January 2011

There were 62 posts published in January 2011 (this is page 4 of 7).

Telemedicine at the dentist

A crown I had put in 11 years ago began to ache over the last few days so I made the first appointment I could to see my dentist. An x-ray was called for, so the dentist positioned the x-ray emitter at my mouth. This time, though, instead of the usual bite wing he placed a bite wing with a cable on it in my mouth.

After snapping the x-ray, I turned to face the dentist and was surprised to see my x-ray was already displayed on the screen. Cool! No more waiting around for the x-ray to be developed. The dentist could view the problem immediately, too, which means he can put more patients in the chair each day.
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Desert Storm 20 years later

USS Elliot (DD-967) in North Arabian Gulf, circa 1998


Sunday was the 20th anniversary of the start of Operation Desert Storm. Hard to believe it’s been that long.

When Desert Storm started, I was in the Navy and spending a week in training at NSGA Imperial Beach, which was far closer to vacation than war. My ship, the USS Elliot (DD-967), had just come out of the yards for long-needed maintenance so the ship was pierside at the time and the crew was taking advantage of the time ashore to do some training. Like a lot of Americans, my experience of the fighting came from CNN, though I had the advantage of being able to read classified intelligence reports as the war raged.
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Yates Mill and smoking

Smoking is prohibited in this park

We did get around to visiting Yates Mill today and had a great time. About the time we were wrapping up our visit, I asked a staff person inside about the park’s smoking policy.

He told me that the park generally does not have an issue with smokers ignoring the rule. Most are understanding when he’s had to explain it to them but occasionally some get angry. He said he doesn’t want to appear to be the bad guy and usually explains that rules are rules.

He said that the park staff usually don’t bother people who smoke in their cars. He admitted that the rule against is hard to enforce but most people seem to understand. He thought people bringing dogs was a bigger problem, as dogs are also not allowed in the park.

It was my impression that most people do seem to understand, as the park was positively spotless! I didn’t see any trash anywhere during our multiple-hour visit. Even on the mile-long Creekside Trail there was no trash (cigarette butts or otherwise) anywhere to be seen.
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Homemade music: don’t try this in Raleigh

My family and I spent Christmas Eve at my parents’ house. After dinner was over, we got out our instruments and played some music, starting with Christmas songs and then moving on to others, like the bluegrass classic Keep On The Sunnyside, as seen on YouTube. It had been a long time since I’d played with my brothers (and dad) and we all had a great time. It reminded me of something I’ve been considering for a while (actually, ever since my daughter Hallie began violin lessons): hosting a regular jam session at the house for anyone who wanted to come over and play.
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Facebook backups

One of the knocks I had against Facebook when I first started using it is that it’s a walled garden: it’s fun to play inside but there’s little sharing with the outside world. I didn’t want to invest all this time in Facebook without being able to take my work (or, um … should I say “play”) with me should I one day decide to part ways with Facebook.

It used to be that there was no good way to do this, but not any more! On a recent scan of my Facebook settings I discovered a feature I hadn’t seen before: a way to download Facebook information!
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Open source streaming

As you may know, I’ve been streaming my monthly East CAC meetings through Livestream.Com. This is less than ideal because of all the advertisements that get tacked on to my videos. For a year now I’ve been looking for an open source solution to replace Livestream and I think I found it.

The solution is called Red5. It’s an open source implementation of a Adobe Flash server, written in Java. It’s capable of streaming Flash video out to clients from a Linux server and seems pretty battle-tested.
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Chinese moms vs. Western moms: Is there a mother superior?

A rebuttal to the Chinese Mom story I posted recently:

Go to any school today with a “progressive” philosophy and administrators proudly espouse the virtues of addressing the “whole child” and creating an independent, creative, empathetic individual. These are the buzz words that resonate with Western parents. It’s true, we want happy, well adjusted, well rounded children who will contribute to society. We also buy into the theory that creativity, critical thinking and social skills are essential for future success.

Yes, our kids need to excel at algebra, but we want them to not only learn, but to also enjoy learning in a stimulating environment where they can thrive in their own uniqueness. Rote learning is out; individual exploration is in.

via Chinese moms vs. Western moms: Is there a mother superior? – CNN.com.

Ohio Valley Gold and Silver Refinery Ad

Ohio Valley makes big promises

Once again, the News and Observer has run a full-page ad from a less-than-honest company. The company in question is the Ohio Valley Gold and Silver Refinery and their pitch is that they’re paying on the spot for gold, silver, and other collectibles. Ohio Valley is in Chapel Hill today through the 15th, according to the ads.

Ohio Valley has been accused of not giving a fair deal for the items they buy. The Texas Examiner newspaper sent three employees and a coin dealer to visit Ohio Valley’s “roadshow” last year and found Ohio Valley offered prices below the items’ actual worth, sometimes only a third of an items value. Ohio Valley is also the defendant in a federal lawsuit from WGBH in Boston for deceptive advertising and business practices. WGBH produces the popular “Antiques Roadshow” television program.
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Thunderstorms Shoot Antimatter Beams Into Space

Thunderstorms can shoot beams of antimatter into space—and the beams are so intense they can be spotted by spacecraft thousands of miles away, scientists have announced.

Most so-called normal matter is made of subatomic particles such as electrons and protons. Antimatter, on the other hand, is made of particles that have the same masses and spins as their counterparts but with opposite charges and magnetic properties.

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