Daily Beast: The Fireplace Delusion - A Metaphor for Religious Belief.
Reuters: The French breast implant scandal.
“Maybe it’s shameful, but there you go. [snip] We live in a capitalist world.” And that says it all, doesn’t it?
NY Times: A Painful Betrayal.
“Abortions make up only about 3 percent of its work, but most of this crowd also objects to its leading role in providing access to contraceptives.” Like I’ve said before ... ignore this issue at your peril, ladies. Otherwise, it’s yearly pregnancy and early death for you.
paranoias.org: Waiting, by Leah Beach.
“These are photographs of patients living with Alzheimer’s disease at an assistant living in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.None of these images were staged and are simple observations of the patients in the Alzheimer’s wing ...” See my link of earlier today.
ReadWriteWeb: 91% of Gen-Ys Use Their Phones in the Bathroom.
Like hell I’ll ever touch your phone, kid.
Massive Health: Carbs Are Killing You [infographic].
Well, duh. I work hard to stay in shape ... but try taking away my occasional cheat-day Tater Tots or pasta. Just try.
The Atlantic: The Super-Resistant Bacteria That Has India ‘Hell Scared’.
“It is not that the end of antibiotics is somehow coming. [snip] It is already here in many instances.” Multifarious factors. The government could help the poor afford a full course, and save countless lives now and in the future.
NY Times: Children’s A.D.D. Drugs Don’t Work Long-Term.
“Attention-deficit drugs increase concentration in the short term, which is why they work so well for college students cramming for exams. But when given to children over long periods of time, they neither improve school achievement nor reduce behavior problems. The drugs can also have serious side effects, including stunting growth. Sadly, few physicians and parents seem to be aware of what we have been learning about the lack of effectiveness of these drugs.”
Still a phlegm machine, but at least I’m upright.
You’ll see a little linkage here. My voice is still either in the depths of Hades, or missing in action.
Thanks for all the well-wishes.
Day Three of misery.
Not sure if this is cold or flu. Settling into my head and chest now ... my voice sounds like the croak of a tomb-raven. Fighting it. Hot toddys and hot-packs. Links will be sparse, until I feel substantially better.
WSJ: When Stress Is Good for You.
“In addition to thinking positively about stressors, deep abdominal breathing and training in meditation and mindfulness, or regulating one’s own mental and physical states, help moderate stress.” For those who recycle worries. Nothing earth-shattering here, but thought it would be helpful.
Still under the weather.
Catch as catch can.
CR4: Grounding the Body for Health.
The image on the first comment is beyond perfect. Loosely filed under ‘science.’
SciAm: The Power of Introverts - A Manifesto for Quiet Brilliance.
McClatchy: Alaska woman, 85, fends off moose attack on husband.
“An agitated moose ran down and stomped a well-known Bush pilot from Willow, Alaska, but he was saved when his wife grabbed a shovel from their pickup truck and whacked the big animal until it backed off.” Way to go, Dorothea.
Sick day.
I seem to have ... er, ‘inherited’ ... someone’s illness. Sore throat, in particular. Weak. I suppose it’s flu. Links will be sporadic, but present. Good thing I don’t have to say them out loud.
Guardian.UK: The first sexual revolution - lust and liberty in the 18th century.
“Everywhere in the west, sex outside marriage was illegal, and the church, the state and ordinary people devoted huge efforts to hunting it down and punishing it. This was a central feature of Christian society, one that had grown steadily in importance since late antiquity. So how and when did our culture change so strikingly?” Titillating read.
Discover: How the Amhara breathe differently.
“But the capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, is nearly 8,000 feet above sea level!” *ahem* So are we, in Santa Fe (7,500 feet). Big deal.
SF New Mexican: Access to legal abortions increasingly limited.
Sickening. Defend your rights, ladies, or it’s back to the Dark Ages for you. Yearly pregnancy and early death.
Is abortion death? Yes. Death is a part of birth - the older the woman, the more fertilized embryos (in conservative religious parlance, ‘lives’) are passed through the uterus without implanting (in conservative religious parlance, ‘murder’). As they get towards their late ‘30’s, women can have ~9 non-implantations (9 ‘murders’) for every one successful pregnancy. Noone mentions this, noone touches this fact with a ten-foot pole. Don’t believe me? Walk into any women’s health center or fertility clinic and ask.
And I will harshly remind idiotic anti-abortionists, that late-term abortions are NECESSARY (for many reasons, not just that single one). [Do NOT view if you are squeamish.]
There is no gentle way to educate on this subject, unfortunately. I respect the religious moral stance of individuals, but I will not agree to having their mores applied to nonbelievers.
WaPo: Etta James, Grammy-winning blues singer with pop appeal, dies.
“No matter how pop or schmaltzy a song, I can’t help but put a gospel and blues hurting on it.” And it hurt so good. Rest in peace, good lady.
Northwestern University: Another Clue in the Mystery of Autism.
CNN: Concrete balls thwart roof-riding commuters.
Okay, ouch. If riding on train roofs was slightly fatal before, it surely is completely fatal now.
Eurekalert: Illusion of courage: Why people mispredict behavior in embarrassing situations.
“Because social anxiety associated with the prospect of facing an embarrassing situation is such a common and powerful emotion in everyday life, we might think that we know ourselves well enough to predict our own behavior in such situations. [snip] But the ample experience most of us should have gained with predicting our own future behavior isn’t sufficient to overcome the empathy gap — our inability to anticipate the impact of emotional states we aren’t currently experiencing.” Empathy gap. I’ll have to remember that one. A lack of empathy with one’s future self. Sets up all kinds of permutations.
Big Think: Innumeracy (In a Data-Driven Age).
“Innumeracy, in a data-driven age, means ceding control and understanding of an substantial chunk of yourself – your online reputation, the scores that colleges and employers use to screen out undesirable candidates – to others.” Hmmm. I suspect, as with other data, we’re simply counting on having calculators and other devices around (smartphones). The likelihood of anyone needing to calculate a hypotenuse sans smartphone or other device is rather small nowadays. Yet using our brains for mathematical calculations is the equivalent to the benefits of taking a long vigorous walk, isn’t it? Good for the old synapses?
