Can Touching Your Toes Test Your Arteries?

Not only is inflexibility linked to arterial disease, but improving flexibility decreased arterial disease. "The control group consisted of people who stretched. They were not expected to show any change in cardiac function, but over the course of 13 weeks they in fact increased the pliability of their arteries by more than 20 percent. HEALTH | December 23, 2009 Well: Phys Ed: Can Touching Your Toes Test Your Arteries? By GRETCHEN REYNOLDS Researchers have found a clear correlation between inflexible bodies and inflexible arteries in subjects older than 40.

NYTimes: A Patient Dies, and Then the Anguish of Litigation

So artfully expressed, and clearly so much suffering.

"Medicine can be a minefield of uncertainties; no matter how thoughtful and careful we are, physiology is infinitely complex and fate is capricious, and occasionally something blows up in your face."

"the lawyers had decided they were not going to win the case...They couldn’t have figured this out four and a half years earlier? Before all this wasted time, the emotional anguish, and the more than $150,000 ...but neither side gave in. As this slowly unfolded, my mood turned from stoic resignation to a toxic muck of apathy and irritation."

A Patient Dies, and Then the Anguish of Litigation

A doctor accused of "malicious" conduct in the care of a patient
coped with practicing, and living, under the cloud of a medical
malpractice lawsuit.

http://s.nyt.com/u/ACe

Do it now - don't procrastinate pleasure

"...cash in your gift certificates, drink that special bottle of wine, redeem your frequent flier miles and take that vacation you always promised yourself"

Carpe Diem? Maybe Tomorrow

Recovering procrastinators of pleasure should try a simple New Year's
resolution: Have fun ... now!

http://s.nyt.com/u/ACf

NYTimes.com: Thinking Hard About Retirement and Death

New rules for Roth IRA and uncertainty in pending legislation about estate taxes makes estate planning difficult currently. One solution - give your kids $13000 tax-free per year - it adds up.

Use more FFP in massive transfusions

It is remarkably rare in medical papers to see mortality cut in half
by a simple maneuver. Frozen plasma has traditionally been withheld
during transfusions, like a 'sacred' blood product, to be used only
when lab values show it's required to replace depleted factors in the
blood. This surprising result shows 1-month trauma mortality cut in
half when plasma is automatically given 1:1 along with red cells,
regardless of lab values. From a review paper by Shaz B H et al., A&A
18:1760-8;2009

J Trauma. 2009 Jun;66(6):1616-24.

Improvements in early mortality and coagulopathy are sustained better in patients with blunt trauma after institution of a massive transfusion protocol in a civilian level I trauma center.

INTRODUCTION: Transfusion practices across the country are changing with aggressive use of plasma (fresh-frozen plasma [FFP]) and platelets during massive transfusion with current military recommendations to use component therapy at a 1:1:1 ratio of packed red blood cells to FFP to platelets.

METHODS: A massive transfusion protocol (MTP) was designed to achieve a packed red blood cell:FFP:platelet ratio of 1:1:1 We prospectively gathered demographic, transfusion, and patient outcome data during the first year of the MTP and compared this with a similar cohort of injured patients (pre-MTP) receiving > or = 10 red blood cell (RBC) in the first 24 hours of hospitalization before instituting the MTP.

RESULTS: One hundred sixteen MTP activations occurred. … Seventy-three MTP patients were compared with 84 patients with pre-MTP who had similar demographics and injury severity score (29 vs. 29, p = 0.99). MTP patients received an average of 23.7 RBC and 15.6 FFP transfusions compared with 22.8 RBC (p = 0.67) and 7.6 FFP (p < 0.001) transfusions in pre-MTP patients. …Overall patient mortality was markedly improved at 24 hours, from 36% in the pre-MTP group to 17% in the MTP group (p = 0.008) and at 30 days (34% mortality MTP group vs. 55% mortality in pre-MTP group, p = 0.04). Blunt trauma survival improvements were more marked and more sustained than victims of penetrating trauma. Early deaths from coagulopathic bleeding occurred in 4 of 13 patients in the MTP group vs. 21 of 31 patients in the pre-MTP group (p = 0.023).

CONCLUSIONS: In the civilian setting, aggressive use of FFP and platelets drastically reduces 24-hour mortality and early coagulopathy in patients with trauma. Reduction in 30 day mortality was only seen after blunt trauma in this small subset.  PMID: 19509623

Transfusion. 2010 Feb;50(2):493-500. Epub 2009 Oct 5.

Increased number of coagulation products in relationship to red blood cell products transfused improves mortality in trauma patients.

Shaz BH, Dente CJ, Nicholas J, MacLeod JB, Young AN, Easley K, Ling Q, Harris RS, Hillyer CD.

