good stuff
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To every thing, there is a season
Most of us are aware of the seasonal cycle of influenza outbreaks, which for Americans peak in the winter. In a new paper, Micaela Martinez, PhD, a scientist at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, makes a case that all infectious diseases have a seasonal element. The “Pearl” article appears in the journal Read more
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Hunting the Wild Placebo
The New York Times’ Gary Greenberg asks “What if the Placebo Effect Isn’t a Trick?” and gets some interesting answers. Along the way, he tells the interesting history of the placebo and how it has become a standard in FDA=approved clinical trials. My only question for the FDA is this: if someone were to attempt Read more
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“This is the greatest country in the world.”
An American veteran brings his Ukranian bride to the States for a honeymoon, and gets to see his country through fresh eyes. And understands why not to sweat the small stuff: …it’s all too easy to misjudge the gravity of life’s problems when you’re used to peace and prosperity—after all, there’s no microaggression, no trigger, Read more
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Larry the Barbarian
Over at Monster Hunter Nation, Larry Correia puts us hip to a delightful and creative approach to F&SF book covers: incorporating the author as a cover character. This one of L.C. and wife rocks it: If you’re not tuned into Larry’s worldview, you can get the 2-minute summary by clicking to the adjacent blog entry Read more
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Holy Gadget Overload, MathMan!
The Geek Press put me wise to these cool mathematics-themed drinking glasses: Of course, I had to see what else was featured on The Gadgeteer; it’s a cornucopia of high-tech geekery! I’m totally stealing the idea for this pistachio tower, one of the few no-tech items I spotted. Not into gadgetry? Check out their non-stop Read more
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Trash, White Trash, and REAL Trash
Writing in Oxford American, Chris Offutt’s Trash Food almost gets it right: My thoughts and feelings were completely irrational. I knew they made no sense. Most of what I owned had belonged to someone else—cars, clothes, shoes, furniture, dishware, cookbooks. I liked old and battered things. They reminded me of myself, still capable and functioning Read more
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My Ultimate Margartia
Texas is awash in margaritas, both frozen and on the rocks. Most are made with some sort of evil bar mix, shaken by hand or machine, and dished up in glass with a salted rim. As Dan Jenkins wrote about chicken-fried steak, “Pretty good. But not real good.” Inspired by reading a recipe on the Read more
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Data to Viz
For data analysts using R, this is huge. Find out how to generate the graph you need for the data you have with just a few clicks. Yes, you’ll find some fine print explaining that the site is not comprehensive. BUT, it still has a trove of graph types and accompanying R and python code Read more
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Diversity has committed the First Sin of Fashion
It’s become outmoded, pointless and boring. Read more
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Making America GLAMOROUS Again
Since Christmas, the oh-so-woke fashion and lifestyle press has aggressively ignored first lady Melania Trump. Unlike her husband, she doesn’t bluster, tweet, or speechify; instead she speaks in the language of fashion. For French President Macron’s state visit, she wore this: Impossible to be ignored. The Washington Post’s Robin Givhan writes On these official occasions, Read more
The Random Texan 