Coruscation

Some good arguing on healthcare.

Luntz also wrote: "Healthcare quality = 'getting the treatment you need, when you need it.' That is how Americans define quality, and so should you. The key opportunity here is that this commitment goes beyond what the Democrats can offer. Their plan will deny people treatments they need and make them wait to get the treatments they can actually receive. This is more than just rationing. To most Americans, rationing suggests limits or shortages -- for others. But personalizing it -- 'delaying your tests and denying your treatment' -- is the concept most likely to change the most minds in your favor" [emphasis in original].

On its "Talking Points" page, congressional Republicans similarly stated that Democrats would deny access to medical care and treatments, claiming, "The Democrats' government-takeover of health care will deny access to medical care and life-saving treatments."

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Mrs Obama looks strong and healthy.

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Looking somehow clinical in her pajamas, Kristen instructed me to answer the questions honestly. No problem, since I'm honest to a fault when I choose to speak to people. For the next two hours, she led me through questions that at times had us both laughing with recognition:

¶Do you often talk about your special interests whether or not others seem interested? Who's not interested in cleaning-product slogans?

¶Do you rock back and forth or side to side for comfort, to calm yourself, when excited or overstimulated? Where's the hidden camera?

¶Do you get frustrated if you can't sit in your favorite seat? Friendships have ended over this.

See also: autism.

Continue reading "Prescriptive Empathy for Asperger's " »

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But for the profoundly autistic, graduation is perhaps the saddest day in their lives. For those who cannot enter the work force, continue on to more education or find some sheltered workshop environment with adequate staffing, there are few options. Far too few programs and resources are allocated for adults with autism.

...

For purposes of fund-raising and awareness-raising, autism has been portrayed as a childhood disease. The federal Department of Health and Human Services has characterized it as a "disorder of childhood." There are practical reasons for this: early intervention has been shown to be the most effective therapy. The trend in autism treatment has been to steadily lower the age at which intensive intervention commences -- as early as five months, according to some experts. Yet autism is not a degenerative condition; the vast majority of those 1 in 150 children who are afflicted will survive to adulthood.

-- Karl Taro Greenfeld

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During the campaign, Obama talked about the need to control medical costs and mentioned a few ideas for doing so, but he rarely lingered on the topic. He spent more time talking about expanding health-insurance coverage, which would raise the government's bill. After the election, however, when time came to name a budget director, Obama sent a different message. He appointed Peter Orszag, who over the last two years has become one of the country's leading experts on the looming budget mess that is health care.

Their argument happens to be supported by a rich body of economic literature that didn't even make it into the book. More-educated people are healthier, live longer and, of course, make more money. Countries that educate more of their citizens tend to grow faster than similar countries that do not. The same is true of states and regions within this country. Crucially, the income gains tend to come after the education gains. What distinguishes thriving Boston from the other struggling cities of New England? Part of the answer is the relative share of children who graduate from college. The two most affluent immigrant groups in modern America -- Asian-Americans and Jews -- are also the most educated. In recent decades, as the educational attainment of men has stagnated, so have their wages. The median male worker is roughly as educated as he was 30 years ago and makes roughly the same in hourly pay. The median female worker is far more educated than she was 30 years ago and makes 30 percent more than she did then.

Continue reading "Health Care: Coverage vs Cost" »

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New for 2009: SPF 85

A sunscreen's SPF, or sun protection factor, measures how much the product shields the sun's shorter-wave ultraviolet B rays, known as UVB radiation, which can cause sunburn. It used to be that SPF topped out at 30. No more. These days, a race is on among sunscreen makers to create the highest SPF that R&D can buy.

If adequately applied, sunscreens with sky-high SPFs offer slightly better protection against lobster-red burns than an SPF 30. But they don't necessarily offer stellar protection against the more deeply penetrating ultraviolet A radiation, or so-called aging rays.

The difference in UVB protection between an SPF 100 and SPF 50 is marginal. Far from offering double the blockage, SPF 100 blocks 99 percent of UVB rays, while SPF 50 blocks 98 percent. (SPF 30, that old-timer, holds its own, deflecting 96.7 percent).

