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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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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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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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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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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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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Dictionary means - never having to say huh?

Google dictionary

"To see a definition for a word or phrase, simply type the word "define," then a space, and then the word(s) you want defined. If Google has seen a definition for the word or phrase on the Web, it will retrieve that information and display it at the top of your search results.

You can also get a list of definitions by including the special operator "define:" with no space between it and the term you want defined. For example, the search [define:World Wide Web] will show you a list of definitions for "World Wide Web" gathered from various online sources."

Also check out http://wordweb.info/

"WordWeb Pro is a quick and powerful international English thesaurus and dictionary for Windows. It can be used to lookup words from almost any Windows program, showing definitions, synonyms and related words. There are also many proper nouns and usage examples. You can search for words matching a pattern, find and solve anagrams, and optionally search a large number of extra word lists."

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Rewind DVDs

Speed the process

Sometimes one finds a solution to a problem that is not seeking an answer.

"Guaranteed Lowest Price on the Internet for DVD Rewinding
No More Embarrassing Fines or Hassles at your Video Rental Store !!!
No Fuss — No Waiting — Do It Online — Do It Now!
Rewind your DVDs

Digital Velocity



DVD Rewinder


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Graphics from the '50s

Remember it the way you want to

Original fifties clipart? Just in time for the holidays, some Ozzie and Harriet style pics.

"Most communities in the fifties had small town print shops that doubled as printers of local news and advertising papers. These printers could not afford graphic artists so they used stock clipart supplied by large companies who distributed common graphics for use in advertising sections of the papers. They were provided for the printer in lots of categories to meet any advertiser's needs."

Retrographix.com


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Sudoku

CrossNumber puzzles

I have to admit that I have not caught the fever that these puzzles seem to have generated.

Most every newspaper in the world has started publishing these brain teasers.

"Sudoku , sometimes spelled Su Doku, is a logic based placement puzzle, also known as Number Place in the United States. The aim of the canonical puzzle is to enter a numerical digit from 1 through 9 in each cell of a 9x9 grid made up of 3x3 subgrids (called "regions"), starting with various digits given in some cells (the "givens"). Each row, column, and region must contain only one instance of each numeral.
Completing the puzzle requires patience and logical ability. Its grid layout is reminiscent of other newspaper puzzles like crosswords and chess problems.
Although first published in 1979, Sudoku initially became popular in Japan in 1986 and attained international popularity in 2005."

Wikipedia — Sudoku

Here is a download that will construct as many of these puzzles as you might be Jonesing for.

Andy Pope Su Doku


Also:

Web Su Doku


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Dvorak Anyone?

Alternative Keyboard Layouts

"Free keyboard layouts - called Dvorak layouts - are available for people who type with one hand or finger. These layouts make the most frequently typed characters on a keyboard more accessible to people who have difficulty using the standard keyboard layout (called the "QWERTY" layout).

Dvorak keyboard layouts reduce the amount of motion required to type common English text. Use of these layouts may also help avoid some types of repetitive strain injuries associated with typing.

Studies have also shown an increase in typing speed and accuracy when using the Dvorak layout for two hands. The left-hand or right-hand keyboard layouts can also be useful for people who type with a wand."

You do not need to modify your hardware keyboard to use these layouts, but you will need to change your keyboard settings to use the Dvorak layouts.

(A keyboard layout is a map or a definition of how keys are laid out on your keyboard. The keyboard layout you use is determined by software in your computer. The letters on your keys indicate the standard layout for your keyboard.)

Tutorials and downloads




Introducing the Dvorak Keyboard
By Marcus Brooks

A Brief Primer
by Randy Cassingham


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Light Up Where You Live

A nation's porch light

"Ben Fry is a doctoral candidate at the MIT Media Laboratory. His research focuses on methods of visualizing large amounts of data from dynamic information sources. This work is currently directed towards "Genomic Cartography" which is a study into new methods to represent the data found in the human genome."

He has a fascinating demonstration of data display technique:



Zip Code Demonstrator.

Type in a zip code one number at a time to see how zip codes are distributed in the US.


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John Titor - 2036

The future came back

Why speculate about the future, when we've already been visited by a representative?

