urbanvelo

http://urbanvelo.org/urban-legend-call-for-submissions/

http://urbanvelo.org/?p=12460

Urban Velo #16 featured an article about Mike Shih, an Urban Legend of Philadelphia known for his “future primitive” lifestyle and sharing his love of bicycling. Stories like these are best told by the people who know these under-the-radar legends in their own right. Every city has a few, and we’d like to hear about yours. Email Brad for submission guidelines if you’d like to share your local legend.

docsearls

http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/doc/2009/11/23/wgbhwcrb-go-the-way-of-wnycwqxr/

The longest thread in the history of this blog belongs to Why WQXR is better off as a public radio station, which I posted on July 26, and still has comments this month. The post followed a complex deal by which the New York Times divested its legacy classical music station, WQXR — and by which the station’s format, call letters, record library and some of its personnel survived as a noncommercial outlet of WNYC, on a different channel with a weaker signal. From the comments one might gather that more listeners were unhappy than happy with the deal. My post mostly presented the upside.

Now here in Boston a similar move is underway. WGBH, “Boston’s NPR arts and culture station” will go the way of WNYC-FM, which phased out classical music starting in 2002, eventually shunting it to HD side-channels and Internet streams while populating the FM signal (as well as its AM one) with news and information programming, which tends to be more popular and to attract more money in listener contributions. By saving WQXR, WNYC returned classical music to the airwaves (although the city was still down one classical station, or two if you want to go back to the very late WNCN.) WGBH clearly had the same thing in mind when it bought WCRB, which was already weakened in the Boston metro when it moved from its old local channel (102.5) to its current channel (99.5) in Lowell. (Wikipedia has good background poop on WCRB’s own long saga.) While both WCRB signals have about the same range, the old 102.5 signal radiates from the Boston FM and TV antenna farm in nearby Needham, while the new one on 99.5 comes from a hill overlooking the I-495/I93 intersection, far to the north near the New Hampshire border.

So now WGBH plans to move its classical programming to WCRB, whch will become a non-commercial station (as did WQXR), and to do more news and information programming on its own home signal (89.7), which is grandfathered at nearly 100,000 watts on Great Blue Hill (hence the call letters) in Milton on the south side of Boston. In terms of wattage alone, it is New England’s most powerful station. (The largest coverage belongs to WHOM/94.9 on Mt. Washington in New Hampshire.) As a result WGBH can go head-to-head with WBUR/90.9, which is the incumbent public radio leader in Boston.

The big switch happens on December 1.

WGBH is doing its best to gloss over the signal loss for classical listeners, especially in the southern reaches of Eastern Massachusetts, where WGBH has a very strong signal and WCRB is mostly absent. My own take in this case is the same as it was for WQXR: this is the best that could be done for classical music on Boston airwaves — and it offers opportunities not possible for WCRB had it remained a commercial station. Go back to that first link if you want to see what those are.

As for me, I expect to be more likely to listen to a ‘GBH-run noncommercial WCRB than I did to the commercial one. First, the commercials were annoying. Second, the WCRB repertoire was pretty close to all-hits, rather than the more varied and challenging fare found on WGBH. There should be a happy medium between the two, and I’m sure ‘GBH will work hard to find it.

Finally, a word about HD radio. I got one recently — a $99 Teac unit — at Costco. The tuner is remarkably good, and it gets most local stations’ HD side-channels. But “tuning” HD is a counter-intuitive chore. I’d be curious to know if anybody (beside those who pick a channel and stay put) has had a positive experience with tuning it.

number1dinosaur

http://dinosaurmusings.blogspot.com/2009/11/count-me-in.html

Dark Chocolate: The New Anti-Anxiety Drug?

The results of this new study are intriguing and shed more light on the biochemical basis behind dark chocolate’s health benefits.

googleblog

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/MKuf/~3/pB55vRUu-Ig/easy-holiday-shopping-with-google.html

• Our new gallery view shows larger, higher-resolution images to help pick the style or model that is right for you. Check out some [digital cameras] or [sweater boots].

