Mozilla/Firefox Adapter for Roboform Released

I have to give credit to Roboform. After Firefox suddenly released version 1.05 and users of Roboform found that it would crash every time they ran the two together, Roboform tech guys jumped on it and in little over a day, came up with a fix. So if you use Roboform and Firefox, then head here for version 6.3.7 of the adapter.

Golf
If you're into Golf, then tomorrow is your day. Tune in at 8 a.m. Eastern on ABC to see the final round of the British Open. Tiger has a 2 shot lead over Jose Maria Olazabal with Montgomerie and Goosen 3 back and Faxon and Garcia 4 back. Should be a great event.

Anthony Bourdain

Anthony Bourdain, of Kitchen Confidential fame, will have his own show (Anthony Bourdain, No Reservations) on the Travel Channel . Look for it starting July 25th at 10 p.m ET/ PT. (if you use Firefox, add it to your DoMe plugin task list). I listened to him read his book (Kitchen Confidential) through a digital download on Audible.com. That was an experience! He is one off the wall chef! I learned a lot about running a busy NYC restaurant though and if you don't mind a bit of profanity (understatement), you'll find this a great read.

Firefox 1.05 and Roboform Incompatibility

I posted yesterday that Firefox 1.05 is now out, but you shouldn't install it yet if you use Roboform. It will crash Firefox every time. I'll update this when I see a fix. (apparently Roboform got zero information from Mozilla that they were coming out with 1.05, so it will take Roboform about a week to fix this problem - hopefully sooner).

Photo of the Day

Closeup macro shot of bumblee on coneflower, also known as echinacea. (Click on image for full sized view).

A popular herbal remedy, or botanical, believed to benefit the immune system; it is used especially to alleviate common colds and the flu. Echinacea is extracted from the roots and flowering tops of the purple coneflower (Echinacea angustifolia and E. purpurea). Echinacea should not be used in progressive systemic and auto-immune disorders such as tuberculosis, leicosis, connective tissue disorders, collagenosis and related diseases such as lupus erythematosus, according to the German Kommission E. Its use in AIDS or opportunistic infections in AIDS patients is controversial.

If used for more than 8 weeks, echinacea may cause liver damage.² It should not be used with other known hepatotoxic drugs such as anabolic steroids, amiodarone (Pacerone® or Cordarone®), methotrexate or ketoconazole (Nizoral®).

So use some caution when consuming a lot of this. I take methotrexate, so this information was quite relevant. I didn't realize the danger was hepatoxicity - i thought the issue was that it enhanced the immune system and thus would be contraindicated with a disease such as mine (rheumatoid arthritis), where the idea is to damp the immune system down (or the part of it that is doing damage) . That is the prevalent theory amongst most rheumatologists, although there is debate about this as well (there's always a debate in medicine).

Firefox 1.05 Released

With a host of security fixes, Firefox 1.05 was released today. You can get it here

Science
Discovery was scrubbed today due to fuel sensor problems and most likely would have been scrubbed for weather. Tune in tomorrow.

Sports
Michelle Wie (the 15 yr old phenom) kept her hopes alive in the men's Amateur Public LInks by shooting a 72 which just snuck her into match play today. If she were to win this event, she'd get an invite to the Men's Masters. Now how cool would that be? Of course, some men have grumbled, saying that she should stay on the women's tour since men aren't allowed to play on the women's tour. What's your opinion?

Movies
Saw Hotel Rwanda last nite on Direct TV. I liked the performance by Don Cheadle but the movie, despite the horror behind it, wasn't gritty enough for me. Nick Nolte in his powder blue UN getup just didn't cut it for me - he looked stupid (as most of these UN guys do in these stupid outfits) and it turned it a bit too Hollywoodish for me. Still, it is amazing how the world can sit on its hands throughout these massacres, just as it has done in Darfur . Obviously, since Rwanda offers little political advantage to politicans in the Western World, they just don't give a shit. We can spend billions attacking a country that likes to play a bluff game, (but wasn't imminently dangerous), while we stand by and let 800,000 people be hacked to death. (For background info on the genocide, check out this BBC article ).

