Nicholas Christakis: The hidden influence of social networks | Video on TED.com

Nicholas Christakis: The hidden influence of social networks | Video on TED.com: "We're all embedded in vast social networks of friends, family, co-workers and more. Nicholas Christakis tracks how a wide variety of traits -- from happiness to obesity -- can spread from person to person, showing how your location in the network might impact your life in ways you don't even know...."



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This 'Placebo' Could Be The Drug For You : NPR

This 'Placebo' Could Be The Drug For You : NPR:

"...researchers from Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. They conducted a study among people suffering from irritable bowel syndrome. It showed that placebos, essentially sugar pills with no active ingredients, fooled plenty.

Here's the catch - the researchers actually told patients they were taking placebos. Despite that, according to the study, they showed symptom relief, quote, 'to a degree roughly equivalent to the effects of the most powerful IBS medications.' Scientists aren't sure what to make of the findings, but suspect that the ritual of getting a pill, even a useless one, sometimes does the trick..."

African Farmers Losing Land to Investors - NYTimes.com

African Farmers Losing Land to Investors - NYTimes.com:

"Across Africa and the developing world, a new global land rush is gobbling up large expanses of arable land. Despite their ageless traditions, stunned villagers are discovering that African governments typically own their land and have been leasing it, often at bargain prices, to private investors and foreign governments for decades to come.

Organizations like the United Nations and the World Bank say the practice, if done equitably, could help feed the growing global population by introducing large-scale commercial farming to places without it.

But others condemn the deals as neocolonial land grabs that destroy villages, uproot tens of thousands of farmers and create a volatile mass of landless poor..."

Cool video but listen to the numbers--conservation not doing enough

World Trade Center Site

YouTube - I'm Training for an Ironman

YouTube - I'm Training for an Ironman: Rick sent this one along....with apologies for the wearing it is hilarious.

"A conversation between someone training for an Ironman, and someone not training for an Ironman."

Related articles

• Ironman Triathlon Coming Up December 18 (fitnesstipsforlife.com)
• Amputee Sets Out to Complete 8 'Ironmans' (foxnews.com)

The Genius of Play | Psychology Today

The Genius of Play | Psychology Today:

"...how do hobbies and imagination help foster professional breakthroughs? 'One possibility is that people are geniuses because they are polymaths and have a huge range of talents,' says Robert Root-Bernstein. 'There's not much the rest of us can learn from that. But another possibility is that an avocation helps you learn skills.'

In the Root-Bernsteins' book Sparks of Genius they amass evidence of 13 cognitive tools, including imagining, abstracting and, yes, playing, that may contribute to creativity by helping people synthesize knowledge across domains."

Why a Happy Brain Performs Better - HBR IdeaCast - Harvard Business Review

Why a Happy Brain Performs Better - HBR IdeaCast - Harvard Business Review:

"Featured Guest: Shawn Achor, CEO of Aspirant and author of The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work.

Download this podcast

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Al Gore Mea Culpa: Support for Corn-Based Ethanol Was a Mistake

Al Gore Mea Culpa: Support for Corn-Based Ethanol Was a Mistake:

"On reflection, Gore said the energy conversion ratios -- how much energy is produced in the process -- 'are at best very small.' 'One of the reasons I made that mistake is that I paid particular attention to the farmers in my home state of Tennessee,' he said, 'and I had a certain fondness for the farmers in the state of Iowa because I was about to run for president.'"

How didn't this make bigger news?

Word Cloud: English Words of Arabic Origin

Word Cloud: English Words of Arabic Origin
Originally uploaded by Mourad Diouri

I had no idea on most of these words.

Aron Ralston describes the amputation

I am speechless. This is the story that 127 hours is based on.

YouTube - Aron Ralston describes the amputation:

"Aron Ralston describes amputating his own arm that was caught under a boulder."

