Pot not a major cancer risk

Pot not a major cancer risk: report

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Although both marijuana and tobacco smoke are packed with cancer-causing chemicals, other qualities of marijuana seem to keep it from promoting lung cancer, according to a new report.

The difference rests in the often opposing actions of the nicotine in tobacco and the active ingredient, THC, in marijuana, says Dr. Robert Melamede of the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs.

He reviewed the scientific evidence supporting this contention in a recent issue of Harm Reduction Journal.

Brain Images Reveal Menstral Cycle Patterns

Brain Images Reveal Menstrual Cycle Patterns

For the first time, scientists have pinpointed an area of the brain involved in a woman's menstrual cycle. The research, reported online this week by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows contrasts in activity over the course of a month and provides a baseline for understanding the emotional and behavioral changes that 75 percent of all women report experiencing before, during and after their period.

To capture the activity, Protopopescu examined 12 healthy women between the ages of 22 and 35 while they read a series of negative, neutral and positive words meant to illicit emotional responses. The women were tested before and after their periods and were specifically selected as females who reported having no premenstrual mood symptoms--characterized as irritability, tension, depression, loss of control, sleep-disturbance, fatigue, food cravings, physical symptoms and social withdrawal--in order to provide Protopopescu with a foundation for future studies of women with symptoms.

The scientists found that during the one to five days before menses, the subjects showed greater activity in the middle front part of the brain region and less activity on the sides. After menses, more activity occurred on the sides with less activity showing up in the middle front area. The women reported feeling no mood changes throughout the month, so the researchers offer another explanation for the shift in activity. "Because of what's known about these regions, we speculate that the increase in activity is in some way modulatory," says team leader David Silbersweig, vice chairman for research in Cornell's Department of Psychiatry.

According to the report, the reallocation of activity from one part of the brain region to another may reflect the organ's ability to compensate for hormonal changes and help a woman maintain a consistent emotional state. The scientists are now working to compare these results with imaging work on subjects that experience more severe premenstrual mood symptoms.

Selective Logging Much Worse Than Previously Thought

Selective Logging Fails to Sustain Rainforest

A four-year, comprehensive survey of the Amazon Basin in Brazil reveals that selective logging--the practice of cutting down just one or two tree species in an area--creates an additional 60 to 123 percent more damage than deforestation alone. Combining field surveys with data gathered from a satellite-imaging system that has a resolution as fine as one tree, scientists at the Stanford, Calif., research department of the Carnegie Institution in Washington, D.C., determined that not only have traditional analysis methods missed more than 50 percent of the damage caused by timber harvest, but that selective logging results in 25 percent more greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere than previously thought.

Conventional analysis of satellite data can only detect clear-cut and burned areas, and has been unable to distinguish selective logging hidden by the rainforest's dense canopy. It took Asner and his team eight years to develop a technique that can detect and quantify selective logging by analyzing each pixel in the image for spectral data--which contains information about the extent of vegetation in the forest canopy, the amount of debris on the forest floor and how much bare soil is exposed--while also taking into consideration climate conditions.

In short, they determined that for every tree removed, 30 more will become severely damaged.That's because selective logging is inherently destructive, the team says. When a tree is cut down, vines growing between it and other trees will pull down neighbors. The space that opens up becomes dry and susceptible to burning. Additionally, tractors and skidders used to remove the hardwoods destroy the forest floor and promote additional logging.

What's more, felled trees, the decomposing debris left behind on the forest floor and the large amounts of sawdust produced at sawmills release carbon dioxide gas into the atmosphere. Traditional deforestation unleashes 400 million tons of carbon every year, and Asner and his colleagues estimate selective logging produces an additional 100 million tons.

Asner is making his research available to the Brazilian government that is now charged with enforcing logging laws across an area even more afflicted that previously thought.

Change in U.S. Nuclear Policy

Apparently the DOD is proposing a change in U.S. nuclear policy that would allow the U.S. to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear states. The policy has been that nuclear weapons could only be used in response to a nuclear attack. Apparently they want to revise that.

I guess this means that all of those hilljacks who say, "I just think they should nuke all of them A-rabs," might get their wish.

