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Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Hip Replacement

Do it yourself


Well, not exactly.

The Northwest has a great PBS radio station in KUOW.

Here is a story about how surgeons work, including a blow by blow description of a hip replacement operation.
. . . "this hour: the surgeon's hands. How do surgeons keep their hands healthy? What kind of training do they go through to keep their fingers tactile and sensitive? How important is touch to successful surgery? Are the hands of surgeons gifted? Over the past month, we've been talking with people who use their head and their hands in their work. Our 'How To' series continues today with surgeons.

Guests

Richard Ellenbogen, M.D. chairman of neurological surgery at the University of Washington School of Medicine, the Theodore S. Roberts Endowed Chair in Neurological Surgery, the Chief of Neurological Surgery at Harborview Medical Center

Eric Froines, M.D., F.A.C.S. chief of general surgery, Capitol Hill Specialty Center Group Health Permanente"

How to Operate


For more information, here is a link to the University of Washington:

What is Hip Replacement?
A Review of Total Hip Arthroplasty, Hip Resurfacing, and Minimally-Invasive Hip Surgery.





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Wednesday, December 23, 2015

GIF Editor

Free tool


Here is an online GIF image editor. You can create animated GIF files and save them to your site or your machine.

There is nothing to download. All the work is done on line.





"Create your own special effects with any GIF -- even animated ones! Resize it, colorize it, optimize it, and jazzercise it -- then save it and take it with you. You name it and you can do it!

It's simple! Using the easy-to-use pull down menus. Simply follow the instructions to load any GIF and then manipulate the image using the GIFMagic menus. It's that easy."


GIFMagic


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Saturday, December 19, 2015

Make a List

How to check it


January is the month that bird watchers try to find as many birds as they can.

This is only one kind of list. This link helps you create a list of 453 Washington state birds and more.

There's also a list for a motorcycle first aid kit.

Checklists for Motorcyclists


Also see:
Pack Light

And read this book to get yourself ready. (Maybe next year.)

The Big Year : A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession


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Friday, December 18, 2015

Big Year, The

A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession


By Mark Obmascik
ISBN 0743245458
Free Press; (February 4, 2004)



About the Author
Mark Obmascik was the winner of the 2003 National Press Club Award for environmental journalism. He has a story tellers ability to, not only describe the setting, but to draw the reader into the adventure.

Book Description
2.4 million people keep what is called a "life list" of birds they have seen. In the USA, some 50 million people lay claim to being bird-watchers or 'birders,' spending billions of dollars on birding-related travel and membership fees every year. A few compete in one of the world's quirkiest contests — the race to spot the most species in North America in a single year. And 1998 wasn't just a big year. It was to become the greatest birding year of all time.

Quote

"Every year on January 1, a quirky crowd of adventurers storms out across North America for a spectacularly competitive event called a Big Year — a grand, grueling, expensive, and occasionally vicious, "extreme" 365-day marathon of birdwatching.

For three men in particular, 1998 would be a whirlwind, a winner-takes-nothing battle for a new North American birding record. In frenetic pilgrimages for once-in-a-lifetime rarities that can make or break their lead, the birders race each other from Del Rio, Texas, in search of the rufous-capped warbler, to Gibsons, British Columbia, on a quest for Xantus's hummingbird, to Cape May, New Jersey, seeking the offshore great skua. Bouncing from coast to coast on their potholed road to glory, they brave broiling deserts, roiling oceans, bug-infested swamps, a charge by a disgruntled mountain lion, and some of the lumpiest motel mattresses known to man. "

Conversation: 'The Big Year'
(with streaming video interview)


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Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Hot Spot in Your Pocket

Or at least nearby


It'll cost about $1,000, but think about the bragging rights!

"I love the fact that more and more devices are sporting built-in Wi-Fi. The lone hitch: Wi-Fi is useless without a hotspot.

What if you could marry the short-range power of Wi-Fi with the huge coverage areas of high-speed cellular services such as EV-DO to create a portable hotspot?
Since EV-DO works at freeway speeds, you could even give Internet access to an entire road-trip caravan.

Now I can surf for as long as three hours without being tethered to anything but a cell signal. The project isn't cheap, but prices for the components and service are sure to come down in the next year or so. In the meantime, you can find me in the hills around Southern California. I'll be the one surrounded by PSP-packing hikers."





Popular Science:
Be Your Own Hotspot
By Mike Outmesguine


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Monday, December 07, 2015

Where in the World is

Your spy dollars at work


The World Factbook

The World Factbook provides a 'snapshot' of the world.

The online Factbook is updated regularly - generally weekly - throughout the year.

A 46 Meg zipped version is also available.


The World Factbook is in the public domain and may be used freely by anyone at anytime without seeking permission. However, US Code prohibits use of the CIA seal in a manner which implies that the CIA approved, endorsed, or authorized such use."


When you find yourself worrying about the local car wash spilling drainage into the storm sewer, look at some of these environmental concerns:

Azerbaijan
Local scientists consider the Abseron Yasaqligi (Apsheron Peninsula) (including Baku and Sumqayit) and the Caspian Sea to be the ecologically most devastated area in the world because of severe air, soil, and water pollution; soil pollution results from oil spills, from the use of DDT as a pesticide, and from toxic defoliants used in the production of cotton


www.CIA.gov


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