The Lung Flute: A Sort of Gross (But Important) Medical Innovation
"The Lung Flute is a simple device that uses sound waves to vibrate wads of mucus in your chest cavity until they rip apart and become more easily cough-up-able. "
My New Theory
Dryer lint is the failed attempts of socks to return from the other dimension in which they are trapped.
This explains the two things that are odd about dryer lint:
This explains the two things that are odd about dryer lint:
- the color is of the lint is not related to what you are drying
- despite removing massive amounts of dryer lint, your clothes don't seem to get thinner
Also, beware, people: it just cost us $83 to get our dryer fixed -- one of the protective thermostat thingies blew because our family members don't clean the lint screen at each use even though someone has been harping on them to do just that. Having a clogged vent pipe can do the same thing (as well as be a fire and carbon monoxide hazard)... we change our vent tube yearly, because it's the flexible corrugated foil kind that's easy to install but impossible to keep clean.
U-M Research Shows Chronically Ill Patients Might Be Happier if They Give Up Hope
"'Hopeful messages may not be in the best interests of the patient and mayinterfere with the patient's emotional adaptation,' Ubel says. 'I don't think we should take hope away. But I think we have to be careful about building up people's hope so much that they put off living their lives.'"
Verifying email-based information
For some reason emails with giant fonts and multiple exclamation points seem to get forwarded around a lot. I try as often as I can to check these out and see how truthful they are, and they're almost always partly or completely untrue.
Here's how to check things out for yourself:
Here's how to check things out for yourself:
- go to a site that investigates such things... I usually use Snopes.com, as they are the most comprehensive and well-researched*, but I also use
UrbanLegends.About.com
TruthOrFiction.com - take a unique word or phrase from the email (an uncommon name, perhaps) and use the Search function on the site to look for it
- read the article
- do a reply-to-all and let everyone know that the message is not correct, and include a link to the article you found
Some people think such emails are harmless, but they aren't: they use up everyone's time, and they increase the amount of lies and false information floating around that people use to form opinions and make decisions, and those opinions and decisions can have a very real negative affect on their lives and the lives of others. Please don't be someone who increases the amount of untruths in the world: check out emails when you get them, and especially before you forward them.
* for those who think Snopes isn't a reliable source, please see:
http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/internet/a/snopes_exposed.htm
http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/s/snopes.htm
http://www.factcheck.org/2009/04/snopescom/
There is a deliberate campaign going on to discredit Snopes.com, but the site is a good resource.
Appositives and Possessives
"Is the Saturday market in the town square a farmers market or a farmers’ market?"
The Climate Race
"How global warming is already affecting us and the tough choices we have to make."
The Name Engine - Correct Name Pronunciation
"The Name Engine provides the correct name pronunciations of athletes, entertainers, politicians, newsmakers, and more... Better yet, you'll actually hear the right answer."
Crusty pots and pans come clean with an overnight dishwasher detergent soak
"The next day, all of the food was dissolved--no scrubbing necessary--even the scrambled eggs and the roasting pan came clean with just a soapy rinse and a wipe."
Irritation of the day
I get a lot of urban legend and hoax emails, and I usualy try to teach the sender how to check things out before they forward something. But sometimes, when the people don't care and just keep sending stuff, I just reply-to-all (and try to include as many people from previous forwards, becasue they're usually still there in the message, of course). This is a reply I just made to a "Obama called for Muslim Christmas stamp!!!1!1!!" message:
The message below is built of lies, misunderstandings, and what seems to be most of the world's remaining supply of exclamation points. Please see:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/stamps/eidstamp.asp
if you care to know the truth.
Please, for the love of all that is good and truthful, check these things out before you forward them on. Do you want to be someone who increases the amount of lies and misunderstanding in the world? What is the cost of these messages, in time wasted, in people not having the right facts, in people getting angry and maybe taking some action based on a lie you've told them?
The message below is built of lies, misunderstandings, and what seems to be most of the world's remaining supply of exclamation points. Please see:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/stamps/eidstamp.asp
if you care to know the truth.
Please, for the love of all that is good and truthful, check these things out before you forward them on. Do you want to be someone who increases the amount of lies and misunderstanding in the world? What is the cost of these messages, in time wasted, in people not having the right facts, in people getting angry and maybe taking some action based on a lie you've told them?
What Should You Worry About
"Identity theft? Killer sharks? Disease? We're bad at assessing risk—we panic about the wrong things. "
Remove Pet Hair With Rubber Gloves
"All you need is a pair of typical rubber gloves found in the cleaning aisle at your local grocer or big box store. Slide them on and you're set to get frisky with your sofa and car interior."
