Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Mortgage Note Issues Help Debtors Avoid Foreclosure

Mortgage Note Issues Help Debtors Avoid Foreclosure

Feeling blue? Not like a Maya sacrificial victim - Yahoo! News

Feeling blue? Not like a Maya sacrificial victim - Yahoo! News: "'Adult males may have had their hearts removed before they were dumped in,' Feinman said.

Feinman said at the bottom of the cenote, a layer 14 feet

deep of blue goo has been found, likely composed of pigment that washed off sacrificial victims and objects."

Twitching :: Health and Disease :: Brain and Spinal Cord

Twitching :: Health and Disease :: Brain and Spinal Cord: "Nutritional Supplements

Neuromuscular function and muscle control require the minerals magnesium, calcium and potassium. A deficiency could be causing tics, trembling or cramping. The B vitamins reduce stress-triggered trembling by calming the nervous system. Vitamin B12 is often poorly absorbed through the intestinal tract and should be taken in a sublingual form. Calcium is also important for muscle growth and contraction and for the prevention of muscle cramps.

Daily dosages:

* Calcium, 1,000 mg

* Magnesium, 500 mg

* Vitamin B complex, 50 mg three times daily

* Vitamin B12 sublingual tablet, 100 mcg"

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Annals of Invention: Thinking in the Rain: Reporting & Essays: The New Yorker

Annals of Invention: Thinking in the Rain: Reporting & Essays: The New Yorker: "The Steve Hollinger experience can be described most simply as multimedia. For one thing, it includes olfactory surprises. My apartment was right above Steve’s for several years, and on a regular basis he would call to warn me about odors that might waft their way from the second floor, where he lived, to my apartment on the third. Once in a while, the warning was about something he’d be cooking, but often it was more unexpected; he would call to say that he was going to be using turpentine, or linseed oil, or exotic solvents, or some kind of stinky paint, and wanted to make sure that the smell wouldn’t drive me crazy. Other calls were about surprising noises: “I’m going to be using a table saw to cut up some ammunition boxes, so I hope it’s not too loud,” or “I’m drilling through some chunks of cement, so let me know if it bothers you.”"

I really enjoyed this profile of artist/inventory/sculptor Steve Hollinger, who invented a new type of umbrella. He moves so effortlessly through multiple domains of art and invention that it leaves me breathless and jealous.

Blogger, Sans Pajamas, Rakes Muck and a Prize - New York Times

Blogger, Sans Pajamas, Rakes Muck and a Prize - New York Times: "Seven years ago, Mr. Marshall was a Ph.D candidate in early American history at Brown University; the Washington editor of a liberal magazine, The American Prospect; and a new blogger. He had started the blog as an outlet for his ideas and to track the recount fight in Florida — the name came from a term bandied about during the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

“If I had quickly happened into a staff position at The New Yorker, I probably wouldn’t have done this,” Mr. Marshall, 39, said of his migration to full-time online journalism."

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Griffin Technology radioSHARK: Page 1

Griffin Technology radioSHARK: Page 1

The Griffin radio shark is like a Tivo for radio, recording radio straight to your hard drive. Bi-platform too.

YouTube - How to play In the Aeroplane Over the Sea by NMH on Ukulele

YouTube - How to play In the Aeroplane Over the Sea by NMH on Ukulele

Bill Clinton in Utah � Andrew’s Miracle Drug

Bill Clinton in Utah � Andrew’s Miracle Drug: "There’s growing inequality in the U.S. - while we’ve been in an economic recovery, the median income in the U.S. has actually decreased about $1000 per year in the past 7 years. This is one of the reasons that there is such a strong anti-immigrant sentiment. It’s not that right way to respond to this growing inequality between the upper- and middle-class, but it is an understandable reaction. This growing inequality is also reflected in the growing number of Americans without healthcare, and the vast differences in education opportunities between the wealthy and the poor. A Hillary Clinton presidency would bring universal health coverage, and make sure that education overall is improved. In addition, Hillary plans to make 2-year community college education available at no personal cost to all Americans."

gladwell dot com - none of the above

What IQ doesn't tell us about race.

