http://thedesignspace.net/ My daily explorations, troubleshooting, solutions and discoveries. en-us ellen@thedesignspace.net Sun, 13 Jan 2013 19:24:42 -0500 http://thedesignspace.net/MT2archives/001009.html My ship has come in, literally. Here is the SS Ellen: I just discovered Shapeways, an online 3D printing service that lets you build your own (somewhat random) spaceship in one of three colors, and have it delivered to your door. You can also create jewelry, your own mini-Me-style action figure, and even iPhone cases based on Soundcloud waveforms. You... http://thedesignspace.net/MT2archives/000778.html After logging in to Facebook yesterday and seeing yet another notice about how Facebook is going to swap my data with just about any site they feel like, I realized I don't want to have to check their extremely complicated privacy settings every week or two to make sure they haven't changed something I care about. Besides being an incredible... http://thedesignspace.net/MT2archives/000679.html With Fall coming, it's time for Corn mazes. There are loads of them to find in Google Earth. Here are a few to get you started, including the Google Earth KML files. In England, they mostly do crop circles, and it'stoo late in the year, they're all harvested by now, but next year be sure to look for them. Crot's... http://thedesignspace.net/MT2archives/000675.html If this is true, it could be revolutionary. Fossils From Animals And Plants Are Not Necessary For Crude Oil And Natural Gas, Swedish Researchers Find ScienceDaily (2009-09-12) -- Researchers in Sweden have managed to prove that fossils from animals and plants are not necessary for crude oil and natural gas to be generated. The findings are revolutionary since this means,... http://thedesignspace.net/MT2archives/000649.html http://thedesignspace.net/MT2archives/000673.html Bai Yun's fifth cub was born on August 5, 2009 in the San Diego Zoo. Of course, I've been diligently shooting over-the-top-cute screen captures from the webcam ever since. Here are some of the best, in order. Aug. 6: Not much to see - he's hidden!... http://thedesignspace.net/MT2archives/000648.html Although some great books [1 and 2] have been written about the huge changes being wrought on society and culture by the digital revolution, it's just as interesting to speculate about the smaller consequences of the adoption of new technology. Here are some of the ones I've noticed, but perhaps you will have your own to add. Please jump in... http://thedesignspace.net/MT2archives/000486.html The problem: Over the last few years, public attention has been focused increasingly on the problem of nosocomial or hospital acquired infections (HAI's). Why is there so much concern? A study by the CDC published in the March/April 2007 issue of the journal Public Health Reports, estimated that 1.7 million hospital patients per year ― 4.5 of every 100 admissions... http://thedesignspace.net/MT2archives/000624.html Quick, what is the the fifth leading cause of death in the United States? Heart problems? Liver failure? Cancer? You probably won't believe me when I tell you it is flying in airplanes. Deep Vein Thrombosis in air travelers is far more frequent than most of us know. Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a dangerous condition where lack of movement... http://thedesignspace.net/MT2archives/000556.html My first attempt at a Google Gadget is now available, ready to contribute to your information overload and general level of anxiety. When loaded, "The Daily Bailout" widget shows you a random bailout from a list starting with the buyout of Countrywide Mortgages. Researching this little gadget has been an eye opener because of the sheer size of the... http://thedesignspace.net/MT2archives/000555.html http://thedesignspace.net/MT2archives/000549.html If you have every tried to help out with finding care for someone who is just returning home from a hospital stay, or for someone who has need of long term care within their home, you know how difficult it can be. Since patients are frequently discharged from the hospital before being fully recovered, it's often necessary to rapidly... http://thedesignspace.net/MT2archives/000528.html In thinking about the current Chinese milk scandle, the reference that comes to mind is Edward G. Robinson's movie, "Brother Orchid," about a gangster who hides out in a monastery, and while there, improves their dairy's milk production by adding buckets of water to the milk.... http://thedesignspace.net/MT2archives/000496.html It seems a species of pig that was thought to be extinct was really just hiding out in people's gardens. They have been rescued from the brink, and are being re-introduced to the wild in Assam, India by the Durrell foundation. I don't know about you but I wouldn't mind having a herd of these on my desktop. The... http://thedesignspace.net/MT2archives/000478.html Tumor Necrosis Factor is a type of signaling molecule (cytokine) involved in inflammation. It has been found to be an important factor in a variety of disease processes, because it promotes the inflammatory response which, although necessary in fighting infection, can be deadly in the case of overreaction, as in asthma. Finding this association has been a breakthrough in treating...