Monday, February 28, 2005
Computer program useful tool in dental care
Gunnel Hänsel Petersson at Malmö University in Sweden has received an award for her studies of Cariogram, a computer program created in Malmö to assess patients’ risk of developing tooth decay, dental caries.
The program was constructed in 1997 by Professor Douglas Bratthall at the Faculty of Odontology at Malmö University College in Sweden. Today it has been translated into twelve languages and is attracting ever greater interest in other countries. Gunnel Hänsel Petersson’s study is the first evaluation of the program. “Caries occurs in a complicated interaction involving various factors built into the Cariogram Program. The program makes it easier for dentists to initiate the proper treatment to prevent caries,” explains Gunnel Hänsel Petersson.
There are a total of some ten risk factors whose respective importance is weighted in relation to each other: the number of earlier dental cavities, use of fluoride, the buffering capacity of the saliva, medicines, the number of bacteria in the mouth, diet, etc. The information is fed into the computer, and the program calculates the risk of caries. The patient’s risk profile is presented graphically in the form of a circle where sections of varying color and size represent the risk factors-the greater the green area, the greater the chance of avoiding caries.
The Malmö researcher’s study is based on 600 individuals who had been placed in various risk groups following the original examination. At follow-ups two and five years later it was shown that the distribution reflected the actual outcome. More than 90 percent of those with the highest risk, for instance, had developed new cavities. “Cariogram is thus a useful tool in estimating the risk of children and older adults developing dental caries. But dentists are advised not to place blind faith in the computer program; they should rather use it as a complement to their clinical assessment,” says Gunnel Hänsel Petersson.
The idea is that it should be possible to use Cariogram around the world. It can be downloaded for free from the Internet in Russian, German, Thai, Portuguese, French, English, etc.
The prize of SEK 30,000 from the Patent Money Fund for prophylactic research in dentistry is one of the largest for odontological research in Sweden.
A great program and a good adjunct to any dentist's practice.
Women Making Strides in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
The American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons reports that:
ROSEMONT, Ill., Feb. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- In the specialty of oral and
maxillofacial surgery, Elaine Stuebner, DDS, is a pioneer in almost the same
sense as the women who helped drive wagon trains across a brave, new world.
Oral and maxillofacial surgeons are dental specialists who treat
conditions, defects, injuries and aesthetic aspects of the jaws, face, mouth
and teeth. OMSs care for patients with problem wisdom teeth, facial pain and
misaligned jaws. They replace lost teeth with dental implants, remove
cancerous tumors, rebuild faces injured by trauma, perform cosmetic surgery
and provide safe and effective anesthesia.
A Chicago OMS for more than 40 years, Stuebner encountered resistance when
she began her training shortly after World War II. "In dental school I was
told, 'You're taking a space from a veteran,'" she recalls. "I was told that
it's a man's profession and no one would trust me."
Such comments were "just enough to aggravate me but not discourage me. I
resolved to enter the field," says Stuebner, a member of the American
Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons.
Stuebner estimates that less than 1% of the students were women during her
days in dental school. Actually, the proportion may have been higher. An
article in a 2001 issue of The Compendium of Continuing Education in Dentistry
indicated that in the 1920s, about 3% of dentists were women. By 1999,
according to the American Dental Association, 15% of dentists were women.
One-third of new dentists are women
An increase from 3% to 15% in nearly three-quarters of a century may not
seem very impressive. But consider the shift in gender balance in the ADA's
figures for "new" dentists, those who graduated from dental school in 1990 or
later: in 1999, 33.5% were women.
Women do appear to be the future of dentistry. In 2000, 37% of new dental
students in the United States were women. However, among women in private
practice dentistry, only 0.8% are OMSs, compared with 4.2% of men.
Long residency is a drawback
During the past seven years, Mary Allaire, AAOMS manager of advanced
education and resident affairs, estimates a 2% increase in women entering
four-year OMS residency training.
"We're asking women to defeat their biological clock," says Seattle OMS
Darlene Chan, DDS, in reference to the long OMS residency. When her youngest
daughter was born, Chan didn't take much of a maternity leave. "While I was
in the hospital, there was a walkway between my office and the hospital. I
walked to my office in my robe to check messages."
When Chan attends professional meetings, she tells her male colleagues
what an advantage it is to have a wife. "I don't mean a spouse," she
explains. "I mean all the things a wife means -- a wife is the campfire
around which everything in the family happens."
The American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, the
professional organization representing more than 7,000 oral and maxillofacial
surgeons in the United States, supports its members' ability to practice their
specialty through education, research, and advocacy. AAOMS members comply
with rigorous continuing education requirements and submit to periodic office
examinations, ensuring the public that all office procedures and personnel
meet stringent national standards.
Indeed, it is refreshing to learn of more women in dentistry!
Test Takers Try to Cheat With Cell Phones
Obviously their methodology was a dead give-away Chief!
Test Takers Try to Cheat With Cell Phones
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- Forty-six young men preparing to take a military school entrance exam were caught trying to cheat using mobile phones taped to their bodies and hidden in their shoes and underwear, an army official said Monday.
The men, aged 18-24, were among nearly 30,000 who showed up Sunday morning at Ramkhamhaeng University in Bangkok to take the test to vie for 2,000 spots in the one-year military program.
Officials searched the students and discovered the phones after some shied away from guards with handheld metal detectors as they entered the testing rooms.
"When they took off their shoes, we found the cell phones," said Army Spokesman Col. Acra Tiprot. "We questioned them, and they admitted many of their friends were also inside, so we closed the rooms and checked their clothes and shoes."
Army officials suspect the test-takers' parents had foreknowledge of the plan and paid for the phones.
"The parents wanted their children to pass the test, so they believed the people behind this," he said.
The person tipping off the cheaters is "likely a kid who has a high IQ or is a good student, went in to take the test, remembered the test information and sent the answers by code," Acra said.
The suspected cheaters met Saturday to learn how to read the codes they would receive by mobile phone, he said.
I guess the parents really wanted these guys out of the house!
Duchess’ Poison garden opens in UK
BBC News reports:
The Duchess of Northumberland's controversial poison garden has been officially opened.
