May 31, 2003
Carbo Loading
New York Times by Jason Epstein:
My apologies to readers who may have been seduced by my euphoric example when I announced my conversion to Atkinsism in these pages nearly a year ago. The diet worked. My conversion failed. In half the time it took to lose 20 pounds, I gained 12 back, not because my will is weak but because my temptations are strong, especially for my daughter-in-law Susie Norris's homemade chocolates, hamburgers at the Corner Bistro, Maida Heatter's ginger biscotti and long, slow dinners accompanied by Leslie Rudd's smoothly complex cabernet/merlot blend.
I've always thought that the Atkins diet was too strict in restricting carbohydrates. I prefer the Zone diet, which is more moderate in terms of carbohydrates.
-Tim
Help! I'm Stuck in Quarantine, and I Can't Get Out!
New York Times by Donald G. McNeil Jr.
As I write this -- it's Sunday, May 25 -- I am in quarantine because of SARS.I'm at home in Manhattan, it's voluntary, and I'm perfectly healthy. My temperature is 97.2 (low normal for me) while the first symptom of severe acute respiratory syndrome is a rise to 100.4.
I'm doing it only because people are irrationally terrified of the disease, and I don't want my co-workers marching on my cubicle with torches and garlic, or my children's teachers' panicking.
Globalization Hits a Political Speed Bump
But the politics of globalization are subtly shifting, and the turnabout has helped to slow to a crawl the integration of the world's economies....
From the orange groves of Brazil to the rice fields of Southeast Asia, meanwhile, poorer nations have become more insistent that the next round of agreements allow them to benefit equally from globalization. That argument is pushing the politically toxic, multibillion-dollar farm subsidies of Europe and the United States to the center of the debate. The disagreements have been aggravated by diplomatic conflicts over the war in Iraq and by measures taken to fight SARS and terrorism. And many government officials around the globe have become worried.
Takes New Steps to Build Transparent Government
Shanghai , 's largest city and economic hub, is introducing an unprecedented "spokesperson system" to its local government, legislature, court and prosecutor's office.
According to a recently-issued decree, the Shanghai Municipal Government will take the lead by holding press conferences on government work once every two weeks ...
Schoolgirl Dawn is Scotland's youngest high flier
Edinburgh Evening News (Scotland):
An East Lothian schoolgirl has become the youngest ever person in Scotland to win her private pilot licence.The fifth-year-pupil became Scotland’s joint-youngest person in the country to fly solo last year.
Now the teenager has won her full licence just days before she turns 17 - although she won’t be able to use it until her birthday.
More steeples doing double duty
The Newsmagazine of Texas Baptists:
About 1 percent of all cell phone towers in the United States are housed in church steeples, according to the New York Times.Cell phone companies that have looked to expand their coverage areas often pay churches between $1,000 and $3,000 a month to rent space in church steeples, said Jim Fryer, a cell phone analyst in Landsdown, Pa.
Why business fears Giscard d'Estaing
The former French president has presented his draft for a new European constitution. It seeks to enshrine in law social and economic rights which would seriously constrain UK plc. Grant Ringshaw and Mary Fagan report.
With Wireless, an English City Reaches Across Digital Divide
Three years ago, Shirley Hughes lived a life of dreary routine, collecting welfare checks, bringing up two children as a single mother, passing her evenings in front of the television.Today, she teaches her neighbors how to use computers at a local college while studying for a teaching certificate. At home, she skips "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" in favor of the Internet, which she surfs avidly, downloading patterns for patchwork quilts, her favorite hobby.
Ms. Hughes's computer is connected to the Internet "24/7," as she puts it, through a technology known as Wi-Fi.
Key to stem cell's youthfulness found
The principal gene responsible for the youthful state of embryonic stem cells has been discovered, reported journal New Scientist.The breakthrough is likely to contribute to turning ordinary adult cells into those with the properties of human embryonic stem cells (ESC) and would phase out the need to destroy embryos to harvest the cells for new medical treatments.
Feature: Gene therapy could treat deafness
The Washington Times: United Press International:
University of Michigan researchers say they have made a breakthrough that could lead to new treatments for human deafness and age-related hearing loss -- they used gene therapy to grow auditory hair cells in a mammal subject.
The Debate Over Designer Fish
California's Fish and Game Commission, trying not to hinder scientific research or the state's burgeoning biotech industry, plans to grant permits, based on its own reviews, for each new transgenic species as it emerges under new rules that took effect in May. West Coast commercial fishermen are pushing California to ban genetically altered fish, arguing that the potential threat to wild salmon and other native species is far too great.
May 30, 2003
White-Collar Blues in a 'Jobless Recovery'
Observers say the downturn that began in 2001 has hit college-educated, middle-class professionals harder than previous recessions. Some Jewish vocational agencies reported a tripling in the numbers of Jewish professionals and managers coming to them for help finding jobs since the beginning of the recession.
Cablevision, Time Warner Gear Up For Initial VoIP Rollouts
The moves by Time Warner and Cablevision also come as such independent IP telephony firms as Vonage Holdings surge ahead in the nascent Voice over IP (VoIP) market. In its latest pronouncement late last month, Vonage said it just activated its 25,000th VoIP line, up from 10,000 earlier in the year. The company said it's now adding 1,000 lines to its network each week, with call volume tripling since the first quarter.
Picture This: Biometric ID
Picture this: A photosensitive screen that can take pictures of objects placed on its surface could be used to provide biometric identification for secure mobile e-commerce. Toshiba, the screen's developer, claims it can capture the detail of a human fingerprint sufficiently for it to be transmitted for authentication.
Shoe firms joust for junior jocks
THE OUTRAGE STARTED soon after Nike signed Freddy Adu, the 13-year-old soccer star to a reported $1 million multi-year deal, an unheard of amount for such a young soccer player in the U.S. Just the week before the athletic shoe giant signed a stunning seven-year, $90 million contract with James, the Ohio high-school phenomenon who has yet to play a single professional basketball game."Perhaps next Nike will sponsor a newborn," quipped the headline of one sports column.