Top 10 Time-Saving, MacGyver-Style Cleaning Tricks
"Very few people truly enjoy spending time cleaning, and fewer still love buying expensive cleaners for every little task. Here's a handful of clever, time-saving DIY substitutes for common household cleaning jobs."
Fallacies: a list with examples of each
"A fallacy is, very generally, an error in reasoning. This differs from a factual error, which is simply being wrong about the facts. To be more specific, a fallacy is an 'argument' in which the premises given for the conclusion do not provide the needed degree of support."
How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America
"By contrast, this newest volume is based on her stay in a world that she became intimately familiar with: the smiley-faced, pink-ribboned, positive-thinking culture that surrounds breast cancer patients. "
A Doctor's Advice On How To Read Health News (And Know Whether It's Full of Crap)
"If you've just read a health-related headline that's caused you to spit out your morning coffee ('Coffee causes cancer' usually does the trick) it's always best to follow the Blitz slogan: 'Keep Calm and Carry On'. On reading further you'll often find the headline has left out something important, like 'Injecting five rats with really highly concentrated coffee solution caused some changes in cells that might lead to tumours eventually. (Study funded by The Association of Tea Marketing)'."
H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu) Response Center
"Use the Flu Self-Assessment, based on material from Emory University, to:
-- Learn whether you have the symptoms of H1N1 flu (swine flu)
-- Help you decide what to do next"
-- Learn whether you have the symptoms of H1N1 flu (swine flu)
-- Help you decide what to do next"
Sleeping (or lack thereof)
My posts from a recent Facebook discussion about old TV shows showing married couple using twin beds:
Twin beds rock: http://www.divinecaroline.
The wife and I use two twin beds pushed together (which makes a king). So we have independent suspension (and memory foam toppers, oh yeah!) But most importantly: we use different covers, because she likes 3 feet of lead-based quilts and comforters, and I get sweaty head just *thinking* about all that insulation. The bedmate irritation is much minimized by those two things.
The new big thing affecting our sleep: we just adopted a new cat, and she weighs about as much as a VW Beetle, and she thinks that the middle of the night is the purrfect time to walk all over the hoomans and get some attention. Since she's new, and rarely comes out from under the bed (as she has not, as we say, fully integrated into the current feline power structure), we put up with it, but she does that thing that cats do where they concentrate all of their weight on the tips of their paws and just. stand. on. you. When she lays down it's great, it's as comforting as those lead vests you get to wear at the dentist, but she rarely lays down, just walks laps around the bed, up and over the humans, stopping to deliver pressure point attacks. She also head-butts us to get attention, and she's very strong, so it's like, well, being struck by a VW Beetle.
Antibacterial Soap Danger Still a Hot Topic
"Additionally when triclosan, the antibiotic used in these products, combines with chlorinated tap water, a super dioxin is formed."
Mental health nurse's comic about schizophrenia
""Daryl Cunningham (a student mental health nurse based in London) is working on a comic book called Psychiatric Tales, due out in early 2010. On his LJ he posts a chapter on schizophrenia." "
Quote of the Day
"A physician takes an oath to put his patient's interests ahead of his own. A corporation is legally bound to put its shareholders' interests first. And this is part of the inherent conflict between health care as a business, part of our economy, and health care as a public good and part of our society. Health care has become a growth industry. That means higher health care bills. That means more and more middle class people cannot afford health care in this country."
- Maggie Mahar, author of the book Money-Driven Medicine, appearing in the documentary film of the same name (shown on the PBS television program Bill Moyers Journal, 2009-08-28).
- Maggie Mahar, author of the book Money-Driven Medicine, appearing in the documentary film of the same name (shown on the PBS television program Bill Moyers Journal, 2009-08-28).
http://www.moneydrivenmedicine.org/
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/08282009/watch.html
Why Cholesterol May Not Be the Cause Of Heart Disease
"Cholesterol is only one factor of many -- and not even the most important -- that contribute to your risk of getting heart disease."
9 Ways Marketing Weasels Will Try to Manipulate You
"This isn't just a 'gee-whiz' observation; understanding how and why we behave irrationally is important. If you don't understand how these irrational behaviors are triggered, the marketing weasels will use them against you."
What's the harm in going to a chiropractor?
"Here are 312 people who were harmed by someone not thinking critically."
Learn how to protect yourself from identity theft
"... we talk with an expert and offer tips on what regular people can do to ensure their identities stick with them instead of other shady characters."
Turn down your car stereo
"Lorain City Council says yes to an officer removing a car stereo that's too noisy."