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Body of black male found in Draper - Salt Lake Tribune

Body of black male found in Draper - Salt Lake Tribune: "Body of black male found in Draper
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated:�02/23/2008 09:47:05 PM MST

Winter revelers found a dead body in Draper on Saturday.
��� Detectives are determining who the man was and how he died. The body belonged to a black male between the ages of 16 and 25, said Draper police Sgt. Kurt Imig.
��� He said there was no obvious cause of death and an autopsy is planned for Sunday. No identification was found with the body and police are asking for the public's help in learning his name.
��� A family taking winter photographs found the body at 1200 Mike Weir Drive in a ravine south of the town golf course. Imig said the body was there 'perhaps for weeks.'
��� Anyone with information about the body can contact Draper police at 801-840-4000"

Friday, February 22, 2008

Ezra Crane by What Madness Productions, LLC

Ezra Crane by What Madness Productions, LLC

In Defense Of Chess | Chess | BoardGameGeek

In Defense Of Chess | Chess | BoardGameGeek: "penings and Endings

I've heard some complain that too much of the game is merely memorization of the openings and endings of the game, and as such, the interesting portion is a tiny series of moves in the middle game.

I want to respond to this charge in two parts. First, openings are acquired gradually as you play. If you begin your chess career by memorizing openings, you will lose. If you spend your energy reading books of ending, you will lose (although perhaps less horribly than those reading the opening books). Opening, at the level played by most players (i.e. 2 or 3 moves deep), are mostly common sense. In Settlers, don't put a settlement on a desert to start unless you have a very good plan. In chess, don't move you 'a' pawn as your first move unless you have a very good plan. Yes -- correspondence and master level chess (and good club) players know many variations of the Caro-Kann and Sicilian and King's Indian and whatever else to ten or more moves. The average player need not."

The St. Petersburg Times - Feature - Mysterious Deaths of 9 Skiers Still Unresolved

The St. Petersburg Times - Feature - Mysterious Deaths of 9 Skiers Still Unresolved: "The declassified files contain testimony from the leader of a group of adventurers who camped about 50 kilometers south of the skiers on the same night. He said his group saw strange orange spheres floating in the night sky in the direction of Kholat-Syakhl."

Thursday, February 21, 2008

rambo-death-chart.jpg (PNG Image, 979x831 pixels) - Scaled (73%)

rambo-death-chart.jpg (PNG Image, 979x831 pixels) - Scaled (73%)

Rambo in a nutshell.

Obamamania verges on obsession - Lisa Lerer - Politico.com

Obamamania verges on obsession - Lisa Lerer - Politico.com: "Last week, Clinton adviser Sid Blumenthal e-mailed an article from The American Conservative implying that Obama's support was, at least in part, due to white liberal guilt.

'It's time to get real about how we actually win this election,' Clinton said Wednesday at Hunter College in New York.

“It's time that we move from good words to good works, from sound bites to sound solutions.”

Her conclusion: “Let’s get real.”"

Obamamania verges on obsession - Lisa Lerer - Politico.com

Obamamania verges on obsession - Lisa Lerer - Politico.com: "His charms seem tough to resist, even for some of Hollywood’s biggest names.

'He walks into a room and you want to follow him somewhere, anywhere,' George Clooney told talk show host Charlie Rose.
See Also

* Obama win sets stage for showdown
* Obama turns tables on Clinton
* Obama camp slams Clinton ‘lunacy'

'I'll do whatever he says to do,' actress Halle Berry said to the Philadelphia Daily News. 'I'll collect paper cups off the ground to make his pathway clear.'"

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

The Teacher has ADD

The Teacher has ADD: "Dear Parents:

I am very pleased to be your child's teacher this year and look forward to working with both you and your student. Before beginning the year however, I wanted to give you some information that might help us both during the coming months. I am sure you are familiar with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). Many students today have to deal with this difficult disorder. I am very able to empathize with them, because I too suffer from ADD. Because of this, I hope you will be willing to make certain accommodations that will help me to be successful.

Please consider the following accommodations:

(1) When you write notes to me, consider using various colored markers to write your message. These help me to focus my attention. Do not expect weekly progress reports on our child. Such reports require organizational skills that are beyond the ability of ADD subjects."

Six Principles for Making New Things

Six Principles for Making New Things: "I like to find (a) simple solutions (b) to overlooked problems (c) that actually need to be solved, and (d) deliver them as informally as possible, (e) starting with a very crude version 1, then (f) iterating rapidly.