Related articles

• Aron Ralston, 127-hour canyon survivor, 'understands what life is' (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• '127 Hours' Subject Aron Ralston's First Thoughts After Being Trapped Under Boulder (omg.yahoo.com)
• "Adventure Journal Tells Us About Aron Ralston" and related posts (theadventureblog.blogspot.com)
• In WideWorld This Week Aron Ralston And 127 Hours That Changed His Life; Jimmy Chin Talks Photography And We Visit An Eco-Lodge In Ecuador (your-story.org)

YouTube - Katy Perry - Firework

YouTube - Katy Perry - Firework:

Alcohol 'more harmful than heroin, crack and Ecstasy' | Mail Online

Alcohol 'more harmful than heroin, crack and Ecstasy' | Mail Online:

"Scientists have found that alcohol is the most harmful drug overall and three times as harmful as cocaine and tobacco, according to a new scale of drug harm that rates the damage to both users and to wider society."

- Sent using Google Toolbar"Given the number of people's lives I have seen totally ruined by alcohol I totally agree. Now that said, the number of users is so high that this is not a really valid comparison, but nonetheless it is worthy of note if nothing else than a good reminder of the dangers.

Asian Neanderthals, Humans Mated : Discovery News

Asian Neanderthals, Humans Mated : Discovery News:

"Early modern humans mated with Neanderthals and possibly other archaic hominid species from Asia at least 100,000 years ago, according to a new study that describes human remains from that period in South China.

The remains are the oldest modern human fossils in East Asia and predate, by over 60,000 years, the oldest previously known modern human remains in the region....."Of more interest than who had sex with whom is the fact that modern humans had spread across southern Eurasia by 100,000 years ago, and yet archaic humans remained across the more northern areas, and even displaced the modern humans in Southwest Asia for an additional 50,000-70,000 years," added Trinkaus, a professor of physical anthropology at Washington University in St. Louis.

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Runners Learn to Realize Their Training Limits - WSJ.com

Runners Learn to Realize Their Training Limits - WSJ.com:

"The body responds beautifully to the right schedule of training stresses,' Lynn Bjorklund, who in 1981 set the still-standing female course record for the Pikes Peak Marathon, wrote in an email. 'However, too much stress and not enough nutrition or recovery pushes your body toward injury and illness. You need to stay in that zone of just enough, and that takes a very high tuned and honest appraisal of yourself.'

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YouTube - Nervous young Johnny Cash ~ Rare footage on Kinzua Indians

YouTube - Nervous young Johnny Cash ~ Rare footage on Kinzua Indians: "Johnny Cash sings a song written about the Seneca Indians over the flooding of the Kinzua dam.




Seems relevant again with taxation issues taking front stage again.

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Your Brain on Computers - Digital Devices Deprive Brain of Needed Downtime - NYTimes.com

Your Brain on Computers - Digital Devices Deprive Brain of Needed Downtime - NYTimes.com:

"But scientists point to an unanticipated side effect: when people keep their brains busy with digital input, they are forfeiting downtime that could allow them to better learn and remember information, or come up with new ideas.

Ms. Bates, for example, might be clearer-headed if she went for a run outside, away from her devices, research suggests.

At the University of California, San Francisco, scientists have found that when rats have a new experience, like exploring an unfamiliar area, their brains show new patterns of activity. But only when the rats take a break from their exploration do they process those patterns in a way that seems to create a persistent memory of the experience."

HT to @nateolay

Ignatius' Ghost

Ignatius' Ghost: Cool blog, I just finished ristening to the book. :

"The main character of Confederacy is Ignatius J. Reilly who truly believes that dunces everywhere are in confederacy against him.

I've gone through Confederacy and noted every location in which Toole mentions. In August 2008, I visited New Orleans and chronicled every location I could find. Where applicable, I tried to give you a little history of the sites, as well as a couple photos.

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Another reason to hate fall and winter!

Temperature Drops Put the Squeeze on Heart Attack Risk: Scientific American:

"Bhaskaran and his colleagues estimated that for every 1 degree C drop in the mean temperatures in the U.K. over a 24-hour period—where about 11,600 heart attacks occur each month—an additional 200 heart attacks are likely to occur."

The Man Behind the Liverpool Bid - DealBook Blog - NYTimes.com

The Man Behind the Liverpool Bid - DealBook Blog - NYTimes.com:

"“If there’s an opportunity, we’ll do it, but only for the learning process,” Mr. Huang said during the interview in Shanghai in March. “The N.F.L. is the most profitable league. The management, the intellectual property, the ownership structure is the best.”

