Cigars, Beaches, & Cancer Vaccines

Bone-marrow cancer vaccine molecule

As I sat at my computer, sipping coffee, and reading the day's headlines this morning, I stumbled across a nifty little tidbit that says Cuban scientists have found a type of vaccine to treat lung cancer. My first reaction was astonished excitement! so I delved further into the myriad of information about cancer research and how far we've come. It turns out that this vaccine is essentially used to stop the spread of cancer. It does not stop it from occurring, and will not get rid of cancerous growths that are already present. What this vaccine does is stop the proliferation of a particular protein that allows cancer cells to multiply.  Similar vaccines are being tested in the United States. "Provenge" was the first cancer vaccine to be approved by the FDA. However, this treatment is extraordinarily expensive and only prolongs survival by a few months. This is where the difference lies; the Cuban vaccine turns the cancer into a more manageable chronic illness that can be treated with more conventional and less invasive means. Basically it's not just a promise of a few more months of life, it's a promise of years!

I will say that there still needs to be testing, and it's unlikely that the drug will become available in the United States and Canada for a while as there will be very stringent investigations on the validity and safety of the drug. It's no secret that people from the US are likely to distrust the country of origin because of the indoctrination of anti-communist thought since the 1950s.

This could, however, bring the two nations closer together and open up better dialogue for ... well... not being so damn uptight to one another!  One can only hope

Tempo

Hey there, I just want to direct your attention to my other blog (if you are so interested) it's about music, both mine and other's.

TEMPO - Music & Life

Enjoy!

New Paths

Well hello again!  long time no see...

I would like to share with you the new path that I am taking with regard to online presence. As most of you know, I have a great number of interests, all of which tend to pull me in different directions all the time. Because of this, I feel that this blog (and all my other online profiles) lack a certain cohesiveness... the kind of cohesiveness that is found in most successful blogs, YouTube pages ... etc...

Therefore, I am going to create a couple new blogs, revamp my YouTube presence, open a music profile (site yet to be determined) and create a website.

This blog will remain intact and will actually focus on Wellness, commentary on world events, and how world events pertain to your well-being. Since I am critical of music that I listen to, I will be starting a blog devoted to my opinions of new and old music. Lastly I will be starting a blog to detail my musical progress on a professional level, Including my thoughts and feelings on gigs, info on where to see me perform etc...

I will keep my personal YouTube page (for family reasons) but I will be starting a new page that will have very tight control of content and a focus on professionalism ... because hey, in many ways it is my musical portfolio.

The website will be focused on my music as well, and will have lots of cool things for people to look at, listen to, and perhaps buy.

I think that creating these different venues will attach the right people to the right social outlet.  I would love to have your thoughts on this!  if anyone has some cool ideas, let me know!

Take care!

Social Psychology, how I love the lessons you've taught me

I'm walking down the street today, and a thought occurred to me: my Social Psychology and Personality classes have to be the most practical courses I have ever taken in University. I definitely mean no offence to the numerous other helpful courses that have lead to my profound bachelor's level of enlightenment; I simply mean to point out that these courses are the most helpful when you want to manipulate, weasel, or in other words... play the game that is modern life.

Marty Feldman - Successfully Bug-Eyed

Lesson #1:

People who are better looking (e.g. have a symmetrical face and are fit in appearance) get higher paying jobs, and have more relationships. There are a ton of other factors that come into play there as well, such as self-esteem. However, when experimental rubber hits the practical road ... it's a reliably tested tendency. So what can we do about it? ... Go to the gym and keep yourself healthy. Other than that, you simply need to be confident and a little bit more sure of yourself. Genetics can only get you so far.

I urge you to disagree with me, PLEASE TRY TO UNDERMINE MY PLATFORM. for that is what experimentation is all about.... discourse.

Stay tuned for more lessons as the weeks tick by :)

Another Tech Post? Boxee ! The Start of a New Era

Like I say in my description, my interests are varied. So I've decided that you all must know about this new program that I'm running that has turned my television experience upside down.  It's called "Boxee" and it's a neat little program that packs a huge punch. Specifically, it's punching standard Satellite and Cable TV right in the gonads. The program installs on your computer (or you can order a pre-made version). You plug your computer into your TV, and voila! you have videos streaming from all the major networks (Via your local network's streaming services, and depending on where you are viewing from that could change) YouTube, Netflix, TED, etc etc all on your TV, without having to browse through their websites (which are usually full of advertisements)

Boxee turns your TV into a communications hub for all your entertainment needs. Because of it, I don't have cable at all. Why would you pay for cable, when you have everything you want on demand.  Check it out for yourselves!  It works on Ubuntu, Windows, and Mac.  The only downside is that it does not support Netflix for Ubuntu... but this is due to Netflix using exclusively Microsoft Silverlight, which does not run on Linux :-(

www.boxee.net

Study-Break!!!!

Hey everyone!   It's been a while since the last post.  These last few weeks of a semester are always the hardest, what with studying and all *wink wink nudge nudge*  So I thought I'd share a little cartoon with you. You may or may not agree with it, but I see it as an example of how subjective the wording of ANYTHING can be. Enjoy :)

Mendeley and my student life

Beyond its clever name, Mendeley is a really powerful program and social networking utility that I have begun to use non-stop over the past months.

It organizes all those peer-reviewed journals you downloaded from EBSCO or any of the other multitudinous online journal distribution sites. It allows you to highlight and add notes to the articles, then share them with people and collaborate.

It also allows you to set up a social networking utility that facilitates communication with other people in your field!  So for example, as part of your profile you list publications you have been a part of, then people can contact you through Mendeley to comment on your work etc.  It's like peer review facebook!

Maybe you guys aren't as excited as I am, but at least if you have lots of articles you want to hold on to, this is the program for you!  (oh, and did I mention that it's free and runs on Linux as well?!?!)  Happy Writing!

www.mendeley.com