… This study investigates the relationship of plasma:RBC, PLT:RBC, and cryoprecipitate:RBC transfusion ratios to mortality in massively transfused patients at a civilian Level 1 trauma center.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Demographic, laboratory, transfusion, and outcome data were collected prospectively from February 1, 2007, to January 31, 2009, and retrospectively from February 1, 2005, to January 31, 2007, on all injured patients who underwent massive transfusion (defined as >or=10 RBC products within 24 hr). Mortality was analyzed in relation to the plasma:RBC, PLT:RBC, and cryoprecipitate:RBC transfusion ratios using both univariate and multivariate analyses.

RESULTS: A total of 214 patients received massive transfusion secondary to traumatic injury. High versus low transfusion ratios were associated with improved 30-day survival: plasma:RBC 59% versus 44%, p = 0.03; PLT:RBC 63% versus 33%, p < 0.01; and cryoprecipitate:RBC 66% versus 41%, p < 0.01. By multivariable stepwise logistic regression analysis, increased plasma:RBC (p = 0.02) and PLT:RBC (p = 0.02), and decreased age (p = 0.02), ISS (p < 0.01) and total RBCs (p = 0.03) were statistically associated with improved 30-day survival.

CONCLUSIONS: In the civilian setting, plasma, PLT, and cryoprecipitate products significantly increased 30-day survival in trauma patients. Future prospective randomized clinical trials are required to determine the optimal transfusion ratios. PMID: 19804568

Fukujinzuke

This pickle is the secret to making a bowl of rice delicious. It
complements the flavors perfectly. Hard to find, but worth the search.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fukujinzuke?wasRedirected=true

Top Gear

My new favorite show - Top Gear reviews cars in a funny, offbeat way. Great photography. And they always find a way to smash something up. They usually find a unique twist on a competition between cars. See for yourself from these clips:

The second half of the following video is so funny, at 3:00 minutes - they obviously spend a lot of time thinking up an amusing challenge.

http://www.topgear.com/uk/videos/7db86cae-d1b8-4e46-995b-36a93766ac12

NYTimes: Efforts Lag at Making Highway Work Zones Safer

Slow down in work zones, and pay attention! This article explores the
increased risk in work zones.

Efforts Lag at Making Highway Work Zones Safer

Through the collective indifference of government and industry,
hundreds of people die each year in accidents in work zones.

http://s.nyt.com/u/vqB

NYTimes: He Delivers Christmas Trees for Rent

Greener Christmas trees!

He Delivers Christmas Trees for Rent

Scott Martin delivers live, potted Christmas trees that are returned to the nursery once the season is over.

http://s.nyt.com/u/v04

"Extra-credit points: The delivery trucks run on biodiesel; the trees are cared for by adults with disabilities; the drivers will pick up donations for Goodwill and used wrapping paper for recycling; and the Web site also sells eco-friendly, fair-trade ornaments."

NYTimes: A Joint Account That Underwrites Our Marriage

A touching essay about the strength of a longstanding marriage.

"Being single is all about the future, about the person you're going to meet at Starbucks or after answering the next scientific compatibility questionnaire. Being married, after a certain point, is about the past, about a steadily growing history of moments that provide a confidence of comfort, an asset that compounds over time. "

MODERN LOVE: A Joint Account That Underwrites Our Marriage

A man looks back on 35 years of marriage and how he and his wife have managed to stay married so long.

http://s.nyt.com/u/vd9

NYTimes.com: AT&T Takes the Blame, Even for the iPhone's Faults

Hmmmm - so which is better AT&T or Verizon? Consumer Reports again listed Verizon as the best carrier, but "Global Wireless Solutions, one of the third-party services that run network tests for the major carriers...dispatches drivers across the country with phones and laptops equipped with data cards. They have covered more than three million miles of roads this year...The results placeAT&T’s data network not just on top, but well ahead of everyone else. “AT&T’s data throughput is 40 to 50 percent higher than the competition, including Verizon..."" BUSINESS | December 13, 2009 Digital Domain: AT&T Takes the Blame, Even for the iPhone's Faults By RANDALL STROSS Despite evidence that suggests Verizon provides superior cellphone service, an independent assessment proves otherwise.

NYTimes: Geothermal Project in California Is Shut Down

Sounds like tapping geothermal heat (pumping water down into
cracks in the bedrock where the water expands into steam) causes earthquakes. Is that the reason a large geothermal dig was just abandoned? Or perhaps just because the rock is too hard to drill easily to that depth. Have to stay tuned...