• Check the Reviews section of our product pages before you buy — we're now including review summaries to help you see what people are saying at a glance. 

• We've recently integrated video product reviews from YouTube, which appear right on the product pages so you can get an in-depth look at items before you buy. 

• If you want to see or purchase an item in person, click nearby stores to see a map of nearby store locations for that seller. 

• Product Search works great on mobile phones, so you can compare prices, read reviews and even find coupons from the Local Business Center while you're shopping. You can also use the nifty barcode scanner on your phone to compare prices quickly and easily.

runningahospita

http://runningahospital.blogspot.com/2009/11/nicu-goes-lean.html

googleblog

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/MKuf/~3/7Z31g60Ofso/displaying-best-display-ad-with.html

indexed_feed

http://thisisindexed.com/2009/11/since-1992/

http://thisisindexed.com/?p=12414

runningahospita

http://runningahospital.blogspot.com/2009/11/click-here-to-see-pink-gloves.html

urbanvelo

http://urbanvelo.org/st-cago-polo-works-bike-polo-mallet-heads/

http://urbanvelo.org/?p=12435

Hardcourt bike polo is largely still sorting things out when it comes to equipment, and mallets are no exception. While the vast majority of players use aluminum ski poles for shafts, heads vary widely player to player and city to city. Most are variations on the theme of a 2-3″ outer diameter plastic-like pipe, much of it somewhat strangely ruled by local plumbing and building codes and what then ends up in the hardware store. If it’s out there, someone has tried it with many settling on HDPE as a preferred material as it is resistant to cracks, wears predictably and is relatively lightweight. Commonly available as pieces of uncapped municipal gas pipe, some players prefer a capped end for a more positive striking surface. Of the various cap solutions fusing materials together under heat and pressure has proven to work long term, even if it isn’t the easiest way of doing things.

St. Cago Polo Works is one guy in his kitchen working with rented pipe fusing equipment, custom HDPE caps and various lengths of HDPE pipe to create some of the nicer capped mallet heads out there. At this point, all of them are being made from 2 3/8″ outside diameter HDPE pipe, with single and double capped versions available depending on player preferences. The shown double capped heads were purchased back in August and have seen quite a bit of use since. The heads each certainly show wear, but at the same time appear to have plenty of life left in them. No cracks are apparent, and the fused joint is still solid even if it is drilled out for weight in a few spots. Of some 300 heads out there there are about a dozen reports of the fusion joint failing, with an informal replacement policy if it pops off within the first few weeks of play. Equally important, the hole that the shaft enters has not deformed over time, leaving the head tight. After 3-months of solid play these heads are holding up better than any others I’ve yet tried.

Due to the nature of the St Cago Polo Works operation, mallet heads are available somewhat sporadically, seemingly coinciding with larger scale tournaments in the Midwest and beyond. The most recent batch of heads is sold out, but due to demand and was overwhelmingly of the single capped variety and not drilled at all, leaving the end user the ability to mount that head at any offset or angle so desired. Expect to pay $13 or so per head plus shipping charges, a small price to pay considering how hard it can be to find HDPE pipe in some locations in the first place. Go to this thread on bikepolo.ca for more information about ordering, and to get on the list for the next batch with delivery estimated in time for the St. Louis Dead of Winter Polo Lock-In.

medrants2

http://www.medrants.com/archives/5020

http://www.medrants.com/?p=5020

So yesterday was day 9.  We have 4 patients, relatively stable, on call today.  We did have a major teaching point.

We have a patient with legitimate severe pain.  The intern had written a prn order for a narcotic.  The patient complained that he was not getting the pain medicine often enough.

This is a teachable moment.  Our palliative care physicians have taught me the superiority of order pain med every 4 – patient may refuse.  The resident knew that; I knew that; yet we had not noticed.  So we changed the order yesterday with a new twist I learned – "do not awaken patient to give".

So our big lesson yesterday involved making narcotic administration more patient centric.