The Storage Market Continues to Defy Predictions
Storage vendors have been forced to become more hardware neutral as the storage business becomes increasingly commoditized. In a strategic move that would have been unheard of two years ago, EMC has moved to an open-software model, with products that will run other companies's software, and vice versa. In addition, most hardware manufacturers are now trying to expand into the higher margin storage software industry sector.
Frugal Japanese Dig Into Savings
Frugal Japanese Dig Into Savings
Breakthrough paves way for studies into human cancer
As significant as his breakthrough is for the horse industry, Prof Gordon Woods says he is most excited by the potential impact of his studies on cancer research.
Prosthetic breakthrough cuts surgery time to the bone
A prosthetic mesh implant that allows bone, blood vessels and collagen to grow around it like plants on a garden trellis promises to improve recovery time and minimise infection rates for patients needing a bone replacement.
Gene discovery could lead to new melanoma treatment
Restoring the function of the PTEN gene may provide a breakthrough treatment in the battle against malignant melanoma, say a group of US researchers.Melanoma is the most lethal skin cancer and is on the increase – it is projected that the condition will affect one in 50 people in the US by 2010.
Eastern Europe: 'No Tobacco Day'
Tomorrow is World No Tobacco Day. The event comes on the heels of the World Health Organization's (WHO) approval of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). The FCTC is a landmark international agreement calling for a halt to tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship.
'Virgin birth' method promises ethical stem cells
The phenomenon that leads to "virgin births" in some species looks like a promising source of embryonic stem cells. Researchers are on the brink of obtaining human stem cells this way for the first time, and animal experiments suggest such cells are indistinguishable from normal stem cells.
Stem cell 'immortality' gene found
The key gene that keeps embryonic stem cells (ESCs) in a state of youthful immortality has been discovered.The breakthrough may one day contribute to turning ordinary adult cells into those with the properties of human ESCs. This would end the need to destroy embryos to harvest the cells for new medical treatments.
Pinpoint Weather
Cheap computer power and high-tech observation systems mean precise forecasts, offering consumers personalized reports and saving weather-sensitive businesses millions
Quite an advance from the days when 24-hour weather forecast models took more than 24 hours to run on the supercomputers of that time!
-Tim
Mule is first in horse family to be cloned
Scientists have succeeded in cloning a baby mule, a gangly-legged creature named Idaho Gem -- brother of the world's second-fastest racing mule and the first successful clone of any member of the horse family.Idaho Gem's creation, a collaboration between scientists at the University of Idaho and Utah State University, raises the possibility that valuable competition horses or endangered equine species could pass on their genes even if they are sterile or dead.
Makes me wonder if Secretariat's DNA is floating around somewhere...
-Tim
Phone giants announce standards for faster Internet deployment
The nation's three biggest regional phone companies announced an agreement Thursday to standardize the construction of residential fiber-optic networks, in hopes of getting ultra-fast Internet connections to homes more quickly and less expensively.
Obesity Epidemic Set to Get Worse
Obesity has spiraled into a worldwide epidemic affecting 250 million adults but a leading nutritional expert believes the worst is still to come.Overweight adolescents are on course to fuel an even bigger global health problem as they mature into obese adults, he says."The younger generation, the generation after us, will be even more obese than we are, which doesn't make the future look very promising," Dr. Mikael Fogelholm said in an interview.
Assembly OKs bill limiting use of cell phones while driving
A bill that would require motorists to use hands-free devices when talking on cell phones passed the Assembly by one vote today.The Assembly approved the bill on a 41-26 vote, sending it to the Senate. If it becomes law, California will follow New York, the first state to require handsfree use of cell phones by drivers.
May 29, 2003
Sharon's Surprising Adaptability
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel has angered the Likud Party and stunned the opposition by his willingness to be a statesman. This man of war, this aggressor, this intractable promoter of expanding the Jewish West Bank settlements, has instead turned his attention sincerely to the prospect of peace.
SARS Makes Beijing Combat an Old but Unsanitary Habit
SARS Makes Beijing Combat an Old but Unsanitary Habit
As Mr. Liu sped along the path at Bei Hai Park here, the rumbling in his throat became louder and more intense. A restaurant cleaner, Mr. Liu had a dollop of phlegm to dispose of, and was rushing around the lake to go out the park's west gate.
RealNetwork joins online music fray
Technology companies are taking center stage in making the online music industry a pay-as-you-go marketplace, while the record labels are reduced to singing background.Still, the companies' biggest problem remains convincing users to pay for downloadable songs instead of swapping them for free. To make the argument, they're creating a range of online music stores that are almost as diverse as music itself.
Concerns over SARS mute joy of adopting babies from
The SARS epidemic is forcing changes in how families cope with adoption of children from .Some families quarantine themselves once they return while others go about their lives and keep a close watch on their health.
Last Concorde Flight to Mark End of Era
Playboys and potentates accustomed to arriving in New York before they left Paris will soon have to settle for ordinary, subsonic travel.Air France is retiring its fleet of Concordes after this week, and British Airways will follow suit in October, ending for the foreseeable future the era of champagne and caviar at Mach 2.
First Stem Embryonic Stem Cells Generated in Japan
Researchers at Kyoto University said Tuesday they have created human embryonic stem cells for the first time in Japan, opening a Pandora's box on the ethics behind culturing the potentially life-saving cells.Embryonic stem cells have the potential to be engineered to replicate almost any cell in the human body, and could be used to grow tissue for the treatment of numerous diseases and ailments, including Parkinson's disease, muscular dystrophy, osteoporosis and strokes.
But as the name suggests, embryonic stem cells are derived from human embryos, giving rise to controversy.
Playing video games not so mindless
All those hours spent playing video games may not be wasted time after all: A new study suggests action-packed video games like "Grand Theft Auto III" and "Counter-Strike" may sharpen your mind.
Roche Commemorates the 40th Anniversary of Valium
Inventor Leo Sternbach Turns 95 Years OldRoche today commemorates the 40th anniversary of Valium(R) (diazepam) Tablets, the nation's most prescribed drug between 1969 and 1982. Discovered by Roche scientist Leo Sternbach, who recently turned 95 years old, and approved by the FDA in 1963, Valium was one of the first blockbuster medications in the pharmaceutical industry. Valium is indicated for the management of anxiety disorders or for the short-term relief of the symptoms of anxiety.
