Sep 21 2003
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Atkins backlash

Posted by | uk | No Comments

The Atkins diet seems to work, but some nutritionists suggest this is only in the short term and with longer term health risks. We should perhaps be suspicious of anything that offers a quick fix. Smoking, for example, is a good way to lose weight. Even if there are factors which affect how we metabolize food, these will always be secondary effects, you get fat if you burn less calories than you eat, period. Unfortunately our appetites are calibrated for food scarcity, so the only effective diet, a balanced input of moderate quantity and plenty exercise, requires effort. “The [UK] Food Standards Agency, which is responsible for all the Government’s nutritional guidance, has published a statement alerting the public to the health risks of low-carbohydrate diets, including Atkins, claiming that they are linked to heart disease, cancer and even obesity.” Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Official: Atkins diet can…

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Sep 20 2003
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R&B legend for sale on Ebay

Posted by | america | No Comments

Want to buy a real piece of history? Muscle Shoals (the whole kit ‘n caboodle) is ffor sale on Ebay for $650,000. OK its not the original location, but having been its home since 1978, this is still a piece of American heritage. It would be a great shame if this were torn down to make space for condos as David Hood has suggested.

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Sep 19 2003
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Micromedia Lies

Posted by | politics | No Comments

Glenn Reynolds has missed the big picture in the latest events in the Hutton enquiry when he says: “Things just get worse for the British Broadcasting Corp., as the initial claim that Tony Blair’s government ‘sexed up an intelligence dossier about Iraq has exploded, and revealed a miserable tissue of lies and shoddiness at the BBC. “ Yesterday was a bad day for the BBC in an enquiry which has hurt both the BBC and the government in a game of political ping pong. Glenn either hasn’t been following the Hutton enquiry or is grinding a big axe.

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Sep 18 2003
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Non-poncey wine glasses please

Posted by | design | No Comments

Duralex glasses are a design classic. I like drinking wine, but even in San Francisco, friends sneer at me, if I don’t order a man’s drink. I think the real problem isn’t the drink, it’s the glass. I hate wine glasses. The solution would be if wine in bars were served in sturdy Duralex tumblers. Bormioli Rocco – Products – Duralex

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Sep 18 2003
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Salam Pax attends the Hutton enquiry

Posted by | politics | No Comments

Salam Pax attends the Hutton enquiry in London. “What I really don’t understand is the fixation on the 45 minutes. I mean, what does it matter whether it was 45 or a 100? The real question is whether Saddam had WMDs or not. Because that, in the end, was the main selling-point of the war.” This, of course, states the obvious, but UK politics are Byzantine

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Sep 18 2003
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KickAAS didn’t, the Guardian navel gazes about the impact of its blog

Posted by | technology | No Comments

The Guardian analyses the impact of its anti-protectionist blog KickAAS in a rather po-faced way. “One of the reasons for the attention that it got could have been the novelty of a “serious” blog with a dedicated political purpose. This was at a time when Blogdom was wondering whether blogs could be use for serious, non navel-gazing purposes. KickAAS was, of course, a predictable failure, and it had no effect at all on the Cancun talks. However, it brought people of all political persuasions from around the world together to discuss policy and tactics. In this way, it may have raised awareness about the potential of blogs to further a cause, but there clearly needs to be a long term-strategy, as well as a tactical website, in place.” KickAAS is certainly not the first ‘serious’ blog, and the fact that it may not have had the impact desired may be…

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Sep 17 2003
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Standard for permalinks

Posted by | technology | No Comments

Ian Davis has been working on URIs that represent places and times. There are 3 types, a single point in time, a span in time and a place. Interestingly this could be used as a standard format for permalinks. In fact if a weblog entry used an event/author standard for its permalink then it could in theory become truly permanent in that it would be portable. More interestingly this could extend the use of a permalink for any object within space or time. PlaceTime.com – URIs for Places and Times

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Sep 17 2003
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Supply Side Jesus

Posted by | religion | No Comments

Via Boingboing: The Gospel of Supply Side Jesus from Al Franken’s latest broadside. I wonder how Bill O’Reilly would treat Jesus if he showed up on Fox: Modern Jesus: “I you are rich you won’t get into heaven.” Bill O’Reilly: “You are an insult to Christianity” Modern Jesus: “I will turn the other cheek to that remark” Bill O’Reilly: “Turn the other cheek? Fight like a man you tree-hugger” Modern Jesus: “I forgive you” Bill O’Reilly: “Yeah, well I don’t forgive you, with a name like Jesus you must be a wetback, go home” Modern Jesus: “I will return from whence I came” Bill O’Reilly: “Well you won’t be coming on my show again” Sound of microphone being ripped off….

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Sep 17 2003
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Catastophic news for ‘ catastrophic news for environmental doomsayers’ ‘ proponents

Posted by | science | No Comments

In 2001 the polar hole in the Ozone layer stopped growing And in 2002 it actually reduced in size. Normally rational people (heh! – I’ve waited a year for this) concluded that this was: “catastrophic news for environmental doomsayers”. The trouble is that the Ozone hole is now getting bigger again and this year is at record levels. Opinions can be swayed by emotional criteria – I want to debunk all conspiracy theories because I don’t like people whose judgements are based upon paranoia. There may be a certain irritating puritanism about some environmental issues – but to debunk any message because of the character of the messenger is dangerous. Judgements are sound when they are based upon evidence – and there is overwhelming evidence that we are damaging our environment on a macro level.

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