[Originally posted at DocGurley.com]
We've had the deflating news that Daylight Saving Time (where we lose an oh-so-painful hour of sleep) doesn't even save energy - in fact it may even increase energy usage. Looks like the savings in energy due to decreased light usage is more than offset by the increase in energy used for air conditioning. Sigh. But here's the most important message to keep in mind as we continue to collectively enact this seasonal madness: Daylight Saving Time has been shown over and over in research studies to cause, each year, a definite, measurable (and significant) increase in the number of deaths. When you think about the misery and futility of Daylight Saving Time, the fact that you could actually die because of it seems just so...so wrong. So why do people die because of Daylight Saving Time? And what can you do, personally, to avoid being involved in a Daylight Saving Death?
Over nine hundred Americans, from the years 1987-1991, are estimated to have died purely because of Daylight Saving Time (DST). Another study, using 1997-8 data, estimated that abolishing Daylight Saving Time would save 171 American pedestrians per year (13% of all pedestrian fatalities in the 5:00-10.00 a.m. and in the 4:00-9:00 p.m. time periods) as well as 195 Americans killed in car collisions per year (3%, during the same time periods). To make matters even more stark, moving DST to an earlier, darker date (March instead of April), as we are this year, is likely to make those numbers go up. Daylight Saving deaths are predominantly due to pedestrians getting killed by cars. People are driving after a smaller chunk of sleep, probably stressed and running late, and, importantly, drivers are not yet accustomed to watching for pedestrians in the dark. Pedestrians are groggy, late, and probably not used to looking out for cars in the dark. Maybe some of the cars even forgot to turn on their headlights. Children, in particular, are vulnerable to Daylight Saving Death--one study showed that, in a small area of northeast England, one child every two years dies because of Daylight Saving Time.
What can you do? First, even if we drive, we'll all be getting out of a car to walk at some point, so these pedestrian tips apply to everyone:
1) Hold that toddler hand tight as you head to daycare Monday. Keep a hand on a backpack strap as you walk your kid to school. Warn older kids of the danger.
2) Wear light, bright clothes--nobody gets to be goth the Monday after DST.
3) Cross the road in the middle of a pack (if you can).
4) Be alert--when it comes to pedestrian vs. vehicle face-offs, the only important law is the law of physics. Watch out for the sleepy, stressed out, no headlights death car!
Tips for drivers, to help avoid pedestrians and other cars:
5) Consider getting up even (know it's painful) earlier. Get a real cup of coffee under your belt if you drink coffee. Leave yourself plenty of time to get where you're going, even with pick ups and drop offs. If there was ever a time to drive defensively, this is it. Leave plenty of space between you and the next car, stay within the speed limit and channel your inner zen.
6) Pretend you're watching out for large, sluggish, humped shapes in the dark that can suddenly dart in front of you. Get your best video-game reflexes tuned up to make sure you're not caught by surprise.
7) Make sure your visibility is the best it can be. This weekend is a great time to really wash that front windshield. Put both the visors up. Made sure your headlights are clear of grime (and turned on!). Consider getting your kids to ride shotgun and help you watch for pedestrians--they love a chance to take charge and shout out information.
8) Hey, if you have the option, next week is the perfect time to take public transport! Just watch out for cars when you're walking.
For everyone--
Start now and use some easy cognitive behavioral therapy tips (proven to be every bit as effective as sleeping pills!) to try to get some extra rest on Sunday night:
1) No caffeine of any kind (no chocolate, tea, coffee, decaffeinated drinks--which still have caffeine) after noon.
2) No alcohol with dinner or later. While alcohol may make you feel "drowsy" in the short run, it actually impairs your natural sleep cycles.
3) No TV, no computer, no "screen" of any kind three or more hours before bed--crack open that great book you never seem to have the time to read!
4) Make sure your bedroom is dark, quiet and cool. If you still can't get to sleep after 45 minutes or so, get up and do something restful (NO TV, no computer, no "screen" of any kind). Rest peacefully until you feel a wave of sleepiness coming and surf that wave back to bed.
Hope to see you all--each and every one of you--after we make the DST shift.
P.S. Extra credit (we recovering premeds believe in extra credit the way some people believe in the Giants: life-changing, powerful, unfortunately erratic). Save even more lives by changing your smoke detector batteries this Daylight Saving Time!
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Sunday, March 14, 2010
Howard Stern's racist slam of Gabourey Sidibe: Zennie on Spider Jones Show
Howard Stern's racist slam of Gabourey Sidibe is the focus of Zennie Abraham's (Zennie62) guest apperance on The Spider Jones Show today, Sunday March 14th, 2010 Daylight Saving Time Day, at 4 PM to 6 PM Eastern, 1 PM to 3 PM Pacific Time at CFRB Newstalk 1010. You can listen live here: http://www.newstalk1010.com/.
Last week, this blogger took on Howard Stern's racist slam of Academy Award-nominated actress Gabourey Sidibe. Here's a recap of that blog post:
I wrote this...
The Spider Jones show is based in Toronto, Canada, according to his website,...
And now I'm part of that list.
Cool.