A sunscreen's SPF number is calculated by comparing the time needed for a person to burn unprotected with how long it takes for that person to burn wearing sunscreen. So a person who turns red after 20 minutes of unprotected sun exposure is theoretically protected 15 times longer if they adequately apply SPF 15. Because a lot of sunscreens rub off or don't stay put, dermatologists advise reapplication every two hours or after swimming or sweating.

SKIN DEEP Confused by SPF? Take a Number
By CATHERINE SAINT LOUIS
Published: May 14, 2009
The SPF arms race is leading some dermatologists to complain that this is merely a numbers game that confuses consumers.

Previously:

Mexoryl ingredient in sunscreen protects against UVA, UVB, recommended by
Manhattan dermatologist Dr. Patricia Wexler

Continue reading "Sunscreen SPF update" »

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If public transport and public health could merge, there would be a safe way to get home at night.

Atrios would approve, if public safety is a public good.

Phoenix, AZ 2009 May 21:

The Valley's light rail will soon extend its hours on the weekends.

Currently, the light rail makes its last run at 11 p.m.

However, starting July 1, the trains will leave from both ends of the line at 2 a.m., which means if your stop is somewhere in the middle, the final train will sometimes come past 2 a.m.

On Wednesday, the METRO Board of Directors approved the new hours.

The change was made after getting feedback from passengers and businesses along the light rail route.

Melissa Harrigan, a bartender at Zuma Grill in Tempe, said she thinks the change will be good for business because people will be able to stay longer.

She also said that she feels it will keep the roads safer because a bigger group of people won't be drinking and driving.

According to a METRO news release, the estimated fiscal and maintenance impact for extended weekend service is $254,500 annually to the METRO operating budget.

After six months, the Board will review ridership statistics and costs associated with the service extension to see if the change is cost effective.

Published in transit, urbanism, UK, SFO, ny.

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He woke as usual at 5 a.m., swam a mile at the Y, read papers and was in the office at 7 for the senior staff meeting at 7:30. There was a meeting in the Situation Room about Afghanistan, a leadership meeting, a conversation with the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, a meeting with Senator Orrin G. Hatch, budget meetings, several conversations with the president.

He has be equally solicitous of Republicans in Congress (who also have been given access to Mr. Emanuel's private contact information). On days he does not swim, he works out -- and conducts business -- at the House gym: 25 minutes on the bike, 20 minutes on the elliptical, 120 sit-ups, 55 push-ups and many sweaty conversations with his former colleagues.

Continue reading "Rahm's partisan workout" »

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They found that Web searches for things like headache and chest pain were just as likely or more likely to lead people to pages describing serious conditions as benign ones, even though the serious illnesses are much more rare.

For example, there were just as many results that linked headaches with brain tumors as with caffeine withdrawal, although the chance of having a brain tumor is infinitesimally small.

Would such inference be addressed better by a frequentist or bayesian mindset ?

Continue reading "Head hurt bayesian" »

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Kettle bells are a most a versatile type of exercise equipment.
Simple, durable, but versatile. No moving parts of maintenance.

The kettlebell has a potentially important role because it is cost efficient, space efficient, time-efficient and effort efficient -- a whole gym in your hand.

Kettlebells are an ancient Russian weight-training tool shaped like a cannonball with a thick handle. They range in weight from 4kg (9lbs) to 48kg (105lbs), and are quickly becoming the strength tool of choice for athletes, coaches, and trainers. But kettlebells are for more than just the pros and 'hardcore' fitness buffs - everyone and anyone can lift kettlebells and reap muscular strength, endurance, flexibility and cardiovascular benefits with every workout.

Continue reading "Vancouver Kettlebell Workshop with Steve Cotter " »

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I am really grinding my teeth. I am too hyper, too often,
madly jumping from one project to another, making lists with
even more zeal than normal. During a staff meeting in which
I know I am going to be grilled on topics I am extremely familiar
with, I feel like I am going to have a heart attack. Or at least a
panic attack. Are my fingers tingling or shaking or not actually
moving at all? I'm going a little crazy.

I can, for the first time, understand how people who are
heavily medicated feel crazy and out of control and even suicidal..

-- Like the Amazon.com customer reviews of drugs, but much
more entertaining.