Any idea what the most prescribed drug on the market is today?
-Jen
Student Loan Interest Rates to Reach Lowest Levels in History
Student Loan Interest Rates to Reach Lowest Levels in History Based on Results of Today's T-bill Auction. Recent Grads Could Lock in Rates Under 3 Percent Through Student Loan ConsolidationInterest rates on federally guaranteed student loans will drop to historic lows this summer, potentially saving both new and current education loan borrowers thousands of dollars in interest over the life of their loans.
For all those parents with kids going off to college in the fall, this is good news.
-Jen
May 28, 2003
Telco uses SMS barrage to help man
An Indian mobile operator agreed to send out a SMS (Short Message Service) appeal to thousands after a distressed son pleaded with the company to help his father.According to Indian daily The Times of India, telco Bharti Airtel sent out a mobile appeal last week, urging subscribers with a rare A-negative blood type to step forward to help Harinder Choudhary.
His father had a life-threatening ailment which requires with two units of blood transfusion a day, the report said.
signs US$150b oil deal with Russia
has signed a US$150 billion landmark deal with Russia that would pave the way for a pipeline to export Siberian oil to .Under the agreement, Russia's largest oil producer, Yukos, will supply National Petroleum (CNPC) with some 718 million tonnes of oil for 25 years from 2005
Beijing Proposes Freight Charters across Taiwan Straits
Beijing Wednesday agreed to consider a proposed plan to operate freight charter flights across the Taiwan Straits in a bid to help Taiwanese investors reduce the economic damage caused by SARS.
Japanese F-15's make historic landing at Elmendorf
History was made on Elmendorf Air Force Base today after the arrival of the Japanese Air Self Defense Force last night.For the first time ever the Japanese have allowed their F-15's to leave Japan and come to North America to participate in war games.
Two suspected SARS patients quarantined in L.A.
Two passengers aboard a Cathay Pacific Airlines flight that originated in Hong Kong were quarantined upon arriving in Los Angeles Sunday after exhibiting symptoms associated with the deadly SARS virus, health officials said Wednesday.
Biotechs Bounce High
In fact, ever since I wrote Profit in the Biotech Bust two months ago, companies using biotechnology to make drugs or advances the drug development process have exploded.
A Venture Capital Rebound?
This is something many Wall Street watchers have been waiting for: signs that venture capital activity may be on the rebound. An MSNBC story that includes feedback from several firms suggests that 11 straight quarters of decline in VC funding may finally end when new numbers are released in a few weeks.
CCL claims breakthrough in automotive radar
Cambridge Consultants Ltd (CCL) claims to have made a breakthrough in the development of anti-collision systems for automotive applications through the development of a small, standalone pulsed radar module that works in the 5.8GHz band.
The Simplex Solution
The mission to improve the widely used simplex-method algorithm showed instead why it works so well
Sprint to transform network to move calls in data `packets'
Sprint announced Tuesday that it has begun transforming its telephone network so voice calls are transmitted in ``packets'' -- the same way data moves over the Internet. The move is designed to lead to a wide range of improved services for consumers, such as online voice-mail management.
Canada proposes change to pot laws
The Canadian government introduced legislation Tuesday to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana but set stricter penalties for those apprehended for trafficking in the drug.
Study finds new hormone dangers
Women already skittish about hormone replacement therapy have another reason to worry: New evidence suggests that women over age 65 who take a common hormone combination are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's disease or other kinds of dementia.
May 27, 2003
Bush signs $15 billion law to fight Aids
George W. Bush, the US president, has signed legislation that launches a $15 billion emergency plan to fight HIV/Aids in parts of Africa, including South Africa and the Caribbean. Bush says the US has a "moral duty" to help tackle the disease.
Unprecendented Drop in Airline Travel
World air passenger traffic plunged 18.5 percent in April against the same month last year and by 44.8 percent in the Asia-Pacific region, the global airlines body IATA said Friday.
A Radio Tuner Remembers Which Songs You Loved
Like most mobile audio players, the Kenwood KTC-H2A1 Here2Anywhere is small enough to carry in one hand. But the Here2Anywhere is a satellite radio tuner that works only when it is resting in a somewhat less portable docking station. When it is plugged in, the Here2Anywhere becomes a broadcast node for the Sirius satellite radio service, which for $13 a month gives subscribers access to 100 streaming stations.
Police, Dressed As Homeless, Give Tickets
Homeless advocates are outraged by an operation where undercover police officers dressed as vagrants, observed drivers running red lights or committing other traffic violations, then radioed ahead to other officers who stopped those cars and wrote tickets."Operation Vagrant," a sting operation involving the Florida Highway Patrol, Kissimmee police and the Osceola County Sheriff's Office, nabbed 171 drivers — most of whom ran red lights, a violation that carries an $83 fine
Sounds like the City of Kissimmee is getting creative in their efforts to enhance city revenues.
-Tim
Drone research looks at traffic applications
Pilotless planes, which the U.S. military has used to snoop out Iraqi tanks and assassinate an al-Qaida terrorist, will be tested in Ohio to see whether they can battle a more down-to-earth hazard: traffic jams.
Oscar Winning Actress Speaks At UNH Graduation
As one of the first women to attend Dartmouth College, actress Meryl Streep had some words of femine wisdom today for graduates of the University of New Hampshire.Attending a drama class about 30 years ago, she said she was one of 60 intrepid women on a campus of about six thousand men. She noted that today's U-N-H graduating class is two-to-one women. She said the challenge now for women is the glass ceiling that holds many back from top positions in business and politics.
From PlayStation to Supercomputer for $50,000
As perhaps the clearest evidence yet of the computing power of sophisticated but inexpensive video-game consoles, the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has assembled a supercomputer from an army of Sony PlayStation 2's.
On the Seventh Day, a New Retail Option
On the Seventh Day, a New Retail Option
For the first time since Prohibition, liquor stores in New York were allowed to open for business on a Sunday. For generations, states across the nation banned the sale of liquor on Sundays with so-called Blue Laws, stubborn reminders of a time when demon drink was considered a scourge, the chief cause of society's ills. Even as the temperance movement passed into the history books the laws remained, and they might have remained in place still if hard-pressed state governments did not believe that allowing people to buy liquor on Sunday would send money pouring into state coffers.