Last week, this blogger took on Howard Stern's racist slam of Academy Award-nominated actress Gabourey Sidibe. Here's a recap of that blog post:
I wrote this...
There's no doubt that Howard Stern earns his salary by making outrageous statements. But Howard Stern's slam of Gabourey Sidibe from Precious shows Stern's stupidity. On Monday, on The Howard Stern Show, said this:
"There's the most enormous, fat black chick I've ever seen. She is enormous. Everyone's pretending she's a part of show business and she's never going to be in another movie"
Now it can be said that Howard Stern's the dumbest man on the planet. First, Howard Stern's comment was made in the context of Gabourey Sidibe already having starred in a movie, that being Precious.
Second, because Howard was so busy being prejudiced against fat women, especially "fat black chicks", he turned his brain off and forgot that the role for Gabourey was already created and she played in an independent film that became a major motion picture, and won a ton of awards.
But Howard was so intent on being nasty, all of that escaped him. Howard Stern proved people who discriminate are not smart, they're stupid.
What's really awful about Stern's blast is that no one accuses him of "playing the race card" in using the term "fat black chick"; but there are those, particularly White Supremacists, who would say this blogger's playing the race card in accusing Stern of being racist.
Howard Stern was being racist. And while what Stern said's not a racial ephethet, the use of the term is what's disturbing.
The Spider Jones show is based in Toronto, Canada, according to his website,...
Spider has interviewed such notables as Muhammad Ali, Mark Wahlberg, Jesse Jackson, LL Cool J, Ron Howard, Scott Grimes, Doug Gilmour, Cito Gaston, Oscar De La Hoya, Roy Jones, Kris Kristofferson, James Brown, Guy Lafleur, Carlos Delgado, Jim Brown and countless others.
And now I'm part of that list.
Cool.
What time is it? Current Daylight Saving Time is 7 AM PST / 10 AM EST
It's Daylight Saving Time 2010, and if the time change for Spring 2010 caught you off guard, you're not alone.
America has turned to The Internet to try and figure out what time it is. Right now, as of Sunday, March 14th, the current time is 7 AM PST / 10 AM EST, which is Eastern Time, or the time in New York City versus Los Angeles in the western, or Pacific Time Zone.
The old rule is "Spring forward one hour; fall back on hour." The Atomic Clock, or The Official U.S. Clock, is at http://www.time.gov.
Why do we have Daylight Saving Time? According to About.com...
Which also means that it can really screw with International Time relationships, since it's not a World wide practice. The European Union practices it, but not all of the World.
More soon.
America has turned to The Internet to try and figure out what time it is. Right now, as of Sunday, March 14th, the current time is 7 AM PST / 10 AM EST, which is Eastern Time, or the time in New York City versus Los Angeles in the western, or Pacific Time Zone.
The old rule is "Spring forward one hour; fall back on hour." The Atomic Clock, or The Official U.S. Clock, is at http://www.time.gov.
Why do we have Daylight Saving Time? According to About.com...
Daylight Saving Time was instituted in the United States during World War I in order to save energy for war production by taking advantage of the later hours of daylight between April and October. During World War II the federal government again required the states to observe the time change. Between the wars and after World War II, states and communities chose whether or not to observe Daylight Saving Time. In 1966, Congress passed the Uniform Time Act, which standardized the length of Daylight Saving Time.
Which also means that it can really screw with International Time relationships, since it's not a World wide practice. The European Union practices it, but not all of the World.
More soon.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Korean man marries pillow; pillow can't say no
Related searches: Guy Marries Pillow, Korean Man Marries Pillow, Korean Man Pillow, Korean Marries Pillow, Korean Pillow, Lee Jin-Gyu, Man Marries a Pillow, Man Marries Pillow
According to the Metro UK, a 28-year old Korean man, Lee Jin-gyu, married a pillow he's become, er, attached to. Reportedly, he takes the pillow "everywhere", from the park to restaurants, where he makes sure "she" has her own seat.
The pillow is called a 'dakimakura', or a Japanese large, huggable, pillow.
But the question is, has anyone, his parents, someone, tried to talk Lee Jin-gyu out of this "wedding?" Did he take out life insurance in case the pillow meets an untimely fate with a sewing pin? If Lee Jin-gyu wants to have sex, can the pillow say "Not now. I've got a headache?"
And the most important question: Did the pillow say "I do?" No word from the Metro UK.
According to the Metro UK, a 28-year old Korean man, Lee Jin-gyu, married a pillow he's become, er, attached to. Reportedly, he takes the pillow "everywhere", from the park to restaurants, where he makes sure "she" has her own seat.
The pillow is called a 'dakimakura', or a Japanese large, huggable, pillow.
But the question is, has anyone, his parents, someone, tried to talk Lee Jin-gyu out of this "wedding?" Did he take out life insurance in case the pillow meets an untimely fate with a sewing pin? If Lee Jin-gyu wants to have sex, can the pillow say "Not now. I've got a headache?"
And the most important question: Did the pillow say "I do?" No word from the Metro UK.
