Sign in or Join FriendFeed
FriendFeed is the easiest way to share online. Learn more »
teh Dork Knight aka Kenny
Silent Monks Singing the Halleluia Chorus - http://www.youtube.com/watch...
Silent Monks Singing the Halleluia Chorus
Play
Oh my God. This. A BILLION TIMES this. - teh Dork Knight aka Kenny from Bookmarklet
Very clever. - Jack (a.k.a. Jeber)
Gina
Total tomboy in need of someone well-versed in the feminine arts to help me get gussied up. Is there a class I can take or something?
Junebug (aka Sarah Jill)
Got to love that « Loldogs, Dogs 'n' Puppy Dog Pictures – I Has A Hotdog! - http://ihasahotdog.com/2009...
Got to love that « Loldogs, Dogs 'n' Puppy Dog Pictures – I Has A Hotdog!
ImJustCreative
60+ Free Clean, Simple Minimalist Wordpress Themes|tripwire magazine - http://www.tripwiremagazine.com/2009...
Blog designs certainly can by complex, colourful and overwhelming and many free themes for Wordpress belongs to that category. Some bloggers on the other hand prefer simple and clean layouts for their blog leaving more space for the text itself to be in focus. If you should go for a minimalistic theme is really up to you to decide but if you're considering this post will give you the inspiration needed and may help you find the theme you are looking for. - ImJustCreative
Aline Ohannessian
Christopher A Carr
James Randi Lecture @ Caltech - Homeopathy - http://www.youtube.com/watch...
James Randi Lecture @ Caltech - Homeopathy
Play
I'm really amazed that we still sell homeopathic remedies at the local drugstore (e.g., Zicam is the best known) - Glen Mistletoe
I'll remember that the next time I get exposed to commercial grade pesticides (thank you, modern day science for that wonderful "discovery" for compromising my immune system) vomiting up almost every day, hot diarrhea, wonderful boils over my skin that lasted for 3 years, broke and bled so much that I had to wear T-shirts to bed under my pajamas, lesions in my nose, an overgrowth and... more... - Melanie Reed
The placebo effect has been clinically proven under control circumstances, again and again and again. Having said that, I am all for whatever works to remedy the ailment(s). - Kurt Starnes
Kurt, It was not placebo. This took a measurable edge off the pain. It also had to be administered at a particular time in the pain cycle or the pain simply was too overwhelming - Melanie Reed
Melanie - I'm just happy to hear you are no longer suffering! - Kurt Starnes
Thank you, Kurt! I am glad of the improvement as well. It stole a lot of my health and years of my life. But they were not wasted spiritually. Without God, I could not have endured something like that. The person inside gained strength even though the person outside suffered. - Melanie Reed
Melanie, I'm sorry for your suffering, but there is and never has been one shred of evidence at any time in the past 220 years in a repeatable trial that showed any effect from homeopathic medicine beyond what is reasonably expected from a placebo. Diluting some material to a ratio of... more... - Glen Mistletoe
Thank you, Glenn. Have you used Homeopathy? Until the drug companies came in with their big business approach it and other methods from the east and native Indians were being used to treat many Chronic conditions successfully without doing harm. Now we have a singular approach many might liken to a "sledge hammer" approach that in all fairness does seem to help in traumatic and some... more... - Melanie Reed
Besides that, respected physician, Dr. Andrew Weil disagrees with this man on this point - Melanie Reed
You sure know how to catch them, Christopher ;) - Eivind
He has it down to an art. - Kurt Starnes
Melanie: I'm curious; did you watch the video? - Christopher A Carr
And that there are issues with the pharmaceutical industry has nothing whatsoever to do with homeopathy's (essentially, "magic" water's) efficacy or lack thereof in the treatment of disease. - Christopher A Carr
By whom is Andrew Weil respected? His agent and publisher, I suppose. He advocates all manner of quackery, and isn't much better than that flimflamer and scoundrel, Deepak Chopra. - Christopher A Carr
Placebos can have a measurable effect on pain and other symptoms. The placebo effect is well documented and quite real, though the benefits are unrelated to the particular substance administered. - Kevin Fox
This is a pet peeve of mine, and it may be the issue at stake here. The word "homeopathy" is used to mean two different things, and the confusion might not be accidental. 1. herbal remedies, in sane concentrations, which probably can work to treat certain diseases; after all, many drugs used today (including aspirin and penicillin) are derived from the natural world. 2. substances... more... - Tudor Bosman
The two concepts are very different in the mind of a scientist, but the average Joe will see both kinds of products lumped under the same heading ("homeopathic remedies") in the grocery store or pharmacy. - Tudor Bosman
