Saturday, March 03, 2007
Grammar Police, Idiot Brigade
So I'm a bit OCD about grammar. I was reading an article written by a fellow student, on a topic near and dear to my heart, but had to stop midway through when I encountered the following: "...as an American who's parents have no insurance..." But nothing makes me crazier than when I know I'm fucking up, but don't know why.
So this is a question for anyone out there who knows better than me: am I doing that/which correctly? I think of it this way: THAT specifies, WHICH defines - "That chair, which is red," etc. Or am I still recovering from my DCPS days?
Speaking of public schools, Virginia governor Tim Kaine is going halfway towards doing the right thing with regards to Gardasil and students in his state: he will sign a bill requiring that girls get the vaccine, but not if their parents object. Why, you ask, might parents object to their daughters being protected from a deadly disease (cervical cancer)? Well, because having the vaccine might encourage them to be sluttier, of course! There's no evidence that this will be the case - most American adults don't know what HPV is, let alone pre-teen kids. But who cares? This is America. we don't need evidence!
Sorta similarly, the death of a Maryland 12-year-old, due to a tooth infection which spread to his brain, has put the focus on poor people's lack of dental care. This is a major issue, but generally gets forgotten in discussions of health care coverage. I'm not really *that* poor, but I haven't been to a dentist in about six years, because I have no insurance, and couldn't pay for it. Another reason we need national coverage!
So this is a question for anyone out there who knows better than me: am I doing that/which correctly? I think of it this way: THAT specifies, WHICH defines - "That chair, which is red," etc. Or am I still recovering from my DCPS days?
Speaking of public schools, Virginia governor Tim Kaine is going halfway towards doing the right thing with regards to Gardasil and students in his state: he will sign a bill requiring that girls get the vaccine, but not if their parents object. Why, you ask, might parents object to their daughters being protected from a deadly disease (cervical cancer)? Well, because having the vaccine might encourage them to be sluttier, of course! There's no evidence that this will be the case - most American adults don't know what HPV is, let alone pre-teen kids. But who cares? This is America. we don't need evidence!
Sorta similarly, the death of a Maryland 12-year-old, due to a tooth infection which spread to his brain, has put the focus on poor people's lack of dental care. This is a major issue, but generally gets forgotten in discussions of health care coverage. I'm not really *that* poor, but I haven't been to a dentist in about six years, because I have no insurance, and couldn't pay for it. Another reason we need national coverage!
Labels: dentistry, Gardasil, grammar, HPV, idiocy, insurance, OCD, poverty., school, teeth, Virginia
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Dicks and Assess
A Canadian survey found that 90% of teenage boys admitted to looking at porn, as did 70% of girls. The authors of the study are of course Very Concerned, in that they imagine that viewing 'too much' porn will damage young people's development, et cetera. They don't have any evidence for this fear, but clearly it's the only conclusion Sensible People could make. The report glosses over the much more important finding - that parents aren't discussing sex (specifically: safer sex) with their kids - and instead goes for thinly veiled moralizing about porn.
Speaking of thinking with the little head, remember the study on circumcision against HIV the NIH stopped because the results were so overwhelming? Well, it seems that the results may be even stronger than previously thought - as much as a 65% reduction in risk! The problem, of course, is that the study was not very well designed, selecting control and treatment groups solely by volunteerism, not randomization*.
Moving around to the other side of the anatomy, it seems that perfectionists and high-stress types may be more likely to develop Irritable Bowel Syndrome after bouts of gastroenteritis. Cognitive therapy is prescribed to train sufferers to be less obnoxiously Type-A.
But really speaking of assholes, the Bush administration looks unlikely to grant state governor's requests for extra SCHIP funding this year, to keep those programs going. The programs provide health insurance to children whose families ear too much to get Medicaid, but not enough to afford insurance, and are proven highly effective.
And finally, the good news: the First Circuit has reaffirmed that bloggers aren't liable for commentors' libel**, and it seems that ginko extract may be helpful in treating the mental retardation that comes with Downs Syndrome, by antagonizing GABA.
* This probably isn't as big a deal here, as placebo effects are totally implausible and the men who received treatment may also have been more likely to engage in risky behavior, given expectation of increased protection. All in all, these methodological issues are probably a wash.
** Why doesn't anybody comment here anymore? It was more fun and more interesting when we had some discourse!
Speaking of thinking with the little head, remember the study on circumcision against HIV the NIH stopped because the results were so overwhelming? Well, it seems that the results may be even stronger than previously thought - as much as a 65% reduction in risk! The problem, of course, is that the study was not very well designed, selecting control and treatment groups solely by volunteerism, not randomization*.
Moving around to the other side of the anatomy, it seems that perfectionists and high-stress types may be more likely to develop Irritable Bowel Syndrome after bouts of gastroenteritis. Cognitive therapy is prescribed to train sufferers to be less obnoxiously Type-A.
But really speaking of assholes, the Bush administration looks unlikely to grant state governor's requests for extra SCHIP funding this year, to keep those programs going. The programs provide health insurance to children whose families ear too much to get Medicaid, but not enough to afford insurance, and are proven highly effective.
And finally, the good news: the First Circuit has reaffirmed that bloggers aren't liable for commentors' libel**, and it seems that ginko extract may be helpful in treating the mental retardation that comes with Downs Syndrome, by antagonizing GABA.
* This probably isn't as big a deal here, as placebo effects are totally implausible and the men who received treatment may also have been more likely to engage in risky behavior, given expectation of increased protection. All in all, these methodological issues are probably a wash.
