Steve Jobs does it: new iPhone revealed

Steve Jobs revealed the new iPhone and it is a kicker. Today is the day the world changes. And so is tomorrow.
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Jobs demonstrated the iPhone’s music capabilities by playing “Lovely Rita, Meter Maid,” from the Beatles’ “Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band,” …
IPhone uses a patented touch-screen technology Apple is calling “multi-touch.”,,,Jobs said. “It works like magic. … It’s far more accurate than any touch display ever shipped. It ignores unintended touches. It’s super smart.”

The phone automatically synchs your media — movies, music, photos — through Apple’s iTunes Music Store. The device also synchs e-mail content, Web bookmarks and nearly any type of digital content stored on your computer.

“It’s just like an iPod,” Jobs said, “charge and synch.”

The phones, which will operate exclusively on AT&T Inc.’s Cingular wireless network, will start shipping in June. A 4-gigabyte model will cost $499, while an 8-gigabyte iPhone will be $599, Jobs said.

IPhone is less than a half-inch thin — less than almost any phone on the market today. It comes with a 2-megapixel digital camera built into the back, as well as a slot for headphones and a SIM card.

aaaaaargh……how can I afford this? how can I not? how can I keep my kids from wanting one?
Capitalism…ain’t it great?

Needles-Barstow: Don’t be trying this with a quarter tank of gas

click map to enlarge

There aren’t many places on Interstate roads where you have to pay attention to your gas gauge….but this stretch is one of em….and in the winter, a lot of youse are gonna be drivin this route to avoid the snow/mountains…..

…..just sayin…you might not find any gas in this stretch of I-40. or any people. or any water. We’re talkin a hundred miles here….

Let’s be careful out there…

South Bitch diet: Pfizer’s new drug for overweight dogs

gravimetrically challenged canine

Okay, you all know that “bitch” is okay when used in conjunction with dogs, right?

Now, this stuff is over the line. This piece points out some of the reasons why:

The FDA on Friday approved Slentrol, the first prescription weight-loss drug for dogs.

Pfizer’s Slentrol was approved for use in an estimated 5% of dogs in the U.S. considered obese (weighing 20% more than their ideal weight). Veterinarians may also prescribe the drug for use by another estimated 20% to 30% of dogs that are overweight, but not obese.

Pfizer estimates the doggy med will cost pet owners between $1 and $2 per day.

Excess weight in dogs can be caused by keeping the animals sedentary and allowing them to eat leftover human foods. It can pose the same health problems it does in humans: diabetes, heart problems and joint problems. Likewise, Slentrol can also have the same side effects for dogs that weight-loss drugs have in humans–vomiting, diarrhea, and lethargy.

Slentrol originally started out as a drug Pfizer was researching to lower cholesterol in humans. The medication, prescribed by vets, will carry a warning that it is not to be used in humans.

…so, WHY did they drop it as a human drug??? dog vomit? doggy diarrhea? I mean, I would rather have it myself than have my dog start hurling around the house….C’MON !!
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Let’s WALK those dogs folks, and stop with the table scraps. Geez. This can’t be good.

Next frame.

Coffee from cat feces doesn’t taste shitty?

This is over the line. Coffee made from cat crap? for ten bucks a cup?
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In Minnesota, a roastmaster sells an 8 ounce cup of Kopi Luwak for a cool Hamilton.
How this blend is created may make you queasy.
The Indonesian bean is first eaten by a Civet Cat. Once the cat “processes” the partially digested bean, farmers collect the remnants. It’s then ready to be brewed.
Those brave enough to shell out the dough and take a sip say the coffee is full bodied and rich with a chocolaty taste.

More details (as if…..)

An 8-ounce cup of Kopi Luwak coffee sells for $10 at Jim Cone’s “Coffee and Tea Limited” store in Minneapolis. One-pound bags go for $420.

Roastmaster Jim Cone told CBS News: “We roast it to, ah, about 420 degrees. It’s a very rich, ah, cup of coffee, very chocolaty, ah, actually a carmelly taste around the bottom of your tongue.”

The cats love red coffee beans, especially the skin. It’s this exterior that’s processed in the cat’s digestive system and discharged.

Cone said, “There’s a skin on the pulp and that’s what’s really digested in their system. And the bean is inside that. After they’ve processed them in their body, uh, people pick them up and clean ‘em.”

The collected partially digested beans are exported all over the world.

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No, they don’t carry it at Starbucks. And they don’t seem to have a web site. I can’t even find a phone number. So I guess you folks in Minneapolis are gonna have to truck over to Coffee and Tea Limited in Linden Hills or the store in Sears at Mall of America, and lay out your big bucks to let us know what’s up with this shit stuff.

