Our resident rocket scientist
From The Big Bang Theory.
November 1, 2008
Fall back
Remember to set back your clocks tonight. It could save your life.
Full article.
Turning your clock back one hour Sunday for the end of daylight-saving time could do your own ticker some good.
Researchers have found a 5 percent drop in heart-attack deaths and hospitalizations the day after clocks are reset each year to standard time, according to a study in the new issue of The New England Journal of Medicine...
The culprit is probably sleep. Scientists have known that sleep deprivation is bad for the heart — the body responds by boosting blood pressure, heart rate and the tendency to form dangerous clots — but they didn't realize one hour could have a measurable effect...
The researchers found the typical number of heart attacks on an autumn Monday was 2,140, but that fell to an average of 2,038 on the Monday after daylight-saving time ended, a 5 percent decline. The rate also dipped on five of the other six days of the week, although none of those drops was large enough to be considered statistically significant.
In the spring, the number of heart attacks spiked on the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday after daylight-saving time began. The increases ranged from 6 percent to 10 percent.
Full article.
October 31, 2008
Trick or treater codes
A little intel passed along from kid to kid - chalk symbols at the end of the driveways. More found here. I would love it if kids actually did this.
Oh, and the doorbell only rang twice again this year. Maybe I should check the driveway.
Halloween
Halloween has never been a big deal for me. I have had a couple good costumes over the years - the first time I shaved my head was for a Jay Buhner costume, and I had a good Colonel Sanders costume complete with the white suit and hair. But these days I am happy to skip both the festivities and trying to figure out a costume.
In 2006, we were going to be out of town for Halloween, so there was no chance to go to a Halloween party. I was off the hook, or so I thought. The friends we were traveling with brought costumes across the country so they could dress up for the holiday. We walked around Washington D.C. and the wife and I were the odd ones out.
The last few years we have only had two groups of kids come trick or treating at our door. Not sure if this is a sign of the times or just our neighborhood. Parents of kids who take in the annual buckets of candy may want to hide this mornings paper. There was an article on the front page titled "Cavity-fighting trick: Eat treats at once". From the article:
Spooky.
In 2006, we were going to be out of town for Halloween, so there was no chance to go to a Halloween party. I was off the hook, or so I thought. The friends we were traveling with brought costumes across the country so they could dress up for the holiday. We walked around Washington D.C. and the wife and I were the odd ones out.
The last few years we have only had two groups of kids come trick or treating at our door. Not sure if this is a sign of the times or just our neighborhood. Parents of kids who take in the annual buckets of candy may want to hide this mornings paper. There was an article on the front page titled "Cavity-fighting trick: Eat treats at once". From the article:And on the political silly season side of things, we have this poll - “Spirit Halloween Presidential Index”. It is based on nationwide sales of Halloween masks in the month(s) leading up to the election. Mask sales at Spirit Halloween have accurately predicted the winner in the last seven presidential elections.Here's Halloween advice from a dentist, if not a dietitian: Let your kids eat their sugary booty in one sitting.
Dental decay is on the rise again among U.S. preschoolers, and frequent treats may be one culprit. But the amount of starchy, sticky foods children eat may matter less than how often they eat them. That's because enamel-eroding acids linger in the mouth for 20 minutes after each snack session.
So allowing your little princess to devour her Halloween haul instead of doling it out piecemeal is a lesser evil "from the point of view of cavities..."
Spooky.
October 30, 2008
Early bird gets the...bad news first
My friend has been trying to get a catch phrase started. "Up with the concrete guys" for those days you get up and get going extra early. "I'm not sure why the concrete guys are up before dawn, but it has something to do with not sitting in traffic with a truckload of wet concrete, and then not pouring the stuff midday when it stiffens and cracks before it's even smoothed out."
I have one to add today - I was up before the bakers this morning. I am not an early riser, so rather than have breakfast at home, I stopped off at Safeway for a pastry to eat while I drove. And when I got there the cupboard was bare. As I stared forlornly at the empty display case, a kind worker headed toward the back to see if anything was ready. She brought out a tray glazed donuts. One less decision to be made for the day.