Back to our acid base problem from yesterday:

The patient is in his 50s and has known hep C positivity (possible cirrhosis) and recent nephrotic syndrome.  How do you dissect information just from his electrolyte panel.  One other hint – his albumin is 2.2.

My explanation – the anion gap is 15.  We would normally consider that a minor elevation, but here is the teaching point – the expected anion gap is around 7 because the albumin is only 2.2.  The albumin normally is the major component of the anion gap.  We could subtract 2.5 *1.8 (4g normal – 2.2g observed) from 12.  The multiplication gives 4.5, so 4.5 from 12 equals 7.5. 

At UAB we use the shortcut – albumin times 3 – that gives us an expected gap of 6.6.  Either way we expect a gap of 6-8.  Our actual gap is 15, thus we have an excess gap of approximately 8.

First, we must explain the gap.  This is a classic uremic anion gap acidosis – the patient has a markedly elevated PO₄  of 6.6.  While we cannot use a formula to estimate the gap from an elevated PO₄ this clearly is in range.  When we do the "delta gap" we add 8 (the excess gap) to 18 (the observed bicarb) to obtain a "initial bicarb" of 26 – i.e. normal once we subtract the gap.

This finding was a bit surprising because so many predialysis patients do have a normal gap acidosis.

The patient did great with his first 2 dialyses.  His phosphate is now normalized, and his gap is normal.

Related posts:

1. 17 days at the VA – Day 1
2. 17 days at the VA – Day 3
3. 17 days at the VA – Day 4

commutebybike

http://commutebybike.com/2009/11/23/civia-loring-i-motion-review-full-review/

http://commutebybike.com/?p=3814

For background on parts or build questions, check out our Introduction or Initial Thoughts article from last week.  To find all articles on this review check out the Civia Loring Review tag.

The Civia Loring has been close to my every day ride for over a month now.  We’ve been through all types of weather, conditions and over many variations of terrain.  Below are my longer term thoughts of the bike.  Please take in note that I’ve had the bike for a little over a month and this is a bike in for review.  There are things I would of changed on the bike for long term ownership, but those are stated at the end of the review.

Initial Thoughts

A full recap of my Initial Thoughts can be found over here, but the ones that I would like to expand on :

The Ride, its easy and comfortable but also different.  This is a bike that is meant to go from point a to b, and a decent pace but not a race pace.  It is more efficient than the Batavus BUB I have in for review, but not close to a sporty Trek FX.

The Brooks Saddle, we finally came at peace with each other with many micro adjustments which weren’t made easy with the stock Truvativ seatpost. (Good seatpost, bad to adjust.)  The seat still isn’t perfect over 15 miles, but we have become friends.

The Basket is a beautiful thing and I have begun to wish all my commuter bikes had one with this size.  The biggest downfall, I have found, with something this large on the front of your bike is the lack of track standing.  I simply can’t do one with any extra weight in the front basket.  I’ll take that failure with stride and continue to love the basket!

The Rear Rack is a failure, thankfully the front basket makes up for the rear rack.  It looks nice and maybe with a top rack bag it would work well.  All my attempts to ride with a pannier system failed once my heel clipped the bag continuously (I wear a size 42 EU shoe) and the furthest rear strut back on the rack kept many of my panniers from working (Orlieb and Knog.)

Personality and Details of the Civia Loring

Some of the nicer touches of the Loring include: The light mount under the basket, a U-Lock holder on that basket.  The bamboo fenders, which were mentioned to be weather proofed, and the matching bamboo inlay with the front basket and rear rack.  Finally the head tube badge and model badge on the top tube are awesome.  To the point I want a “Civia” head tube badge for a key ring.

Some touches I personally would like different : The mount that the chain guard bolts to on the chain stay is very easily bent and I could see it broken off.  This would leave the chain guard useless, or needed to be zip-tied.   Don’t put a Brooks seat on a stock bike.  The Brooks seat not only added to the final cost of the bike, but may not be made for everyone.  Maybe even leave a saddle off for their local bike shop to help them with. Finally, make all the attachments the same color.  The handlebar/stem/seatpost/cranks should all match to me.  Make them all black or silver, but just pick one of them please.

