Flaws in Ubuntu 7.10
So, it's not all good? Not extreme issues, though.
Sunday, November 04, 2007
Gene therapy with JX-963 for colon cancer stimulates white blood cells
The chemical that the virus secretes, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, or GM-CSF, is a protein that stimulates the production of white blood cells. The scientists must be careful, however, not to overstimulate the immune system so that it kills the virus before it has a chance to attack the cancer.
Paradoxically, the answer might lie in temporarily suppressing the immune system with drugs to allow the virus to spread rapidly. Then, after the virus has destroyed most of the tumor, GM-CSF stimulates an elevated immune system response.
Quantum cascade laser nanoantenna -- imaging molecules
By combining Quantum Cascade Lasers with optical antenna nanotechnology we have created for the first time an extremely compact device that will enable the realization of new ultrahigh spatial resolution microscopes for chemical imaging on a nanometric scale of a wide range of materials and biological specimens...
... applications... including pollution monitoring, chemical sensing, medical diagnostics such as breath analysis, and homeland security.
Major airline tips
Hadn't heard of this:
Rule 240, which states “that if an airline [can’t] get you to your destination on time, it [is] required to put you on a competitor’s flight if it would get you there faster than your original airline’s next flight.Also, the pendulum seems to be moving away again from going directly to airlines.
Italian Mafia in decline
... shot in the foot by its own loudmouth members, bloodied by scores of convictions, and crippled by a loss of veteran leaders and a dearth of capable replacements.
Device driver updates deactivating Vista
How bad is deactivation?
... your copy of Windows will stop working with very little notice (three days) and your PC will go into "reduced functionality" mode, where you can't do anything but use the web browser for half an hour.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Illegal questions a potential employer should avoid at interview
Like "Do you smoke or use alcohol?" Alternative workarounds here.
An echolocating boy
From the neurophilosophy blog at scienceblogs (first 10-minute segment of video below):
At the age of 2, Underwood was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a rare form of cancer that that affects about one in 5 million children. One year later, his eyes were surgically removed, to prevent the tumour from spreading throught the optic nerve and into the brain.
Soon after his surgery, Underwood realized that he could use echoes to determine the positions of objects, and began to develop this "six sense." His ability to echolocate is now so sophisticated that he can ride a bike, skateboard and play computer games.
D-Lab -- MIT brains tackling technological problems of developing world
But in low tech, affordable ways.
Save a slow system with Damn Small Linux
Those old computers don't have to be junked?
Damn Small Linux is a free download that fits inside less than 50MB, so it's easily booted from a CD, a USB drive, or an ancient PC with only 8MB of memory.
Better airfares for off-peak dates
At American, the cheapest price on a Thanksgiving trip from New York to Las Vegas and back was a hefty $1,095 for travel on Nov. 21, the day before Thanksgiving, and returning on Sunday, Nov. 25. Those are the peak days for those holidays. But change your itinerary to leave Thanksgiving Day and return the following Tuesday, and the Las Vegas getaway costs only $335 on American.
More nuclear apocalypses averted
The previously posted story of Lt. Col. Petrov is here, but there's also the Americans misinterpreting for a moment. It's happened a few times on both sides.
JackBe -- mashups of all kinds of superfeed data for corporations
Mashups are created primarily in ten different ways (using graphs, maps, grids, etc.) ... If you check out JackBe’s customers page, you’ll see that Citigroup uses Presto for “Tax Collection, Bank Tellers, Credit Workflow, Branch executives, Insurance Quoting/Sales and eBanking”; the Defense Intelligence Agency uses it to “paint a picture of situational awareness across various intelligence data sources, using a paradigm of drag-and-drop and bookmarking of the resulting briefing in a private workspace for future use and sharing”; and Tupperware uses it “to provide real-time price, inventory and product updates to field sales representatives.”
Anesthesia awareness
CBS story on the phenomenon where you are paralyzed during your operation, but still awake. There's a thriller called Awake with this as a premise coming out at the end of November.
Hilarious kid's Hallowe'en costume
Very adorable homage to Alien. Click through for the larger photo at the site.
RapidTyping -- free typing tutor
I also recall there being a site zealously promoting the Dvorak layout as well. If you want speed, there are ways.
Kitty Genovese stabbing reframed
The number of witnesses may have been off a lot. And then,
Indeed, none of the witnesses reported actually seeing the stabbing. And whereas the myth states that none of the apartment residents overlooking the crime intervened, in fact the murderer felt compelled to abandon his first attack after one of the witnesses shouted at him. This led to the actual murder taking place inside a nearby building where none of the trial witnesses could see.
The movie Ratatouille and Jewish assimilation
An analysis of the the rats in the movie as Jews in a Christianized world.
Awake for eleven days
Not the record now, but did break the previous at the time.
By the fourth day, the sand-clawed demons of sleep were scraping at the back of his eyeballs. He suddenly and inexplicably hallucinated that he was Paul Lowe, a large black football player for the San Diego Chargers. Gardner, in reality, was white, seventeen years old, and 130 pounds soaking wet.The last record noted was made in 1977 -- 449 hours, some rocking chair marathon.
