Saturday, September 04, 2010
How Cops Really Want to Police - NYTimes.com
From the Freakanomics column in the NYT:
Of course, there can be some problems with this, but God help me I sort of agree – in the hands of a good and honest cop, the idea can work.
That was probably the most controversial thing I have written on the Bully Pulpit since I began…
CBC News - World - Acid-throwing woman sought in Wash.
You’re getting something out of your trunk outside a Starbucks store. You see a woman approaching with a cup. No reason for suspicion there, right? Well, for a particular woman in Vancouver there would be plenty to worry about. The woman with the cup walks closer and asks “Hey pretty girl, would you like to drink this?” and before she knew what was happening, the woman, 28 year old Bethany Storro – an attractive and well-liked Safeway clerk – saw the stranger throw the contents of the cup in her face. Instantly she began to burn, and felt her skin bubbling. Her clothes, where the contents of the cup touched them, began to disintegrate. Miss Storro fell to the ground screaming and her assailant ran off.
I hope that this beautiful and well-liked woman can be made whole again, and that her assailant, (perhaps tracked by the purchase of concentrated sulphuric acid?) is quickly apprehended. No one should have to fear or suffer such an assault and this assailant needs to be off the street.
Shooting on Admiral Way; One man shot by police | West Seattle Herald - Slideshow
Police shot a man last night at a home near the west end of Admiral in West Seattle. The house, in the Alki area of West Seattle, became known to police when a woman called to report a disturbance and what sounded like a gunshot. The woman had called a friend living at the home, and she heard screaming followed by what sounded like a gunshot. The line went dead, and when the friend called back a man answered, He is said to have been very upset, and to have made suicidal threats.
Police responded and a man was shot by an officer. Police recovered a pistol and an AK-47, which the assailant leveled at three officers, who then fired. The man was wounded in the abdomen, and taken to Harborview, where his condition is stable.
When we lived in West Seattle (we loved it there), I never thought of Alki as being high crime area. And certainly not a violent area. Recent data shows that while there are some burglaries and thefts, with the exception of an occasional assault – to be found anywhere in the city from time to time – crimes there are mostly property crimes. See below:
Neighbor Lance Knight told seattlepi.com he heard two shots, then five he thought would have been from handguns. He said he also heard tires screech. A woman thought to be at the home has not been located.
SLIDESHOW: Shooting on Admiral Way; One man shot by police | West Seattle Herald / White Center News
Friday, September 03, 2010
Tiger Woods -- The $100 Million Photo
I kind of hate to link to TMZ here, but two thinks struck me about this exclusive photo: First, I think you have to be a pretty nice guy to pose for a photo and manage even the faintest of smiles just minutes after finalizing a divorce which cost $100 million. And second, unless the pattern on his tie (which is too small for me to see well) is swooshes, this is the first time in years I've seen Tiger without his Nike Swoosh on. The article says Woods and Nordgren did not speak to one ano0ther during the brief signing of papers in the judges chambers.
Where Are The Prosecutions? SEC Lets Citi Execs Go Free After $40 Billion Subprime Lie
Anyone think you or I would get a 1/2 of 1% fine for lying to investors? How about 1/2 of 1% on a one-year bonus of $19+ million?
Where Are The Prosecutions? SEC Lets Citi Execs Go Free After $40 Billion Subprime Lie « SpeakEasy
Understanding Arthritis: What is inflammation?
When the Immune System Turns Against You
Arthritis isn’t just “wear and tear”. It is inflammation, and understanding the causes of inflammation can help immeasurably in combating the debilitating and potentially life-altering effects of arthritis. The following article, from WebMD is a very straightforward discussion of the inflammatory process.
Thursday, September 02, 2010
Admiral Lord Nelson's Nurse:
Derek Andrews
Most countries with a varied and often turbulent history have people who are revered as heroes or heroines or icons and are remembered for their deeds and achievements to this day. If they're lucky they get featured on postage stamps and the back of a Pound note, a Euro, Rouble or Lira and Deutschmark. I believe the U.S. has a rather good image of Nicholas Cage on its Dollar Bills.
