dieseltaylor

This is actually a very very interesting piece of new research which reveals part of plant DNA actually gets from the digestive tract to inside your body. New Scientist Eating your greens alters your genes 29 September 2011 by Ferris Jabr Magazine issue 2832. Subscribe and save There are have been a huge number of studies explaining that various vegetables reduce or increase symptoms/life spans/illness etc etc but this is now a mechanism that explains how this may be working.

I like it. I am looking forward to next week ...and predict nothing. : )

Cracked me and my wife up!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nW0Fp16XhZo&feature=relmfu

I was looking at an advert for a camera that claims to be able to automate the uploading of pictures to multiple sites and name people. This is getting kind of scary as anyone who has seen Catfish will realise how identy theft seems to be easier and privacy harder. And people may unwittingly always be sending pictures of people onto the Web when they set up these easy systems. Moreover the control of what is purportedly free information seems to be suffering as shown in the examples below. I do not know much about the rights and wrongs but it does irk me greatly that riots in many countries are freely available but when its Wall St. it seems somehow entirely unsuitable for UK residents to view. Is it that Wall St. is actually a recognisably greater danger than Syria or Dubai to the common man and therefore needs protection ? It would seem so.

Kind of funny when you read the news and then Wikipedia.

I guess most of us here hope to be rational in our beliefs and will consider things carefully but I was wondering how riddled with bumf society is and looked at astrology which is soo much more than horoscopes : 0 http://aer.aas.org/resource/1/aerscz/v10/i1/p010101_s1?view=fulltext&display=print Education is wonderful. A study from a UK university analysing data from an EU survey of beliefs in various "sciences" showed that 57% though astrology somewhat scientific but only 24% believed that of horoscopes! The religious, the less educated, and those used to authority figures scored higher for astrology. http://privatewww.essex.ac.uk/~nallum/AllumandStoneman2011.pdf Is there a case for banning atrological bumf rather like we clamp done on people offering miracle cures, or misleading adverts? Or are States better off with a bread and circuses approach? I was reading "Innumeracy" [ great littel book] and the author was marvelling that with Reagan the most powerful man in the world believed in astrology - kind of scary. And of course claims for Hitler's belief. http://www.astrology.co.uk/news/worldwar2.htm

A nice summary of the current situation http://www.alternet.org/story/152343/controversy_and_confusion_over_the_latest_wikileaks_revelations%3A_8_things_you_really_need_to_know?page=entire

Has for the last few hundred years ; ) He is barking if he thinks the northern Europeans want to get into bed with corrupt southern countries in some form of democracy. Pork barrel heaven but more so. Afterall if Austria could be threatened with God knows what for having a neo-Nazi elected then sanctions against countries for endangering the Euro would seem a lot less intrusive on "democracy".

http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/09/06/300323/exclusive-questions-surround-grassley-staffer-given-whistleblower-tip-regarding-news-corp-hacking-scandal/ VAB - your belief in the rightness of the "Govt" is touching and in terms of numbers probably correct. However there is a deep body of evidence showing endemic corruption within the US, in many areas, and at many levels. In the case above a guy is driven into bankruptcy after supplying evidence of wrong-doing to Congress. Yet again the villains of the piece escape by paying shareholder dollars for their crime. Whilst the US is blessed with many investigative reporters the total effects on the way the US runs is zilcho. The whistleblower got totally screwed over by the system - would he been safer going to Wikileaks? Yep at least he might not be bankrupt and the end result for News Corp would have been no different. Wikileaks ain't perfect but at least it provides a more trustworhty outlet than the US Congress.

Nice one Jon : ) And for those who would prefer openness this just today becomes knowledge: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-14785501

Hugely unlikely to happen - and in fact I can think of a way to prevent it. Govt's and politicians and corporations become more honest and responsible in what is being done being a start. And lets just remember that whilst its nice to rabbit on about the US Wikileaks has also revealed the financial duplicity of Baer Bank and Barclays Bank which is actually kind of useful to people like me. Wikileaks sat on the Citibank info and regrettably that has now been lost through sabotage. The Citibank info was meant to be dynamite and I suspect would have revealed huge amounts of info that the banking community and Govt would prefer to be buried. So is it right that the tax-payer forks out to save these guys bacon? Or would the evidence of collusion and criminality lead to a major shake-up and the nationalisation of BoA. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/22/us-bankofamerica-wikileaks-idUSTRE77L55P20110822 It seems strange that insults are hurled on rejoicing on death but it is without a doubt the very lack of whistleblowing and more openess that allowed the US and UK to get involved in a truly stupid tragic war. The only pre-Iraq war whistleblower in the UK ended up dead apparently hounded to suicide. Great result for Blair when your leading expert tops himself.

