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16 May 2010 12:02

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U.S.: Some people paralyzed by food allergies they don’t really have

Yeah, some people are allergic to peanuts, but a new study suggests that some people often freak out over food allergies they don’t actually have. In other words, they’re nuts. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 May 2010 10:27

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U.S.: The Deepwater Horizon spill causes huge plumes of oil to form

  • 10 miles the length of one of the oil plumes, which is also a mile wide
  • 30% the decrease in oxygen in some parts of the ocean due to the oil spill source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 May 2010 20:25

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Biz, U.S.: The Senate’s financial reform bill trying to limit nickel-and-diming

  • 50¢ limits to ATM fees could be coming, too, guys source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 May 2010 13:50

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U.S.: Just to scare you, here’s a quote about a deadly staph infection

  • One of the problems with MRSA, one of the reasons why it’s become what I consider a true crisis, is that I really don’t think we’ve been taking it sufficiently seriously for a very long time.
  • “Superbug: The Fatal Menace of MRSA” author Maryn McKenna • Regarding one of the deadliest, most-resistant diseases out there, and one that’s often been ignored by those with power to stop it. The drug, which kills 19,000 each year and sickens millions more, is infamous in hospitals, where it infected one Seattle hospital so badly in 1980 that they had to close the intensive-care and burn units and build new ones. Now it’s worse and more drug-resistant than it’s ever been. Scared? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 4 Comments • Permalink

13 May 2010 22:02

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U.S.: Should we trust the numbers we’ve been hearing from the oil spill?

  • The government has a responsibility to get good numbers. If it’s beyond their technical capability, the whole world is ready to help them.
  • Florida State University oceanographer Ian R. MacDonald • Regarding the numbers the government has been using to explain the growth of the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. MacDonald and others claim that the spill has spewed forth far more than 5,000 barrels a day (still very high), and suggest that the method that they used to measure the spill was not designed for spills the size of the uncontrollably-spewing Gulf spill. For its part, oil company BP suggested that the leak could spew as much as 60,000 barrels a day – in other words, an Exxon Valdez worth of oil every four days. Scared yet? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 May 2010 20:59

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Biz, U.S.: The Senate wants to take the bite out of debit-card “swipe fees”

  • 64 senators voted to add the amendment to the financial reform bill
  • 65% of debit transactions
    will be affected by
    the changes
  • yes the bill will allow incentives for those who pay with cash source
  • » The addition, explained: Banks and other financial institutions charge fees for consumers to use debit cards. The fees aren’t significant for big-ticket retail chains but can hurt the bottom line of small businesses or those that specialize in selling lots of inexpensive items (say, 7-Eleven or McDonald’s). These fees can get passed down to the consumer as a result. The bill limits how much those fees can be, but leaves exceptions for banks with less than $10 billion in assets. Credit unions, by the way, are complaining loudly about these changes, in particular.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 May 2010 20:41

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U.S.: “Law and Order” possibly canceled? Say it ain’t so, guys!

  • The show may or may not survive after its 20th season. It’s a show you can seemingly make new plots for without even trying. That’s a characteristic that’s served it well through two decades and multiple spin-offs. But NBC may be ready to move on, according to a Deadline Hollywood report (which NBC is currently keeping mum about). Above, we put the cast of the most classic era. Let’s face it, Jerry Orbach was born to be on this show! While Anthony Anderson and Jeremy Sisto are great, they just can’t hold a candle to this fabulous foursome. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

13 May 2010 10:57

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U.S.: The new housing trend? Walkable neighborhoods, not suburbs

  • Ten years ago, conventional large-lot housing in wealthy suburbs was the highest-priced housing, per square foot, in nearly all metropolitan areas. Today, housing in walkable neighborhoods is typically the most expensive; the lines crossed in the 2000s.
  • The Atlantic writer Christopher B. Leinberger • Noting the evolution in housing from the suburb back to the city. As housing values have gone down significantly, cities have started to come out back on top again. In particular, Leinberger notes the example of the D.C. metro area: The Metro system largely paid for many of its stations by having property owners pay more in taxes for a handful of years, then watched as their neighborhoods flourished. As a result, housing values in those areas have decreased at a much lower rate than that of the suburban areas which used to cost more. This should be a major hint for even mid-sized cities that they should invest in mass transit. (Hat tip to The Awl, which focused on the auto end of this argument.) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 May 2010 10:40

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U.S.: Bad sign: Murder is up in many major cities this year

  • 149 murders in New York City so far this year, versus 134 at the same point last year; 13 were kids
  • 120 murders in Chicago
    (111 last year); a major leap in murder last month was a root cause
  • 104 murders in Philadelphia (101 last year); crime is mostly down in Philly this year
  • 103 murders in Los Angeles (100 last year); violent crime is otherwise down this year source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 May 2010 21:14

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Biz, U.S.: The federal deficit blew the roof off of April’s record

  • 19 straight months of federal
    deficit increases source
  • » Why it’s alarming this time: It’s relatively rare for deficit increases to happen in the month of April, due to the fact that it’s tax season and lots of revenue is coming in. In fact, there’s been an April surplus 43 of the last 56 years. Even crazier, the increase this April was four times bigger than last April, from $20 billion to $83 billion. That’s also twice the Wall Street estimate of $40 billion.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 8 Comments • Permalink
 
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