Smallpox may help give immune system edge over malaria
A new vaccine approach may deliver a one-two punch against malaria by boosting the immune system, researchers say.The two-pronged method uses DNA from the malaria parasite as well as a booster from a modified smallpox virus
I look at a DVD player for $42.99 and worry
Could rapidly shrinking prices for technology products contribute to a dangerous downward spiral? Are we heedlessly snatching up bargains while the world collapses around us?
May 26, 2003
Bucking the Trend
One Polish community thinks prosperity is the real thing.
A decade ago, Niepolomice was just another cash-strapped Polish municipality struggling to make the transition from communism to capitalism. The four state-owned enterprises based in the area were collapsing; the best and brightest young people were fleeing to the big cities; unemployment was climbing. Mayor Stanislaw Kracik was desperate. Realizing that "one can't build capitalism without capital," he decided to find some people who had it.
Prozac may help treat cancer believe scientists
Anti-depressant drug Prozac could be used to treat some forms of cancer, scientists believe.This breakthrough is particularly important for Aids sufferers as they are least able to cope with strong side-effects of an intensive course of chemotherapy.
Israel Approves Bush's Road Map to New Palestine
Israel Approves Bush's Road Map to New Palestine
The Israeli government for the first time officially accepted a Palestinian claim to eventual statehood today, as Prime Minister Ariel Sharon persuaded his right-wing government to endorse the steps of a new American-backed peace plan, known as the road map.
May 25, 2003
Saudis Re-Examine an Islamic Doctrine Cited by Militants
When he was a teenager issuing his own fatwas, Mansour al-Nogaidan ordered his followers to blow up a video store in downtown Riyadh because it was spreading Western corruption. Now, years later, a completely changed man has dropped a philosophical bombshell in the fervent national discussion swirling around the suicide attacks this month against residential compounds here
Computer trading casts shadow on CBOT grain pits
Screen-based electronic trading is blowing winds of change through Chicago's embattled futures markets, but in the city's bastion of open outcry trading -- the grain pits -- brokers still do it the old-fashioned way.Electronic "matching" of bids and offers for futures contracts has taken the industry by storm, freeing up users from paying commissions to arm-waving brokers in the crowded trading pits of Chicago.
Prospecting for Gold Among the Photo Blogs
Photo blogs are the colorful offspring of blogs, or Web logs, written diaries posted and updated regularly on the Internet. For a half-dozen years people have been posting text blogs to rant and to ponder the events of the day and the dust beneath their feet. Then, sometime in 2000, people started posting photographs to go with the text. The photo blog was born. Now photo blogs often are posted with no text at all. And there are thousands of them.
California Grape Rush of 90's Withers
California Grape Rush of 90's Withers
These are tough times for grape farmers across California, where the grape has taken an ignoble tumble from its vaunted position as the state's signature agricultural product. Raisin prices have fallen so low that many farmers cannot cover the cost of hiring help for the harvest.There is such a glut of wine grapes that the state's fastest-growing vintage wine last year sold for $1.99 a bottle. And though table grapes seem to be faring the best, there is no room in that family-dominated industry for new growers because of rising costs and stiff foreign competition
May 24, 2003
Arab world is waking up to terror's threat
Recent claims from the Bush Administration that the war on terror is being won seem curiously premature in the face of the latest wave of suicide bombings. A more considered reading of the forces at work across the Arab and Islamic world would indicate that the war has only just begun, and that victory is likely to be at least a generation away.
Economic View: Innovation is open all hours
The wrong bit of the new technologies gets all the publicity. You have hardly to open a paper to see some story about the gizmos on offer to the public: the 3G phones, home broadband, digital cameras, whatever....
But the gizmos are the tip of the iceberg. The bits you see are much less important than the changes that are taking place to the structure of business: the way businesses themselves are organised, the way they innovate, the way new businesses are created and so on. These changes did not have the same obvious impact on people's lives but they are already having a profound impact on wealth creation and the relative success of different countries
This is interesting in the light of a story we covered earlier: Analysis: French Study Says Europe Fading
-Tim
Internet player named Moneymaker wins World Series of Poker
It was only fitting that an accountant named Moneymaker would put down $40 and ultimately walk away with $2.5 million and the title of champion Saturday in the 34th annual World Series of Poker.Known to his friends as "Money," Chris Moneymaker, 27, also became the first person to win the prestigious tournament by qualifying on the Internet.
Players and experts said Moneymaker's win will revolutionize poker, solidifying the merger of the Internet and big-name casinos and boosting the game's popularity.
Hu's debut: Western leaders get rare chance to size up 's new leader
He leads the world's most populous nation but remains a mystery to most, with few trips abroad and carefully scripted public appearances.Over the next two weeks, though, dozens of foreign leaders will get to know Hu Jintao when he makes his overseas debut as 's new president, travelling to Russia on Monday, then France for talks with U.S. President George W. Bush, Prime Minister Jean Chretien and other leaders at the annual Group of Eight summit.
Convention zeroes in on church special effects
It's not exactly a thunderbolt from the heavens, but high-tech wizardry that can match it in sight and sound is changing how the faithful worship the Almighty at many churches.Giant video screens, cameras, pyrotechnics, high-tech lighting and digital sound systems are becoming almost as common as baptismals. The technical capabilities at some churches border on the amazing, says Shelagh Rogers, organizer of a convention for church tekkies opening this week in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Another example of the far-reaching impact of digital technologies in our word.
-Tim
Digital Fingerprinting
Northwest Indiana News: nwitimes.com - News
It didn't take long for the town's new $100,000 fingerprinting system to pay dividends.
Another example of 'real-time' digital crime-fighting -- in a small city in Indiana.
-Tim
- Shock therapy making a comeback
Shock therapy, once an abused and controversial treatment for mental illness, has long been used in a more controlled form to keep failing hearts beating with pacemakers.Recently, however, scientists have honed their ability to deliver much milder jolts of electricity to short-circuit a malfunctioning nervous system.