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Bodybuilding emphasizes developing large, well-defined,
well-proportioned muscles. In weightlifting, on the other
hand, the goal is simply increasing muscular strength.
Now, weight training, that's something else entirely.
Weight training builds strength to improve performance
in other athletic activities. You're gonna see a lot of
basketball and football players doing weight training.

-- Glen Tuttle, 41, Glendale, AZ.

Continue reading "Weight training, body building, weight lifting" »

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In 1970, Laud Humphreys published the groundbreaking dissertation
he wrote as a doctoral candidate at Washington University called
“Tearoom Trade: Impersonal Sex in Public Places.” Because of his
unorthodox methods — he did not get his subjects’ consent, he
tracked down names and addresses through license plate numbers,
he interviewed the men in their homes in disguise and under false
pretenses — “Tearoom Trade” is now taught as a primary example
of unethical social research.

Continue reading "False pretenses of unethical social research" »

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Manhattan dermatologist Dr. Patricia Wexler puts sunscreen between her toes.

But as proof that she is not merely some phobic S.P.F. showboater in
Gandhi clothing, Dr. Wexler explained that her favorite moment comes
when she can finally escape her portable sun shields for an immobile
one truly out of the sun. That would be the 10-by-10-foot Treasure
Garden cantilever umbrellas next to her pool at her house in East
Hampton, N.Y. They are the product of a long, long search.

“Every year I would look for something better than what I had,”
she said. And every year the Atlantic winds knocked over each
new arrival. “So you could never really relax,” she said. “You’re
trying to read, but you’ve always got one eye on the umbrella to
make sure it’s staying put.”

The Treasure Garden umbrella’s base, which when filled with sand
weighs 300 pounds, does just that. “This is the ultimate umbrella,”
she declared, which explains why she bought four, at $1,255 each,
at Hildreth’s in East Hampton. “They’re worth every penny.”

They worked, it turned out, too well, casting her entire patio into
shade. “I have a few friends we’ve had for a long time,” she
said carefully. “They have that real Miami skin — dark, dark tan
and definitely aged. And when they visit, they want to go and
sit by the pool with a drink, just to make sure they get every ray.
They won’t get near the umbrellas.”

Continue reading "Sunscreen between her toes, Manhattan dermatologist Patricia Wexler " »

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Many patients point to another problem with chronic fatigue syndrome:
the name itself, which they say trivializes their condition and has
discouraged researchers, drug companies and government agencies
from taking it seriously. Many patients prefer the older British term,
myalgic encephalomyelitis, which means “muscle pain with inflammation
of the brain and spinal chord,” or a more generic term, myalgic
encephalopathy.

Continue reading "Myalgic Encephalopathy is the new yuppie flu" »

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In a group health plan, the employer typically pays a large
share of the premium, so most employees sign up as
soon as they are eligible, regardless of their health status.

The health plan covers a mix of sick and healthy workers.
By contrast, individuals and independent contractors are
more likely to defer coverage until they need it, so the pool
of people insured is, over all, less healthy. Sick people
consume more health care. As a result, the cost to insure
them is higher.

Janet S. Trautwein, executive vice president of the National Association
of Health Underwriters, which represents insurance agents and brokers.

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Do they need to be feminists who like porn or can
they be porny types who are also feminists?

-- MeFi

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The writing profession has a yo-yo-diet effect on diet.

“Everybody loses weight on hiatus, and everybody gains
weight during the show. You break up the long day by
getting a little ritualistic snack. It’s like cigarette breaks
used to be.”

The rituals can be exacting.

“Someone at ‘Friends’ would get a thing of Gummi Bears
and line them up by color before eating them.”

-- Greg Malins, who wrote for “Friends” and “Will and Grace”
and is now a writer and executive producer for “How I Met
Your Mother".

“Our room is obsessed with Tim’s jalapeño chips and
these salt-and-vinegar chips that Greg has flown
in from Canada.

No kidding. Their salt-and-vinegar-ness is, like,
illegal in the States.”

-- Gloria Calderon Kellett, one of Malins’s colleagues.

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Mexoryl sun screen season is here.
Protect yourself from UVA, UVB.

The protection factor is only part of the story. A product with
an S.P.F. of 30 may have a UVA protection rating of only 2. Your
sunscreen should be a broad-spectrum one that also blocks
UVA radiation. Two ingredients now used in "complete" sunscreens
in cosmetically acceptable micronized forms are titanium dioxide
and zinc oxide.