Trying not to go off topic too quickly but "Heroes and Heroines" is a great favorite of mine sung by the incomparable Mary Chapin Carpenter. I can't find a You Tube video of it but have given a link to the words.
Anyhow, America has any number, George Washington, Meriwether Lewis, President Lincoln to name just three. Italy has Garibaldi, France has Napoleon, Germany has Bach, Handel, Wagner ( and that's just the Bayern Munchen F.C. midfield !!).
Plenty too from England. Wellington, Queen Victoria, William Wilberforce and many more including 
Vice-Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson. He's the guy who stands proud on his towering column in London's Trafalgar Square. Trafalgar of course being the sea-battle he is best known for.
Much loved by his men and fellow officers, he fought many a battle. After The American War of Independence, he fought in the French Revolutionary Wars in the Mediterranean, then was wounded, losing an arm at the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. By then he had already lost one eye.
He commanded the fleet when Britain secured arguably its greatest ever naval victory (the Armada of Phillip II of Spain being decimated by the Royal Navy and Mother Nature in 1588 was also a vital naval victoory, of course.) , when on October 21st 1805 he defeated the Franco-Spanish fleet from his flagship "Victory". Prior to the battle he had sent his signal "England expects every man to do his duty". Defeat of the enemy was soured by his death.
A musket bullet fired from the mizzentop of the French ship "Redoutable" struck Nelson in the left shoulder, passed through his spine at the sixth and seventh thoracic vertebrae, and lodged two inches below his right scapula in the muscles of his back. Nelson exclaimed, "They finally succeeded, I am dead." He was carried below decks.
He knew he was done for but as they carried him gently to his cabin, he was still passing on advice and orders, also covering his face with a handkerchief so his men would not see the pain he was suffering.
The loss of Nelson was a blow to two generations of Royal Navy Officers, cutting them to the quick as well as inspiring them for another century and a half, and in no small way helping to ensure that “Britannia Ruled the Waves” over that time. It was, and is, a source of tremendous national pride that Lord Nelson went to his grave in the manner of his own signal to the fleet as combat was joined at Trafalgar. He did his duty, and damn the cost.
His body was immersed in a vat of brandy for preservation and when the ship docked at Gibraltar, it was placed in a proper coffin and brought back to England where he was accorded a State Funeral.
These days "Victory" is in dry-dock 
at Portsmouth, England's major naval port and is a huge tourist attraction. A brass plaque on the deck marks where he fell just over 200 years ago.
(America was 29 years old at the time !)
Recently the diaries of a nurse Elizabeth Wynne who attended Lord Nelson many times throughout his career have been discovered and a grant has been given to a historian at Bath Spa University to enable a biography of her to be written.
She sounds an absolutely fascinating character as you can see from this linked article and I shall look forward to reading of her life. Damned sight more interesting than some politicians memoirs!!
Article links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Nelson
Truth About Marriage: Conflicts, Compromises, and Working Together
Six Things that Surprise Couples About Marriage
This is a really interesting article based on a very significant study. The one that caught my eye the most was “DO sweat the small stuff”. It’s worth a read, IMHO
Truth About Marriage: Conflicts, Compromises, and Working Together
Seahawks So Far
You know, I really didn’t know what to expect when Pete Carroll was selected to be the new head man at Seahawk World. Would his enthusiastic approach work with pro players? Especially veterans? I thought that his previous record as an NFL head coach was just fine, given that he got just one season, and two seasons at his two stops. That is just not enough time to put your program in place: not enough time to get the personnel you want for your system, not enough time to test that system (and yes, I feel this way about Jim Mora too. His career was capriciously damaged, and while the team has the right to go a different way if desired, it really was a Florida State-style mess to ignore Mike Holmgren’s likely desire to stay on and get the team back to a level he could feel good about leaving, name Mora coach in waiting, then give him just one year with poor personnel? Lame. Lame. Lame.).