Doctors say shocking nerves, once the correct ones are located, may relieve a host of seemingly unrelated problems such as depression, chronic pain -- even obesity.
Half Moon Bay Becomes Wi-Fi Haven
San Mateo County Times Online - Business News
Taking the Internet cafe concept to another level, a local company has wired a square mile of downtown Half Moon Bay to enable Internet access to the users of portable computers. San Mateo-based Tropos Networks is selling equipment to local Internet providers Coastside Net, which has created a "hot zone" for wireless computer users to check e-mail and surf the Web anywhere within several blocks of the downtown area.
How India registered growth in age of global uncertainties
Let me, however, make some brief observations on how a country like India with a population of over 1.1. billion people representing 1/6th of humanity has coped with these uncertainties. Not only coped, but registered robust growth.
Japanese carmakers leave GM in the dust at Indy 500
Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co., Japan's largest carmakers, will power cars occupying the first 17 positions in Sunday's Indianapolis 500. Starting no higher than 18th: General Motors Corp., whose engines had dominated the car race for the past six years.
Atkins is for wimps: introducing the North Sea Oil Rigger's Diet
Forget health farms, sushi bars and the Atkins diet. The healthiest place to eat may well be a North Sea oil rig.An Oxford University study funded by the Health and Safety Executive shows that although the population in general is becoming increasingly obese, offshore oil workers are getting fitter.
Jamaica looks to organic farming
A team of researchers are currently carrying out investigations into organic farming with a view to provide local cultivators with the tools to tap into this growing trend towards environmental consciousness and personal well-being.
Chinese aim to build a great wall of sound
Lisa Movius reports from Shanghai on China's nascent indie music scene:In February 1998, rock critic Fu Chong dropped by the Beijing dive Busy Bee, where he came across a new band. He liked what he saw: the Flowers sang perky punk-pop and combined a playful anti-authority message with youthful exuberance ... Fu Chong thought this was a band everyone should hear.
DVD renting goes postal
On-line borrowing means no late fees and no markups on new releases. But what will it mean for singles?Dating is about to undergo a change of catastrophic proportions. Sure, back seats, cheap red wine and awkward precoital conversations will still be in the mix, but one important ritual is about to disappear.
Spanish- language television station to air on June 1
A new Spanish-language television station will launch here June 1 — one that area Latino viewers, particularly those of Mexican heritage, are sure to recognize.
Another example of California's changing demographics.
-Tim
Hack to the future
Hack to the future - theage.com.au
They were just teenage boys seeking teenage kicks, but Melbourne’s first hackers were at the forefront of a global revolution whose potential for disaster is only now being understood. James Norman explores the murky world of The Realm.
School Is Out in Oregon, but Not Everyone Is Rejoicing
Hillsboro, Ore. -- This affluent Portland suburb shut down its schools today for the summer, three weeks early, becoming the first of 84 Oregon school districts to close ahead of schedule this year for lack of money.
Percentage that tithes has plunged since 2001
The portion of U.S. households that tithe, or give one-tenth of their income, to a church dropped from 8 percent in 2001 to 3 percent in 2002, Barna Research Group reports.
Churches Now Accept Donations Via Plastic
Payment to God used to come in the form of a sacrificial lamb or a basket of figs. Today, giving to the church or synagogue is more high-tech. Donations can be charged on plastic.
May 23, 2003
Another View of Earth From Mars
First Picture of Earth From Mars
A century after H.G. Wells wrote his novel about the invasion of the Earth by Martians, the first photograph of our planet as seen from Mars has been made. It is what Martians would see if they scrutinized the Earth.
This is so good that it deserves another look.
-Tim
Advertising Sales Are Strong For Fall Prime-Time Season
WSJ.com - (subscription required)
The big TV networks are expected to take in about $9.3 billion in advertising commitments for the fall prime-time season, a 13% gain over last year and an unprecedented haul for the annual "upfront" market, indicating better times may be ahead.
Latest 'Harry Potter' book fastest ever seller
The boy wizard Harry Potter is growing from strength to strength. Online distributor Amazon.com has said that the latest installment in the Harry Potter book series has already become its fastest-selling new product ever, with more than 500,000 copies ordered in advance of the book's publication on 21 June.
Giant Dam Is Problem for Environment But Opportunity for Ecoscience
China's Three Gorges Dam, the largest dam project ever, has been seen by ecologists as an environmental disaster in the making. With construction scheduled to be completed later this year, little can be done to stop it, but some Chinese and American ecologists point out that the dark cloud of the environmental consequences does have a silver lining - an unprecedented opportunity to do environmental science.
Attempting to Eclipse Hong King to New York Sailing Record
It’s a down-to-the-wire race for the trimaran Great American II and her two crew members as they prepare to finish their Hong Kong to New York sailing record attempt at the Statue of Liberty early next week.Today, the 53-foot trimaran was south of Bermuda and 1,230 miles from New York as Rich WILSON and Rich du MOULIN plotted their route through three storm systems blocking their path. The two have been at sea 66 days in their attempt to eclipse the record of 74 days, 14 hours set by the extreme clipper ship Sea Witch in the tea trade a century-and-a-half ago.
LeBron gets $90M in Nike deal
LeBron James went to school Thursday with enough lunch money for everyone.The hyped high school senior and expected No. 1 pick in next month's NBA draft, signed a multiyear endorsement deal with Nike worth over $90 million, a risky move by the shoe and sports apparel giant that helped make Michael Jordan famous.
HIV infection rates rise quickly in Russia
Russia's top government AIDS expert has offered a harrowing assessment of the disease's spread, saying that at least a half-million Russians now carry the HIV virus and that the number could be as high as 1.5 million, or 1 percent of the overall population, which is about 147 million.
Phone Companies See Their Future in Flat-Rate Plans
New York Times by Nicholas Thompson
Fifteen years ago, Arthur C. Clarke in the science-fiction novel "2061: Odyssey Three" predicted a future as follows: "With the historic abolition of long-distance charges on 31 December 2000, every telephone call became a local one, and the human race greeted the new millennium by transforming itself into one huge, gossiping family."