Final Thoughts on the Civia Loring

If I lived back in downtown Charlotte, NC this would be my one bike.  Get my milk, ride to work and maybe a rambling ride on the weekends.  I don’t live in the city limits any longer, so this wouldn’t be my one bike but it would be my daily commuter if I could afford it.  This paired with an Xtracycle and perhaps that Cyclocross bike, would be the three bikes to make it so I wouldn’t need to own a car out in the boonies.

For the person that doesn’t want to build a really great commuter bike from scratch but wants all the bells, whistles and amazing looks I think Civia has hit a home run.

Final score :
4 out of 5 points

One last side note : This bike didn’t have a bell, and that really upset me since this is a “commuter bike.”  Civia, please look up the BE1091 bell and add them to all your bike builds.

med_rants

http://www.medrants.com/archives/5020

http://www.medrants.com/?p=5020

So yesterday was day 9.  We have 4 patients, relatively stable, on call today.  We did have a major teaching point.

We have a patient with legitimate severe pain.  The intern had written a prn order for a narcotic.  The patient complained that he was not getting the pain medicine often enough.

This is a teachable moment.  Our palliative care physicians have taught me the superiority of order pain med every 4 – patient may refuse.  The resident knew that; I knew that; yet we had not noticed.  So we changed the order yesterday with a new twist I learned – "do not awaken patient to give".

So our big lesson yesterday involved making narcotic administration more patient centric.

Back to our acid base problem from yesterday:

The patient is in his 50s and has known hep C positivity (possible cirrhosis) and recent nephrotic syndrome.  How do you dissect information just from his electrolyte panel.  One other hint – his albumin is 2.2.

My explanation – the anion gap is 15.  We would normally consider that a minor elevation, but here is the teaching point – the expected anion gap is around 7 because the albumin is only 2.2.  The albumin normally is the major component of the anion gap.  We could subtract 2.5 *1.8 (4g normal – 2.2g observed) from 12.  The multiplication gives 4.5, so 4.5 from 12 equals 7.5. 

At UAB we use the shortcut – albumin times 3 – that gives us an expected gap of 6.6.  Either way we expect a gap of 6-8.  Our actual gap is 15, thus we have an excess gap of approximately 8.

First, we must explain the gap.  This is a classic uremic anion gap acidosis – the patient has a markedly elevated PO₄  of 6.6.  While we cannot use a formula to estimate the gap from an elevated PO₄ this clearly is in range.  When we do the "delta gap" we add 8 (the excess gap) to 18 (the observed bicarb) to obtain a "initial bicarb" of 26 – i.e. normal once we subtract the gap.

This finding was a bit surprising because so many predialysis patients do have a normal gap acidosis.

The patient did great with his first 2 dialyses.  His phosphate is now normalized, and his gap is normal.

Related posts:

1. 17 days at the VA – Day 1
2. 17 days at the VA – Day 3
3. 17 days at the VA – Day 4

urbanvelo

http://urbanvelo.org/portland-design-works-radbot-1000-rear-blinkie/

http://urbanvelo.org/?p=12465

Portland Design Works just introduced the super-bright Radbot 1000 blinkie light featuring a simple blink/steady 1 watt red LED, placing it in the class of the some of the brightest tail lights out there. The integrated reflector is a nice touch for when the battery runs low or you simply forget to turn the light on, especially since many riders remove the cheap stock ones that come from shops. Besides the usual seatpost and seatstay mounts, the Radbot also ships with a rear rack mount for the folks out there sporting panniers for the commute. Expect the light to go for about $30 in shops, with a 1/2 watt version in the same housing available for a few bucks less.

orwelldiaries

http://orwelldiaries.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/23-11-39/

http://orwelldiaries.wordpress.com/?p=2402

Rain again last night, light rain all day. Cold. Impossible to do much out of doors. Dug some more of the limed patch.

8 eggs.

xkcd_rss

http://xkcd.com/666/

apod

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap091122.html

What caused this outburst of V838 Mon?