Rotundus.com

In Italy, so I've been a bit slow to update this lately. Here's a few random links that have cropped up in the meantime:

How Superbugs Will Affect Our Health Care Costs

"The superbugs have not only gotten bad fast--from "not really an issue" in 1980 to a major problem today--but they seem to be getting badder faster, as they merrily borrow resistance-conferring genes from each other. Researchers now say they're seeing resistance show up in the lab, before they even put the stuff into people." - some graphs charting the increasing levels of antibiotic resistant bacteria, and the implications of a world in which antibacterial drugs don't work.

The Amazing Condiment-Picking-Up Device Is More Than A Cool Video, It Could Actually Change The Way We Eat

"It's true--the video of Furukawakikou's new SWITL robotic hand scooping up ketchup and mayonnaise really does have to be seen to be believed. But just for that reason, we shouldn't undersell the teflon scoop's original use case: automating hand processes in a factory-scale Japanese bakery. " would be cool if they can get this artisanal style working at an industrial scale. The machine was made for that purpose - just not sure if the development has progressed to the point that such a thing is possible though.

Children on Medicaid Shown to Wait Longer for Care

The impact of red-tape and lower payments for Medicaid patients: "Sixty-six percent of those who mentioned Medicaid-CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program) were denied appointments, compared with 11 percent who said they had private insurance, according to an article being published Thursday in The New England Journal of Medicine. In 89 clinics that accepted both kinds of patients, the waiting time for callers who said they had Medicaid was an average of 22 days longer."

Young adults feel empowered by debt

The byline: "Carrying a lot of credit card and student loan debt sadly raises the self-esteem of young people. The glow fades at age 28."

A Hot-Water Bath for Thawing Meats

Apparently this can be done safely and quickly without negatively impacting the deliciousness level of meats according to some research sponsored by the US Department of Agriculture

In a Food Revolution, Fungi as Comrades

Argues that using fungi avoids the supply and agricultural runoff problems associated with phosphate fertilizers.

Jilted ex-boyfriend puts up abortion billboard

"A New Mexico man's decision to lash out with a billboard ad saying his ex-girlfriend had an abortion against his wishes has touched off a legal debate over free speech and privacy rights." The court seems to be reccomending the removal of the billboard on privacy grounds, even though it actually mentions no names. (Compare to this British case)

'Father' ordered to pay £100k for children he never knew he had after ex-wife tricked IVF clinic into using his frozen sperm

Rewarding people for committing forgery. Is this a great idea?

The Politics of Political Economists

A 1960s article on the correlation between increased government statistics gathering and increased government intervention in the economy.

Tough love must drive transit development

An article in the Globe and Mail on ways to make transit development more cost-effective by tweaking the laws to encourage increased population density around rail stations. Also looks at ways to decrease construction / operating costs of subway systems.

Minimum wage on the rise

So now there's to be a different minimum wage in Alberta depending on whether or not the employee is likely to receive tips. Personally I'm not a fan of the whole tipping system - just charge me appropriately for my meals to begin with.

One of the interesting results of the current strikes in Canada Post are that it seems to be flipping to a MWF delivery system. In theory it's to address the strike, but personally I think that this sounds like a great approach to stick with to reduce costs.

Along with fewer staff in plants, mail in urban areas will be delivered only on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Delivery in rural areas, parcels and pickup services will not be affected. Post offices will remain open as usual. Social security cheques won't be affected by delivery cutbacks.

These days typically I seem to be using Canada Post to receive various parcels. I suspect that that volume would be cut significantly if I move to ebooks - where's my touch-screen Kindle DX with WiFi Amazon? Anything essential seems to route through courier services. (Canada Post is also an extraordinarily cost-ineffective carrier when it comes to parcel service - more and more I see people using services like Fedex Ground or UPS Standard instead for lower-priority items and these alternatives are still significantly more expensive than USPS media mail which Canada Post has no reasonable equivalent to - their pseudo-courier services are more or less priced at the same level as their parcels for book-sized items). Instead, Canada Post is more of a junk-mail delivery service.

How much do Canadians care about this strike? Not a whole lot I think, and I suspect that they're care less the longer this goes on. Canada Post's spokesman mentioned that mail volume had dropped 50% this week, and also stated that "Every day they do this is a day that they're pushing our customers away." Indeed. I agree.

(Quotes from Postal strike to spread across Canada / Calgary Herald)