Kazaa claims 230 million downloads
If the most powerful emotion is neither love nor hate -- it's got to be the desire to get stuff for free.That's what one must conclude from an announcement expected today from Sharman Networks, which says its Kazaa Media Desktop has been downloaded 230 million times -- setting the record as the most popular software application ever distributed over the Internet.
May 22, 2003
States Cut Test Standards to Avoid Sanctions
By lowering testing standards, states hope to evade the penalties that a federal law imposes on schools whose students fare poorly on standardized tests.
PC gaining in entertainment value
The personal computer is overtaking the television, stereo and other home entertainment devices, now that digital content -- MP3 music tracks, digital photos and digital video -- has become mainstream, according to a survey conducted by Harris Interactive for Microsoft.
Experts: SARS Not Losing Power Over Time
Disease experts said Thursday the SARS virus appears to be just as hardy in its 15th victim as its first one.The virus' robust nature suggests it is well-adapted to reproducing inside the human body, meaning its ability to spread isn't weakening, health experts said.
Shocking New Jacket Hits Street
A new anti-assault device for women wards off potential assailants with an 80,000-volt electric shock. Dubbed "exo-electric armor," the No-Contact Jacket looks like an ordinary fashionable women's coat. But an inner layer of conductive fiber carries a low-amp charge that delivers a nasty but non-lethal shock to anyone who messes with its wearer.
Fashion: Models no longer super?
Singaporean Celia Teh, a former model and now the owner of Elite Model Management Singapore, says: "The modelling scene worldwide has become like a carousel. The girls are becoming as seasonal as the fashion they sell." Since the late 1990s, there have been successive waves of models from various parts of the world, replacing each other as flavours of the month.
September 11 : Chapter One of Which Scenario?
Here's a set of scenarios which were written by Jay Ogilvy soon after the September 11 terrorist attacks. It is extremely interesting, in hindsight, to see which one of these scenarios is playing out.
How will we see September 11 in hindsight? Was it an "act of war?" Was it "a crime against humanity?" Or was it part of a "revolution?" Our actions in the coming weeks will depend on how we think and talk about what's happening. Alternative scenarios can help to frame these acts so we can make sense of these events and act accordingly.The first, Jihad, is dark indeed. The second, One World, paints a future worth working for. The third, Revolution, offers an interpretation based on economic rather than political interests.
It is tempting to say that the One World scenario is the one that is playing out, but I suspect it may be too early to tell, especially with the recent attacks in Saudi Arabia and Morocco. A recent article in The Christian Science Monitor provides excellent food for thought.
-Tim
A Look at Alternatives to Microsoft
Many governments and enterprises worldwide are trying to insulate themselves from Microsoft's growing influence on the IT industry. Linux and open-source software are increasingly interesting alternatives.
New Face of Hacking: Irate workers
Furious that he'd been fired from the travel agency where he worked, James O'Brien waited months before allegedly springing his carefully plotted revenge. Just before Christmas 2000, according to federal prosecutors, O'Brien hacked into his former employer's computer system and canceled 60 customers' airline tickets.The move cost the agency $96,000 and left dozens of would-be holiday vacationers stranded at airports.
Japan Cracks Down on Firms Tied to N. Korea
Japan is cracking down on companies that have long been suspected of providing North Korea with equipment that can be used to develop weapons of mass destruction, Japanese officials said.
First Ever: Earth Seen From Mars
Have you ever wondered what you would see if you were on Mars looking at the Earth through a small telescope? Now you can find out, thanks to a unique view of our world recently captured by NASA's Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft currently orbiting the Red Planet.
"Defense for the 21st Century," by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) laid out a number of objections on this page yesterday to the president's proposed Defense Transformation Act for
the 21st Century. I respect Mr. Skelton's long service, but I disagree
with many of his stated objections. Here is why.
This is an op-ed piece by Secretary Rumsfeld that appeared in The Washington Poston May 22.
-Tim
Pentagon Switches To Two-Year Budget Cycle
Pentagon Switches To Two-Year Budget Cycle
The Defense Department said Thursday it was moving to a two-year internal budget and planning cycle as part of a drive to streamline the way it handles spending that is heading toward $400 billion a year.David Nadler, a former Defense Department contracting lawyer and now a partner at Dickstein Shapiro Morin & Oshinsky, said the two-year cycle likely would move funds through the bureaucracy quicker.
"This should help get the dollars into the hands of the people who need them," he said in a telephone interview, referring to those on the front lines of the U.S.-declared war against terrorism and homeland defense.
Huge Award for Smokers Is Voided by Appeals Court
A Florida court threw out the landmark $145 billion punitive award of 2000, saying the suit against cigarette makers should never have gone forward as a class-action lawsuit.
Avoiding A 'Mega-Catastrophe': Warren Buffett On Derivatives
CHARLIE [MUNGER, BUFFETT'S PARTNER IN MANAGING Berkshire Hathaway] and I are of one mind in how we feel about derivatives and the trading activities that go with them: We view them as time bombs, both for the parties that deal in them and the economic system.
May 21, 2003
Democrats Commit Themselves to HealthCare Reform, In All But Name
Democrats have seized on improving the nation's chaotic healthcare system as a winning issue for their party in next year's presidential elections. But do not expect the words "healthcare reform" to cross the lips of any of the nine Democratic contenders vying for the right to challenge President George W. Bush.Those fateful words have disappeared from the rhetorical landscape.Democrats believe they too readily recall the doomed efforts of Bill and Hillary.
Atkins Studies Report Meaty Results
Just a month after his death, controversial diet guru Robert Atkins may be getting a little more respect. Two new studies in Thursday's prestigious New England Journal of Medicine show that dieters who followed the meat-lovers' low-carb diet lost more than twice as much weight as those on a traditional low-calorie, high-carb diet.
A Business/E-Business Relationship
The Thomas Publishing Company of New York City has been involved in publishing buying guides for various industries for over a century. But the company has witnessed a sea change in its business over recent years: the advent of the Web, which has elevated e-catalogs to the erstwhile importance of their paper cousins.Thomas knows that the times are changing. In March of this year, a company-conducted survey discovered that 80 percent of industrial buyers expect to rely "heavily" on the Internet in 2003, and that 80 percent of buyers had "increased" their reliance on the Internet during 2002.
