Tag Archives: en

Vibram Fivefingers Komodo Sport

Vibram Fivefingers Komodo Sport

I wanted to try the Vibram Fivefingers shoes for a long time, not in the least thanks to my friend Wouter, who wears them even to official presentations. Still, the years passed by and I did not seem to ever had the time, money, and courage to take them on.

Now, I am finally a proud owner of a Fivefingers Komodo Sport (I think, I threw away the papers and the box). They were comfortable right from the beginning but when I started running in them… How should I put it to you? You see, for the first time in my life, I am actually looking forward to my jogging time now.

They are extremely comfortable and pleasant to run in. Of course, I have to watch out not to step on very sharp stones and other obstacles that I never noticed before. But the feel is exhilarating. I always had the right set of the foot and never hit the road with the heel, so these shoes feel so right, so proper. I thoroughly enjoy running now.

Now I simply want to wear them all the time and I am wondering if I can be so brave as to get myself a pair of Fivefingers in black to wear to the office… Walking in Fivefingers is a slightly awkward affair at the beginning because I am used to coming hard with my heel to the floor in soft shoes. However, as I wear them more and more, I adapt my walking style and I think it is getting better fast.… -->

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Be wary of Wikipedia’s health info

The scientists from several medical universities in US studied the entries in Wikipedia related to the 10 most costly medical conditions. The scientists compared the claims in the Wikipedia to the published and peer reviewed research for coronary artery disease, lung cancer, major depressive disorder, osteoarthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, back pain, and hyperlipidemia.

Their conclusion is that 9 out of 10 entries in Wikipedia contain erroneous information, claims that contradict the official medical research. They caution both their peers and the patients from using Wikipedia as their only source of information.

Health care professionals, trainees, and patients should use caution when using Wikipedia to answer questions regarding patient care.

Our findings reinforce the idea that physicians and medical students who currently use Wikipedia as a medical reference should be discouraged from doing so because of the potential for errors.

Source: Wikipedia vs Peer-Reviewed Medical Literature for Information About the 10 Most Costly Medical Conditions… -->

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Easy, tigers!

Janice Haley with Janda

Tigers are ferocious animals, as wild as it gets. If you think about getting a tiger to live at home, a usual advice will be to think that you will never be able to touch your tiger when it gets out of the cub age. And, for most cases, that is true. Trying to pet a tiger would typically mean severe injuries and sometimes death.

Only sometimes it happens to be different. I was always amazed with the famous Tiger Temple in Thailand, where monks have tigers living between them. Now there is a family in Florida, USA, that does that too. They keep a couple of Bengal tigers in their back garden for several years, pet them and survive the experience. Read about it in the Daily Mail article.… -->

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Abraham Lincoln on inequality of races

Daguerreotype of Abraham Lincoln in November 1863

Abraham Lincoln is portrayed by mass media in a completely different light than he actually was. I think his original works should be compulsory reading for all Americans at school. They will serve as a good point of reference for their future life. Look at this:

I will say then that I am not, nor ever have been in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races, [applause]—that I am not nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will for ever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. And inasmuch as they cannot so live, while they do remain together there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race. I say upon this occasion I do not perceive that because the white man is to have the superior position the negro should be denied everything.

— Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln. Volume 3. Speech on September 18, 1858.

And compare this to the official history:

Lincoln disapproved of slavery, and the spread of slavery to new U.S. territory in the west. … Lincoln was a moderate in the middle, opposing slavery primarily because it violated the republicanism principles of the Founding Fathers, especially the equality of all men and democratic self-government as expressed in the Declaration of Independence. … On October 16, 1854, in his “Peoria Speech”, Lincoln declared his opposition to slavery, which he repeated en route to the presidency.

— Wikipedia, Abraham Lincoln.

And I cannot help but finish with a very suitable quote from George Orwell’s “Nineteen Eighty-Four”: “He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past.”

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George Orwell, “Nineteen Eighty-Four”

Picture of George Orwell's "Nineteen eighty-four"

There is not much to say about this famous book except that it is completely misinterpreted and misrepresented in mass media. And that is not surprising after reading the book any more.

Basically, there is only one advice to be given about this book: “go read it.” That is all there is to it. Just get it and read it.

The book contains a very good description of how we ended up with the world as it is now. The book “Nineteen eighty-four” is actually a report by George Orwell on the basics of our society, on its functional principles, and on the reasons why the world is the way it is.

“The best books… are those that tell you what you know already.”
— George Orwell, 1984

Look around as you read it. It is our history and our present. Think.… -->

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Teleconference scheduling made simple

Can we get to grips with teleconference scheduling already? Why do I always have to look for the times, the numbers, deal with people who send an invite five minutes before it starts and complain that I did not participate? What is so difficult about it?

Look, if you want to schedule a teleconference, here is what you do:

  • Set the objective. We are not interested in a teleconference “just to share information”, you can send that by e-mail, we have other things to do.
  • List people who you want to attend and make sure you have a good reason for them to attend at all. Too many conferences have too many people in them.
  • Pick a good time for all of them. Hint: a good time is never today. If you need a decision today, you will have to call each person individually and discuss.
  • Put together the teleconference call-in and call-back numbers that could be useful for all of the people you invite. I am not going to dial international to spend one hour on a teleconference, this is so passe.
  • Finally, send an invite with the objective, agenda, numbers and reminder.

It is that simple. Oh, and if you need to reschedule – start from the beginning.… -->

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Where we get the odds wrong: marijuana

I came across an interesting article today that talks about various things that people get wrong when estimating the risks. Some of them I knew, some not, but what impressed me was this curious bit:

If the risks of smoking marijuana are coldly compared to those of playing high-school football, parents should be less concerned about pot smoking. Death by marijuana overdose has never been reported, while 13 teen players died of football-related injuries in 2006 alone. And marijuana impairs driving far less than the number one drug used by teens: alcohol. Alcohol and tobacco are also more likely to beget addiction, give rise to cancer, and lead to harder drug use.

Makes one wonder indeed…… -->

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