Once they learn to drive, there’ll be no stopping them.

Destructive testing: pretty impressive.

Another hug from a big kitty. (Earlier hug here.)

Greenwald’s good, damn good:

Nancy Pelosi - “Damaged Goods”?

Before Nancy Pelosi was even inaugurated as Speaker, the super-smart Washington punditocracy had all but declared her an absurd failure — a figure far too weak, vindictive and just generally ridiculous to be able to get anything done. After all, she backed Jack Murtha rather than Steney Hoyer for Majority Leader and decided she didn’t want Jane Harman as Intelligence Committee Chair, so her whole Speakership had unraveled before it even began.

CNN’s Wolf Blitzer spoke behind onscreen text that read: “Damaged Goods”? Blitzer inquired: “how badly is Nancy Pelosi damaged politically?” In U.S. News & World Report, Gloria Borger accused Pelosi of “demeaning” her “exalted position” and said she “look[s] like a girl eager to ‘get back’ at the guy she didn’t like.” MSNBC had a lengthy giggling session devoted to nothing but hilarious mockery over what a silly failure Pelosi was (as Digby, who watched that segment put it: they “have just spent half an hour discussing the fact that Nancy Pelosi ruined her own honeymoon and now it is really questionable whether she can lead”).

Slate’s Timothy Noah decreed: “Let Pelosi remain speaker for now. But let her know that, before the new Congress even begins, she has placed herself on probation.” Noah warned her: “One more strike—even a minor misstep—and House Democrats will demonstrate that they, unlike Speaker-elect Pelosi and President Bush, know how to correct their mistakes.” And the very-in-the-know New Republic commentators agreed heartily that Pelosi’s first week had been a “real embarrassment” and a “disaster” and fretted in unison: “How can Pelosi recover?”

On and on that went for weeks — the hapless Democrats burdened with this vindictive, bitter woman who had alienated everyone with her petty bickering to the point where her “ability to lead” was in question. And all of that wisdom solidified in mid-November, almost two full months before Pelosi was even Speaker.

Now that she has actually begun, how do those prognostications look? About as good as the punditocracy’s prognostications about Iraq. From AP today:

New House Speaker Shows She’s Boss

Sworn in just over two weeks ago as the first female speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi wasted no time showing who’s boss.

The California Democrat rammed six major bills through the House at breakneck speed, stomped out smoking privileges near the House floor, partially sidelined a powerful Democratic committee chairman and decided she liked traditionally Republican office space so much she claimed it for herself.

By Democrats’ timekeeping, she did it all in far under the 100 legislative hours she had allotted. . . .

Pelosi’s initial agenda, completed Thursday, included measures with wide popular support: increasing the minimum wage, broadening stem cell research, allowing government bargaining on Medicare drug prices, cutting student loan costs, putting in place terrorism-fighting recommendations from the Sept. 11 commission and rolling back energy company tax breaks.

Each bill passed with bipartisan majorities and Pelosi triumphantly gaveled down the votes, at one point banging the gavel so enthusiastically that it left a small dent in the podium. . . .

Pelosi is held in higher regard than the president or her colleagues in the Congress. An AP-AOL News poll taken Jan. 16-18 put her approval rating at 51 percent — much higher than that of Congress (34 percent) or Bush (36 percent).

Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., a close ally, called Pelosi’s performance “spectacular.”

“What the Democrats in the caucus are telling me is that this is the best three weeks of their life,” he crowed.

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From The Carpetbagger:

I recently suggested that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is in the process of moving the goalposts when it comes to his favored policy for troop escalation in Iraq. As of today, McCain’s only consistency is his willingness to be inconsistent.

Let’s take a look at McCain’s position over the last couple of months.

* Three months ago, McCain we should send 20,000 more troops to Iraq.

* Two weeks ago, McCain said 20,000 more troops aren’t enough.

* A day later, McCain said he wasn’t sure if 20,000 more troops would be enough.

* One week ago, McCain said 20,000 more troops are enough.

* And today, McCain is back to saying 20,000 aren’t enough again.

On NBC’s Meet the Press, McCain said, “I would have liked to have seen more” troops sent to Iraq. He added, “If it had been up to me,” more U.S. troops would be on their way into Baghdad.

