Seattle.BloggersPub

I just finished reading a TechCrunch interview with Andrew Anker of Six Apart about their excellent new service, Vox. It’s a nicely conducted interview about a well-designed product that I think will be very successful, but this line struck me as a bit odd: “Very early on in Vox’s development, we created a two week rapid iteration cycle where we made sure to push code religiously every two weeks. By doing that, we made sure…

I just finished reading a TechCrunch interview with Andrew Anker of Six Apart about their excellent new service, Vox. It’s a nicely conducted interview about a well-designed product that I think will be very successful, but this line struck me as a bit odd: “Very early on in Vox’s development, we created a two week rapid iteration cycle where we made sure to push code religiously every two weeks. By doing that, we made sure…

I just caught this over on MacNN: SWF Movie Player is being billed as a “smart” Flash Player for MacOS. When I first saw the post, I assumed it was something like Gnash, which is an entirely separate Flash Player built from the ground up. But it looks like it is simply an enhancement for […]

Despite the fact that Halloween is about being a naughty kitty or frisky nurse or skanky babydoll or my favorite, sexy bumble bee costumes, I still somewhat like the childish excitement behind the REAL trick-or-treaters at my door. The wee…

What could the guy next door do if I-933–or other western property initiatives–pass on November 7? Sightline has just launched a No on 933 issue ad that shows how these initiatives could pave the way for irresponsible development and an end to many commonsense protections.

Watch the ad! 

Forward it!

If you have an extra second, go to the YouTube version and rate it!

Please comment below or send feedback to elisa@sightline.org.

Tonight is the kickoff of America’s two-month festival of gluttony:   first Halloween, then Thanksgiving, then the extended food coma that has become the Hannukah-Christmas-New Year season.

As is now my holiday custom, I plan on packing on about 5-7 pounds over the next 2 months, then fretting about my growing girth, then vowing to eat better and get more exercise in the New Year, with mixed results. 

I know, I know, it’s a vicious cycle — I should just eat more healthfully to begin with.  But that’s hard:  sugars and fats have become so cheap and abundant that they’re virtually impossible to avoid.  Treats aren’t a novelty any more — they’re the norm.  And even if I can steel my will to resist 9 out of 10 temptations, there’s still way too many opportunities to fall off the wagon.

Growing girth is just one symptom of a food system that’s fundamentally out of whack.  We’ve created a web of subsidies — everything from agricultural research to tax breaks to direct payments to farmers –  that favor empty calories (e.g., corn syrup, vegetable oils, animal fats) over healthier foods, like fruits and vegetables.

A month or so ago, I got to wondering how just how many food calories the nation produces, compared with how many we need to keep our bodies fueled.  As it turns out, we produce vastly more food calories than we could ever use ourselves. Vastly.

On average, a person can survive quite well on a diet of 2,000 calories per day — maybe a smidge more or less, depending on your weight and level of activity.  But the US corn harvest alone produces the equivalent of 13,500 calories per US resident per day — almost 7 times more calories than we need.  And soybeans add an additional 2,600 calories per person per day. 

Add in wheat, rice, fruits, veggies, and a few minor crops, and we’re talking about an agricultural system that produces at least nine times as many calories from plants as our bodies can healthfully use. (And that doesn’t even count seafood, grass-fed beef, milk from pasture cattle, etc. — just food crops.)

That’s a lot of calories. 

Obviously, very little of that food is actually intended for direct human consumption.  Most goes to feed animals, a lot of it goes to ethanol, some gets sent overseas or used in industry.

Still, given how much we produce, it’s no wonder that we’re surrounded by sugars and fats. Spurred on by misguided subsidies, our agricultural system has become so phenomenally productive that it’s actually a hazard to our health.

Sayulita is really that beautiful, so much less dirty and commercialized than Bucerias. Tim and I are on our third day here and despite slow acclimation to the sticky hot weather, a fungal infection and a rash (heat rash), I truly couldn’t be happier!!! I’ll be posting my own photos when I return…not for another […]

<SOAPBOX>

I’m normally a pretty optimistic fellow. I have a healthy and happy family. My company is starting to really click. It’s even sunny and clear outside as I write this. But I was under a dark cloud yesterday, and still am today.

The company healthcare is going up 30% from last year. And last year it went up 30%. Absurdly enough, the year before that it went up 30%. That’s right, the company health care costs HAVE DOUBLED IN THREE YEARS.

Why isn’t healthcare a greater priority? Why isn’t big business railing against these rising costs? Unless big business is either offloading the costs or cutting special deals, I don’t understand the silence. I’m shouting right now, but we are tiny next to the Microsofts, Boeings and StarBucks of our region. Maybe I’m already an anachranism believing a company should provide medical coverage for its employees. These people are working hard and doing right by us; I will do right by them.

I’m told again and again we have the greatest healthcare in the world. I have to believe we also have the costliest healthcare in the world. What happens when the greatest meets the costliest? It becomes the most USELESS because it won’t cover enough people.

</SOAPBOX>

<SOAPBOX>

I’m normally a pretty optimistic fellow. I have a healthy and happy family. My company is starting to really click. It’s even sunny and clear outside as I write this. But I was under a dark cloud yesterday, and still am today.

The company healthcare is going up 30% from last year. And last year it went up 30%. Absurdly enough, the year before that it went up 30%. That’s right, the company health care costs HAVE DOUBLED IN THREE YEARS.

Why isn’t healthcare a greater priority? Why isn’t big business railing against these rising costs? Unless big business is either offloading the costs or cutting special deals, I don’t understand the silence. I’m shouting right now, but we are tiny next to the Microsofts, Boeings and StarBucks of our region. Maybe I’m already an anachranism believing a company should provide medical coverage for its employees. These people are working hard and doing right by us; I will do right by them.

I’m told again and again we have the greatest healthcare in the world. I have to believe we also have the costliest healthcare in the world. What happens when the greatest meets the costliest? It becomes the most USELESS because it won’t cover enough people.

</SOAPBOX>

<SOAPBOX>

I’m normally a pretty optimistic fellow. I have a healthy and happy family. My company is starting to really click. It’s even sunny and clear outside as I write this. But I was under a dark cloud yesterday, and still am today.

The company healthcare is going up 30% from last year. And last year it went up 30%. Absurdly enough, the year before that it went up 30%. That’s right, the company health care costs HAVE DOUBLED IN THREE YEARS.

Why isn’t healthcare a greater priority? Why isn’t big business railing against these rising costs? Unless big business is either offloading the costs or cutting special deals, I don’t understand the silence. I’m shouting right now, but we are tiny next to the Microsofts, Boeings and StarBucks of our region. Maybe I’m already an anachranism believing a company should provide medical coverage for its employees. These people are working hard and doing right by us; I will do right by them.

I’m told again and again we have the greatest healthcare in the world. I have to believe we also have the costliest healthcare in the world. What happens when the greatest meets the costliest? It becomes the most USELESS because it won’t cover enough people.

</SOAPBOX>