More Than 470 Physicists Sign Petition To Oppose U.S. Policy On Nuclear Attack

More than 470 physicists, including seven Nobel laureates, have signed a petition to oppose a new U.S. Defense Department proposal that allows the United States to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear states.

The petition was started by two physics professors at the University of California, San Diego, Kim Griest and Jorge Hirsch, who said they felt an obligation to speak out about the nuclear policy change because their profession brought nuclear weapons into the world 60 years ago.

They and other prominent physicists who signed the petition—which will be delivered to members of Congress, scientific professional societies and the news media—object to the new policy because it blurs the sharp line between nuclear weapons and conventional, chemical and biological weapons.

“While it has long been a U.S. policy to use nuclear weapons in order to respond to a nuclear attack,” said Hirsch, “the new policy allows the U.S. to use nuclear weapons against states that do not have nuclear weapons and for a host of new reasons, including rapid termination of a conflict on U.S. terms or to ensure success of the U.S. forces.”

Google "failure"

Google "failure" and see what you get. The first link is George W. Bush's Whitehouse.gov Biography. The second link is MichaelMore.com, which documents why GWBush is a failure.

A while ago someone noticed that Googling "stalker net" gave you OSU's people search as the first link. The people search has been affectionally referred to as "stalker net" around OSU for years, so this is pretty funny.

It turns out this whole phenomenon is due to Google bombing, which involves how Google does its page rank. James Surowiecki's The Wisdom of Crowds includes an interesting discussion of Google's page rank algorithm which uses votes cast by links from pages, with each vote being weighted more heavily if it comes from a page that has a lot of votes itself.

Anyway, the point is that so many people link "failure" to the Bush bio that it pops up on Google as the #1 link. That's pretty funny.

Press 1 and Stop Whining on National TV!

So I caught some Wheel of Fortune tonight. At the end of the show, Vanna White killed some dead air complaining about cell phone companies. Her complaint was that when you leave a voicemail, you have to waste a good 30 seconds listening to the cell phone schpeal about pressing different numbers for different options. She was saying it's a big conspiracy between the cell phone companies to get other cell phone users to spend more time on the phone while leaving a message.

First of all, it was silly to hear a woman who can afford a really great cell phone plan complain about losing minutes when she leaves a voicemail...

However, she might have a little bit of a point. Clearly she (and lots of people I run into) doesn't realize that you don't have to wait through that schpeal every time, so these people are spending lots more time per voicemail than they need to be. And years ago most of the cell phone companies standardized the voicemail interface so that they could all equally screw people... but...

If you press 1, it skips the whole thing and lets you leave a voicemail immediately.

SO REGARDLESS, **PRESS 1** and stop whining.

White House is Peeling The Onion

White House to Onion: Stop using seal

Symbol 'being used inappropriately,' says spokesman

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The White House is not amused by The Onion, a newspaper that often spoofs the Bush administration, and has asked it to stop using the presidential seal on its Web site.

The seal was still on the Web site www.theonion.com on Tuesday at the spot where President George W. Bush's weekly radio address is parodied.

With headlines like "Bush To Appoint Someone To Be In Charge Of Country" and "Bush Subconsciously Sizes Up Spain For Invasion," The Onion is popular with readers looking for a little laughter with their politics.

White House spokesman Trent Duffy said people who work in the executive mansion do have a sense of humor, but not when it comes to breaking regulations.

Scott Dikkers, editor-in-chief of the satirical newspaper, said its lawyer disagrees with the White House assessment.

"I've been seeing the presidential seal used in comedy programs most of my life and to my knowledge none of them have been asked not to use it by the White House," Dikkers said.

"I would advise them to look for that other guy Osama (bin Laden) ... rather than comedians. I don't think we pose much of a threat," Dikkers said.

Is Turkey really surprised that the EU doesn't want them?

20 fined for using letters W and Q

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) -- A Turkish court has fined 20 people for using the letters Q and W on placards at a Kurdish new year celebration, under a law that bans use of characters not in the Turkish alphabet, rights campaigners said.

