Girls 5 Up
LG GD910 Watch Phone on Orange?
Teaching & Research
Wired: These Toes Were Made for Running
Jack: future Marvel artist?
Kids & tech part 2
Kids & tech
Recovery drink
Ironman rocket
February 2009 Archives
February 27, 2009
Post workout recovery latte
My caffe latte I, er, occasionally grab after a tough run or a strength workout at the gym may actually be a better recovery drink than I joked about in a previous post. In a full milk latte you're looking at around 10g protein, 225 calories and 5g of fat. Fat's a good thing for endurance athletes these days, by the way (Joe Friel on weight loss, Dietary fat & endurance athletes - active.com). The caffeine's pretty helpful too, if not for the improved muscle glycogen uptake effects then for helping you concentrate on work when tired.
There have also been some studies with milk itself as a recovery drink: Poweringmuscles.com - Got Milk in Your Squeeze Bottle? There's some debate about dairy vs non-dairy foods, as animal-derived products tend to have all the bad fats, but remind yourselves of the general contents of various dairy products (weightlossresources.co.uk - calories in eggs and dairy) and milk, eggs and yoghurt look like important parts of a balanced diet for us athletes that are struggling to get all the protein we need.
So between a powdered recovery drink and a grande latte, I'd rather pay for the latte. Simpler usually means its more likely to happen too.
February 25, 2009
February 24, 2009
LG GD910 Watch Phone on Orange?
Gizmodo report on rumours that Orange will be selling the LG watch phone for £1,000. My contract is due for renewal next month too.
February 23, 2009
Teaching & Research
Teaching and research in universities. We do both, but which is most respected? Which is most important? Are the answers to these questions different for someone who teaches medicine?
The Science of the Invisible blog notes the results of the latest Higher Education Academy reward and recognition survey, and includes some depressing comments and observations for people like me.
Read the full blog entry: Research=Promotion. Teaching= ?
Wired: These Toes Were Made for Running
Short toes are much better for running. I'm not talking about people with particularly short toes, but it may explain more about the evolution of our feet and why our toes are so much shorter than chimps'.
A recent study published in the Journal of Experimental Biology studies the importance of this and Wired spoke to the authors. "Humans are well-adapted for endurance running. That's much of what makes the human body what it is," said Lieberman. "We're actually terrible sprinters, but the world's best long-distance runners."
"According to study co-author and Harvard University anthropologist Daniel Lieberman, many modern anatomical features make sense in the context of savannah marathons. Achilles tendons act as springs to store energy. Our hind limbs have extra-large joints. Our buttocks muscles are perfect for stabilization, as are regions of the brain uniquely sensitive to the physical pitching generated by the motion of running."
"Toes may belong to this class of adaptations."
Read the full Wired article. I'm off on my toes.
Kids & tech part 2
Given my previous post, the flipside of children being so involved in technology is that they have no idea how delicate or expensive it can be. Apart from getting an Apple TV that I can stow away somewhere and sticking speakers on walls I've been put off buying any decent technology for the house.
My Logitech universal remote (if I can find it) is chewed, bashed & one of the main buttons is broken, it's hard to watch the home theatre PC because the baby likes to press the off button, speakers and furniture are accruing dents, the Wiimotes and accessories bounce very well but I feel they won't bounce forever, the plasma tv is covered in sticky fingerprints, we were paying Sky for crappy on-TV games until I found out and password-protected extra features, DVDs are hidden away in boxes in cupboards, and furniture has been rearranged to stop babies getting to cables.
The future of family tech is KISS (keep it simple stupid), robust and discrete. I'm thinking small Apple things that I can hide and tough little speakers I can bolt to walls. And maybe some cleaning robots to chase around. The "don't touch that" principle isn't worth a damn, and kid-proof needs to be thought about with each purchase.
What I will do is slowly plan my perfect home theatre system to build in the future. In the bedroom of the first one to leave home.
February 20, 2009
Kids & tech
Jack has been drawing his own comics and reading some of the new Ironman stuff. The comics ask for kids to draw Marvel characters & send them in. So Jack drew a great collection of characters, from Ben Grimm to the Hulk. I'll stick it up here or on Flickr.
Jack suggested that we scan the drawing and email it in. He's 6 and his first instinct was to stick it in the scanner, attach it to an email and send it to the publisher. Forget writing a letter and sticking it in an envelope, that's what they did in the Stone Age.
And did I mention that he regularly beats me on Mario Kart Wii? I'm losing pace and probably only just keeping up.
February 17, 2009
February 15, 2009
False Fact On Wikipedia Proves Itself
I stand by my comments that Wikipedia is a good resource, and that if you think parts of it are wrong then you should contribute to it yourself. I also warn that no source is infallible, particularly a source open to all for revisions.