Whatever Happened to Gary Cooper?
"As a society, we've become so addicted to militarism that we don't even notice the way it surrounds us or the spasms of societal 'roid rage that go with it. The fact is, we need a detox program."
Quote of the Day
"There is hardly anything in the world that someone cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price alone are that person's lawful prey."
John Ruskin (1819-1900)
John Ruskin (1819-1900)
How Safe Are Vaccines?
"Spurred by claims that vaccinations can be linked to autism, increasing numbers of parents are raising questions about whether vaccines, far from panaceas, are actually harmful to children."
Twice Branded: Western Women in Muslim Lands
"A couple of years after I stopped visiting, a horrific fire broke out in a school in Mecca, home to the Muslim world’s holiest site. Fifteen girls burned to death because morality police standing outside the school wouldn’t let them out of the burning building. Why? Because they weren’t wearing headscarves and abayas, the black cloaks that girls and women must wear in public in Saudi Arabia."
Stop Doing Sit-Ups: Why Crunches Don't Work
"The section with the most nerves (and most potential for nerve damage) is in the back of the spine, which is the very part that bends and strains during a sit-up."
Farmacology
"Johns Hopkins researchers are investigating a troubling potential source of resistant pathogens: the American farm."
My Avatar Editor
Make yourself a Mii-like headshot (like on the Wii); save as an image for use in bulletin boards, discussion areas, Facebook, etc.
Dara O’Briain on homeopathy
"Great stand-up bit about homeopathy, new age "thinking," and other follies. (Salty language ahoy)"
Prepare for the Worst by Drafting an Advance Directive
""Nothing changes the fact that you're going to die. Having the proper legal paperwork filed means you respect the people you're leaving behind enough to not put them through any more emotional turmoil and stress than necessary." "
Cable Users Could Lose Channels With Digital Switch
[cable companies] "... have been flooding mailboxes with fliers assuring subscribers they have no reason to worry.
But that may not be entirely true."
But that may not be entirely true."
Calculate Exactly How Long You'll Be in Debt
"The Federal Reserve can offer you more than just (theoretically) keep your bank in line. The Fed's Credit Card Repayment Calculator can give you the cold, hard facts on exactly how long you'll be trapped in your credit card's clutches."
bedsistentialism
Bedsistentialism: "solving" a problem by ignoring it/avoiding it/staying in bed and hiding from it. Works often enough to be a valid option.
Why your marriage sucks
Good article, and lots (and lots and lots) of interesting comments (although here they're not called Comments, but rather Letters -- look for the "Read All Letters" link at the bottom).
Flash Toy : Cloud Drawer
Click on the image to create clouds; click and hold and move the cursor to create cloud streams.
The Baloney Detection Kit
"With a sea of information coming at us from all directions, how do we sift out the misinformation and bogus claims, and get to the truth? Michael Shermer of Skeptic Magazine lays out a "Baloney Detection Kit," ten questions we should ask when encountering a claim."
New PayPal Survey Reveals Why Canadians Abandon Purchases When Shopping Online -- Shipping Charges!
"'To reduce cart abandonment, merchants should provide this information sooner in the checkout process.'"
YouTube - Hey!
You know how sometimes you are watching the Jurassic Park movies, and you start wondering if the movies would as scary if the dinosaurs yelled "hey!" instead of making their supposed dinosaur noises? Wonder no more.
Why old dogs are the best dogs
"They can be eccentric, slow afoot, even grouchy. But dogs live out their final days, says The Washington Post’s Gene Weingarten, with a humility and grace we all could learn from."
The Bureau of Communication - Fill-in-the-blank Correspondence
"To promote better understanding between the peoples of the world, the Bureau of Communication is pleased to present a selection of fill-in-the-blank stationery for everyday correspondence."
Car Accident Checklist
Car accidents can be confusing, and making sure everyone is safe, and that all necessary information is gathered, can be difficult without guidance. The above web page contains an accident checklist that you might wish to print out and keep in your car. I adapted it from several sources. I think I'll buy a disposable camera to keep in my glove box, since I don't have a camera phone.
Warning labels (funny@work)
Some time ago at work someone pasted a bright yellow warning label on a large printer that says:
Warning: use caution when lifting
This made me sigh inside, because our safety culture is, some say, a bit out of hand at my workplace... and who lifts printers anyway? Especially ones the size of some smart cars? Do we *really* need to clutter the grey matter with such obvious warnings?
