The Oregonian reports:
A new site, whoissick.org, hopes to become a grass-roots database, of sorts, for what ails you. You log on, plug in your ZIP code and your symptoms. Chills? Check. Stomach ache? Check. Fever? Better check that, too.
The site records your symptoms and lets you know who else is under the weather in your ZIP code. We plugged in 97201 -- downtown Portland -- and found 131 people feel lousy.
Nifty idea, but is it effective?
We asked Dr. Mel Kohn, Oregon's epidemiologist, to take a look at whoissick.org. He thought it was interesting but flawed.
For starters, it's hard to interpret the symptoms when people are self-reporting. What do the symptoms mean? Is the cough a cold or the start of something more serious? Is it a low-grade fever that came and went or is it higher than 101 degrees and has it gone one for more than a day?
"The way they are listed on that Web site, your fever might be different from my fever so it's a little hard to interpret," Kohn said.
Besides, who's reporting their illnesses? Kohn said it's likely that more people in their 20s are visiting the site to log their symptoms compared with people in their 60s.
He said it correlating the info on whoissick.org with hospital visits or visits to primary care doctors. But taken alone, the data on whoissick.org isn't too helpful, he said.
"I think it's interesting but I am skeptical about what the value is," Kohn said.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Statistical formula favors Suns as champs (USA Today)
Signs point to the Phoenix Suns as the next NBA champions. At least some statistical signs point that way.
Phoenix finished the regular season with the second-best record (61-21) behind the Dallas Mavericks (67-15), yet comparing the teams with the five best records in 10 regular-season team statistics, the Suns are the most dominant.
Phoenix finished the regular season with the second-best record (61-21) behind the Dallas Mavericks (67-15), yet comparing the teams with the five best records in 10 regular-season team statistics, the Suns are the most dominant.
Back from the dead
Today, Internet phone company Vonage said a federal appeals court issued a permanent stay of a previous court's injunction that would have barred it from signing up new customers.
Verizon brought Vonage to court over patent infringement allegations.
"In layman's terms, it means business as usual," said Brooke Schulz, a spokeswoman for Vonage.
Verizon brought Vonage to court over patent infringement allegations.
"In layman's terms, it means business as usual," said Brooke Schulz, a spokeswoman for Vonage.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Procrastination Station
A flood of last-minute tax filers swamped the Turbo Tax e-filing system early Tuesday, causing long delays for taxpayers trying to check that their electronic returns had been submitted successfully.
Intuit, which makes the popular TurboTax and ProSeries tax software, posted a message on its TurboTax web site Wednesday morning that notified filers that they could not access their returns.
As a result, filers who had waited until Tuesday's deadline to submit their federal and state income tax forms electronically did not know if their returns were processed by the midnight cutoff.
By late morning Wednesday, however, the message was taken down and users, according to Intuit spokesman Harry Pforzheimer, should have received a confirmation that their returns had been filed.
On Wednesday afternoon, the IRS granted a two-day extension to taxpayers who were unable to e-file their returns using Intuit software products on Tuesday evening. They now have until 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, April 19 to file.
Pforzheimer blamed the problem on technical difficulties resulting from a last-minute flood of returns filed starting early as Tuesday afternoon.
During peak demand, Intuit was processing 50 to 60 returns per second, he said. "We started seeing a very significant slowdown in the database," he added, noting that the company processed more than a million tax returns Tuesday.
By Wednesday morning, however, all returns filed before the deadline had been processed, said Pforzheimer.
Calling the glitch "just not acceptable," Pforzheimer said the company will test its system's capability during the off-season to avoid a repeat of the problem.
As of last weekend, the number of e-filers hit a record of 61 million this year, up 6 percent from the year earlier, according to the IRS.
Intuit, which makes the popular TurboTax and ProSeries tax software, posted a message on its TurboTax web site Wednesday morning that notified filers that they could not access their returns.
As a result, filers who had waited until Tuesday's deadline to submit their federal and state income tax forms electronically did not know if their returns were processed by the midnight cutoff.
