Thursday, September 06, 2007
cbs4denver.com - Popcorn Lung Victim: 'Friggin' Unbelievable'
cbs4denver.com - Popcorn Lung Victim: 'Friggin' Unbelievable': "'I wasn't snorting the stuff you know,' Watson, the sole reported case of 'popcorn lung' disease in a non-factory worker, said during an interview late Wednesday. 'You know when you open it up, you get the 'whoof.'' The suburban Denver furniture salesman acknowledged he enjoyed at least two bags of popcorn every day for 10 years, buying it by the case, until he was diagnosed by lung specialists at National Jewish Medical and Research Center this year. Watson, 53, said his breathing has improved since his doctor told him to quit eating his extra-buttery microwave popcorn and lose weight. He said he's dieting and lost some 35 pounds, regained lung capacity, and his prognosis is good."
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Attack of the Killer Popcorn
You'll cough, you'll wheeze, you'll gasp for air!
"ConAgra, the world's largest supplier of the 3 billion bags of microwave popcorn sold each year, said Tuesday that it will eliminate the use of a controversial chemical butter flavoring linked to severe lung disease in workers from its Act II and Orville Redenbacher products."
Popcorn supplier to drop toxic chemical
"ConAgra, the world's largest supplier of the 3 billion bags of microwave popcorn sold each year, said Tuesday that it will eliminate the use of a controversial chemical butter flavoring linked to severe lung disease in workers from its Act II and Orville Redenbacher products."
Popcorn supplier to drop toxic chemical
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
No Longer One of 'Jerry's Kids' - washingtonpost.com
No Longer One of 'Jerry's Kids' - washingtonpost.com:
"Of course, MDA may respect the disabled more than its fund-raising tactics imply. If it wants to stand out as an advocate for disability rights, however, it should set a better example -- and demand that its corporate contributors do as well. When most people see those of us with severe, progressive neurological conditions, they want to help, and I am not ungrateful. The desire to cure is probably human nature. And MDA's main mission is to be a medical charity; it claims to spend 77 cents of every dollar it raises on services, an admirable percentage, and finances hundreds of clinics and medical researchers. Still, for the past 30 years, the message of the disability-rights movement has been as consistent as it is simple: We're fine as we are. We don't need fixing. We need access. We need respect. We need work. In other words, we need the same things everybody else does. So today, I won't be watching the telethon. My wife and I and our two kids have better things to do."
2007/09/28 Update: I knew some people as far back as 1980 that had similar feelings about the telethon and being described as "Jerry's Kids". One of them, now that I think about it, was the late Professor Irving Zola of Brandeis University. The general feeling was that much of it was patronizing and somewhat demeaning. There were similar complaints from kids who appeared on March Of Dimes and Easter Seals posters. There were comments that they had been used for, among other thing, their cuteness.
"Of course, MDA may respect the disabled more than its fund-raising tactics imply. If it wants to stand out as an advocate for disability rights, however, it should set a better example -- and demand that its corporate contributors do as well. When most people see those of us with severe, progressive neurological conditions, they want to help, and I am not ungrateful. The desire to cure is probably human nature. And MDA's main mission is to be a medical charity; it claims to spend 77 cents of every dollar it raises on services, an admirable percentage, and finances hundreds of clinics and medical researchers. Still, for the past 30 years, the message of the disability-rights movement has been as consistent as it is simple: We're fine as we are. We don't need fixing. We need access. We need respect. We need work. In other words, we need the same things everybody else does. So today, I won't be watching the telethon. My wife and I and our two kids have better things to do."
2007/09/28 Update: I knew some people as far back as 1980 that had similar feelings about the telethon and being described as "Jerry's Kids". One of them, now that I think about it, was the late Professor Irving Zola of Brandeis University. The general feeling was that much of it was patronizing and somewhat demeaning. There were similar complaints from kids who appeared on March Of Dimes and Easter Seals posters. There were comments that they had been used for, among other thing, their cuteness.
Monday, September 03, 2007
Clemens Needs To Retire
From "Felix inches Mariners closer to Yanks" on MLB.com: Roger gets racked again and his losses mount.
The Official Site of Major League Baseball: News: Major League Baseball News:
"The last time the Mariners were in New York, Clemens announced on the big-screen matrix board that he was returning to the Yankees. That was a Kodak moment, for sure. He shared the big stage with someone half his age on Monday and came away with his sixth loss."