When I first laid out these principles explicitly, I noticed something striking: this is practically a recipe for generating a contemptuous initial reaction. Though simple solutions are better, they don't seem as impressive as complex ones. Overlooked problems are by definition problems that most people think don't matter. Delivering solutions in an informal way means that instead of judging something by the way it's presented, people have to actually understand it, which is more work. And starting with a crude version 1 means your initial effort is always small and incomplete."

This is my book writing philosophy.

Castro Retires | MetaFilter

Castro Retires | MetaFilter: "'Eventually this transition ought to lead to free and fair elections, and I mean free and I mean fair, not these kind of staged elections that the Castro brothers try to foist off as being true democracy' - George W. Bush, brother of Jeb"

Monday, February 18, 2008

No Substitute - The Grinder - CHOW

No Substitute - The Grinder - CHOW: "I just made two quarts of my version of Postum this morning. I'm a chef, so I looked at the label, looked at the online recipes and developed my own very good alternative. I'm not going to sell it because I use it as an alternative to coffee for health reasons. Coffee, chocolate, tea, and barley malt all block iron absorption because of the high tannin content. I almost died of severe anemia last year, so I started drinking postum because Pero and all of the other substitutes have barley malt."

TIAA-CREF vs Fidelity investments? | Ask MetaFilter

TIAA-CREF vs Fidelity investments? | Ask MetaFilter

My work is giving us a choice.

Radio DavidByrne.com

Radio DavidByrne.com

Right now it all sounds like Graceland.

Goodbye to Postum

Goodbye to Postum

Ack!

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Turn Me On, Dead Man: Scientific American

Turn Me On, Dead Man: Scientific American

An editorial about anecdotal thinking.

Taps for HD DVD as Wal-Mart Backs Blu-ray - New York Times

Taps for HD DVD as Wal-Mart Backs Blu-ray - New York Times

I'm trying to decide if this matters to me at all.

Crowdsourcing Puts Crucial Superdelegates Under a Microscope

Crowdsourcing Puts Crucial Superdelegates Under a Microscope

I too fear a Hillary superdelegate coup. But then again, don't you want a backhanded, sneaky political insider promoting your agenda? Idealistic presidents just get assassinated by the Dharma initiative.

Saturday, February 16, 2008

HEPA filters may improve cardiovascular health: study

HEPA filters may improve cardiovascular health: study: "The researchers discovered that when the HEPA filters were used, they removed about 60 per cent of the particles in the homes. As well, the finger sensors picked up an 8.1 per cent improvement in blood flow on average.

'Our main finding was a significant improvement in the function of small finger blood vessels after reduction of indoor air particles. This effect most likely indicates a general improvement in the function of the inner lining of small vessels, including those supplying the heart,' said Professor Steffen Loft of the Institute of Public Health in Copenhagen, in a release."

Game over man!!! (Maybe) | MetaFilter

Game over man!!! (Maybe) | MetaFilter: "So I guess I'll eventually end up buying a Blu-Ray recordable drive rather than an HD-DVD recordable drive for when I'm eventually bittorrenting > DVD resolution video and want to burn it. Good to know.

Why do that? Run an HDMI cable (or coax or Cat-5) from your computer to your video screen. Cable runs are not that hard to do, and while it may seem daunting, trust me, it is so much easier to just have to run the video from your computer. HDMI over Cat5. Of course I'm sure coax or fiber would preferably over twisted pairs ... but if you run any kind of modern line through your house it should be able to carry the video."

What Shamu Taught Me About a Happy Marriage - New York Times

What Shamu Taught Me About a Happy Marriage - New York Times: "After two years of exotic animal training, my marriage is far smoother, my husband much easier to love. I used to take his faults personally; his dirty clothes on the floor were an affront, a symbol of how he didn't care enough about me. But thinking of my husband as an exotic species gave me the distance I needed to consider our differences more objectively."

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Big night. Big mystery. -- chicagotribune.com

Big night. Big mystery. -- chicagotribune.com: "On an unseasonably warm Friday night last October, the culinary gods filed into a tiny restaurant on a gritty stretch of Wicker Park.

