Just exactly what makes these YouTube debates so revolutionary continues to elude me.
Thousands of questions are screened by the debate organizers, so they may as well have just written them all anyway.
Seems like just another expression of the personalization of everything.
Is the YouTube generation incapable of understanding (or paying attention to) a political debate without having to be amused by some jackass asking the question while performing for the camera?
Are the questions not interesting unless the viewer can relate personally to the asker?
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Stem Cells
Today I saw an article about a new breakthrough in stem cell research. Scientists have been successful at making skin cells act like embryonic stem cells. They anticipate working out all of the remaining problems pretty quickly.
I find this topic to be extraordinarily interesting. It seems like it could be one day possible for injured people to regrow their skin, spines, eyes or livers. Maybe even a lost foot could be regrown. Truly amazing, and I hope I live long enough to see some of the incredible things that will develop from this technology.
I find this topic to be extraordinarily interesting. It seems like it could be one day possible for injured people to regrow their skin, spines, eyes or livers. Maybe even a lost foot could be regrown. Truly amazing, and I hope I live long enough to see some of the incredible things that will develop from this technology.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Out of the action
Been a while since I posted. I haven't had much to say lately and work has been hectic.
We watched the movie "The Hoax" at home this weekend. It is about a writer in the early '70's who forged a biography of the crazed billionaire Howard Hughes. It was based on the antics of writer Clifford Irving, and a lot of it was fictionalized, but the core story was true. He did this while Hughes was alive, and managed to get away with it long enough to get a million dollar advance from his publisher. There was a lot of intrigue and the book had a role to play in the Watergate scandals that took down Richard Nixon. Irving, along with his wife and his co-writer, eventually went to jail for fraud. He is still a published author today.
Richard Gere was the star. I really like him when he is not playing a simplistic good-looking guy. He is a great actor and was particularly good in this role.
We watched the movie "The Hoax" at home this weekend. It is about a writer in the early '70's who forged a biography of the crazed billionaire Howard Hughes. It was based on the antics of writer Clifford Irving, and a lot of it was fictionalized, but the core story was true. He did this while Hughes was alive, and managed to get away with it long enough to get a million dollar advance from his publisher. There was a lot of intrigue and the book had a role to play in the Watergate scandals that took down Richard Nixon. Irving, along with his wife and his co-writer, eventually went to jail for fraud. He is still a published author today.
Richard Gere was the star. I really like him when he is not playing a simplistic good-looking guy. He is a great actor and was particularly good in this role.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
New treatment for Schizophrenia
A new drug that attacks schizophrenia in a completely novel manner seems to be safe for patients. There is an added benefit of reduced side effects compared to established drugs used to treat the disease, researchers reported on Monday.
Eli Lilly compared the older drug Zyprexa with the new compound (not yet named) and found it did not alleviate the symptoms of schizophrenia quite so well, but also did not produce a lot of the side effects. Older drugs produced side effects such as hormonal fluctuations, weight gain and cholesterol increases.
Presumably testing and development will continue, with the goal of increasing the effectiveness while retaining the diminished side effects.
Eli Lilly compared the older drug Zyprexa with the new compound (not yet named) and found it did not alleviate the symptoms of schizophrenia quite so well, but also did not produce a lot of the side effects. Older drugs produced side effects such as hormonal fluctuations, weight gain and cholesterol increases.
Presumably testing and development will continue, with the goal of increasing the effectiveness while retaining the diminished side effects.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Fires in Greece
I was sad to see the forest fires happening in Greece this last week. In all of my travels I really enjoyed Greece. It is exotic without being overwhelming, laid back without being boring, and best of all, inexpensive.
My wife and I spent about 6 weeks in Greece, a few days in Athens, then to the islands of Hydra and Aegina. After that we visited the Peloponesian peninsula, mostly the pretty town of Nafplion. Nafplion is an old Venetian city and the architecture looks more Italian than Greek - lots of red tiled roofs.