So, back to Coach Carroll. I think he is likely to get much better defensive play out of this team and the new players added. I think that better line play and a solid receiving corps will show that if he isn’t being pounded into the turf and rushed on every play, Matt Hasselbeck is still a damn good quarterback. Perhaps seeing the impact Steve Sarkesian has had at the University of Washington and the immediate change in the players and program from moribund and impotent to on the move and expecting great things, has given me a positive feel for the way Coach Carroll’s upbeat ways will forge a new spirit in a team that has fallen like a rock from the elite to the effete the past two seasons.
A better group of players, the sense of meritocracy, the competitiveness at every position every week, the willingness to adapt to personnel, give players second chances, make quick decisions when the second chance ain’t going anywhere…what I am seeing is a team that is competitive, improved in personnel, willing to adapt, has chemistry and a sense of aggressiveness that has been missing of late. These are all good things, and I won’t be surprised to see this team finish first or second in the division (depending on how the Cardinals work out their offensive problems and the 49ers hold up over a season. Especially if the line can gel by the end of the bye week, there are some good playmakers (Housh, Forsett, Carlson, a rejuvenated Mike Williams, maybe Leon Washington and maybe Branch), and I am absolutely convinced that Matt can still get the offense as revved up as any QB in the league (if his line allows him some time, and makes some holes for the running game).
I can’t predict how the season will work out – too much is up in the air with Arizona, the 49ers and the Hawks to have a strong sense of how the long season will end, But I really do have the feeling now that the team is improved in all phases of the game, has chemistry that has been missing, and is lining up for seconds at the Pete Carroll enthusiasm and chemistry buffet. My guess:
Seattle Seahawks Schedule
| Game (Result) | Record |
| SF at Seattle (Hawks) | 1-0 |
| Seattle at Denver (Broncos) | 1-1 |
| San Diego at Seattle (Hawks) | 2-1 |
| Seattle at St. Louis (Hawks) | 3-1 |
| Bye | |
| Seattle at Chicago (Bears) | 3-2 |
| Arizona at Seattle (Hawks) | 4-2 |
| Seattle at Oakland (Hawks) | 5-2 |
| NY Giants at Seattle (Hawks) | 6-2 |
| Seattle at Arizona (Cardinals) | 6-3 |
| Seattle at New Orleans (Saints) | 6-4 |
| Kansas City at Seattle (Hawks) | 7-4 |
| Carolina at Seattle (Panthers) | 7-5 |
| Seattle at SF (Hawks) | 8-5 |
| Atlanta at Seattle (Hawks) | 9-5 |
| Seattle at Tampa Bay (Bucs) | 9-6 |
| St. Louis at Seattle (Hawks) | 10-6 |
The great thing about this prediction is that it assumes the defense plays great, and helps the offense with takeaways and tough red zone play over the first few weeks. By the time of the bye, the O line should be gelling and healthy – good lord willing and the creek don’t rise – and the good start plus home field advantage helps the team get on a roll. The 12th man is valuable, but not if a team can’t win on the road, as has been the Hawks pattern recently. In my (hopeful?) prediction here, I am assuming a 3-5 record on the road (better, but not world-beating), and a 7-1 record at home. That may be tough with Atlanta, Carolina, SF, Arizona and the Giants, but I really think they’ll return to home form. We shall see. And luckily, for those of you who enjoy poking me when I am wrong, well, this may just give you the chance to do so four or five times.
I’m truly looking forward to seeing Coach Carroll’s approach and how it translates in the NFL. And whatever happens, he better get more than one season to “git ‘er done!”
Wednesday, September 01, 2010
YouTube - Funniest Thing Ever - Hilarious
Bless her heart, the guy almost clobbers her in the crosswalk and she gives him a purse whack in just the right place!
Technorati Tags: Humor,Funny Video
Virus Linked to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
If you have CFS, or suspect it, this article is an excellent one discussing a very possible cause (not Epstein-Barr) for your condition.
Ankylosing Spondylitis: All - Mayo Clinic.com
When I was finally diagnosed with AS ion 2009, I believe that I was typical in terms of the amount of time it takes to diagnose AS. Recent studies indicate that it routinely takes between seven and ten years to diagnose the disease. I want to link to a very good article about the disease, progression and treatment options, and to encourage you to follow the advice in the article: write a careful, thoughtful, detailed summary of your symptoms, progression of symptoms, and any other conditions that may be present for you.