By late morning Wednesday, however, the message was taken down and users, according to Intuit spokesman Harry Pforzheimer, should have received a confirmation that their returns had been filed.
On Wednesday afternoon, the IRS granted a two-day extension to taxpayers who were unable to e-file their returns using Intuit software products on Tuesday evening. They now have until 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, April 19 to file.
Pforzheimer blamed the problem on technical difficulties resulting from a last-minute flood of returns filed starting early as Tuesday afternoon.
During peak demand, Intuit was processing 50 to 60 returns per second, he said. "We started seeing a very significant slowdown in the database," he added, noting that the company processed more than a million tax returns Tuesday.
By Wednesday morning, however, all returns filed before the deadline had been processed, said Pforzheimer.
Calling the glitch "just not acceptable," Pforzheimer said the company will test its system's capability during the off-season to avoid a repeat of the problem.
As of last weekend, the number of e-filers hit a record of 61 million this year, up 6 percent from the year earlier, according to the IRS.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Apple's Steve Jobs maintains $1 salary
Apple Inc. Chief Executive Steve Jobs received a salary of $1 last year, according to documents filed Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission and various published reports.
Shares of Apple have soared in the past year as the Macintosh maker not only grew its computer sales but also tapped a rich vein of revenue with its iPod portable music players. Its market capitalization has grown to more than $78 billion, and industry analysts expect Apple's fortunes will only swell with the iPhone, a smart phone-iPod combination scheduled to go on sale in June.
Shares of Apple have soared in the past year as the Macintosh maker not only grew its computer sales but also tapped a rich vein of revenue with its iPod portable music players. Its market capitalization has grown to more than $78 billion, and industry analysts expect Apple's fortunes will only swell with the iPhone, a smart phone-iPod combination scheduled to go on sale in June.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
'Tiny Bubbles' singer Don Ho dies at 76
Legendary crooner Don Ho, who entertained tourists for decades wearing raspberry-tinted sunglasses and singing the catchy signature tune "Tiny Bubbles," died Saturday morning of heart failure. He was 76.
Promoter Tom Moffatt said he attended Ho's final show Thursday and Ho received a standing ovation. Afterward, Ho reminisced about his many years in Waikiki and talked about how Judy Garland sang with him one night.
Ho entertained Hollywood's biggest stars and thousands of tourists for four decades. For many, no trip to Hawaii was complete without seeing his Waikiki show — a mix of songs, jokes, double entendres, Hawaii history and audience participation.
Shows usually started and ended with the same song, "Tiny Bubbles." Ho mostly hummed the song's swaying melody as the audience enthusiastically took over the familiar lyrics: "Tiny bubbles/in the wine/make me happy/make me feel fine."
"I hate that song," he often joked to the crowd. He said he performed it twice because "people my age can't remember if we did it or not."
Inspired by the U.S. military planes flying in and out of Hawaii during World War II, Ho joined the Air Force. As the Korean War wound down, he piloted transport planes between Hickam Air Force Base in Honolulu and Tokyo.
When he returned home and took over his parents' struggling neighborhood bar, Honey's, he put together a band and started performing at his father's request.
Honey's became a happening place on Oahu, with other Hawaiian musicians stopping in for jam sessions. Ho began to play at various spots in Hawaii, then had a breakout year in 1966, when appearances at the Coconut Grove in Hollywood helped him build a mainland following, and the release of "Tiny Bubbles" gave him his greatest recording success.
Soon he was packing places such as the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas. Stars such as Lucille Ball, Sammy Davis Jr. and Frank Sinatra were known to be in the audience for Ho's shows.
Ho also became a television star, and hosted the "The Don Ho Show" on ABC from 1976-77. One of Ho's most memorable TV appearances was a 1972 cameo on an episode of "The Brady Bunch."
Gov. Linda Lingle said Ho created a legacy that will inspire future generations of musicians in Hawaii.