** Why doesn't anybody comment here anymore? It was more fun and more interesting when we had some discourse!
Labels: assholes, circumcision, Downs Syndrome, GABA, HIV, IBS, insurance, internet, law, libel, memory, porn, pron, SCHIP, sex, teenagers
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Staying Healthy
A treadmill-desk?? It's an idea that would probably benefit me as much as anyone - I often have to stop working and go walk, at least around the office if not outside, to regain my focus and release pent-up stress energy, but I doubt it'll ever catch on except for among the very wealthy.
NEAT sounds great, as long as you don't have to multi-task. I suppose that there are many people whose jobs can be done entirely on a computer, but all of mine have involved the need to have various books and papers handy as well. I just don't see jumping off and on a treadmill - especially during a client-phone call - as a realistic option. Especially because research indicates that we humans are not as good at multitasking as we think we are!
And, because I'm a bit brain-addled today, some quick-links:
- Yet another coalition has proposed a tax-break based health insurance plan. Tax-break based plan are just smoke and mirrors - when someone wants to sound like they're making an effort, it's what they propose. These plans only help the rich, who can afford out-of-pocket costs, never the poor, who need help.
- Alzheimer's vaccine patch shows promise in mice. Previous attacks on beta-amyloid have had severe autoimmune side-effects, but hopefully this will be different. I can't imagine why it would be, though.
- Selenium supplements may help lower HIV viral load. Cool!
- No drug, no pain cavity care? Please let this work!
- Sterilize your sponges in the microwave. Duh, I thought this was obvious!
NEAT sounds great, as long as you don't have to multi-task. I suppose that there are many people whose jobs can be done entirely on a computer, but all of mine have involved the need to have various books and papers handy as well. I just don't see jumping off and on a treadmill - especially during a client-phone call - as a realistic option. Especially because research indicates that we humans are not as good at multitasking as we think we are!
And, because I'm a bit brain-addled today, some quick-links:
- Yet another coalition has proposed a tax-break based health insurance plan. Tax-break based plan are just smoke and mirrors - when someone wants to sound like they're making an effort, it's what they propose. These plans only help the rich, who can afford out-of-pocket costs, never the poor, who need help.
- Alzheimer's vaccine patch shows promise in mice. Previous attacks on beta-amyloid have had severe autoimmune side-effects, but hopefully this will be different. I can't imagine why it would be, though.
- Selenium supplements may help lower HIV viral load. Cool!
- No drug, no pain cavity care? Please let this work!
- Sterilize your sponges in the microwave. Duh, I thought this was obvious!
Labels: Alzheimers, cavities, dental, health, HIV, insurance, multitasking, NEAT, office, selenium, taxes, treadmill
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Illegal Insurance, Ambient Power, Chocolate
Leaders of the health insurance industry (via their organization America's Health Insurance Plans) have announced that they now support universal health coverage in the US, and offered a plan to achieve that goal. Excuse me if I am dubious: this is an organization that has, literally until this press release, vehemently opposed any government activity in the sector. The few details provided also suggest to me that AHIP
is looking for another Medicare Part-D style giveaway. Still though, it's a hopeful step.
A RAND study suggests that illegal immigrants, often cited as a major drain on our national health resources by those opposed to universal coverage, actually account of only a small fraction of our spending, and for proportionally less than do citizens and legal immigrants. I'd like to think that this report might stop people (namely, Republicans) from blaming immigrants for our own problems, but I'd also like a pony that turns in to a boat.
RAND has published another study that could indicate great things, if our politicians were willing to go for it: projections show that moving forward on the '25 by 25' goal of using 25% renewable energy sources by 2025 can be done without any increased cost to consumers. Projections like this are always a bit shaky, depending as they do on so many contingent variables, but this one could provide the boost renewable energy needs. Hopefully the new Democratic congress will be interested in pursuing this option, helping to free us from our oil addiction and also clean up the environment.
And speaking of energy, don't you hate the jumble of wires around your desk, and the constant worry that your laptop/PDA/MP3 player/cellphone/portable massager will run out of juice at a critical moment? Well, physics may have an answer! Using a bunch of resonance effects I totally don't understand, researchers say they think they've found a way to charge electronic devices on the go, without wires. This would be awesome, but I have to wonder about the health effects of that much energy just floating around us all the time.
Also, chocolate is good for you.
is looking for another Medicare Part-D style giveaway. Still though, it's a hopeful step.
A RAND study suggests that illegal immigrants, often cited as a major drain on our national health resources by those opposed to universal coverage, actually account of only a small fraction of our spending, and for proportionally less than do citizens and legal immigrants. I'd like to think that this report might stop people (namely, Republicans) from blaming immigrants for our own problems, but I'd also like a pony that turns in to a boat.
RAND has published another study that could indicate great things, if our politicians were willing to go for it: projections show that moving forward on the '25 by 25' goal of using 25% renewable energy sources by 2025 can be done without any increased cost to consumers. Projections like this are always a bit shaky, depending as they do on so many contingent variables, but this one could provide the boost renewable energy needs. Hopefully the new Democratic congress will be interested in pursuing this option, helping to free us from our oil addiction and also clean up the environment.
And speaking of energy, don't you hate the jumble of wires around your desk, and the constant worry that your laptop/PDA/MP3 player/cellphone/portable massager will run out of juice at a critical moment? Well, physics may have an answer! Using a bunch of resonance effects I totally don't understand, researchers say they think they've found a way to charge electronic devices on the go, without wires. This would be awesome, but I have to wonder about the health effects of that much energy just floating around us all the time.
Also, chocolate is good for you.
Labels: AHIP, chocolate, energy, environment, gadgets, immigration, insurance, universal coverage
