Clipmarks | BobbyDelray's clips

Cops search for helpless human, find chatty cockatoo

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 20:09:15 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray
clipper's remarks: To bad we don't have a YouTube video on this one. I wonder what the cockatoo said to the cops? Care to guess?

Clip Source: blogs.usatoday.com

Police officers kicked in the front door of a Trenton home Wednesday morning because they thought they heard a woman yelling "Help me! Help me!" But instead of finding a helpless human, The Times says officers found a chatty cockatoo.

The Trentonian has more on the incident.

Earlier:
• Unbelievable: Snowball the cockatoo dances to Backstreet Boys
• Neighbors aren't cuckoo about Fletcher the cockatoo

Sweaters made with dog fur take Internet by storm

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 18:26:12 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray
clipper's remarks: Honest, it's true. go figure?

Clip Source: blogs.usatoday.com

"They are extremely warm and pretty much waterproof. Unless it is banging it down, it is fine," Brian tells Britain's Daily Mail newspaper. "I've always got a sweat on by the time I get from the bus to the shops."

The couple says both dogs have died since the hair was collected and spun into wool. "There's no skins involved. It's purely and simply the fur, the wool that comes off them," he tells ITN.

Any guesses as to how the sweaters smell when it rains?

Victoria Pettigrew, the owner of VIP Fibers, tells USA TODAY that she has lots of customers who pay $9 an ounce to have their pet's fur turned into wool.

"What they get back is yarn that is 100% their pet, basically ready to knit and wear," Pettigrew says.

Pettigrew spoke with Knight Ridder in 2006

Betty Burian Kirk, a knitter who charges $50 to $200 to turn a dog's coat into a coat

If you want to save some money, check out 1997's Knitting with Dog Hair.

Tags: dog, fur, knit, sweater, coat

Monitoring the Planetary Emergencies

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:34:01 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: www.federationofscientists.org

The identification of Planetary Emergencies and their categorisation into fifteen main groups

To date the World Federation of Scientists has established the following Permanent Monitoring Panels and Working Groups:

Biotechnology

Brain and Behaviour

Climatology

Defence Against Cosmic Objects

Desertification

Energy: www.energypmp.org

Floods and Extreme Weather Events

Information Security: www.itis-ev.de/infosecur/

Limits of Development

Missile Proliferation

Mother & Child

Pollution

Motivations for Terrorism

Mitigation of Terrorist Acts

Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy

Water

Can Jerry Seinfeld Save Vista?

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 17:31:34 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: blogs.wsj.com

Microsoft is turning to a new spokesman to drum up interest in its Windows Vista operating system: Jerry Seinfeld.

The comedian will star alongside Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates in a series of ads meant to counter the popular notion that Vista is a failure, the Journal reports.

What’s the deal with Vista?

Rule Will Make It Harder for Women-Owned Businesses to Win Federal Contracts

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 17:37:24 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: blogs.wsj.com

A Small Business Administration proposed rule, which was first published in the Federal Register last December, would limit the number of federal contracts set aside for women-owned businesses to four industries that are shown to be underrepresented by women. The four are: national security and international affairs; coating, engraving, heat treating and allied activities; household and institutional furniture and kitchen cabinet manufacturing; and motor vehicle dealers.

Federal agencies are supposed to give 5% of all federal contracts to women-owned businesses, but have not yet come close to meeting that goal, according to a news release from the National Association of Women Business Owners.

Readers, do you think all women-owned businesses should be eligible for federal contract set-asides? Why or why not?

Zookeeper feeds baby squirrel in Bulgaria

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 17:00:05 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: blogs.usatoday.com

4 Ways to Save on Your Medical Bills

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 17:44:30 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: www.usnews.com

The report, "Losing Ground: How the Loss of Adequate Health Insurance Is Burdening Working Families," paints a pretty bleak picture of how high healthcare costs are not only causing people to avoid getting the medical care they need but also straining their ability to pay for basic necessities like housing and food.

Make your health plan pay its share. This sounds obvious, but too often people don't demand their due. When they get a notice saying their claim has been rejected, or that the insurer will cover only a portion of the cost, they simply pay up instead of questioning the charge. Don't do that.

Check out government programs

Negotiate with your providers.

Consider prompt payment discounts carefully

Need some help? The Access Project offers free assistance to help consumers deal with medical debt.

Number of Insured Continues to Grow in Massachusetts

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 02:32:51 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: blogs.wsj.com

The number of people with health insurance continues to grow in Massachusetts, home of a closely watched universal health insurance plan.

Some 439,000 people have signed up for insurance since the plan went into effect in 2006, state officials said in a report released yesterday. (The figures exclude Medicare.) That’s more than two-thirds of the estimated 600,000 who were uninsured in the state two years ago, the Boston Globe reports.

