April 2008
145 posts
Some Athletes’ Genes Help Outwit Doping Test - New... →
The 55 men in a drug doping study in Sweden were normal and healthy. And all agreed, for the sake of science, to be injected with testosterone and then undergo the standard urine test to screen for doping with the hormone. The results were unambiguous: the test worked for most of the men, showing that they had taken the drug. But 17 of the men tested negative. Their urine seemed fine, with no...
A Cure-All for Jet Lag? Try Caffeine and Naps -... →
Using simple caffeine to raise alertness in conjunction with naps during a trip is a winning strategy, Dr. Rosekind said. Caffeine takes 15 to 30 minutes to work, and an effective nap should be less than 45 minutes, to avoid going into the kind of deep sleep that leaves people groggy. So drinking a cup of coffee just before a nap, he said, can ensure that you will awaken with a little extra zip....
Getting married for health insurance - Los Angeles... →
WASHINGTON — Some people marry for love, some for companionship, and others for status or money. Now comes another reason to get hitched: health insurance. In a poll released today, 7% of Americans said they or someone in their household decided to marry in the last year so they could get healthcare benefits via their spouse.
It's official: Rogers to bring iPhone to Canada... →
Canadian wireless carrier Rogers Wireless said Tuesday it has reached an agreement with Apple to begin offering the iPhone later this year, putting an end to months of speculation on the subject. It’s about freakin’ time!! No other details, but I can live with that. Let’s hope Ted plays it smart and gets us the 3G version. It’s no surprise Rogers (NYSE:RCI) is up today with...
BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | 'Free Tibet' flags made... →
Workers said they thought they were just making colourful flags and did not realise their meaning. But then some of them saw TV images of protesters holding the emblem and they alerted the authorities, according to Hong Kong’s Ming Pao newspaper. Oh, the irony. Reminds me of this picture I posted a little while ago.
Worldometers - real time world statistics →
Cartoons of a Racist Past Lurk on YouTube - New... →
Among the millions of clips on the video-sharing Web site YouTube are 11 racially offensive Warner Brothers cartoons that have not been shown in an authorized release since 1968. Some of the cartoons were removed on April 16. A message saying the cartoons were no longer available because of a copyright claim by Warner appeared in their place. By evening the messages disappeared, and some of the...
Why You Can't Track Your Stolen GPS - TIME →
It’s a cruel irony: Car navigation devices keep you from getting lost, but their location-sensing acumen won’t help you find them if they get lost or stolen. Why not? Because location and tracking are two different matters. “The GPS calculates location for you. Communicating that location to a tracking center requires a separate service,” says Kanwar Chadha, founder and...
Not-So-Personal Finance - New York Times →
ARIELLE GREEN, a publicist in Manhattan, knows what most of her friends earn, whether it is $28,000 a year or $100,000. And she does not seem particularly shy about disclosing her income ($30,000 a year, plus overtime). At 22, Ms. Green, like her friends, is less afraid to flirt with what many over 35 consider the last taboo in American life: discussing salary openly with friends and colleagues....
Philippines' dancing jail; everyone wants to... →
CEBU, Philippines (Reuters Life!) - The central Philippine island of Cebu is renowned as a holiday destination but these days it’s the provincial jail not the balmy beaches that’s drawing in the visitors. Inmates at the prison shot to fame last year when a video clip of them gyrating in synch to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” as part of their exercise regime became a...
Bicycle-Sharing Program to Be First of Kind in... →
WASHINGTON — Starting next month, people here will be able to rent a bicycle day and night with the swipe of a membership card. A new public-private venture called SmartBike DC will make 120 bicycles available at 10 spots in central locations in the city. The automated program, which district officials say is the first of its kind in the nation, will operate in a similar fashion to car-sharing...