The court in the southeastern city of Siirt fined each of the 20 people 100 new lira ($75.53) for holding up the placards, written in Kurdish, at the event last year. The letters Q and W do not exist in the Turkish alphabet.

The 1928 Law on the Adoption and Application of Turkish Letters changed the Turkish alphabet from the Arabic script to a modified Latin script and required all signs, advertising, newspapers and official documents to only use Turkish letters.

Synergy: Whole greater than sum of its parts

FDA approves first brain stem cell transplant

This is good news. However, there are still comments like this:

Such an experiment showed promise in Batten-afflicted mice, but such an ethically charged test has never been tried before in humans.

"I'm sure there is no threat to anyone's identity," said Arthur Caplan, director of the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Bioethics. "But we are starting down that road."

If I get a new heart or a new liver, am I not the same person that I was before the transplant? If someone with a brain disease (cancer, for example) requires surgery on that brain, are they not the same person coming out of that? Those people who have strokes that are very different afterwards still are the same people as before.

A few cells in an area of the brain that are not related to personality is not going to magically change the person into some mix of half the old person and half the donor person. What makes a person unique is a very complicated mechanism with lots of redundancies that results from emergent behaviors from very complex networks all over the body. It seems silly to think that a few cells with tip the balance in favor of 50% old person and 50% new person. It's just silly.

And then this stuff...

What's more, some of the brain cells to be implanted will be derived from aborted fetuses, which Caplan also said raised ethical concerns for some.

What ethical concerns? It's not like the fetuses can still develop after abortion. Are they worried about fetuses grown specifically for their brain cells?

Have these people ever met someone who could benefit from stem cell transplants? Have these people ever met families and friends of such people? Can they possibly justify slowing down this inevitible research that can do so much for these poor people?

Alaska a magnet for problem priests?

This relates to the previous post, I think.

Alaska a magnet for problem priests?

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- A recent string of lawsuits accusing Roman Catholic priests of molesting children has reinforced suspicions among some critics of the church that remote Alaska was a dumping ground for problem clergy.

"I absolutely believe that church officials intentionally sent abusive priests to minor communities, transient communities, where kids may be less apt to tell and have less faith in the justice system," said David Clohessy, national director of Chicago-based Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

Four priests who served in Alaska have been sued over the past two weeks, with the most recent case brought Thursday against a Jesuit accused of molesting a 14-year-old girl in 1980 in the Eskimo village of St. Marys, some 500 miles southwest of Fairbanks.

All together, 12 priests who served in Alaska have been publicly accused of sexual misconduct. Most of the alleged abuse occurred in remote villages, and most of the alleged victims were Alaska Natives.

Patrick Wall, a former Benedictine priest and consultant for a Costa Mesa, California, law firm that has worked on more than 300 church abuse allegations nationwide, said rural Alaska was a prime place to send abusive priests. Alaska's isolation and its cultural reverence for authority figures, such as elders and priests, meant parishioners would be less likely to speak up.

The number of priests accused is a small percentage of the 500 who served in Alaska between 1959 and 2002. But Wall said he has interviewed more than 100 Alaskans who have complained of abuse, and "I'm quite sure that by the time this runs its course, we can expect over 200 clients."

"What a bunch of arbitrary bull" or "Holy shit"

Summary of Vatican meeting described in Vatican says firm 'no' to married priests (I'm not making this shit up):

• Despite priest shortage, priests still cannot marry. However, existing priests should pray that more young people get involved in the church. While waiting for God to get more young people involved, churches with excess priests should send their extras to those who need more. (it's weird that you would pray for such a thing. Don't you think God would already be looking out for the church? And if leaving the church alone is a part of his testing of faith, you would think it would be silly to suggest praying for more priests... Is there something inconsistent here?)