Two other agents that offer broad-spectrum protection, Mexoryl
and Tinosorb, help to stabilize UVA protection during prolonged
exposures. They are available in Canada and Europe but have not
yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration here.

Neutrogena, however, has a new product on the American market,
Ultra Sheer, with an S.P.F. of 55, that is said to do the job of Mexoryl.
It is also more affordable and is cosmetically comfortable. The
company uses a patented Helioplex technology to stabilize two
UV blockers, avobenzone and oxybenzone.

-- NYT.

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If you sleep based on what your body tells you,
you’ll probably be sleeping more than you need
— in many cases a lot more, like 10-15 hours
more per week.

Why get up early?
The main reason is that you’ll have a lot more
time to do things that are more interesting
than sleeping.

Continue reading "Morning person" »

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Chicago personal injury lawyer or New York lasik laser eye surgery are
valuable search words.

So hire a Chicago personal injury lawyer if your New York lasik fails.

Continue reading "Chicago personal injury lawyer or New York lasik " »

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Exercise and physical training makes you you smarter, like animals.

[via HeadRush]

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Equinox Fitness is a nice mid-range gym.

Bettter than 24 Hour fitnes or NY Sports,
but beneath the Racquet Club.

At curbed, Trev explains,

Trust me, they don't care. I designed gyms for years,
for the bigest in the business. They are after their own
workout experiance, not interested in giving you the
same gym you came from. You can be sure, everything
including, The placement of of the machines, has been
reviewed at corporate, without the Gym's manager's
input or knowledge. There are reasons for everything.

Missing drink machines...= cleaner workout floor, and
drive up the juice bar sales.

No personal TVs at carrdio=, cut down on replacement
overhead (they do break)and quicker turnaround, studies
show people use cardio machines for longer time with
a personal TV station.

This is common stuff in gyms with high peak times.
You will not be tripping over bottles, and waiting for
machines to open up. But if enough people complain
about the TVs they will put them in, but only if the
membersip numbers don't hit target.

Continue reading "Equinox Fitness" »

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When all else fails, the Administration has simply preached:
In February, a hundred CDC researchers on sexually transmitted
diseases were summoned to Washington by HHS deputy secretary
Claude Allen for a daylong affair consisting entirely of speakers
extolling abstinence until marriage. There were no panels or
workshops, just endless testimonials, including one by a
young woman calling herself "a born-again virgin."

-- "Bootylicious" Brock.

Continue reading "Bang me silly, Claude Allen" »

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Most height and weight restrictions have been thrown out at
major police departments, after lawsuits challenging them
on grounds of gender and race. As for strength and stamina,
a recruit in King County need be able to do only

* 30 situps in a minute; and
* run a mile and a half in less than 14 minutes 31 seconds.

“You don’t have to be Superman,” said Sheriff’s Deputy Kurt
Lange, a 14-year veteran of King County, where the vacation
bonus has led deputies to start recruiting on their own,
looking for friends, relatives or just casual acquaintances
who might want to wear a badge.

George W. Bush runs three back to back 6:45 minute miles.

Continue reading "30 situps in a minute, 9 minute mile" »

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Nodular sclerosing Hodgkin's disease, a lymphoma chronicles the
diagnosis and treatments of this cancer.

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One Sunday I was driving through Missouri on Interstate 70, letting the
radio scan through the frequencies, and pausing on each station for a
minute. I heard a country station, a news talk station, another country
station, and a religious service. The commentator on the news talk station
was horrified that a grant for AIDS awareness was being used to
talk about sex (in San Francisco). His view now enjoys national influnece.

Speak No Evil

Scientists who study AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases say they
have been warned by federal health officials that their research may come
under unusual scrutiny by the Department of Health and Human Services or by
members of Congress, because the topics are politically controversial.

The scientists, who spoke on condition they not be identified, say they have
been advised they can avoid unfavorable attention by keeping certain "key
words" out of their applications for grants from the National Institutes of Health
or the Centers for Disease Control and Prion. Those words include sex
workers, men who sleep with men, anal sex and needle exchange, the
scientists said.

[Full story below]

Continue reading "Speak no evil" »

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