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Cats infect women to make boys

Byoliveridley

Obviously, I have to work on byline writing, but this is truly freaky, if indeed it is true, toxoplasma (click the link for a good article) is a truly fascinating parasite.

Guardian Unlimited | Science | Pregnant women infected by cat parasite more likely to give birth to boys, say researchers

Researchers in the Czech Republic collected medical records from 1,803 newborn babies between 1996 and 2004 and checked them for information on the mothers and babies including gender, the number of previous pregnancies, and the mother’s levels of toxoplasma antibodies.

They discovered that women whose antibody count was high – suggesting a substantial infection – had a much higher chance of having baby boys. In most populations the birth rate is around 51% boys, but women infected with toxoplasma had up to a 72% chance of a boy. Toxoplasma causes congenital defects in newborns and can trigger miscarriages, but a link with the gender of newborns has never been identified before.

The good work that blogs do

Byoliveridley

Except this one of course, which is written by a single guy sittting in his mom’s basement, eating cheetos and playing video games all day and is full of spelling errors, spot one in this sentence!

Jay Rosen of the New York University School of Journalism writes an excellent opinion piece on journalism by bloggers. This list, which includes work on the pet food contamination issue, the U.S attorney politicization scandal, the Scooter Libby case, etc. would put a regular journalist to shame.

More evidence that the collective work and wisdom of the many, which blogs foster and promote, has greatly enriched journalism in this country. If I have a little time, I should look for more global examples of such efforts. I am sure China, Iraq and Iran are full of examples, not to mention India! Who can forget Baghdad Burning? The last post is from April of this year, hope everything’s still fine.

Walking
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Walking

Byoliveridley

OspreyNot policy related, but I don’t write free form anything ever, so this is a rare occurrence that is going on the blog. PS: Work does not necessarily mean paid work. Osprey courtesy Sergey Yeliseev’s Flickr Stream used under a creative commons licence because the osprey is on my top 5 list of favourite birds and I did see one eating a rabbit on my walk back from work once.

Walking

I wish I worked like I walk
One foot in front of another
A steady, fast pace
Direct, seeking straight lines
Diagonals
Obstacles gone around or over
But always pausing to smile at the rabbits
Or to wonder when that osprey’s going to make my day
I wish I worked like I walk
Anticipating every light
Speeding up or slowing down
Observing every car that doesn’t see me
Shaking to a song that moves
But the walk continues
I wish I worked like I walk
Rain or shine, only the clothes and accessories change
The pace is still steady
A destination awaits
I know why I walk
The path is good and the end is clear.
and maybe that’s why
I don’t work like I walk…

 

A 2014 Reading List

A 2014 Reading List

Byoliveridley

We circulated a flash card around friends gathered to celebrate the start of 2014 and each one contributed the name of a book that you should add to your reading list soon. Here they are, in no particular order.

I’ve read six of these, and liked them all, which bodes well for the rest of them.