Harvesting items, newsworthy or not

 
I have moved! I am now hanging out here!

Please adjust your links accordingly, if you've bothered to add me to such elegant company. See you on the other side.
posted by Link Meister at 10:33 PM

 
Highland cattle are being preserved on this side of the pond. It ain't just for fun, though; they are apparently quite good to eat. Your medical privacy, however, may not be preserved, if the Administration has its way; it has issued new rules relaxing patient consent requirements prior to release of those records. Instead, the industry will merely be required to issue a "notification" of said release to the patient; anyone ever read all those pamphlets from the financial service industry last year "notifying" you of changes to your accounts? Here are the official HHS proposed modifications. In other privacy news, the latest Federal website restrictions are raising objections.

With the release of the final Whitewater report this week, I was wondering what Ken Starr was doing these days... Recent survey data indicates that European women are more efficient than their male counterparts when websurfing. Much more seriously, "It could save time, money and breasts," if this new single-treatment radiotherapy technique works.

Watch this space...moving day is right around the corner!
posted by Link Meister at 4:49 PM

 
You know those ubiquitous bar-code scanners? Well, they are now capturing information you may not want divulged. Has anyone else ever wondered just how it is that African women can carry such heavy loads balanced on their heads? Some scientists got curious and studied a sample population; it has to do with energy transference while walking. In other news which will hopefully be good for AIDS patients worldwide, the World Health Organization has released its first list of manufacturers of safe AIDS drugs, and it includes generic equivalents.

There are two major election struggles occurring this week; it's a tossup as to which is more intriguing. Will "It's a Beautiful Mind" survive the smear campaign? Will HP merge with Compaq? Stay tuned. Here's an article I found to be a useful primer on PC-to-PC data transfers and tools; it's a subject I know I'm gonna have to address someday. In other migration news, are you ready for yet another videotape standard?

Now here's a really strange idea: press a button on the side of your head to improve your eyesight? Also from the medical world, do you suffer from tinnitus? Therapy is coming. This is fascinating; it takes the same principle behind the treatment of patients with "phantom limb" symptoms and applies it to the ear.
posted by Link Meister at 5:01 PM

 
Here's a profile of the new chairman of the President's Council of Bioethics; he sounds a fairly gloomy sort. "Science has become so dangerous, in his view, because it is a powerful force, yet one that has been deliberately stripped of moral values by scientists who are trained to pursue the truth objectively." Cotton Mather redux, perhaps? There are already biographies of his new boss being published; here's a review of one. Faith, don't be alarmed; the book is generally polite. The term "Homeland security" may irritate some (me! me!), but for some famous names, it shrieks "market opportunity." In other defense news, the Iceman was (possibly) fighting an opponent when he died. Human nature prevails again, huh? Oh, and for this we paid $70 million bucks? Several political careers advanced (including Robert Ray, who's running for the Senate); several right-wing foundations (Rutherford and Scaife) aggrandized, one President and First Lady who "could not be convicted" of a damn thing. But wait! Those foundations may have another chance! Why, it's Karl Rove, master of Administration political intrigue, vowing to send more conservative judges to the Senate Judiciary Committee! E for effort, Karl!

Alright, enough political stuffs. Now, drink your juice and eat your veggies; so says new research. But don't hold your breath waiting for that new cold drug you may have heard about; the FDA is not pleased with its safety. In other medical reports, here's some potentially wonderful news for childhood leukemia patients: a new study indicates that bone-marrow transplants from unrelated donors may be as successful as those from family members. And a GPS system for the blind is in prototype.

Hey, all you job-seekers. Here's a story which includes a link to a report detailing the processes by which Human Resources departments manage and recruit. Take heed!
posted by Link Meister at 5:56 PM

 
"Kristolean" sleeper cells in the Administration? I disagree with the agenda, but it's a clever tongue-in-cheek story nonetheless. This is less amusing, but about what I'd expect from the Senator from Mississippi; "you didn't approve my guy, so take your appropriation request and shove it."

How about a flu vaccine delivered through the nose? If you hate needles, this might be your thing. Anybody ever read The Hot Zone? There's been a "serendipitous" finding about Ebola. Now, 100 years ago, JAMA was concerned about potential infections from cigar clippers?? How times have changed! And perhaps Tom Cruise should be concerned about this: dental braces apparently caused the restriction of flow of essential fluids to this girl's brain?

Let's have some controversy! No, no, not that controversy (it has something to do with racks, I think); this controversy. Which are the 100 Best Characters in Fiction Since 1900?
posted by Link Meister at 6:01 PM

 
Hey! Round up the usual suspects! It's about damn time! "With digitization, music went from being a noun, to a verb, once again." That's an intriguing thought, as are others in this week's edition of the NYT magazine for music fans. If digital music is proliferating, so are PhD.'s; the advice from this author is "avoid the groves of academe and infiltrate other professions." As she points out, that's already happening.

This is an alarming trend, especially if you're caring (or expect to care) for aging relatives: Docs refusing to take Medicare patients. The culprit? Government reductions in reimbursements combined with rising malpractice rates and other overhead costs. This is the wealthiest country in the world, yet we won't care for an aging population. Nor, apparently, is there any desire to care for the environment in which people live, while there is a large desire to care for the environment in which energy producers live.

Michael Kinsley has a view of the Senate Judiciary Committee's refusal to confirm Judge Pickering. That's not surprising. What may surprise is his take on the op/ed the Wall Street Journal published regarding said nomination. Ok, time for "news you can use:" a new tanning drug may bronze you without any of that damaging exposure to sunshine. Got hair loss? It may be stress that's causing it. And there's apparently hope for us old guys: research indicates that male menopause is a myth! Ha! I coulda told 'em that!
posted by Link Meister at 4:16 PM

 
Whither Internet administration? Vox pop or (gasp) world governmental reps? Or maybe monkeys? Here's a nifty idea; a digital camera which does near-simultaneous translation of foreign language signs. In other uses of imagery, anyone ever see your local news (forget the focus on "If it bleeds, it leads" for the moment) and wonder how the sets are constructed? Guess what; they're virtual. Non-virtual art: a new Mayan mural has been found in Guatemala. Now if only the US Congress can find the answer to this burning question: "Who would win a celebrity boxing match between Jeffrey Skilling and Joseph Berardino?"

Here's one to break your heart: an American-built hospital in Afghanistan in the late 1940's into the 1950's, now in disrepair. Fascinating; I'd never heard of this project before. Here's a project we may all hear a lot about: NIH/NIAID released its bioterrorism research agenda today. (Adobe Acrobat required). British Telecom hyperlink patent update: a US judge has ruled it only applies to a single terminal, like a system console controlling a network of dumb terminals. Oh, and are you narcissistic? If so, you may be pretty lousy to work with.

There are times when I think Karl Marx and his colleagues were right: religion is indeed "the opium of the masses." Witness the alleged actions of the Saudi religious police in a fire on Monday. Some of the victims were apparently not wearing an abaya, thus the cops apparently tried to prevent the firemen from rescuing them. Or the (so far) peaceful marching by Hindus in Ayodhya today.
posted by Link Meister at 3:55 PM