Archive for January 27th, 2008
Posted by Ted Hopton on January 27, 2008
If you’re a veteran blog reader, skip this post. It’s for newbies only, and I can say that without scorn, since I’m not very far removed from that status, myself. RSS may stand for Really Simple Syndication, but that doesn’t mean most people understand it. They don’t.
So, how do you keep up with what a blogger you like is posting? Yes, this one’s for you, Mom, my most loyal reader. I’m not going to cover all possible ways, or even pretend that I know many ways. I’ll just address a few of the simplest ways that I know which work well. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Blogs, Technology, Web 2.0 | Tagged: feeds, google, reader, RSS | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Ted Hopton on January 27, 2008
Here’s a news flash: consumption of meat these days is directly tied to consumption of energy. As Michael Bittman (author of a great cookbook that I own, How To Cook Everything, not that I crack it open often . . .), wrote a provocative article in the NYT, “Rethinking the Meat Guzzler.” The essential premise is, reduce consumption of meat, and the effect on energy consumption would be significant:
The two commodities share a great deal: Like oil, meat is subsidized by the federal government. Like oil, meat is subject to accelerating demand as nations become wealthier, and this, in turn, sends prices higher. Finally — like oil — meat is something people are encouraged to consume less of, as the toll exacted by industrial production increases, and becomes increasingly visible.
Bittman is drawing upon Michael Pollan’s work (which he cites later in the article). It is astounding when you really dig into the interdependent web of industrial food production, energy consumption and global economics, not to mention the impact on human, animal and environmental health. Take, for example, this point: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Economics, Environment, Health, Science | Tagged: Economics, Environment, Food, meat, Science | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Ted Hopton on January 27, 2008
I wrote a couple of weeks ago about multitasking my way into putting my cell phone in the washing machine (it did not float). Tonight I read a post on Slashdot about the folly of viewing multitasking as an increase in productivity, “Multitasking Makes You Slow and Stupid.”
In true blog fashion, I’m citing the blog where I read this, and that blog cites the blog where they read it, which cites an article by Walter Kirn in The Atlantic. Don’t blogs remind you of whisper down the lane? Anyway, here’s my quote of their quote (sure hope it was accurate): Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Blogs, Research, Science | Tagged: multitasking, reasearch, Science | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Ted Hopton on January 27, 2008
Aw, kittens can be so cute! I’ll label this post “Human Interest” but it should be “animal interest.” I’m definitely a dog person, not a cat person (allergies), but this account of a kitty’s unexpected adventure, “Stowaway Kitten Makes It Home Again,” has to make you smile:
“I went to unpack and saw some of the clothes and saw it wasn’t my suitcase,” he said. “I was going to close it, and a kitten jumped out and ran under the bed. I screamed like a little girl.” Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Human Interest | Tagged: cat, stowaway | 1 Comment »
Posted by Ted Hopton on January 27, 2008
It may be that our national obsession with cholesterol is misplaced. This article in the NYT, “What’s Cholesterol Got to Do With It?” goes into some specific scientific detail to explain why we basically have it wrong when we worry so much about cholesterol.
So how did we come to believe strongly that LDL cholesterol is so bad for us? It was partly due to the observation that eating saturated fat raises LDL cholesterol, and we’ve assumed that saturated fat is bad for us. This logic is circular, though: saturated fat is bad because it raises LDL cholesterol, and LDL cholesterol is bad because it is the thing that saturated fat raises. In clinical trials, researchers have been unable to generate compelling evidence that saturated fat in the diet causes heart disease.
I still recall my British chemist friend eating nearly an entire package of bacon by himself, and brushing off health concerns by saying that the fat he was consuming wasn’t going to affect his health. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Health, Research, Science | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Ted Hopton on January 27, 2008
Have you heard of “social entrepreneurs”? I hadn’t either, until I read William Kristol’s column in the NYT, “The Age of Ambition.”
Today the most remarkable young people are the social entrepreneurs, those who see a problem in society and roll up their sleeves to address it in new ways. Bill Drayton, the chief executive of an organization called Ashoka that supports social entrepreneurs, likes to say that such people neither hand out fish nor teach people to fish; their aim is to revolutionize the fishing industry. If that sounds insanely ambitious, it is. John Elkington and Pamela Hartigan title their new book on social entrepreneurs “The Power of Unreasonable People.”
It’s an inspiring account, and I recommend you read it. There is more good being done by more people than we generally know, and that’s heartening news.
Posted in Career, Economics, Innovation | Tagged: entrepreneurs, social | 1 Comment »
Posted by Ted Hopton on January 27, 2008
Frank Rich paints tells a cautionary tale in his NYT Op-Ed column, “The Billary Road to Republican Victory.”