The Philippines | Too many babies? |... →
AMID panic over soaring rice prices and worries about whether the Philippines, the world’s biggest rice importer, can secure enough supplies, the results of the latest census have diverted blame towards a perennial culprit: overpopulation. The figures put the population at almost 89m when the census was taken last August, up from 77m in 2000. That means it has been growing at just over 2%...
Revealed: The amazing pictures of Britain in... →
Good collection.
Hard Candy
I got a hold of the new Madonna album last week. Now, I’m not much of a Madonna fan, but after hearing 4 Minutes, I wanted to hear what the rest of her album was like. I was floored. I couldn’t believe I was listening to a Madonna album. It was different from anything I’ve heard from her before - dare I say, hip-hop influence. Pharrell’s (The Neptunes) distinctive musical...
How fast are your reactions? →
Warning: time waster My average is 0.207 seconds (fastest is 0.064 seconds!).
BlackBerry’s Quest: Fend Off the iPhone - New York... →
STEVE JOBS, Apple’s chief executive and field general, has Napoleonic dreams of global conquest for his 10-month-old wonder gadget, the iPhone. So it may be fitting that he’s encountering his most serious resistance in a city called Waterloo. That is where, 70 miles west of Toronto in Ontario, 19 nondescript, low-rise office buildings comprise the headquarters of Research In Motion, maker of the...
OGC unveils new logo to red faces - Telegraph →
It cost £14,000 to create, but clearly no-one at the smart London design outfit that came up with the new logo for HM Treasury thought to turn it on its side.I think I got it far too quickly.
Nude Vacations: No Shoes, No Shirt, No Worries -... →
The boom in nude vacations is coming at the high end of the business, as upscale hotels and resorts have begun to see the economic potential in the no-clothes crowd.
Swedish City Gears Up For Virgin Galactic... →
Next time your travel plans take you to Northern Sweden, you should try swinging by Kiruna, the future European base for Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic passenger space program. Officials there are busy whipping the town into shape for Virgin’s arrival — evaluating their infrastructure, researching weather issues, and working out potential regulatory hurdles with Sweden and...
Capilano College to get university status →
Why?!
Michael J. Fox to be honoured by Vancouver... →
VANCOUVER - Michael J. Fox, a TV actor turned Parkinson’s advocate, will be honoured next month by B.C.’s largest university. The University of B.C., in Vancouver, announced Friday it will grant the Canadian native an honourary degree during May’s spring convocation.I went to the same high school as Michael J. Fox. In fact, we have a big theatre in the school in his name. My...
LED lightbulbs: Are you ready to make the switch?... →
High price and a strange color. No, we’re not talking about a hairdo. Those are the two factors that have kept light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, from becoming a mainstream light source. But that might change soon, said Zach Gibler, chief business development officer of Lighting Science Group, which plans to announce distribution deals with major retailers for its LED bulbs that screw into a...
Woman, 19, becomes youngest college professor →
Sabur, from Northport, N.Y., has clearly been ahead of the learning curve since an early age. She started talking and reading when she was just 8 months old. She had elementary school finished at age 5. She made the jump to college at age 10. And by age 14, Sabur was earning a bachelor’s of science degree in applied mathematics summa cum laude from Stony Brook University — the youngest female in...
Société Générale’s Rogue Trader Finds a New Job -... →
PARIS — Jérôme Kerviel, the Société Générale trader who used his knowledge of the French bank’s electronic risk controls to conceal billions in unauthorized bets, has a new job — at a computer consulting firm. If I was an employer, I would hire him. Anyone who’s able to trade billions of dollars inside a major bank without anyone knowing (well, almost) is smart in my book. Besides, I doubt...
“I’m thrilled to be anywhere with high ratings these days.”
– George W. Bush in an appearance on the TV show “Deal or No Deal”
Report: BC's life expectancy rises to 81 years →
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - British Columbia’s life expectancy is now one of the highest in the world. A child born in B.C. today can expect to live to nearly 81 years of age, about the same life expectancy as Japan. The new 2006 Vital Statistics Annual Report shows the rise has been relatively dramatic here in B.C. Our life expectancy is almost four years longer than it was 25 years ago (80.9...
