historical art. Realistic and representational drawings and oil paintings.
Some gorgeous work here! Great job, Lynn!
What's Important is Love | ThoughtRocket Blog
When Debbie and I got to the emergency room to see her mother's lifeless body, I was struck with the realization that everything we think is important isn't. Not the daily life stuff, not the job stuff, not the geo-political stuff or the economic stuff. What's really important is how much we love. It was plain to me. And as for my brother and father-in-law, well, they are love giants.
InternetNews Realtime IT News - Latest Facebook Attack Stems from Previous One
Very cool lightning picture
Men Are Red Women Are Green - Science - redOrbit
They determined that men tend to have more reddish skin and greenish skin is more common for women.
Spank Bank - CollegeHumor video
In poor taste....but phunny!
Man Wants To Add Festivus Pole To State Capitol - News Story - KIRO Seattle
Festivus is a fictional holiday created in an episode of the comedy sitcom Seinfeld by character George Costanza's father, Frank, after he became frustrated while fighting for a gift during the crowded holiday shopping season. Instead of a tree, the imaginary holiday presents a bare pole and people gather around it and have an airing of grievances or feats of strength.
One in Ten Americans Now Uses Food Stamps as Unemployment Continues to Rise - MarketWatch
And only one in three that qualify for food stamps have applied.
A Message To Boing Boing Readers From the Auto Industry - Boing Boing
OldVersion.com
OldVersion.com has been supplying the online community with old versions of various programs since 2001.
Photo smiling to a stony sea
YouTube - Mind Control Cults
Interesting...very interesting.

Study: Dinosaurs had big head air cavities - UPI.com
Witmer suggests the air spaces helped lighten the load of the head, making it about 18 percent lighter than it would have been.
Great Tips on How to Write Your Memoir | Authors | Reader's Digest
11 Ways to Cure Someday Syndrome | Zen Habits
Observatory - How Tiny Insects, With a Little Help, Survive on Plant Sap - NYTimes.com
Plant sap is hardly nature's wonder food. It is woefully lacking in essential amino acids, the kind that animals can't synthesize on their own....It's a good thing, then, that people don't subsist on plant sap. But aphids do. So how do the insects get the amino acids they need?....The answer, scientists know, is that aphids have symbiotic bacteria that synthesize the amino acids for them.
Hunter S. Thompson - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"No More Games. No More Bombs. No More Walking. No More Fun. No More Swimming. 67. That is 17 years past 50. 17 more than I needed or wanted. Boring. I am always bitchy. No Fun for anybody. 67. You are getting Greedy. Act your old age. Relax. This won't hurt." Thompson's suicide note.
Top Ten - Top 10 Hunter S. Thompson Quotes - Top 10 - HST - Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas Quotes - Great Shark Hunt - Rolling Stone - Gonzo Papers - Generation of Swine Book - HST Quotes
BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Chinese girl gets 'kiss of deaf'
"The kiss reduced the pressure in the mouth, pulled the eardrum out and caused the breakdown of the ear."
Free Video Chat and Video Conferencing from ooVoo
America7s Disappearing Forests - The New York Times - Video Library
Champion runner Kerryn McCann dies
Marathon champion Kerryn McCann has died, succumbing in her long-running battle with cancer.
19 Handy Twitter Mashups and Tools | Design And Marketing Blog - Houston Web Design - Search & Social Media Marketing
Bees and quantum physics - Science Box
Can an economics guru please explain the video 'Money As Debt'? Is this really how our system works? : Economics
George W Bush funny quotes, Bush Blunders, Bush... - allvoices.com
How they shot The Godfather | Mail Online
Cool behind the scenes info and photos.
D7oh! I7m a modern icon: He7s a fat yellow moron who7s just won the Turner Prize. So why DOES the world love Homer Simpson? | Mail Online
Calvin and Hobbes on the economy
Video Playlist of all the "How It All Ends" series
Superb!
YouTube - The Most Terrifying Video You'll Ever See
Wow! Fantastic, simple argument about whether or not to do anything about global warming, even if it does not actually happen. Which column would you choose?

YouTube - How It All Ends
Response to criticism of his video above.
An interesting face on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
I really like the portrait by Julie Kertesz.
Four Day Work Week - 16 Reasons It's a Good Idea
So let's stop and do some math...and I'll try to argue for 16 reasons why a four day work week is a good idea.
Google unleashes unlocked G1 on developers | Crave - CNET
Zero Population Growth or Bust! - Albert A. Bartlett Ph.D. Video
Fascinating yet simple illustration of why growth (population, oil consumption, etc.) cannot go on forever, and why we WILL NOT recognize when we are close to using up all resources before it's too late. This third video of the series carries a devastating message. This is the core problem of our unsustainable economy that we're beginning to see symptoms of now. In thinking about China and India, their impact on global consumption is beyond gargantuan, though it's essential to remember that U.S. consumption habits brought us here.