Cannabis, opium poppies, magic mushrooms and coca - the source of cocaine - all feature at the centuries-old Alnwick Garden.
The Home Office granted the Alnwick Garden Trust permission to grow the plants late last year.
Poisonous foxglove, tobacco and wild lettuce, which can be used as a tranquilliser, will also be grown.
The site has been designed by Belgian Peter Virtz. More than 50 dangerous plants are included in the collection.
'Emotive issue'
To highlight its hazardous nature the garden's beds are laid in the shape of flickering flames.
Members of the public will be escorted around the walled garden by marshals.
The Duchess of Northumberland officially opened the garden with Northumbria Police chief constable Crispian Strachan.
She said: "Drugs are a major concern across the country and an emotive issue.
"The garden will offer a new avenue, outside the classroom, to get people talking about the misuse of drugs - most of which grow in nature.
Ahhhhh Agatha Christi and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would be soooooo proud!
Hat Tip: Boing Boing
U.S. Life Expectancy Rises to Record Level
The Associated Press is reporting:
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Declines in death rates from most major causes - including heart disease and cancer - have pushed Americans' life expectancy to a record 77.6 years. Women are still living longer than men, but the gap is narrowing.
Women now have a life expectancy of 80.1 years, 5.3 more than men. That's down from 5.4 years in 2002 and continues a steady decline from a peak difference of 7.8 years in 1979, the National Center for Health Statistics said Monday in its annual mortality report.
Research indicates there also is an increase in active life expectancy, said Mary A. Salmon, a sociology professor at the University of North Carolina.
"It's not that we're having a lot of very old, sick people," she said in a telephone interview.
She added, "There has been lots of speculation on how this will affect Social Security, of course."
Indeed, a major debate topic in Washington and elsewhere is President Bush's plan to change Social Security, which he says is facing a financial crisis caused by increasing life expectancy, lower birth rates and aging baby boomers.
The total number of deaths in the United States in 2003 was 2,443,908, an increase of 521 reflecting a growing overall population.
Most age groups saw a decline in mortality rates. Infant mortality, which increased to 7 per 100,000 in 2002 - the first such rise in decades - was 6.9 in 2003, a change the agency said was not statistically significant.
While the overall life expectancy increase to 77.6 was good news, Americans still trail many other countries, according to statistics from the World Health Organization.
In 2002 figures, Japan had the longest life expectancy at 81.9 years, followed by Monaco, 81.2, San Marino and Switzerland, 80.6, Australia, 80.4, Andorra, 80.3, and Iceland, 80.1.
Other countries topping the United States include Austria, Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Spain and the United Kingdom.
In 2003, both of the two largest killers of Americans saw declines.
The death rate from heart disease decreased from 240.8 per 100,000 in 2002 to 232.1 in 2003. The cancer death rate declined from 193.5 to 189.3 per 100,000.
Among other major killers, the death rate for stroke dropped 4.6 percent, the death rate from chronic respiratory diseases 0.7 percent, flu and pneumonia 3.1 percent, accidents 2.2 percent and suicides 3.7 percent.
On the other hand, the death rate for Alzheimer's disease was up 5.9 percent, for hypertension 5.7 percent, Parkinson's 3.4 percent and kidney disease 2.1 percent.
The increase in Parkinson's deaths moved it into the top 15 causes of death in the United States, one of the few surprises in the report, according to Robert N. Anderson, chief of the mortality statistics branch at the center. Parkinson's replaced murder among the top causes of death.
Among whites the death rates per 100,000 people declined 2.1 percent for men and 1.2 percent for women; among blacks the rates were down 2.5 percent for men and 2.4 percent for women; Hispanic males had a 4.2 percent drop compared with 1.8 percent for Hispanic women.
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On the Net:
National Center for Health Statistics:
Hertzberg to demand changes in Hahn Staff
BoiFromTroy is reporting a Monday afternoon new conference in the Los Angeles Mayor's Race:
While the Los Angeles Times describes the race for Mayor of Los Angeles as, "a regular soap opera" where, "there are so many unsettled scores among the candidates, a less-civilized group would have taken it outside by now," the Candidates keep slugging away at each other today as they head into the final debate--to be aired tonight at 6:30 PM on KCBS Channel 2.
Before the last debate sponsored by the City's neighborhood councils, Mayor James Hahn made a surprise announcement that he wanted to double the funds given by the City to the advisory panels each year. This time around, it is Bob Hertzberg who appears ready to set the agenda for the debate--focusing squarely on the cloud of corruption surrounding the Hahn administration.
At 1 PM today, "Mayoral candidate Bob Hertzberg will hold a news conference today to call for the resignation of multiple Hahn administration officials. Hertzberg will provide the media with detailed information and rational [sic] for the call for resignation at the news conference." Only 8 more days to see whether all Hahn Administration officials will soon be on their way out!The City of Los Angeles election will be next Tuesday, March 8th.
Me thinks the incumbent Mayor, Jimmy Hahn is in trouble.
Japan Eyes Manned Base on Moon
The Japanese-made H-2A rocket, carrying a navigation and meteorological satellite, blasts off from the island of Tanegashima, about 620 miles southwest of Tokyo, February 26, 2005. Japan launched the satellite on Saturday in a bid to restore faith in its space program, 15 months after its previous launch attempt ended in failure.
Japan Eyes Manned Base on Moon
Yahoo News is reporting:
TOKYO - Japan plans to start building a manned base on the moon and a manned space shuttle within the next 20 years, a newspaper report said Monday.
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Japan's space agency, JAXA, is drawing up plans to develop a robot to conduct probes on the moon by 2015, then begin constructing a solar-powered manned research base on the planet and design a reusable manned space vessel like the U.S. space shuttle by 2025, the Mainichi Shimbun said.
The space agency's budget could be boosted six-fold to $57 billion to assist those plans, the Mainichi said.
The plans also include using satellites to send information on evacuation routes, locators on people's whereabouts and alerts to cell phones in the event of major emergencies like a tsunami, the daily said.
JAXA officials were unavailable for immediate comment late Monday.
Japan has long focused on unmanned scientific probes. In a major policy switch last year, however, a government panel recommended that the country consider its own manned space program.