And, aside: I like Randi, but I think we skeptics will only stand to gain when the person at the forefront of our movement is someone more charismatic and less of an asshole :) - Tudor Bosman
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki...: "Not all homeopaths advocate extremely high dilutions. Many of the early homeopaths were originally doctors and generally used lower dilutions such as "3X" or "6X", rarely going beyond "12X". The split between lower and higher dilutions followed ideological lines. Those favoring low dilutions stressed pathology and a strong link to... more... - Tudor Bosman
Tudor, yes, too many people do consider homeopathy only in your second sense and do not consider the first. And yes, I agree the confusion is not accidental. - Melanie Reed
Tudor: Randi is a lovely fellow, and by no means an "asshole." - Christopher A Carr
Tudor: You left off this part: "...Some products with such relatively lower dilutions continue to be sold, but like their counterparts, they have not been conclusively demonstrated to have any effect beyond the placebo effect.[71][72]" - Christopher A Carr
And for the (what appears to be majority of) homeopathic practitioners who advocate high dilutions, what of this concern? : "Furthermore, since water will have been in contact with millions of different substances throughout its history, critics point out that water is therefore an extreme dilution of almost any conceivable substance. By drinking water one would, according to this interpretation, receive treatment for every imaginable condition.[99]" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki... - Christopher A Carr
And who funded those studies? I am very skeptical of studies. Why? Because of who funds them, how they are often conducted and who stands to benefit from their findings. The university level is not without agenda. Here's the point on which this turns: placebo has become an overused word and it certainly has never benefited the homeopathy I have used (and was initially skeptical of in... more... - Melanie Reed
"...placebo has become an overused word and it certainly has never benefited the homeopathy I have used..." How would you know the difference? - Christopher A Carr
"And I daresay, Christopher, were you in the same sea, neither would you." I'm not the magical thinker that you are. So, yes, I would turn down snake oil for which their was neither any evidence of efficacy, nor any plausible proposed mechanism of activity. - Christopher A Carr
To be clear, is it your position that extreme dilution is the invalid sort of homeopathy? Water, in fact, does not have "memory?" - Christopher A Carr
And how would you know the difference, Christopher? Is the patient better? Are they cured? Then what does it matter that they are good health again, how it was accomplished, really. That is the bottom line, isn't it? They're better health now. I have met doctors and read accounts of doctors who openly admit they don't know how their patient recovered....but they did. So does it really matter how? - Melanie Reed
What does it matter how it was accomplished? First of all, that one ingests some substance and subsequently improves, does not necessarily mean that the substance effected an improvement. The person may have gotten better anyway. Or, the person's expectations that they would be helped by the substance could have kicked in the placebo effect. In good studies, the placebo effect is... more... - Christopher A Carr
"Hope is a Placebo" Discuss. - Kevin Fox
Does it ever occur that what works for one may not work for another, Christopher? As much as the idea of batch delivery appeals to the economies of scale for cure, one size really doesn't fit all. For example, they used to lose more women on the table than men during heart surgery. Why? The stent was made for men and thought to be purposeful for both. So does it occur, that harsh drugs... more... - Melanie Reed
Kevin, you remind me of a favorite and proved thought: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage... - Melanie Reed
What constitutes "harshness" in a drug? What "gentler approach" are you referring to? Water? - Christopher A Carr
"And yet, most women were telling them something was wrong and they wouldn't listen." <-- Does that make the proposed mechanism by which homeopathy works any more plausible? If so, how? - Christopher A Carr
Melanie: One of your arguments seems to go something like "science-based medicine isn't perfect, therefor x & y non-science-based techniques are effective." That is illogical. - Christopher A Carr
An example of harshness in a drug: prenatal nausea drugs that cause missing limb birth defects. - Melanie Reed