Donklephant - Blog Archive - William Ayers Talks About His "Pal" Barack Obama
In Ayers own words - President-elect Obama and I sat on a board together; we lived in the same diverse and yet close-knit community; we sometimes passed in the bookstore. We didn't pal around, and I had nothing to do with his positions. I knew him as well as thousands of others did, and like millions of others, I wish I knew him better.
Who Is Worse Than The Grinch? [COMIC] | Political Lore .com
FBI warning : My[confined]Space
Resource Investor - Jim Rogers Interview: Where to Put Your Money
JIM ROGERS: Agriculture is the best place one of the few places - where I would put money in the investment markets right now. Id buy agriculture. Id buy the renminbi, the Swiss frank, the Japanese yen, but beyond that, theres not much I see that I would be buying. Agricultures still extremely depressed on a historic basis. There are very sound and strong fundamental changes taking place for the better.
ABC News: Woman Divorces to Afford Life-Saving Surgery
Sharpe, who lives in Franklin, Ind., said she and her husband Freddie, 57, did not want to get divorced but that she needed to be single to be eligible for Medicaid.
a christmas exegesis | wrongcards
Brewster Kahle builds a free digital library | Video on TED.com
As a bibliophyle, I enjoyed this TED talk about archiving human knowledge (mostly books).
Internet Archive: About IA
The Internet Archive is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that was founded to build an Internet library, with the purpose of offering permanent access for researchers, historians, and scholars to historical collections that exist in digital format. Founded in 1996 and located in the Presidio of San Francisco, the Archive has been receiving data donations from Alexa Internet and others. In late 1999, the organization started to grow to include more well-rounded collections. Now the Internet Archive includes texts, audio, moving images, and software as well as archived web pages in our collections.
The Associated Press: Obama hopes to avoid Clinton health care missteps
Dr. Bob's Nightmare: Music Lessons
How's this for an opening - Mr. Schackne's beginning band class met during the third period. To hear how we butchered standards like Sousa's "Liberty Bell" and Mancini's "Pink Panther" would make the deaf wince. When Schackne was sick and they called in a substitute, we swapped instruments. I'd hand my metal clarinet to the drummer, and he'd hand me his tympani sticks. We almost sounded better playing unnatural instruments.
Gabby Hyman's Blog
This guy can write! He's only just begun, but you can tell from his approach and writing style that this blog will be something to watch.
In pursuit of the commonwealth
Is that a more noble goal that the pursuit of individual wealth? Or do they amount to the same thing?
YouTube - Invasive Fire Ants Lose Heads to Flies
Yuck!

A "Second Earth" has been found 20 light years away. Do you think there is life over there?
How to catch a mouse without a mousetrap
I thought this was clever.
YouTube - EMO Christmas (Song)

NASA - Why go to the moon?
Shackelton's exploration of the Antarctica on the Endurance is featured.
H. M., an Unforgettable Amnesiac, Dies at 82 - Obituary (Obit) - NYTimes.com
Memento - In 1953, he underwent an experimental brain operation in Hartford to correct a seizure disorder, only to emerge from it fundamentally and irreparably changed. He developed a syndrome neurologists call profound amnesia. He had lost the ability to form new memories....For the next 55 years, each time he met a friend, each time he ate a meal, each time he walked in the woods, it was as if for the first time.

And for those five decades, he was recognized as the most important patient in the history of brain science.