Geothermal Project in California Is Shut Down

After safety concerns, the company in charge of a project to extract
renewable energy from deep bedrock has informed federal officials that
the project will be abandoned.

http://s.nyt.com/u/vwP

NYTimes: Church Works With U.S. to Spare Detention

You gotta have hope. Seems that the impenetrable ramparts of
bureaucracy actually enclosed a heart!
Church Works With U.S. to Spare Detention
An unusual agreement between a New Jersey church and U.S. immigration
officials has freed some Indonesians.
https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/13/nyregion/13indonesians.html

Value-addedTax: Many See the VAT Option as a Cure for Deficits

Many See the VAT Option as a Cure for Deficits

Runaway deficits have thrust a politically unsavory savior into the
spotlight: a tax on goods and services.

http://s.nyt.com/u/i_7

NYTimes.com: The Song Decoders

Pandora music service uses musicologists as human listeners to decode what makes a song fit into a classification - works better than computer decoding of songs because of very human attributes that make us like songs. October 18, 2009 The Song Decoders By ROB WALKER By breaking music down into its component parts, Pandora Internet radio tries to figure out what kind of music you - not your social group, heroes or aspirational self - really like.

Vacuum cooking enhances natural flavors

As I've mentioned before, 'sous vide' (cooking vegetables or meat in a vacuum) is resurfacing again, today in the NYT article, and has spawned an instructive website. Interestingly, "Modern sous-vide cooking originated in Switzerland in the 1960s as a way to preserve and sterilize food in hospital kitchens."

What's the benefit? - "Managing heat transfer — cutting into a steak, timing eggs, inspecting the juices of a roast chicken — is simply what cooks do, working by smell, sound, taste and touch, all of which are reduced or eliminated in sous vide. I found it unnerving to cook without my senses, but extremely liberating not to worry about doneness or cooking times."

Biblos.com

This extensive site has the entire contents of concordances and many other reference tools online.

Free Google Navigation Apps for Android

Android phones will have pretty powerful access to google capabilities, like turn by turn navigation, street views of upcoming turns, and voice-recognition searches. See the video demo, which demonstrates voice-entered searching of vague things like "navigate to the museum with the King Tut exhibit".

Using nature to harvest oil from engineered bacteria.

PopSci.com: Bacteria-Busting Genetic Bombs Make Biofuel Processing a
Blast

Algae make plastic directly

PopSci.com: Algae Used To Produce Green Plastics, Sans Petroleum

How great is that? Rather than harvest oils from algae from which plastics are manufactured, engineer them to produce the plastic directly.

Donations - where your money goes: Donor Illusion

Charities attract donations by emphasizing the personal relationship between you and a needy beneficiary. But in fact, problems arise in recipient communities when singling out one person who benefits, to the exclusion of others.

In her story yesterday(listen),Ashley Milne-Tyte describes -

"...Tim Ogden edits Philanthropy Action, a Web site for donors. He says I got caught up in what he calls the donor illusion: the promise of a direct connection between a donor and an individual recipient.

TIM OGDEN: And it's an illusion that's created by the marketing, and it's created because it's a powerful one for attracting donations. But the reality is if you really care about doing the most good then there shouldn't be that direct connection.

Because he says charities need the flexibility to respond to the situation on the ground. That could mean using a donor's money for flood relief instead of buying a family a goat. Or simply not allowing money to be misused."

I had read a similar account on wikipedia earlier this week,

"Providing money directly to the families of sponsored children simply does not work, no matter how dire the circumstances. A ‘direct benefit' approach creates jealousy among community members that do not have sponsored children and fosters an ethos of dependency. So while sponsored children may receive some direct benefits – like school materials or a jacket for warmth – this in no way represents the entirety of our work in a community, and it was disingenuous for the Foreign Correspondent story to imply this."

NYTimes: Organizing the Chaos of Online Travel Tips

Sites to organize travel info you've found, and search engines geared
to travel.
Trekaroo, a yelp.com equivalent for traveling with kids.

Kijubi.com - ratings of California and Florida attractions

Organizing the Chaos of Online Travel Tips

Gliider, TravelMuse and NileGuide are among new Web tools that help
travelers organize trip information.

http://s.nyt.com/u/i3h

NYTimes: In Month of Giving, a Healthy Reward

Altruism gives you a longer healthier life. 

"people in the study who had more "self-references" (those who talked about themselves at length or used more first-person pronouns) had more severe heart disease and did worse on treadmill tests."

In Month of Giving, a Healthy Reward

For a woman with multiple sclerosis, a gift-giving plan changed her outlook and improved her health — and science appears to back her up.

http://s.nyt.com/u/iR7

Design constraints of a velomobile

This page describes a do-it-yourselfer's approach to building his foam-shelled recumbent bike.

http://www.recumbents.com/mars/pages/proj/tetz/TFVM/TFVMp1.html

Relative speed of velomobile designs, and the inherent trade-offs, discussed at
http://bentrideronline.yuku.com/topic/4847#.Tk1E3Cd5mc0

"I've been following posts in several places, listening to discussions among VM enthusiasts, and reading accounts of races and am going to make a guess on how the VM's would rate for speed, with comparable riders:

lots faster than a regular bike: Birk Butterfly, WAW, Quest, Tri-Sled
faster than a regular bike: Mango, Cab-Bike speedster option
no disadvantage over a regular bike for speed: Leitra, Cab-Bike, Alleweder, Go-one

I haven't heard enough about the Leiba, Berkut or Cyclodyne to make a guess.

