Nicely done

I have no idea how you think religion might be redeemed, other than having the “dupes” exit said religion. Which makes it, ipso facto, irredeemable.

Having field tested a couple of bike helmets now, I would agree that they didn’t make being out on the road or the trail any safer. However, both helmets probably kept the test results at concussion rather than something more serious. Helmets aren’t intended to make cycling safer. They are intended to reduce the likelihood of a brain injury when one of these inevitable unsafe events occurs.

The science behind the sunscreen study is questionable and there are lots of response articles out there that hit the major points. EWG has a history of scaremongering. Leaded lipstick, anyone? If you look at the scoring approach used in the study’s methodology (http://www.ewg.org/2010sunscreen/full-report/study-methodology/), you will see that at its core, their approach is inconsistent. 50-66% of the score is based on actual effectiveness testing of the product and 34-50% is based on perceived health hazards associated with its ingredients. If the assessor had a bias for or against one or more chemical ingredients, s/he would alter the overall score accordingly. That’s not good science. The health hazard portion of the assessment is really tricky to do well anyway, let alone when its weight can be varied arbitrarily. Probably a good way to be consistent would be to create a metric that relies on one or more of the widely-used chemical classification systems (e.g. IARC or USEPA for carcinogenicity). For most of the compounds in question, there isn’t enough data for classification in these systems. The science that was actually used for their health hazard assessment is probably quite limited, variable and inconsistent. Somewhere between 34 and 50% of each overall score is based on a very subjective set of information… and that doesn’t even get into the methodology behind the other [50 - 66%] of the assessment. It’s a shame, really. If the effectiveness testing methodology is good scientifically, there are so many useful things that can be learned from the dataset.

At that point, she was arrested for interference and told police where the wallet could be found.

“We’re only going to take so much,” Moody testified

Y’mean you’ll leave the credit cards and take only the cash?

http://www.bangordailynews.com/story/Greater-Bangor/Bangor-election-warden-dismissed-over-cop-gun-flap,157664

One of these days police funeral processions will need to be protected from flying rotten food products thrown by citizens who are tired of getting bent over by gun-wielding yahoos. Those “officers” on that po-po board are a perfect example.

To claim that antilock are ineffective is idiotic. It’s hard to count accidents that were avoided. On wet surfaces, antilock brakes reduce stopping distances significantly (except for expert drivers who can do slightly better with manual braking). Antilock brakes helped me to avoid three accidents over a five year period.

Bike helmets are highly effective at preventing brain injuries, and I recommend them for all riders. Of course, helmets cannot prevent death from body trauma caused by a redneck asshole who deliberately sideswipes a bicyclist with his pickup truck.

Sunscreens, when applied properly, effectively protect against sunburn (and that is their primary purpose). Avoiding sunburns helps prevent skin cancers. Melanoma is just one type of skin cancer, and it can arise on areas of the body with minimal sun exposure. The fact that melanoma incidence changes little with sunscreen use is irrelevant.

Also, that study that showed drivers riding closer to cyclists with a helmet than those without was pretty limited in scope, and didn’t account for a huge variety of factors that may lead to a bicycle accident.

Thanks, TSA!

#21 | Joshua | November 1st, 2010 at 11:19 am
Re: #10 and #14 – One thing I’ll definitely give Barney Frank credit for is admitting he was wrong on supporting massive federal pumping of low-income home ownership in the wake of the Fannie/Freddie collapse. A Congress Critter willing to reverse course so dramatically may clear the way for others to publicly reconsider positions.

+3

Barney Frank has blamed Republicans for the mess. I can’t recall him ever taking personal responsibility for it. But if you have a link, how about sharing that with us? Thanks.

Five safety measures that don’t make you safer. I’ve heard skepticism about sunscreen before, but is it really that useless?

I don’t necessarily disagree with the article, but it is funny we now rely on Cracked Magazine as an authoritative source on issues like this. Then again, I loved both Mad and Cracked as a kid, so I am game.

A couple cops came to my house, told me they couldn’t take the bike and then threatened me with the fact that buying a stolen bike is a crime (remember, I reported it to them!). They left after taking down a couple notes on a piece of paper that was probably thrown away. The owner found me on Craigslist a few days later.

“In a word YES I’d have busted her ass. It is clear from reading this article the woman is not all there. The wallet did not belong to her, the owner of the wallet called the police in an effort to get it back, SHE was interfering with that effort. Is there any rational reason she had for refusing to turn the wallet over? Nah, she just probably doesn’t trust or like cops. No prob lady, just let me reinforce that attitude by dragging your ass to jail.”

I ended up calling the car company, but made it painfully clear to the lady in charge that they wouldn’t get the camera until they gave me the name & number of the owners and I had contacted the owners to let them know I had their camera and would be returning it through the car company. It worked out well, the lady from the car company came to my house to pick it up and she got it back to them. She got it only after the owner described some of the pictures to me over the phone.

I trust nobody in situations like that.

http://www.lineofduty.com/the-blotter/109465-fair-yes-or-no-wy-cops-arrest-woman-over-found-wallet

I drive past that megachurch whenever I drive out to see my folks. It is the most mega of megachurches. The amount of money that must flow through that place has to be astronomical. I wonder what you say to yourself when weighing the money vs. hiding your sexuality? And what suddenly changes that makes you do the opposite after so long? There’s something more to this story…