Greg In The Desert

• How I Use FriendFeed, and Why I Love It at Josh Bancroft’s TinyScreenfuls.com – in the beginning, I didn’t really “get” FriendFeed. I signed up for it, piped in all of my stuFriendFeed (Twitter, blog, photos, etc.), but never really used it much. Why would I go to yet another social network to read the stuff I was already seeing elsewhere? What changed it for me is when I happened to pop in to FriendFeed, and noticed that stuff I was sharing was being discussed on FriendFeed, a LOT, and I was completely missing out on the conversation. That’s when I decided that I needed to make it part of my “regular” routine.
• Pew Research Center: GOP Party Identification Slips Nationwide and in Pennsylvania – But these Republican losses have not translated into substantial Democratic gains. So far in 2009, 35% of adults nationwide identify as Democrats, about the same as in 2008 (36%). While GOP identification has fallen seven points since 2004, the Democrats have gained only two points over that period. Instead, a growing number of Americans describe themselves as independents, 36% in 2009 compared with just 32% in 2008 and 30% in 2004.
• Grunt You Wimp! – Increase Power In Your Workouts – Instead of having a poster that says “don’t grunt”… How about a poster that says “Did you know that a quick and forceful exhalation of breath can result in a 10-20% increase in power output?” — It’s true. This is why in Karate you’ll see everyone doing something called a “Kia” every time they throw a strike. You are releasing your inner energy to increase your power output, not to be a purposeful asshole to others around you.
• Adios Countrywide – Countrywide was already a well-known brand name when I got into the business 30 years ago. I'm not sure how big a company it was back then but everyone knew it as the independent source for mortgage financing if you didn't want to go the your local Savings & Loan or bank. They had a good reputation too.

  I remember that when I started my Internet website www. loan-wolf.com back in 1996, I think that Countrywide was one of the few other mortgage companies with a web presence. But things changed after 2000.

• Candidate for Georgia governorship says he’d kill his own son to secede – A longshot Georgia candidate for governor who’s already admitted having sex with a mule before finding God says he’s ready to sacrifice his own son in an effort to get his state to secede from the union.
• BBC NEWS | Health | Lithium in water ‘curbs suicide’ – The suicide rate was significantly lower in those areas with the highest levels of the element, they wrote in the British Journal of Psychiatry.
• Chip sales up slightly in March, down for quarter – New Mexico Business Weekly: – Worldwide sales of semiconductors were $14.7 billion in March, a gain of 3.3 percent from the prior month when sales were $14.2 billion, according to a report Friday by the Semiconductor Industry Association.

  However, the San Jose-based SIA said sales for the first quarter of 2009 totaled $44 billion, a 29.9 percent decline from the first quarter of 2008 when sales were $62.8 billion; and a 15.7 percent decline from the fourth quarter of 2008 when sales were $52.2 billion.

• What are the great health benefits of coffee? I’d consider to include your article once I put up our generic blog about coffee. – Mahalo Answers – A 2004 study in Sweden across all ages and demographics demonstrated a significant negative correlation between high coffee consumption and the risk of developing high insulin resistance (Agardh et. al 2004). This and other studies have demonstrated that persons who consume more than two cups of coffee a day are much more likely to avoid developing Type II diabetes. Interestingly enough, many individuals who fall into the category of obese also suffer from Type II diabetes or are "pre-diabetic". A number of studies have shown that coffee plays a significant role in preventing the increase in insulin resistance that causes Type II diabetes.
• Disincentive – I was ready to put a 3 kilowatt solar array on top of my house. The new tax credits made it feasible to do so with a 10 year payoff and the concurrent lessening of green house gases being put into the atmosphere. And then I begin to worry about how the county assessor would be required to look at the value of the solar installation.
• Nine ‘probable’ cases of swine flu in New Mexico – There were three five new suspected cases reported today according to the N.M. Department of Health:

  15-year-old female from Valencia County
  17-year old female from Eddy County
  15-year old male from Eddy County
  17-year old male from Hidalgo County
  27-year old male from Bernalillo County

I remember being in Junior High and High School reading about the 1918 Flu epidemic and The Great Depression. In the future, such events wouldn’t happen again.

Here we are in the future. A possible great epidemic is upon us. We are experiencing the largest recession since the Great Depression. General Motors is closing down Pontiac. The United States has a black president. There are still no flying cars.

We are in interesting times. Hang on and enjoy the ride.