There are trade-offs in the Velomobile world. Speed is generally "bought" in exchange for less space, poorer turning radius, cramped entry, limited adjustability, or other trade-offs that might or might not be acceptable to the purchaser.

I'm happy to go as fast as I would on my other bikes while staying warm and dry and having space for carrying all my groceries. (I wouldn't want to go SLOWER than on another bike.) It's a nice bonus that the Cab-Bike really picks up speed with a tailwind or sidewind, and that it can cut through a headwind much better than a similarly-loaded regular recumbent. (My commuting route rarely brings me into any wind, so this is more an issue for tours.)

Mary"

NYTimes.com: The Claim: Exercise More During the Day, and You Will Sleep Better at Night

The New York Times 

The Claim: Exercise More During the Day, and You Will Sleep Better at Night

"physical activity during the day and sleep onset at night were closely linked: every hour of sedentary activity during the day resulted in an additional three minutes in the time it took to fall asleep at night. And the children who fell asleep faster ultimately slept longer, getting an extra hour of sleep for every 10-minute reduction in the time it took them to drift off..." 

https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/01/health/01really.html 

2017 update: 

Interrelationship between Sleep and Exercise: A Systematic Review 

"exercise promoted increased sleep efficiency and duration regardless of the mode and intensity of activity, especially in populations suffering from disease." 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5385214/

NYTimes: We May Be Born With an Urge to Help

Toddler experiments are showing that humans are innately helpful and altruistic. The desire to cooperate with what others are doing ("shared intentionality") evolved as a necessity in gathering sufficient food.

"Shared intentionality evolved very early in the human lineage, he believes, and its probable purpose was for cooperation in gathering food... We evolved to be nice to each other because there was no alternative."

"Where do they get this idea of group rules, the sense of "we who do it this way"? Dr. Tomasello believes children develop what he calls "shared intentionality," a notion of what others expect to happen and hence a sense of a group "we.""

We May Be Born With an Urge to Help

Biologists are forming a better view of humankind than the traditional opinions of it as warlike and selfish.

http://s.nyt.com/u/iwJ

How to carve a turkey

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/21/dining/21carv.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

Advice from a 3rd generation butcher in New York about how to get the most meat from your turkey.

NYTimes: Is There Such a Thing as Agro-Imperialism?

I rarely read something that demonstrates society is on the precipice
of a new era, but this article changed my thinking about the future.

Is There Such a Thing as Agro-Imperialism?

Fearing food shortages, investors from wealthy countries are snapping
up land in poor countries to grow food there. Is this development or
exploitation?

http://s.nyt.com/u/C0o

NYTimes.com: For the Volt, How's Life After 40 (Miles)?

This is a pretty positive report on driving the Chevy Volt after it has reached the limit of its range. "I point the Volt toward a hill and wait for the sound and feel of the generator engine...but I completely miss it; the engine's initial engagement is inaudible and seamless... AUTOMOBILES / CAR REVIEWS | November 22, 2009 For the Volt, How's Life After 40 (Miles)? By LINDSAY BROOKE A reporter test-drove a Chevrolet Volt to see how it performed after its electric power supply was depleted.

Google Announces Automatic captions in YouTube

http://techblips.dailyradar.com/story/official-google-blog-automatic-captions-in-youtube/

Electric cars proliferate

Nissan leaf the small photo of the light blue car, 80kW motor, 4 passenger " impressively smooth, quiet and quick" at "$25,000 to $40,000" should compete well with the Chevy Volt the gray one, at "$32,500 after the $7500 federal tax credit."

Tesla red, of course, "0-60 in fewer than 4 seconds and a one-speed gearbox" now has a family sedan coming in 2011 for $50K.

Harbinger, the orange one "Zero to 60 in five seconds, scissor doors, and you'll even get some change back from $100,000"

The Aptera, the white one, a very streamlined design, projected to be $25000 - $40,000.

(And...not a pure electric, but still very cool looking dark blue one:

Fisker Karma "403 hp, 67 mpg, 88000 - $100,000")

For a complete list of electric cars, see "on electric cars..."

Lung flute clears mucus by generating 16 Hz vibrations

http://www.popsci.com/bown/2009/innovator/pied-piper-mucus

Where to get it: $70 in Canada
http://www.1stflash.com/files/Lung-Flute.htm

My favorite iPhone apps as of Nov 2010

Free apps:

Pandora:
Pandora is a music player that takes your favorite songs, and streams continuous music using songs that match similar attributes to your favorites. It's like a radio station that only plays your favorite songs. The more you use it, the better the music selection gets. And it introduces you to new artists you might not otherwise encounter. I've used it for months now - it doesn't introduce me to as much new music as I'd have liked, and about 10% of the songs are way off target, but I still use it a lot. (There's an interesting New York Times article about how much human listening goes into making the site work.)

