It’s Caturday! What better day for a nap?
Despite any folk tales, Leo did not steal any of Mrs. BA’s breath. But you can still tell she’s planning something evil. I know what she’s capable of.
Related posts:
- Caturday night’s all right for fighting 2 (may be my fave Caturday post ever)
- Big Caturday
- I toad you it’s Caturday
- Owl be seeing you
There is No, repeat No scientific evidence that oogling women's breasts promotes male longevity
From Cliff Thies:
MyFoxBoston is the latest to fall for the internet hoax that a study of 500 men in Germany provides scientific proof that starring at women's breats promotes longevilty (as in life expectancy). Judy Walker and Quynh Le of the University of Tasmania, at the 6th Annual Rural Health Conference in Canberra, stated conclusively that there was no such study, that the report was never published in the New England
Journal of Medicine, and that Karen Weatherby, the purported author of the report, does even not exist. They then went on and on about something called "Critical Discourse Analysis." I suppose this reflects that, in their theory of male longevity, boring them is more effective than exciting them.
From Fox5:
Five-hundred men participated in the German study. Half were told to refrain from looking at breasts for five years, the other half were told to ogle them daily.
The study found the men who stared at breasts more often showed lower rates of heart problems, a lower resting heart rate and lower blood pressure.
The authors of the study recommend that men stare at breasts for 10 minutes a day.
Editor's note - Apologies, of course, to the more socially conservative readers of LR.
"Staunch Conservative" with an obvious libertarian streak
From Eric Dondero:
Libertarian-conservative New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has a very mixed record on marijuana decriminalization. But his latest move may send a wave of cheers among the libertarian wing of the GOP.
From NJ.com "Christie nominates N.J. Assemblyman Carroll to be superior court judge":
Gov. Chris Christie has nominated Assemblyman Michael Patrick Carroll, a Morris County Republican and one of the most conservative lawmakers in New Jersey, to be a judge on the state Superior Court.
Christie spokesman Kevin Roberts said today the nomination had been approved, but that it would not be official until Thursday.
"The governor feels he’s qualified and will be a great judge for the Superior Court," Roberts said.
Carroll has a long history with the Republican Party that dates back to President Richard Nixon’s re-election campaign in 1972. He’s known as a staunch conservative, but has also pushed for medical-marijuana legislation and tax incentives for electric cars.
In a great irony, Carroll actually defeated Christie a few years ago, in the Republican primary for the Assembly seat that he holds. They have since become friends.
From Eric Dondero:
According to the Baltimore Sun, the overwhelmingly Democrat-controlled House passed the so-called "Dream Act," opening the floodgates for illegal aliens to win taxpayer-subsidized tuitions at state universities and colleges.
The small Republican contingent in the Legislature is fighting back.
Advocates have long wanted to grant the children of illegal immigrants in-state tuition at Maryland's university system. Opponents say widening the pool of applicants will only make admission more difficult for those who've played by the rules.
Senators will have the chance to weigh-in on the issue during next week's debate and the GOP caucus signaled that they will offer multiple amendments to the bill.
Sen. E.J. Pipkin, an Eastern Shore Republican, called the idea an "unfunded mandate" to the state's community colleges, which he said would have to absorb costs associated with a slew of new students.
From Eric Dondero:
Muir Boda is Vice-Chairman of the Libertarian Party of Maryland. He's a candidate for Salisbury City Council (Eastern Shore).
He is a staunch supporter of the local "Safe Streets" initiative.
From Salisbury News Feb. 27:
We need to take a three pronged approach to addressing the root causes of crime, which must be approached as a regional problem.
Short term requires us to develop strong, multi-jurisdictional partnerships on targeting gangs, organized crime and our most violent offenders. After all, criminals know no boundaries and neither should our approach in dealing with them.
From LP.org:
Libertarian candidate Muir Boda, running for the Salisbury City Council in Maryland, placed fourth in the March 1 primary. He will advance to the general election on April 5.