Long Asia's leading spacefaring nation, Japan has been struggling to get out from under the shadow of China, which put its first astronaut into orbit in October 2003. Beijing has since announced it is aiming for the moon.
One month after China's breakthrough, a Japanese H-2A rocket carrying two spy satellites malfunctioned after liftoff, forcing controllers to end its mission in a spectacular fireball.
Further launches were put on hold for 15 months, but on Saturday Japan took a big step to re-establish the credibility of its space program with the successful launch of a domestically designed H-2A rocket that placed a communications satellite into orbit.
It was just a matter of time with the Japanese engineering prowess!
I-Pod Shuffle Accessories
XtremeMac, yet another company whose sole product lineup consists of iPod accessores, has a new lineup of no less than 13 shuffle add-ons. Highlights include a line splitter (for sharing with that special someone on the subway), the AirPlay (an FM transmitter), Bumperz (molded rubberized shuffle bras), Shieldz (molded rubberized shuffle cases), Wrapz and SuperWrapz (molded form-fitting shuffle shrouds), and the SuperHook (a hook for, you know, whatever). The best part is, if you buy more than two or three, you’ve already spent more than the value of your player—gotta love that!
Great Stuff!
H/T Engadget
Introducing 'Dirty Harry,' via Video Game, to a New Generation
The New York Times (registration required) reports on a new Clint Eastwood - Dirty Harry Video game:
Pauline Kael described Clint Eastwood's 1971 film, "Dirty Harry," as "cheerfully fascist" and "deeply immoral." One can only imagine what the late film critic would have said about "Dirty Harry," the video game.
The actor will lend his voice and likeness to a new "Dirty Harry" game, which is being produced by Eastwood's Malpaso Productions and overseen by Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment. "There are a lot of fans of the Harry Callahan character," said Warner Brothers' president and chief operating officer, Alan Horn. "And this is Clint's way of bringing it to a new audience and having some fun with it."
In a prepared statement, Mr. Eastwood said the games, "will also introduce this memorable film character to new generations on a medium they appreciate." The game will include characters and settings from the five-film franchise, which began with "Dirty Harry" in 1971 and ended with "The Dead Pool" in 1988. But the storyline will be original. "We are not retelling the stories that have already been told," said Jason Hall, senior vice president of Warner Brothers Interactive.
Mr. Hall would not comment on whether the video game will use a first-person shooter or third-person style of play. But the level of violence will match that seen on the big screen, which was controversial in its day.
"The movies tended to be mature and we are going to be consistent, most likely, with what the films delivered," he said. While Warner Brothers is publishing the title, the game developer has not been announced. The game will not be on shelves until the new Xbox and PlayStation gaming consoles arrive, in 2005 and 2006 respectively.
This is not the fist time Dirty Harry has starred in a video game. In 1990, there was Dirty Harry: The War Against Drugs, a Nintendo Entertainment System title that included sound clips from the movie. And the influence of the Dirty Harry films can also be seen in many recent video games, including Max Payne in 2001, Dead to Rights in 2002, True Crime: Streets of LA in 2003 and the Grand Theft Auto series.
"We have seen plenty of video games over the last decade essentially borrowing from the Dirty Harry franchise to create their own character," said Mr. Hall. "And in our view they are not the real deal."
I always enjoyed the genre.
So, release the games already!
Carnival of the Captialists
This week the Carnival of the Capitalists is hosted over at Coyote Blog.
Flap has an article that is linked.
Go here to see.
A SOCIALIZED MEDICINE DISGRACE
John Ray over at Socialized Medicine has an interesting piece on a young British girl:
The b*******s just don't care. A little girl had to go to America to get a false British diagnosis overturned
From the time Tilly Merrell was a year old, doctors told her family she would never have a normal life -- or even a normal meal. British doctors found that the food she swallowed went into her lungs instead of her stomach, causing devastating lung infections. They said she had isolated bulbar palsy, and their solution was to feed her through a stomach tube. Forever. But having a backpack with a food pump wired to her stomach wasn't much of a life for a girl whose favorite smell is bacon frying -- a girl who once broke through a locked kitchen door in an effort to sneak some cheese. So her family got help from their community of Warndon, about 120 miles north of London, raising enough money to take Tilly, now 8, on a 5,000-mile journey they hoped might change her life, a journey to Lucile Salter Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford University.
Doctors at Packard were intrigued that she had no neurological symptoms often associated with the palsy. In all other ways, she was a normal child with a mischievous smile and a truckload of energy. After seeing her Feb. 7, they ran three tests and found out what was wrong with her. Nothing. She had infections, certainly, but they were long gone. And when she swallowed something, it went into her stomach, not her lungs.
Until this month, Tilly often had to go off into another room with her PlayStation during family meals. She would always try to sneak morsels of food, not fully understanding the British doctors' warnings about how much harm they could cause. "Christmastime was the worst," said Tilly's grandmother, Sonia Merrell. "She couldn't eat or drink with us. She used to think we were horrible." Having Tilly go through that for the rest of her life wasn't something that her grandmother was ready to accept. After five years of searching the Internet, Sonia Merrell found a story about how a girl with a similar condition was trying to get treated at Packard....
So Tilly, 13-year-old sister Megan, Amelia, Sonia and grandfather Trevor Merrell got on a plane Feb. 5. Two days later, they were seeing Dr. Kenneth Cox, Packard's chief medical officer and its chief of pediatric gastroenterology. "I felt a little bit of anxiousness when they arrived," he said. "I wondered if there was something I didn't know."
After all, England is not exactly a backward nation when it comes to medicine. Tilly had several cases of severe pneumonia as a baby, and her mother said that doctors in the socialized British system clung to the palsy diagnosis....
Once he met with the family, Cox arranged three tests. Dr. Peter Koltai examined the back of Tilly's throat, looking for evidence that she couldn't swallow properly. Dr. Jin Hahn checked to see if she had any neurological problems. Tilly also needed a modified barium swallow, which allowed occupational therapist Marianna Thorn to track whether food was going into her stomach or lungs. "It showed that Tilly had some very enlarged tonsils," Thorn said, "but nothing that told us she would aspirate on food."
More here. (This post also appears on Blogger News)
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For greatest efficiency, lowest cost and maximum choice, ALL hospitals and health insurance schemes should be privately owned and run -- with government-paid vouchers for the very poor and minimal regulation.