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal... From the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology: "ABSTRACT - Homeopathy remains one of the most controversial subjects in therapeutics. This article is an attempt to clarify its effectiveness based on recent systematic reviews. Electronic databases were searched for systematic reviews/meta-analysis on the... more... - Christopher A Carr
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed... - "Are the clinical effects of homoeopathy placebo effects? Comparative study of placebo-controlled trials of homoeopathy and allopathy." : BACKGROUND: Homoeopathy is widely used, but specific effects of homoeopathic remedies seem implausible. Bias in the conduct and reporting of trials is a possible explanation for positive... more... - Christopher A Carr
Real Homeopathy includes using ginger root tea and Shoyu tea (macrobiotic-eastern medicine) for nausea. They are both considered very safe. That would have been a safer and gentler medicinal alternative to prenatal nausea drugs - Melanie Reed
I can vouch for ginger & peppermint for nausea, though there is another herb vastly superior to both. (dunno if it's a good idea with pregnancy though!) - Lo
Ginger's effects are rather weak. What do you mean by "shoyu tea?" Soy sauce in hot water? "Tea" is Camellia sinensis. It's not my understanding that the partaking of herbal or folk remedies (some of which have plausible mechanisms of activity) amounts to homeopathy. - Christopher A Carr
Due to the absurdity in his explanation and the comedy approach in presentation, I can't help but feel there must be another side. For instance in speaking of the potency due to molecule quality, filtered water eliminates substance so the billions of years of accumulating molecules would be irrelevant. Unless I am missing something here. - Lillie Oliver
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed... "Feeling validated versus being correct: a meta-analysis of selective exposure to information." - Colby
I wonder if there is a strong correlation between believers in homeopathy and theism, as I see fills Melanie's feed. - Colby
Colby, actually not. I didn't try homeopathy until western medicine didn't work. I wasn't raised on it. I resisted trying it for years. I didn't expect anything to work. I was properly conditioned not to believe in anything other than western medicine. I wasn't a good candidate for homeopathy if placebo was the basis of its success. - Melanie Reed
Lillie: You *are* missing something. The molecules don't need to be there anymore, because water molecules "remember" having been in proximity to the solute molecules, and to other water molecules that were in proximity to the solute molecules. Yes; crazy. - Christopher A Carr
And Melanie, eating some ginger is not homeopathy. - Christopher A Carr
:) I'll tell my homeopathist and throw out all those books right away, Christopher. And I'll go back to waiting in pain in those doctor office's till they find what works and when I run out of money. I'll be sure to just keep up my faith that they will find help soon . lol - Melanie Reed
Are you seeing a naturopathic practitioner who uses homeopathy on occasion? - Christopher A Carr
Melanie: You should peruse the Wikipedia article. It's pretty thorough. - Christopher A Carr
Melanie, Western medicine works in many cases, some diseases we obviously can treat better than others. Genetics and epigenetics make for varying individual responses for drugs, we know this. Pharmacogenomics is helping us improve this. Meanwhile, in controlled studies homeopathy always fails. A n=1 is never evidence that something works. - Colby
Melanie: And while it might sound mean, your anecdotes are not really worth much of anything in this discussion. - Christopher A Carr
Also, homeopathy is dangerous because it dissuades people such as yourself from seeking evidence based treatment from qualified physicians. People who practice and promote homeopathy are putting many people at risk if they don't seek appropriate treatments. - Colby
...an important point. - Christopher A Carr
Christopher, no offense is taken. I know what happened. I know what helped and so do many others. - Melanie Reed
Colby and Christopher. My intent is not to replace Western medicine but to respect it for what it is and to stand firm on its limitations. What I would ask of you is to respect that you nor I have the complete answer for every case. I (yes every individual) has the right to choose their medical care. And western medicine needs to trust that I am capable of knowing what is best for me.... more... - Melanie Reed
"I know what happened. I know what helped and so do many others." I'm sure you think that's true. - Christopher A Carr
I don't think everyone has equal rights at all. People with no understanding of scientific literature should not have a choice of something of zero rationality. Again you are using poor logic that because Western medicine sometimes fails (sometimes it is simply an incompetent physician), homeopathy is something that can step in and fill the gap. But in objective trials, homeopathy always fails. - Colby