There are other online sources for this coffee. It’s been around for a while and has even been on Oprah. So I guess I’m behind the curve. But maybe that’s where I want to be.

New York Times runs piece on hypothermia

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Prompted by the James Kim story and that of the three mountaineers lost on Mt. Hood, the NYT is running an article on hypothermia. You may want to read this, but I have snipped a few of the most important parts:

over 1,000 deaths recorded annually in this country among people who become overexposed to cold air or water….Most cases occur in air temperatures of 30 to 50 degrees. But people can succumb to overexposure even at 60 or 70 degrees. This is especially true when it is windy, because wind can carry away more heat than the body can generate, or when people get wet or land in water, because cold water accelerates heat loss 25-fold.
The first sign of hypothermia is usually violent shivering and cold, pale skin. As body temperature drops, coordination and mental activity are affected. The National Institute on Aging warns that older victims may not be aware of how cold they are or may not want to complain. The institute suggests watching for the “umbles”: stumbles, mumbles, fumbles and grumbles, which indicate that the person’s nerves and muscles are working poorly.
As hypothermia progresses, the person becomes disoriented.

remove the victim’s wet or cold clothing and wrap the person in layers of dry, warm clothes or blankets….if nothing else is available, try transferring your body’s heat to the victim: remove your clothes and lie naked against the naked victim, covering both of you with whatever is available. Be sure to cover the victim’s head.

Do not use direct heat, like hot water, a heating pad or heat lamp, to warm the victim. Do not rub the victim’s arms or legs, which can send cold blood to vital organs and make matters worse. If the person is conscious and able to swallow, provide something warm to drink.

Dress appropriately in loose layers that trap body heat. Avoid cotton. Wool and polypropylene garments are the best inner layers for capturing heat and allowing moisture to escape. Wet down is a useless insulator. Your outer layer should be wind-resistant (nylon or Gore-Tex do the best job) and waterproof (Gore-Tex or its imitators, or take along rain gear). Wear a hat and neck covering, and if the wind and cold dictate, cover your face with a scarf or mask. Mittens will keep your hands warmer than gloves.

Eat a nutritious meal and drink plenty of water beforehand. Take along water and snacks like nuts and raisins and consume them frequently. If you get wet, change into dry clothes.

Equip your car for the possibility of becoming stranded. Carry a folding shovel, booster cables, a first aid kit, a flashlight with extra batteries, safety flares and a brightly colored scarf that can be tied to the antenna. Take along blankets, dry clothing, nonperishable food and drinks, and a fully charged cellphone.

The major omission from the piece is the huge role played by the bare head in the development of hypothermia. HUGE HUGE HUGE. Yet people refuse to wear a hat because their head “doesn’t feel cold.” Exactly: the head keeps its blood flow going strong, even when the body gets cold, and that blood flow loses massive amounts of heat when the head is not covered. The bare head and cotton clothing are the two most frequent and easily remedied causes of hypothermia, imho.

Iraq escalation: like ‘Deal or No Deal’ UPDATED: OMG, Bush’s speech is pre-empting Deal or No Deal !!

Howie Mandell, host/seducer, NBC’s Deal or No Deal

For those of you who don’t know about Deal or No Deal, here’s the way it works, leaving out the fine points: players are given the choice of taking a certain amount of money, or taking chances to get more, or possibly lose much or virtually all of it (Google it if you want more info).

The probabilities work strongly against the player winning huge amounts, but this is not at all obvious to the unsophisticated players, or to their families and best friends who are used to whip up a frenzy for taking chances. Cute funnyman Howie Mandel foments the madness, and adds a few misleading probabilities of his own.

The show has kind of a “gong show” attraction to somebody like me ie it’s just fascinating to watch one dumb contestant after another reject a certain (let’s say) $100,000 in favor of a long shot at somewhat more. Finally all of the big prizes are gone, and the hangdog contestant just keeps on flailing, hoping to get, say, $200 rather than $20. The contestant, his/her supporters, and the crowd turn pale and silent, watching the psychological destruction of the player.

That’s kind of what America is looking at with Bush’s escalation proposal/decision. Everybody wants the grand slam, the million dollar payoff, and, looked at a certain way, the proposal makes some sense.

But its bogus. A seductive but destructive longshot. Whatever good we’ve done by getting rid of Saddam, has been done. Now its just all downhill, and we are just losing more, the longer we stay in the game. Bill Kristol is Howie Mandel, seemingly a friendly and helpful master of ceremonies, giving that last little shove toward disaster. The probability experts are drowned out by the hysteria.

Makes me sick.