While I was on the road trip I took last week, I saw this tree for the first time on the side of the freeway.
Survivor Tree 1
Somehow this tree lost half of itself, but kept on growing.
Survivor Tree 2
The withered, sun-bleached remnant was stretched on the ground beside the living tree, still wrapped along its’ roots.
Survivor Tree 5
Standing midway between the treeline and the freeway, it really was a striking sight.
Survivor Tree 6
AT&T just delivered another brilliant plan to fix their busted-ass antiquated network.
Starting their new project in San Francisco and New York, they intend to install a mini-cell tower in homes that are connected to their internet service to boost the homeowner’s cellphone signal.
But wait! There’s more! Since this is AT&T, they intend to charge $150 for installing and using this mini-cell tower, and will also charge additional minutes for cell phone calls that come in over this device!
AT&T is so damn stupid and incompetent, it’s amazing how they stay in business day to day.
Like one of their customers said in the article… ““They want to find a new way to make money off me, versus actually servicing me for the money I pay already… They’re trying to find a way to profit from their weakness.”
I’ve been slooooowly unpacking things as time permits these last few months. In one of the old trunks I found my original Atari 2600.
For those of you who don’t remember (or know) what the 2600 was like, brace yourself and click on the movie below…
That was “Adventure”. And that was one of the better games, too!
And now? Playing an Xbox 360 game on my HDTV?
Just slightly more fun.
I’ll make a followup post in another 30 years when the Xbox 360 is getting hauled out of storage!
The new FDA requirement that’s described in this press release is a bit odd.
As of now, the FDA requires that “manufacturers now must include a description of any pediatric subpopulations that suffer from the disease or condition that the device is intended to treat, diagnose, or cure. Manufacturers also must include the number of affected pediatric patients.”
Lemme make sure I understood this… the FDA wants to know what diseases and conditions a manufacturer’s product is designed to treat? And a real quantifiable number of how many kids are affected by the disease that their product intends to treat?
Hmmm.
The press release also says… “Very few devices are developed or assessed specifically for use in pediatric patients, those 21 or younger at the time of treatment or diagnosis. This effort will provide a better understanding of which devices developed for use in adults should be assessed or modified for use in pediatric populations. The requirements, contained in the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007, will also improve the agency’s ability to track the number of approved devices for which there is a pediatric subpopulation who could benefit and the number of approved devices labeled for use in pediatric patients.”
Anything that tries to fly under the banner “we’re doing it for the kids” is an automatic suspect in my book.
Is there anything wrong with this request? Not that I can see. But is it a strange request? Most definitely.
Here’s the official FDA press release on the new requirement.
Stud Capsule For Men is being recalled by the FDA because it has been “adulterated with Sildenafil, an FDA approved drug used in the treatment of Erectile Dysfunction(ED).”
I like how the FDA sneaks in words like “adulterated” in press releases like this. You can’t really use that word much outside of scrabble and in general character insinuations.
Anyhow, this drug is “…sold as a blister pack containing one capsule per unit of use 24-packs in a Box…consumers who have Stud Capsule For Men Lot 060607-01/060108-01 Exp 6-2010 in their possession should stop using them immediately.”
OK, seriously, if you’re taking something labeled and marketed as a “stud capsule” you really should re-evaluate some of your goals. Just sayin…
Whole Foods Market is recalling their Whole Catch Yellow fin Tuna Steaks because they’ve got a good chance of giving people scombroid poisoning due to high levels of histamine in the fish.
The press release from the FDA says the recall is for the Tuna Steaks “with a best by date of Dec 5th, 2010” and is “sold in twelve ounce bags with Best by Date: exp 05 DEC 2010 with Lot Code: 4853309157A and displays the following UPC code: 0-99482-42078-9 Whole Catch Yellow fin Tuna Steaks (Frozen) 12 oz.”
Scombroid poisoning isn’t any fun. This will kick in within minutes after eating the fish, and will give you “…tingling or burning sensation in the mouth, facial swelling, rash, hives and itchy skin, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea.”
Fun!
Every Monday I like to post some music to start the week off on the right foot.
This week’s kickoff is from Moscow Olympics – Still
…Hello Again – The Cars
…and finally, the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme
Here are some news stories from this week that I think the mainstream media completely missed out on. All links are from legitimate news sources and not the fringe / wacko sites.
