Go Pats!
Way to go, Patriots!! 41-27 win over the Steelers, and they're on their way back to the big game against the Eagles.
I'm beginning to wonder if I'm bad luck or something. The Patriots won their first Superbowl right after I decided to leave Boston, and since I've left, the Pats have won another, the Red Sox won their first champsionship in 86 years, and the Pats are on their way to another Superbowl win right after they dispatch the hopeless Eagles. Hmmm...maybe I should move to Montreal and then leave - maybe my beloved Canadiens will start winning again.
Cancer fight flawed
Finally, doctors and medical organizations are pointing out the flawed approach that most governments, the McGuinty-led provincial government in Ontario included (and especially), take towards fighting cancer and other major diseases. According to
this article from Sun Media, cancer experts from across the country are taking governments to task for focusing on political expediency and gain instead of thinking about the actions needed to fight cancer long-term. They've started a media blitz, including the web site
www.controlcancer.ca, to help spread the word to the general public that it's not just all about waiting-times, which appears to be all McGuinty's and other governments are working to reduce. To learn more, go to the web site, and I urge you to sign the petition demanding a more comprehensive, long-term national strategy.
'Living' robots powered by muscle
According to
this article in BBC News, tiny robots powered by living muscle have been created by scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles. Heart cells from a rat were attached to plastic "bones"; when the heart cells contract, the bones are pulled and pushed, moving the tiny robot along. The cells continue to thrive and reproduce even after they've been attached to the plastic structure, and they do so without any external source of power.
Drug-centered health
Merck and Johnson&Johnson have
petitioned the FDA to allow them to sell Merck's cholesterol-reducing drug Mevacor over the counter, instead of through with a presciption. While this is not the first time they've done so, it appears there is more momentum behind their request now, and other pharma companies are starting to get into the act as well.
As much I believe that drugs are the future of healthcare and that we need to be looking more at drugs as a way of reducing other healthcare costs, I'm not sure about this particular situation. Cholesterol level is something that can be controlled through diet and exercise, and I think that preventive healthcare through moderation and modulation of your lifestyle is even more important than prevention through the use of medications.
The FDA's advisory panel is apparently looking at issues like whether patients would bother to determine if they have liver disease (which can be severely aggravated by these "statins"), whether patients would continue to monitor their cholesterol level after taking the drug, and whether patients who won't be helped by the drug will take the drug anyway (apparently a small percentage of people with cholesterol problems will be positively affected). The way I see it, those are all issues that individual patients can and should be responsible for; if I as an individual want to take a medicine, I should be allowed to do that without too much interference from the government (assuming I'm spending my own money, of course, which I would be in the case of OTC drugs).
What concerns me is the longer term effect of seeing a citizenry that relies more and more on drugs to prevent and treat conditions that should be treated by living a more healthy lifestyle.
Investing: Hidden Gems
The Motley Fool had an interesting
article a couple of days ago on a 5-minute screening process to find hidden gems.
I'll submit a fuller comment later, as well as provide the methodology that my
biotechnology investment club uses to find biotech companies that we consider worth investing in. For now, take a look at the Fool's article - it's worth the read.
The Homer Simpson epidemic
Great
article in Slate today on the prevalence of sitcoms with a fat, slovenly, immature guy married to a beautiful, elegant, and patient wife. Oh, dare to dream.
All's right with the hockey world again
After Canada's
6-1 win over Russia in the world junior hockey championship gold medal game, we can finally feel truly proud of our hockey tradition again. Our juniors are world champs; our men are World Cup and Olympic champs; and our women are world and Olympic champs. It's been a long time since Canada was so dominant in the international arena, and even longer since we consistently blew opponents away, as the
juniors did over the past two weeks. And to end the tournament with a blowout over the only team that was supposed to be our equals, well that was just icing on the cake.
All's right with our hockey world again, just a few short years after the government put together a Royal Commission to look into the state of the nation's hockey programs. Only in Canada could there have been so much angst over this sport, and only in Canada can there be so much joy and relief at being the kings of the ice again. Go Canada Go!
Newfie flag flap
According to Newfoundland's premier, Ottawa is
fomenting negative feelings against his decision to remove Canadian flags from all provincial buildings in protest of the perceived unfairness of Ottawa's offer regarding Newfoundland's offshore oil revenues.
I've got news for you, Williams: Ottawa doesn't have to do a damn thing for the rest of Canada to be pissed at you for removing the flag. Last time I checked, the federal government was not in charge of CTV, Quebecor, canada.com, or the Globe and Mail (I'll reserve judgment on the CBC), and ALL of these media outlets have been reporting on your moves. It's your decision itself that's pissing us off, not Ottawa's spin on it.
I don't claim to be an expert on all things Newfoundland (although a couple of Newfie friends have tried to enlighten me over the past few days), but no matter what the issue is, removing the Canadian flag puts you in the same camp as the separatist Quebec politicians who are reviled by free-thinking Canadians outside Quebec (and many inside). Grow up and stop playing the games that you're accusing Ottawa of playing.
Bucking the resolution trend
I'm sitting here with my roommate, recovering from a night of exuberance to ring in the New Year, discussing the topic of resolutions. According to him, it's lame to make resolutions for a number of reasons that include the arbitrariness of choosing to do it on a particular day of the year. I don't care, I'm going to do it anyway; if most people don't make resolutions any more because it's lame, then it's time to start the counterrevolution and begin making resolutions again.
The thing is, making resolutions about things we want to change doesn't work. If all we do is resolve what we want to do differently, then we spend the year regretting all the things that we're NOT doing. We're bound to fail, because the resolutions are inherently negative. I think what I need to do is balance out my resolutions; sure, make decisions to do things differently, but also acknowledge the things I've done in the past year that I'm proud of/happy about, and resolve to continue doing those. That way, if/when I review my progress against my resolutions, I'll at least have something positive in there.
So, here goes, starting with the typical ones.
I do solemnly resolve to:
- Lose 20 pounds by eating healthier and working out/playing squash 3 times a week.
- Stop watching syndicated sitcoms just because they're on TV and it's easier than doing something productive.
- Volunteer for a charity, to continue the volunteer teaching I did last May.
- Spend as much time with my family and friends as I did in 2004, and make an effort to better keep in touch with friends far away.
- Don't declare war against a sovereign nation.
- Continue to take the initiative in starting new ventures as with LSDI, and the Ivey golf tournaments.
I figure if nothing else, I should be able to keep #5.
Monkey Business: Swinging Through the Wall Street Jungle