Strangely calming...

While looking for something else, I ended up running into this blog, which apparently is a blog of a female OSU med student who is turning 24 later this year.

A snippet...

I couldn't sleep last night. My mind raced with unrelated topics: my male "friends"' tendency to act differently toward me on the basis of my relationship status (I find this grating, but whatever); art project ideas combined with a rekindled desire to improve the decor of the apartment; differential diagnoses for Granny's mysterious fatal illness (who but me comes up with this obscure crap at 3 AM?); and of course the continually recurring analysis of love or something like it. I should have known I would end up tossing and turning by the dreaded onset of that impatience I get for life to "happen," which entered me during the evening hours and which will likely persist until God-knows-when.

I have come to realize that boyfriends calm me, bringing satisfaction to the here and now, which becomes dreadfully boring in their absence. When I can't have love, I look for the next best thing: for me, adventure - travel, life dreams, everything big and abstract, and arguably unfulfilled by reality. I am such a dreamer!! My idealism fuels the fire that creates experiences beyond imagination. I have accomplished more than the average joe - shared more, been to more places, loved deeper, thought harder. But that same fire, when I am required by circumstance to succomb to the mundanity of daily living... it burns me up. It makes me uncomfortable.

For some reason, entries like this are really comforting to me. Apparently we're all as crazy as everyone else.

I think that's why comedy is so relaxing. Someone says something that you had no idea anyone else thought... and at that moment you realize everyone is just as crazy as you are. The laughter is your catharsis, really.

So yeah... Rock on, Marcie the med student.

Google Browser Sync

Oh, those Google guys!

Google Browser Sync (Firefox extension)

This Firefox extension will sync your Firefox bookmarks, settings, saved passwords, persistent cookies, etc. onto Google (similar to existing GDrive-type applications) thus causing those bookmarks, settings, etc. show up automagically on every Firefox you use.

For example, you add a bookmark at home. It gets pushed onto Google's server. Later, at the office, you open Firefox... and the bookmark shows up there too!

There are definitely privacy issues (remember: saved passwords can also be sync'd; though you can configure what you want sync'd)... but this may be very convenient for some people who find themselves bouncing from computer to computer to computer.

Technorati Tags: google, google browser sync, firefox, firefox extension, synchronization, bookmarks, cookies, passwords, web 2.0, privacy, google mail, gmail

Google Office

Google is at it again...

Google muscles into online spreadsheets

If you haven't heard, if your business has a domain name, you can have Google handle all of your mail. You'll get the entire Google mail interface and be able to use Google calendar. The only difference is that you'll have e-mail addresses at your domain rather than at gmail.com. In other words, throw away your Microsoft Exchange server, delete Microsoft Office from all of your computers, and use Google mail instead. (and on top of that, all of your users get Google ads and anything else Google wants to give them)

This new move (online spreadsheets) goes right along with Google's idea of replacing the desktop application with the web application. Gradually, slowly but surely, they're going to try replacing all of Microsoft Office with Google apps. Additionally, even if the apps don't have all of the features, as long as they have an important subset, are functional, and extremely convenient, then they may end up being favored.

So it's something to keep your eye on. Those Google guys are sneaky.

Technorati Tags: google, gmail, google mail, spreadsheets, excel, microsoft, microsoft office, productivity, computers, applications

Unethical to pay for eggs but not for sperm?

You can listen to "Defining the Ethics of Stem Cell Research", an NPR interview with a member of NAS discussing ethical issues behind embryonic stem cell research.

One of the things they discuss is that it is unethical to pay women for their eggs. The NAS member says that they want to avoid creating a market for reproductive material.

So what about sperm? (sometimes called "the other white gamete" or "the tiny gamete") People pay men for sperm without giving it a second thought. However, there's just as much genetic material in the nucleus of sperm as there is in an egg. You can't do ANYTHING with (a single) sperm alone, nor can you do anything with an egg alone.

So what's the big deal? Why is it completely okay to have a market for sperm but not a market for eggs? Is it because eggs are a finite resource (per woman) whereas thanks to the miracles of reverse transcription there's always a supply of sperm?

Something just doesn't seem right here.

Technorati Tags: SCNT, embryonic stem cells, npr, news, ethics, reproduction, sperm, ova, medicine, research, science

Tom Moon really phoned this one in...

Today's Song of the Day on NPR is very disappointing.

I'm not saying that this Costello+Toussaint New Orleans inspired combination doesn't deserve some media. I'm not saying it isn't musically appetizing, but this is probably the third or fourth time I've heard about this new album on NPR, and this is definitely the second time I've heard "The River in Reverse" specifically.

NPR's Song of the Day usually introduces me to a new artist or a new song... It adds something new to the rest of the content on NPR. It recognizes that the people who go to NPR's web page to check out the song of the day probably are faithful NPR listeners and are thus well-informed about projects like The River in Reverse (which has gotten so much press that it's basically main stream music).

So maybe Tom Moon was busy today and just needed to throw something together. Figuring that no one would mind if he featured an Elvis Costello song/album about New Orleans, he picked today's song. Well, Mr. Moon, your tricks won't work on me. I know better.

Technorati Tags: elvis costello, allen toussaint, npr, song of the day, tom moon, new orleans, music

Sonya Kitchell is 17

She was born in 1989, and she was recently featured on NPR ATC.

"Kitchell's 'Words' Get an Encouraging Reception"

All Things Considered, June 3, 2006 - At 17, Sonya Kitchell has appeared on Letterman, performed with Herbie Hancock and she has her own CD, Words Came Back to Me. And she wrote every song on the album, a blend of blues, jazz, folk and pop.