Colby, an understanding of scientific literature does not ensure agreement with it. :) I said nothing of the kind. Homeopathy is not here to support Western medicine and neither is any other methodology outside of it. Tools work together. And they are nothing more than tools, hopefully applied well and with care. - Melanie Reed
I still think you are talking about herbalism or something, not homeopathy. - Christopher A Carr
I suppose preventing dehydration could improve some outcomes :p - Colby
"Homeopathy" is not an antonym of "Western medicine." And it's not a catch-all term for every sort of non-standard medicine. "Homeopathy" is not a synonym of "alternative medicine." - Christopher A Carr
I always assumed the "homeo-" part was a reference to the law of similars. - Eivind
"Recently, homeopathy has come to mean pretty much anything in the way of alternative therapy, from aromatherapy and herbal remedies to pressure points and chiropractic techniques. But homeopathy itself is actually something very different. It doesn't mean that homeopathy doesn't often coincide with herbal remedies or aromatherapy, many homeopathic remedies are herbal in origin. But... more... - Eivind
Emily Lewis
I hate the feeling of "not being good enough" when I interact with my web "heroes" ... It's ridiculous and unnecessary, but it is real :/
I hate that feeling too. - Michael R. Bernstein
martha
Octopuses have been observed carrying coconut shells in what researchers claim is the first recorded example of tool use in invertebrates. There is a growing record of tool use in animals and birds, from musical "instruments" made by orang-utansMovie Camera to sponges used by dolphins to dislodge prey from sand. Now veined octopuses, Amphioctopus marginatus, have been filmed picking up coconut halves from the seabed to use as hiding places when they feel threatened. "This octopus behaviour was totally unexpected," says Julian Finn, a marine biologist at Museum Victoria in Melbourne, Australia, who has filmed at least four individual veined octopuses performing the trick off the coast of Indonesia. - martha
Christopher A Carr
Critics of Cecil Bothwell cite N.C. bar to atheists | citizen-times.com | Asheville Citizen-Times - http://www.citizen-times.com/article...
"“I'm not saying that Cecil Bothwell is not a good man, but if he's an atheist, he's not eligible to serve in public office, according to the state constitution,” said H.K. Edgerton, a former Asheville NAACP president." - Christopher A Carr from Bookmarklet
Something is rotten in the state of N.C. - Eivind
popurls
wow, shit's complicated [pic] - http://pop.is/zhw
Micah Wittman
"Have you ever felt frustrated when you just want to look at the content of a large text file but it takes forever for Notepad or Word to open it? This program was designed for viewing large (>1GB) text files. It uses little memory and is able to open a gigabyte file instantly. Background file indexing makes browsing even faster. It opens files that are currently being written by other programs, and automatically checks and reads the files if new contents have been appended. It supports view split. The user may split the view either horizontally or vertically, and have each side show different portion of the same file. It allows the user to perform high-speed complex text search by means of plain text or regular expression. The regular expression syntax is slightly different from the standard ones. Please click here for details. The regular expressions for finding the following items have been provided as preset for the convenience of the users: quoted string hexadecimal integer... more... - Micah Wittman from Bookmarklet
Useful for viewing tail outputs from batch processes... - TrafficBug
How large is large? Notepad can take thousands of kbs of txt in a swallow usually for me - Itachi
Steven Perez
“This is the best and most amazing thing we saw at the conference that wasn’t directed by James Cameron: Zebra Imaging boldly proclaims that they “produce the most innovative holographic products and technology in the world,” and after an in-person demo, you walk away convinced. Words can’t describe what you need to see with your eyes, so check it... - http://silas216.tumblr.com/post...
“This is the best and most amazing thing we saw at the conference that wasn’t directed by James Cameron: Zebra Imaging boldly proclaims that they “produce the most innovative holographic products and technology in the world,” and after an in-person demo, you walk away convinced. Words can’t describe what you need to see with your eyes, so check it out (demonstrated by Zebra’s Michael Klug).”  (via core77.com)
Play
Bruce Keener
100 Incredible Lectures from the World’s Top Scientists | Best Colleges Online - http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog...