The Official Site of Major League Baseball: News: Major League Baseball News:
"The last time the Mariners were in New York, Clemens announced on the big-screen matrix board that he was returning to the Yankees. That was a Kodak moment, for sure. He shared the big stage with someone half his age on Monday and came away with his sixth loss."
When moderates feel lost in the GOP - Los Angeles Times
When moderates feel lost in the GOP - Los Angeles Times:
"But Koster reserved his harshest criticism for GOP efforts to overturn a voter-approved constitutional amendment that protects embryonic stem-cell research in Missouri. 'The Republican desire is to criminalize early-stage stem-cell research in our state,' Koster said in a speech he repeated three times as he hopscotched across the state. 'Go to Boston for your Nobel Prize; come to Missouri for your leg irons. And the Missouri Republican Party not only tolerates this lunacy, but embraces it,' Koster said."
"But Koster reserved his harshest criticism for GOP efforts to overturn a voter-approved constitutional amendment that protects embryonic stem-cell research in Missouri. 'The Republican desire is to criminalize early-stage stem-cell research in our state,' Koster said in a speech he repeated three times as he hopscotched across the state. 'Go to Boston for your Nobel Prize; come to Missouri for your leg irons. And the Missouri Republican Party not only tolerates this lunacy, but embraces it,' Koster said."
Friday, August 31, 2007
Not All HDTVs Can Keep Up With the Action - New York Times
Not All HDTVs Can Keep Up With the Action - New York Times
"Sit for the first time in front of a high-definition TV tuned to a nature program broadcast in HD, and the reaction is almost always the same: a dropping of the jaw. But if you’re a sports fan or serious video gamer, the same set showing the Super Bowl or a car-racing game might elicit a different response: the screen cannot keep up with the action.
Fast movement results in a blur, what the TV industry calls ghosting, because the screen’s ability to refresh the image cannot keep up with the action. So viewers for whom action matters need to pay as much attention to how fast images are processed as to the size of the screen."
"Sit for the first time in front of a high-definition TV tuned to a nature program broadcast in HD, and the reaction is almost always the same: a dropping of the jaw. But if you’re a sports fan or serious video gamer, the same set showing the Super Bowl or a car-racing game might elicit a different response: the screen cannot keep up with the action.
Fast movement results in a blur, what the TV industry calls ghosting, because the screen’s ability to refresh the image cannot keep up with the action. So viewers for whom action matters need to pay as much attention to how fast images are processed as to the size of the screen."
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Nikon's Coolpix frenzy continues with L14, L15, S700, and S510 - Engadget
Nikon's Coolpix frenzy continues with L14, L15, S700, and S510 - Engadget
Moving into higher-end territory, the Coolpix S700 packs an impressive 12.1 megapixels, a 3x optical zoom and a 2.7-inch LCD in a slim aluminum body, while the also-aluminum S510 boasts 8.0 megapixels, a 3x optical zoom, and a pink color option in addition to the standard black and silver. Look for the whole lot of them to be available sometime next month, with the L14 and L15 running $150 and $180, respectively, and the S700 and S510 setting you back $380 and $300 apiece.
Read - Nikon Coolpix L14
Read - Nikon Coolpix L15
Read - Nikon Coolpix S700
Read - Nikon Coolpix S510
Moving into higher-end territory, the Coolpix S700 packs an impressive 12.1 megapixels, a 3x optical zoom and a 2.7-inch LCD in a slim aluminum body, while the also-aluminum S510 boasts 8.0 megapixels, a 3x optical zoom, and a pink color option in addition to the standard black and silver. Look for the whole lot of them to be available sometime next month, with the L14 and L15 running $150 and $180, respectively, and the S700 and S510 setting you back $380 and $300 apiece.
Read - Nikon Coolpix L14
Read - Nikon Coolpix L15
Read - Nikon Coolpix S700
Read - Nikon Coolpix S510
Monday, August 20, 2007
Vultures Pretend To Emulate Grameen & Yunus
From Forbes.com:
"Some small-loan schemes for the very poor are no better than usury because they charge high interest under the guise of microcredit, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus said Tuesday."
Nobel Laureate Slams Loans - Forbes.com
"Some small-loan schemes for the very poor are no better than usury because they charge high interest under the guise of microcredit, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus said Tuesday."
Nobel Laureate Slams Loans - Forbes.com
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