• Politicians who condone abortion are really bad people and deserve very hard slaps on the wrist; however, priests should hesitate to deny them communion. (the wafer producers lobbied hard for that part)


• People who divorce and remarry must be sure that their old married was annulled. If they cannot get it annulled, their new marriage must be considered a "loyal and trustworthy friendship" and they cannot have sex. Otherwise their situation "objectively contrasts with God's law" and they cannot receive communion. (though communion can still be given to priests who have a history of sex with altar boys)


• Priests need to prepare better homilies. In particular, priests need to consider some different places to put the "sign of peace" during Mass rituals. (further confirming that most high priests are closet homosexuals who had families that wouldn't let them go to interior design school)

Vatican says firm 'no' to married priests

Decisions made on politicians, remarriage and divorce

VATICAN CITY (AP) -- While acknowledging the acute shortage of priests in the Roman Catholic Church, bishops from around the world reaffirmed the church's stance on celibacy for priests Saturday in a set of 50 recommendations they agreed to submit to Pope Benedict XVI.

The proposals, meant for the pope to consider in a future document on the Eucharist, also dealt with whether Communion should be denied to Catholic politicians who support laws that contradict church teaching, such as the right to abortion, as well as the plight of Catholics who divorce and remarry without getting an annulment.

But the final recommendation reaffirmed the "inestimable gift of ecclesiastical celibacy" and said the idea of ordaining "viri probati" was a "path not to follow," according to the list of the propositions released by the Vatican.

The proposition also called for Catholics to pray for new priests, for pastors to encourage young people to go into the priesthood, and for bishops to be more willing to share their priests with dioceses in need if they have a surplus.

Among their other recommendations, the bishops said Catholic politicians should realize their "grave social responsibility" and not support laws that contrast with church teaching.

But no blanket recommendation was made on whether the politicians should be denied Communion, with a final proposal saying local bishops "should exercise the virtues of firmness and prudence taking into account concrete local situations."

Another major issue of the synod was how to deal with Catholics who divorce and remarry without getting an annulment. Church teaching says such Catholics cannot receive Communion because their situation "objectively contrasts with God's law."

The bishops reaffirmed church policy but called for these people to make "every possible effort" to have their previous marriages annulled. If the marriages cannot be declared invalid, the couple should celebrate their new marriage as a "loyal and trustworthy friendship" -- meaning they shouldn't consummate it.

Other propositions reaffirmed the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council, called for priests to prepare better homilies and suggested some changes to particular Mass rituals, such as the placement of the "sign of peace" during Mass.

WTF?

Apparently one of the recipients of a home from "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" has served some time for some crimes he's done in the past. Oh, and he also only has one arm because he had to cut the other one off himself after his arm got caught in a winch and was gradually being pulled into it.

Even though this guy has served time and paid his debt to society, people say that he shouldn't be chosen to receive a reward like this. I was really surprised to find out that a large majority of CNN voters also have a problem with him being on the show -- this is one of the few times when the CNN vote goes the way of the morons.

I think this is related to my previous post about the Pennsylvania county that is trying to take a newborn baby away from parents because the father was convicted of a sex crime in 1983 and the mother has drugs in her history.

People have a messed up view of justice and fairness.

Report: 'Makeover' winner has criminal record

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) -- A disabled lobsterman who received a $500,000 log home from the TV show "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" in an episode yet to be aired has a criminal past, including an armed robbery conviction, The Portland Press Herald reported Thursday.

And I thought Splinter was a radical rat...

Cunning rat outsmarts scientists

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- A rat released on a deserted island off New Zealand outsmarted scientists and evaded traps, baits and sniffer dogs before being captured four months later on a neighboring island, researchers said on Wednesday.

Scientists from the University of Auckland in New Zealand released the Norway rat on the 23.5-acre island of Motuhoropapa to find out why rats are so difficult to eradicate.

Despite all their efforts, including fitting the rat with a radio collar, they couldn't catch the crafty creature.

After 10 weeks on the island the rodent decided it had had enough. It swam 400 meters, the longest distance recorded for a rat across open sea, to another rat-free island where it was eventually captured in a trap baited with penguin meat several weeks later.

The Norway rat, which is also called the brown or sewer rat, is a husky rodent that weighs about 11 ounces and has a long tail.

Ritualistic Christians will take your first born child

Sure, these aren't the most model citizens. The father was a sex offender back in 1983. The mother has been involved with drugs. But is that enough to warrant taking the mother's first born child not even 24 hours after the mother went through delivery? Is that right?

A judge actually had to put a restraining order on the COUNTY due to their prior harassment of this couple!