Some doctors here starting to use email to contact... →
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - For many people in the US, getting answers from your physician is as simple as an email, and now doctors here in BC are starting to adopt the method as well.After having posted this a couple days ago. Don’t hold your breath.
Wesley Snipes sentenced to 3 years in prison -... →
The actor is given the maximum penalty for failing to file income tax returns for three years.A little harsh for a nonviolent offense.
A Slice of German Wikipedia to Be Captured on... →
When someone decides to look something up in Wikipedia, a computer is typically involved. But that may well change. In Germany, a printed collection of Wikipedia articles is being produced for the first time by a major publisher, Bertelsmann. The book, “The One-Volume Wikipedia Encyclopedia,” which will go on sale in September for 19.95 euros (almost $32), is an odd experiment in reverse...
US blocks genetic discrimination →
nwsppr: The United States Senate has unanimously passed legislation banning discrimination on the basis of people’s genetic details. The proposal, which passed 95-0, still needs approval from the House of Representatives before it becomes law. It would allow only patients and their doctors to access data obtained through genetic testing. Employers, unions and health insurance companies would...
BBC NEWS | UK | Scotland | Edinburgh, East and... →
A fish species, which is all female, has survived for 70,000 years without reproducing sexually, experts believe. Scientists from the University of Edinburgh think the Amazon Molly may be employing special genetic survival “tricks” to avoid becoming extinct. The species, found in Texas and Mexico, interacts with males of other species to trigger its reproduction process. The...
Apple Buys Chip Designer - Forbes.com →
BURLINGAME, CALIF. - Late Tuesday, in response to questions from Forbes.com, an Apple spokesman said Apple has agreed to buy a boutique microprocessor design company called PA Semi. The company, which is known for its design of sophisticated, low-power chips, could spell a new future for Apple’s flagship iPhone, and possibly iPod products as well.4G iPhone? I was hoping to see Intel’s...
Inmate Count in U.S. Dwarfs Other Nations’ - New... →
The United States has less than 5 percent of the world’s population. But it has almost a quarter of the world’s prisoners. Indeed, the United States leads the world in producing prisoners, a reflection of a relatively recent and now entirely distinctive American approach to crime and punishment. Americans are locked up for crimes — from writing bad checks to using drugs — that would rarely...
It's no LOL: Few US doctors answer e-mails from... →
LOS ANGELES - Suzanne Kreuziger is a registered nurse who uses e-mail almost exclusively to communicate with friends. But when it comes to reaching her doctor, there’s a frustrating firewall. The barrier is her doctor’s own reluctance to talk to patients through e-mail. Kreuziger’s experience is shared by most Americans: They want the convenience of e-mail for non-urgent...
Disapproval of Bush breaks record - USATODAY.com →
WASHINGTON — President Bush has set a record he’d presumably prefer to avoid: the highest disapproval rating of any president in the 70-year history of the Gallup Poll. In a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken Friday through Sunday, 28% of Americans approve of the job Bush is doing; 69% disapprove. The approval rating matches the low point of his presidency, and the disapproval sets a new high for...
Looking for love? Keep an eye on your wallet -... →
ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) — Julia Abrantes spent hours cleaning her house and primping in front of a mirror before heading to John F. Kennedy airport in New York. She was there to pick up the love of her life, whom she had met on the Internet. Six hours later, she was still waiting. Nobody arrived. Abrantes was the victim of romance fraud: a scam designed to prey on her emotions to get her...
BBC NEWS | UK | Magazine | How to woo your girl... →
It’s the sort of courting ritual befitting of a future king - land a £10m Chinook helicopter in your girlfriend’s garden. But are women really impressed by such a stunt, and if so, how can those of more modest means seek to recreate it?