I think this link should take you to it.
phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=284035177&mt=8

Glympse:
A free app to share your continuously-tracked location with someone for a defined period of time.  It sends a text or email to a recpient(s) you specify, for a duration you specify.  If you keep it running in the background (or lock the screen) it continuously updates on the recipient's screen - easiest (but not essential) if they're running the same app.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/glympse-location-sharing-made/id330316698?mt=8


Snaptell:
Here's their idea: you're in a store, and you wonder if the online price for the item you're looking at would be cheaper. Take a photo of any item (book, CD, game) with the phone, and it finds online prices of that item from sites like ebay and amazon. What a great use of iphone technology - camera, browser, web. Very cool.
Here's a techcrunch review, and a link to the app in itunes store.

There's now another new app for this purpose called Shopsavvy, for any product with a barcode (not just books and CD's) http://www.biggu.com/apps/shopsavvy-iphone/ and one for 2-D barcodes from AT&T. 

Yelp:
Find reviews (usually by techno-savvy twenty-somethings) of restaurants and services by location. The advantage of reviews by everyone and anyone is that they're unbiased and have personality, the disadvantage is that they're untrained reviewers, so they can be overly negative for a single fault, or immature. I have found I can easily sift through a bunch of reviews and see if a restaurant or service is right for what I want.

You do have to register with the website (free, no junk mail so far).

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=284910350&mt=8

Showtimes:
Uses your current GPS location to tell you what showtimes are available for movies near you.
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=285018181&mt=8

What's on:
Automatically updating TV listings - set your locations and the provider at that location.
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=289190113&mt=8

Where

This app combines what several apps used to do for me - it constantly updates your location, and searches for gas prices, restaurants, weather, events and so on near your location. I've found it very useful when traveling.

http://www.where.com/iphone/

Repairpal: tells you, by make of car, how much local garages are likely to charge you for a given repair, and gives advice on what related repairs might be required. When you need this app, it's very useful and informative.

http://repairpal.com/mobile

REI snow report

The latest update greatly improved this formerly slow app, and includes trail maps of resorts.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/snow-and-ski-report-by-rei/id299120437?mt=8

WSF schedule:

This one tells you what time the next ferry will arrive at any WSF dock. Very handy if you ever take the ferry. Supported by unobtrusive embedded ads.
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=288902938&mt=8

SoundHound:
Hold your iPhone up to a radio, and it will identify the song. Or you can hum a tune into the phone... I tried it in a store playing a nice song over the speakers, and it worked very well.
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=284972998&mt=8

Trapster:
A map showing (user-reported) speed trap locations.  Keep it running in the background, and choose one of several funny voices (redneck, NY taxi driver etc) to alert you to upcoming speed traps, construction zones, and road dangers. It has been refined with a feature that looks for possible alerts only in a narrow cone in front of your direction of travel, so you don't get alerts about a schoolzone near the highway you're on, for instance.

Wikipanion:
Search wikipedia quickly, and have the result already formatted for the iphone screen.
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=288349436&mt=8

Charts and Tides
This 'teaser' app shows nautical charts only for the Seattle area and uses your phone's GPS to locate you on the chart. It's to convince you to buy the full $50 version to have full North American coverage.
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=300499486&mt=8

Units:
convert any imaginable unit into another unit - area, temperature, speed, you-name-it
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=284574017&mt=8

Youversion:
Raed and search the Bible, and add your comments to any verse.
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=282935706&mt=8

Everytrail
Use your iPhone to record a hike or bike ride, link pictures to their location, and figure out how far you went. Can show a live terrain map of your location, and has a nice minimal-battery-use lockout function so it'll record up to (say) four hours of hiking. Afterward, it can send a link with an animation overlaid on a map, showing your speed and route.
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=290954446&mt=8

The Weather Channel
Can show a live Doppler map of precipitation.
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=295646461&mt=8

Epocrates:

Drug compendium - handy reference. It also lists a couple of noteworthy new articles each week, if you want. Have to register (free, and no junk emails so far).