Indeed, so many people have signed up for insurance that the program is costing far more than expected, and there’s currently a fight in the state over how to pay for it.

Still, there’s a financial upside. The number of people showing up at emergency rooms for routine care — an inefficient, high-cost way to get such care — has fallen 37% since the plan went into effect, the Globe says. That decline has saved the state an estimated $68 million.

The report is online here; a Washington Post story on the report is here.

Obama Says Single-Payer Health Care Makes Sense

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 02:38:54 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: blogs.wsj.com

Barack Obama said he would consider embracing a single-payer health-care system sometime in the future as his plan for broader health coverage evolves, the WSJ’s Amy Chozick reports from the campaign trail.

“If I were designing a system from scratch, I would probably go ahead with a single-payer system,” Obama told some 1,800 people at a town-hall meeting on the economy in
Albuquerque, New Mexico.

But critics, including every Republican we can think of, cringe at the elimination of competition and deep government involvement in the private sector.

“People don’t have time to wait,” Obama said. “They need relief now. So my attitude is let’s build up the system we got, let’s make it more efficient, we may be over time—as we make the system more efficient and everybody’s covered—decide that there are other ways for us to provide care more effectively.”

American Driving Reaches Eighth Month of Steady Decline topping the 1970s' total decline

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 22:07:46 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray
clipper's remarks: This is a good example of simple supply/demand economics. Demand drops prices drop.

Clip Source: www.fhwa.dot.gov

New data released today by the U.S. Department of Transportation show that, since last November, Americans have driven 53.2 billion miles less than they did over the same period a year earlier – topping the 1970s' total decline of 49.3 billion miles.

Americans drove 4.7 percent less, or 12.2 billion miles fewer, in June 2008 than June 2007.

To review the FHWA's "Traffic Volume Trends" reports, including that of June 2008, visit http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ohim/tvtw/tvtpage.htm.

Wanted: ‘Young Eco-Geniuses’

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 01:46:25 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com

A few months ago, I encouraged Dot Earth contributors who wanted to eschew anonymity and the grayness of text comments to post video greetings. As a result, you’ve had a chance to “meet” Wang Suya, Jeff Huggins and others face to face. Some here think this may help sustain a civil, productive environment on the blog by reminding people that there are human beings out there amid the streams of electrons. Now you get to meet Paul Horan. Sitting amid lemon trees near Malibu, Calif., he offers up a reward to “deserving young eco-geniuses” who are willing to tell today’s ruling class how they define “what’s sustainable and what’s not.”

[Video]

Tell the next U.S. President to make Alzheimer's a priority

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 02:16:10 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: alzheimersreadingroom.blogspot.com

On January 20, 2009 - just a little more than five months from now - a new President of the United States will take office.

No matter who you want to win the election, as supporters of the Alzheimer's Association, there is one thing on which we all agree: the next president must make the United States the world leader in Alzheimer care and research!

That's why, as part of our advocacy and awareness initiatives for World Alzheimer's Day, we're asking caring and compassionate individuals like you to sign the Alzheimer's Association Proclamation to the next President! Make your voice heard in support of more Alzheimer care and research!

We need at least 50,000 signatures to be delivered to the new president in January!

Please sign the Proclamation to the Next President now.

Sign the Alzheimer's Association Proclamation to the next President!

SIGN NOW

Green TV

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 03:24:33 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: photovoltaicsolarpower.blogspot.com

A broadband TV channel for environmental films bringing together films from a range of environmental organizations and independent filmmakers.

Interesting site, worth the trip.

Check out this video Proper Education.

The video has a deep green message. It focuses on climate change and the issues surrounding global warming. Set in a London estate, it shows a gang of young people breaking into local flats, in order to switch appliances off standby, change light bulbs for energy efficient alternatives and place bricks in toilet cisterns.

Etanercept (Enbrel) In Action

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 19:21:00 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: alzheimersreadingroom.blogspot.com

I finally found a website that has a great demonstration of Etanercept in action. The site is called Medscape. It does require a registration. However, the process is easy and it is free.

The page you will be visiting is easy to view and the videos are short and clear. The page also contains the Case Study. The case study is very interesting. Linked pages contain detailed scientific information if that is of interest to you.

Go take a look if you have the time.

Patient with primary progressive aphasia before and 30 minutes after receiving perispinal etanercept

An Olympic Stadium Worth Remembering

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 02:51:50 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray
clipper's remarks: More than 90,000 spectators will stream through its gates on Friday for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games; billions are expected to watch the fireworks on television. At the center of it all is this dazzling stadium, which is said to embody everything from China’s muscle-flexing nationalism to a newfound cultural sophistication.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com