Remember, McCain’s principle selling points as a candidate are a) his “expertise” on military matters; and b) his consistency.

Some things people feel passionately about: their religion, for example, or their politics, or their cookware.

So I know I’m venturing into a dangerous area, but still…

All-Clad Stainless and/or All-Clad Copper-Core is my cookware of choice. (You might find better prices than at Metrokitchen (the links), but in my experience they’ve been quite good.)

The All-Clad nonstick pans have the same drawbacks as all non-stick surfaces: the coating is an insulator, so you can’t brown stuff. Plus you have to worry about the coating getting too hot or getting scratched and the like. Forget the nonstick stuff.

Anyway, the plain stainless surfaces are pretty much nonstick anyway—rarely does anything stick in my sauté pan, for example. And if something does (or, more likely, the steel gets that rainbow effect from being heated too quickly to a high temperature), any of the specialty stainless cleansers clean it off with just a dishrag: Cameo, Bar Keepers Friend, Kleen King. You can find these at your supermarket. (Here’s some additional care guidance.)

I do use nylon or nylon-coated or wood tools—spoons, spatulas, and the like—to avoid scratching the surface, which keeps it nonstick. (Here’s a great source of wood spoons and tools. In particular, I use this one constantly—stirring, turning, and all sorts of cooking.)

One great thing about the All-Clad Stainless and Copper-Core lines is that the handles are metal. This means, for example, that you can put any of the pieces in a hot oven or under the broiler without worrying about the handle. Of course, in that case the handle will get hot—but if you’re cooking on top of the stove, the handle does not get hot. Nor does it break or degrade or (my pet peeve) loosen.

I started getting this stuff when Cook’s Illustrated was testing a lot of cookware, and the All-Clad Stainless kept coming out on top. The pieces I use most:

Read the rest of this entry »

Remember this post? Well, I’ve been using ReminderFox ever since, and it’s really cool and really useful. If you use Firefox, as so many do, check it out.

I blogged about this previously: an inexpensive (and unpatentable) drug that is effective against cancer but cannot be marketed because there has been no clinical trial—and drug companies won’t spend the money on a clinical trial because they can’t make obscene profits from the drug.

But isn’t that exactly why we have the National Institutes of Health? They are supposed to direct government (i.e., taxpayer) money to medical research that will benefit us. Of course, the NIH scientists have been discovered to be seriously in bed with the drug companies, and they may be more interested in protecting their benefactors than helping the public. But surely, if we write to the appropriate Congressional committees, they can poke the NIH into action on this. Can’t they?

Here’s a recent editorial on the topic:

Some new cancer drugs emerge through better understanding of how the disease develops. Others work in ways we do not understand, and so give us fresh insight. It is rare to find a drug that sweeps away decades of assumptions and reveals a radical approach to treating all forms of the disease.

The drug is a simple, small molecule called dichloroacetate (DCA). Research in Canada led by Evangelos Michelakis of the University of Alberta has shown that it has promising anti-cancer properties. That’s not all. The drug’s mode of action is also generating excitement.

In 1930, biochemist Otto Warburg proposed that cells turn cancerous by changing the way they generate energy. Normally, cells rely on specialised organelles called mitochondria to supply their energy. Cancer cells switch to a process called glycolysis, which takes place in the body of the cell. It is an inefficient process, used by many bacteria — and marathon runners — when oxygen is in short supply.

Curiously, Warburg found that cancer cells continue to use glycolysis even when oxygen is plentiful. He argued that this fact, now called the Warburg effect, was a defining property of cancer cells. However, the idea did not catch on, not least because another famous biochemist, Hans Krebs, said the Warburg effect was only a symptom of cancer, not its primary cause. This scepticism was reinforced by the belief that cancer cells only switch to glycolysis because their mitochondria fail.

Enter DCA, which has been used for years to treat people with mitochondrial disease. The drug boosts the ability of mitochondria to generate energy. When given to cancer cells, it did the same: it seems that mitochondria in cancer cells are not irreparably damaged after all. What’s more, functioning mitochondria help to kill off these aberrant cells (see “Cheap, safe drug kills most cancers“).