Crazy Pennsylvanians...

Officials try to seize sex offender's baby

Pennsylvania hospital refuses to hand over newborn

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania (AP) -- Child-welfare officials obtained an emergency court order to seize a baby just 24 hours after he was born, contending the infant would be unsafe because his father is a convicted sex offender.

The agency expressed concerns that the boy could be in danger because his 53-year-old father, DaiShin WolfHawk, was convicted of rape and sodomy more than two decades ago in New York.

The WolfHawks had already gone to court because county officials were asking about the pregnancy. A federal judge placed a temporary restraining order on county officials to keep them from doing so.

DaiShin WolfHawk said he and his wife were "appalled" at the county's actions.

The Dangers of Antibacterial Soap

Do antibacterial soaps work?

FDA advisers say they're no better than regular soap

The agency has the authority to order warning labels on the products or place restrictions on how they are marketed to the public. Susan Johnson, associate director of nonprescription products for the FDA, said the agency would pay close attention to the panel's concerns.

Dr. Stuart B. Levy, president of the Alliance for Prudent Use of Antibiotics, said laboratory studies have suggested the soaps sometimes leave behind bacteria that have a better ability to flush threatening substances -- from antibacterial soap chemicals to antibiotics -- from their system.

"What we're seeing is evolution in action," he said of the process.

He advocated restricting antibacterial products from consumer use, leaving them solely for hospitals and homes with very sick people.

Panelists also distinguished alcohol-based hand cleansers from antibacterial soaps and washes. The cleansers are particularly useful in situations in which soap and water are not available.

Norm Coleman Really Cares...

So this is funny... (it's funny even beyond the press's misunderstanding of what ICANN does)

Lawmakers urge U.S. to keep control of Web

Norm Coleman, one of the most evil people in the history of the world who has a history of burning books, supporting neo-Nazi organizations, mandating that children wear blindfolds in schools so that they don't accidentally read anything, and lots of other Republican-supported content suppresion techniques, is looking out for FREE SPEACH now. He's worried that if ICANN is handed over to the UN that other countries that have a history of suppression are going to start censoring content on the web . . .

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- U.S. lawmakers are urging the Bush administration to resist a push from other countries to shift control of the Internet to the United Nations, arguing that such a move would stifle innovation and free expression.

"Is it going to become a vehicle for global taxation of domain names? Are you going to allow folks who have demonstrated a pattern of suppression of content, are they going to be put in charge of running this thing?" said Minnesota Republican Sen. Norm Coleman, sponsor of a Senate resolution that calls for the Internet's core addressing system to remain under U.S. control.

Well, that sounds noble, right? Republicans standing up for our civil liberties! That's right! Go blue!

Hey, what's this?

ICANN agreed to suspend work on a proposed .xxx domain name for sex sites after the Bush administration objected in August.

Despite the nonprofit group's flaws, "I don't think anyone would argue that there is any demonstrated effort to limit access, to control content, to limit growth. If anything ICANN has overseen a tremendous positive expansion," Coleman said.

Huh. I thought here in the United States we supported free speach... xxx top-level domain name (TLD)? Bring it on! If people want to express themselves that way, that's great! But if that's the case, then why is the Bush administration suppressing the xxx TLD?

A long time ago I saw a color-coded chart of all the countries in the world that listed the amount of censorship of the web. Of course, the least free countries were places like China and Russia and a number of backward little countries that you'd only visit if you were gauranteed a chance at a million bucks if you survived the visit... The U.S. certainly wasn't that bad, but it was nowhere near the top of the list of most free countries.

So I think it's funny that Norm Coleman is probably afraid that if the ICANN is moved out of the U.S., "dangerous" TLD's like xxx will start popping up.

I really can't stand that man.

Way to go, South Korea

S. Korea Lab Aims to Be Global Supplier of Stem Cells

I heard this on NPR this morning as well. This is ballsy. The South Koreans are going to open an embryonic stem cell bank and going to make it available to scientists from all over the world, including the United States. This is a major effort to side-step efforts by the Bush administration to maintain the status quo and push us further into a time that looks increasingly like the dark ages every day. I think this is great -- it just goes to show that regardless of what the social conservatives want, the rest of the world is going to move in the right direction and we'll all have no chioce but to follow them eventually.