Anyway, being possessed of a label printer and some free time, I made the following stickers, which were placed around the original:
Warning: use caution when lifting
This made me sigh inside, because our safety culture is, some say, a bit out of hand at my workplace... and who lifts printers anyway? Especially ones the size of some smart cars? Do we *really* need to clutter the grey matter with such obvious warnings?
Anyway, being possessed of a label printer and some free time, I made the following stickers, which were placed around the original:
- Caution: paper cut risk
- Do not divide this device by zero
- If this printer falls into molten lava, just let it go, man
- Do not pour water on this device and then hug it
- This object contains matter, and may be dangerous if converted to its equivalent of energy
- Caution: do not eat printer
- Alert: may contain rabid chipmunks
- Warning: if gravity fails, this device will have no weight, but will still have the same mass
The Case for Working With Your Hands
"The trades suffer from low prestige, and I believe this is based on a simple mistake. Because the work is dirty, many people assume it is also stupid. "
MovieStinger | Post-Credits Scene Database
This site lets you know if there's anything during/after the credits in the movie you're watching, so you know if you should stick around.
IgnoramusMaximus makes a lot of sense
In a Slashdot discussion, IgnoramusMaximus put it nicely: click the link above to read the full comment, the replies; and other discussions.
You see, the whole idea of "law" was supposed to be for a code to bind a society together by making every member capable of some action affecting others to follow a simple set of clear rules, which, again by definition, were to be simple enough to be memorized in entirety by everyone. That is why Hammurabi had the thing carved in stone and placed at public squares, so that "ignorance of the law" was not an excuse for breaking it.
The moment however when the "law" becomes so complicated and ambiguous that it requires someone to "interpret it" (i.e. twist it to whatever whim of the moment is fanciful) the whole concept breaks. In short a society which needs lawyers, is by definition lawless, as "law" has morphed from the universal code of conduct to a byzantine, convoluted, religious scripture which requires a career priesthood to worship, massage, "interpret" and twist to the needs of whatever power caste is running the place at the time. The average denizen then simply becomes hapless prey for this caste of parasites with no recourse but to prostate himself/herself before the high-priests of "law" who hold the strings of the citizen's life or death in their hands.
Ultimately, in a country of lawyers, by lawyers and for lawyers, the laws become such a sick caricature of the original idea that no one knows the "law" to its full extent, including all of its priests. One can test this simple supposition by simply asking any one of them to recite the "law" of the land from memory. In the USA, not only no lawyer, judge or politician could do it (even though the "law" is supposedly binding everyone and its ignorance is "no excuse") but they would not be able to tell you what the current definitive law is at all, even when given the ability to use books and databases to do it, as the code has become so byzantine that its successive layers upon layers of modifications and arcane religious language are so completely unmanageable that pretty much any "legal" decision needs an arbitrary "interpretation" by a cabal of priests.
And this is why the majority of people instinctively hates lawyers, as even if most people cannot vocalize it, an average person's intrinsic moral compass is able to detect that something is profoundly wrong with the very idea of a lawyer.
You see, the whole idea of "law" was supposed to be for a code to bind a society together by making every member capable of some action affecting others to follow a simple set of clear rules, which, again by definition, were to be simple enough to be memorized in entirety by everyone. That is why Hammurabi had the thing carved in stone and placed at public squares, so that "ignorance of the law" was not an excuse for breaking it.
The moment however when the "law" becomes so complicated and ambiguous that it requires someone to "interpret it" (i.e. twist it to whatever whim of the moment is fanciful) the whole concept breaks. In short a society which needs lawyers, is by definition lawless, as "law" has morphed from the universal code of conduct to a byzantine, convoluted, religious scripture which requires a career priesthood to worship, massage, "interpret" and twist to the needs of whatever power caste is running the place at the time. The average denizen then simply becomes hapless prey for this caste of parasites with no recourse but to prostate himself/herself before the high-priests of "law" who hold the strings of the citizen's life or death in their hands.
Ultimately, in a country of lawyers, by lawyers and for lawyers, the laws become such a sick caricature of the original idea that no one knows the "law" to its full extent, including all of its priests. One can test this simple supposition by simply asking any one of them to recite the "law" of the land from memory. In the USA, not only no lawyer, judge or politician could do it (even though the "law" is supposedly binding everyone and its ignorance is "no excuse") but they would not be able to tell you what the current definitive law is at all, even when given the ability to use books and databases to do it, as the code has become so byzantine that its successive layers upon layers of modifications and arcane religious language are so completely unmanageable that pretty much any "legal" decision needs an arbitrary "interpretation" by a cabal of priests.
