Calling all Leggs!!

I've seen some weird things that have been discarded on the streets of San Francisco, but this pantyhose rack might take the cake!  The stores that it was sitting out in front of were boarded up and I'm pretty sure it wasn't in the restaurant nearby either.  I can't believe someone didn't want to keep this fine piece of furniture!

Toilet paper beats Humvees

So Mr. Whipple has had a more destructive impact on the environment than those evil auto industry honchos making Hummers?  That claim is being made in this article by a represntative from the Natural Resources Defence Council.  Apparently, the softer and fluffy toilet paper used by millions of Americans (98% of us claimed in the article) requires the use of virgin lumber resulting in deforestation and harsh chemicals for pulp manufacture that pollute the environment.  The virgin wood has longer fibers that are easier to lay out and provide more fluff.  The companies claim to get their wood from sustainable forests, but I find it hard to believe that they can't put out a product that makes me want to squeeze the Charmin using recycled paper.  It sounds to me like the company scientists aren't trying hard enough to be environmentally conscious.  I guess we should really all go the way of the bidet or use seashells like Stallone in Demolition Man.

Why Darwin didn't consider inheritance

Even the greatest minds have their limitations!  This researcher postulates that Darwin missed out on the importance of ineritance on evolution because he boxed himself in to a particular way of thinking.  Darwin thought the concept of inheritance was too complex to be tackled at the time and that the random variation in nature was the real force behind evolution.  He thought this way even though he published data that clearly shows the evidence of inheritability.

Year End Sale in February??

Heading out to breakfast this morning we saw this window sign at a furniture store advertising their "Year End Sale."  Even if the owners are Chinese, it's too late for that sign!

Busted Speeding in a Prius

The idea of driving a Prius is to save on gas and save the environment.  And, based on what MB tells me, I didn't know those little cars could go faster than 50 MPH.   So, as I think about our trip to Tahoe in April, I'm thinking we'll have to leave The City on Tuesday to arrive in time for the start of the party on Friday night.  Well, happy days are here as the NY Post is reporting that Jodie Foster was recently busted for speeding in her Prius.  Better yet, she was going 54 in a 30 MPH zone!  This situation may be bad for Jodie, but it's good news for me as now I know these little cars can go faster and that the other environmentally friendly people driving them have no problems speeding in them.  Put the pedal to the metal and step on the gas MB!!

Dog Food or Pate??

This story is about the Gonzo Scientist's attempt to test his dinner guests' ability to tell the difference between dog food and high end pate.  I'd need alot of wine to participate in this study!!   I was a little surprised at the outcome.  There is aso some interesting information about expensive truffles.  

Only Calories Count

In this study, the researchers put over 800 patients on diets of low or high fat, average or high protein, and low or high carbs for a period of 2 years.  Each plan cut about 750 calories from their diets, but no diet was less than 1,200 calories.  They then measured weight loss while the trial was running and at the end of the 2 years and found that the reduced calorie diets result in weight loss regardless of what kind of diet they used.  After 2 years, the participants had lost and regained about the same amount of weight regardless of diet.  So, it doesn't matter if you use the Atkins, Ornish, or Mediterranean diets just so long as you cut calories in order to lose weight.

Spiral Echoes Exhibit at City Hall

I was walking out of the Western SOMA Task Force meeting tonight and down the stairs of the grand staircase at City Hall when I heard faint sounds of birds chirping and streetcar bells.  When I looked around I saw a poster for an exhibit called Spiral Echoes that was installed to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the renovation of City Hall.  The link to the Chronicle story is in the blog posting title.  I stood at the bottom of the staircase for awhile and took in all the different sounds.  According to the article "The artist is zapping ultrasonic beams into the rotunda from four transducers placed around the colonnade circling the dome's interior. The sound only speaks when the beam bounces off a wall, a column or a person. Because the transducers are always moving and redirecting the beams, the sounds are always shifting, appearing and vanishing."  As it was 8pm, I was the only one standing there so I don't thing I got the full effect, but still very cool!