I agree, John.
Yes, but the British National Health Service is so ingrained in your society. Socialism pervades every fabric of commerce in the U.K.
There has to be a radical approach to privatization from healthcare and welfare systems to government and taxation.
Then and only then will tragedies like this be avoided and the Underground might run on time.
Sunday, February 27, 2005
More Dutch Plan to Emigrate as Muslim Influx Tips Scales
The New York Times reports that many Dutch plan to emigrate due to an influx in primarily Muslim immigrants:
MSTERDAM - Paul Hiltemann had already noticed a darkening mood in the Netherlands. He runs an agency for people wanting to emigrate and his client list had surged.
But he was still taken aback in November when a Dutch filmmaker was shot and his throat was slit, execution style, on an Amsterdam street.
In the weeks that followed, Mr. Hiltemann was inundated by e-mail messages and telephone calls. "There was a big panic," he said, "a flood of people saying they wanted to leave the country."
Leave this stable and prosperous corner of Europe? Leave this land with its generous social benefits and ample salaries, a place of fine schools, museums, sports grounds and bicycle paths, all set in a lively democracy?
The answer, increasingly, is yes. This small nation is a magnet for immigrants, but statistics suggest there is a quickening flight of the white middle class. Dutch people pulling up roots said they felt a general pessimism about their small and crowded country and about the social tensions that had grown along with the waves of newcomers, most of them Muslims."The Dutch are living in a kind of pressure cooker atmosphere," Mr. Hiltemann said.
There is more than the concern about the rising complications of absorbing newcomers, now one-tenth of the population, many of them from largely Muslim countries. Many Dutch also seem bewildered that their country, run for decades on a cozy, political consensus, now seems so tense and prickly and bent on confrontation. Those leaving have been mostly lured by large English-speaking nations like Australia, New Zealand and Canada, where they say they hope to feel less constricted.
In interviews, emigrants rarely cited a fear of militant Islam as their main reason for packing their bags. But the killing of the filmmaker Theo van Gogh, a fierce critic of fundamentalist Muslims, seems to have been a catalyst.
"Our Web site got 13,000 hits in the weeks after the van Gogh killing," said Frans Buysse, who runs an agency that handles paperwork for departing Dutch. "That's four times the normal rate."
Mr. van Gogh's killing is the only one the police have attributed to an Islamic militant, but since then they have reported finding death lists by local Islamic militants with the names of six prominent politicians. The effects still reverberate. In a recent opinion poll, 35 percent of the native Dutch questioned had negative views about Islam.
There are no precise figures on the numbers now leaving. But Canadian, Australian and New Zealand diplomats here said that while immigration papers were processed in their home capitals, embassy officials here had been swamped by inquiries in recent months.
Read the rest here.
I guess the United States is not the only country with an immigration problem.
Are you listening, Mr. President?
Million Dollar Baby!
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Veteran actor/director Clint Eastwood (news) won his second best-director Oscar on Sunday for drama "Million Dollar Baby," about the complex relationship between a boxing trainer, played by Eastwood, and his protegee, portrayed by Hilary Swank.
Eastwood, 74, beat rival Martin Scorsese, whose biography of eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes, "The Aviator," had been widely praised by critics. The Oscar is Eastwood's third overall. He won two Academy Awards (news - web sites) for 1992 western "Unforgiven," and in 1994 was honored for lifetime achievement by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (news - web sites).
And did you see Hilary in that dress tonight!??
U.S. says it would fire missiles over Canada
The London Free Press reports:
OTTAWA -- The United States will decide when to fire missiles over Canadian airspace whether Canada likes it or not, says America's ambassador. The blunt warning from Paul Cellucci came minutes after Prime Minister Paul Martin announced yesterday that he will not sign on to the controversial U.S. missile defence program.
"We will deploy. We will defend North America," Cellucci said.
"We simply cannot understand why Canada would, in effect, give up its sovereignty -- its seat at the table -- to decide what to do about a missile that might be coming toward Canada."
The warning was no slip of the tongue -- Cellucci repeated several times that Canada's decision had handed over some of its sovereignty to the U.S.
Read the rest here.Click here for an interactive link on how the National Missle Defense System works.
Does Paul Martin and his Liberal coalition in Canada really think we give a DAMN whether they approve of OUR National Missile Defense system.
I mean really!
And........ read about the succesful National Missle Defense test this past Thursday here.
Free Gadgets at the Academy Awards!
Engadget has all the free stuff/gadgets that the stars will score at tonight's Oscar presentation:
girlhacker has tossed together her yearly list of all the stuff celebs are going to be scooping up at the Academy Awards, and as usual, the people who can best afford to pay full price for stuff are getting a bunch of freebies. Here are all the slick new gadgets they’re getting:
- A year free year of VoIP phone service from Vonage.
- The black version of Motorola’s RAZR V3.
- An iXi collapsible bike.
- A Dyson DC11 vacuum.
- Sprint is offering some unreleased “multimedia” phone from Samsung, maybe the SCH-5600?
- A Krups kitchen set that includes a toaster and an electric kettle.
Bill Gates Says American High Schools are Obsolete
Yahoo News is reporting:
Governors Work to Improve H.S. Education
 Photo: AP Click to enlarge |
The nation's governors offered an alarming account of the American high school Saturday, saying only drastic change will keep millions of students from falling short.
"We can't keep explaining to our nation's parents or business leaders or college faculties why these kids can't do the work," said Virginia Democratic Gov. Mark Warner, as the state leaders convened for the first National Education Summit aimed at rallying governors around high school reform.
The governors say they want to emerge Sunday with specific plans for enacting policy, weary of statistics showing that too many students are coasting, dropping out or failing in college.
At least one agreement is likely. Achieve, a nonprofit group formed by governors and corporate leaders, plans to announce Sunday that roughly 12 states are committing to raise high school rigor and align their graduation requirements with skills demanded in college or work.
The high school summit drew at least 45 governors from the 50 states and five U.S. territories, along with top names in U.S. industry and education. The leaders broke into groups late in the day to debate ideas, and planned to do the same through Sunday.
