Rotundus.com

TurboTax Maker Funnels Millions To Lobby Against Easier Tax Returns

I wonder what the figures look like for Canada. I've been informed by some who've done both that most US tax returns can already be completed with a pretty simple form and that the Canadian ones are more complicated to fill out.

New Prostate Cancer Tests Could Reduce False Alarms

One of the reasons why health authorities have recommended cutting back on routine breast and prostate cancer screenings are the negative effects of all the false positives. As previously mentioned, even if mammography detects something suspicious the odds that breast cancer isn't present are over 90%. It would be interesting if that could be significantly improved.

Women in Their 20s Shouldn't Feel Bad About Wanting a Boyfriend

"But a lot of them experience ambivalence about being in a relationship. A therapist asks why." In a Slate response: "When I passed along that Atlantic piece to a few friends yesterday, many of them admitted to me privately (and somewhat sheepishly) that they've felt that anxiety before. And despite being so close to many of them, it was the first time I'd heard about it." Strange how the Slate response (coming from the section of the site devoted to a female perspective on things) seemed ignorant of what many of their female friends felt. It's also strange how the original article seemed to suggest that being "liberated" means not doing what you want - sounds almost like a new form of oppression.

Let's Go Back to Grouping Students by Ability

"Since the late 1960s, well-meaning educators have shied away from placing kids in 'faster' and 'slower' classes. Now that trend is reversing—and for good reason."

From a New York Times blog post entitled When Hope Tramples Truth:

People interested in truth seek out those who disagree with them. They look for rival opinions, awkward facts and the grounds that might engender hesitation. Such people have a far more complicated life than the optimists, who rush forward with a sense of purpose that is not to be deflected ...

He Has Millions and a New Job at Yahoo. Soon, He’ll Be 18.

I feel old.

Dunking Science: Do Cookies Really Taste Better Dipped In Tea?

The answer after the scientific analysis seems to be yes.

Why Women Choose Bad Boys

"When ovulating a woman's hormones influence who she sees as good potential fathers, and they specifically pick sexier men over obviously more dependable men."

Bike chaos threatens in big cities

The different sort of transportation problems that Dutch cities face - if the stats in the article are accurate there are more bicycles in Amsterdam than people. Canada recently dropped tariffs on "sporting equipment" but for some unknown reason explicitly excluded bikes - given that biking can not only be used for sport but also as low-cost, low-emission transportation while providing exercise that strikes me as a terrible thing to retain tariffs on. Even more ricidulously, "The tariff on bicycles is going up significantly (from 8.5 per cent to 13 per cent)"

A brief University of California video in which a UC Davis Professor of Brewing Science discusses beer and includes a bit of advise on selecting the right stuff:

HT: 22 Words