Venus Alert
Yes: Venus! A thoughtful neighbor stopped by with black glasses from Griffith Park Observatory and told us that Venus is currently visible crossing the sun. My son and I jumped outside with glasses plus the Nikon and the big lens and every filter in the house. It took us several tries, but here it is, clearly visible, via the Nikon and via my NX70U plus the solar goggles. See it now or wait 105 years. Awesome!
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Thoughts On That Helmet Article…
An article in Ski Canada Magazine examining helmet use stats in the US is generating quite a bit of buzz right now in the ski world. I’ve read the article and given it some thought, and my impression is that it’s easy to misread and/or misinterpret the article’s conclusions. Let’s take a closer look at what the authors wrote: (more…)
Posted in Science, Skiing | 5 Comments
BPA Receipts
Here’s another way that most ubiquitous of not-so-friendly chemicals, BPA, can end up in your body: via store receipts. Turns out that the thermal papers used to print most receipts are heavily infused with the chemical (up to 2% by weight, apparently). Tests have revealed that the BPA easily rubs off on your fingers as you handle the receipts (more…)
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Execution by Mathmatics
I enjoyed the original Freakonomics when it first came out. Written by University of Chicago economist Steven Levitt and New York Times journalist Stephen J. Dubner, the book used economic analysis in clever and unexpected ways to expose “the hidden side of everything.” Freakonomics made its share of enemies, thanks to its occasionally radical theories, such as suggesting the national decline in Crime seen during the Clinton years was actually due to the legalization of Abortion some twenty years earlier. Levitt and Dubner clearly enjoyed rabble-rousing as a sport. But, the book did successfully challenge conventional wisdom on a wide range of subjects. It was a good, fun read (more…)
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BPA in the NY Times
NY Times columnist Nicholas Kristoff writes about the ubiquity of BPA in our bodies, plus a gaggle of new studies linking BPA exposure to a variety of abnormalities in test animals. If you’ve been following the BPA Saga (including this impressive bit of corporate nastiness by Sigg), you’ll see that the latest research keeps upping the ante on the potential ill effects of BPA exposure in our food and water (more…)
Posted in Health, Science | 6 Comments
BPA Study links exposure, health effects
To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time a study has linked BPA exposure to health issues in humans. Here you Go…
Posted in Health, Science | 0 Comments
Earn More: Fix Your Teeth!
The Freakonomics Blog at NYT has an interesting write-up of what they call Beauty Premiums: the benefits enjoyed by being attractive. One of the most objective ways to measure beauty’s benefit is to simply look at wages, and this is what the Freakos do, in a series of provocative if not outright-disturbing studies (more…)
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Female Athletes and ACL Tears
The New York Times is running an article on the epidemic of ACL tears and other injuries in U.S. female athletes. Female participation in sports in this country is exploding, credited in part to a 1972 law, TITLE X, which mandated equal opportunity in sports to female athletes (more…)
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Nalgene Phases out BPA Bottles
Nalgene has just announced the phase-out of BPA-containing bottles from its product lineup, including all polycarbonate (Lexan) water bottles. Any way you put it, this is a stunning reversal from a company that has been an unwaivering advocate for the safety of Lexan/Polycarbonate. For interesting commentary on the subject, see Z Recommends’ article, Hell Just Froze Over (more…)
Posted in Gear, Science | 0 Comments
Complexity Theory: Judgment Day is Inevitable
I watched Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines on TV last night. Fox’s new series, ‘The Sarah Connor Chronicles’ debuts next weekend, so expect a lot of terminator promotion in the next seven days. Compared to the unexpected cult classic of the original Terminator, and the campy fun of its sequel, T2, the third film in the series is difficult to quantify (more…)
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