TV
If you get the chance, tune in to PBS's presentation of Jared Diamond's Pulitizer Prize winning book, Guns, Germs, and Steel .Inspired by a question put to him on the island of Papua New Guinea more than thirty years ago, Diamond embarks on a world-wide quest to understand the roots of global inequality. The three one-hour programs were filmed across four continents on High Definition digital video, and combinied ambitious dramatic reconstruction with moving documentary footage and computer animation. They also include contributions from Diamond himself and a wealth of international historians, archeologists and scientists. To find out when it comes on in your area, head for the PBS TV Schedule .

Web Site of the Day
Old Grandma Hardcore

Discovery Mission

Turn on your TV sets around 3 p.m Eastern to get ready for Discovery's blastoff. The stakes are large for NASA -"A triumphant launch and especially a safe landing is deemed an "absolute prerequisite" to NASA’s future plans, suggested John Logsdon, Director of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs in Washington, D.C.

"NASA needs to get shuttle flying to finish the International Space Station. It needs to retire the shuttle as soon as possible and replace it with newer, safer, systems," Logsdon told SPACE.com , while getting started on human exploration beyond Earth orbit.

"None of this is likely to happen if this mission fails badly," Logsdon advised. "So this launch ranks up there with Alan Shepard and John Glenn’s Mercury missions and Apollo 11 in its significance."

For more about what will take place on the shuttle, head to Mission: Safety .

Rudy Chapa link - 404 Not Found

It seems like there is a lot of traffic to this site looking for the Rudy Chapa running story which was originally at http://www.midwestrunning.com/features/chapajuly2003.html. However, this was taking down by the site for reasons unknown to me, so hopefully you will notice this post before doing a search and wandering off on wayward excursions.

RSS feed for this site

In case you are using a News Aggegrator to read this site, the new feed address is http://feeds.feedburner.com/PontificatingFromTheMountain

Curry Spice Shuts down Melanoma

Curcumin, the ingredient that gives curry its yellow hue, blocked the growth of melanoma tumor cells and even stimulated their death in the laboratory, researchers report .

"We could completely inhibit the growth of the tumor if we used a big enough dose," said study co-author Bharat B. Aggarwal, chief of the Cytokine Research Section in the Department of Experimental Therapeutics at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. His report is set to appear in the Aug. 15 issue of Cancer.

Aggarwal and his colleagues exposed three different cell lines of melanoma to curcumin, which is found in turmeric, a spice used in curry dishes. Exposure to curcumin decreased the cell viability of all three cell lines, they found.

They zeroed in on a molecule called NF-kappa B, which is known to be overactive in several types of tumors, including melanoma. The turmeric shut down the molecule and that lead to inhibition of the tumor growth, Aggarwal explained.

In other preliminary research, including some by Aggarwal's team, turmeric has proven useful in treating multiple myeloma, as well as breast and pancreatic cancers.

Having had really bad sunburns as a kid and being fair-skinned (an indication of my regal English heritage, I'm sure), I'm no doubt a prime candidate for a nice big fat melanoma, so this is good news, in particular, since I already ingest the stuff as an anti-inflammatory for my RA.

Don't Like to Read?

Stumbled across this well written and very funny article on reading and those who can't stand the thought of picking up a book.. If you don't read, how do you think? Through tv? Through gossip? If you don't read, how can I possibly relate to you? If you don't have a library, no matter how small, or a book splayed face down on your coffee table, how will I be able to see your brain?

Web Site of the Day
Your Birthday

Mucous Recovery System?

While watching the Dolans yesterday on CNN, there was a discussion about health care costs and some of the crazy charges that one finds on their bill. How about $30 for a box of Kleenex - listed under "Mucous Recovery System". God, I love bureaucrats.

Photos of the Day

Decided I had spent enough time surfing the Net today, so grabbed the camera and headed outside. (Besides, after the post above, thought you needed something more pleasant to dwell on. :) The winds were beginning to pick up as we got the fringes of Dennis, but was able to grab a few quick shots before it became impossible. Usually need a tripod for these shots, but bees are quick moving so I often find it necessary to pump up the ISO and shutter speed and cross my fingers. Click the picture for the full sized image.


Here's a macro of a day lily that I liked for its simplicity and brilliant colors. (click for full sized image)