In my case, I was difficult to diagnose because as a result of significant joint injuries and a series of exceptionally invasive surgeries beginning when I was twelve or thirteen, I had osteoarthritis one would normally expect in a man seventy years old or more. I had symptoms in the hands, feet, shoulders, lumbar back, cervical spine, hips and knees. When I first saw a rheumatologist, the person found the history of surgeries, bone grafting, boring out of spine nerve openings, and combined with the x-rays that showed osteoarthritic changes, the rheumatologist stopped looking and told me that I would need joint replacement and that my problem was osteoarthritis.
Later on, as the fatigue and pain began to affect muscles and connective tissue like ligaments and tendons, I decided to see if perhaps the problem was metabolic. I have hypothyroidism, and when I saw an endocrinologist a complete workup showed that many of my pituitary systems were far outside normal ranges. After some evaluation and treatments, I was referred to a very experienced and exceptional rheumatologist named Steven Overman at the Seattle Arthritis Clinic. The endocrinologist believed I had an autoimmune connective tissue disease.
Dr. Overman did a complete workup, and after evaluating all the data, was able to tell me that yes, I had osteoarthritis, but the main problem, causing the connective tissue inflammation, fatigue, hip, sacroiliac pain and the pain from back injuries and arthritic changes (many of the facet openings were being filled in with arthritic material, causing the nerves to be compressed as they exited the spine). He also found osteophytes (arthritic bone spurs) at the point where ligaments and tendons attach to bone.
Finally, after ten years of declining health, chronic pain that seemed to get worse every year, fatigue that made the travel and long hours of my executive job more and more difficult, I had a diagnosis and could begin treating the root problem. The morning stiffness that lasted a couple of hours and sometimes more, the need to spend hours in a position that took the load off my spine and knees, the poor sleep and frequent interruptions, the increasing number of days when I was too fatigued and too sore, and somehow less able to concentrate…all could now begin to be treated.
I encourage you…don’t give up. Don’t assume you are just a wimp (I did!). Don’t give up when your first (luckily my Internist, Dr. Warren Fein, also saw the deterioration and was willing and helpful in pursuit of the cause(s) of my declining health and possible treatments – I’ll forever be grateful for such an exceptional GP to help me though my struggle to find a cause for truly life-changing health changes) or second or tenth doctor doesn’t get you some improvement. You have to be your own advocate and keep on working at researching your symptoms, finding possibilities and investigating them with whatever doctor you can at that time. The AVERAGE time to diagnosis for AS is 7-10 years. Don’t give up until you find some relief. Some AS patients are able to do amazing things after treatment – I know of one who ran a 5k. I am still very much in a place where I have trouble getting around, and have to conserve my energy every day, just to be able to do the most important things. But I have a path to a better quality of life, and I want that for myself, and for you, if you suffer from AS.
Please read the article below and start your own trek toward a better life.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Pocatello Listed Among Nation's Best Places To Raise A Family - KPVI News 6 - Pocatello, ID
Good news for the Gate City – where I was born, and my younger nephews are growing up now.
Pocatello Listed Among Nation's Best Places To Raise A Family - KPVI News 6 - Pocatello, ID
Grandma Vidgame
Don’t know who to credit for this cartoon, but it is pretty funny ~ at least I find it funny.
New Bandages Latest in Healthcare Technology - High Tech Bandages and Band-Aids - Popular Mechanics
This is fascinating. Here’s to the scientific advances in trauma treatment technology! And to the gecko…(you’ll see why)
New Bandages Latest in Healthcare Technology - High Tech Bandages and Band-Aids - Popular Mechanics
Chitosan gauze made from crab and shrimp exoskeletons.
An American who flew for Britain in WW11
Derek Andrews
"Under the Wire" is an excellent wartime memoir of a Spitfire pilot, legendary escaper and "cooler king" before Steve McQueen earned the sobriquet in the film "The Great Escape".
