Tuesday, March 31, 2009
The NYT Errol Morris Blog
A fascinating story about a dead Civil War soldier and the photograph he clutched as he lay dying. Morris's past posts are really interesting, too, especially the one from last year about the Abu Ghraib photograph of the dead prisoner and the smiling guard.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Caffeine for sports
The author of this NYT article is in love with caffeine. I'm reading it thinking-- yeah, but what about the health detriments... are there any? The article eventually gets to health by explaining that even though caffeine can increase your hr + bp and make you urinate more often at first, with regular use over a couple days these effects are habituated. It's hard to think anything can have so many benefits (not forgetting the holy antioxidants) without being bad. I often worry coffee will be our generation's cigarettes. But no evidence for that at all.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Seedless Tomatoes & Medicine
The newly added Food Network Widget linked me to an article originally reported in Pittsburgh's Post-Gazette. Seedless tomatoes-- big deal, right? That's what I thought until I read, "The seedless tomato, he says, will benefit those suffering from diverticulitis and people recovering from surgery." That sentence tells me I have a LOT to learn in med school!
No Snickering: That Road Sign Means Something Else
Classic article Jess and I found a while back.
Russell Bates/Ross Parry Agency
The “Butt” in this road, in South Yorkshire, probably refers to a container for collecting water.
e-Records
There's $19 billion available for electronic healthcare records thanks to the stimulus. Two articles discussing how to put the money to use. Your Doctor's Office or the Internet? AND No Small Change for the Health Information Economy.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Why kids don't put their coat on
Why kids don't put their coat on. Really more about difference between how kids and adults plan for future events.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Why go Flexitarian?
The title of this article is pretty obnoxious. But the findings are quite respectably dire: diets rich with red meat are linked to earlier mortality. I know, we already knew. But now we know know.
School Strip Search
Messed up - school strip searches 13 year old girl based on rumor that she has ibuprofen, now going to supreme court.
GOP Hypocrisy
What's new, right? But Dahlia Lithwick at Slate wrote a nice piece elucidating various intellectual hypocrisies among Senate Republicans.
more malignant than just a Glow
I'm actually not very surprised, but it's quite a revelation nonetheless:
Monday, March 23, 2009
I Cans Make $
A few weeks ago a coworker just showed me FAIL BLOG, which I continue to find hilarious despite the overarching theme of the site being schadenfreude (really it's more just the general stupidity of others). That's one of the reasons this article from slate caught my eye-- an article promising to explain how they make money. I was expecting an explanation having some relation to Google's Ad Sense style advertising, where consumer information is utilized to provide a highly active and sought customized ad space. Instead the article just explains that the owner of the company looks for internet memes that are likely to outlast the usual 15 minutes of fame. I was disappointed the article never goes into the process to which he actually makes money-- rather, it just discusses how he gets content and lots of people to come to his site.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
AIG Bonuses
People being irrational despite economists' urges to make us greedy robots. Isn't our human side exactly what we're supposed to be fostering while the economically prototyical human entity of 300,000,000+ game-theory-oriented americans is what got us into this mess? New Yorker Article using Evolutionary Psychology to explain why we wouldn't want AIG to give bonuses even if that caused us some harm: Altruistic Punishment.
(Not the best article, but an interesting perspective on an over-reported current event)
(Not the best article, but an interesting perspective on an over-reported current event)
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
False Memory
This story didn't surprise me very much when I first read it, but it's been on my mind long enough to where I deem it of REC quality. The details remind me eerily of Shawshank Redemption.
http://www.slate.com/id/2213579/
http://www.slate.com/id/
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Is Alzheimer's a form of diabetes?
Mostly I'm curious to hear what Eric and Jess have to say about this slate article, so I figured I'd post it here.
Monday, March 16, 2009
House, M.D.