Special Olympics to Be Held Outside U.S. for First Time
The 2003 Summer Games marks the first time in history that the World Special Olympics will be held outside of the USA.
Camera Phones Send a Pretty Picture
In the quest to stay one step ahead of the law, organized crime syndicates have become the quintessential early adopters. Thus, it came as little surprise last week when the Mafia was accused of using camera phones and next-generation wireless networks to rig elections in Rome. Mobsters allegedly coerced voters into photographing themselves in the voting booth to prove they had cast their ballots for the Mafia's candidate. Morality aside, the scheme highlights one of the wireless industry's fastest growing, and most successful, trends: mobile photography.
LPGA To Hold First-Ever Open Monday Qualifying
The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) will hold its first-ever open Monday qualifying round at the start of the ShopRite LPGA Classic tournament week, on Monday, June 23, at the Marriott Seaview Resort Bay Course in Galloway Township, N.J., host site for the ShopRite LPGA Classic.More 'girl power!'
-Tim
Posted by Timothy Fredel at 9:15 PM | E-mail to a Friend | Comments (9)
Flat-screen Displays Outsell CRTs by 4:1
High street retailer PC World today revealed a huge increase in flat-panel display sales following computer maker Advent's first ever TV debut.
Looks like Steve Jobs was right when he predicted the end of the CRT.
-Tim
Case of Mad Cow in Canada Prompts U.S. to Ban Its Beef
Mad cow disease was diagnosed in a cow in Canada today, and United States health authorities immediately placed a ban on imports of beef, cattle and animal feed from Canada.
World Health Body Adopts Historic Anti-Smoking Pact
More than 190 countries on Wednesday approved the first ever international treaty against smoking, including an advertising ban. By Reuters.
FedEx Delivery Trucks Go Green
The FedEx Corporation announced today that it planned to replace 30,000 of its delivery trucks with energy-saving, environmentally friendly hybrid-powered vehicles.The company said that it had already purchased 20 such trucks to begin building what would be one of the first big commercial fleets of hybrid vehicles. The new trucks ó powered by both diesel engines and electric motors in a mix controlled by onboard computers ó will be introduced over the next several months in four American cities
May 20, 2003
Pentagon Reassures Congress on Spy System
The Pentagon assured Congress that its planned anti-terror surveillance system will only analyze legally acquired information and changed the name of the project to help allay privacy concerns that prompted congressional restrictions.
Canada Sends Shock Wave with Mad Cow Case
Canada Sends Shock Wave with Mad Cow Case
Canada reported its first case of mad cow disease in a decade on Tuesday, a potentially devastating revelation for the country's huge beef industry just weeks after its economy was damaged by the SARS threat.
Supreme Court Lifts Injunction Against Maine Drug Plan
The Supreme Court yesterday lifted an injunction that prevented Maine from launching a pioneering program to give the state more negotiating power with pharmaceutical companies to lower drug prices for the uninsured.
Tainted Harvest
The winter and spring harvests are nearly over in Southern California's Imperial Valley, where imported water has made the desert bloom for a century. But the miracle of irrigation seems a tainted blessing these days, with the discovery that the water is contaminated by the rocket fuel chemical perchlorate.
Discovery of Fast Winds Breathes Life into the Corpus of Climate and Energy Solutions
Today's News on the Net from Business Wire
Can we light up the world and fuel our vehicles without polluting the environment? The answer may be blowing in the wind.Since the wind isn't always blowing, its reliability has been a barrier to its exploitation as an energy source. But wind's intermittence would no longer be a problem if wind farms were networked to reduce the effect of unproductive days at individual sites, the researchers say. Linking at least eight wind farms virtually eliminates the chance of a windless hour during the year.
Posted by Timothy Fredel at 10:46 AM | E-mail to a Friend | Comments (19)
May 19, 2003
New U.S. Policy on Dollar
It is not uncommon for the emperor to be accused of having no clothes. It is less usual for the emperor himself to say he is naked and proud of it.This is essentially what John Snow, the US Treasury secretary, has done with his recent comments on the strong dollar policy.
Anti-Terrorist System to Use 50X More Data Than Library of Congress
To track and thwart terrorists, the Pentagon wants to give U.S. agents fingertip access to records from around the world that could fill the Library of Congress more than 50 times. The library's collection includes more than 18 million books.
America's Prison Popluation: 2 Million and Growing
The population of America's jails and prisons passed two million last year, for the first time in history. The United States has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world, and one that falls unevenly. An estimated 12 percent of African-American men between 20 and 34 are behind bars, more than seven times the rate for white men the same age.
There is clearly a direct tie-in with the research I saw presented last Wednesday. According to Mark Coehn in The Monetary Value of Saving a High Risk Youth, the lifetime cost to society of a career criminal is $1.3 million per prisoner. The cost to society, therefore, is $2.6 trillion to deal with 2 million prisoners.
What to do? Support an early prevention and intervention program, such as Friends of the Children, which finds seriously at-risk children and gives them a paid adult mentor.
An ounce of prevention is certainly worth a pound of cure.
-Tim
Girls Rule at the Intel Science Fair
Girls stole the show at the Intel International Science & Engineering fair held in Cleveland. The top awards this year went to Anila Madiraju, of Canada, Elena Glassman of Pennsylvania and Lisa Glukhovsky of Connecticut.
This is further evidence of the advances that girls are making at all levels.
-Tim
Where are the fans? Baseball attendance in free-fall
There are explanations, and all of them are valid.The weather has been brutal. Schools are just now letting out. The economy is restless. There was a war.
Iris Recognition Could Mean the End of Physical Privacy
Security and privacy always seem to be in the balance when we think about emerging digital technologies. Encryption vies with detection Entire industries are built around the opposite ideas of maintaining privacy and invading it.Ultimately, we have to decide how much we are willing to give up in order to feel safe. Or at least, it seems we have that decision when actually we probably don't. Get ready for a brave new world where someone will likely know where you are at every second, whether it is at the movies with your kids or at the Bide-A-Wee Motel with your neighbor's wife.
Sounds much like the future envisioned in the recent Tom Cruise's movie, Minority Report.