William Ash from Dallas TX was one of a relatively rare breed, an American who fought in World War Two before the United States became involved following the day that would live in infamy.
But here's the thing. Later there would be many Americans who flew for the Royal Air Force in their Eagle Squadron and a special arrangement was made with the U.S. government that their U.S. Citizenship would not be revoked because of their unusual entry-mode to the conflict.
But pre December 7th 1941, an American needed to go to Canada to "sign up" with us Brits and in "taking the King's shilling" his U.S. Citizenship would be taken from him, effectively making him a stateless person !
William Ash was shot down over France in 1942, survived, evaded capture for months thanks to the help of ordinary French men and women who would have been shot by the Nazis if they were caught. (Note to Americans who were critical of France and its lack of enthusiasm for a Middle-Eastern conflict and banned the French Fry. Never forget the enormous sacrifice their citizens made to help downed American and other Allied airmen during those years. There are instances far too numerous to list).
Eventually betrayed to the Gestapo, tortured and sentenced to death as a spy, he was saved from the firing-squad by the Luftwaffe and sent to Stalag Luft 111, the POW camp from where the real Great Escape took place.
He spent the next three years attempting to escape until ultimately being freed from his camp by the advancing American forces.
Stateless, he settled in England, studied at Oxford University, having been awarded the MBE (Member of the British Empire), worked for the BBC's External Service in many foreign lands.
Sacked from the BBC because his extreme political leanings (which must have been very extreme as he was banned from the Communist Party of Great Britain!). Undaunted he founded the Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist) and as far as I know, is still, at age 93, a Communist at heart.
Whatever his political persuasion, our thanks for his stance at an early stage of the war and his bravery and service during it.
The one thing I would like to know, and if anyone reading this can help I'd appreciate it, is whether people such as William Ash ever had their U.S. Citizenship re-instated.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Ash_(pilot)
Dangerous Occupations as defined by The U.S.Department of Labor
Derek Andrews
*************************************************
According to the Dept of Labor you are most likely to die or sustain serious injury if you work in the Timber and Logging industries.
Followed by those jolly people on their fishing boats in the Bering Sea and elsewhere. (Don't bother guys, I HATE fish).
The remaining members of this exclusive Top Ten Band of Brothers are listed below. Visions of Roofers sliding down a steep roof into a toxic cess-pit or a Farmer jogging home with the refrain "Honey, I just chopped off both arms in the threshing machine" come hauntingly to mind.
- Pilots and navigators
- Structural metal workers
- Drivers-sales workers
- Roofers
- Electrical power installers
- Farm occupations
- Construction laborers
- Truck drivers
Perhaps at #11 ought to be occupants of English Victorian terraced houses with basements, considering that the writer fell down his basement steps a year ago.
However, the nicely laid out figures and graphs of insurance actuaries in Italy have taken a battering recently and they are now having to accept that GATHERING MUSHROOMS can be seriously detrimental to ones health, as the accompanying linked article shows.
At least 18 people have died in just 10 days as fungaioli, as this intrepid bunch are known (were known?) get up pre-dawn, camouflage themselves and trek off into wild countryside with a lamp secured to their head. Strangely they often forget to wear appropriate footwear for the tough terrain. This can cause problems. Trust me and cross-reference with writers mishap outlined earlier.
In trying to be first to get back to the markets and restaurant kitchens, where anxious owners and traders wait with zillions of Lira bills to swap for the prized specimens, they often fall down cliffs, get impaled on goat horns (well no, I made that last bit up but you get the idea) or just disappear. Failing to keep an optical prescription up to date may well be a contributing factor according to Herr Dirk Andrusz, a world expert on the subject.
So the moral is this mio amici italiani, stick to pasta, or just pop down to McDonalds for a mushroom burger and let someone else risk their life out there in the wild flora and fauna looking for the elusive fungi.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/29/italian-mountain-mushrooms-claim-lives
Monday, August 30, 2010
Seattle Crime Blotter » SPD seeks public’s assistance in recent homicide; Taunting Letter-Writer Found
Seattle Police are looking for anyone who can shed any light on the murder of a twenty year old man. Contact information and details can be found HERE.