One benefit to being up when all is quiet, there is nothing to drown out the metal on metal brake scraping noise. Not sure how long that has been going on, but off to the mechanic I go. I called the dealer and I was quoted $500 if the rotors could be turned, and $800 if not. I have a coupon for a local shop for $50 per axle, with some fine print of course. They wouldn't quote me anything over the phone for my specific vehicle, but offered a free inspection. Going to the mechanic is never cheap. We'll see if they detail all the charges up front or surprise me with some line items with suspicious codes.
Crap.
UPDATE:
Well the rotors needed to be replaced. Not a big surprise since I was hearing metal on metal this morning. There were also a few extra hidden charges, also not a surprise but irritating. Final total with hazmat, supplies and other fees was $375. Not terrible. The rear brakes apparently still have 50% of their life left, so I got that going for me, which is nice.
I have one to add today - I was up before the bakers this morning. I am not an early riser, so rather than have breakfast at home, I stopped off at Safeway for a pastry to eat while I drove. And when I got there the cupboard was bare. As I stared forlornly at the empty display case, a kind worker headed toward the back to see if anything was ready. She brought out a tray glazed donuts. One less decision to be made for the day.
One benefit to being up when all is quiet, there is nothing to drown out the metal on metal brake scraping noise. Not sure how long that has been going on, but off to the mechanic I go. I called the dealer and I was quoted $500 if the rotors could be turned, and $800 if not. I have a coupon for a local shop for $50 per axle, with some fine print of course. They wouldn't quote me anything over the phone for my specific vehicle, but offered a free inspection. Going to the mechanic is never cheap. We'll see if they detail all the charges up front or surprise me with some line items with suspicious codes.
Crap.
UPDATE:
Well the rotors needed to be replaced. Not a big surprise since I was hearing metal on metal this morning. There were also a few extra hidden charges, also not a surprise but irritating. Final total with hazmat, supplies and other fees was $375. Not terrible. The rear brakes apparently still have 50% of their life left, so I got that going for me, which is nice.
October 29, 2008
Team of Rivals
I just finished Team of Rivals - The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
. It is a great picture of the man and the times.
The "Team of Rivals" which would be Lincoln's cabinet included the three major competitors for the Republican nomination in 1960 - William Seward, Salmon Chase and Edward Bates. The beginning of the book (after a brief leap forward to the day of the Republican convention) follows the early private and public lives of the four candidates.
Lincoln was far and away the least known of the four. He had a pretty spotty political career up to that point. He had served 8 years in the state legislature from 1832 - 1842 and 2 years as a US Congressman 1847-1849. Within two weeks of being in Congress, he questioned the validity of our war with Mexico. It is likely that led to his unsuccessful bid for re-election.
He was politically outmaneuvered for the Senate race in 1854 and pulled his name for the good of the party even though he had garnered the most votes. He was gracious in defeat. Both the winner and the orchestrator of the defeat would help him in later campaigns. Not harboring bitterness and looking at the big picture would mark mark his life and presidency. As he said in his second inaugural address, "With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right."
Lincoln's inexperience relative to the others worked in his favor in 1860. In the campaign for the presidential nomination, the other three candidates had created a number of enemies in their time in the public eye. Lincoln stayed in the background and was strategic in his pursuit of office this time around. When he won the election, he offered cabinet positions to the three other candidates. He filled other positions in the cabinet with people from other parties, both to provide balance and to help unite fractured parties.
The south was on its way to secession as Lincoln took office. His presidency would be marked by balancing different factions in the country and in his party. He was not the loudest advocate for the end of slavery, though it was very important to him. He thought that bringing the Union back together was the primary goal of the war and his presidency. He was often slow to move as he tried to predict (or prepare) the countries readiness to accept change, but he never wavered in his pursuit of the greatest good. He presented the Emancipation Proclomation when it had the best chance to garner support, though it had been written for some time.