Friends say Mr. Huang made a fortune working on Wall Street and helping clients invest in Chinese initial public stock offerings. Now, they say, he is pushing China to overhaul its sports system and develop its own professional sports leagues with corporate sponsors — a challenge in a country where the government retains tight control of sports programs."

Running Barefoot: Training Tips

Running Barefoot: Training Tips:

"Recap

* Land gently on your forefoot and gradually let the heel come down
* Transition slowly
* Stretch your calves and Achilles tendon
* Don’t do anything that causes pain
* Listen to your body and run totally barefoot to learn good form
* Buy minimal shoes that lack high heels and stiff soles
* Consult a doctor

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Deep Underground, Miles of Hidden Wildfires Rage - TIME

Deep Underground, Miles of Hidden Wildfires Rage - TIME:

"According to a review by the Department of Interior's Office of Surface Mining Enforcement and Reclamation, more than 100 fires are burning beneath nine states, most of them in Colorado, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Utah and West Virginia. But geologists say many fires go unreported, driving the actual number of them closer to 200 across 21 states. Most have burned for years, if not decades. Pennsylvania's three dozen underground fires include America's most notorious subterranean blaze, a 48-year-old fire in Centralia, whose noxious emissions sickened residents and eventually prompted the federal government in the late 1980s and early '90s to evict homeowners and pay them a collective $40 million for what is now a virtual ghost town.

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At 80, the 'Iron Nun' Prepares for Her Next Triathlon - Healthy Living on Shine

At 80, the 'Iron Nun' Prepares for Her Next Triathlon - Healthy Living on Shine

Lead on:

"...on July 24, Sister Madonna will celebrate her 80th birthday. Then, just over a month later, she'll compete in the Ironman Canada, and should she finish it, she'll break her own record as the oldest woman to complete an Ironman — one she initially set in 2005, as triathlons try to keep up with her by opening up new age groups."

Brain fitness program study reveals visual memory improvement in older adults

Brain fitness program study reveals visual memory improvement in older adults:

"The research is being published in the journal PLoS One on July 14, 2010.

'This confirms our understanding that the brains of older adults, like those of young people, are 'plastic' - the brain can change in response to focused training,' said Adam Gazzaley, MD, PhD, director of the Neuroscience Imaging Center at UCSF and senior author of the research paper. Gazzaley is associate professor of neurology, physiology and psychiatry at UCSF.

'The study shows that perceptual improvements with simple discrimination training can transfer to improved working memory in older adults, and it also shows that this increase in memory accuracy is linked to changes at the neural level.'"

Related articles by Zemanta

• Brain training - maybe a little effective? (blogs.nature.com)

Op-Ed Columnist - The Medium Is the Medium - NYTimes.com

Op-Ed Columnist - The Medium Is the Medium - NYTimes.com:

"What matters is the way people think about themselves while engaged in the two activities. A person who becomes a citizen of the literary world enters a hierarchical universe. There are classic works of literature at the top and beach reading at the bottom.

A person enters this world as a novice, and slowly studies the works of great writers and scholars. Readers immerse themselves in deep, alternative worlds and hope to gain some lasting wisdom. Respect is paid to the writers who transmit that wisdom.

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Boys & Girls Club Hoping for Money from Lebron James Announcement|ABC 13

Boys & Girls Club Hoping for Money from Lebron James Announcement|ABC 13:

"The Boys and Girls Club’s national headquarters will make millions from Thursday’s announcement that will come from James’ announcement show on ESPN.

The hoops superstar made it clear that all proceeds raised from the ads sold in the one hour show, will support operation of Boys and Girls Clubs

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If you happen to find yourself in a bad mood, watch this

It's a Wonderful Life (the ending).





While a Christmas movie, I felt like watching it now.

Floyd Landis, Lance Armstrong and Doping Allegations - WSJ.com

Image via Wikipedia

Floyd Landis, Lance Armstrong and Doping Allegations - WSJ.com:

"During this conversation, Mr. Landis said, Mr. Bruyneel also told him that before the Tour, Mr. Landis would have some blood extracted—blood that would then be put back in his body during the race. That process would boost his blood's ability to carry oxygen to his muscles.