And this is why the majority of people instinctively hates lawyers, as even if most people cannot vocalize it, an average person's intrinsic moral compass is able to detect that something is profoundly wrong with the very idea of a lawyer.
How to Calculate Dog Years
"The old canard about one "dog year" equaling seven "human years" received a trouncing in yesterday's Explainer column on Slate.com. "
Common Sense Media
Reviews for parents who want to know about the media their kids are consuming.
Review of movies, games, web sites, tv shows, books, and music.
Review of movies, games, web sites, tv shows, books, and music.
Apocalypse Then: Our Favorite World Expiration Dates
"It's the biggest unsolved mystery: how the world will end. Here, we present our favorite expiration dates."
Excellent video (time lapse of a city)
Check this video out. The music is great. Be sure and full-screen it (the icon in the lower right with the 4 arrows pointing outward).
dolphin bubble rings
"The video, which was released March 11, shows SeaWorld dolphins issuing huge bubbles from their blowholes. The animals then use their heads and noses to break the bubble into smaller circles. Some even spin them into more complex shapes, like figure eights. "
Laptop Skins: Fugly Sweaters for Your Laptop
The comment I posted: "Unless those sweaters have a rubber backing, no thanks. I don't need anything that makes me *more* likely to drop it. And the cat will be all over it as well, according to the Principle of Feline Inversity (the more someone doesn't like cats, or is wearing something that doesn't match the cat, the more the cat will be attracted to them). My wife's laptop has a cracked case because it was on a TV stand and the cat was lazing around on it, and when someone came in the room he decided he was in trouble, so he did that cartoon thing where he jumped up and ran in place (wiggedy wiggedy wiggedy!) while the laptop shot out from underneath of him and gravity took its toll. Stupid cat."
Bad Things
This list is from a Good and Bad Things page I used to maintain; and in the interest of keeping the data alive, I post it here (some things were posted many years ago). The Bad List:
Genetic engineering -- hey, let's put flounder genes in a potato to protect it against freezing! Let's make a bunny with enough jellyfish genes that it glows! What the heck are we doing? Our history is paved with "oops, didn't think that would be harmful" statements and dead citizens. Do we have to wipe ourselves out before we wise up and take the long view on these things? I fear for the future. The near future.
Price gouging -- gas prices going up just before the weekend. Lumber prices increasing just before Memorial Day weekend when lots of people are working on projects. Theaters not allowing you to bring beverages in, then charging a week's wages for a small soda. But what can we do? Corporations have more legal protection than individual citizens now, and are unstoppable juggernauts of greed and avarice.
Cable monopolies -- a business without competition isn't a good thing for the consumer. Our local cable company provides terrible service, and gives us ever-rising prices. They're also trying to switch everyone to digital cable, which has several flaws: 1) can't watch one thing and tape another (or else TV and VCR would need separate cable boxes), and each TV needs a separate box, and this system is *not* free; 2) "surfing" between channels takes 2-3 seconds per channel, with an initial blank screen followed by a screen that pixelates in from top to bottom; 3) it's a two-way system: now the cable company can track your usage, and sell the information, or use it for their own nefarious purposes. Why is that bad? Why would anyone care what you watch? It's the information age, baby, and every bit of info about you that you let slip out of your grasp will earn someone esle money, and come back to irritate you (imagine being denied insurance because you watch too much TV and are a health risk... hasn't happened yet, but it will).
Product feature enumerators -- "Off" is not speed. If a fan has Hi, Lo, and Off, it's not a 3-speed fan.
HMO postcards -- a woman I know is expecting, and received the following postcard from Blue Care Network, her HMO. "Birth is a normal process for healthy mothers and babies. Once your baby arrives, you and your baby's length of hospital stay will be determined by your physician. Our case management nurses will be available to assist with post-hospitalization arrangements and may be reached at one of the telephone numbers listed below. Remember that the best place to recuperate and get to know your baby is at home. Again, congratulations to you and your baby." [emphasis mine] Could this money-grubbing HMO figure out how to present it's true intentions in a more obvious way?
Movie Multiplexes -- I've been to "movies" presented in theaters with only 6 seats across, on a screen not much bigger than a projection TV. With the audio from neighboring theaters filtering through the walls. And my biggest pet peeve of all: movies shown with a portion of the screen not viewable. For example, I saw Aliens II at a theater with a screen size that didn't match the movie, such that it starred "gourney Weav". Nice to know you're missing 20% of the movie. I now go out of my way as often as possible to see movies at big old-fashioned giant-screened theaters, or wait and see them on video. Once again greed triumphs over all.