Darwin's Legacy

This image is from the 2/2009 National Geographic page 54.  It provides a nice summary of the progression in evolution and genetics since Darwin's The Origin of Species was published.  In the story that followed this diagram, it is noted that Francis Crick was the grandson of an amateur naturalist named Walter Crick who sent Darwin a beetle sample used in his last publication.  What a small world!

No good without coffee

Speaking of coffee...Now I know why Whitey likes The Fusco Brothers comic strip so much.  He uses similar excuses!

Topless Coffee Shops??

The Grand View Topless Coffee Shop just opened up in Vassalboro, ME and 150 women applied for 10 positions.  Man, those people in Maine are liberal!  This trend might need to catch on in The City!  I hope the female workers there are careful around the hot steamer of the espresso machine because there’s nothing like starting your day off by burning your chest.  OUCH!

Casting call tonight for Paris' new BFF

Infusion Lounge in The City is hosting a casting call for Paris Hilton's New BFF Part Deux reality show tonight from 6-midnight.  I am curious to see who auditions for this role!  I loke the "Deux" part in the name of the show.  It certainly adds a bit of French class to the proceedings.  Update:  I stopped by and there were dozens of catfights out in the street!  Just kidding.  I asked the bouncer outside how it was inside and he told me that Paris was not there and only one girl was allowed in at a time.  She told her story and then left.  Pretty lame!

The Evolution of Pong

This cartoon reminded me of how old school I am when it comes to video games.  I remember when the first Pong game came out.  The controllers were HUGE, the action was slow, and the TV was probably a 12” black and white.  But, we could sit there for hours playing that stupid game.  I wonder how many kids these days even know about Pong!  Now, I can’t even figure out how to get past the first level of these action-filled killing video games or even complete at pass with an NFL game.  It’s probably for a lack of interest these days (I hope), but I can still kick ass playing Galaga and Ms. Pac Man!  The classics will never die!  NEVER!

Marionberry gets squashed in Oregon

Yesterday, the state of Oregon decided to reject the Marionberry as the state berry after another berry grower complained.  Marion Barry is my good buddy MH’s hero and I know he will be vey disappointed!  He’s been out in DC for the past month trying to revive his political campaign.  Who knew there was such competition for being named the state berry??  I don’t know what the state berry of CA is but I think I will submit a proposal that the state meat be bison, the state rice be wild rice, and the state vegetable be corn!

It's Naptime for Somebody!!

Good night, Indy and Franky!!

The Indian Hammer's Home!

We snapped this picture after scaling the protective fence surrounding our home and I was on my way to a pow wow.  KL didn't want to go and instead she stayed behind to bead and make fry bread for Indian tacos.  We had to put up the fence to keep the riff raff from stealing her deeeeeeelicious dinner!!

Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the next Joker?

Everyone that knows me knows that I loved The Dark Knight and especially Heath Ledger's turn as the Joker.  I have read that he was going to be back for a second turn in the role before his unfortunate death.  Recently, I saw a really good movie called The Lookout starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and was amazed at how much he looked like Heath Ledger!  If they decide to bring The Joker back in the Batman films, I think he would probably look a lot like Ledger's Joker and being an indie actor he might have an interesting take on the role as well.   

Hockey Fights

I saw this column written by Bruce Jenkins of the Chronicle about hockey fights and that he finds them to be pretty entertaining.  My WWE buddy DD also really likes them and she even loves UFC!  I know that I enjoy the hockey fighting as well, but my cousin is a rookie playing for the St. Louis Blues so I wanna see everyone else in a fight but him.  I disagree with Bruce's comment about tennis players are all talk and no action.  During my high school and college tennis career I was known to throw down on a daily basis!

The How Of Graying Hair

My wife noticed my first couple of gray hairs about a week ago and, after crying for a solid 2-3 days, I finally got around to readying this study published by a group of European scientists on how it happens.  Unfortunately, wisdom has nothing to do with the graying process, but peroxide does.  Here’s what the group found using cultures of human hair follicles.  Peroxide is normally produced by all cells but is usually broken down into less harmful products (water and oxygen) by an enzyme called catalase.  As we age, the levels of catalase in the hair follicles decrease leading to a buildup of peroxide and the graying of our hair.  So, it's just like the bleaching process Marilyn used (see that wasn't just an excuse to post a Marilyn photo).  The usual protective and melanin replacement mechanisms involve the enzymes MSR and tyrosinase, but they are present at levels that are too low to handle the damage the excess peroxide causes.  So, now I’m running to the store to buy a big jug of catalase and dump it into my shampoo!!  I hope my hair doesn’t turn red (catalase is a dark red color), but if it does, just call me Copper Top!