Most of the summit's first day amounted to an enormous distress call, with speakers using unflattering numbers to define the problem. Among them: Of every 100 ninth-graders, only 68 graduate high school on time and only 18 make it through college on time, according to the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education......Once in college, one in four students at four-year universities must take at least one remedial course to master what they should have learned in high school, government figures show.
The most blunt assessment came from Microsoft chief Bill Gates, who has put more than $700 million into reducing the size of high school classes through the foundation formed by him and his wife, Melinda. He said high schools must be redesigned to prepare every student for college, with classes that are rigorous and relevant to kids and with supportive relationships for children.
"America's high schools are obsolete," Gates said. "By obsolete, I don't just mean that they're broken, flawed or underfunded, though a case could be made for every one of those points. By obsolete, I mean our high schools _ even when they're working as designed _ cannot teach all our students what they need to know today."
Summit leaders have an ambitious agenda for every state: to raise the requirements of a high school diploma, improve information sharing between high schools and universities, and align graduation standards with the expectations of colleges and employers. Governors say they're in a position to unite the often splintered agendas of business leaders, educators and legislatures.
But such changes will take what Gates singled out as the biggest obstacle: political will.
Requiring tougher courses for all students, for example, could face opposition from parents and school officials, particularly if more rigor leads to lower test scores and costly training....."
Well, the High Schools have been broken in the U.S. for a long time. We will need a state by state initiative and privatization by vouchers in order to correct the many problems.
British Blogs
For my friends in the United Kingdom and the Colonies (just kidding) Tim Worstall has a good list of British Blogs:
BritBlog Roundup Number 2
Here’s week two of the BritBlog Roundup. Week 1 and the rules are here. Anything from a resident or citizen of (wherever resident) these Isles is eligible. Twenty two entries this week, a few extra picks from me and all done in between the various rugby matches.
Please do send in entries for next week to britblog AT gmail DOT com, and yes, I would like entries that disagree with my cherished beliefs. Any subject matter, just whatever you think is worth showcasing to others. Most especially if you’ve come across something from someone else that you think we all ought to know about.
The Observer has started a blog, will be interesting to see how that turns out. Will it actually be a blog or simply an extension of the newspaper?
The Book Club Blog tries to get to the bottom of the Belle De Jour "who she?" question.
Paul Coletti answers the age old question...do you get more if you’re famous? (more, err, well, you know).
Andrew Dodge actually went and did some real research, proper reporting (hear that bloggers? We’ve got work to do) in the aftermath of the Hunting Ban.
Giles is running a competition to rename Ken Livingstone, apparently simple swearwords are not enough.
Jesurgislac follows up on the Eason Jordan story...asking an interesting question, not about what Jordan said or did, but just who has been killed and by whom?
England Expects brings us another little nugget from the centre of the swamp, Brussels (a declaration of interest here, he gave me a job once), on the way in which Irish TDs (like an MP for those who don’t know) refused to meet with MEPs, as one of them was a Sinn Feinner.
Anglo Saxon Chronicles actually nominates one of my posts, on the confusion the Prime Minister seems to be showing over what his real job is. That’s extremely kind but will not happen again. My posts are banned from being nominated...after all, I’ve already read them and part of the purpose here is to point me (and of course others) to things I haven’t yet seen. As a second choice he recommends RoomTwelve’s meditations on smoking bans. (That’s the spirit! nominate things from other people’s blogs!)
Little Red Blogger has angry words for those who contract services out and thus increase infection rates in hospitals. (See, I really do mean it, all economic and political views are included in this roundup. It’s only the rest of the week that this blog is part of the VRWC.)
Attempting Escape gives us his views on yet another manifestation of class bias in University application processes.
Jon Barnard, (who is RoomTwelve up above) also nominates someone other than himself, a masterly Irish blog called Twenty Major. This one post alone, on a commemoration of the Titanic (yes, by towing an iceberg into Belfast Harbour) should earn him a place on many blogrolls. Certainly mine, after I’ve got through this.
Gareth at the CEP sends in something from John at The England Project...applying the current logic of regional assemblies to the EU Constitution. He also wants Neil Herron (one of the few who have actually used this blogging thing to make a real difference to UK politics) to have a mention, so here it is.
Blimpish has a detailed look at Lib Dem proposals for the low cost housing market. Not impressed.
Blood and Treasure tells us about Tamurlaine’s hangovers. Yes, really. And an empire named after a piece of furniture.
Blognor Regis points to a James Hamilton piece on James Bartholomew’s book, The Welfare State We’re In, with commentary on the commentary from the author himself. OK, parse that sentence then.
Clive Davis (this I like. A journalist for the MSM entering blog roundups?) has a very good piece on David Irving, that libel trial and the similarities with Michael Moore.
Nick Barlow of that Ilk offers us his examination of Christian Voice..and is witty, thorough and complete while doing so. Better investigative work than half the Sunday Times there.
Liberal England explains Darwin to us.
Norm of that Blog sends in his piece on a flawed system, talking about the Iraq War and the International Legal System. I’m not quite sure whether to decribe this as a stiletto aimed at the heart of the anti-war left or a cavalry sabre slashing through the presumptions of non-interventionism...you’ll like it though, you’ll like when Norm gets angry.
Blithering Bunny (having spent most of yesterday evening setting up spoofs of my site...we’ve said before about how you should not drive a computer while drunk) offers Whistle Schoenberg While You Work.
Laban Tall suggest visiting Mark Humphrys, an idea I heartily endorse. Not really organised like a blog, he tends to update certain subjects rather than working specifically chronologically like the rest of us. His views on politics and economics seem almost identical to my own, it’s always nice to find that someone as obviously intelligent as he shares the same Bayesian priors.
Iain Murray is back at The Edge of England’s Sword, very angry indeed over changes being made at Oxford University. We have also, through the grapevine, heard some very fun gossip about Iain in Brussels last weekend...even the Press Officer couldn’t remember whether it was 3 or 4 am when the party broke up. As these people are chosen on the strength of their livers that takes some doing.
A from L has much good writing, start with this post and scroll.
A Welsh View points me to lynne ydw i, and an excellent description of the varied natives of these isles, a must read primer for non Brits.
The Yorkshire Ranter is good as always, here on using spyware manufacturers to help the Department of Homeland Security.