There was Ferran Adria from Spain, Heston Blumenthal from England and Pierre Herme from France -- considered by many to be among the world's top chefs. Other culinary heavy hitters followed close behind.

For the workers at Schwa, it was like seeing the 1927 Yankees roll in their front door.

'To look out the [kitchen] window and see these guys walk in, all eating at our restaurant, it was just a huge ego boost,' says Nathan Klingbail, one of the cooks that night. 'These are all the people we idolize.'

For 33-year-old Michael Carlson, chef/owner of Schwa, the dinner marked the pinnacle of his meteoric rise from anonymous assistant chef to proprietor of one of the most talked-about restaurants in town. On this night, Chicago chef Charlie Trotter -- a superstar in his own right -- had chosen Carlson to serve a 14-course, four-hour meal to his high-profile guests.

'It was as high a pinnacle as you could ever have,' Carlson says. 'It will never get better than that.'

The day after the dinner -- with a full refrigerator and a full reservation book -- Carlson disappeared."

YouTube - Seventeen

YouTube - Seventeen

some of the comments are hilarious.

Salt Lake Tribune - Committee approves autism registry for Utah

Salt Lake Tribune - Committee approves autism registry for Utah: "Committee approves autism registry for Utah
By Lisa Rosetta
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 02/13/2008 05:55:15 PM MST

Posted: 2:47 PM- A registry of all Utahns with autism would be created under HB263, passed by the House Health and Human Services Committee Wednesday.
The Utah Registry of Autism and Developmental Disabilities, or URADD, would contain medical histories and would be available to researchers.
'The [autism] research is currently underway, but there isn't enough data to make it meaningful,' said the bill's sponsor, Rep. Eric Hutchings, R-Kearns. 'That's the big hole we're dealing with.'"

Salt Lake Tribune - Huckabee scolds those who say he has alienated Mormons

Salt Lake Tribune - Huckabee scolds those who say he has alienated Mormons: "WASHINGTON - Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee says it is 'unfounded' for anyone to say he has alienated the Mormon community or that he used rival Mitt Romney's LDS faith as a wedge issue.
Huckabee, talking to reporters Tuesday in Washington, blamed a single remark he made to The New York Times Magazine last year - when he asked whether Mormons believed Jesus and Satan are brothers - as the cause of the angst in the Mormon community."

YouTube - john.he.is

YouTube - john.he.is

Nice spoof of "Yes, We Can." Sorta.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Writers’ Strike: Why the Web Wins | Newsweek From Forbes.com | Newsweek.com

Writers’ Strike: Why the Web Wins | Newsweek From Forbes.com | Newsweek.com: "Under the new agreement, writers will earn a fixed residual amounting to roughly $1,300 for the early part of the contract's three-year life (excluding a two- to three-week window of free usage for promotional purposes) and 2% of the distributor's revenue in the deal's final year. For new material, writers get $618 for dramatic programs produced for 'new media' up to two minutes plus $309 for each additional minute; $360 for two-minute comedy videos, with $180 for each minute after. What's more, new media writers get credits as well as health insurance."

What Is Conservatism and What Is Wrong with It?

What Is Conservatism and What Is Wrong with It?: "Liberals in the United States have been losing political debates to conservatives for a quarter century. In order to start winning again, liberals must answer two simple questions: what is conservatism, and what is wrong with it? As it happens, the answers to these questions are also simple:

Q: What is conservatism?
A: Conservatism is the domination of society by an aristocracy.

Q: What is wrong with conservatism?
A: Conservatism is incompatible with democracy, prosperity, and civilization in general. It is a destructive system of inequality and prejudice that is founded on deception and has no place in the modern world."

Recurve Crossbows: Why Choose Recurve Crossbows?

Recurve Crossbows: Why Choose Recurve Crossbows?: "Recurve crossbows are still used by elite military organizations when stealth and accuracy are required for assassination missions. I trust YOU will never aim your crossbow at another human being - not even in jest! Crossbows should only be used for hunting and target practice. They are loads of fun, and if you are just getting involved in the sport, I highly recommend you stick with recurve crossbows."

JOSEPH GOEBBELS tm - Joseph Goebbels

JOSEPH GOEBBELS tm - Joseph Goebbels: "Some of the Goebbels' principles of propaganda:

'Propaganda must be planned and executed by only one authority.'