As a side note, it really upsets me that social conservatives feel that the law is a good place to force their will on everyone else. If they're really so excited about getting to heaven, wouldn't they want to keep it from getting too crowded there?

Oct. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Researchers in South Korea said they will make the human embryonic stem-cell advances that caused a stir in recent months available to laboratories in the U.S. and elsewhere.

A new center called the World Stem Cell Hub under the direction of Hwang Woo Suk at the Seoul National University Hospital will create and store human embryonic stem cells for use by researchers in the U.S. and other nations, according to the university.

The center ``will open a new chapter in the history in bio- medicine by training new researchers and spurring global collaboration,'' said South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun, who attended an opening ceremony today. Roh said the government ``will give its full support for the World Stem Cell Hub to play a central role in global life science research.''

Creation of the center will extend South Korea's global lead in stem-cell research by attracting funds from U.S. foundations seeking to create new treatments for diabetes, Parkinson's disease and other ailments, experts in the field said.

``To my knowledge, the only team that can reliably produce disease-specific and patient-specific human embryonic stem cells is the team in Korea,'' said Shane Smith, science director of the Santa Barbara, California-based Children's Neurobiological Solutions Foundation, in a telephone interview yesterday.

New Homework Template

Apparently if you search on-line for a LaTeX homework template my homework template pops up as the second link, and the first homework template is pretty sparse.

What's funny is that now people in the college are coming up to me and asking me if I'm Ted, and when I say I am, they're saying that they really like my homework template. So that's kinda fun.

Anyway, since I put together my first template, I've made some improvements and added a macro to easily include MATLAB scripts with syntax highlighting, line numbering, and a few other fun features. It would be easy to modify for other languages supported by the listings package.

To check out the new templates (and a slightly updated version of the old template), see my Example Homework Template for Homework Assignments and Similar.

The homework template also works well for other things that need a snazzy header and footer.

Technorati Tags: latex, homework, template, homework template, latex homework template

Campus Sex

Sex - There is more going down in residence halls than studying

Students are creative and resourceful when tackling a common pastime - sex.

"It was the second week of classes my freshman year. I woke up to go to the bathroom around 2 a.m. I walked through the common room to see a fantastic display on my dry-clean only blanket," said Miranda Vieson, a junior in animal sciences.

Need a condom? Information on gonorrhea? Bluvstein, a freshman in exploration, took on the role of dispensing both. On the ninth floor of Stradley Hall, Bluvstein's door is decorated with STD pamphlets and condoms.

"I wanted to give people a laugh," Bluvstein said. "And if someone needs a condom they can come and take one. I don't need all 50, just 25."

Thank God for the Drug War

Hospital patient taken to face U.S. marijuana charge

Lawyer: 'This is totally inhumane'

SEATTLE, Washington (AP) -- An Army veteran who fled to Canada to avoid prosecution for growing marijuana to treat his chronic pain was taken from a hospital, driven to the border with a catheter still attached, and turned over to U.S. officials, his lawyer said.

Steven W. Tuck then went five days with no medical treatment and only ibuprofen for the pain, the attorney said.

Tuck, 38, was still fitted with the urinary catheter when he shuffled into federal court Wednesday for a detention hearing Wednesday.

"This is totally inhumane. He's been tortured for days for no reason," Hiatt said.

Tuck suffered debilitating injuries in the 1980s when his parachute failed to open during a jump. Those injuries were exacerbated by a car crash in 1990, Hiatt said, and Tuck was using marijuana for chronic pain.

In 2001, while Tuck was living in McKinleyville, California, his marijuana operation was raided for the second time. He fled to British Columbia to avoid prosecution but asylum was denied.

Tuck checked last Friday into a Vancouver hospital for prostate problems and was arrested there by Canadian authorities.

Richard Cowan, a friend, said he was with Tuck at the hospital when authorities arrested him.

"I would not believe it unless I had seen it," Cowan said. "They sent people in to arrest him while he was on a gurney. They took him out of the hospital in handcuffs, put him in an SUV, and drove him to the border."