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=281935788&mt=8

Paid applications:

GPSdrive

Finally, turn-by-turn directions that automatically reroute if you go off route. This is almost what my Garmin used to do, and works well. The cost is about $26 a year for all the features, which is a lot cheaper than the map updates I used to have to get every few years for my Garmin. You can play your music collection on your iphone, and it seamlessly interrupts the music to give directions and returns to the music.

http://news.motionx.com/category/motionx-gps-drive/

$5
Seattle Bus Map
One of my favorite applications: shows where Seattle buses are in real time, using the GPS transponder signal from every bus. So you don't have to stand there wondering 'When will that bus ever get here?' Worth the price if you take Seattle buses often. Doesn't yet work for the Seattle-Tacoma express buses, unfortunately.
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=299293359&mt=8

$10
mboxmail
Finally, finally, I can get hotmail on the iphone. I can't tell you how much time I've wasted trying to sign into hotmail only to get odd redirects and answering 'Is this going to be your primary phone' over and over again. Now I have rapid access to fully functional email with swipe to delete, move to folders, and click contact list features that are so handy on the regular iphone email program. However, since the program can't run in the background unless it' open, there's no change in the screen icon when you get new mail. And it has a maximum attachment size of 1MB which hardly bothers me, but seems to have some reviewers on the Apple app store pretty steamed.

$20
iBird
Love this one. Used to do a lot of birdwatching, and here's more than a field guide now conveniently tucked into your iphone. (Lugging that field guide was always a nuisance, but ya gotta have it.) You can identify an unknown bird by answering a series of questions (size, color, location etc) and then have illustrations, photos, recordings of its song and maps of its range at your fingertips. Layout looks great on the screen, and all info is stored on board the iphone so it works where there's no phone signal.

$10
Anchor alarm
OK, I don't have this one yet, but next time I go sailing overnight, I'll get it. Last time I was anchored overnight, I kept waking up at night wondering if the anchor was still holding. Peering out in the darkness, it took my sleepy eyes a few minutes to figure out if we had drifted more than a few feet. Here's an app that sounds an alarm if you drift more than a specified distance from your original anchoring point. Granted, you'd need a power source to keep the iphone GPS up and running all night, but peace of mind is worth it.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/anchor-alarm/id304892917?mt=8

NYTimes: Building an Online Bulwark to Fend Off Identity Fraud

A list of online security techniques to avoid identity theft:

" 9.9 million Americans were victims of identity theft in 2008"

"But a new breed of products is tackling the trickier matter of preventing identity theft. New approaches include scouring the Internet in search of signs that criminals have your information..."

http://www.lifelock.com/

https://www.trustedid.com/ for example, searches to see "if a person’s Social Security number was found to be associated with a different address"

http://www.cardcops.com/

http://stolenidsearch.com/ $120/yr, a database created by Colin Holder, a 30-year veteran of Scotland Yard, that contains stolen records gathered from longtime, trusted informants.

Safe Central $20/yr which includes "a stripped-down and secure browser to use when banking, trading stocks, viewing health information or shopping online." "In this safe room of sorts, certain Windows features regularly abused by attackers have been disabled."

BASICS: Building an Online Bulwark to Fend Off Identity Fraud

A number of services go beyond reacting to identity thieves and
instead aim to safeguard users' personal information.

http://s.nyt.com/u/C3S

NYTimes: Checking the Right Boxes, but Failing the Patient

Doctors are paying too much attention to things that are quantifiable
(like handwashing and proper charting) and too easily neglecting the
human aspects of care.

CASES: Checking the Right Boxes, but Failing the Patient

As doctors bustle from one well-documented chart to the next, no one
is counting whether they are still paying attention to people.

http://s.nyt.com/u/CWB

NYTimes: Online Maps: Everyman Offers New Directions

When mapmaking is opened up to everyone, the resulting map may be
better than what experts produce (much like wikipedia). It's
unfortunate, but inevitable, that 3 different groups are working on
publicly edited world maps. Here's how to edit google maps: http://maps.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=98014

Online Maps: Everyman Offers New Directions
From Petaluma to Peshawar, volunteer cartographers are logging
details of neighborhoods near and far. http://s.nyt.com/u/CDJ

Modified Algae Produce Clean, Easy Hydrogen | Popular Science

Hydrogen directly from photosynthesis - wow. http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2009-11/process-deriving-hydrogen-algae-paves-way-hydrogen-fueled-future

Frybrid

A Seattle company converts diesel vehicles to waste-vegetable-oil vehicles (they start and run the first few miles on diesel) for about $1400 (DIY kit).

Read all about it (and some interesting comments below the article)

NYTimes.com: City Room: College Ivy Sprouts at a Connecticut Prison

Providing an ivy-league college education to inmates: I understand the dilemma they describe here of providing funds to educate prisoners (versus helping victims of crime or preventing crime in youths.) The latter are worthwhile efforts, but those individuals do have lots of opportunities in life still. The mind-numbing emptiness of prison can easily lead to rage and frustration and planning a return to a life of crime. Recidivism comes from the hopelessness of life after prison, while educating prisoners provides the hope of being able to offer something useful to society. Although the tuition at the college nearby is $51000, the marginal cost of providing this education to inmates is much less than this, and a reasonable philanthropic effort for the university to take on. I applaud them for taking this on. N.Y. / REGION November 16, 2009 City Room: College Ivy Sprouts at a Connecticut Prison By ALISON LEIGH COWAN Inmates' access to higher education was sharply crimped by a 1994 crime bill that made them ineligible for federal grants. But last spring, two Wesleyan University students persuaded the university to embark on a daring experiment that brings an elite college education inside a high-security prison.