In the wake of George W. Bush, even a miracle might not be enough for the Republicans to hold on to the White House in 2008. But what about two miracles? The new year’s twin resurrections of Bill Clinton and John McCain, should they not evaporate, at last give the G.O.P. a highly plausible route to victory.
John McCain juxtaposed with “Billary” offers some messy problems for the Demorcatic ticket, Rich points out. First is all the baggage that Bill Clinton brings: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Politics | Tagged: Politics | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Ted Hopton on January 27, 2008
Wow, I just read Caroline Kennedy’s NYT Op-Ed endorsement of Barack Obama, (“A President Like My Father“) and it literally gave me chills — very moving. She evokes her father’s inspirational impact upon people and connects Obama with those very same qualities. There’s something powerful about the daughter of our last truly charismatic Democratic president speaking from her heart about how she sees Barack Obama as worthy or her father’s mantle.
Over the years, I’ve been deeply moved by the people who’ve told me they wished they could feel inspired and hopeful about America the way people did when my father was president. This sense is even more profound today. That is why I am supporting a presidential candidate in the Democratic primaries, Barack Obama.
My reasons are patriotic, political and personal, and the three are intertwined. All my life, people have told me that my father changed their lives, that they got involved in public service or politics because he asked them to. And the generation he inspired has passed that spirit on to its children. I meet young people who were born long after John F. Kennedy was president, yet who ask me how to live out his ideals….
We have that kind of opportunity with Senator Obama. It isn’t that the other candidates are not experienced or knowledgeable. But this year, that may not be enough. We need a change in the leadership of this country — just as we did in 1960.
It’s a Kennedy two-fer today, with Ted Kennedy making it known that he has decided to endorse Obama tomorrow. Add that on top of the thumping Obama delivered to his rivals in South Carolina, and I wonder whether we will look back on this weekend as the turning point in the Democratic race. On to Super Tuesday!
Posted in Politics | Tagged: Politics | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Ted Hopton on January 27, 2008
My friend, Steve, told me a sad little story today. Seems he asked a young woman who was leaving a gathering early if she was giving up the ghost, and her response was, “Huh? What’s that mean?”
In case you don’t know, either, it’s a phrase that originates in the Bible and means to die. In more casual parlance, it means to pack it in or give up. I knew this, of course, as did the other 40+ year-olds he told the story to. But the second young woman he tried the phrase on had the same reaction: “What are you talking about?”
This was one of those rueful moments we all will experience at some point in our lives, and which some of us seem to be experiencing more than before. (Reminds me of the comedian’s line about how he seems to be hanging out with an older crowd than he used to.) Apparently people in their mid-twenties are not familiar with “give up the ghost,” so it must have passed out of frequent usage some time ago, leaving those of us who know what it means feeling like old fogies.
Oh, and the first young woman handled the situation very smoothly, as she reassured Steve that she works with lots of “older people.” Has anyone seen my cane?
Posted in Human Interest, Humor, Nostalgia | Tagged: Human Interest, Humor | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Ted Hopton on January 27, 2008
This is my first post on WordPress, on my own new domain, http://yaichablog.com/. I’ve brought over all my posts and comments from my Blogger.com blog, so if you’ve been reading there you’ll find it all is here, too.
The only thing missing is my final post on Blogger.com, and since I want you to stay here, I’ll quote it for you:
Dear Blogger.com,
You swept me off my feet at first: what sexy features you have! Being with you was easy and relaxed, and your pages are very pretty! You get along so well with my videos and pictures and links, too. And you’re a cheap date (free of charge), as well.
In the end, however, I hardly gave you a chance. After just a few whirlwind weeks, my eyes started straying. As I heard about other blogging tools, I wondered what it would be like to be with them . . . and then I found WordPress.
It’s over, Blogger.com. I’m sorry, but I need to move on. I’ve outgrown this relationship. Sure, you’re still sexy and fun, and I’ll miss that. But WordPress offers me the potential for a deeper, more meaningful relationship.
In fact, we’ve eloped: I got my own domain name with WordPress, something you never were willing to do for me. Now, my blog will have it’s own home at http://yaichablog.com/
I hope we can still be friends, Blogger.com, and I know you’ll be just right for someone else. You’re just the kind of blogging software that I’d be happy to introduce to my mother, in fact.
Although this is my last post with you, I’ve brought all the pages we made together with me to WordPress, and they’ll always remind me of you. Come visit me at http://yaichablog.com/ and let’s stay in touch.
Best regards,
Ted
http://yaichablog.com/
Posted in Blogs, Humor | Tagged: blogger, Blogs, wordpress | Leave a Comment »
If you’re a veteran blog reader, skip this post. It’s for newbies only, and I can say that without scorn, since I’m not very far removed from that status, myself. RSS may stand for Really Simple Syndication, but that doesn’t mean most people understand it. They don’t.
