Web Survives a Busy Week

June 29, 2009 By Leave a Comment

The Web took a hit this past week with a perfect storm of news events.  The passing of both Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett, the irrespirable lure of the Gov. Mark Sanford political sex scandal, and the continued unrest in Iran created a flood of news.  The Web went into over load, but it survived showing its strength and durability.

On June 25, 2009 the World Wide Web felt the weight of some heavy news, including the untimely passing of megastar Michael Jackson.  Most news websites reported access times dropping to half that of the norms.  Social sites such as Twitter and Facebook dipped to crawl.

However, the good ole WWW withstood the storm.  And while we can learn how to improve web services from these events, it is encouraging to know that Internet infrastructure can handle this type of battering.

There are still aftershocks.  So you may notice some lags in your online performance.   But overall, we should be encouraged that the Web can handle the storm.

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Stem Cell Research goes to the Dogs

June 25, 2009 By 1 Comment

Stem cell treatments are moving forward with amazing promise, if you are a dog or a horse.  But for us humans, stem cells are caught in the political machine, much like the rest of health care in the USA.

dogs

Stem cell research has been a tale of two technologies in that it has exited the medical community yet inflamed political forces.

On the positive side stem cell research has ignited promise for treatment of cancer, Parkinson’s disease, spinal cord injuries, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, and muscle damage, amongst a number of other impairments and conditions.

The vortex of controversy swirls around embryonic stem cells taken from human embryos in the early stages of development.  To create these stem cells requires the destruction of an embryo and considered by some (mostly anti-abortion groups) the taking of a human life.  It is important to note that stem cell research has others forms (often called adult stem cells) that do not involve embryos thus not taking a life by some people’s sanctity-of-life values.  Nonetheless, this debate has put a stigma on the entire stem cell discuss.  However, adult stem cell treatments (NOT embryonic) have moved ahead in animals with some awesome results.

Instead of getting into a medical dissertation, take a look at this video about how adult stem cell treatments have been used successfully on dogs.

Another famous case involves a racehorse named “Be A Bono” who won 16 out of 24 starts, earned more than 1.3 million in prize money, and was the 2004 World Champion Quarterhorse after a stem cell treatment.

While I am happy for the animals of the world, it is a bit unnerving that there are no videos on YouTube (that I can find) with heart touching stories of people who where helped as a result of adult stem cell treatments (once again, emphasizing not using a human embryo).  I can’t help but wonder if our ongoing political screaming matches debating embryonic stem cells are drowning out the cries for help thus stifling progress in the entire stem cell arena, at least for us human beings.

I’ve often said that we have a lot to learn from our animal friends, and this seems to be the case with adult stem cell treatments.  Let’s hope that some of the recent changes in the political winds for stem cell research will blow away the dogma (sorry, but you know it had to be said) and open our eyes to our brothers and sisters in need.

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Filed Under: Biology

Get Your Facebook Username

June 14, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Facebook gives away 500,000 usernames in 15 minutes.  Get yours while you can.

facebook

Starting at 12:01AM on June 13, 2009 Facebook allows custom names to create a direct link to profiles.  Some call this a vanity URL.  Here’s how it works.

Before the direct link to a Facebook profile looks something like this:
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=123456789
The new leaner and cleaner link looks like this:
http://www.facebook.com/rhowington
Much better!

If you want one you need to log on your Facebook account and setup-it-up.  It’s very easy on only took me a few minutes.

But choose carefully.  Facebook warns that once you select a username you are stuck with it like a tattoo.  The only way to get a new one is to setup a new Facebook account.  My advice is to pick something practical and stay clear of usernames like “mrbigstuff” or “hotpinkmama”.

For obvious reasons you cannot use a name this is already taken.  Facebook will let you name if the name you want is not available and will offer alternative suggestions.

BTW – linkedin.com and MySpace.com have had vanity URL, so this is sort of a catch-up thing for Facebook, but a welcome one.

One more thing, if you have a Facebook page for business or any other non-profile page you will have to wait a few weeks for your vanity URL.  So stayed tuned to Facebook updates.

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Filed Under: Internet

I Want My DTV

June 7, 2009 By Leave a Comment

June 12, 2009 is the transition to DTV (Digital Television).  Excited?  Concerned?  So what does this mean for you?  Probably not much.  But there may be some interesting situations to consider.

tv

First of all, what does the DTV transition mean?
Currently, most all local TV stations who broadcast over the airwaves have been sending out both analog and digital signals.  On June 12, 2009 these stations will be tuning off their analog transmitters.  So TV broadcast will be digital only.

If you are on cable or satellite you will not be impacted by the DTV transition. But if you are still a believer in free TV, then you should make sure you are ready.  You may need to upgrade if:
You use an antenna to get receive your TV signal
AND
Your have a TV with only an analog tuner

[Read more...]

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Filed Under: TV Tech