VH1's Pop-Up Video -- excellent concept, and some great trivia. But that pop-up noise just drives me crazy. All it does is walk all over the music, and serves no real purpose. You're already watching the video, so you don't need an audio clue that something is popping up on the screen. I actually e-mailed the creators on this one, and they sent back some smarty reply of "you will soon come to crave the noise like everyone else". Wrong, dudes, it just made me stop watching.
Riders on the bill -- American politics have gotten really goofy, and a lot of it is due to the "riders" pasted on to bills pasing through Congress. Bills start out with simple clarity, and end up laden with outrageous amendments that have nothing whatsoever to do withthe bill. What can be the purpose of these riders? To sneak through legislation that otherwise wouldn't have made it by itself? To sabotage the bill so that certain people can't vote for it? Whatever the reason, it needs to stop.
Credit Cards -- the quickest route to financial ruin ever. Most people have no concept of compound interest, where you buy something on credit, make minimum payments, and end up paying onthe same item for many years, for many times the purchase price. If you must use a credit card, pay it off as fast as possible (the same month if possible), or get a debit card, which is a Visa or Mastercard with all it's convenient benefits, but it immediately takes the moeny from a checking account (no interest charged).
Cig flickers -- Smokers! Your cigarette butts are litter. Don't throw them out your car window or onto the ground, you are responsible for the proper disposal of them. As someone smart once said: "why would you put something in your mouth that you wouldn't keepin your car?" And people who dump their entire ashtrays on the ground should have to clean it up... using only their mouths.
Sony Trinitron monitors -- several years back I noticed this problem with Trinitron monitors, and figured "there's no way the public will stand for this... this product line is doomed". But it prevails. I recently purchased, for my employer, a new Dell unit, which came with a 17" monitor utilizing Sony Trinitron technology. Right there on the front of the monitor was a sticker that said (among other things): "You may see two thin horizontal lines on the monitor during operation. These are damper wires. They are an essential part of Trinitron(R) technology." That's like saying "Your new office chair has a large spike sticking up from the center of the seating area. This is the NoSlide spike. It is an essential part of your new chair". What good is monitor technology that puts two irritating lines across the screen at all times? No thanks, Sony.
Genetic engineering -- hey, let's put flounder genes in a potato to protect it against freezing! Let's make a bunny with enough jellyfish genes that it glows! What the heck are we doing? Our history is paved with "oops, didn't think that would be harmful" statements and dead citizens. Do we have to wipe ourselves out before we wise up and take the long view on these things? I fear for the future. The near future.
Price gouging -- gas prices going up just before the weekend. Lumber prices increasing just before Memorial Day weekend when lots of people are working on projects. Theaters not allowing you to bring beverages in, then charging a week's wages for a small soda. But what can we do? Corporations have more legal protection than individual citizens now, and are unstoppable juggernauts of greed and avarice.
Cable monopolies -- a business without competition isn't a good thing for the consumer. Our local cable company provides terrible service, and gives us ever-rising prices. They're also trying to switch everyone to digital cable, which has several flaws: 1) can't watch one thing and tape another (or else TV and VCR would need separate cable boxes), and each TV needs a separate box, and this system is *not* free; 2) "surfing" between channels takes 2-3 seconds per channel, with an initial blank screen followed by a screen that pixelates in from top to bottom; 3) it's a two-way system: now the cable company can track your usage, and sell the information, or use it for their own nefarious purposes. Why is that bad? Why would anyone care what you watch? It's the information age, baby, and every bit of info about you that you let slip out of your grasp will earn someone esle money, and come back to irritate you (imagine being denied insurance because you watch too much TV and are a health risk... hasn't happened yet, but it will).
Product feature enumerators -- "Off" is not speed. If a fan has Hi, Lo, and Off, it's not a 3-speed fan.
HMO postcards -- a woman I know is expecting, and received the following postcard from Blue Care Network, her HMO. "Birth is a normal process for healthy mothers and babies. Once your baby arrives, you and your baby's length of hospital stay will be determined by your physician. Our case management nurses will be available to assist with post-hospitalization arrangements and may be reached at one of the telephone numbers listed below. Remember that the best place to recuperate and get to know your baby is at home. Again, congratulations to you and your baby." [emphasis mine] Could this money-grubbing HMO figure out how to present it's true intentions in a more obvious way?
Movie Multiplexes -- I've been to "movies" presented in theaters with only 6 seats across, on a screen not much bigger than a projection TV. With the audio from neighboring theaters filtering through the walls. And my biggest pet peeve of all: movies shown with a portion of the screen not viewable. For example, I saw Aliens II at a theater with a screen size that didn't match the movie, such that it starred "gourney Weav". Nice to know you're missing 20% of the movie. I now go out of my way as often as possible to see movies at big old-fashioned giant-screened theaters, or wait and see them on video. Once again greed triumphs over all.