Stumbling and Mumbling (one of the best economics blogs around IMHO) doesn’t like the minimum wage.
The Italian Version,(he’s Italian but living in England, thus eligible) entirely new to me, gives a perfect description of the recycling process for plastic bottles and shows why it is not, as often assumed, a good idea. A must read for anyone interested in either economics or the environment.
And a blog that’s a real keeper. The Law West of Ealing Broadway, written by a magistrate and quite excellent. No specific post, just keep scrolling.
OK, that’s it, this week’s roundup. Entries for next week to britblog AT gmail DOT com please. I’m late for the rugby, so Toodle Pip and see you next week.
Thanks Tim and we all will be sure to check these blogs out.
Los Angeles Marathon - One Week To Go
As everyone knows, Flap is participating in the 20th Annual Los Angeles Marathon next Sunday.
My last piece of trainng will be today, so blogging will be light for a few hours.
I will be going to the Marathon Center on Thursday to pick up my participation number and my electronic chip which I will post here so you can track me and encourage me on to the finish. You will be able to watch for me here.
Sooooo... until later!
From last year:
Saturday, February 26, 2005
Father And Son Day At The Iraqi Genocide Tribunal
Captain Ed over at Captain's Quarters has an excellent piece on the Iraqi Genocide Tribunal:
And does anyone really wonder why tht U.S. tank and soldiers are still in Iraq?
Read the piece here.
The Iraqi Special Tribunal for genocide during Saddam Hussein's bloody reign of terror has two new defendants to consider. US forces turned over a father-son partnership reportedly responsible for the murders of over 140 murders in a retaliation for a Dawa assassination attempt on Saddam in 1982:
U.S. forces have arrested an Iraqi father and son accused of participating in a 1982 massacre in the predominantly Shiite Muslim village of Dujail in retaliation for an assassination attempt on then-President Saddam Hussein.Senior U.S. officials said in interviews that Abdulla Rwayid and Muzhir Abdulla Rwayid were arrested Monday and charged with crimes against humanity for their alleged role in the killing of hundreds of people associated with the Dawa party, a Shiite group that carried out the attempt on Hussein's life on July 8, 1982.
Charges against the two detained men were referred to the Iraqi Special Tribunal, the entity responsible for trying those accused of crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide in Iraq between 1968 and 2003, when Hussein's Baath Party ruled the country.
The attempt came after the Iran-Iraq war provoked by Saddam began to slog into a stalemate in its second year and Saddam's popularity plummeted. Dawa, the banned political opposition group whose leader is likely to be Iraq's next Prime Minister, schemed an ambush to murder Saddam. Saddam outsmarted the ambushers by changing cars in the convoy, a move that saved his life. However, it still took the Iraqi Army two hours to extricate him from the ambush, and the experience affected Saddam deeply. He curtailed his travel in Iraq and started relying on blood relations, concentrating power into his family and the Tikrit syndicate whose loyalty could be counted on.
That wasn't all that Saddam did. In an age-old response of tyrants, Saddam punished the town for the acts of a handful of its residents. Like the Czech village of Lidice after the assassination of Reinhard "Hangman" Heydrich in WWII, the Ba'athists rounded up hundreds, deported the rest and destroyed the town of Dujail. Some of the detained endured months of torture before being released, but at least 147 were killed, on the orders of the Rwayids.
Now they will face the music, along with the rest of the Ba'athist enablers that the Iraqis and the Americans can grab. Like the Nazis that came before Saddam, the Ba'athist regime resembled a crime family more than a government. Humiliation before a tribunal of free Iraqis will be a fitting end for the monsters of Iraq.
As this shows, the Ba'athist remnants and foreign terrorists targeting Iraqis for even more murder and mayhem didn't get pushed into their latest atrocities by the American invasion. With their pool of helpless victims now severely restricted, they have to resort to suicide bombings and remotely-detonated car bombs to satiate their thirst for blood. That change has not gone unnoticed by ordinary Iraqis, as the Washington Post reports at the end:
The Marines have captured 155 suspected insurgents and seized several weapons caches during a six-day security operation in Ramadi and neighboring towns, according to the U.S. military. Of those detained, 51 were arrested Friday, the military said in a statement.Hamoudi Hadib, 45, a grocer in Ramadi, said he hopes the U.S. forces kill all of the insurgents.
"They prevent us from working," he said. "If Islam and religion become like this, we don't need it. They hurt us so much. We don't blame the Americans because they insisted on continuing their mission, but we blame those Arabs who do not want to leave our country. They should leave."
It appears that they have little patience left for their former oppressors and their lunatic supporters. After hearing about the Rwayids, one can't blame them a bit.
Thanks Ed for another insightful article.
Now, are there any questions about our continued presence in Iraq?
Nikon's Top Dog Arrives
Oh Man!
Check out Nikon's latest and greatest digital camera:
"In February 2001, Nikon introduced to the world the D1X – a six-megapixel, three FPS, nine-frame buffer digital SLR. For the next three and a half years or so, it has remained the top professional body in Nikon’s DSLR offerings. Even when the competition released DSLRs that brought the megapixel-count past the single digit threshold, Nikon remains unmoved. Sure, in late November 2002, Nikon offered a memory module upgrade for the D1X to increase image-buffering performances (from nine JPEG Large images to 21 and six NEF images to 14), but shooting speed remained the same. Rumors of a D1X successor have been floating ever since 2002, but nothing ever materialized.
Zoom closer to the present timeline in September 2004, Nikon finally announced the long anticipated heir to the throne that D1X has been occupying for so long. The aptly named D2X is Nikon's first digital camera to go past the 10-megapixel count. As a professional body, you wouldn't think that Nikon is satisfied with offering users a mere megapixel bump. A new sensor, improved technologies, and some rather interesting features and implementations place the D2X on a podium like no other. Finally on 24th February 2005, it is launched officially in Singapore amidst much fanfare. Join us as we bring you on a tour de force on this latest star of the digital SLR arena."