A real team of doctors to look at extremely rare cases... a house, md in washington dc:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/22/magazine/22Diseases-t.html?scp=1&sq=summer%20stiers&st=cse
(No article's really hit me lately--partially cause I didn't read much in DC..., so thought I'd reach a few weeks back)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/22/magazine/22Diseases-t.html?scp=1&sq=summer%20stiers&st=cse
(No article's really hit me lately--partially cause I didn't read much in DC..., so thought I'd reach a few weeks back)
Thursday, March 12, 2009
What to do with what's left in the fridge
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2009/03/06/DI2009030602219.html?hpid=features2&hpv=national
Prevent drowning in kids!
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-capsule9-2009mar09,0,3969076.story
$67 a week
LA Times feature on a couple eating on $67/week (this is apparently the food stamp allowance for a family of 2).
I hated the author's pretention. Especially the part about his huge brother who couldn't do less than $100/wk on his own. There was an attitude of this experiment as just that--an experiment, without even a hint of introspection or revelation that there are actually poor people for whom this is actually a reality. In fact, people are trying to feed more than 2 mouths on not much more than $70/week. And they don't have Costco nearby, let alone a 99 Ranch Market or a fresh farmer's market.
We live in barren frigid Pittsburgh, where oranges literally cost $1 each, apples are $2/lb, cauliflower is often >$4/head, and a bundle of green onions is easily $1.79. And we've been successfully eating (and eating whole, nutritious, delicious meals) for ~$60/week. Honestly, in Southern California, where produce is cheap, fresh and abundant, and supermarket prices are held at reasonable prices due to the number and variety of market chains, I can't imagine it being completely impossible. Especially for people living in the type of community in which the author and his partner live.
In many underserved communities, people are largely poor, and neighborhoods are plagued with violence and vacancy. Supermarkets and farmer's marts don't really flock to these areas; in fact, many impoverished neighborhoods don't have a grocery store. They have liquor stores, and perhaps a food pantry stocked with canned/frozen foods and some rotting produce that isn't cheap or abundant. They have unreliable public transportation. People in these communities have to take that $70 per week in food stamps and attempt to build nutritious, balanced meals out of very little.
These people are not benefited by a somewhat lighthearted article written as a response to a fun social experiment that some pretentious writer decided to undertake.
That's my 2 cents, anyway.
I hated the author's pretention. Especially the part about his huge brother who couldn't do less than $100/wk on his own. There was an attitude of this experiment as just that--an experiment, without even a hint of introspection or revelation that there are actually poor people for whom this is actually a reality. In fact, people are trying to feed more than 2 mouths on not much more than $70/week. And they don't have Costco nearby, let alone a 99 Ranch Market or a fresh farmer's market.
We live in barren frigid Pittsburgh, where oranges literally cost $1 each, apples are $2/lb, cauliflower is often >$4/head, and a bundle of green onions is easily $1.79. And we've been successfully eating (and eating whole, nutritious, delicious meals) for ~$60/week. Honestly, in Southern California, where produce is cheap, fresh and abundant, and supermarket prices are held at reasonable prices due to the number and variety of market chains, I can't imagine it being completely impossible. Especially for people living in the type of community in which the author and his partner live.
In many underserved communities, people are largely poor, and neighborhoods are plagued with violence and vacancy. Supermarkets and farmer's marts don't really flock to these areas; in fact, many impoverished neighborhoods don't have a grocery store. They have liquor stores, and perhaps a food pantry stocked with canned/frozen foods and some rotting produce that isn't cheap or abundant. They have unreliable public transportation. People in these communities have to take that $70 per week in food stamps and attempt to build nutritious, balanced meals out of very little.
These people are not benefited by a somewhat lighthearted article written as a response to a fun social experiment that some pretentious writer decided to undertake.