His cabinet, at least initially, was fractious. Differing beliefs, ambitions and ego sizes led to clashes and fights for power. It wasn't long though before they came to understand Lincoln's wisdom and they came to respect him immensely. "His avoidance of extremes...(was) the natural consequence of an equable nature and a mental constitution that is never off balance."
He was a brilliant man, and the perfect man for the time. The book does a wonderful job of telling the history, giving insight into Lincoln and his contemporaries, and confirming how fortunate we were to have him as a president.
Five stars, two thumbs up.
. It is a great picture of the man and the times. The "Team of Rivals" which would be Lincoln's cabinet included the three major competitors for the Republican nomination in 1960 - William Seward, Salmon Chase and Edward Bates. The beginning of the book (after a brief leap forward to the day of the Republican convention) follows the early private and public lives of the four candidates.
Lincoln was far and away the least known of the four. He had a pretty spotty political career up to that point. He had served 8 years in the state legislature from 1832 - 1842 and 2 years as a US Congressman 1847-1849. Within two weeks of being in Congress, he questioned the validity of our war with Mexico. It is likely that led to his unsuccessful bid for re-election.
He was politically outmaneuvered for the Senate race in 1854 and pulled his name for the good of the party even though he had garnered the most votes. He was gracious in defeat. Both the winner and the orchestrator of the defeat would help him in later campaigns. Not harboring bitterness and looking at the big picture would mark mark his life and presidency. As he said in his second inaugural address, "With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right."
Lincoln's inexperience relative to the others worked in his favor in 1860. In the campaign for the presidential nomination, the other three candidates had created a number of enemies in their time in the public eye. Lincoln stayed in the background and was strategic in his pursuit of office this time around. When he won the election, he offered cabinet positions to the three other candidates. He filled other positions in the cabinet with people from other parties, both to provide balance and to help unite fractured parties.
The south was on its way to secession as Lincoln took office. His presidency would be marked by balancing different factions in the country and in his party. He was not the loudest advocate for the end of slavery, though it was very important to him. He thought that bringing the Union back together was the primary goal of the war and his presidency. He was often slow to move as he tried to predict (or prepare) the countries readiness to accept change, but he never wavered in his pursuit of the greatest good. He presented the Emancipation Proclomation when it had the best chance to garner support, though it had been written for some time.
His cabinet, at least initially, was fractious. Differing beliefs, ambitions and ego sizes led to clashes and fights for power. It wasn't long though before they came to understand Lincoln's wisdom and they came to respect him immensely. "His avoidance of extremes...(was) the natural consequence of an equable nature and a mental constitution that is never off balance."
He was a brilliant man, and the perfect man for the time. The book does a wonderful job of telling the history, giving insight into Lincoln and his contemporaries, and confirming how fortunate we were to have him as a president.
Five stars, two thumbs up.
October 28, 2008
Voter assistance
Don't want to leave any blanks on your ballot? If you are a Washington state voter, check out votingforjudges.org for some information on judges vying for your vote.
Postcards from the edge
Shouts of "terrorist" and "kill him", politicians talking about "real" Americans living only in small pockets of America, a congresswoman hoping the "American media would take a great look at the views of the people in Congress and find out, are they pro-America or anti-America?" - I almost miss the Swift Boat campaign. Almost
Nearly every election produces attack ads that go beyond the opponents policies and begin attacking the person, but this is the first in my fuzzy memory that goes to the level of implying that the person on the other side of the ticket is evil and spells the end of America.
I have received a couple of e-mails in the past week. The first one was a call to prayer - prayer against Obama winning the presidency. Quotes from this e-mail include:
Nearly every election produces attack ads that go beyond the opponents policies and begin attacking the person, but this is the first in my fuzzy memory that goes to the level of implying that the person on the other side of the ticket is evil and spells the end of America.