Boda is vice-chair of the Maryland LP.
See related LR article on Boda's campaign, Dec. 25.
From Eric Dondero:
A Republican-sponsored measure to legalize the sale and distribution of raw honey easily passed the Utah House yesterday. It now goes on to the Senate and then to the Governor for his signature.
From the Deseret News "Utah lawmaker wants to define raw honey" Feb. 28:
The food Rep. Stephen Sandstrom wants the Legislature to define — raw honey.
The Republican from Orem is sponsoring the short, one-page bill because he said raw honey and its close cousin — pure honey — are being intermixed, and beekeepers in his district want to preserve their niche in the "raw" market.
Raw honey from Redmond Heritage Farms is picture in this hand out photo and is the subject of Rep. Stephen Sandstrom's bill that will define raw honey. Sandstrom believes raw honey and its close cousin pure honey are being intermixed, and beekeepers in his district want to preserve their niche in the "raw" market
In order to be labeled as raw under HB148, honey that is produced or sold in the Beehive State could not be pasteurized or heated above 118 degrees.Sandstrom said raw honey legislation is "just a good place to go." He said he wants to pursue more raw food bills in the future and raw honey is an "easier transition" than, say, raw milk.
See related article at LR, from February, "Raw Milk: Obama administration cracks down on Family Farms"
Republican-sponsored Bill
From Eric Dondero:
In a monumental move, the Utah House of Representatives took the first step yesterday, to full legalization of gold and silver as currency, something long supported by libertarians.
It does not mean that gold and silver will replace the dollar as the accepted currency for the State of Utah. However, the legislation allows for the use of gold and silver as "legal tender."
From Fox News "Utah House Passes Bill Recognizing Gold, Silver as Legal Tender":
The House voted 47-26 in favor of the legislation that would also exempt the sale of gold from the state capital gains tax and calls for a committee to study alternative currencies for the state.
The legislation now heads to the state Senate, where a vote is expected next week.
There are 90 members of the Utah House; 63 of them are Republicans. The Bill was sponsored by Rep. Brad Galvez, R-West Haven. He is quoted in the SLC Tribune (via Gata.org):
This is a step in preparedness, a step in security," Galvez said, "that allows us to be able to help hold up our economy as the dollar continues to shrink."
While diligence and competence are important, manners also matter in the office and in the lab. When mentoring a student at a conference, I found myself discussing business etiquette and found him hesitating over behavior I considered necessary. What behaviors are most important to you? What lack of
We've heard the forecasts — and witnessed the possible inception of the trend — the PC as we know it is vanishing. Or, is it? Steve Jobs and Steve Ballmer marketplace jabbering notwithstanding, it's tool users who hold the answer. Will professionals who need serious computing power, stor
"Cloud computing" is the latest buzzword from the IT industry; it means Internet-connected computers can access data and applications software directly from the source and not have to go through the IT department. This is a very large break with traditional IT practice. But, as industry expert Ian G
Have you taken a hard look at a very soft-sounding computer system: cloud technology?
Cloud computing, or Software-as-a-Service, is available via paid rental or membership over the Internet. Participants share drawings, specifications, and are privy to the identical information.
The downfall t
If you are reading this from San Antonio this week attending the USCAP meeting, be sure to check out Omnyx's IDP solution in booth 330.
Omnyx has focused on workflow since its inception and this demo should highlight their work to date and the efficiencies to be had with digital pathology.
Omnyx, a joint venture of GE Healthcare and UPMC is showing their IDP solution designed by pathologists, for pathologists and built from the ground up with help from a global team of collaborators with the overall goal of digitizing the pathologist's process with intuitive and efficient solutions.
Omnyx will demonstrate its complete product line, which includes the VL4 and VL120 whole slide scanners, Pathologist Workstation, Histology Workstation, Web Viewer, Algorithms, Workflow Server, and Digital Archive for image storage. These products will be sold initially for research use only. By digitizing the slides and corresponding workflow, the Omnyx technology is intended to do what a traditional microscope cannot -- unite an entire pathology department and improve collaboration, communication and efficiency.
