tingilinde

healthcare mandates republicans support

And they tend to increase cost for the consumer, but are right wing morality compliant.

 

Hat tip to Jim

Perhaps, since so many on the right don't believe in science, they should opt out of medical care created since 1900 - about the time medical developments became almost completely science driven and highly dependent on Darwin.

the sounds of brave

neat stuff lurks here

SoundWorks Collection - The Sound of Brave from Michael Coleman on Vimeo.

brain damage in relatively young retired nfl players

Troubling -- very troubling.  Particularly when you consider these guys were playing 30 years ago when the game was much less violent than it is today.

snip

...

Tests performed on a group of retired NFL players revealed that more than 40 percent suffered from problems such as depression and dementia, adding to a growing pile of evidence that repeated sports-related head traumas can lead to lasting neurological issues.

Analyzing 34 ex-professional football players (average age 62) on benchmarks such as memory, reasoning, problem-solving and behavior, researchers from the Center for Brain Health at the University of Texas at Dallas found that 20 tested normal while the rest suffered from depression, various deficits in memory/thinking or a combination of these issues. Twenty-six of the players also underwent MRI scans.

"We picked up that many guys were depressed but didn't know it," added study author Dr. John Hart, medical science director at the center. "The cognitive impairments . . . were more than what's expected for their ages. A lot had damage to their brain's white matter, so for us it's a real clue or marker to look for."

 

... (more)

It is amazing that tackle football is allowed in high school given these issues. Even in college is probably crazy - but it is far too embedded in the culture.  We love watching violence.

 

(hat tip to Sukie)

beating the heat under constraints...

I've wondered about this - how the Hasidm cope in hot weather.  (via the NY Times)

 

a hot time

Lots of hot weather reports around the nation with more than a few records falling.  While these can't individually be linked to global warming - there is a difference between weather and climate - the trend is clear.  As more energy gets trapped in the atmosphere and oceans we'll see an average increase in the planet's temperature.  Locally that usually means more hot days, although it is possible to have regions with colder days.  Some parts of the Earth will become wetter, others drier.  Sorting out what the local predictions are is very complex science.

A few years ago a very credible report was published (pdf) as part of the US Global Climate Change Research Program.  Since then the projections for much of the US - particularly the Southwest and South Central regions have become much more troubling.  Potential isses with the food supply, water and so many other issues may create some real nightmares for those who are alive 30+ years from now ....

This is going to be extremely expensive and difficult to deal with - and the underlying problem gets much more difficult as time passes.

from a different time

There was a time when the average person was - well - average by historical standards.  Thin was considered  unattractive and companies marketed weight gain schemes to the very skinny.  I remember some of these ads from publications of the 60s...   A rather amazing change in such a short time.

tip of the hat to Jheri

detox is potentially dangerous pseudoscience

A terrible thing you can do to your body is to go on a week plus long detox - Linda sends an article pointing out what is really happening to you.  A few friends have done these and have had problems as a result.

kit for online jewelry sales

The Nimus Cloud Dome is a simple diffuser that can use ambient light - or you can augment if you  like.  It is aimed at online jewelry sales and built for use with a smart phone.  Check out their video - there are a few of you who are interested in this type of photography...

evolution of the web

Noted by Bart - this inforgraphic is very pretty, although the eye candy to information ratio is way too high for my taste - a couple of crisper charts would have been more useful.  Note that it doesn't work in all browsers.

national pie week - and 3-2-1 crusts

A simple trick for making flakey pie crusts from NPR.  Mine are very similar to this...