Chris Anderson: Technology's Long Tail
Importantly covers the four stages of tech life, implies opportunities at more than one point.
Forward GrandCentral calls to your Gizmo number
Sounds like free (no roaming charges) inbound calls from anywhere:
With this you can now be travelling anywhere on the planet and can receive calls through your Gizmo client when somebody calls your local GrandCentral number.
Arsenals of Folly -- The Making of the Nuclear Arms Race
In a narrative that reads like a thriller, Rhodes reveals how the Reagan administration's unprecedented arms buildup in the early 1980s led ailing Soviet leader Yuri Andropov to conclude that Reagan must be preparing for a nuclear war. In the fall of 1983, when NATO staged a larger than usual series of field exercises that included, uniquely, a practice run-up to a nuclear attack, the Soviet military came very close to launching a defensive first strike on Europe and North America. With Soviet aircraft loaded with nuclear bombs warming up on East German runways, U.S. intelligence organizations finally realized the danger.As a general rule, we are just way too sure of ourselves. This volume appears to be a continuation of The Making of the Atomic Bomb and Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb.
Foreign language acquisition assistance on the Web
Like a speech accent archive so that you know what it is supposed to sound like.
Nasal spray helps people fight chronic social phobias
Scientists say that DCS [D-Cycloserine, usually for TB] has no effect on fear on its own, but enhances the therapy sessions by changing the neurotransmitters in the brain associated with learning to overcome fear.
Boom 2 Borda
ProQuo -- stop paper junk mail
If it's free, then how does it make money?
In the future, ProQuo will allow consumers to request offers that they do want in addition to eliminating the offers that they don’t want. ProQuo will make money from the advertisers that provide these offers. ProQuo will only provide these offers when requested by consumers.
Reason for American Revolution not taxes
From Benjamin Franklin:
The Colonies would gladly have borne the little tax on tea and other matters had it not been the poverty caused by the bad influence of the English bankers on the Parliament, which has caused in the Colonies hatred of England and the Revolutionary War.There appears to be some kind of solution in the form of some buyout clause in the Federal Reserve Act.
A possible molelcular neurodevelopmental path in schizophrenia
The gene, GAD1, makes an enzyme essential for production of the chemical messenger, called GABA. The more the gene is turned on, the more GABA synthesis can occur, under normal circumstances. GABA helps regulate the flow of electrical traffic that enables brain cells to communicate with each other. It is among the major neurotransmitters in the brain.
Abnormalities in brain development and in GABA synthesis are known to play a role in schizophrenia, but the underlying molecular mechanisms are unknown. In this study, scientists discovered that defects in specific epigenetic actions – biochemical reactions that regulate gene activity, such as turning genes on and off so that they can make substances like the GAD1 enzyme – are involved.
Chronic subjugation of adolescent turns into aggression in adulthood
Using hamsters:
Their aggression was context dependent. In the presence of equal size hamsters, they showed little aggression; however, they were excessively aggressive toward smaller, younger animals.
Maher Arar gets apology from Congress for rendition
Monday, October 22, 2007
Level of oxytocin in pregnant women predicts mother-child bond
Oxytocin seems to be preparing mothers to engage in bonding behaviors. The findings also show that oxytocin is related to the mental, as well as the behavioral, aspect of bonding.
SueEasy -- ambulance chasers have a new home
The site is kind of a reverse directory for lawyers that’s sure to be a haven for personal injury lawsuits... Instead of searching for a lawyer, you list your case and lawyers find you. The site handles two major kinds of cases, class action and individual. Each of those sections is then divided into sub-categories such as DUI/DWI, bankruptcy, or asbestos settlements. Plaintiffs list their grievances in these categories and attach any relevant documentation.
Lawyers bid to contact potential clients with the highest bidder winning and Sue Easy getting the money.
Rat neurons in dish learn and control flight simulator
Article from 2004 that I might have mailed out pre-blog. Initially, the plane in the simulation just wanders aimlessly. The feedback cultivates patterns of recognition in the dish, and voila -- the damn plane is in controlled flight in the simulation.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Getting it real -- a print reporter turns into the creator of acclaimed HBO show, The Wire.
Using VMWare to survive a computer crash
- First, you set up a virtual machine that has everything you need to do your work - all the software, all the bookmarks, passwords and custom settings you want.
- Second, you save that “Virtual Machine” onto a DVD (or USB Flash Drive).
- Third, you save a copy of the free VMware Player and keep it handy.
HTI's revolutionary forward osmosis filtration system
The HTI products employ a proprietary membrane filter that is hydrophilic (attracts water), allows water to pass through, yet blocks very small contaminants due to the tight construction of the membrane. This allows a pure drink to be created from almost any water source, including highly turbid and toxic supply waters. A key innovation is that this is a passive system - requiring no pumping - which harnesses the osmotic potential created by the sugars and electrolytes in a sports drink syrup as the energy source to drive the filtration process.
64-bit -- more than just the RAM
Well, Vista has some hybrid thing going so that both 32- and 64-bit could be handled. I don't understand it, but we won't be going backwards.