* You’ll never ever see this in the mainstream media… cola lowers a man’s sperm count by 30 percent. As in only 7 out of 10 are still there! Tea and/or coffee are OK, so it’s not caffeine that’s doing it! Just say no to Coke! [PHYSORG]
* The first paragraph of the story says it all. “Using a technique called transcranial magnetic stimulation – in which magnets are used to disrupt neural activity in specific parts of the brain – scientists managed to “turn off” people’s moral centers.” Great. So if someone puts a specially modified hat on someone’s head, they can make them “bad” and forget their own code of morality. This has all kinds of ugly written all over it. The technical story is at [PNAS] and one “in English” is at [IO9]
* In more positive scientific news, “Playing the video game Tetris after a major shock can reduce symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, claim Oxford researchers.” OK. What I wanna know is how the hell did they find this correlation? And why do I suddenly hear the Tetris music? [TELEGRAPH.CO.UK]
* Trees are growing faster and bigger throughout the world? Maybe because there’s more CO2 for them to inhale? [NPR]
* Hoarders may have some serious drain bamage. “…hoarders had lower metabolic rates in the anterior cingulate cortex, one region responsible for motivation, focused attention, error detection, and decision making.” So, according to my sitcom science degree, another whack on the head should restore them to normal, right? Or is that only good for amnesia? [DISCOVER]
* Scientists have also just proven that “the presence of an attractive woman elevates testosterone and physical risk taking in young men.” This needed scientific proof? Seriously? [DISCOVER MAGAZINE]
* In more serious and infuriating news, some U.S. Bishops have very quietly started to allow priests accused of pedophilia back into the church [NPR] AND the head of the Catholic League said all that all this alleged abuse really wasn’t pedophilia because the boys were ‘post-pubescent’, saying “the age at which children become “post-pubescent” is around 12 or 13.” [RAWSTORY] Oh, so it wasn’t 11 year old boys being molested, it was 12 year old boys. And this makes it OK then? Somebody in the upper echelon of the Catholic church needs to clean house with a vengeance. Justified wrath of God, excommunication, “and you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee” kind of cleaning house.
* In another bit of infuriating news, the father of a Marine whose funeral was picketed by the Westboro Baptist Church has to pay the Westboro Baptist Church more than $16,000 for their legal fees and for their protest of his son’s funeral. [CNN] But the cavalry arrives from… Bill O’Reilly?!? Bill O’Reilly said he will pay every cent of that $16,000 legal fee for the father, saying “That is an outrage. I will pay Mr. Snyder’s obligation. I am not going to let this injustice stand.” Wow. I’m actually impressed and surprised. [NEWSMAX]
* If you notice the roads you travel on start to suck in a few years, it’s because gravel roads are making a comeback. Asphalt is $400 a ton and gravel is $20 a ton. That ads up quick! Michigan and Minnesota are starting it off. [KIPLINGER]
* The states are now getting in deep trouble financially in other areas too. Nothing to see here people! Move along! [NYTIMES]
*… aaaaand Greenspan says the economy is going to get worse, too. His early warning prediction was just validated. Keep moving! Nothing to see! [BLOOMBERG]
* …aaaand A giant sell-off in treasuries is being viewed as “a warning to Washington that it can no longer borrow with impunity.” Nothing to see at all! That’s why it’s only being covered in England! Move along now! [TELEGRAPH.CO.UK]
* What kind of man repos private jets from drug lords? Or from corrupt governments? Or steals them out of the heart of Russia? Helloooooo Hollywood? I got another summer blockbuster for you people! Contact me for a script! [AIRSPACE MAG]
* Speaking of summer blockbusters, Independence Day 2 and 3 are in the works, with Will Smith supposedly onboard for both. Yes, Independence Day is a movie with a major plot hole every five minutes, but it was fun to watch. Maybe this time they will send something aside from fighter jets with air-to-air missiles after the motherships. A sequel demands fuel-air bombs and other assorted thermobaric carpet-bomb runs from the stratosphere! I’ll pay to see that! [IO9]
* In technical news, an HDMI cable is an HDMI cable. There is NO DIFFERENCE between a $150 HDMI monster cable and a generic $10 HDMI cable to connect stuff to your High Definition TV. I have three generic $7 HDMI cables, and everything connected to them gives a perfect picture on my HDTV. Here’s the proof… [MINT.COM]
* In other technical news, how about a counter-surveillance camera that “spots other cameras, scopes, binoculars and human eyeballs gawking at it.” You can see who is spying on you or has you in their sights in real time? I’ll take two please. [GIZMODO] and the actual product is available at [JET-PROTECT]
* Want a secret lift to park your car directly in the living room? Not a problem, Mr, Wayne. Will you and Mr. Grayson be dining in tonight? [TODAYANDTOMORROW] with blueprints at [WHATWEDOISSECRET.ORG]
A few more photos from the road trip earlier this week.
Road Trip 03 30 10 c
Every other median along the highway has these little purple buds just rising above the grass mixed in with the white flowers from the last post. Very serene.
Road Trip 03 30 10 d