Read the rest of this entry »

Some have a propensity to catch colds. Prevention magazine gives some advice on how to avoid colds:

Bad news, germophobes: Common cold viruses are more tenacious than anyone thought–rhinoviruses can live on hard surfaces for at least 18 hours.

When researchers from the University of Virginia asked 15 sniffly cold sufferers to stay overnight in a hotel, they found that 35 percent of the items the volunteers had touched were contaminated with cold germs.

“You don’t have to come in close contact with someone to give them a cold,” says study author Owen Hendley, MD. Washing your hands frequently is still your best line of defense, but go the extra mile to protect your family:

Flick switches with the side of your hand or wrist, which makes you less likely to pick up or pass along germs on your hands.

Make all calls on your cell to avoid getting germs from other phones.

Carry your own pen everywhere. Borrowing others’ is a prime way to pass germs.

Clean up often. Use a soapy sponge to wipe surfaces you touch frequently. [And wash your hands often. It's your hands that carry the germs. - LG]

Sneeze into your elbow if you’re caught without a tissue (and teach kids to do the same). It keeps germs off your hands.

Toss all tissues promptly. Making others do it puts them at risk. [And make others toss their own damn tissues. - LG]

At least it sounds very tasty. Maybe The Son will try it out and report back.

We knew it, sort of, but now we know it. The British Medical Journal reports:

Changing to a healthier lifestyle appears to be at least as effective as taking prescription drugs in reducing the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, says a new British Medical Journal study.

Type 2 diabetes is a growing problem — in England around 1.3 million people have diabetes and around 5% of total NHS resources are used for the care of people with diabetes.

Researchers from Leicester reviewed studies which measured the effects of different interventions — lifestyle, diabetes drug and anti-obesity drug — on people with impaired glucose tolerance. (People with impaired glucose tolerance have a high risk of developing type II diabetes.)

They found that lifestyle changes — e.g., switching to a healthier diet and increasing exercise — to be at least as effective as taking prescription drugs. On average, lifestyle changes helped to reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by around half. Lifestyle changes were also less likely to have adverse side-effects.

However, the researchers say that both lifestyle changes and prescription drug taking must be sustained in order to prevent the development of Type 2 diabetes.

The authors say that as global rates of Type 2 diabetes are likely to double by 2030, interventions to prevent the condition will have an important role to play in future health policies. The study findings have large implications for public health policy. However, the authors note that if lifestyle changes are to be truly effective more needs to be done to support people to adopt healthier lifestyles.

Take a look—it’s beautiful

I don’t get it. Today I weigh 226.7 = BMI 29.9 = not obese. That’s quite a difference (in lbs) for a day. I guess I should just continue dieting and add exercise and not worry about it.

Yesterday I did have roasted baby back ribs for a treat, but was careful about the sides and had a 1414-calorie day, including a couple of persimmons.

I use Penzeys Bicentennial Rub on the ribs, and also some Penzeys Pork Jerk. Roasted at 300 degrees uncovered for 2 1/2 hours. (Spareribs I do for 3 hours.) Very tasty.

From Slashfood today comes a review of a cookbook you’re likely to love:

The cover illustration from Grilled Cheese: 50 Recipes to Make You Melt is more than enough to stop any grilled-cheese lover in their tracks. And fortunately, when it comes to cookbooks, making your selection based on the cover illustration isn’t an entirely bad idea.

The single-subject cookbook contains 50 recipes that are the very embodiment of comfort food. Some are simple combinations and others are a bit more involved, but all result in a warm, satisfying and delicious meal. The book opens with a detailed discussion of various types of cheeses and the pros and cons of using each for this particular type of sandwich. Some of the ingredients, in addition to various types of cheeses, that are added to the sandwiches are prosciutto, creme fraiche, fig jam, pesto, fresh herbs and sausages. And in addition to simply listing the various ways in which the ingredients can be combined, the book is filled with tips for toasting them to perfection (very helpful if you don’t own a panini press) and on how to select the right sorts of bread for grilling. Highlights include Bacon and Cheddar with Chipotle Relish, Halloumi Sandwiches with Lime, Goat Cheese and Cilantro Mint Ginger Quesadillas and Grilled Ham, Cheese and Pineapple.

In the old St. John’s coffee shop, back in the day, a grilled cheese with bacon and tomato was a much-loved sandwich.