NYTimes: Afloat in the Ocean, Expanding Islands of Trash

I've noted this in my blog before - a swirling mass of plastic garbage the size of Canada. What an optimistic idea to turn the plastic into diesel.


"Project Kaisei, based in San Francisco, is trying to devise ways to clean up the [huge ocean swirling plastic garbage] patch by turning plastic into diesel fuel."

Afloat in the Ocean, Expanding Islands of Trash

A garbage patch in the Pacific is one of five that may be caught in giant gyres scattered in the world's oceans.

http://s.nyt.com/u/DVn

100 Things Waiters Should Never Do

An interesting list from a NYT list of things waiters shouldn't do:
3. Never refuse to seat three guests because a fourth has not yet arrived.
7. Do not announce your name. No jokes, no flirting, no cuteness.
8. Do not interrupt a conversation. For any reason. Especially not to recite specials. Wait for the right moment.
11. Do not hustle the lobsters. That is, do not say, “We only have two lobsters left.” Even if there are only two lobsters left.
15. Never say “I don’t know” to any question without following with, “I’ll find out.”
17. Do not take an empty plate from one guest while others are still eating the same course. Wait, wait, wait.
24. Never use the same glass for a second drink.
30. Never let the wine bottle touch the glass into which you are pouring. No one wants to drink the dust or dirt from the bottle.
32. Never touch a customer. No excuses. Do not do it. Do not brush them, move them, wipe them or dust them.
40. Never say, “Good choice,” implying that other choices are bad.
41. Saying, “No problem” is a problem. It has a tone of insincerity or sarcasm. “My pleasure” or “You’re welcome” will do.
42. Do not compliment a guest’s attire or hairdo or makeup. You are insulting someone else.
49. Never mention the tip, unless asked.
52. Know your menu inside and out. If you serve Balsam Farm candy-striped beets, know something about Balsam Farm and candy-striped beets.
56. Do not ignore a table because it is not your table. Stop, look, listen, lend a hand. (Whether tips are pooled or not.)
57. Bring the pepper mill with the appetizer. Do not make people wait or beg for a condiment.
60. Bring all the appetizers at the same time, or do not bring the appetizers. Same with entrees and desserts.
61. Do not stand behind someone who is ordering. Make eye contact. Thank him or her.
64. Specials, spoken and printed, should always have prices.
66. Do not return to the guest anything that falls on the floor — be it napkin, spoon, menu or soy sauce.
75. Do not ask if someone is finished when others are still eating that course.
78. Do not ask, “Are you still working on that?” Dining is not work — until questions like this are asked.
85. Never bring a check until someone asks for it. Then give it to the person who asked for it.
86. If a few people signal for the check, find a neutral place on the table to leave it.
87. Do not stop your excellent service after the check is presented or paid.
88. Do not ask if a guest needs change. Just bring the change.
91. If someone complains about the music, do something about it, without upsetting the ambiance. (The music is not for the staff — it’s for the customers.)
99. Do not show frustration. Your only mission is to serve. Be patient. It is not easy.


http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/29/one-hundred-things-restaurant-staffers-should-never-do-part-one/
http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/05/one-hundred-things-restaurant-staffers-should-never-do-part-2/?em

NYTimes: The Human Body Is Built for Distance

NYTimes: The Human Body Is Built for Distance

I found this article on marathon running in sandals was interesting. They say that people are getting more injuries from running with current high-tech sneakers now than our ancestors (and a present-day Mexican tribe) get with very simple shoes or even sandals.

The Human Body Is Built for Distance

Does running a marathon push the body further than it is meant to go?

"Most mammals can sprint faster than humans — having four legs gives them the advantage. But when it comes to long distances, humans can outrun almost any animal. Because we cool by sweating rather than panting, we can stay cool at speeds and distances that would overheat other animals. On a hot day, the two scientists wrote, a human could even outrun a horse in a 26.2-mile marathon. "

"So if we’re born to run, why are runners so often injured? ... Running on only artificial surfaces and in high-tech shoes can change the biomechanics of running, increasing the risks of injury.

What’s the solution? Slower, easier training over a long period would most likely help; so would brief walk breaks, which mimic the behavior of the persistence hunter. And running on a variety of surfaces and in simpler shoes with less cushioning can restore natural running form."http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/27/health/27well.html

NYTimes: Money Talks to Have Before Marriage

YOUR MONEY: Money Talks to Have Before Marriage

Love may move mountains, but money can crumble the strongest marriage.
A good way to head off problems is to discuss financial issues before
the ceremony.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/24/your-money/24money.html

Motorhome catching fire

At 2:15 the pressure relief valve starts releasing propane. A safety
feature so it doesn't all explode at once.

