Maybe it should just stop giving it.
To paraphrase Inigo Montoya: It killed my father. It should prepare to die.
Category Archives: Business
Hospital Food
There’s no doubt it could use a lot of improvement, but I think this is bogus:
Dr. Eisenberg says the jury is no longer out on the benefits of eating a more plant-based diet with less refined foods, sugar and red meat. A study published last year in JAMA estimated that nearly half of the deaths from heart disease, stroke and Type 2 diabetes are caused by poor diet.
They are, but there’s zero evidence that red meant causes any of them. Patricia had to spend a night in the hospital for a procedure a few weeks ago, and her breakfast was terrible, nutritionally.
[Update a few minutes later]
Related: Incorrect diagnoses kill 80,000 people per year.
The medical profession gets far too much respect.
Gmail
I have an account, but I only use it as an emergency back up. This is why.
SpaceX’s Near-Death Experience
Eric Berger has an interesting story, that I remember. It’s hard to believe it’s been a decade.
Oops
This is such a weird story.
Why would one have to “remember” to “flip a switch” to provide cabin pressure? Why didn’t the crew “flip the switch” when they realized what was happening to the passengers?
Informed Consent
Laura Montgomery explains the legal situation with the lunar voyage. It’s a reminder that the regulatory moratorium expires in 2023. I continue to believe that it should have no expiration date, and should remain in place indefinitely, at least until there is a political consensus that regulation is required.
The Greening Of The Earth
Few, if any, dispute that atmospheric CO2 levels have been increasing since the industrial revolution. What is in dispute is the effects of this. The prevailing media narrative is that “OMG we’re all gonna die!” but this is an interesting post.
Elon’s Announcement
I didn’t see it, and I couldn’t view it on my notebook because Firefox can’t handle HTML5 (WTF?).
But from what I can glean from my Twitter feed, the plan to send a bunch of artists into space excited a lot of people on Twitter not normally excited about what SpaceX has been doing (we saw a similar effect with the FH launch of the Tesla and rocket man, though some who didn’t like that love this). Anyway, I’ve been saying all weekend, and told people at the conference today that I’d be very surprised if someone booked an entire BFR flight and didn’t take friends along. The other thing that seems clear is that the schedule is slipping (Commercial Crew has slipped from November to December for test flight, and from next April to “second quarter” for first crewed launch).
Only about 5% of SpaceX resources are going to BFR currently, but once development is done on Commercial Crew, that will increase dramatically, but a 2023 lunar mission means no Mars prior to that. His flight, given the amount of the down payment, will be the highest BFR priority. Here’s a link from Business Insider.
[Tuesday-morning update]
Here‘s Eric Berger’s take.
Earth-Departure Orbital Mechanics
An interesting post over at Selenian Boondocks.
I’m heading to the airport in a while to head back to Florida, but this time to Orlando for the annual AIAA space conference (which it looks like will not be wiped out by a hurricane as it was by Irma a year ago).
A Sea Change In Dietary Advice
Low-carb should be the first approach in treating diabetes and obesity.
[Update a few minutes later]
Meanwhile, “Big Pasta” Barilla has been meddling in nutrition science.
[Sunday-morning update]
No, despite the headline, there is zero scientific evidence that listing calories on menus is helping people lose weight, and this article provides none. This “study” is nonsense. First, it’s self reporting. Second, it’s premised on the assumption, for which there is zero evidence, that counting calories is helpful, when calorie counting is a scientifically bogus concept, that assumes all calories are equal in their effects on metabolism. The kind of calories matter, and the way they measure calories, by literally burning food, is not how your body metabolizes calories, so it doesn’t even make sense thermodynamically.