"A tale that disturbed me, concerned me, made me wonder if our world as we know it has less than 15 years left.

It is the tale of John Titor, a self-proclaimed time traveler from the year 2036.

Okay, it sounds crazy. It's not crazy, though . . .it's simply a hoax. It's a compelling hoax, so I decided to write my take on it. After some initial 'what if' excitement about it, the reality set in that this wasn't what it appeared to be. In this piece, I hope to prove relatively clearly that his claims are false both in theory and in fact. He seemed to know enough about physics to pass amongst laymen, but unfortunately he skipped philosophy and economics while he was reading all those physics books.

Since this story just won't seem to die and there is evidence that the same perpetrator is now claiming to be an alien on various boards across the web, I felt it was worth sitting down and analyzing."

Tackling John Titor, Time Traveler



Wikipedia:
John Titor

"John Titor was the name of a purported time traveler from the year 2036. He posted on several time travel-related Internet bulletin boards during 2000/2001, making many vague and seemingly falsifiable predictions about events in the near future and giving an explicit, detailed account of his supposed native time period. Whether or not John Titor was a hoax is a topic of controversy on web-based paranormal discussion boards."

John Ttior's Story

"Someone using the assumed name of John Titor and claiming to be a soldier on a mission from 2036 presented a considerable amount of information on the Web beginning around November 2000 about his mission and time travel machine, his perspective on our society, how our society is going wrong, and how society as we know it will end in a very short but massive global nuclear war in 2015. He's gone now, back to 2036 he said he was going in his last posting on March 24, 2001, and the threads he left across the Web in his five months with us have been slowly evaporating since then."

AboveTopSecret.com:
The John Titor Project

"Although many find it easy to dismiss all this as either science fiction or an elaborate extended hoax, there are those who still read his information and agree that there is something very troubling about John Titor and what he had to say."

Answers.com:
John Titor

" He claimed his time machine — a "C204 time displacement" machine-was created by General Electric. Supposedly, he transported it in a standard motor vehicle (a black, model-year 1966 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible shown in the photographs he provided), and the car also served as his vessel whilst traveling through time (it remained stationary throughout with the engine off). He claimed that the public is fully aware of time travel in his time period, although the extreme skeptics of his day do not believe it exists."

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An Obsession with Butterflies

Quote

"Architecture is a plant's first defense. Once a caterpillar begins to eat, compounds in its saliva can be recognized by the leaf as a form of attack. Whang, whang, whang. The entire plant goes on alert. A hormonal burst starts a second defense system, a counter attack that may include rushing newly produced toxins to the damaged leaf, as well as compounds that slow a caterpillar's ability to digest the plant as food."

About the Author

Sharman Apt Russell teaches writing at Western New Mexico University. She is also the author of Anatomy of a Rose, Kill the Cowboy and Songs of the Fluteplayer.
She has a unique voice. Inherently complex topics are made enjoyable.

Book Description

From the beastly horned caterpillar, whose blood helps it count time, to the peacock butterfly, with wings that hiss like a snake, Russell traces the butterflies through their life cycles, exploring the creatures' own obsessions with eating, mating, and migrating. In this way, she reveals the logic behind our endless fascination with butterflies as well as the driving passion of such legendary collectors as the tragic Eleanor Glanville, whose children declared her mad because of her compulsive butterfly collecting, and the brilliant Henry Walter Bates, whose collections from the Amazon in 1858 helped develop his theory of mimicry in nature. Russell also takes us inside some of the world's most prestigious natural history museums, where scientists painstakingly catalogue and categorize new species of Lepidoptera, hoping to shed light on insect genetics and evolution.

>

By Sharman Apt Russell
ISBN 0-7382-0699-7
Perseus Publishing 2003

Also see:
The North American Butterfly Association (NABA)

and,
AmazingButterflies.com:
A Talk with Sharman Apt Russell


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Test Your Typing

Practice, Practice

"With the TypingMaster Online Test you can assess your personal typing skills in minutes for free - within your web browser.

Based on the short text typing sample, this Java™ applet will estimate your typing skills including typing speed, accuracy and net speed. You can also receive test results directly to your email address."