Glenn Slaven
RAPatton
Americans Believe in God, Astrology and Ghosts | LiveScience Etc. - http://www.livescience.com/strange...
h-ghostbusters-01[1].jpg
"Americans are a group of believers. In fact, many individuals believe in many things that arguably conflict. Some 24 percent of U.S. adults surveyed (including 22 percent of those who identified themselves as Christians) say they believe in reincarnation — that people will be reborn in this world again and again. Other results of the Pew Research Center survey: Belief in Astrology: 25 percent Seen or felt a ghost: Nearly 20 percent Consulted a fortuneteller or a psychic: 15 percent" - RAPatton
""The religious beliefs and practices of Americans do not fit neatly into conventional categories," Pew analysts concluded. "Large numbers of Americans engage in multiple religious practices, mixing elements of diverse traditions. Many say they attend worship services of more than one faith or denomination — even when they are not traveling or going to special events like weddings and... more... - RAPatton
Covering all the bases. - R1CC1
They actually talked about this same subject on Fox News this morning. - Judy Jones
Poor education and a general lack of understanding coupled with an unwillingness to question breeds these same contradictory and often hypocritical viewpoints all over the world. - Mark H
Depressing but not surprising. These people vote for Democrats and Republicans and think government is a "justice system" or exists for some other good purpose and has some chance of accomplishing good ends. It's depressing that people believe so much crap, and even manage to believe mutually exclusive crap without being distressed at all about the contradictions, but I doubt it's a particularly American thing. - SuezanneC Baskerville
I do I do I do believe........ - VAL D. Zone
Christopher A Carr
'Like' robot (frɐnc)
Pi Be Rational, i Get Real T-Shirt | Snorg Tees - http://www.snorgtees.com/piberat...
Pi Be Rational, i Get Real T-Shirt | Snorg Tees
"Knowing why this shirt is funny makes all those extra math classes worth it." - 'Like' robot (frɐnc) from Bookmarklet
Aline Ohannessian
popurls
And that concludes today's lecture... any questions? - http://www.pop.is/y0v
See-ming Lee 李思明 SML
This appears to be seriously cool and novel. I am excited by what I imagine may come of it. - Bill Scherer
Mona Nomura
How To: Totally Overhaul Your Phones With Google Voice - http://gizmodo.com/5425039...
wil wheaton
If you use Facebook, you absolutely must read EFF's analysis of the changes to your privacy options: http://www.eff.org/deeplin...
Chris Messina
O'Reilly has released all the back issues of Release 1.0 from 1983-2006! http://radar.oreilly.com/r2... /via @jerrymichalski (too bad they're PDFs!)
Nice! I still say though, that if they were going to rename the newsletter, it should have been 'Release 3.0', as 'Release 2.0' was the title of Esther's book (as was 2.1). - Michael R. Bernstein
Irma Vermaat
Nils Reinton
I need to say this. Shame on #Obama for mocking the peace price by saying war is a necessity. It is not !
While war may facilitate peace (doh !), invading other countries for retribution will never do this. No matter how just the cause for the invasion, no matter how horrible a regime to overthrow. - Nils Reinton
Regardless, the peace price does not belong with someone who cannot see beyond the traditional concept of war as an instrument to achieve peace. This is not in the spirit of the price and diminishes it's value. - Nils Reinton
The alternative in this case would be to just take the occasional terrorist incidents on the chin while we try to economically boost them out of the dark ages. People are going to fight and die either way. - Mr. Gunn
I am not saying that the wars aren't just, because I do sympathize. They may even be necessary. But, I am arguing that these wars are about revenge and trying to avoid further attacks, not about creating peace in the offending country. Consequently, these wars should not be used as a justification for getting the peace price. - Nils Reinton
And that is what Obama did. he said that it is ok that I receive this price even though I fight these wars. Because, these wars are about peace. But, they are not. - Nils Reinton
popurls
Secret Google countdown? Go to google, click on "I'm Feeling Lucky" without anything typed into the search box - http://pop.is/xzs
NYE? - cmiper
End of the world? - Jack (a.k.a. Jeber)
Michael R. Bernstein
Schneier on Security: My Reaction to Eric Schmidt - http://www.schneier.com/blog...