Of note, Omnyx will be demonstrating for the first time the VL120 whole slide scanner, which is capable of holding 120 slides that are automatically loaded and scanned. When launched, this product will be used in environments where continuous scanning is critical to sustain throughput. The VL120 is a complement to the already unveiled Omnyx VL4 scanner, currently for research use,and uses the identical scanning engine, which includes the patented Independent Dual Sensor imaging technology which can scan slides automatically at 20x or 40x magnification with speed and quality.
The Omnyx IDP solution integrates what are often stand alone products into a comprehensive platform. It combines high speed, high quality whole slide scanning with scalable information technology products to create a solution that addresses the reliability and process requirements of pathologists and enables single and multi-site organizations to benefit from increased efficiencies and greater access to peers in the field. It provides pathologists and histologists the tools necessary to work in closer collaboration and efficiently digitize their processes.
Next Thursday, March 10! Hope to see you there.
Paperback Launch Party: Still Life by Melissa Milgrom
Date: Thursday, March 10 · 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Location: The PowerHouse Arena
37 Main Street, Brooklyn, NY
For more information, please call 718.666.3049
RSVP: rsvp@powerHouseArena.com"Who knew a book about dead animals could be so lively? This is a wonderful look at a quirky, passionate, sometimes fanatical subculture."
— A.J. Jacobs, author of The Year of Living BiblicallyIn Still Life, Milgrom exposes a world of intrepid hunter-explorers, eccentric naturalists, and gifted museum artisans, all devoted to the paradoxical pursuit of creating the illusion of life. She'll deliver a lecture on the strange art of taxidermy and sign copies of her book, just out in paperback.
Over the past five years Melissa Milgrom has come to understand just what compels people to want to preserve dead animals: an absurd—almost fanatical—love of animals and the beauty of organic forms. Still Life is a completely engrossing look at this intriguing art form that thrives despite its fringe reputation. In the end, it's the taxidermists' love of nature and their unending quest to understand it on its own terms, which ultimately unites the book's characters, more than even the science or art of their craft. Transformed from a curious onlooker to an empathetic participant, Milgrom takes us deep into the world of taxidermy and reveals its uncanny appeal. Straddling science and art, high culture and kitsch—like taxidermy itself—Still Life celebrates the beauty in the uncanny.
Melissa Milgrom has written for The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and Travel & Leisure, among other publications; she has also produced segments for public radio. She holds a master's degree in American studies from the University of Pennsylvania. Milgrom lives in New York City. Please visit http://www.melissamilgrom.com.
To find out more, click here. To find out more about the book, click here.
Image: From the Still Life website; caption reads: "This orangutan, mounted in 2003 by a team of taxidermists for the Smithsonian Institution's Behring Hall of Mammals, typifies how exotic animals are procured in a post-expedition era. Photo: Cameron Davidson."
This Thursday at Observatory: learn the stories of the epic dioramas of New York's Museum of Natural History and their maker, Carl Akeley, in this illustrated lecture by author Jay Kirk!
Full details follow; very much hope to see you there
Kingdom Under Glass: A Tale of Obsession, Adventure, and One Man’s Quest to Preserve the World’s Great Animals
An illustrated lecture and book signing with author Jay Kirk
Date: Thursday, March 3
Time: 8:00 PM
Admission: $5
Presented by Morbid Anatomy
***Books will be available for sale and signingDuring the golden age of safaris in the early twentieth century, one man set out to preserve Africa's great beasts. In his new book Kingdom Under Glass: A Tale of Obsession, Adventure, and One Man's Quest to Preserve the World's Great Animals, Jay Kirk details the life and adventures of naturalist and taxidermist Carl Akeley, the brooding genius who revolutionized taxidermy and created the famed African Hall we visit today at New York's Museum of Natural History. The Gilded Age was drawing to a close, and with it came the realization that men may have hunted certain species into oblivion. Renowned taxidermist Carl Akeley joined the hunters rushing to Africa, where he risked death time and again as he stalked animals for his dioramas and hobnobbed with outsized personalities of the era such as Theodore Roosevelt and P. T. Barnum. In a tale of art, science, courage, and romance, Jay Kirk resurrects a legend and illuminates a fateful turning point when Americans had to decide whether to save nature, to destroy it, or to just stare at it under glass.