Hat Tip: Instapundit
Quote from an Unhappy Librarian
John Dvorak one of my favorite columnists in the TECH World has these interesting observations about the Blogosphere:
Coined the term “blog people”
Written Inc.: Quote from an unhappy librarian
“[The] Blog People (or their subclass who are interested in computers and the glorification of information) have a fanatical belief in the transforming power of digitization and a consequent horror of, and contempt for, heretics who do not share that belief … Given the quality of the writing in the blogs I have seen, I doubt that many of the Blog People are in the habit of sustained reading of complex texts. It is entirely possible that their intellectual needs are met by an accumulation of random facts and paragraphs.’” — M. Gorman
I have no idea where Cami Levy got this quote, but it’s apparently from library spokesman Michael Gorman (pictured above). Of course the bloggers immediately get outraged. What he is saying is quite true. You hear about “people’s journalism,” “print is dead,” old media, new media, blah, blah, blah. It’s an attack on print just for the sake of an attack. And note that he’s not saying all blogs are crap. He’s saying they are taking themselves a little too seriously with all the changing the world nonsense. He also takes a couple of cheap shots which does his position no good at all.
But let’s discuss changing the world. The way I see it radio was going to change the world. Movies were going to change the world. TV was going to change the world. Computers were going to change the world. And, uh, hmm — they did! But compare the promises to the results. The corporations are bigger. The public is dumber. McDonalds and Coca-Cola are everywhere. Public and corporate corruption is rampant. Like all new technological developments blogs will accelerate these trends, no matter what the bloggers think.
You can see it developing as the most read blogs fall into one of two political categories (conservative or liberal) both essentially serving big government as cheerleaders for one of two narrowly defined knee-jerk positions on everything public. How is this helping anything?
That said there is indeed a third category of blog which is purely informational such as the definitive WifFi Networking News. These tend to be specialty blogs that more resemble a magazine. And when the blog aficionados go on and on about changing the world this blog is never mentioned since it’s not political.
Anyway, you can expect more debate on this topic over the next few years. Ack!
A point well written, John.
The commercialization of the blogosphere and its use to disseminate commercial speech is just beginning. Political speech is easy and cheap.
Companies will invest heavily in this new medium.
Million Dollar Smile
The March 7 Edition of Newsweek Magazine reports:
By Karen Springen
Newsweek
Kendall Ramirez, 34, always felt self-conscious about her teeth, which she thought were too wide and masculine-looking. So before her wedding five years ago, the Dallas marketing consultant splurged on MAC veneers, paying about $15,000 to cover her 10 top front teeth with porcelain. She was so happy with the results that, last year, she went back and had her bottom set bleached. The result: a bright, rounded, more feminine smile. "It was worth every penny," she says.
Ramirez is part of a new era in dentistry that goes far beyond fighting cavities. With the vast majority of celebrities sporting blinding-white smiles, and shows like "Extreme Makeover" bringing da Vinci veneers to Everyman, Americans have grown tooth-obsessed. As a result, dentists are performing about twice as many cosmetic procedures as they were just three years ago, estimates Cleveland dentist Matthew Messina, the American Dental Association's consumer adviser. And companies have sprung up to offer special financing for those who'd like to remodel their mouths. Tempted? Here's a primer on the most popular procedures:
Veneers. At $1,000 to $2,000 per tooth, it's the most expensive option but the best way to improve the shape of your teeth. (One downside: veneers may need to be replaced every 10 years or so.) A dentist typically grinds down your tooth enamel, then glues on a custom-made porcelain shell. To save money, you can buy veneers for just the top six to 10 "smile zone" teeth and bond or bleach the rest. Don't go too white or you'll end up looking like Wayne Newton, who had a special color made so his audience could see his mouth from the back of the concert hall. To avoid the horse look, tell your dentist explicitly that you don't want big teeth, and ask for "temporaries"—resin mock-ups that mimic the smile you'll end up with.
Bonding. This technique involves a plasticlike resin instead of porcelain, and dentists perform it "freehand" in the mouth. It's excellent for smaller work, such as fixing a chip. But, unlike veneers, it can't be used to reshape or whiten a broad surface. It also costs a comparatively low $300 to $700 per tooth.
Bleaching. A good option for people who don't need to straighten or reshape their teeth. Peroxide bubbles out some—but not all—stains that collect within tooth enamel. (Ask your dentist ahead of time if bleaching will fix a particular blemish you're concerned about.) Typically, custom-molded bleach-ing trays—worn at home for an —hour a day for two weeks—cost $300 to $500 and can get your teeth five to eight shades whiter.
Those in need of instant gratification can turn to "power whitening," which takes only one hour in the dentist's office and uses a light-activated peroxide gel. The treatment—under brand names like Brite-Smile, Zoom! and Rembrandt —typically costs $600 to $1,000 and can get patients 10 to 12 shades lighter, says Messina. Over-the-counter products like Crest Whitestrips Premium (seven-day treatment course for $34.99) are a good place to start when you're trying to decide if professional bleaching is for you. But be wary of store-bought bleaching trays, which can make it tricky to keep the gel spread evenly.
Before you jump into the dentist's chair, do your homework. Not all practitioners are equally trained in esthetic techniques, so check their credentials, which may include membership in an association like the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (aacd.org). Ask to see before-and-after photos of their patients—not generic ones of another dentist's work. And think about payment. Companies like Enhance Patient Financing (enhancefinance.com) offer loans for cosmetic dentistry similar to car loans, except that interest rates are higher because there's no collateral. (You can't repossess dental work.) And remember, a little bit can go a long way. "Not everyone needs an extreme makeover," says Messina. "Small changes may make a big difference."
It is always refreshing to see how the MSM portrays dentistry.
What Is a BLOG?
Graphic Courtesy of Kurafire.net.
I often get the question: what is a blog?
And why blog?
Political Teen and Captain's Quarters both have answers.
From the Political Teen :
"I got a clip of a segment that NBC Nightly News did tonight. It was on bloggers and their influence. Mentioned in this piece was Captain's Quarters, Powerline, Right Wing News and many more. Josh Trevino at RedState.Org and Josh Marshall Talking Points Memo were interviewed."
Go here for the Video.
Schwarzenegger: No Regrets About Steroids
AP is reporting:
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has acknowledged using steroids during his years as a champion body builder, said he doesn't regret using the performance-enhancing drugs.