Schneier on Security: My Reaction to Eric Schmidt
"Privacy protects us from abuses by those in power, even if we're doing nothing wrong at the time of surveillance. We do nothing wrong when we make love or go to the bathroom. We are not deliberately hiding anything when we seek out private places for reflection or conversation. We keep private journals, sing in the privacy of the shower, and write letters to secret lovers and then burn them. Privacy is a basic human need." - Michael R. Bernstein from Bookmarklet
"For if we are observed in all matters, we are constantly under threat of correction, judgment, criticism, even plagiarism of our own uniqueness. We become children, fettered under watchful eyes, constantly fearful that -- either now or in the uncertain future -- patterns we leave behind will be brought back to implicate us, by whatever authority has now become focused upon our once-private and innocent acts. We lose our individuality, because everything we do is observable and recordable." - Michael R. Bernstein
"This is the loss of freedom we face when our privacy is taken from us. This is life in former East Germany, or life in Saddam Hussein's Iraq. And it's our future as we allow an ever-intrusive eye into our personal, private lives." - Michael R. Bernstein
"Too many wrongly characterize the debate as "security versus privacy." The real choice is liberty versus control. Tyranny, whether it arises under threat of foreign physical attack or under constant domestic authoritative scrutiny, is still tyranny. Liberty requires security without intrusion, security plus privacy. Widespread police surveillance is the very definition of a police state. And that's why we should champion privacy even when we have nothing to hide." - Michael R. Bernstein
Schneier originally wrote that in 2006. - Michael R. Bernstein
Richard ¿digame? Walker
"Others have posted excerpts from these posts already but I wanted to bring attention to a couple of interviews that my friend Rex Wockner did during a rare stay in New York in late October. While in the city, he took an opportunity to interview two of my favorite bloggers: Andy Towle who runs Towleroad and Joe Jervis who blogs at Joe.My.God. Both Andy and Joe have been more than generous in picking up on the stuff I write about here on Blabbeando and I haven't always acknowledged it or thanked them for it. This gives me a chance to highlight their tremendous work and also say gracias. Additionally, when it comes to these interviews, I also had the pleasure of transcribing the original interviews from Rex's digital recorder while I was in Maine in early November to cover the heartbreaking marriage equality vote so, in some ways, I am incredibly familiar with their words. They bring up a number of interesting issues about their high profile as bloggers and what it takes to keep up with their daily input. I'll just pick up on a couple of key points they raise and provide a link to their full interviews" - Richard ¿digame? Walker from Bookmarklet
Mo Kargas
listening to "Rammstein-B********" - http://blip.fm/~hlv96
"du musst nicht, musst nicht traurig sein" - Eivind
Don't understand a word of it, but love it regardless - Mo Kargas
I think you're better off not understanding Rammstein's lyrics :) - Eivind
I've read the translation of most songs :D - Mo Kargas
I don't understand much German, but Rammstein I'm able to decipher. They would never get away with it if they sang in English. - Eivind
Yeah. Actually a few music video's have been banned here - Mo Kargas
Remember that 1999(?) Family Values tour in the US? Yeah. That's why they can't come to the US anymore. Specific song was Buck Dich http://www.youtube.com/watch... edit btw: NSFW... - Itachi
I was thinking more about the lack of content, but come to think of it a-ha conquered the world with "Take on Me" (the title doesn't even make sense). - Eivind
@Mo That was the one with Manson? - Mo Kargas
Not sure Mo....I wasn't actually listening to Rammstein back then, if you know what I mean ;) - Itachi
Not really but I'll pretend I do - Mo Kargas
That works. Btw, by Manson, that's a no. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki... - Itachi
Ahh right - Mo Kargas
Oğuz Serdar
Top 10 Google Plugins For Wordpress Users. Increase Your Blogs Productivity - http://www.inquisitr.com/51467...
Top 10 Google Plugins For Wordpress Users. Increase Your Blogs Productivity
"If you’re running a website using the popular Wordpress blogging platform and you’re a big fan of that little silicon valley company “Google,” there are several plugins you can install on your blog that will allow you do do everything from track your blogs visitors with Google Analytics, to embedding Google Adsense into your blog and RSS feeds and even Map Out Directions among other uses. This is our list of the Top 10 Google Plugins For Wordpress." - Oğuz Serdar from Bookmarklet
Other ways to read this feed:Feed readerFacebook