Monthly Archives: February 2005

The Most Powerful Man in Iraq

Posted on February 16, 2005 by Michael Froomkin

Newsweek runs a good profile of the most powerful man in Iraq, What Sistani Wants.

Posted in Iraq | Comments Off on The Most Powerful Man in Iraq

The Ultimate Contract of Adhesion

Posted on February 16, 2005 by Michael Froomkin

The ultimate contract of adhesion.

Even the Seventh Circuit might find it unenforceable as against public policy.

Posted in Completely Different | 2 Comments

Jeb Bush: Devious in Plain Sight

Posted on February 16, 2005 by Michael Froomkin

Mark Lane at Flablog notes Gov. Jeb Bush's fourth iteration of his 'devious plan' to gut the clearly expressed will of the Florida electorate. We voted for smaller class sizes, but Jeb, like all Bushes, thinks that the way to power is to always cut, never raise, taxes and to hell with education.

See Devious Plan Ver. 4.0 for a summary and links to the lurid details.

Note that so far, none of Jeb's plans have worked. Voters want the smaller classes. They'd even pay for it.

He just doesn't get it.

Posted in Florida | 4 Comments

One More for the Faculty Desktop

Posted on February 15, 2005 by Michael Froomkin

Thanks to a recommendation from Ed Bott, I'm adding Copernic Desktop Search to my list of what belongs on the faculty desktop.

Anything else I should be adding?

Posted in Software | 4 Comments

$9 Beer?

Posted on February 15, 2005 by Michael Froomkin

They are selling Dogfish Head: 120 Minute IPA beer in my local for, get this, $8.99 (plus tax) for a single 12oz bottle.

Although curious as to what could possibly justify that price, I did not buy one. First, I didn't want to encourage them. Second, how can you buy just one, when your spouse sent you out you volunteered to go out and buy some nice beer. Third, I could see little chance of a good outcome. Either it would be awful and I'd feel cheated, or it would be great, but I'd still never spend that much for a bottle of beer again and might regret it.

Actually, can something 42 proof really be called beer?

Posted in Food and Drink, Shopping | 18 Comments

Pineapples as Painkillers?

Posted on February 14, 2005 by Michael Froomkin

Apparently, pineapples are painkillers:

It turns out that pineapple has a unique set of enzymes with anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. The main one is bromelin/bromelain, which is an anti-inflammatory, prostaglandin suppressant, anti-coagulant and mild painkiller. I have not confirmed that it's safe to mix pineapple/bromelain with your usual NSAIDs but the Arthritis Foundation does not note this as a risk, nor does this very comprehensive article noting clinical trials (one currently ongoing) and previous studies. Pineapple being cheap this time of year, and non-organic pineapple having a very low probability of pesticide treatment, further investigation is strongly recommended.

And if that doesn't work, try a virtual reality game:

The BBC reports that people absorbed in virtual reality simulations or games are oblivious to pain that normally cripples them. They're so mentally busy that there's no attention left for physical signals. This is a logical extension of how pro athletes are able to continue playing despite severe injury. The project is being developed by the University of Washington Harborview Burn Center, which also developed Spiderworld to use virtual reality to remove fear of spiders

Both items from an odd, and apparently no longer updated, blog I stumbled on called The Clean Shopper .

Posted in Science/Medicine | 3 Comments