Free Journal Access Doesn’t Mean Much Wider Audience????

This team of researchers found that if a journal was published in an open source journal vs. a subscription based journal it was going to result in an increase in use of only about 10%.  Funnily enough, this study was published in Science, a subscription based journal that I don't subscribe to so I couldn't read the entire article.  Anyway, I find this pretty easy to believe as good open source journals like PLOS have only been around for a few years whereas all these fee-based journals have been entrenched in the scientific community for about a hundred years.  I know I pay about $200 per year for a subscription to one particular journal and would go broke if my company didn’t pay for access to other journals in my field.  I understand the need to recoup the costs of publishing a journal, but the time will come when print based journals are no longer around and, hopefully, prices will come down or they might even be free like PLOS.  

DME Expression at the BBB

This 2008 paper describes the expression of various drug metabolizing enzymes, tranporters, and transcription factors at the human blood brain barrier.  They used a variety of techniques including western blotting and mRNA analysis and are the first group to report the levels of expression at the human BBB.  They found that the major CYP450 and transporters expressed at the BBB were CYP1B1 and BRCP and Pgp, respectively.  The one caveat to the study is that they isolated their BBB's from patients that had some form of epilepsy.

Fog City Wrestling Next Saturday, 2pm!!

Get your $15 tickets now!!  It's gonna be going wild at the DNA Lounge as Todd Bridges (Willis from Different Strokes) makes his debut on the Independent Wrestling Circuit.  How exciting!!  I can't wait to yell out the phrase on this T-shirt!!  See you there.

Shopping Cart Mishap

I woke up this morning to find Indy peering out the window at this shopping cart-car hit and run accident.  Detective Indy was interviewed and is working with SFPD to apprehend the culprit(s).  But, our strong suspicion is that DL and AH got sidetracked on their way home last night from the hip-hop party at 330 Ritch...again.  I hope they were able to find another ride at Safeway to make it home safely!

Stem Cell Treatment Caused Cancer

Holy cow.  Just after I posted about how awesome I thought the prospects of stem cell therapy were, comes this story of a boy that developed cancerous brain tumors as a result of treatment with fetal stem cells.  Granted, his prospects for living very long without this therapy were not good.  But, this finding demonstrates the need for researchers to discover how to control the newly injected cells in patients so they go where they are supposed to go and don't propagate with negative consequences.  There is a stem cell cancer hypothesis that has been floating around for quite a few years that this case seems to support.  So sad.

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=stem-cells-the-real-culpr-2006-07

Superior Detection Method for Water Poisons Using Lab-on-a-chip

Technology is making it possible for things to get smaller and smaller every day and, consequently, we now have lab-on-a-chips.  A group in Tel Aviv has constructed these miniaturized chips (about 1/4 inch squared in size)  with an intricate system based on bacteria that sends out a signal when it detects a water poison such as an environmental pollutant, chemical or biological warfare agent, or bacteria.  These tiny chips can then be used to monitor the quality of the water in real time rather than when it's too late.  And, it is a much more humane method than the 'ol canary in a coalmine technique.  Very cool!  I would like to see them extend it to the process of wine-making.  I imagine putting these micro-sensers in the casks of wine as they ferment and then sending out a signal to the winemaker when it's ready.  I need to get me a few of these!