This is frankly amazing and comes from the "Economist" Anyway why was there this apparent madness? I find it incredibly depressing. However there is some reassurance that at least in Europe we are less religious. I do wonder how this would go in a Budhist or Muslim country.

A tough looking group of bikers were riding when they saw a girl about to jump off a bridge, so they stop. The leader, a big burly man, gets off his bike and says, "What are you doing?" "I'm going to commit suicide," she says. While he did not want to appear insensitive, he didn't want to miss an opportunity, so he asked, "Well, before you jump, why don't you give me a Kiss?" So, she does, and it was a long, deep lingering kiss. After she's finished, the biker says, "Wow! That was the best kiss I have ever had. That's a real talent you are wasting. You could be famous. Why are you committing suicide?" "My parents don't like me dressing up like a girl!"

At first I thought it was irony. However on reflection there are some who might believe it is true. I am sure there are some governements, perhaps a handful where this may be true but in a lot of systems its a matter of choosing between two power blocks, or in others minority parties continually form the government. Do checks and balances work? The answer in terms of rendition and other illegal acts is no. Unlawful wars, assassinations ....... I am not so daft as to believe that a nation state may need to act in a pragmatic way but that does not mean that I would not prefer a better form of Govt with better checks and balances. Incidentally I am not suggesting a system where power is stymied more than people would be properly judged after the event for being cavalier with their power. There is no shadow of doubt Tony Blair lied to create the atmosphere to drag the UK to war in Iraq, and that without him the US would not be in the **** it is in terms of wasted money and lives. SO if Wikileaks is necessary to make rulers become more careful in what they do that is all to the good. That they may cause casualties in the process is hugely regrettable - but then every day acts by governments are killing people anyway and perhaps overall Wikileaks may save more lives than it endangers. Whichever view you hold it is a dirty world and on balance I think it helpful for the people to realise what really goes on .

I thought it was fairly well-known that his children are getting a tiny fraction of his fortune. He, and his family live simple lives in the jet-set city of Omaha. His money and that of the thousands he has made rich has been made by buying industries where there is an income stream. Compared to the Wall St scum you could not meet a more different man and his belief in how wealth should be generated. http://www.cnbc.com/id/18467661/Growing_Up_Buffett So before you get to insulting a guy who is probably the most laudable of the super-rich perhaps you better read up on him.

I avoid television news at all times. BBC Radio 4 is excellent for its newsy programmes. The brief news on the hour is bearably concise. However for serious information you have to read. And of course as you can read at leat ten times faster than someone speaks it is a far better use of your time. Also yoou can check back for comprehension and possible bloopers which cannot easily be done with radio or TV. I may well give up my magazine subscriptions as things like Physorg provide even more than my weekly science mag. But then maybe the overview articles, letters , and adverts Do make it worth keeping ...

1) Nick Helm: "I needed a password eight characters long so I picked Snow White and the Seven Dwarves." 2) Tim Vine: "Crime in multi-storey car parks. That is wrong on so many different levels." 3) Hannibal Buress: "People say 'I'm taking it one day at a time'. You know what? So is everybody. That's how time works." 4) Tim Key: "Drive-Thru McDonalds was more expensive than I thought... once you've hired the car..." 5) Matt Kirshen: "I was playing chess with my friend and he said, 'Let's make this interesting'. So we stopped playing chess." 6) Sarah Millican: "My mother told me, you don't have to put anything in your mouth you don't want to. Then she made me eat broccoli, which felt like double standards." 7) Alan Sharp: "I was in a band which we called The Prevention, because we hoped people would say we were better than The Cure." 8) Mark Watson: "Someone asked me recently - what would I rather give up, food or sex. Neither! I'm not falling for that one again, wife." 9) Andrew Lawrence: "I admire these phone hackers. I think they have a lot of patience. I can't even be bothered to check my OWN voicemails." 10) DeAnne Smith: "My friend died doing what he loved ... Heroin."