"Hawaii has lost a true island treasure," she said. "He laid the foundation for the international prominence Hawaii's music industry enjoys today."
Ho is survived by his wife, Haumea, and 10 children, including Hoku, who sometimes performed with her father.
Promoter Tom Moffatt said he attended Ho's final show Thursday and Ho received a standing ovation. Afterward, Ho reminisced about his many years in Waikiki and talked about how Judy Garland sang with him one night.
Ho entertained Hollywood's biggest stars and thousands of tourists for four decades. For many, no trip to Hawaii was complete without seeing his Waikiki show — a mix of songs, jokes, double entendres, Hawaii history and audience participation.
Shows usually started and ended with the same song, "Tiny Bubbles." Ho mostly hummed the song's swaying melody as the audience enthusiastically took over the familiar lyrics: "Tiny bubbles/in the wine/make me happy/make me feel fine."
"I hate that song," he often joked to the crowd. He said he performed it twice because "people my age can't remember if we did it or not."
Inspired by the U.S. military planes flying in and out of Hawaii during World War II, Ho joined the Air Force. As the Korean War wound down, he piloted transport planes between Hickam Air Force Base in Honolulu and Tokyo.
When he returned home and took over his parents' struggling neighborhood bar, Honey's, he put together a band and started performing at his father's request.
Honey's became a happening place on Oahu, with other Hawaiian musicians stopping in for jam sessions. Ho began to play at various spots in Hawaii, then had a breakout year in 1966, when appearances at the Coconut Grove in Hollywood helped him build a mainland following, and the release of "Tiny Bubbles" gave him his greatest recording success.
Soon he was packing places such as the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas. Stars such as Lucille Ball, Sammy Davis Jr. and Frank Sinatra were known to be in the audience for Ho's shows.
Ho also became a television star, and hosted the "The Don Ho Show" on ABC from 1976-77. One of Ho's most memorable TV appearances was a 1972 cameo on an episode of "The Brady Bunch."
Gov. Linda Lingle said Ho created a legacy that will inspire future generations of musicians in Hawaii.
"Hawaii has lost a true island treasure," she said. "He laid the foundation for the international prominence Hawaii's music industry enjoys today."
Ho is survived by his wife, Haumea, and 10 children, including Hoku, who sometimes performed with her father.
Returning troops face obstacles to care
Injured soldiers returning home for medical treatment face an unacceptable maze of paperwork and bureaucracy, leaders of a presidential commission on veterans' health care said Saturday.
At its first public meeting, the nine-member panel heard from veterans, spouses and advocacy groups who decried what they said was a failed system. The commission pledged to work quickly to find solutions rather than assign blame.
Their reviews in recent weeks have pointed to inadequacies with the treatment of brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as outpatient care.
Donna Shalala, health and human services secretary under President Clinton, said the commission planned a report by late July that would be pragmatic and "solution-driven."
Among the areas the report will address: fostering cooperation between the Pentagon and the Department of Veterans Affairs, which do not have systems in place to share inpatient records electronically; providing institutional support to families who bear burdens of caregiving; and reforming a disability benefits system that critics say shortchanges injured soldiers.
"Our timeline for action is very short," Shalala said. As a result, she said commissioners may not be able to visit every military hospital and VA clinic to examine conditions.
Shalala encouraged injured troops and veterans to express their concerns to the commission through their Web site — http://www.pccww.gov
At its first public meeting, the nine-member panel heard from veterans, spouses and advocacy groups who decried what they said was a failed system. The commission pledged to work quickly to find solutions rather than assign blame.
Their reviews in recent weeks have pointed to inadequacies with the treatment of brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as outpatient care.
Donna Shalala, health and human services secretary under President Clinton, said the commission planned a report by late July that would be pragmatic and "solution-driven."
Among the areas the report will address: fostering cooperation between the Pentagon and the Department of Veterans Affairs, which do not have systems in place to share inpatient records electronically; providing institutional support to families who bear burdens of caregiving; and reforming a disability benefits system that critics say shortchanges injured soldiers.
