Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Speedlinking 1/16/07

Quote of the day:

"Skill without imagination is craftsmanship and gives us many useful objects such as wickerwork picnic baskets. Imagination without skill gives us modern art."
~ Tom Stoppard

Runner Up: "Babies ooze yuck out of every orifice."

Image of the day (debris cloud from a supernova):


BODY
~ Chewing Gum With Natural Appetite Suppressant Could Treat Obesity -- Always with the magic pills.
~ Men Would Rather Die Than Diet, Says "Wake-up Call" Research -- "A half of all men say heart problems would provide the greatest motivation to diet, yet 37 per cent of those around three million - were a stone or more overweight, at least doubling their risk of cardiac arrest."
~ Cup Of Green Tea To Keep The Bacteria Away -- "Efficiency of green tea extract in oral hygiene has been known for centuries and this gave researchers a clue that antibacterial activity might be involved."
~ Is Human Growth Hormone the Key to Eternal Youth? -- Seems the answer may be a resounding NO.
~ Men should eat their reds and greens -- "Eating tomatoes and broccoli in the same meal could help men to fight prostate cancer."
~ "Cloudy" apple juice packs more antioxidants -- "When it comes to apple juice, "cloudier" may mean healthier, according to a study published Monday."


PSYCHE
~ Weight Concerns More Impairing For Those With Body Dysmorphic Disorder -- "Researchers from Bradley Hospital and Brown Medical School found that individuals who are concerned about their weight are more impaired than those whose appearance-concerns are not weight-related."
~ Study Gives Us A New Perspective On The Powerful -- "Walking a mile in another person's shoes may be the best way to understand the emotions, perceptions, and motivations of an individual; however, in a recent study appearing in the December 2006 issue of Psychological Science, it is reported that those in power are often unable to take such a journey."
~ Form of amnesia also blocks thinking ahead -- "Amnesia patients can't remember the past. And a new study says they may not be able to imagine the future either."
~ Depression a risk factor for ED in diabetic men -- Another example of a perfect grasp of the obvious.
~ Reading Books and Reading Minds -- Why fiction readers score higher on empathy.
~ Right Here, Write Now -- I've seen this for sure in my own life. I always have a journal, even if I don't use it every day.
~ RSVP Mountain Dew Task -- "I always find it interesting when advertisers use basic psychological research to sell their products - In this case Mountain Dew uses an RSVP task."
~ Bullying Can Be Reduced But Many Common Approaches Ineffective -- "School-based programs involving multiple disciplines reduce bullying in elementary school, junior or senior high schools according to a systematic review of over 2000 studies on bullying published in English."


CULTURE
~ Study questions “gateway” theory of drug abuse -- "A new study suggests that a tendency toward delinquency or living in a neighborhood where drugs are readily available are just as important in determining whether a young person will abuse marijuana as whether or not he tries cigarettes or alcohol first." It took them this long to figure that out?
~ Washington, D.C., Bill Requiring HPV Vaccine Would Save 'Thousands' Of Women's Lives, Editorial Says.
~ CNN: Hadley Can't Rule Out Iran Attack -- This is scary. As is this: Growing tension over Iran.
~ Teacher of the Year Takes on Failing Alabama School -- "Eighty-two percent of last year's fourth-graders couldn't read. This year, 73 percent of that same group are reading proficiently."
~ Israel names first Arab minister -- "Israel's Labour party leader has appointed Raleb Majadele as science and technology minister - making him the first Arab Muslim in Israel's cabinet..."
~ Why Do These Pundits Still Have Jobs? -- This is an important article: "Fareed Zakaria attended a secret gathering convened by Paul Wolfowitz in late 2001. The task at hand, according to a fellow participant, was to draft “a forceful summary of the best pro-war arguments” which became a blueprint for the Bush Administration’s PR campaign. Although he was a columnist at Newsweek and was editor of the magazine’s international edition, Zakaria didn’t attend in a journalistic capacity—in fact, he signed a nondisclosure agreement beforehand. ... We are left with the astounding fact that one of the war’s crucial media proponents ... helped craft the arguments that Bush used to take the country to war. Then for 16 months leading up to the invasion, he wrote columns, edited news coverage, and appeared as an analyst on television putatively evaluating those same arguments for his vast audience." Liberal media my ass.
~ Bush: Iraqis ‘Owe Us Gratitude’ -- For an unlawful invasion, destroying the infrastructure of the country, creating civil war, and oh yeah, making Iraq safe for al-Qaeda. The article says something different, so maybe you should read that.


HABITATS
~ HMO fitness program may lower health care costs -- Subsidized fitness programs for the (clinically) obese, the elderly, and those with diabetes (or pre-diabetes) could save billions of dollars in health care costs. How much you want to bet that will never happen?
~ Walgreen To Expand Number Of Walk-In Clinics Available At Stores Nationwide -- "Walgreen hopes the in-store clinics -- which offer treatment for minor ailments and are operated by nurse practitioners -- will boost prescription drug sales and encourage customer loyalty."
~ Generic Insulin - What's the Holdup?
~ How big science might fix climate change -- "If man-made technologies are capable of heating the planet, they are probably capable of cooling it down again. Welcome to "geo-engineering", which holds that, rather than trying to change mankind's industrial habits, it is more efficient to counter the effects, using planetary-scale engineering."
~ Freeze wipes out most of Calif. citrus crop -- "Up to 75% of California's billion-dollar orange and tangerine crop has been destroyed by the record cold gripping the state, with more freezing weather expected through midweek. Avocados and strawberries also have been hit hard, the Associated Press reports."


INTEGRAL
~ Fully allowing leads to Big Mind from Mystery of Existence.
~ SCENE: Integral Naked Featured Guest - Mo Collins from MADtv.
~ From Joe at Until: A view from the lower-left quadrant.
~ Art and the Spiritual Path from Robert Godwin. Like him or not (I don't), he does make you think.


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