TypingTest.com

MrKent.com
Typing and Ten-key Tests


Also:
CalculatorCat.com
Typing test


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Best of Clementine, The

Not lost and gone

Why write new words and lyrics? They're interchangeable.

" You've heard it sung around the campfires! You've lifted your voice to its haunting melody countless times! Now K-Smel records introduces an all-new collection... The Best Of Clementine! "

1. The words to Clementine can be sung easily to the tune of certain songs
   
2. By extension, the words to these songs can be sung to the tune of Clementine
   
3. By further extension, the words and tunes of any of these songs are interchangeable
   

There is an MP3 file on the site that can be downloaded to illustrate the principal. The Best Of Clementine By Carl Franklin

Original lyrics from: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

How I missed her, how I missed her, How I missed my Clementine, Til I kissed her little sister, And forgot my Clementine.

1885 version: Ingeb.org


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Il Circo Dei Rocchetti Rotolanti

The Rolling Reels Circus

Giuseppe (Pino) Civitarese was an oceanographer from Trieste.

He has a small but fascinating collection of paper automata.

"Automata, from the Greek automatos, "acting of one's own will, self-moving" is more often used to describe non-electronic moving machines, however, especially those that have been made to resemble human or animal actions, such as the jacks on old public striking clocks, or the cuckoo and any other animated figures on a cuckoo clock. See more from Wikipedia.

Thanks to the web, paper automata represent a fascinating evolution of the mechanized toys developed during the XVIII and XIX century. The possibility to export the complete design throughout the world with a simple click of the mouse gives paper automata (and in general paper modeling) a great impact.

Despite the relative simplicity of the material, paper automata intrinsically are objects with a high degree of technology, where the principles of mechanics meet the artistic creativity. "

Most of the templates used to create the models are free.



PaperPino.net:
Rolling Reels Circus


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Crossword Puzzles

May I have a word with you?

Even if you're used to doing crosswords with a pen or a typewriter, you're sure to find something new at this site.
Your Dictionary.com

It has, of course, a selection of word sources.

Language dictionaries from Abenaki to Zulu with Mapudungun in between.

"So you like word games, do you? Well, you have come to the right place. We have the richest assortment of crossword puzzles on the planet: anagram puzzles, cryptic puzzles, Roman and Arabic numeral puzzles, study puzzles for geography, physics, astronomy, Spanish and the Bible, puzzles with holiday messages, with graphics and web links. Now we have crossword puzzles for kids. We also have encrypted word puzzles and a new invention: fill-in crossword puzzles!"

• 20 Different Kinds of Crosswords
• Word of the Day Crossword Puzzles
• Word of the Day Semantic Scramble
• Word Jungles
• Encrypted Enigma Machine Puzzles
• Fill-in Puzzles
• Crossword Puzzles in Other Languages

The Game Room




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Where on the World

Stats on a map

Various statistical findings superimposed on a world globe.

"This project started some eight years ago.

An attempt to do justice to the term 'political' and 'geo-political' globe.
Trying to tell the lie (of abstraction and visualization) that tells the truth.

By now there are more than 200 different globes."

3 Hour US Air Force Range

WorldProcessor.com


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Bathroom Appliances

One man's toilet is . . .

Bill Gates mansion bathroom tour
(a story to be read and enjoyed but not believed)

Terry Love:
Consumer toilet reports


Gizmodo.com:
Toilets

"We've all been there. Nature calls and the only answer is a toilet with more levers, switches, and buttons than Wily E. Coyote's latest invention. What to do? If you're Bob Cromwell, the answer is obvious: You take a picture. Dedicated to the man and the latrines he's dared to use, Toilets of the World features photos and captions from Bob's many encounters with the cryptic, the seatless, and the downright weird. During his travels through Russia, East Asia, and South America, Bob never met a commode he didn't want to remember. From an Ottoman-era throne of a more modest variety to a hole-in-the-ground kind enough to offer tips on feet placement, you're bound to gain a quick appreciation for Bob, the Indiana Jones (and Ansel Adams) of latrines."

Toilets of the world


Ben Franklin's toilet


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