8 Ways to Sunday

This morning a coworker e-mailed me an article from USA Today that gave some holiday diet advice. It’s not what you think, though. The author, Craig Wilson, begins: “I hate this time of year. Not for its crass commercialism and forced frivolity, but because it’s the season when the food police come out with their wagging fingers and annual tips on how to get through the holidays without gaining 10 pounds.”

He goes on to give ten hilarious tips for holiday feasting guaranteed to keep your pants from fitting properly in January. My favorites:

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That’s the whole point of gravy. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.

…

8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or, if you don’t like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?

Sounds like a plan to me! Read the rest here.

Actor and activist Christopher Reeve, age 52, died Sunday of cardiac arrest. Best known for his title role in the Superman movies, Reeve was paralyzed below the neck by a 1995 equestrian accident and became an activist and spokesman for stem cell research to cure spinal cord injuries and other diseases.

Though he never achieved his goal of being able to walk again unassisted, Reeve did much to advance the cause of research into cures for an injury that was once considered incurable. While remaining reliant on machinery and a full-time nursing staff until his death, his unending determination and his dedication to innovative new therapeutic techniques allowed him to make unprecedented strides toward greater independence. He was a courageous and inspiring man, an example and hero to many, and he will be missed.

MSNBC is carrying an excellent Associated Press story detailing Reeves’ career and activism.

Update: An unofficial Christopher Reeve fan page has a very good bio of the actor. A press release regarding his passing can be found on the home page of the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation. I encourage those who can to donate to this very worthy cause.

The International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, an agency of the United Nations, released a report yesterday stating that increasing numbers of people around the world are being effected by natural disasters.

The report claims that 254 million people were affected by such disasters last year — almost three times as many as in 1990. According to the report fatalities from natural disasters reached 83,000 in 2003, 30,000 more than in 1990. The increases are said to be at least partially due to increased migration to urban centers and vulnerable coastal areas.

ISDR director Salvano Briceno summarized the main causes cited in the report, saying, “The urban concentration, the effects of climate change, and the environmental degradation are greatly increasing vulnerability.”

I believe that the effects of global warming are real, and I’ve certainly noticed an increase in “heavy weather” since the days of my youth. That said, the way this was presented (at least by the BBC in the above-linked article) tripped my built-in scientific bullshit detector.

When I took microbiology my junior year of college, the first few weeks of the course were devoted entirely to learning how to spot logical and procedural flaws in published scientific research. The point was to make us aware of the kinds of mistakes that we shouldn’t be making in our own work during the class. However, I’ll be forever grateful to professor Carolyn Herman for this lesson in “bunk spotting” because, even though I didn’t go on to a career in science, it’s served me well in watching the science and technology news reports that stream endlessly across the television and the web these days.

I can’t claim any real knowledge of the ISDR’s methodology without having read their published report, but one major omission stands out at me after reading the BBC article and a few others. Efforts to improve disaster response and reporting are always ongoing — especially in the Third World. The information technology required to report pending and in-progress catastrophes, and the subsequent casualties, has become far more widespread and inexpensive in the time since 1990, the report’s apparent baseline.

Were these changes taken into account in the report and factored into the estimated increases? Improved health and IT infrastructure in Third World nations could have lead to faster and more thorough casualty reporting that might easily account for the increases cited in news reports.

What I’d really be interested in seeing is some data on changes in the incidence of natural disasters over the last 13 years. Does anyone know if this is part of the report, and where I can find it?

From the peer-reviewed medical journal Pathology:

Autoerotic deaths: four cases.

Cooke CT, Cadden GA, Margolius KA.

State Health Laboratory Services, Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre, Nedlands, Western Australia.

We describe the circumstances and post mortem medical findings of 4 unusual fatalities where death occurred during autoerotic practice. Three cases occurred in young to middle-aged men–hanging, electrocution and inhalation of a zucchini. The manner of death in each was accidental. The fourth case was an elderly man who died of ischemic heart disease, apparently whilst masturbating with a vacuum cleaner and a hair dryer.

— Pathology. 1994 Jul;26(3):276-80.

I don’t know about you, but I kind of wonder about the doctors who wrote this article more than the subjects of the article. I strongly suspect that they have a very twisted sense of humor.

(via Mimi Smartypants)

Financial strategist James Montier of German-owned investment bank Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein had some unusual advice for coworkers and clients in a recent memo. “Don’t equate money with happiness,” he said. Instead he encouraged readers to have more sex, get more sleep, exercise, meditate, and cultivate close relationships.

Seems like sound advice to me.