Month: July 2014
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Evidence for vitamin C supplements
Many people take vitamin C supplements in the belief they will: prevent or reduce the frequency of the common cold, or lessen the duration and severity of the common cold. But is there any evidence that vitamin C supplements work? In Jan 2013 the Cochrane Collaboration* published online the results of a meta-analysis of twenty-nine vitamin…
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The Conversation – a great online news resource
It’s tough today to get online news for Australians that’s ethical, rigorous and well-written. I’ve always used the ABC, and about a year ago I ditched the Sydney Morning Herald in favour of the Australian edition of The Guardian. When all the bad news starts to get me down I also rely on The Philosophers’…
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“Storage space running out” on Android smart phone
My wife has a Samsung Galaxy Note, the original phone in the Note series. She loves it and is very happy with it, except… For the past few months, application updates have been failing, and she’s been getting the notification: Storage Space Running Out We’ve been dealing with it by deleting unused apps, but that…
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A group of heavily tattooed men were in court today…
The title of this post appeared in an ABC news story this morning, and it immediately reminded me of my parents’ prejudice about tattoos, or more exactly, those who had tattoos. They believed you could identify the less desirable elements of society simply by the presence of tattoos. So, according to my parents some 50…
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Social media safety for the aged
Most articles about social media safety focus on kids and teenagers. You’ll find plenty of warnings about: Luring and grooming Cyberbullying Sexting and Privacy settings But what about the elderly? We have now reached the point where many elderly people using social media are facing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Can these people protect themselves? People…
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Dad’s new home
After rehabilitation from a severe fall, Dad (91) is now a permanent low-care resident in a lovely home called
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School vacation, bored kids and my grandparents
Yesterday afternoon I was listening to James Valentine on ABC radio 702. The topic was school holidays, and James asked kids to call in to talk about just how boring their holiday was. One girl phoned in and said she was bored beyond belief: all she’d done all day was text her friends and…
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ABC being politicised by adversarial games?
“We’re sick and tired of the ABC being politicised by adversarial games, whether it was the Labor Party in power or the Liberal Party in power.” says Quentin Dempster, a former staff-elected director on the ABC board. His comments follow appointment of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation columnist Janet Albrechtsen and former deputy Liberal leader Neil…
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Politicians working for the people – Gun Control
In 2013 the US television news satire, The Daily Show, put to air a three part mini-documentary comparing US action on gun control with Australia’s. Strip away the comedy and you’re left with a story of politicians in Australia who were so incensed by the Port Arthur massacre that they put their political future on the…
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Science versus Religion
Discussions of science versus religion often devolve into this sort of standoff: Person 1: “I do not accept the Bible as an authoritative source”. Person 2: “But the Bible says you’re wrong”. From this point in a conversation, how can you have any meaningful discussion about science and religion? Well, I’ve just listened to another great program…