Both testosterone patches and blood transfusions are banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency, which oversees drug testing in many international sports. If evidence of their use is found in the blood or urine of a cyclist, it usually results in a two-year suspension.

Mr. Landis said the conversation with Mr. Bruyneel didn't come as a surprise, and that he agreed without hesitation. He said he was motivated by the prospect of making more money as a racer, and was happy he was being introduced to doping by somebody he trusted.

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Related articles by Zemanta

• Lance Armstrong dismisses Floyd Landis' latest accusations (sports.espn.go.com)
• Armstrong Dismisses Latest Landis Doping Claims (abcnews.go.com)
• Floyd Landis, Lance Armstrong and Doping Allegations (ballhype.com)

When equilibrium's off, doping cyclists come forward - latimes.com

When equilibrium's off, doping cyclists come forward - latimes.com:

"According to Landis, the performance-enhancing drugs of choice are recombinant erythropoietin to artificially stimulate the production of oxygen carrying red blood cells; steroids and human growth hormone for recovery and the development of lean muscle mass; and blood boosting, the withdrawing of your own blood early in the season and then re-injecting it during the tour to boost your red blood cell count. After the scandals of the last dozen years, most people — reluctantly, me included — believe that many, if not most, professional cyclists dope. The deeper question is why? And why did Landis come clean after all these years of vociferous denials?

The answer comes from game theory and something called the Nash equilibrium, conceived by the Nobel Prize-winning mathematician John Nash (of 'A Beautiful Mind' fame), in which two or more players reach an equilibrium when none has anything to gain by unilaterally changing his or her strategy, as long as the other players do not change their strategies.

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A Very Scary Fireworks Show: Exploding H-Bombs In Space : NPR

A Very Scary Fireworks Show: Exploding H-Bombs In Space : NPR:

"Back in the summer of 1962, the U.S. blew up a hydrogen bomb in outer space, some 250 miles above the Pacific Ocean. It was a weapons test, but one that created a man-made light show that has never been equaled — and hopefully never will. Here it is:

nuclear bomb

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• Image from the Only Nuke Ever Detonated in Space (neatorama.com)

The Oscar Schindler Story

The Oscar Schindler Story:

"To more than 1200 Jews Oscar Schindler was all that stood between them and death at the hands of the Nazis. A man full of flaws like the rest of us - the unlikeliest of all role models who started by earning millions as a war profiteer and ended by spending his last pfennig and risking his life to save his Jews. An ordinary man who even in the worst of circumstances did extraordinary things, matched by no one. He remained true to his Jews, the workers he referred to as my children. In the shadow of Auschwitz he kept the SS out and everyone alive.

Oscar Schindler and his wife Emilie Schindler were inspiring evidence of courage and human decency during the Holocaust. Emilie was not only a strong woman working alongside her husband but a heroine in her own right. She worked indefatigably to save the Schindler-Jews - a story to bear witness to goodness, love and compassion.

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Switching off your lights has a bigger impact than you might think, says new study

Switching off your lights has a bigger impact than you might think, says new study:

"Switching off lights, turning the television off at the mains and using cooler washing cycles could have a much bigger impact on reducing carbon dioxide emissions from power stations than previously thought, according to a new study published this month in the journal Energy Policy. The study shows that the figure used by government advisors to estimate the amount of carbon dioxide saved by reducing people's electricity consumption is up to 60 percent too low."

The Importance of the Mets Being Fast - WSJ.com

The Importance of the Mets Being Fast - WSJ.com:

"...according to research performed by Fangraphs.com, there has been minimal correlation over the last 30 years between the number of bases a team steals and the team's winning percentage.

On a scale where zero means there is no correlation between two variables, a team's stolen-base total and its winning percentage score a factor of just 0.12. Put simply, how many bases a team steals says very little about how often it wins."

I would say that speed is probably more important at Citi field than elsewhere.

The Science of Aging Brains - Newsweek

Image via Wikipedia

Good article!