UCLA Researchers Pinpoint Osama's Likely Hideout

In this research study, a group of UCLA geographers use a combination of satellite imagery and various geographical methods to determine 3 possible locations for Bin Laden.   In fact, they have narrowed it down to 3 buildings of a town in Pakistan near the border of Afghanistan.  They used the principles of distance-decay and island biogeographic theories to arrive at their conclusions.  They take as their starting point the last known location of Bin Laden, Tora Bora.  They then start narrowing down his location by eliminiating areas based on distance, cultural differences, presence of US forces, and architectural features of the buildings that would be critical for Osama.  I am glad they published this research, but sure hope they passed it on to US forces beforehand so they could check it out.  Othewise, bye bye Bin Laden.  It is also interesting that they didn't include the mythic underground lair Bin Laden supposedly had constructed that was being touted by the Bushies back in 2001.

http://www.edwardjayepstein.com/2002question/cave.htm

Cheapest Cat Toys

We just went out and spent about $40 on a batch of new cat toys that they pretty much destroyed or got bored of in the first 10 minutes of playing with them.  When all we really needed to do was throw down a paper bag and they are entertained for days.  Next time, I'll save the $40 for a bottle of wine or 10.

Calling Sarah Palin!! Goodwill is still waiting!!

I saw this framed sign posted in a window in the Mission District today.  I doubt it will make anything happen.  That woman is a wild spender!

A story about my Mom

My Mom was recently interviewed for this story in a local newspaper about her history, heritage, and activities in the community where she talks about her Ojibway heritage.  I guess she and I disagree on the use of the word Indian to describe ourselves, but I forgive her.  There is also a great picture of the Ojibway wedding dress she made for my sister.  I'm a little bummed that I didn't get her to make a handmade Indian outfit for my wedding.  Oh well.  But, I'm sure my younger sister is already looking forward to making dresses for her two girls!!  Go Mom - you're famous!  We love you and are proud of you!! 

Alfred Russel Wallace

Given all the attention that Darwin is receiving this year it was nice to read this story about the naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace.  He was a contemporary of Darwin's and developed his own idea of evolution around the same time as Darwin.  In fact, it was a letter from Wallace that spurred Darwin to finally publish his On the Origin of Species.  They became friends after that and Darwin even secured a pension for him towards the end of his life.  Wheras Darwin's hypotheses were developed in South America, Wallace's were conceived based on travels and his study of animals inhabiting the islands to the north of Australia.  I'm happy to see that historians are becoming more interested in getting this guy's work more recognition.

Warfarin Resist Rats!

My old friend warfarin is back in the news and this time it ain't so great news!  Apparently, rats have now developed mutations in the VKOR gene that make them resistant to warfarin.  YIKES!  Just what we need to hear right now with all the other bad news in the world!

The Bonds vs US fiasco

Let me preface this entry by saying that Barry Bonds is my favorite baseball player of all time.  i don't care if he juiced or was a boor to the media and fans.  One of the biggest disappointments was him not participating in the home run contest when the All Star game was held in The City.  But, he was just damn entertaining every time he came to the plate.  I've liked him ever since I was a kid and still have all his rookie cards tucked away someplace.  And, now the government has spent a ridiculous amount of money, manpower, and time trying to take him down while letting people like Madoff run wild and destroy an untold number of other people's lives.  Even if he is convicted of perjury, he probably won't do any jail time.  It just seems like the focus of our government should be elsewhere and Barry should be left alone - just like he seemingly wants to be.

Bay to Breakers

Maybe the proposed nudity ban ain't so bad after all!  Actually, now they are working on a compromise to make it OK to run in the nude.  But, the way The City operates I doubt they would enforce such minor offenses such as nudity and drinking during the race.  And, that's fine with me!  It was suggested in an email sent out by one of the police chiefs, that the supervisor now pushing for the compromise was not at all interested in a compromise when he first met with police to institute the initial ban.  The fact that a few hundred angry constituents can sway a politician to do a complete 180 should be no surprise.

The amazing life of Fridtjof Nansen

I was amazed by this story written about the life of the Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen.  I don't know why I knew about other Polar adventurers like Peary and Amundsen and not about this guy.  He had an extraordinary journey trying to get to the North Pole and then an equally active life when he stopped explorations.  His idea of getting to the North Pole was to sail to northern Siberia, allow his ship to become embedded in the ice, and then drift with the polar ice from east to west to reach his destination.  He and his crew drifted for about 1.5 years and tried to dogsled it the rest of the way, but ended up not making it to the Pole.  They did, however, set the record for the highest latitude achieved at the time.  The dogsled journey back toward home was even crazier as they had to find creative ways to fend off starvation.  Nansen basically retired from exploring after this, but went on to become an expert in oceanography and a diplomat.  To top it all off, he dated women considered to be international beauties and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1922.  What a life!!