 

Marketing Under-the-Feminist-Skin

Marketplace: TV ads: perfect fit?

Advertisers are edging their themes right up to the under-the-feminist-skin line. Or wait, are they crossing it? Andrea Gardner takes a closer look.

You have to listen to it, but it's an interesting piece. I recommend it. It's interseting, amusing, and illuminating.
 

Don't Date Him Girl

Don't Date Him Girl Homepage

DontDateHimGirl.com is revolutionizing the way women date! Browse our search engine of cheating men right now! Finally, a way for women to check a guy out BEFORE dating, marrying or otherwise committing to him! Warn other women about the men who have cheated on you! Register and become a member today! You'll receive our free newsletter and other valuable goodies just for women! It's fast, easy and best of all, it's free!

An example entry:

This guy is Tom. We've been together for almost 8 years. I found his profile, using this photo that I took of him on our vacation 6 weeks ago, on a swingers website. He's also known to visit other assorted, less-than-desirable, dating websites. He markets himself as a warm and good person. BEWARE!

 

Too bad about the mercury...

Study: Fish-eaters stay sharper with age

CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- Eating fish at least once a week is good for the brain, slowing age-related mental decline by the equivalent of three to four years, a study suggests.

The research adds to the growing evidence that a fish-rich diet helps keep the mind sharp. Previous studies found that people who ate fish lowered their risk of Alzheimer's disease and stroke. Fish such as salmon and tuna that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids also have been shown to prevent heart disease.

It's too bad that lack of regulation has let American companies poison the fish supply . . .

I think conservatives must LIKE Alzeimer's disease. First you poison the fish supply that helps prevent people from getting it, and THEN you outlaw embryonic stem cell research that could cure it. I think conservatives just want people to start forgetting things as soon as possible. That might help them to continue to get reelected -- just make sure the electorate cna't remember how incompetent you are.
 

The Microsoft goose screws the gander

So Microsoft wants to start a subscription audio service. Microsoft is big into subscriptions. They're really big into licensing, royalties, etc. Someday you will pay Microsoft a monthly fee to drive your car because embedded software in it has components that originate with Microsoft... Microsoft is the king of royalties.

So they got together with the record companies to put together a subscription music service.

Microsoft, Music Labels Aren't Singing Same Tune

LOS ANGELES -- After weeks of negotiations, Microsoft has suspended talks with the four major record companies over licensing terms for a new online music-subscription service, according to people familiar with the talks.

The sources said the software giant broke off the discussions in Los Angeles on Friday. They had reached an impasse with the companies over royalty rates.

Apparently Microsoft said that all the royalties the record companies were charging were making the service far too expensive. Microsoft was fed up with all the royalties it would have to pay them!!

I hate that company, and if you work for them, I hate you too. There are no exceptions. There are plenty of good jobs out there. You have no excuse.
 

200GB iPod nano

Ipod Nano 200gb Instructions/Page 1

Now you have 200gb of storage space, fill it up with songs! We found in our benchmarking results that the addition of the ATA hard drive adversely affected battery life. However, we believe that this is a small price to pay for an over 50x increase in storage capacity. Using Apple's own bitrate calculations, we can now store over 150,000 minutes of music! You'll never listen to the same song twice. This is such a great advantage over the original model that we urge all iPod Nano owners to upgrade immediately.

Dirty little babies

Babies are just incubators for awful things...

Study: Sick kids may signal start of flu season

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Preschoolers may signal the arrival of flu season: Thirty days after hacking 3- and 4-year-olds start showing up in doctors' offices and emergency rooms, flu-ridden adults follow.

It's a provocative discovery sure to bolster growing calls to vaccinate more healthy children against influenza -- to help keep the misery from spreading.

Sometimes I refer to "Thanksgiving" as "the day my neices and nephews try to kill me with their germs."
 

Do you think this is a dumb question?

I think every CNN.com QuickVote should be modified so that along with the question of "interest," there is also a, "Do you think this is a dumb question?" That way when they ask, "Given recent events, are you paying more attention to weather reports?" they'll also have a record that 80% of the people who read that question think that the author is a moron.