'Credibility alone must determine whether propaganda output should be true or false.'

'Propaganda must label events and people with distinctive phrases or slogans. '

'Propaganda must facilitate the displacement of aggression by specifying the targets for hatred. '

'Black rather than white propaganda may be employed when the latter is less credible or produces undesirable effects. '

'To be perceived, propaganda must evoke the interest of an audience and must be transmitted through an attention-getting communications medium. '

'Propaganda to the home front must create an optimum anxiety level'



Quotes 'If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.' and 'The bigger the lie, the more it will be believed.' are widely and incorrectly attributed to Goebbels. It is probable that these are the paraphrases of the Goebbels' text 'Churchill's Lie Factory' where he said: 'The English follow the principle that when one lies, one should lie big, and stick to it. They keep up their lies, even at the risk of looking ridiculous.' - Jospeh Goebbels, 'Aus Churchills L�genfabrik,' 12. january 1941, Die Zeit ohne Beispiel"

Diabetes Study Partially Halted After Deaths - New York Times

Diabetes Study Partially Halted After Deaths - New York Times: "For decades, researchers believed that if people with diabetes lowered their blood sugar to normal levels, they would no longer be at high risk of dying from heart disease. But a major federal study of more than 10,000 middle-aged and older people with Type 2 diabetes has found that lowering blood sugar actually increased their risk of death, researchers reported Wednesday."

Whoops.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Kevin Kelly -- The Technium

Kevin Kelly -- The Technium: "the money in this networked economy does not follow the path of the copies. Rather it follows the path of attention, and attention has its own circuits.�"

Kueng Airguns - Magnum Pistol.

Kueng Airguns - Magnum Pistol.

The Dirty Harry of Air Pistols.

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Why A Recession Might Be A Good Thing | MetaFilter

Why A Recession Might Be A Good Thing | MetaFilter: "The true wealthy have captured back their time by employing people to do the things that this guy and his family likely still has to do himself (driving, cooking, etc) THAT is real opulence. Owning other peoples time."
"There's something profoundly sad about watching people like Mitt Romney give 'victory' speeches on nights like this when it becomes obvious to any thinking person that they're slipping down the drain."

LimerickDB: Top 150

LimerickDB: Top 150: "His critics insist that Obama
Is Muslim, like evil Osama.
Well, they don't know their biz;
For if that fellow is,
Then so is the damn Dalai Lama."

A curious case of burger blues | Chris Ayres - Times Online

A curious case of burger blues | Chris Ayres - Times Online: "But hang on a minute: isn't the hamburger an icon of Bad Old America, Bush's America, the America that made everyone fat and gave them diabetes? Of course it is, but that's not what the hamburger blues are all about. An American feeling emotional about a hamburger is like a Briton feeling emotional about Concorde: you miss it, you hope it inspires something better in the future, but you don't seriously think that anyone should build another aircraft that seats three people and burns through an oilfield before it reaches New York."

VideoNow Color (and Jr) Video Conversions - VideoHelp.com

VideoNow Color (and Jr) Video Conversions - VideoHelp.com

instructions for hacking the videonow portable video player which are $5.00 at Walmart right now.

MMAFighting.com - Mixed Martial Arts FAQ

MMAFighting.com - Mixed Martial Arts FAQ: "What is the story about Richard Simmons slapping a fighter?
Richard Simmons was arrested on May 24th 2004 when he was charged with assault against Harley Davidson salesman and 'cage fighter' Chris Farney. Simmons was upset when Farney said 'Look, Richard Simmons. Drop you bags, let's rock to the 50's.' Simmons responded with 'It's not nice to make fun of people with issues' and slapped Farney in the face. The charge was later dismissed after the two settled out of court. Although Farney described himself as a cage fighter, he has not participated in any major mixed martial arts show."

Sunday, February 03, 2008

Depleted Cranium � Blog Archive � The Top Ten Things Environmentalists Need to Learn

Depleted Cranium � Blog Archive � The Top Ten Things Environmentalists Need to Learn: "What we have to drive home is that low energy lifestyle = poverty. Unfortunately crap like: ” reach a societal consensus that what we desire is a slower and smaller way of living, a re-conceived notion of success” appeals to some vestigial protestant ethic that still colors our ideas of ‘correctness’."