I have received a couple of e-mails in the past week. The first one was a call to prayer - prayer against Obama winning the presidency. Quotes from this e-mail include:
"Why are we Christians settling for the loss of our Christian heritage, not issuing a battle cry and falling to our knees and taking our country back?...We should be afraid, very afraid because our apathy is leading us to perdition...Maybe McCain on his own cannot defeat Obama, but our God can and He will if we take to our knees in prayer and raise a mighty cry to the heavens...change which I fear will be away from our Christian ideals, and away from Christ, and further away from one nation under God to one nation under Allah."
A second e-mail begins by comparing Barack Obama to Fidel Castro. The e-mail goes on to wonder when "the American people are forced to take to their boats, rafts and inner tubes ... where do we go?" Another portion of the same e-mail states that:
"If the liberals win, then our foundation will no longer be based on the traditional Judeo-Christian morality...If the liberals win, the damage can't be stopped with elections two, four or forty years from now. America will forever be changed. We will keep seeing a gradual and growing hostility toward people of faith, especially Christians."
This one is supposed to be from Donald E. Wildmon, founder and Chairman of the American Family Association. According to the AFA website, "The American Family Association represents and stands for traditional family values, focusing primarily on the influence of television and other media – including pornography – on our society."
Apparently the non-profit feels this election is important enough that it will rock the very fabric of America. Of course as a non-profit, they can't participate in political campaigns or produce videos to vote for proposition 8 in California, but whatever. For little extra divisiveness, you can also buy their DVD called "They're Coming to Your Town". "They" being the "Gays".
I didn't go looking for this type of stuff, it just showed up in my inbox. I'm sure if I went looking, I could find much worse. I suppose that there have always been folks on the fringe declaring doom and gloom if the other candidate is elected. I myself told a friend that George W Bush scared the crap out of me when he was up for re-election in 2004. My fear was (and is) the direction he was taking the country, not that he was the Antichrist and was going to bring about the end of days.
This polarization of factions and movement toward the fringe is dangerous to our future. Especially in economic hard times, folks can embrace hatred and intolerance, and someone will always step in to whip up that sentiment. History gives us many examples.
Whoever is elected to lead our country will have a difficult task ahead of him. Worldwide recession, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a runaway deficit, environmental degradation, housing foreclosures, economic and banking reform - the list is long. We will need the strength of the whole country to pull ourselves out of this hole. I can only hope that whoever wins, some of the venom will fade and that the folks on the fringe don't gain more of a toe-hold on the American psyche. Naive maybe, but I don't think that the fringe represents America, no matter how loudly they shout.
I didn't go looking for this type of stuff, it just showed up in my inbox. I'm sure if I went looking, I could find much worse. I suppose that there have always been folks on the fringe declaring doom and gloom if the other candidate is elected. I myself told a friend that George W Bush scared the crap out of me when he was up for re-election in 2004. My fear was (and is) the direction he was taking the country, not that he was the Antichrist and was going to bring about the end of days.
This polarization of factions and movement toward the fringe is dangerous to our future. Especially in economic hard times, folks can embrace hatred and intolerance, and someone will always step in to whip up that sentiment. History gives us many examples.
Whoever is elected to lead our country will have a difficult task ahead of him. Worldwide recession, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a runaway deficit, environmental degradation, housing foreclosures, economic and banking reform - the list is long. We will need the strength of the whole country to pull ourselves out of this hole. I can only hope that whoever wins, some of the venom will fade and that the folks on the fringe don't gain more of a toe-hold on the American psyche. Naive maybe, but I don't think that the fringe represents America, no matter how loudly they shout.
One week to go.
Insomnia
Went to bed around 9:45pm, fell asleep around 1:30am. No real reason I can point to, my brain simply wouldn't shut off.
I tossed and turned for an hour, then got up to read my book for another hour or so. I typically read for about an hour before attempting sleep, and this generally clears my brain sufficiently of the days events so I can drift off shortly after turning out the light. I should have given up much sooner last night as it was clear I wasn't getting anywhere.