After that we took an overnight ship to Crete, where we stayed at the really cool old city of Hania. It is an old town with winding narrow alleys and a perfect little port with a great waterfront. There is a great wide sandy beach.
Then we travelled by bus through the picturesque mountains of central Crete to the South coast, to some rocky little beach towns with hidden nude beaches strung along the coast. We spent the next 2 weeks like this, moving to a new little town every few days.
Finally we left for Santorini, where we spent 4-5 days, and celebrated Linda's 40th birthday. Santorini is one of the most spectacular settings in the world, and a great place to finish our Greek vacation.
My wife and I spent about 6 weeks in Greece, a few days in Athens, then to the islands of Hydra and Aegina. After that we visited the Peloponesian peninsula, mostly the pretty town of Nafplion. Nafplion is an old Venetian city and the architecture looks more Italian than Greek - lots of red tiled roofs.
After that we took an overnight ship to Crete, where we stayed at the really cool old city of Hania. It is an old town with winding narrow alleys and a perfect little port with a great waterfront. There is a great wide sandy beach.
Then we travelled by bus through the picturesque mountains of central Crete to the South coast, to some rocky little beach towns with hidden nude beaches strung along the coast. We spent the next 2 weeks like this, moving to a new little town every few days.
Finally we left for Santorini, where we spent 4-5 days, and celebrated Linda's 40th birthday. Santorini is one of the most spectacular settings in the world, and a great place to finish our Greek vacation.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Credit Crisis
Watching the stock market meltdown over the last few weeks has been interesting but too not too disturbing (as long as I don't check my 401-k balances).
I did hear a good analysis of how it happens that over-rated mortgage backed securities can cause such a drop in the DOW. Banks lend to each other over night, and the collateral they use can include large bundles of mortgages that have been sold on the market. Since everyone knows they have been historically overvalued due to mortgage credit being extended to subprime borrowers, as the housing market softens the lending banks start to get nervous about loaning to other banks with such collateral. Not being able to borrow overnight means banks cannot lend as much, putting upward pressure on interest rates, and making businesses nervous.
Many European banks have invested in these mortgage backed securities, which spreads the fun internationally. Eventually these securities will become properly valued and credit will return to the markets. However there will be spasms of overreaction, both market level and regulatory, causing continuing upheaval and inefficiencies in the markets.
I did hear a good analysis of how it happens that over-rated mortgage backed securities can cause such a drop in the DOW. Banks lend to each other over night, and the collateral they use can include large bundles of mortgages that have been sold on the market. Since everyone knows they have been historically overvalued due to mortgage credit being extended to subprime borrowers, as the housing market softens the lending banks start to get nervous about loaning to other banks with such collateral. Not being able to borrow overnight means banks cannot lend as much, putting upward pressure on interest rates, and making businesses nervous.
Many European banks have invested in these mortgage backed securities, which spreads the fun internationally. Eventually these securities will become properly valued and credit will return to the markets. However there will be spasms of overreaction, both market level and regulatory, causing continuing upheaval and inefficiencies in the markets.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Construction Project
They finally laid blacktop on my street yesterday after a six month project. They replaced water lines, storm sewers, sanitary sewers, cement roadway, sidewalks and driveway aprons. What a mess that was! We had to park on the next street over and walk for a few weeks while they were tearing it up in front of our house.
It was noisy and very dusty but now it is a brand new street. We really had needed new sidewalks. Next year the city is going to plant trees along the tree lawn. They had to rip out a couple of old trees to do the work.
My daughter was endlessly fascinated by the huge machinery and giant holes in the road.
Glad this is over!
It was noisy and very dusty but now it is a brand new street. We really had needed new sidewalks. Next year the city is going to plant trees along the tree lawn. They had to rip out a couple of old trees to do the work.
My daughter was endlessly fascinated by the huge machinery and giant holes in the road.
Glad this is over!
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