The Science of Aging Brains - Newsweek:

"...in real life, rather than in psych labs, people rely on mental abilities that stand up very well to age and discover work-arounds for the mental skills that do fade. The second is that some mental abilities actually improve with age, and one of them may be the inchoate thing called wisdom, which is not a bad thing to have when running a company. Little of the gloom-and-doom conventional wisdom about what happens to the brain as we age, says Salt-house, 'is based on well-established empirical evidence.' Instead, he says, much of it seems to be 'influenced as much by the authors' preconceptions and attitudes as by systematic evaluation' of solid data...Some of the earlier bad-news findings are being questioned as scientists discover that the differences between today’s 20-year-old brains and 80-year-old brains reflect something other than simple age, and instead have to do with how people live their lives.."

North Koreans Still Waiting to Hear About Glorious World Cup Victory -- Daily Intel

North Koreans Still Waiting to Hear About Glorious World Cup Victory -- Daily Intel:

"North Korea succumbed 7-0, and the result does not appear to have been reported in the North Korean press. No sign of it in North Korea’s main newspaper — accessible by a Japan-based portal — and, so far, the official North Korean news agency has not yet gotten to the story."

Cyclist Raising Money For Cancer Dies - Albuquerque News Story - KOAT Albuquerque

Cyclist Raising Money For Cancer Dies - Albuquerque News Story - KOAT Albuquerque:

"A bicyclist struck by a car this week has died. The cyclist and his friends were cycling across the country raising money for breast cancer.

Friends said John Anczarski came up with the idea to ride bikes from Pennsylvania to California to raise money for breast cancer.

....On Monday, the group was bicycling on the Laguna Pueblo when they said a man driving a red SUV going 55 mph struck Anczarski. Friends said they question how that driver didn't see him."We were wearing yellow jerseys. We had blinking LED lights on our bikes," Bereskie said"

Landon Donovan's Game-Winning World Cup Goal May Have Set Internet Traffic Record | Popular Science

Landon Donovan's Game-Winning World Cup Goal May Have Set Internet Traffic Record | Popular Science:

"Just how breathtakingly, heart-stoppingly awesome was Landon Donovan’s 91st-minute goal in today’s win-or-go-home U.S.-Algeria World Cup game? It was definitely significant enough to temporarily overwhelm Twitter. And it just might have been the single biggest driver of Internet traffic ever."

Sword-Wielding Osama-Hunter Looking in the Right Place? | Danger Room | Wired.com

Crazy story.


Sword-Wielding Osama-Hunter Looking in the Right Place? | Danger Room | Wired.com:

"As for Faulkner himself, it’s difficult to decide whether he’s a campy hero, a loon, or just incredibly stupid. He’s probably all three. Especially given the difficulties the U.S. has had in tracking down Osama bin Laden—super-high resolution imagery of the border region, now on Google Earth, hasn’t shown us where he’s hiding—maybe Faulkner is onto something? Special Forces have a hard enough time finding any Taliban inside Afghanistan, to say nothing of Northwest Pakistan. Maybe Faulkner was our best shot at locating the man behind Al Qaeda."

Your Brain on Computers - Attached to Technology and Paying a Price - NYTimes.com

Your Brain on Computers - Attached to Technology and Paying a Price - NYTimes.com:

"The resulting distractions can have deadly consequences, as when cellphone-wielding drivers and train engineers cause wrecks. And for millions of people like Mr. Campbell, these urges can inflict nicks and cuts on creativity and deep thought, interrupting work and family life.

While many people say multitasking makes them more productive, research shows otherwise. Heavy multitaskers actually have more trouble focusing and shutting out irrelevant information, scientists say, and they experience more stress.

And scientists are discovering that even after the multitasking ends, fractured thinking and lack of focus persist. In other words, this is also your brain off computers.

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Does the Internet Make You Smarter? - WSJ.com

Very interesting article:

Does the Internet Make You Smarter? - WSJ.com:

"It is tempting to want PatientsLikeMe without the dumb videos, just as we might want scientific journals without the erotic novels, but that's not how media works. Increased freedom to create means increased freedom to create throwaway material, as well as freedom to indulge in the experimentation that eventually makes the good new stuff possible.

- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Best ways to have ton of energy - CNN.com

Best ways to have ton of energy - CNN.com:

"If you didn't know better, you might think that all the energy necessary to get through the ups and downs of an average day could be found in a powder, a pill, or a suspiciously small can. If only! But here's the good news: getting -- and, more important, keeping -- your energy level high is a breeze. Just take a look at these expert tips and tricks.

- Sent using Google Toolbar"

A Civil Rights Watershed in Biloxi, Mississippi | History & Archaeology | Smithsonian Magazine

A Civil Rights Watershed in Biloxi, Mississippi | History & Archaeology | Smithsonian Magazine

Wow. So hard to believe that stuff like this happened in US in past half century. Sad.

Read the article, it is good.

"The waters beside Biloxi, Mississippi, were tranquil on April 24, 1960. But Bishop James Black’s account of how the harrowing hours later dubbed “Bloody Sunday” unfolded for African-American residents sounds eerily like preparations taken for a menacing, fast-approaching storm. “I remember so well being told to shut our home lights off,” said Black, a teenager at the time. “Get down on the floor, get away from the windows.”

It wasn’t a rainstorm that residents battened down for, but mob reprisals. Hours earlier Black and 125 other African-Americans had congregated at the beach, playing games and soaking sunrays near the circuit of advancing and retreating tides. This signified no simple act of beach leisure, but group dissent. At the time, the city’s entire 26-mile-long shoreline along the Gulf of Mexico was segregated."

Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/A-Civil-Rights-Watershed-in-Biloxi-Mississippi.html#ixzz0lkUvSADj

Inspiring 87-year-old gives valuable advice for longevity

Inspiring 87-year-old gives valuable advice for longevity

"Our golden years can be filled with energy and vitality, according to Deborah Szekely, co-founder of Rancho La Puerta in Tecate, Mexico. At 87 years of age, Deborah trains three days a week with a Navy Seal and three days with a Pilates instructor. She can do 10 push-ups in less than a minute without breaking a sweat. Deborah Szekely exudes inspiration."

Pretty impressive. Read her list.

A Carry-on Bag Fee Tax Won't Fly - BusinessWeek

A Carry-on Bag Fee Tax Won't Fly - BusinessWeek

"The more interesting questions are whether such fees rob Uncle Sam his due in the form of taxes, and whether this latest ding will spur Congress to pursue a piece of the action. Airfares are subject to a 7.5% excise tax; baggage fees are not, as American learned last September in a legal opinion it sought from the Internal Revenue Service. But the Spirit bag fee has some politicians, most notably Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., looking to shut what they call a tax loophole by extending the excise tax as a way to raise federal revenues and to discourage such fees"

Airline fees: Where will they pop up next? - CNN.com

Airline fees: Where will they pop up next? - CNN.com:

"Discount carrier Spirit Airlines announced Tuesday that it would charge passengers for carry-on luggage stowed in overhead bins. European low-cost airline Ryanair has generated buzz with an article in its in-flight magazine outlining a toilet fee on flights of an hour or less, a proposal introduced last year that many industry watchers considered a clever public relations stunt.

Passengers don't seem to be amused,"

and later:

"Consumers shouldn't be too quick to dismiss the carry-on fee, said Anne Banas, editor of consumer travel site SmarterTravel.com.

Spirit Airlines led the way in charging for checked bags, and the legacy airlines followed. "

YouTube - WikiLeaks video 'shows US attack'

YouTube - WikiLeaks video 'shows US attack': "WikiLeaks, a website that publishes anonymously sourced documents, has released video footage of what it says"

WOw...Sad. Horrible.

99-year-old graduate fights against Africa brain drain - CNN.com

99-year-old graduate fights against Africa brain drain - CNN.com:

"A former teacher has just graduated from university in Ghana -- aged 99.

World War Two veteran Akasease Kofi Boakye Yiadom enrolled at Presbyterian University College's business school aged 96.

'Education has no end,' he told CNN. 'As far as your brain can work alright, your eyes can see alright, and your ears can hear alright, if you go to school you can learn.'"

