There was an interruption in internet service yesterday from approximately 1:45 PM CST to approximately 8:00 PM CST. We lost upstream connectivity because there was a large fiber distribution cut in an area outside of Jackson.
Archive for January, 2008
It seems like an obvious move: Apple’s little pink 8GB iPod nano ($199) comes out in time for Valentine’s Day, and perhaps before most pink second-gen nanos have kicked the bucket. But there’s a problem: if you’re trying to impress your lady friend by buying her a nano that contributes money to some worthy cause, you’re going to have to stick with the (PRODUCT) RED one, which fights against AIDS and tuberculosis in Africa and around the world. As pink as this nano is, there’s no mention of an accompanying breast-cancer charity benefit, in an industry where pink gadgets usually mean precisely that. Let’s get it going, Apple! [Apple]
Continue reading ‘A Pink iPod nano in time for your Valentine’
The Rolling Stones have signed a one-album deal with Universal Music Group for the release of their next album, the live soundtrack to Martin Scorsese’s concert film Shine a Light. The Universal deal likely spells the end of the Stones’ sixteen-year partnership with EMI, as the band’s record contract with that label expires next month. If they do sign a long-term deal with another label, the Stones would join Paul McCartney and Radiohead as the latest big-name artist to exit EMI in the wake of their tumultuous takeover by private equity firm Terra Firma. Earlier this week, EMI head Guy Hands announced that the label would allow for the corporating sponsoring of bands, as well as cut 1,500-2,000 jobs in order to free up $400 million. Still-contracted EMI artists like Robbie Williams, the Verve and Coldplay hinted at withholding new albums until EMI proved they were capable of appropriately promoting and distributing those releases.
Scorsese filmed Shine A Light during two Stones gigs at New York City’s relatively intimate Beacon Theatre in 2006. Among the special guests who joined the band on stage were Jack White and Christina Aguilera. The film will debut at the Berlin Film Festival next month before hitting American cinemas on April 4th.
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Two German doctors presented case studies today suggesting that chewing too much sugar-free gum could lead to extreme weight loss of up to 20% of a person’s normal body weight.
The work, which appears in the journal BMJ, consists of two case studies (pdf). In the first, a 21-year old woman reported experienced severe diarrhea four to twelve times per day. She’d lost 11 kilograms and had a body mass index of 16.6, substantially below normal. Patient interviews revealed she was chewing about 15 pieces of sugar free gum per day. She stopped chewing the gum and her symptoms disappeared. A middle aged man had similar symptoms and the same miraculous weight-gain upon cessation of gum chewing.
Given that most weight-loss drugs have a difficult time producing one-pound per week weight loss, you might think the scientists would trumpet these findings as a prelude to the newest blockbuster pharmaceutical. But sadly, the drop in pounds was the result of diarrhea and other bowel-trouble caused by ingesting too much sorbitol, a common sweetener that has laxative properties at high dosages.
As John Clemens, a UCLA professor told WebMD about sorbitol, “The laxative effect is very well documented,” he said.
“We would not expect the average consumer to consume upwards of 20 sticks of gum a day.”
That might have been true before these findings, but now, I expect to add at least 15 sticks of chewing gum to my diet per hamburger eaten. Hey, laxatives worked for the guys on my high school’s wrestling team.
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