Vitamin C and cancer
A little back-and-forth on the matter with some focus on experimental procedure.
Fujitsu advances color e-paper technology
The key to the incredibly meager power requirements is the ability of the liquid crystal display (which uses cholesteric liquid crystals) to hold a high-contrast, semi-permanent image once displayed without requiring any power whatsoever.
More sauce on pasta, not less
The counterargument to pasta police telling you sauce is practically just a garnish. Pasta is just cheap, refined carbs.
Slinkachu -- little people gallery of diorama
That broken glass is from a picture frame. Cute, clever art.
DivShare upgrades its one-stop shop free file hosting service
Hadn't heard of them, but looks like a good free solution.
Blood test to help identify Alzheimer's
Diagnosis is notoriously difficult. Hope this thing is real.
Chic Ironic Bitterness -- call for authenticity
An excerpt from a book of the title which notes how irony develops from a lack of realness and trust.
The blowup -- subprime and the quants
How mathematical knowledge didn't prevent the subprime crisis.
Dan Gilbert on happiness and regret
Wes Anderson and race
Offense taken at Slate and Racialicious. Rebuttal to latter from The Atlantic.
A life of near misses
As (un)lucky as they get. From chrono, had a good two decades of peace. Then all that bad karma seemed to have exhausted itself.
Allergic reactions may guard against brain cancer
Thirty-nine percent lower chance of glioma:
The development of allergies is linked to alterations in the genes behind some immune-system signalling molecules called cytokines. In cell culture and animal experiments, these molecules have been found to inhibit glioma growth.Thank goodness my hayfever has a point!
LifeLock -- prevent identity theft
A professional service. The guy supposedly publicly puts up his Social Security Number to make his point.
Retirement myths debunked
I do think that Boomers will crash the market. Aggregated pension funds are as big as wealthy people in the markets.
African root bark may offer clues to addiction
In 1962, a young junkie named Howard Lotsoff ordered iboga, a plant used in West African rituals, and tried it for extra kicks. After consuming the bitter root-bark powder, he experienced a visionary tour of his early memories. Thirty hours later, when the effects had subsided, he found that he had lost all craving for heroin, without withdrawal symptoms of any kind. He then gave it to seven other addicts, who were using either cocaine or heroin; five stopped taking drugs immediately afterward.
XP tools to arm your PC against hackers
Looks like I could be running an awful lot of apps just to check for stuff.
Emergency electricity from phone jack
Notice how during a blackout, corded phones still work?
Free Hidden Electricity! - More amazing videos are a click away
Why was Gandhi never award the Nobel Peace Prize?
In 1947 the conflict between India and Pakistan and Gandhi's prayer-meeting statement, which made people wonder whether he was about to abandon his consistent pacifism, seem to have been the primary reasons why he was not selected by the committee's majority.After Gandhi's work to end the post-partition violence, the committee seriously considered a posthumous award for 1948, but for formal reasons did not create such a category.
Invisible (non?)competition
A post from Marginal excerpting from a print periodical regarding how face-to-face competitors may have some difficulty in the more at-a-distance (how has this changed?) economy:
The greatest gains in this new world are likely to go to people who are methodical planners or who love the game for its own sake. Some people plot their competitive strategies far in advance. These planners—be they crazy or just highly productive—don’t need anyone breathing down their necks, and indeed they often work best alone or in very small groups. Bill Gates is a classic example. Planners’ behavior may manifest itself in very competitive forms, but their underlying psychology is often not very rivalrous at all. They are ordering their own realities, usually for their individual psychological reasons, rather than acting out of a desire to trounce the competition. Early risers will also be favored. These people enjoy being first in line, or first to use a new idea, for its own sake.Bill Gates is actually reported to be quite competitive, even with the boardgame Monopoly.
Topiramate, an anti-convulsant, helps alcoholics quit
By the end of the study, those receiving the drug reported drinking heavily on just 20% of days. They also averaged only 3.5 drinks per day, and managed to stay completely sober more than half the time.
The control group also improved, but significantly less. They drank heavily on more than 40% of days, consumed six drinks per day, and abstained from drinking about a third of the time.
Topiramate works by blocking the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which reinforces the pleasurable feelings that alcoholics get when they drink.
Handouts of antimalaria mosquito nets trump social marketing
Social marketing -- with the theory that the poor see more value in brand-name goods they pay for than handouts they get free, and that the trade creates small entrepreneurs -- for mosquito nets does not work as well as straight handouts:
... 3.4 million free nets in two weeks. Coverage rose to 67 percent, and distribution became more equitable. Under social marketing, Dr. Olumese said, the “richest of the poor” had 38 percent coverage, while the “poorest of the poor” — like Maendeleo’s rice farmers — had only 15 percent. After the handouts, they were about equal.
Deaths of children dropped 44 percent.
ReachBy -- free, personalized contact web page
A service for basic introductions/contact info, giving out no more than that. A CV online, I guess.
Web video roundup to this point
Techcrunch does a summary on the 1-year anniversary of the YouTube acquisition.
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