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31. januar 2003
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Homeopathy
 There's been a few scientific reports that indicates that homoepathy actually works, in violation of all science knows about nature.
James Randi (picture), illusionist and arch-skeptic, has for some time offered a $1,000,000 reward to anyone that can prove something supernatural to be true.
BBC's Horizon took James Randi's challenge, cooperated with top experts, and did a blind test of homeopathic claims.
10:55:02 PM 
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Xupiter - spyware from hell
The most debated piece of annoyware on the net right now is Xupiter, an application that installs itself as a Internet Explorer toolbar, and thereafter wreacks total havoc on your PC. The program, that many users claim installs itself without asking for permission, frequently changes the homepage and redirects searches to the xupiter home page. Its effect indicates that it's a paid-for spyware program that is set up to advertise to you. Think popups on steroids.
How to avoid being 'infected' seems to be anybody's guess, but not clicking on popup ads is always a good advice. And if you get a popup ad about computer security, close it, don't click "ok." If you have been infected, check out some of the hits on this google search (but remember that dealing with computer security is not the time for suspension of disbelief). For handling spyware generally and perhaps this nastyware specifically, Lavasoft's Ad-Aware is always a good download.
1:58:54 PM
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The t-shirt text I've always wanted to see...
...just so I could snap back: "If you didn't have such small print on it, I wouldn't need to get this close to read it!"
10:20:59 AM
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— Swedish women bimbos
Eric Hansen, a reporter from the American Men's Journal went to Sweden to check out if the rumours about Sweden were true, "a place where the women aren't just beautiful, they're also available." The article he wrote made its way back to Sweden, and infuriated a few Swedish women by portraying them as cheap bimbos.
What did he find? Apparently, the chance of getting laid was "fantastic" at Stockholm's most popular bars. Normal flirting didn't work, he argued (I assume he means normal American flirting; whatever that is). What worked, he argued, was time and alcohol. He recommends the "direct approach": slapping her arse on the dancefloor.
What he essentially found, of course, is that Scandinavian women are more like men in some respects. They go out, drink and wants to get laid. Of course, a man doing that is a hunk. A woman doing the same thing is a slut.
I suspect Eric Hansen would not be that welcome the next time he comes to Stockholm.
(from a Swedish article in Aftonbladet)
10:06:52 AM
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Live from the blogsphere
Check out the panel discussions on the phenomenon of weblogging, in which our own Susannah Breslin, aka the Reverse Cowgirl, is a co-producer and participant.
Is blogging going mainstream, or are the real old media giants just taking over the blogsphere by using the blog technology to post old-media material? To me, the idea of blogging is that 'normal people', not professional writers and journalists, have their say.
8:00:35 AM
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Building a new food pyramid
 For years, nutritional experts have been repeating the slogan "fat is bad." Building on comparisons with for example Japan, where low-fat diets apparently lead to lower incidents of obesity and heart problems, an official "food pyramid" has been marketed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The message is clear: eat foods that contain complex carbohydrates - bread, cereals, rice and pasta - and avoid everything with fat.
The result of this propaganda can be seen in every supermarket: all sort of foods are marketed as "low on fat" or "fat free."
However, nutritional experts have long been aware that the truth is way more complex. It has been known that some types of fat are good, and indeed reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease. Even worse, there is little evidence that it is correct that intake of complex carbohydrates is all that good. And the evidence is now getting stronger and stronger that it's the carbohydrates that are the main culprit for dietary problems. The "no fat" argument is not only too simplistic (which has been known all along), it is deeply flawed.
A recent article in Scientific American discusses a drive from nutritional experts to market a new food pyramid. Pastas and bread are no longer good for you.
Thanks to Duane's radio weblog for bringing this to my attention.
7:09:18 AM
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Teddy will never even see the end of the world
"A Danish bomb squad shot to pieces a teddy bear left on the doorstep of a Jehovah's Witness hall on Thursday evening with a note saying it contained a bomb, police said." (Yahoo! News)
The teddy bear was summarily disfellowshipped by JW elders afterwards.
6:25:18 AM
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Mandela loses it
 It seems that no argument is too primitive or too low when it comes to the ongoing debate about war against Iraq.
Pro-war activists frequently label their opponents unpatriotic and anti-American, and even "Saddam lovers." It should be possible to argue against a military attack on Iraq without being a particular fan of Saddam Hussein. There are, after all, many brutal dictators in teh world that the pro-war hawks express no wishes to remove by invading their countries.
Likewise, anti-war activists have launched a number of very primitive attacks against George Bush and Tony Blair, instead of dealing with the actual arguments.
Sadly, the great statesman Nelson Mandela (picture), a hero in the struggle against apartheid and Nobel peace prize laureate, has lost much of my respect by launching such a primitive attack recently.
Mandela called the US stance "arrogant", predicted it will cause a "holocaust", and said that Bush is "a president who can't think properly." Finally, in line with many leftists, he asserted that the US just wants Iraq's oil.
This was bad enough, but Mandala was not even above playing a rather primitive race card, by saying "Is this because the secretary general of the United Nations [Ghanaian Kofi Annan] is now a black man? They never did that when secretary generals were white."
When tempers run high, reason runs out the door, and so also with Mandela. If the US is just after Iraq's oil, does he think that a white UN secretary general would prevent it? The US did a lot of military enterprises, not all of which successful, under white secretary generals in the past, as Mandela should be well aware of.
The oil argument is really only mildly relevant to the debate. It is not a rational argument. If the US' arguments for war are sufficient, then it is irrelevant if the US also have economic interests for the war. Mandela's line of argument is an ad hominem, and that should be below the dignitivy of the great statesman.
6:04:38 AM
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Learning the ropes
Rocketman and wife tries to add a bit of spice to their sex life, and buy rope. Alas, bondage games and kids don't always mix.
5:25:26 AM
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This racist propaganda practically writes itself
"All my life, I dreamed of writing racist propaganda, but I was always too scared to try. I came up with every excuse in the book: I lacked the necessary education, I wasn't a good enough writer, I didn't know enough racial slurs. But then, one day, I gave it a whirl, and you know what? It was easy! The hateful rants just poured out of me and onto the page. I'm telling you, this racist propaganda practically writes itself." [Read the rest in the Onion!]
4:36:24 AM
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Telemarketers suing FTC over "do-not-call" list
US telemarketers went to court wednesday to stop the US government from setting up a national "do not call" list. The proposal means that telemarketers who call anyone on the list will face stiff fines. Charities and political groups are exempt.
The FTC proposal is wildly popular with consumers, who have sent the agency more than 50,000 letters of support.
DMA President Robert Weintzen is whining: "The FTC is singling out this form of advertising now, what will be next?"
Those who make popup-ads, I hope.
1:17:08 AM
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© Copyright 2003 Jan Haugland.
Last update: 01.02.03; 00:38:33.
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