An article on Slashdot reports that an edit to a Wikipedia article that intentionally introduced an error was used by German and international newspapers, internet sites and TV news programmes in their reports. The change on Wikipedia was reverted with a request for proof for the edit. Proof (of the intentionally incorrect information) was then found, but from a reputable source that had already used Wikipedia for its information. "So the circle was closed: Wikipedia states a false fact, a reputable media outlet copies the false fact, and this outlet is then used as the source to prove the false fact to Wikipedia."
I try to remind students never to trust a single source (particularly me when I've been teaching for 3 hours). Anatomy textbooks are great resources but they also contain errors. Go to three sources if you can. Surprisingly, for a student this is fairly achievable - you listen to a lecture, you read a book, you discuss with your peers. Of course if the lecturer and your peers all read the same book, you might have the same problem as Wikipedia.
February 11, 2009
Half marathon
I'm into my final 4 week training block now before my next exam: the Llanelli half marathon. I've never raced this distance before and with the pace that I want to run in mind, it's a daunting prospect. The course is by the sea, so I guess that runners are at the mercy of the weather. If the wind's blowing the wrong way with any power everything changes.
So far the training has gone to plan, and my pacing is probably a little up on targets related to effort or %max HR. I've 3 hard weeks and then a taper for the final week and I'll find out much more about my form in this run up (excuse the pun).
Right now I'm trying to lay down my goals for the race. I know the time I want, and think that my legs are capable of, but there are other goals to place down beside that. These are goals that give me focus and that will help me achieve that time, largely without thinking about the time itself. The goal time sets the level of suffering, the other goals keep the mind focused for 13.1 miles.
Of course if I make my goal time, I'll have to try and beat it in the summer.
February 7, 2009
February 6, 2009
Stem Cell Facials
"Stem cell facial"? That sounds rather like that South Park episode. (Yes, that one, with that infamous source of stem cells, but let's not discuss it here). Would you rub stem cells into your face to reduce wrinkles?
Skin care companies selling anti-ageing creams are always making scientific-sounding claims in their widespread tv adverts and yet often appear to have thrown pseudoscience at the passing bandwagon (look out for those nano creams). The Nature Publishing Group report that a current target is stem cells, and in many cases, embryonic stem cells. After the relatively minor mishaps of the fashion companies when fur became murder, I'm rather surprised that some skin care companies are taking this route into controversy.
Mind you, I've never seen a perfume advert that I've understood either.
Articles:
- The Niche, blog entry (a nature.com blog).
Bill Gates Unleashes Swarm of Mosquitoes on Crowd
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation are working to reduce malaria deaths worldwide, among many other things.
The Fox News website reports, "Microsoft founder turned philanthropist Bill Gates released a glass full of mosquitoes at an elite technology conference to make a point about the deadly disease malaria.
"Malaria is spread by mosquitoes," Gates said while opening a jar onstage at the Technology, Entertainment, Design Conference — a gathering known to attract technology kings, politicians, and Hollywood stars. "I brought some. Here I'll let them roam around. There is no reason only poor people should be infected."
That's an interesting presentation style.
February 5, 2009
February 4, 2009
Flickr: Snow creations
Take a look at some of the UK's snow creations, as collected on Flickr.
I love the stormtrooper and his mini snowman.
February 3, 2009
Academic Earth - General Human Anatomy
Academic Earth have a wide range of video lectures "from the world's top scholars". I thought I'd include a link to the Berkeley General Human Anatomy series for student interest. Is this style of teaching and/or resource useful to you, personally? Please comment, or let me know in person. I may poll Swansea medical students if I have time when I next teach.
If the anatomy videos are not interesting to you, have a look at the other topics. There's some very interesting stuff up there.
Link:
University of California, Berkeley's General Human Anatomy series of video lectures.
The Berkeley anatomy videos are also available from iTunes.
Kids
A recent study of the health costs for premature births recommends more research in this area would save money, as reported by the BBC.
"Premature births cost the UK an extra £939m a year, say researchers at the Oxford Centre for Health Economics.
"Their study calculated what the costs would be for all the preterm babies born in 2006 over the first 18 years of their life."
Read BBC article: Public cost of premature babies.
Also, there have been some interesting (and no doubt controversial) observations and recommendations made about childhood in the UK in the new millenium. I'd like to see more for the "rules making it easier for parents to stay at home to rear their children" point.
Read BBC article: Selfish adults 'damage childhood'.
Fingers are a bit slow this morning after a beautiful snowy ride to work. I'm hoping my office warms up before my snowy lunchtime run.