The re-emerging interest in bison

I saw this story in San Francisco magazine detailing the re-emergence of the bison on menus in America.  I think it's a great alternative to beef - lower fat and calorie content, more iron - and I use it as much as KL will allow.  They are also more environmentally friendly to raise.  It might be time to make some of my famous bison ragu!

Scaredy Cat!!

Garfield in the cartoon is our kitten Franky in a nutshell!!  He runs at the sight of his own shadow!!  Poor kid...

Lightning on Wheaties!!

I got on the cover of the Wheaties box!!!!  Well, sort of.  This picture was taken when the All Star game was being held in The City.  Jumpstart Your Metabolism!!

Healthy Donuts!!??

I like the direction this area of research is headed!  Basically, super small particles, called nanoparticles (one would probably be invisible to the naked eye), would be used to deliver desirable ingredients in the donut to be absorbed while forcing unwanted particles to pass right on through the body.  This way, you could eat a donut and all the bad stuff would not be absorbed.  Voila!  A healthy donut!  Although, I don’t know what ingredient in a Krispy Kreme would be desirable.  Maybe they could be fortified with omega-3 fatty acids or cod liver oil.  In any event, creation of this healthy donut is probably quite a few years out.

If you are aggressive, then your dog will be too

This recent study followed dog owners that used aggressive methods to train their aggressive pets found that the pets will continue to be aggressive.  Shocking, I know.  I can’t imagine why a dog would become complacent and docile if the owner is continually hitting them or kicking them or staring them down.  I would expect the poor dog to become aggressive right back!  See Michael Vick

Wacky Item of the Week

Beardhead caps look like something my dad would wear out shoveling or DM would wear out skiing.  These things look hilarious!  I’m sure they look super sexy when the icicles form around the nose and mouth!  Me has to have one for when I go back to MN.

Funny News Item of the Day

Yvonne has perfected the atomic wedgie and Frederic will probably be hearing it from his friends for the rest of his life!  

King Tut at the De Young Museum

Can't wait to see this exhibit!!  We just got tickets to opening day with MB and LB and after the exhibit we'll hit the Beach Chalet for brunch.  I hope the Boy King is ready for us!!

Indian Wolfy

My good buddy Wolfy finally made it into the comics -- as an Indian on Prozac!!  But, is it possible that the first thing people saw after his mom gave birth was a melancholy wolf??  Great spirit say that eagle deliver Wolfy comic today and make me laugh.

Unsolved Killings in SF

Did you know that there is mystery surrounding the death of the widow of Leland Stanford (the co-founder of Stanford Univeristy)?  If not, you and I have something in common.  This recent article in the SF Chronicle highlights some of the more interesting unsolved killings in the Bay Area.  Others include: the head of a tong in 1897, a police chief in 1908, 10 protesters in 1916, Virginia Rappe, Warren Harding, Rosetta Baker, Ramon Lopez, a mafia boss, and a still missing boy.

New Guidelines Needed on Cholesterol Levels??

Are LDL and HDL the markers we should be looking at and worrying about when assessing risk for cardiac diseases?  This study casts some doubt on the long held idea that cholesterol is at the "heart" of the matter.  In it, they analyzed the hospitalizations of over 135,000 patients admitted with coronary artery disease and found that almost 72% and 55% of these patients had LDL and HDL levels, respectively, that would indicate that they were NOT at high risk for CV trouble.  High risk people have LDL levels above 130 mg/dL and HDL levels below 70 mg/dL.  In addition, 65% of these patients had triglyceride levels below 200 mg/dL.  Not only does this study bring into question the current guidelines put forth by the US National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, but also the entire cholesterol hypothesis for heart disease.  This idea is not that new as there are many more factors that are now known to be implicated in heart disease besides HDL and LDL (C-reactive protein, apolipoproteins, homocysteine, etc).  It might be a good idea to have your doctor screen for these other factors as well!  And, it's really too bad these researchers didn't also determine the levels of these other factors in their patient population.  We could have learned so much more!!