That's my 2 cents, anyway.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Music for the genetically gifted
http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/an-ipod-so-small-its-controls-are-found-on-the-cord/?8dpc
An ipod that talks to you-- tells you what song is playing and how much battery life is left-- is cool... That is, if you're of the genetically 'superior' class of citizens that the little weird earbuds stay in your ears. For second class citizens who up 'til now had to pay an extra 10, 20, 30 bucks for earphones that work on our second class ears-- now we can't even use the new ipod shuffle because they made the shuffle so small they put the buttons on the ear bud cord! Thanks. Cool article-- David Pogue rocks.
An ipod that talks to you-- tells you what song is playing and how much battery life is left-- is cool... That is, if you're of the genetically 'superior' class of citizens that the little weird earbuds stay in your ears. For second class citizens who up 'til now had to pay an extra 10, 20, 30 bucks for earphones that work on our second class ears-- now we can't even use the new ipod shuffle because they made the shuffle so small they put the buttons on the ear bud cord! Thanks. Cool article-- David Pogue rocks.
A Spectacle
At Radio City, a Showdown Between Maher and Coulter
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/arts/television/11deba.html
-
Monday, March 9, 2009
Happiness Project
I've been following the happiness project on slate:
http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/happinessproject/
It is less lame than it sounds and has some reasonable suggestions. My major complaint is it is too many suggestions. Before I have a chance to try something the next set of suggestions has been posted.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/happinessproject/
It is less lame than it sounds and has some reasonable suggestions. My major complaint is it is too many suggestions. Before I have a chance to try something the next set of suggestions has been posted.
Freethrows
http://mobile.nytimes.com/article?a=335160
Freethrows, completely unguarded and unchanged for years, have been made at a steady percentage for decades. Female and male players scoring at the same levels, and the nba consistently outscoring college by only the tiniest margin.
That said, the author seemed to undercut his own argument that more practice doesn't raise freethrow percentages in his discussion of college teams that focus on freethrows. By showing that these teams have a higher ft percentage, didn't he say practice does make perfect...
Reminds me of when they said the mile couldn't be run in under 4min... And then it was, I dunno. Feels like with enough athletes, unless a change in equipment or revolutionary shooting style appears, maybe we should't expect any major change averaged across all players...
Still, found this article interesting!
Freethrows, completely unguarded and unchanged for years, have been made at a steady percentage for decades. Female and male players scoring at the same levels, and the nba consistently outscoring college by only the tiniest margin.
That said, the author seemed to undercut his own argument that more practice doesn't raise freethrow percentages in his discussion of college teams that focus on freethrows. By showing that these teams have a higher ft percentage, didn't he say practice does make perfect...
Reminds me of when they said the mile couldn't be run in under 4min... And then it was, I dunno. Feels like with enough athletes, unless a change in equipment or revolutionary shooting style appears, maybe we should't expect any major change averaged across all players...
Still, found this article interesting!
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Universal Healthcare
http://www.healthbeatblog.com/2009/01/dr-atual-gawande-on-realitybased-reform-why-dont-we-open-the-va-to-the-uninsured-.html
Free VA services for any American. I need to find arguments against the idea of opening the VA up to everyone. Doing that while maintaining our current private system makes a lot of sense. An opposition might be that the VA is underfunded, but preventing emergencies always seems like a good counter-argument making it less expensive and more humane than the SQ. The author's point is that countries develop modern systems based on historical foundations. We have the VA-- why not more fully use it?
Also has good brief descriptions of the foundations and events that led to several European medical systems.
It's based on a New Yorker article written by Atul Gawande. And Q&A with him. REEEEALLY I should have read those before blogging....
Free VA services for any American. I need to find arguments against the idea of opening the VA up to everyone. Doing that while maintaining our current private system makes a lot of sense. An opposition might be that the VA is underfunded, but preventing emergencies always seems like a good counter-argument making it less expensive and more humane than the SQ. The author's point is that countries develop modern systems based on historical foundations. We have the VA-- why not more fully use it?
Also has good brief descriptions of the foundations and events that led to several European medical systems.
It's based on a New Yorker article written by Atul Gawande. And Q&A with him. REEEEALLY I should have read those before blogging....
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