It is possible that the book I am reading has something to do with my inability to shut down. As it is dealing with politics and war at a time when our own election is only a week away, thoughts get stirred, tangents inspired.
I should probably start a fictional tale for bedtime reading so I can escape a bit. Of course the next book in the queue is The Grapes of Wrath which deals with the Great Depression. More late night connections may stirred.
I tossed and turned for an hour, then got up to read my book for another hour or so. I typically read for about an hour before attempting sleep, and this generally clears my brain sufficiently of the days events so I can drift off shortly after turning out the light. I should have given up much sooner last night as it was clear I wasn't getting anywhere.
It is possible that the book I am reading has something to do with my inability to shut down. As it is dealing with politics and war at a time when our own election is only a week away, thoughts get stirred, tangents inspired.
I should probably start a fictional tale for bedtime reading so I can escape a bit. Of course the next book in the queue is The Grapes of Wrath which deals with the Great Depression. More late night connections may stirred.
October 25, 2008
Saturday morning matinee
The Muppet Movie is a wonderful movie that has a spot in both of our hearts. It was great to see it on the big screen, especially as a benefit for a good cause.Life's like a movie, write your own ending
Keep believing, keep pretending
We've done just what we set out to do.
Thanks to the lovers, the dreamers, and you.
Reading gadgets
Like my friend Matt, I have signed up at Good Reads. It is a networking site for readers and book recommendations. And of course there are widgets! On the sidebar are widgets that show the books I am currently reading and my most recent reads.
I was up late last night doing laundry (big Friday plans), so I plugged in several books into my "read" list. Just going off my bookshelf and vague memories, I came up with about 170 books. This is certainly not a complete list but even at this level, it is odd to see them all lined up. I wasn't going to spend the time to review each one, but I will do my best to give intelligent reviews going forward if you are looking for book recommendations.
Another bonus for me on this site is being able to plug in books in the "to be read" section. With the ever diminishing capacity of my short-term memory, it is nice to have a place to enter interesting books I have come across.
The book I am currently reading, Team of Rivals, is excellent. Great insight into Abraham Lincoln and his career. Review to follow.
I was up late last night doing laundry (big Friday plans), so I plugged in several books into my "read" list. Just going off my bookshelf and vague memories, I came up with about 170 books. This is certainly not a complete list but even at this level, it is odd to see them all lined up. I wasn't going to spend the time to review each one, but I will do my best to give intelligent reviews going forward if you are looking for book recommendations.
Another bonus for me on this site is being able to plug in books in the "to be read" section. With the ever diminishing capacity of my short-term memory, it is nice to have a place to enter interesting books I have come across.
The book I am currently reading, Team of Rivals, is excellent. Great insight into Abraham Lincoln and his career. Review to follow.
October 24, 2008
October 23, 2008
Get out and vote!
I heard a few weeks back that Washington state is predicting 84% turnout for this election, a near record high. From what I can tell, this must be a percentage of registered voters, not all people of voting age. Including all people of voting age, I imagine the percentage would be in the mid to upper 60's.
Nationwide, the statistics are a little depressing/shameful. Over the last 40 years or so, the average turnout of legal age voters for presidential elections is around 54%. This is one of the lowest among worldwide democracies.
This is a historical election for many reasons. The next four years will be a difficult period no matter who wins. Be invested in your country's future. Lessons of Florida in 2000, and the 2004 gubernatorial election in Washington which was decided by 129 votes, tell us that every vote counts.
Don't be like this guy - get out and vote.
Work warning - Bleeped language in video.
Nationwide, the statistics are a little depressing/shameful. Over the last 40 years or so, the average turnout of legal age voters for presidential elections is around 54%. This is one of the lowest among worldwide democracies.
This is a historical election for many reasons. The next four years will be a difficult period no matter who wins. Be invested in your country's future. Lessons of Florida in 2000, and the 2004 gubernatorial election in Washington which was decided by 129 votes, tell us that every vote counts.
Don't be like this guy - get out and vote.
Work warning - Bleeped language in video.
October 22, 2008
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)