In an interview to be broadcast Sunday, Schwarzenegger told ABC's George Stephanopoulos, "I have no regrets about it, because at that time, it was something new that came on the market, and we went to the doctor and did it under doctors' supervision."
Schwarzenegger has acknowledged taking steroids, but pointed out that they were legal at the time.
"We were experimenting with it. It was a new thing. So you can't roll the clock back and say, 'Now I would change my mind on this,'" he said, according to an excerpt posted on abcnews.com.
 | |
The former seven-time Mr. Olympia said he would not encourage drug use because it sent the wrong message to children. But he said he had no problem with athletes taking nutritional supplements and other legal substances to improve their performance.
On the Net:
But, what about Barry Bonds and Mark McGuire? It seems all of the baseball greats are great at DENIAL!
Condi 2008
My friends over at Lifelike Pundits have a killer pic of Secretary of State Condi Rice:
If you want to learn more about Dr. Rice. Here are some links:
If you want to learn more about Dr. Rice. Here are some links:
- Rice 2008
- Americans for Condi
- Condi for Prez
- Condi for President Yahoo Group
- Dr. Rice's White House Biography
- Condi for President 2008
- Stop Hillary, Draft Condi
Battlestar Galactica Available for Download
Slashdot reports:
"The SciFi channel has made Episode '33' (Season 1 Episode 1) of Battlestar Galactica available for free, uncut and commercial free, online at SciFi.com. Also available are deleted scenes from the series. Is this a ploy by the SciFi channel to grow a viewer base as well as loyalty, or an extremely bold move since the series isn't even out on DVD yet? Hopefully it's both. In either case, I believe this is unprecedented, especially since season 1 hasn't even concluded here in the states. Bravo SciFi. Keep 'em coming!"
I have a TIVO but it is outstanding to have this content provided by SciFi to the PC for viewing.
KUDOS to the SciFi Channel.
Nomad Portable X-ray Device
I ran across this device over at Gizmodo:
KUTV in Utah has an article on ARIBA X-Ray, Inc.’s new portable x-ray system, uninspiringly-named the NOMAD. Completely cordless, it allows for more than 100 exposures on a single battery charge, letting you conveniently cancerfy your molars anytime, anywhere. The device is still awaiting approval from the FDA, but the article reports that the inventor “says he can’t get FDA approval on the device until he can prove it’s safe and does not release radiation.” It features a backscatter shield and internal radiation shielding to protect the operator, but obviously some leaks could happen, in theory. It’s currently being used in Phuket, Thailand to identify victims of the tsunami. The FDA may have a decision by July, and if granted approval, the devices will sell for $6,800 each.
Utah Devices Used to ID Tsunami Victims in Asia [KUTV via Medgadget]
Product Page [ARIBA]
The Ariba website is located here.
Add this with digital phosphor plates and/or sensors and we have a great new in-office dental diagnostic system. But, the applications off-site are even greater.
Read about its application in the third world here.
Cool device and looking forward to FDA approval in July.
H/T Gizmodo
Anyway to Get the Kids To Brush their Teeth!
Engadget reports:
"Any parent will tell you that getting kids to groom their pearly whites is all too often like, well, pulling teeth. Some Hasbro executive had the brilliant idea of keeping kids entertained while scrubbing those molars: enter “Tooth Tunes,” a toothbrush that plays a two minute riff to span the ideal amount of brush time recommended by dentists. The clip, stored on a microchip “no bigger than a dot atop the letter i,” (that’s rich) is triggered by a button on the brush. A minicomputer uses bone conduction to send sound waves first through the front teeth, then to the jawbone and into the inner ear (not unlike the Jawbone, SwiMP3, etc., incidentally). Hasbro is currently chatting up several pop stars for the rights to their songs, but will any of them bite? And will the kids complain that it has no screen?"
With the amount of tooth decay that I see and DRILL each week - ANYTHING will HELP!
Prevention People!
The Yumel, Tomy’s doll for the elderly
Since they’re having trouble finding enough kids in Japan to sell their creepy lifelike robotic dolls to, toymakers there have started going after another demo: the elderly. Tomy is coming out with the Yumel, a “healing partner” with a vocabulary of 1,200 phrases that sells for 8,500 yen and is designed to keep you company. It’ll greet you when you wake up in the morning—it has six built-in sensors for keep tracking of its owner’s sleeping patterns—but the downside is that if you start raging all night or oversleeping or ignoring it or whatever the doll will ask you if you’re pushing yourself too hard. And if you treat it right? The Yumel will sing you songs and harrass you into buying it presents. That’s win/win people.
Talk about marketing to your demographics!
No! I don't want one.
Hat Tip: Engadget
Day By Day
Sorry to have been blogus absentus but had a late night/early morning at the local Chumash Casino.
Yeah I did OK.
Friday, February 25, 2005
Kinsley Takes Another Round
L.A. Observed reports the next advantage in the Micheal Kinsley - Susan Estrich feud goes to Kinsley:
Today's advantage in the Susan Estrich-Michael Kinsley feud goes to Kinsley. Last week he informed the USC professor that she was no longer welcome on the Times opinion pages, and today the lead piece splashed atop the op-ed page is by her ex-husband, fellow USC professor Martin Kaplan. Oh, the piece is about lying in Hollywood.
Meanwhile, it appears that Estrich's blog has not been updated for several days. She's wrong, by the way, about the editor of the Orange County Register being a woman. Most of the reaction I've heard around town about her venting at Kinsley disparages Estrich for raising his health as a debate point. Now reading down to the end of her blog (under the headline "ONE LAST CHANCE BEFORE I GO PUBLIC…") I see that she is the first writer to go public with innuendo about Mayor Jim Hahn's wife. I wonder how she will defend crossing that line, putting gossip like that in an email to Kinsley then posting it on her blog.
* Also commenting: Eric Alterman: "Really, insisting that Kinsley’s Parkinson’s is affecting his ability to see the world Estrich’s way is just about as low as a person could go, though her anti-feminist swipe at Arianna may have been the previous record"...Heather Mac Donald: "Estrich’s insane ravings against the Times cap a month that left one wondering whether the entry of women into the intellectual and political arena has been an unqualified boon."
Remember Susan....."Never Pick a Fight with anyone who buys their ink by the barrel!" - Mark Twain.
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