VH1's Pop-Up Video -- excellent concept, and some great trivia. But that pop-up noise just drives me crazy. All it does is walk all over the music, and serves no real purpose. You're already watching the video, so you don't need an audio clue that something is popping up on the screen. I actually e-mailed the creators on this one, and they sent back some smarty reply of "you will soon come to crave the noise like everyone else". Wrong, dudes, it just made me stop watching.
Riders on the bill -- American politics have gotten really goofy, and a lot of it is due to the "riders" pasted on to bills pasing through Congress. Bills start out with simple clarity, and end up laden with outrageous amendments that have nothing whatsoever to do withthe bill. What can be the purpose of these riders? To sneak through legislation that otherwise wouldn't have made it by itself? To sabotage the bill so that certain people can't vote for it? Whatever the reason, it needs to stop.
Credit Cards -- the quickest route to financial ruin ever. Most people have no concept of compound interest, where you buy something on credit, make minimum payments, and end up paying onthe same item for many years, for many times the purchase price. If you must use a credit card, pay it off as fast as possible (the same month if possible), or get a debit card, which is a Visa or Mastercard with all it's convenient benefits, but it immediately takes the moeny from a checking account (no interest charged).
Cig flickers -- Smokers! Your cigarette butts are litter. Don't throw them out your car window or onto the ground, you are responsible for the proper disposal of them. As someone smart once said: "why would you put something in your mouth that you wouldn't keepin your car?" And people who dump their entire ashtrays on the ground should have to clean it up... using only their mouths.
Sony Trinitron monitors -- several years back I noticed this problem with Trinitron monitors, and figured "there's no way the public will stand for this... this product line is doomed". But it prevails. I recently purchased, for my employer, a new Dell unit, which came with a 17" monitor utilizing Sony Trinitron technology. Right there on the front of the monitor was a sticker that said (among other things): "You may see two thin horizontal lines on the monitor during operation. These are damper wires. They are an essential part of Trinitron(R) technology." That's like saying "Your new office chair has a large spike sticking up from the center of the seating area. This is the NoSlide spike. It is an essential part of your new chair". What good is monitor technology that puts two irritating lines across the screen at all times? No thanks, Sony.
Good Things
This list is from a Good and Bad Things page I used to maintain; and in the interest of keeping the data alive, I post it here (some things were posted many years ago). The Good List:
Windless windchimes -- windchimes on a stand that use a clever set of microchips and electronmagnets to simulate wind action. windlesswindchimes.com
Recoil albums -- Alan Wilder (of Depeche Mode fame) puts together some excellent music, heavily synth-based, with many fine guest vocalists.
The Altec-Lansing ACS45 speaker system -- for $100 you get a subwoofer and two satellite speakers with very good sound (good upper-end clarity, great low end). The big beef: the volume controls are two membrane switches on one of the satellite speakers. You can't change the volume quickly, nor can you know the state of the volume circuit until a sound plays. Sometimes a good ol' volume knob is the way to go (and I see in the new models they've incorporated a front-mounted volume knob).
Morninglory Music (http://Cashforcds.com) -- Will give you on-line instantaneous quotes for any CDs you wish to sell, and will then send you a prepaid mailer for them. I got a fair quote on several CDs, received the mailer a few days later, sent in the CDs, and got my check within a week. Bonus: you only send back the CD and the paper from the jewel cases, you get to retain the cases.
Windless windchimes -- windchimes on a stand that use a clever set of microchips and electronmagnets to simulate wind action. windlesswindchimes.com
Recoil albums -- Alan Wilder (of Depeche Mode fame) puts together some excellent music, heavily synth-based, with many fine guest vocalists.
The Altec-Lansing ACS45 speaker system -- for $100 you get a subwoofer and two satellite speakers with very good sound (good upper-end clarity, great low end). The big beef: the volume controls are two membrane switches on one of the satellite speakers. You can't change the volume quickly, nor can you know the state of the volume circuit until a sound plays. Sometimes a good ol' volume knob is the way to go (and I see in the new models they've incorporated a front-mounted volume knob).
Morninglory Music (http://Cashforcds.com) -- Will give you on-line instantaneous quotes for any CDs you wish to sell, and will then send you a prepaid mailer for them. I got a fair quote on several CDs, received the mailer a few days later, sent in the CDs, and got my check within a week. Bonus: you only send back the CD and the paper from the jewel cases, you get to retain the cases.