-Tim
May 18, 2003
Medical Apparatus Imports Skyrocket in Beijing
Beijing's imports of medical apparatus and medicines skyrocketed in the first four months of this year, according to statistics from Beijing Customs. Statistics show that Beijing imported 106 million US dollars worth of medical apparatus and instruments during the period, an increase of 54.6 percent over the same period last year. Affected by the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic, the imports consisted mainly of medical equipment such as respirators, monitors and X-ray machines.
SARS Prompts WHO to Seek More Power to Fight Disease
The World Health Organization, anxious to repair weaknesses exposed by the global struggle to contain the SARS epidemic, is seeking strong, new powers to fight future international threats.
A second-order effect from the SARS outbreak.
-Tim
Oracle Hires Top-Level Strategist
Oracle hired a prominent Wall Street analyst, Morgan Stanley's Charles Phillips, to a top strategy and business-development position, the Redwood Shores company said Friday."An analyst moving to a top position at a company like Oracle is unheard of,'' said Ron Glantz, a former director of research at PaineWebber.
May 17, 2003
National Guard Plans Major Restructuring
The Air National Guard and Army National Guard will reduce the number of their headquarters in 54 states and territories by two-thirds, the chief of the National Guard system said Friday.
Japan's Landmark Military Move
The move by Japan's parliament to pass bills which strengthen the military is considered controversial in a country that renounced the right to wage war more than half a century ago.
Terrorists in Saudi Arabia May Strike Again, U.S. Warns
The State Department issued an alert late Thursday warning that terrorists may be planning to attack American targets soon in the Saudi city of Jidda, triggering a new wave of fears among Westerners in the region even as a U.S. team arrived in the country to investigate Monday's car bombings in the capital.
While Tim questioned posting this story because it seems speculative in nature, RE encouraged it. RE thinks there is an interesting emerging major change, with Saudi Arabia feeling the direct impact of terrorism and implications for Muslem vs. free world, energy markets, etc.
What do you think?
- Jen
May 16, 2003
Has Technology Lost Its 'Special' Status
Beyond the timing of any short-term recovery, however, is the longer-term question about the future of information technology: Is it still a growth industry?Posted by Timothy Fredel at 10:42 PM | E-mail to a Friend | Comments (10)
Latest SARS Victim Is Clothing Industry
New York Times by Tracie Rozhon
In the heart of Manhattan's garment district, Denise White slides on a pair of white latex gloves and starts opening the brown cardboard boxes that Federal Express has just dropped off at her company, Bernardo Fashions. The shipment -- from -- is a week late.A few blocks away, Cynthia Rowley, a fashion designer with a $22 million business, has been waiting since April 30 for 40 cartons of summer clothes, due from Asia, that will be sent on to waiting stores.
The New Gender Gap
From kindergarten to graduate school, boys are fast becoming the second sex. "Girls are on a tear through the educational system," says Thomas G. Mortenson, a senior scholar at the Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education in Washington. "In the past 30 years, nearly every inch of educational progress has gone to them."
Michelle Wie, 13, Gets Spot in Men's Tourney
Teenager Michelle Wie has accepted a sponsor's exemption to play in the Boise Open on the Nationwide Tour, becoming the first female golfer to compete on the PGA Tour's developmental circuit. The event is Sept. 18-21.Wie, a 13-year-old eighth-grader in Honolulu who hits the ball farther than some PGA Tour players, will be the third female player this year to go head-to-head with the men.
Siebel Changes Course
Siebel Systems will hold a live, in-person shareholders meeting after all.One day after the San Mateo software maker took heavy fire for announcing that it would hold this year's annual shareholders meeting only in cyberspace, Siebel reversed itself Thursday and said it will allow stockholders to show up at the Marriott Hotel in San Mateo, where the Webcast will be broadcast.
Worm Research Sheds Light On Aging Process
San Jose Mercury News by Lisa M. Krieger
It's not the Fountain of Youth, but it is intriguing: a class of molecules that researchers have discovered prolongs life and prevents a debilitating age-related illness.These findings, announced by a team of University of California-San Francisco scientists in today's issue of the journal Science, are thus far confined to a lowly worm found in compost heaps everywhere.
Instant Messaging Moves Beyond the Simple Chat
Instant Messaging Moves Beyond the Simple Chat
America Online says 195 million people use its instant messaging service, their keystrokes generating more than 1.6 billion messages a day. For those users, instant messaging - or IM - has become an intrinsic part of their social fabric."On the phone, you can only talk to one person at a time,'' Ms. Gittleson, a 15 year old in Colts Neck, NJ said. "Online, you can talk to a dozen people at once."
Yahoo! Needs Overture
If there's one thing Yahoo!'s just-released 10-Q makes clear, it's that Overture Services is very, very important to its well-being. At the same time, Overture's success could be harmful to its own health.
May 15, 2003
Siebel Shareholders Relegated to Web
Siebel said in its proxy statement Wednesday that it will hold this year's annual shareholder meeting via Webcast, with all questions to be submitted in advance. Siebel is the first major company to hold an Internet-only shareholder meeting, although some smaller companies have done it.
Long Bond Yield Falls To New Record Low
Yields on the US Treasury's long bond slid to another record low on Thursday as investors hedged against the possibility of deflation.
Cop Cams To Put Infractions On Record
IBM has developed a digital recording system for police squad cars that will capture sound and video from traffic stops and arrests.Designed to replace the videotape-based systems used by about 40 percent of police agencies in the United States, the new system can incorporate data from radar guns and information on location determined by a global positioning system.
Talk about reality TV!
-Tim
May 14, 2003
Analysis: French Study Says Europe Fading
United Press International by Martin Walker:
Europe is predicted to become a second-ranking economic force over the next 50 years, its share of world output almost halving from its current 22-percent share to 12 percent, a top French think tank reported Wednesday.Over the same period, the United States is expected almost to retain its 25-percent share, which will by 2050 be matched or even outpaced by as the world's dominant economy.
Obesity Reported to Cost U.S. $93B A Year
Obesity is costing not only American lives, but dollars too. A study tallies that $93 billion per year goes to treat health problems of people who are overweight.
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