If you’re upgrading to a new cell phone, consider donating your old one to Call To Protect. This organization provides cell phones to victims of domestic violence. They program the donated phones to dial 911 and domestic violence shelters. “Over 50% of all women will experience physical violence in an intimate relationship, and for 24-30% of those women the battering will be regular and on-going. Every 15 seconds the crime of battering occurs.”

From the “easily amused” meets “bad puns” department: Well, today is Palm Sunday. So everyone with Palm Pilots and other PDAs, it’s your day to celebrate! (thanks birthday girl, Lisa).

Forbes’ article on Pierre Omidyar, founder of EBay, describes how he is attempting to give away all but 1% of his billions by 2020. I appreciate that he tries to keep a low profile, and that he is picking charities that address the root causes of problems instead of the “band-aid” situations. Sure, it’s important to feed the hungry, but the long term results of a program to allow more people to provide for themselves is critical to fixing the actual problem. The article includes plenty of details on his reaction to sudden wealth and how he and his wife tried to find the best way to donate their wealth. It’s important to make sure your money is being used properly, otherwise, why bother giving it away?

Seth (who has shortened his log name to Entropy) pointed me to the Question Exchange where technical people can get certified and then paid to answer questions. I worry a little about this model since cooperation and information exchange is one of the hallmarks of the ‘net. But I suspect that savvy geeks will continue to answer questions on discussion groups and mailing lists. However, if getting an answer is free to the reader (although I suspect “free” == “give us your personal data so we can sell ads”), and the responder can profit, along with the site host, is that good or bad? I’m actually not sure. Opinions?

I was perusing the GE Avantium site and, all of a sudden, a window popped up telling me that I’ve been visiting for 1.5 minutes and my pound of shrimp would be just
perfect right now. A few minutes later, they inform me that my chocolate chip cookies are now done. I felt like sticking around a bit to see if they were going to let me know that I had also just burned my biscuits in my nonexistent oven.

Do kids with cable television not draw televisions as a box with a “V” antennae on top? And how many unused rooftop antennas are taking up airspace above cable-wired houses?

I often wonder what it would be like to read travel guides about the United States written for foreigners. I suppose unless I learn other languages, I would be limited to those from English speaking countries. But I’d love to know what a Japanese or French guidebook says about traveling in America. Do they remind you that football isn’t really football and soccer is? Do they offer advice on how to deal with native New Yorkers? I bet there are lengthy explanations about the various tipping scenarios. America is such a diverse nation, I’d feel uncomfortable reading any generalizations about our culture and behavior. But there probably are valid statements that can be made. Just look at all the coffee drinkers and hamburger eaters. Memepool recently linked to a U.S. and Canada travel guide written for a British audience. Poking through, I found some interesting items. The Other Comments section of the Connecticut description reads “Most American states are divided into counties for administrative purposes. According to one source, Connecticut is divided into towns; another source says Connecticut has counties but they serve virtually no administrative purpose.” Connecticut does have counties, and they do have an administrative purpose, but not to the extent of a larger state like California. California’s Other Comment is “Several sources such as guide books and brochures state that it is illegal to run out of petrol in California. This appears in fact to be a myth, as far as I can determine. I can find no mention of any such law in the official California Driver’s Handbook. It would appear that it is illegal to run out of petrol on some lengthy bridges, but this law is not unique to California.” Hmmm. Massachusetts, the other state I’ve lived in, has no Other Comments. Hmph. The page about the Major Cultural and Practical Differences Between the UK and the USA/Canada describes “Typicalville, USA”. Worth a read. My favorite section was about traffic: “Everyone obeys the speed limits in town because they know the police will stop them if they don’t.” I guess I don’t live in Typicalville. There’s second page, also worth a scan, of other differences. “Whereas it is quite common to have to share a table with one or more strangers at a fast food restaurant in the UK, this is just not done in the USA and Canada.” And I never realized that our many wooden houses look temporary to visitors from the UK. Weird. Regarding television “The constant advert breaks make the viewing of a programme with any kind of a plot almost impossible.” Wow. To me that’s like saying it’s impossible to read a newspaper with all those darn ads in the way! It’s neat that someone took the time to put this site together. It covers many other topics I have not had the chance to read.

Everywhere I go in Silicon Valley I see “Help Wanted” and “We’re Hiring” signs. Restaurants, supermarkets, high-tech buildings, low tech shops. So, I’ve got to wonder: who the heck isn’t hiring?

I get stressed easily. I worry a lot. And I stress and worry about how much I stress and worry. I’m better than I used to be, but I still need to remember to relax. (Sometimes I sit and watch the San Diego Zoo baby panda cam to calm myself. Watching a cute little baby panda sleep is so relaxing.) Feed’s special DNA issue has an informative, if somewhat disconcerting, essay about the Influence of Anxiety on our genes. Gene CYP17 on chromosome 10 makes an enzyme which enables the body to convert cholesterol into cortisol. “Cortisol and stress are virtually synonymous.” So when you’re stressed, a lot of cortisol is running around your veins. And through a complicated interplay of turning various genes on and off, cortisol suppresses your immune system by altering white blood cells. And, ultimately, it’s your brain, under stress, that sets off this chain of events. Monkeys lower in their social hierarchy get more heart attacks. So do British civil servants lower in their pecking order, according to another study. The less control someone has over their lives, the more stress they are under. “Cortisol levels rise in response not to the amount of work you do, but to the degree to which you are ordered about by other people.” And then your blood will “contain less and less of the cholesterol bound to high-density lipoprotein (HDL).” That translates to clogged arteries and raised heart attack risk. A low cholesterol diet makes little difference. What really got me was this sentence: “You can raise your cortisol levels just by thinking about stressful eventualities — even fictional ones.” If I don’t learn how to stop worrying about every little thing, I’m doomed. My health is my number one priority. Mental and physical. And, dualism be damned, the mental affects the physical in greater ways than traditional medicine has led us to believe. Maintain control over your life. It may be the best way to live a happy, healthy one.

Follow up to the Amazon.com of the future mock-up: A women, quoted in Powell’s April 11 newsletter, gives feedback on their web site redesign. “Where are the tabs? How can I be sure you’re trying to sell me books if your pages aren’t nested inside make-believe beige file folders?” (big giggles here)