Infographic of the Day: What the Census Said About Us...in 1870 | Design & Innovation | Fast Company

Infographic of the Day: What the Census Said About Us...in 1870 | Design & Innovation | Fast Company:
VERY cool...from Fast Company

"Radical Cartography recently dug up dozens of maps from the 1870 Census Atlas. They're gorgeous--and they reveal much about what set the country on its path to greatness--and what created our modern government.....As you can guess, the country was overwhelmingly young, comprised of children and working adults. This graph shows age distribution by state. Young are at the bottom of each graph; old at the top; left is male, right is female, and the shading tells you which is larger:"

Click through...it really is worth it!

Tough day for runners

two deaths while running:

First a wolf

"Wolves in Alaska are suspected of killing a teacher in an isolated village while she was out jogging." (from BBC)

Then a plane!

"A Georgia man was running and listening to his iPod on the beach on Hilton Head Island when he was struck and killed by an airplane that made an emergency landing Monday near Palmetto Dunes, the Beaufort County Coroner's Office said Tuesday." (from McClathcey)

BBC News - Baldness 'could be good for your health' say scientists

BBC News - Baldness 'could be good for your health' say scientists:

"A receding hairline can be a good thing, according to US scientists, who say men who go bald by 30 appear to be less likely to develop prostate cancer."

At Xavier, Nun Works Out Players’ Academic Side - NYTimes.com

At Xavier, Nun Works Out Players’ Academic Side - NYTimes.com:

"By some measures, the success of the Xavier men’s basketball team rests not with a sharpshooting guard or a ball-hawking forward. Rather, it rests largely with a 5-foot-4, white-haired 77-year-old nun not afraid to rap on dormitory doors or to call players before dawn to ask about missed classes or late assignments."

History: DaVinci Perfected World's Largest Horse Statue : Video : Discovery News

History: DaVinci Perfected World's Largest Horse Statue : Video : Discovery News:

"Leonardo DaVinci conceived, but never finished, the world's largest equine statue. This project failure has puzzled scholars ever since. Kasey-Dee Gardner finds out why this project came to a grinding halt."

As donations pour in for Haiti, charitable organizations take stock | Stars and Stripes

As donations pour in for Haiti, charitable organizations take stock | Stars and Stripes:

"For Haiti, the Red Cross has raised more than $250 million and has plans for some $80 million of that so far, said Red Cross spokesman Jonathan Aiken....which spends about 10 percent of its budget on administrative and fundraising work, according to Charity Navigator, has deployed 100 workers to Haiti and provided supplies, including blankets, hygiene kits, mosquito nets and kitchen sets to 130,000 people, provided 3 million prepackaged meals to the United Nations World Food Programme, and money to feed another million people for a month."

Seemingly the best at spending the money so far? Food For the Poor. One of the groups the money we helped raise at the BootDrive went to.

Not so good at least yet:

"Musician Wyclef Jean's Yele Haiti said it has spent about $928,000 so far on deliveries of food and water, as well as 500 shelter packages — tents, water purification tablets, canteens, blankets, gloves and personal items — to people in Jacmel. The group has raised a total of more than $8.6 million,"

Leadership & President’s Day | N2Growth Blog

Good look at The leadership of Washington and Lincol

"Abraham Lincoln is one of the most inspirational case studies in examining the leadership traits of persistence, commitment, determination, passion, conviction, and overcoming failure. There is perhaps no greater lesson the world can offer in overcoming failures and understanding the value of persistence than what can be learned from looking at the life of Abraham Lincoln. Born into poverty, Mr. Lincoln was faced with defeat throughout most of his life. He twice failed in business, lost eight different elections and suffered a nervous breakdown."

Matters of the Heart: Risking it All for the Marathon | Active.com

Matters of the Heart: Risking it All for the Marathon | Active.com:

"It has become a known fact that family history and dietary habits play as critical a role--if not a greater role--in heart health than exercise.....

A recent study showed that while regular exercise does indeed benefit the heart, some experienced marathoners past the age of 50 had significant calcium deposits in their arteries, thus increasing their likelihood of suffering a heart attack. The recent heart trauma suffered by 1980s marathon star Alberto Salazar has been well documented, and highlights how even those with a history of elite fitness can be vulnerable."