Reviewers, comparing her to Joni Mitchell and Norah Jones, marvel at her mature sound. But Kitchell has been at this business for longer than you might think. She wrote her first song when she was 12 years old.

She chats with Howard Berkes about songwriting, her musical roots and how a teenager from rural Massachusetts "gets" the blues.

There are a couple of her songs (one live) available for streaming at the story page. There are also some things available at her website. Check out her albums Words Came Back To Me and Cold Day [EP].

She has a folksy sound that, like the story mentions, sometimes reminds of Norah Jones or even Joni Mitchell. It's not that fascinating that she has this talent at 17, but it's amazing that she's actually able to do something with it. It's not uncommon to find young talent, but it's usually very raw. Her sound already is very mature. It's impressive.

Technorati Tags: sonya kitchell, music, npr, atc, cold day, words came back to me, streaming, folk music, folksy

My d'Feet ALS Walk Page

• Quick link: My d'Feet ALS walk page

Earlier this year, my brother was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). Stephen Hawking was diagnosed with a mild form of this disease in 1963. His story is not common to most people who are diagnosed with ALS. The expected survival time after diagnosis is around 6 years, but there is a significant variance around this expectation.

This was a shock to our family. My father (who is actually not my brother's father; my brother is actually my half brother) was diagnosed with CIPD about a year ago, which has similar symptoms to MS and GBS, but it is treatable (and certainly non fatal). After various IVIG treatments, he is now fine with only remnants of the old symptoms. We were all settling back in to normalcy when we learned about my brother. (ALS is a fatal disease; it is a neuromuscular disease that eventually attacks the diaphragm. It is a wicked disease. The mind is not affected at all by the disease... However it gradually loses control of the body)

The Columbus d'Feet ALS Walk will be held later this week. My brother has started a team there, and I joined that team today to try to help raise money not only to support the ALS association but also to give my brother the emotional support he needs right now.

If you can, please visit my d'Feet ALS walk page. It would be great if you could make even a small donation, join Team Kenny (even as "virtual walker"), or forward the page onto someone else you think could help. I'd really appreciate any help you could give.

Thanks.

Technorati Tags: ALS, d'Feet, ALS association, ALS walk, Lou Gehrig's Disease, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

The Human Behavior Experiments

'The Human Behavior Experiments': Schools for Scandal (audio available shortly)

Court TV and the Sundance Channel are airing a new documentary called The Human Behavior Experiments, which takes a historical look at the psychology of unethical behavior by examining the work of social scientists in the 1960s and 1970s. Television critic Andrew Wallenstein says the documentary is particularly powerful in light of many of today's scandals.

Apparently they show experiments that occurred in the 1960's and 1970's. Apparently these experiments show fairly "normal" people who are convinced to do awful things. Sounds kinda creepy... and interesting.

Technorati Tags: human behavior experiments, courttv, sundance channel, npr, documentary, psychology

School District to Police Students' Online Activities

So this is a little creepy (to me)...

School District to Police Students' Online Activities (audio available shortly)

A suburban Illinois school district is extending its disciplinary policy to the Internet. Administrators at Vernon Hills and Libertyville High Schools maintain that just as students are barred from smoking or drinking anywhere off campus, they can also be punished for posting "inappropriate" material online on sites such as MySpace.com. Sandy Hausman reports.

This new policy in these schools says that teachers and school administrators can respond to things that students post (for example, on MySpace or their own personal blogs) and take action (for example, detention, suspension, etc.).

The law is murky on exactly what is actionable. Some say that they're looking for rumors of off-campus hazing and those sort of activities. However, it may also apply to students talking about smoking. It could even apply to students simply using foul language on-line. It could mean that students in K-12 have no free speech rights.

Parents in the area either largely agree with the policy or have been ignorant. Only one parent showed up (at the school board?) to protest this new policy. It is expected that as students suffer more and more penalties for things they WRITE ON-LINE, more parents will start getting involved.

It is expected that more school districts across the nation are going to start doing this.

What sort of message does this send to kids? Doesn't this teach them to ACCEPT much *MORE* violations of their civil liberties later on life? (from things like the Patriot Act?) Isn't this setting a dangerous precedent?

So watch out... and think about how much your kids' free speech matters to you. (and to the future of the country, really)

Technorati Tags: 1984, free speech, Patriot Act, schools, MySpace, civil liberties, Illinois, news, npr

Table saw that turns off when it touches flesh

When I went to high school, one day someone in shop lost a finger in a table saw. Additionally, once when I was working on one of my own projects with a chop saw, I was moving so quickly that I almost severely damaged my hand. Technologies like this could have prevented both of those things.

A table saw has been invented that will detect when flesh touches the blade, turn off, brake the blade, and pull the blade out of the way of the incoming feed:

Making the Case for a Safer Table Saw

The video (located below the picture in QuickTime or Windows Media formats) really speaks for itself. The creator of the device feeds a piece of wood with a hot dog on top of it into the table saw, and he does it QUICKLY. At the INSTANT the hot dog touches the blade, the electrical characteristics of the blade change (like a touch lamp) and it stops, has a brake applied, and is pulled down into the table saw and out of the way of the feed. The hot dog is hardly nicked.

An interesting side note is that now that this device exists, people who previously thought they just had a lapse of safety judgment that led to their injuries are now seeking litigation against the table saw manufacturers for not taking advantage of technologies like this.

(this actually reminds me of the McDonald's coffee case; if a technology existed to make and store hot coffee without as much risk to someone's skin, would the woman who sued McDonald's receive more support from the public?)

Pretty interesting stuff.

Technorati Tags: SawStop, table saw, safety, power tools, flesh, technology, news, invention, npr