New York Times' Arthur Sulzberger Jr. takes huge raise; laid off staff
The New York Times laid off 100 people and cut pay for most employees last year for a nine-month period. All employees except two: Chairman Arthur Sulzberger Jr. and Chief Executive Janet L. Robinson. According to The Wall Street Journal, both Arthur Sulzberger Jr. and Janet L. Robinson got huge increases. Janet L. Robinson's overall pay jumped 32 percent to 6.3 million; Arthur Sulzberger Jr.'s pay rose to $6 million, double the $3 million of a year before.
What's alarming is Sulzberger and Robinson took these raises while asking their employees to suffer pay cuts and job losses. In May of 2009, Vanity Fair's Mark Bowden wrote that a "doomsday clock" was ticking for newspapers, and Sulzberger was "struggling to keep his family's prized asset alive." Yeah, he's really working hard to do that, huh?
What Sulzberger and Robinson should have done is put those raises back into The New York Times and maintained as much of their staff intact as possible, pay levels and all.
Sulzberger has cried about the New York Times' problems to anyone who would listen. He's given speeches on the impact of the Internet and Google, in particular, on the news industry, as he did at last year's Webby Awards in this video:
But when it comes time to show that he's trying to save the NY Times, he works to make sure he gets as much money as he can.
It's not too late for Sulzberger and Robinson to reverse their fiscal course and help the people of The New York Times. Let's see if they do the right thing. Otherwise, if newspaper owners and managers like Sulzberger and Robinson are going to be greedy, why should the Federal Government bail them out?
Stay tuned.
What's alarming is Sulzberger and Robinson took these raises while asking their employees to suffer pay cuts and job losses. In May of 2009, Vanity Fair's Mark Bowden wrote that a "doomsday clock" was ticking for newspapers, and Sulzberger was "struggling to keep his family's prized asset alive." Yeah, he's really working hard to do that, huh?
What Sulzberger and Robinson should have done is put those raises back into The New York Times and maintained as much of their staff intact as possible, pay levels and all.
Sulzberger has cried about the New York Times' problems to anyone who would listen. He's given speeches on the impact of the Internet and Google, in particular, on the news industry, as he did at last year's Webby Awards in this video:
But when it comes time to show that he's trying to save the NY Times, he works to make sure he gets as much money as he can.
It's not too late for Sulzberger and Robinson to reverse their fiscal course and help the people of The New York Times. Let's see if they do the right thing. Otherwise, if newspaper owners and managers like Sulzberger and Robinson are going to be greedy, why should the Federal Government bail them out?
Stay tuned.
Twitter location-sharing is on; be careful how you tweet
After fits-and-starts of being on, then off, Twitter location-sharing is on. Now, you include location information in a tweet. All you have to do, assuming you have a Twitter account, is go to "settings", scroll down, and click on "Add a location to your tweets."
While this feature is great and welcome to all who want to be found, it can be dangerous for those who may be away from home. Someone with an awful heart can essentially "cyber case" a person using Twitter to determine when to try and break in to their home. Or worse.
As the Twitter blog explains, the location-sharing feature is great to inform people of where something's occurring, but the problem is the tweeter has to be in the area where that something's happening.
While I initially was excited about this new Twitter feature, it has the perfect distinction of being a tool that can be used for better or worse.
Stay tuned.
While this feature is great and welcome to all who want to be found, it can be dangerous for those who may be away from home. Someone with an awful heart can essentially "cyber case" a person using Twitter to determine when to try and break in to their home. Or worse.
As the Twitter blog explains, the location-sharing feature is great to inform people of where something's occurring, but the problem is the tweeter has to be in the area where that something's happening.
While I initially was excited about this new Twitter feature, it has the perfect distinction of being a tool that can be used for better or worse.
Stay tuned.
Lady Gaga and Beyonce The Telephone's new make-up soda can look
In the music video for Lady Gaga and Beyonce's The Telephone, Lady Gaga wears a an "up-do" that consists of soda cans while in prison.
In this video by serenaverbon on YouTube, Serena and her cousin Robin show how to create the look, and in the process have built the foundation for the propagation of a new Lady Gaga-endorsed fashion trend.
On her Twitter page, Lady Gaga gave the video the official Gaga cyber thumbs-up with this tweet:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8_hrDQyBTo "Soda-do, How to." GENIUS little fashion monsters.
about 17 hours ago via web
Jasmin Malik Chua at Ecouterre was the first online to point to the style and wrote "If Lady Gaga has a passion for trashion, she’s managed to keep it on the down-low." Until now. The prison-inspired look seems right for these economically challenged times and could morph into a form of protest against an economy that's slow to produce jobs.
The "Make-up Soda Can Look" could serve as a perfect statement mocking governments like the State of California that spend more money on prisons than for education. If California's becoming a police state, the "Make-up Soda Can Look" might well become the fashion statement that reflects it.
Unless you doubt Lady Gaga's ability to influence fashion trends, just look at this video-blog I created after I passed by the crowd at Lady Gaga's San Francisco concert last December:
In the video-blog many of Lady Gaga's fans were obviously inspired by Lady Gaga in their dress. But while that was for a Lady Gaga concert, my bet is the "Make-up Soda Can Look" will find its way into everyday society.
Stay tuned.
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