How Many More Are Innocent? - Reason Magazine

How Many More Are Innocent? - Reason Magazine: "

Calculating the percentage of innocents now in prison is a tricky and controversial process. The numerator itself is difficult enough to figure out. The certainty of DNA testing means we can be positive the 250 cases listed in the Innocence Project report didn't commit the crimes for which they were convicted, and that number also continues to rise. But there are hundreds of other cases in which convictions have been overturned due to a lack of evidence, recantation of eyewitness testimony, or police or prosecutorial misconduct, but for which there was no DNA evidence to establish definitive guilt or innocence. Those were wrongful convictions in that there wasn't sufficient evidence to establish reasonable doubt, but we can't be sure all the accused were factually innocent."

Never Before Seen Photos of World Trade Center - ABC News

Never Before Seen Photos of World Trade Center - ABC News:

"Looking at these images never gets any easier. The photos that follow depict the horrible images of the September 11, 2001 attacks and the aftermath of the recovery efforts where some 2800 innocent people died, including those aboard hijacked flights American 11 and United 175. ABC News recently obtained these images after filing a Freedom of Information Act request in 2009 with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which had collected as part of an investigation into the collapse of the World Trade Center. (Det. Greg Semendinger/NYC Police Aviation Unit)"

Vegetative Patients Talk With Brain

Vegetative Patients Talk With Brain:

"A few patients who appear to be in a persistent vegetative state may in fact be aware of themselves and their surroundings.

Remarkably, such patients may be able to learn to 'speak' using only their brains, suggest findings by Martin M. Monti, PhD, of the UK Medical Research Council, and colleagues.

'If someone can produce a mental state on command, it is like having a language,' Monti tells WebMD. 'We had 23 apparently vegetative patients, and four were really aware -- as we could tell by MRI [brain scans]."

Ivy Leaguers’ Class for Poor Becomes ‘Platinum’ Charter Schools - Bloomberg.com

This was written up in Outliers:

Ivy Leaguers’ Class for Poor Becomes ‘Platinum’ Charter Schools - Bloomberg.com:

"A 2005 study by the Educational Policy Institute in Virginia Beach, Virginia, found “large and significant gains” among fifth graders in KIPP schools nationwide on the Stanford Achievement Test, a standardized assessment used by school districts. The students scored an average of 9 to 17 points higher in reading, language and math, on a scale of 99 points, than they had the previous year elsewhere.

KIPP has an 85 percent college matriculation rate, compared with 40 percent for low-income students nationwide, according to a 2008 report card on the organization’s Web site"

Wednesday whales take down Twitter - CNN.com

Wednesday whales take down Twitter - CNN.com:

"In a Twitter post on January 12, company CEO Evan Williams wrote that the site continues to grow.

'Across all metrics that matter, yesterday was Twitter's highest-usage day ever. (And today will be bigger.),' he wrote."

Adult Learning - Neuroscience - How to Train the Aging Brain - NYTimes.com

Adult Learning - Neuroscience - How to Train the Aging Brain - NYTimes.com:

"Educators say that, for adults, one way to nudge neurons in the right direction is to challenge the very assumptions they have worked so hard to accumulate while young. With a brain already full of well-connected pathways, adult learners should “jiggle their synapses a bit” by confronting thoughts that are contrary to their own, says Dr. Taylor, who is 66.

Teaching new facts should not be the focus of adult education, she says. Instead, continued brain development and a richer form of learning may require that you “bump up against people and ideas” that are different. In a history class, that might mean reading multiple viewpoints, and then prying open brain networks by reflecting on how what was learned has changed your view of the world"

The Decade of Zero? Measuring Your Fulfillment in the 2000's | Psychology Today

The Decade of Zero? Measuring Your Fulfillment in the 2000's | Psychology Today:

"...it remains the case that economists, naturally enough, tend to gauge human achievement in terms of gains measured in indexes such as the GDP, GNP, and so on. When they do look at happiness, at least professionally, they tend to rely on pretty unsophisticated measures such as your answer to the question 'how happy are you?' The answers they receive, if you trust them, show certain trends in the huge aggregate but really don't say much about one individual's particular happiness and what affects it."

I have to agree, survey data of happiness data is notoriously fickle.