Google Wants to Index Your DNA, Too →
Your DNA falls into the realm of “the world’s information,” and it seems that Google (GOOG), as part of its corporate mission, is making a play to organize that, too. The Internet giant received heavy press in 2007 when it invested at least $4.4 million (BusinessWeek.com, 11/29/07) in a genetic screening company, 23andMe, that was started by Anne Wojcicki, the wife of Google...
Science 2.0 -- Is Open Access Science the Future?:... →
Science 2.0 generally refers to new practices of scientists who post raw experimental results, nascent theories, claims of discovery and draft papers on the Web for others to see and comment on. Proponents say these “open access” practices make scientific progress more collaborative and therefore more productive. Critics say scientists who put preliminary findings online risk having others copy...
PETA’s Latest Tactic: $1 Million for Fake Meat -... →
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals wants to pay a million dollars for fake meat — even if it has caused a “near civil war” within the organization. The organization said it would announce plans on Monday for a $1 million prize to the “first person to come up with a method to produce commercially viable quantities of in vitro meat at competitive prices by 2012.”I don’t like...
globeandmail.com: Liar, liar, résumé on fire →
Have you ever fibbed on a job application? Do you pray prospective employers will never find out about that time you knocked over a 7-Eleven? If so, watch out: Industrial psychologists are borrowing techniques from criminal profilers to weed out liars and other undesirables during the hiring process.
Green funerals make for eco-exits - Yahoo! News →
LONDON - It’s no longer enough to live a greener life — now people are being encouraged to be environmentally friendly when they leave the Earth too. Cardboard coffins, clothes sewn from natural fibers, a burial plot in a natural setting. Green funerals attempt to be eco-friendly at every stage. I’m a little surprised that there is actually a funeral exhibition, let alone a...
Pot lovers celebrate 4-20 →
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - The smell was unmistakable, and the smoke cast a definite haze over the downtown core. People gathered on the lawn of the Vancouver Art Gallery to take part in 4-20, a term used to refer to pot smoking and the fight to legalize marijuana. And that’s exactly what people there were doing, openly in front of the police.
Biofuels under attack as world food prices soar -... →
PARIS (AFP) - Hailed until only months ago as a silver bullet in the fight against global warming, biofuels are now accused of snatching food out of the mouths of the poor. Billions have been poured into developing sugar- and grain-based ethanol and biodiesel to help wean rich economies from their addiction to carbon-belching fossil fuels, the overwhelming source of man-made global warming. The...
TheStar.com | World | U.K. to abolish male right... →
LONDON–The British government is reportedly seeking to abolish an 18th century royal succession law that requires the daughter of a monarch to make way for her younger brothers. Solicitor General Vera Baird is quoted in the Sunday Times as saying the 1701 law giving male heirs the right to succeed to the throne ahead of any older sisters is unfair and “a load of rubbish.”
Can We Trust Google With Our Medical Records? -... →
But now that big companies like Microsoft and Google are getting into the medical record storage business, a fascinating piece in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine raises important questions about whether medical privacy rules should be extended to these private firms. All you have to do is order a book on Amazon and you can quickly see how every move you make online is tracked by...
Anatomy of an Ikea product | Crave : The gadget... →
Ikea, as you probably know, is a furniture-retailing-industry phenomenon; millions of people buy its products because they’re generally inexpensive and easy to put together. Plus, they almost universally come with everything you need to get going. Almost every time I’ve put together an Ikea product, I’ve wondered as I sifted through the bolts, screws, and Allen wrenches: how do...
Billionaire Texas oil man makes big bets on wind -... →
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Legendary Texas oil man T. Boone Pickens has gone green with a plan to spend $10 billion to build the world’s biggest wind farm. But he’s not doing it out of generosity - he expects to turn a buck.That makes him sound so evil! With crude oil hitting a record $117/barrel and climbing, alternative energy has been growing at a fast rate. I’ve had my eye on...