Tonight, join author Jay Kirk for an illustrated lecture based on his new book Kingdom Under Glass. Books will be available for sale and signing after the event.
Jay Kirk's nonfiction has been published in Harper's, GQ, The New York Times Magazine, and The Nation. His work has been anthologized in Best American Crime Writing 2003 and 2004, and Best American Travel Writing 2009 (edited by Simon Winchester). He is a recipient of a 2005 Pew Fellowship in the Arts and is a MacDowell Fellow. He teaches in the Creative Writing Program at the University of Pennsylvania. You can find out more about him and his work at jaykirk.info.
You can find out more about this event on the Observatory website by clicking here and can can access the event on Facebook here. You can get directions to Observatory--which is next door to the Morbid Anatomy Library (more on that here)--by clicking here. You can find out more about Observatory here, join our mailing list by clicking here, and join us on Facebook by clicking here.
Tomorrow night at Observatory! Hope to see you there!
An illustrated lecture with Mikita Brottman
Date: Friday, March 4
Time: 8:00 PM
Admission: $5
Presented by Morbid AnatomyTed Serios was an elevator operator from Chicago who appeared to possess a genuinely uncanny ability. By holding a Polaroid camera and focusing on the lens very intently, he seemed able to produce dream-like pictures of his thoughts on the Polaroid film that subsequently emerged; he referred to these images as “thoughtographs”,This lecture will consider how the Ted Serios phenomenon goes beyond the notion of “real versus fake”, providing different kinds of insights into the relationship between photography, subjectivity, representation and the unconscious.
Mikita Brottman is a British scholar, psychoanalyst, author and cultural critic known for her psychological readings of the dark and pathological elements of contemporary culture. She is a professor of humanities at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. You can find out more about her and her work at http://www.mikitabrottman.com.
You can find out more about this event on the Observatory website by clicking here and can can access the event on Facebook here. You can get directions to Observatory--which is next door to the Morbid Anatomy Library (more on that here)--by clicking here. You can find out more about Observatory here, join our mailing list by clicking here, and join us on Facebook by clicking here.
Rapid growth of PathXchange signals mainstream adoption of digital pathology tools by pathologists
TUCSON, Ariz., March 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- PathXchange.org, a global online pathology website, today announced that they have exceeded 12,000 registered members from over 160 countries. PathXchange services are the most widely used professional networking, collaboration and e-learning tools enabled by digital pathology.
Since its launch in June 2009, PathXchange has experienced unprecedented growth. Pathology professionals from clinical, research, and educational institutions widely utilize PathXchange for an increasing array of use cases including tumor boards, peer consultations, case conferencing, research studies, residency training, and continuing medical education (CME).
Dr. Mahul B. Amin, Chairman and Professor, Dept of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, an active supporter of PathXchange services since its launch in June 2009, noted the power and global reach of this Web 2.0 tool. He commented, "PathXchange was instrumental in allowing us to read a second opinion case with less than 24-hour turnaround time, with the ability for pathologists in India and California to simultaneously review case slides."
PathXchange.org is available to individual users free of charge. Dedicated and secure microsites are available at a reasonable fee to institutions seeking to leverage PathXchange networking technologies for their own pathology applications.
About PathXchange
PathXchange services brings the field of pathology into the digital age with Web 2.0 features designed to promote the exchange of pathological cases, ideas, knowledge, information, products, and services. PathXchange.org website (excluding linked sites) is controlled by Ventana Medical Systems, Inc. within the State of Arizona, United States of America. It can be accessed throughout the United States, as well as from other countries around the world.