Good to know we still have it : )

Does "live television" as in a rolling news program actually provide any light or is it just pandering to those humans who gawp at crashes? Surely news to be useful has to be presented with context. TV news to me seems now to be a montage of pictures with weaselly words telling you what you can see. Surely, like sex, instant gratification is not actually that good : )

The great thing about the Chinese is that rulers tend to think long-term rather than 4 yearly election cycles. This is a huge advantage especially when added to guidance to their industry to carry out long-term planning. Hence the friendliness to African nations and strategic rsource buying. The downside is that the folk generally are short termist and quality is not a highly prized virtue ... until they start looking at German cars. But then that is the wealthy who also do the Burberry thing etc.

Yep, I read the article and thought at the time that using students as a proxy for mankind in general is rather a notion that perhaps needs to be examined in the light of modern science, and commonsense. : ) Male brains are not fully developed until around 20. Incidentally it is also new news that in fact the editing of synapses is continuing for men and women into their twenties. However the article if carefully examined only says the lowest group bar one was likely to take this action so I am not convinced this makes a significant figure in the wider workforce. However I may be wrong as I am not familiar with how many are affected by the Pew research - and whether that in itself was flawed by only addressing those who fell into the just over minimum wage bracket. The Economist article was a tad naughty in this respect. I suppose what might be working against "revolution" is the good old standby of "bread and circuses" which the US is amply endowed.

I am very much against social devices like Facebook and Twitter as they are effectively a spying tool for the security services. If it were EU based I might feel more happy but this is effectively US domination of the information. And as we know the Patriot Act has never fully been explained as to its reach. However I think it logical that all Facebook and Twitter items are read instantly by interested State parties currently. And the US and UK are very close. Japan is probably, along with Finland and North Korea, one of the most homogenised societies and has strong moral purpose. London is I believe 40% foreign though the foreign part - excluding Somalian gangsters and Rumanian gypsies probably more law abiding than the natives. However it may be the very diversity and competition for jobs that has made society breakdown in London sufficient for the riots. The revelations on the corrupted police by News International, the complicity and corruption of politicians, and the freedom of Bankers to fly above the law whilst ruining the economy have certainly moved UK societies views on what the two main parties are good for .... nothing. [War?] : ) I am amazed that the US is as it is but then everyone believes - until too late - that they too can be a millionnaire. Or even have a comfortable retirement. The Wisconsin battles seem to be revealing some very entrenched lines and in a winner take-all Presidency the next election is going to be hugely significant.

Harvard Business Review has an interesting piece on the US health industry this month. Essentially they are incompetent at costing and managing resource. I say that as a generalisation as the article does not use such broad brush terms. " Much of the rapid escalation in health care costs can be attributed to the fact that providers have an almost complete lack of understanding of how much it costs to deliver patient care. Thus they lack the knowledge necessary to improve resource utilization, reduce delays, and eliminate activities that don't improve outcomes" HBR Sept 2011 pp49 However case-studies are shown . MD Anderson cancer clinic in Texas was able to produce a 36% reduction in cost in a simple procedure by better managing the flow. It was made up of a 16% reduction in process time, a 12% reduction in costs of technical staff and a 67% reduction in professional staff costs. The inadequacy of managing was revealed in that very few facilities have a handle on the real costs of procedures and therefore tend to concentrate resource on the fees for high ticket items - which may not be the same as focussing on outcomes and bang for buck in overall health. Apparently 17% of the US GDP is healthcare costs and it is rising. I admit to having an unpleasant feeling that the health insurance side is on a percentage of premiums paid so the higher the premiums required the more income they derive. So is it in their interest to drive down costs at the health care providers or do they both benefit at the expense of the people paying. A similar situation exists on any system where people are paid on a percentage of the eventual price.

I do argue constantly that the Lords as was - was the better Chamber for actual thinking and debate. However Brown and Cameron have loaded it with ex-politicians fatally diluting what was special. However of course being unelected now perhaps those MP's will be better without a party whip being enforceable. However getting the intelligent, and the diligent selected from the general population to provide the functionality of the Upper Chamber would be so so much better.