Cars no longer have the right of way

In a huge change of policy for the DOT, it was announced today that new federally funded transportation projects will be required to consider the needs of bicycles and pedestrians.  This is a very smart policy, since having more pedestrian friendly roads encourages no-emissions, physical activity that is good on many levels.

Stride really does matter

Last November, I took up jogging.  Since then I've worked up from zero to being able to run a 5k in about 29-30 minutes.  I've been afraid to go beyond a sustained effort of 30 minutes, mostly because I've gotten really winded after about 3.5 miles.

But I read this book.  It discuses "barefoot" running.  No. I did not ditch my shoes, but I did try something mentioned in the book, which is to make sure you are landing on the balls of your feet, not your heels.  Also make sure your back is straight and your knees are bent.  I'm not a pro at this, but I tried these simple techniques and was able to go effortlessly for 5.9 miles today.  That is over a 60% increase.  And my legs don't really hurt, except I can tell some new muscles were used.

Now I am really wanting to get some Nike Free shoes...

No matter the era, people look to the past for food

Interesting article on the "persistence of primitive food".  I just recently read The Omnivore's Dilemma.  Obviously, overly processed food is not good for you.  But what food is good for you?  That's a question that's tough to answer, and simply look at the past is not always going to help you.

A land where schools go out of business

I grew up smack in the middle of the rust belt, the wealthy suburbs of Detroit, Michigan.  Sixteen years after "graduating" from elementary school I learn that that school, Wooddale, is closing its doors permanently.  Its strange thinking that a place where I spent countless hours as a child is going to be no more.

Apparently Farmington Public School is in some dire straits.  They are closing 4 elementary schools, which will mean that kids will have to transition from elementary school, to upper elementary school, to junior high, to high school.  So a total of 4 schools over 12 years, which I think is a bit excessive.

On a larger note, you can bet that property values will tank in these areas.  Nobody wants to live next door to an abandoned school (brings to mind Nightmare on Elm Street).  Schools are very much the foundation of a community.  Farmington Hills, Michigan.  Formerly the home of one the best school districts in the country.  Now a land where schools go out of business.

2010 Olympics Redux

I very much enjoyed these Olympics.  I probably watched at least 25 hours of coverage, at least as much as I watched the 2008 Beijing games.  

Overall I'm very happy that the US won the total medal count, which I think surprised everyone.  We even won some medals in Nordic Combined for I think the first time ever.  The snowboarding halfpipe was great too.  

Who rips off patients without insurance? Doctors.

Many people blame the health insurance companies for our high medical costs.  While this is definitely true to some extent, due to the high overhead, it is not the full story.  Who else rips off people?  Doctors.  Especially people without insurance.

Case in point:

I went to a podiatrist a few days ago because I thought I may have fractured my foot.  They took x-rays, examined my foot, determined it was just tendinitis, and gave me a cortisone shot.  Took a total of 30 minutes.

They sent a bill to my insurance company for $450.  My insurance company negotiates rates with them, so the final bill was reduced to about $110, which I think is very reasonable considering the services provided.

So the point of this is not to exonerate the insurance companies, but to show that if you don't have health insurance, you are at the mercy of doctor's exorbitant rates.

Review: Zeitoun

Zeitoun is simply one of the best books I have read in a long time.  The story of a man (Zeitoun) who stays in New Orleans as Katrina descends on the town, it is as much a story about what good things individuals can do as what bad things the collective government can do.  What happened to Zeitoun, a Syrian-American who obviously has much to love about his new country, should never happen to anyone in America.

While reading this book, the reader has trouble fathoming it is true.  I recommend this highly to any reader.

Packing in some national parks OK on Monday

On Monday it will be legal to carry a concealed weapon in many national parks and sites, provided that the person carrying is authorized under state law.

I think this is a very good move, because currently someone driving within their state must take care to not transport a firearm through a national park, monument, battlefield, etc.

Some are afraid that this will lead to increased violence in the parks, but I don't see this happening.  Time and time again, when concealed carry laws are expanded there have not been increased shootings.

Obama Pro-Gun President so far

Some on the left are not happy with Obama's seemingly pro- or neutral-gun stance during his first year in office.

I think that the president doesn't have a very strong personal preference on the issue, and would rather not wade into this political trap, as Bill Clinton did.

2010 Winter Olympics

The opening ceremony for the 2010 Winter Olympics is tonight.  You can watch the ceremonies on NBC.  It seems like only yesterday that we had the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, but it has been over a year and a half.

I plan on trying to watch several events, such as at least one speed skating event, ski jumping, and some other ski event like slalom, bobsled/skeleton/luge (pick one), some figure skating, and maybe some other sport.

Google Buzz: The Facebook Killer?

Google Buzz was just announced today.  It is part Facebook, part Twitter, part Google.  It will allow users to provide status updates, comment on these updates (sound familiar?) but unlike Facebook it will be directly tied by default to a lot of services people use, like Flickr.

Better yet, you already have all your contacts, within your Google Contacts.

While I don't think this will kill Facebook overnight, it will put a big dent in it.

I haven't yet tried out the service, and it is not yet active in my Google account.  It likely will be within 48 hours, so I'll post an update then.  And since 90% of the people I know have a Gmail account, let me know what your thoughts are.

The first big nanotech product?

Just read this interesting piece on liquid glass.  It seems that an extremely light coating of this stuff could go a long way to protecting objects and also making them much easier to clean.

Will cans of this be available at Wal-mart soon?

Best SuperBowl Ads 2010

My 2 favorite ads were from Google and cars.com

Review: Overnightmattress.com

A high quality, king size foam bed for $999?  You betcha.  Despite companies like Tempur Pedic charging over $2,000 for foam mattresses, you can get a very high quality one for less than half the price from overnightmattress.com

I have to tell you, I myself was skeptical about buying from a company with very few online reviews.  However, I did some research and found that the company is truly located in Johnson City, TN.  The mattresses are manufactured in America.  If you call them, you can talk to a real person.

We ended up purchasing a king size PureBliss Bamboo bed for $999 shipped.  We opted to not buy the $200 wood frame/platform, and instead bought a nice platform bed from Ikea for about the same amount.

The bed arrived in a surprisingly small box, but expanded quickly when opened.  The bed itself is 2 layers (we opted for the softer bed).  The first is a support foam, which is very dense.  The upper layer is memory foam, and is probably 3-4".  Then there is a cover that you have to zip around the bed.  The cover adds several more inches and is "plush" so it doesn't even feel much like memory foam.

On top of this, we got a free set of sheets including a mattress protector.

How does it feel?  The bed feels great, and we are happy it came with a long term warranty.

This was truly money well spent - I don't think I would buy a tempur pedic unlesss I had a lot of money to burn, I'd go with overnightmattress.com and save some money.

Toyota in a world of pain

Toyota's reputation has been completely destroyed in the period of 2-3 weeks.  

What was at one time a minor story has now spiraled out of control.  The government is looking into the accelerator recall, customers are pissed, sales are down.  I'm a bit surprised that Toyota took so long to respond to these issues.  While it is good that they did, I think this is going to hurt them longterm.  Very few Toyota's are sexy, most are just practical, safe, reliable cars.  With this recall, the safety and reliability image has taken a big hit.

A fix has been announced and dealers are getting ready to start repairs, but this is way too little too late.