"Our timeline for action is very short," Shalala said. As a result, she said commissioners may not be able to visit every military hospital and VA clinic to examine conditions.
Shalala encouraged injured troops and veterans to express their concerns to the commission through their Web site — http://www.pccww.gov
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Dialing and driving
OPB reports...
If you live in Washington, get ready to hang up and drive. Legislation has passed the House that bans driving while talking on a cell phone -- unless you use a hands-free device.
This would be a secondary offense -- which means you can't be stopped for talking on the phone alone.
If you live in Washington, get ready to hang up and drive. Legislation has passed the House that bans driving while talking on a cell phone -- unless you use a hands-free device.
This would be a secondary offense -- which means you can't be stopped for talking on the phone alone.
Microsoft warns of 4 "critical" security holes
Microsoft Corp. warned of four security flaws in its software that it categorized as "critical" on Tuesday that could allow attackers to gain control of a user's computer.
The latest patches can be downloaded at www.microsoft.com/security.
The latest patches can be downloaded at www.microsoft.com/security.
Free Wi Fi Gets Bigger
The Oregonian reports:
Portland's Wi-Fi project got a clean bill of health today from the contractor hired to test the system, clearing the way for a rapid expansion that will triple the free network's service area in a little more than a month.
Portland's Wi-Fi project got a clean bill of health today from the contractor hired to test the system, clearing the way for a rapid expansion that will triple the free network's service area in a little more than a month.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Finetune Desktop streams music, taps into iTunes
Digital music service Finetune on Tuesday announced the launch of a preview release of Finetune Desktop, an application that enables you to stream music from the online service to your Mac or PC.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
First joint inter-Korean school set to open in Pyongyang
Having served in South Korea on the DMZ, this story is very meaningful to me.
The AFP reports:
The first joint university set up by South and North Korea will open this year in Pyongyang against the backdrop of warming ties between the two sides, the school authorities said here Wednesday.
Pyongyang University of Science and Technology is set to open in the capital of the communist country in September, with 150 graduate students enrolled on subjects including IT, food and business.
"This is the first ever joint school set up by North and South Korea," an official of the private Northeast Asia Foundation for Education and Culture said.
All the courses will be given in English, he said.
The school's faculty will be composed of some 45 South Korean and foreign professors and 10 general staff.
The foundation originally planned to open the school in April but strained inter-Korean ties delayed the project.
Tensions eased after progress was made at six-party talks on dismantling North Korea's nuclear programmes, enabling the university to move forward, the official said.
Kim Jin-Kyong, dean of Yanbian Science and Technology College, will be the first dean of the inter-Korean college, he said.
The project has cost the foundation some 17 million dollars since 2002, with North Korea providing construction workers and some materials including sand and pebbles.
The college will consist of a five-storey building for lectures, a four-storey building for a library, dining facilities and research and five dormitory buildings.
The AFP reports:
The first joint university set up by South and North Korea will open this year in Pyongyang against the backdrop of warming ties between the two sides, the school authorities said here Wednesday.
Pyongyang University of Science and Technology is set to open in the capital of the communist country in September, with 150 graduate students enrolled on subjects including IT, food and business.
"This is the first ever joint school set up by North and South Korea," an official of the private Northeast Asia Foundation for Education and Culture said.
All the courses will be given in English, he said.
The school's faculty will be composed of some 45 South Korean and foreign professors and 10 general staff.
The foundation originally planned to open the school in April but strained inter-Korean ties delayed the project.
Tensions eased after progress was made at six-party talks on dismantling North Korea's nuclear programmes, enabling the university to move forward, the official said.
Kim Jin-Kyong, dean of Yanbian Science and Technology College, will be the first dean of the inter-Korean college, he said.
The project has cost the foundation some 17 million dollars since 2002, with North Korea providing construction workers and some materials including sand and pebbles.
The college will consist of a five-storey building for lectures, a four-storey building for a library, dining facilities and research and five dormitory buildings.
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