NYTimes: Homemade Worcestershire Sauce, 1876

From The New York Times:

RECIPE for Worcestershire Sauce,as it was 1876

The mysteriously dark, drippy sauce you've been using your whole life
can actually be made in less than 10 minutes, or completely redesigned.

NYTimes: Has Conceptual Art Jumped the Shark Tank?

An interesting essay that argues that humans have an innate taste for
art that displays detail, conscientiousness, planning, and skill. And
that some clever but culturally referenced works of current great
value will soon lose their ephemeral value.

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR: Has Conceptual Art Jumped the Shark Tank?

To see why works of conceptual art have an inherent investment risk,
we must look back at the whole history of art, including art's most
ancient prehistory.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/16/opinion/16dutton.html

NYTimes: The Song Decoders

Very interesting history of Pandora radio. The article goes beyond the
simple questions to ask where will music go when it's rated song by
song with no "market" influences.

The Song Decoders

By breaking music down into its component parts, Pandora Internet
radio tries to figure out what kind of music you — not your social
group, heroes or aspirational self — really like.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/18/magazine/18Pandora-t.html

NYTimes.com: The Other Nova Scotia: Where Pirates Prowled and Haddock Roam

NYT visits Nova Scotia TRAVEL | October 16, 2009 The Other Nova Scotia: Where Pirates Prowled and Haddock Roam By LAURA M. HOLSON The less-storied shore of Nova Scotia has a rocky coastline, fishing villages and colorful towns. (Ask about the U.F.O.)

Seattle iPhone Repair Repairs - Jet City Devices

Finally! A place that offers iPhone repairs. When I had a cracked
screen, I did several searches and came up with nothing.

http://www.jetcitydevices.com/

Sent from my iPhone

NYTimes.com: When the Icing on the Cake Spells Disaster

This article is SO funny - when something got lost in translation when ordering a cake. You can just imagine the embarrassment when these showed up at the party! DINING & WINE October 14, 2009 When the Icing on the Cake Spells Disaster By DAVID HOCHMAN Cake Wrecks, the popular blog and new book of the same name, celebrates the folly of professional confections gone horribly, horribly wrong.

Noise cancelling rooms

You've heard of noise-cancelling headphones. This inventor (who developed THX sound amplification for theaters) is working on a system employing multiple speakers and amplifiers to achieve noise cancelation throughout an entire room. He explains it in this short video.

I always thought that producing an inverted sound wave could cancel noise at one fixed point in space, and it would be impossible to do for an entire room without an equal number of 'loud spots' as quiet spots scattered through the room where the noise was twice as loud as the background. But he seems to describe having accomplished this.

Giant droplet

I like this sculpture of a giant droplet that was just installed at
the light rail station near the Seattle airport. You can just make out
the worker inside who was mending a crack.

New public art installed along Seattle's new Link Light Rail includes a number of little things — a water-drop, a magnifying glass, a dragonfly — made big. Highlights include Tad Savinar's "A Drop of Sustenance

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/thearts/2009449111_transitart12.html

Thumbing his nose at Rules of Thumb Questioned, from a Personal Finance Blog

Save 10% of your income, spend 4% of savings each year in retirement?
Here's a point of view on these rules of thumb.

http://www.consumerismcommentary.com/2009/09/23/a-report-card-for-financial-rules-of-thumb/

Sent from my iPhone

NYTimes: The Calorie-Restriction Experiment

Curtailing calorie intake by 25% wasn't easy in this study. 

Interestingly, the article refers to evidence that we eat a certain * weight* of food each day - our brain isn't satisfied until we've hefted that weight to our jaw, regardless of caloric intake. So the trick these participants taught themselves was to eat low(caloric)-density foods. 

"A number of recent experiments — notably by Barbara Rolls at Penn State — demonstrated that humans tend to eat a consistent weight of food from day to day, but not necessarily a consistent number of calories..."

THE FOOD ISSUE: The Calorie-Restriction Experiment

Eating much, much less helped rats live longer. Will it work on humans?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/11/magazine/11Calories-t.html

My Yelp reviews

Recent reviews by Tom E.

What's this?

Catch Crimes on Closed-Circuit Cameras for Cash | Popular Science

Better than a video game. Watch closed circuit camera feeds to catch
crimes in progress. In the article, they mention a civil liberties
concern. But I don't think their objection will undermine the program,
becaue the participants will only be alerting police who will act on
their usual principles.

http://www.popsci.com/gadgets/article/2009-10/uk-citizens-catch-crimes-closed-circuit-cameras-cash