grin that grill

Poorna pointed out to me that it can be hard finding Jaime & Zac’s practice on Google.

I’ve set out to rectify this…. for all of you people out there along the peninsula looking for a dentist - if you’re looking for a good dentist - go see Drs. Jaime & Zac in San Carlos! All their info (address, phone #, map, directions, email, etc.) are at their website (greatgrin.com).

And yes! They take Sun’s MetLife insurance program, as well as many others.

And for everyone else… please link to greatgrin.com and help me bump up my sister’s rank on google.

Add comment December 6th, 2004

… 1 monkey cloned 10,000 times….

Wired News: Squeezing Out Monkey Clones

University of Pittsburgh researchers have cloned the first monkey embryos from which stem cells could be removed

This could be huge given Bush’s clampdown on creating new human stem cell lines. At first I thought they were saying we could use monkey stem cells in humans - but after RTFA again I see the part where they say this is a good MODEL for studying human cells. Given how restrictive and controversial human stem-cell research is, this is great…

I’m really enthusiastic about this kind of research… and the quote from Gerald Schatten (the lead researcher on this project) sums up my feelings perfectly: “Using this to derive stem cells for therapies I think is perfectly fine, but everything we know about cloned animals is they are all abnormal. That is why I’m so unalterably opposed to any attempt at human (reproductive) cloning. It ought to be illegal everywhere.”

The real question of course is… if you cloned 1 monkey 10,000 times… would they eventually produce the works of Shakespeare? or would they all just type the same “To be, or not to be” over and over and over….

Add comment December 6th, 2004

China’s suicide crisis

(saw this in Wired News’s Furthermore section, from Reuters)

Nine out of 10 Chinese calling into a suicide-prevention hotline in Beijing are getting a busy signal, the China Daily reported on Monday, adding that nationwide four people were killing themselves every minute. So far, more than 110,000 people had called in to the Beijing Suicide Research and Prevention Center hotline since it was set up in Beijing last year, the paper said. It quoted an expert as saying poverty, unemployment, bereavement, breakdowns in relationships or legal and work-related problems were all causes of the country’s growing suicide rate.

Witness the affects of a country growing up faster than it (arguably) should. Poverty, unemployment, legal, and work-related problems are all direct consequences of a country who is rapidly joining the rush to “first-worldness” when the majority of it is still stuck in second or even third-worldness. Bereavement and relationship breakdowns can also be chalked up to indirect consequences of the same mentality as well.

I see China as being pulled in so many different directions, it’s confused about its own destiny. Parts of it are trying to be like traditional western powers (i.e.: Western Europe, or, god forbid, the US). Other parts of it are trying to maintain traditional Chinese culture/values. Still others are trying to pursue something akin to what Japan has: its own eclectic mix of traditional culture with a good dollop of western culture thrown in for good measure (geishas walking down busy Tokyo streets).

China, in a decade, is going to be more than just an amazing worldpower (it is already)…. it’s also going to be an amazing world influence. Once China starts figuring out how best to take the best parts of other worldpowers (Europe, Japan, the US), keep the best of what has made them the worldpower they are today, and keep a hold of their self identity (culture, values, etc.) - they will be an unstoppable power.

… in the meantime, they can start by improving their phoneline capacity.

Add comment December 6th, 2004