Correlation
XKCD comic about one of my favorite subjects. Check it out, everyone involved in the news media of planet Earth!
Quote of the Day
“I want to remind you that financial success is not the only goal or the only measure of success. It’s easy to get caught up in the heady buzz of making money. You should regard money as fuel for what you really want to do, not as a goal in and of itself. Money is like gas in the car — you need to pay attention or you’ll end up on the side of the road — but a well-lived life is not a tour of gas stations!”
- Tim O’Reilly
- Tim O’Reilly
Protips
Avoid cutting yourself when slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold the vegetables while you chop.
Avoid arguments with the females about lifting the toilet seat by using the sink.
For high blood pressure sufferers ~ simply cut yourself and bleed for a few minutes, thus reducing the pressure on your veins. Remember to use a timer.
A mouse trap placed on top of your alarm clock will prevent you from rolling over and going back to sleep after you hit the snooze button.
You only need two tools in life - wd-40 and duct tape. If it doesn't move and should, use the wd-40. if it shouldn't move and does, use the duct tape.
If you can't fix it with a hammer, you've got an electrical problem.
[sent by my dad]
Avoid arguments with the females about lifting the toilet seat by using the sink.
For high blood pressure sufferers ~ simply cut yourself and bleed for a few minutes, thus reducing the pressure on your veins. Remember to use a timer.
A mouse trap placed on top of your alarm clock will prevent you from rolling over and going back to sleep after you hit the snooze button.
You only need two tools in life - wd-40 and duct tape. If it doesn't move and should, use the wd-40. if it shouldn't move and does, use the duct tape.
If you can't fix it with a hammer, you've got an electrical problem.
[sent by my dad]
Embarrassing Teenage Bodies
"Embarrassing Teenage Bodies helps answer the common questions and health concerns of teenagers. The videos, condition guides and interactive applications provide clear, honest information about the changes going on in teenage bodies.This site features very frank discussion and occasionally explicit images of medical conditions. Parental guidance is recommended."
Fix the top 6 causes of clutter
"Experts share the six main reasons why people can't seem to let go of their stuff and their smartest tricks for outwitting that primal hoarding instinct."
Every Man an Island, Pt. 1
"Think about it: only one out of ten cells in our bodies contain the DNA inherited from our parents. The other nine cells are not human."
Fat Factors
"In the 30-plus years that Richard Atkinson has been studying obesity, he has always maintained that overeating doesn’t really explain it all. "
Good lunch: Michael Angelo's frozen meals
Lunch at work is a chore: not enough time (or energy) to go out; boring to brown bag it. I've been trying to introduce more variety into lunch with some different frozen choices, and I've found a new favorite: Michael Angelo's Frozen Dinners. So far I've had the vegetable and regular lasagna, and both have been outstanding. And I really like the nice simple ingredients list, as well as the company's philosophy. Read more about them here. The only thing I don't know about the meals is how much they cost... but my SO, who I must thank for finding these, claims to only buy what is on sale. I'll attempt to remain blissfully ignorant. :-)
Quote of the Day
"Part of the debtor mentality is a constant, frantically suppressed undercurrent of terror. We have one of the highest debt-to-income ratios in the world, and apparently most of us are two paychecks from the street. Those in power - governments, employers - exploit this, to great effect. Frightened people are obedient - not just physically, but intellectually and emotionally. If your employer tells you to work overtime, and you know that refusing could jeopardize everything you have, then not only do you work the overtime, but you convince yourself that you're doing it voluntarily, out of loyalty to the company; because the alternative is to acknowledge that you are living in terror. Before you know it, you've persuaded yourself that you have a profound emotional attachment to some vast multinational corporation: you've indentured not just your working hours, but your entire thought process. The only people who are capable of either unfettered action or unfettered thought are those who - either because they're heroically brave, or because they're insane, or because they know themselves to be safe - are free from fear."
- Tana French, The Likeness, a novel set in Ireland.
- Tana French, The Likeness, a novel set in Ireland.
Nice alarm clock!
"Every morning, Jeeves awakens Sir with a most smooth and comforting way, His dulcet voice soothes Sir into gentle wakefulness without the unpleasant slap in the face that is normal alarm-clock operation."
Open-plan offices are making workers sick, say Australian scientists
"In 90 per cent of the research, the outcome of working in an open-plan office was seen as negative, with open-plan offices causing high levels of stress, conflict, high blood pressure, and a high staff turnover. "
Down with cubicles!
Down with cubicles!
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