Meerkat family portrait
The Votes Are In: BlackBerry Storm Sucks | Gadget Lab from Wired.com
"Having tried the Storm on two different days to make sure it was really as bad as it seemed the first time, I too find it unbelievable that these are for sale," a reader wrote to Pogue. "Verizon should just box all these Storms up and send them to Toys R Us, who can sell them in the Brainteaser section, right next to the Rubik's Cubes."
Payrolls plunge by stunning 533,000 in November - MarketWatch
U.S. nonfarm payrolls plunged by an astonishing 533,000 in November, the worst job loss in 34 years, the Labor Department reported Friday...Job losses were widespread across industries in November. Fewer than a third of industries were hiring in November.
How do I redirect traffic from my site's original feed to my FeedBurner feed? - FeedBurner Help Center
Op-Ed Columnist - Raising the World's I.Q. - NYTimes.com
With iodized salt?
Strangers May Cheer You Up, Study Says - NYTimes.com
a cheery next-door neighbor has more effect on your happiness than your spouse's mood.
45 Essential Resources for Student Writers -- Education-Portal.com
8 Signs Google is Planning to Build a National Wireless Network - Daily Wireless
Prisoner's dilemma - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Scientists conclude that being nice, forgiving and co-operative is the best strategy, provided you retaliate against mean people now and again.
CNN Guts Its Science Coverage | Wired Science from Wired.com
Girl from iconic Great Depression photo: 'We were ashamed' - CNN.com
Marijuana Uses - Article by Carl Sagan?
How To Watch Movies and Shows on Hulu & Sling from Abroad | MakeUseOf.com
Super-Ant Taking Over Europe - Yahoo! News
5 Career Changes You Can Actually Make
LOL: Nikon S60 Ads - My Modern Metropolis
Shortest "short" story
Club 33 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Club 33 is a private club located in the heart of the New Orleans Square section of Disneyland. Officially maintained as a secret feature of the theme park, the entrance of the club is located next to the Blue Bayou Restaurant at "33 Royal Street" with the entrance recognizable by an ornate address plate with the number 33 engraved on it. When riding Pirates of the Caribbean, just as the ride departs, the Blue Bayou restaurant is visible, but the balconies above it are actually a part of Club 33.
Switchboard, from NRDC :: Frances Beinecke's Blog :: Google CEO on Energy Efficiency: Doing the Right Thing Is Also the Right Thing for Business"
The Religion Virus: One Catholic Priest Destroyed the Entire Mayan Written Language
Getting a grip on Python: six ways to learn online
BZ quote from IM with friend
"Enjoy the simple pleasures of family, friends, a good book and just being alive. The blessings are there to be counted, if we are willing to look."
statulo.us blog: What better time for nutrition advice?
DEFIANCE || In Select Theaters December 31 and Everywhere January 16
This looks really good, and I like Daniel Craig.
The Lazy Slacker Blog: The Bailout Propaganda
More sleep, not less work, for medical residents - USATODAY.com
To improve patient safety, medical residents should get at least five hours of sleep after working 16 hours, concludes a report today. - DUH!!!
Vitamin D Is Good For The Heart
A new study published in the latest issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology reveals that people who have a deficiency in vitamin D are more prone to cardiovascular disease, heart attacks and strokes.

The new study adds to the growing body of evidence that vitamin D is essential for our health. Researchers have long sustained that vitamin D plays a significant role in causing no less than seventeen varieties of cancers as well as heart disease, stroke, hypertension, birth defects, osteoporosis and other serious conditions.
Generic Heart Drugs as Good as Brand-Name Counterparts - washingtonpost.com
Brand-name drugs used to treat cardiovascular disease are no better than generics, a new review of available evidence shows.
Sunshine & Vitamin D - Granite Bay
Learning by heart is 7pointless for Google generation7 - Telegraph
Schoolchildren should no longer be forced to memorise facts and figures because such information is readily available on the internet, a leading commentator claims.
Junkfood Science: Does banning hotdogs and bacon make sense?
In 1981, the National Academy of Sciences reviewed the scientific literature and found no link between nitrates or nitrites and human cancers, or evidence to even suggest that they're carcinogenic. Since then, more than 50 studies and multiple international scientific bodies have investigated a possible link between nitrates and cancers and mortality in humans and found no association.

What may be more surprising to learn is that scientific evidence has been building for years that nitrates are actually good for us, that nitrite is produced by our own body in greater amounts than is eaten in food, and that it has a number of essential biological functions, including in healthy immune and cardiovascular systems. Nitrite is appearing so beneficial, it's even being studied as potential treatments for health problems such as high blood pressure, heart attacks, sickle cell disease and circulatory problems.
Jesus and Mo » Archive » irony
Confessions of an Auto Finance Manager - Edmunds.com
AIDS quilt brings awareness to victims who died of disease
I saw sections of this quilt some time ago. Moving statement, especially as it grows...and grows...
How to Backpack - a knol by Ryan Moulton
Skeptic: Junior Skeptic: A Conversation with Kari Byron
20 Free Corporate WordPress Themes | Blogging Tips from Blogsessive
Papua New Guinea women kill males babies to end tribal war | World News | News.com.au
WOMEN in Papua New Guinea's Highland region are killing their male babies to end a tribal war that has gone on for more than 20 years.
History News Network
In short, given the monetary conditions now prevailing, the greater threat by far is inflation, not deflation. And contrary to what the investment experts, the politicians, and the mainstream economists believe, inflation is not a benign element in the economy's operation. It is, as it has always been, the most dangerous and destructive form of taxation.

<< Tumblelog - November 2008 | Tumblelogs | Tumblelog - January 2009 >>