Author of threatening letters discovered
From the Seattle PI and AP:
Snohomish County sheriff’s detectives have cleared up one mystery in the 1987 slayings of a young Canadian couple, but they’re still looking for the killer.
Snohomish County sheriff’s detectives have cleared up one mystery in the 1987 slayings of a young Canadian couple, but they’re still looking for the killer.
For 23 years detectives have wondered if the person who sent rambling, taunting letters to the families of the couple was the killer.
The Herald reports investigators got their answer last week. The letters were sent by a mentally ill transient. He is not a suspect.
Detectives continue to look for the killer of the British Columbia couple — 20-year-old Jay Cook and 19-year-old Tanya Van Cuylenborg — who were on a trip to Seattle. His body was found near Monroe; hers near Alger in Skagit County.
Honour the Few
By Derek Andrews
Seventy years ago in the skies above Britain, some 2,900 young men repulsed a planned invasion by Hitler which would have seen the nation crushed into submission by the Nazi war machine.
The life expectancy of fighter pilots during the four months of the Battle of Britain, fought in the skies over southern England, was measured in mere days.
Yet the courage of these young men, average age just 21, prevailed.
As Winston Churchill so memorably said of them, "Never in the field of human conflict, has so much been owed, by so many, to so few".
To this day those brave men are known as the Few.
Thwarted, Hitler commenced the Blitz, constant bombing, most often at night, of London and many major cities.
"London can take it" and "More open than usual" (in a shop window despite the damage sustained to it) showed the stoicism of the British people.
Without the heroism and sacrifice of the Few, and the attitude of the Many, those who perished and those who made it through, the freedoms that we today take for granted would simply not exist.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
YouTube - Nerf Battle of the Ads: Snipers, Shooters and Clods
Nerf, to the father of a nine year old boy, seems to represent approximately thirty percent of gross US GDP. Well, when this contest to submit a self-made ad for Nerf, my son Gus was all over the idea. We worked out some ideas, roped his sister in, and went to a wooded park to videotape. We think it is kinda funny, and I hope you’ll get a chuckle too. Don’t know if we’ll even register in the contest, but it was sure a fun thing to do with the kids.
Think you’ve been disappointed?
This is another Edible Dirt cartoon. Matt Rosemier does a great job with his comic, and though I warn you some are pretty raw, his site is worth a look. So close…
Weird Words in English
by Derek Andrews
This is knowledge of the type I can virtually guarantee neither you, I or any of our countrymen and women will EVER need. But it is informative !!!
Q: What is a Rumbelow ?
A: Well Donald Rumbelow is a British Crime Historian who is a Jack the Ripper expert, having written books about him and
who also leads walking tours of the Ripper haunts in Whitechapel.
But perhaps even he doesn't realise that rumbelow is also a meaningless combination of syllables serving as a song or refrain sung by sailors while rowing a boat eg: Heave Ho or Hey-Ho. (14th century).
Having whetted your appetite for learning potential Scrabble point-scorers, have a go at this lot of never to be heard of again English words.
And no cheating !!!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/quiz/2010/aug/17/weird-words-quiz-english
Doughnut burger, fried butter, new foods at state fairs - USATODAY.com
Man, I like junk food as much as the next guy, but FRIED BUTTER? This is an amusing offbeat story from USA Today. See if your local fair is “up to date” in culinary delights. I’ll stick to elephant ears, scones, onion burgers…
I guess those don’t exactly represent a healthier alternative, do they? But really, fried butter?!?!?!
Okay, it’s really frozen cubes (not the whole stick) of butter, fried in funnel cake batter and topped off with sugar and cinnamon. Still, imagine biting into a funnel cake with half a mouthful of melted butter inside…
Doughnut burger, fried butter, new foods at state fairs - USATODAY.com
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Sunshine on Discovery Bay
As always, the photos we use are either my own, or in the public domain. Please let me know if there are any errors and I'll correct them immediately.
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