The Super Bowl Shuffle

The Colts and Bears will play in Super Bowl XLI this Sunday at 6:30pm.  Since the Bears are back in the big game, I thought a screening of the 1985 Grammy Nominated Hit “Super Bowl Shuffle” was in order. Please appreciate the fact that this was recorded prior to Super Bowl XX. The Bears would win the game, but talk about laying it out there.

Wikipedia – The Super Bowl Shuffle was a rap song recorded by members of the Chicago Bears football team prior to their appearance in Super Bowl XX. Known as Chicago Bears Shufflin’ Crew, the performers included “Sweetness” Walter Payton, “Punky QB” Jim McMahon, and “Samurai” Mike Singletary. Riding the wave of football mania that gripped Chicago in 1985, the “Super Bowl Shuffle” reached #41 on the Billboard charts, #75 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks, and earned a Grammy nomination for best Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance—Duo or Group, the first (and undoubtedly only ever) nomination for a sports team. (They lost to Prince and the Revolution’s “Kiss”). Although some found the lyrics boastful, profits from the song and its accompanying video were given to charity, backing Payton’s claim that the they “are not doing it because [they're] greedy, the Bears are doing it to feed the needy.” Rolling through the playoffs after a 15-1 regular season record, the 1985 Chicago Bears are one of the few teams who consistently challenge the undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins for the unofficial title of the “Greatest NFL Team of All Time.”

Every Mythbusters Myth Confirmed/Plausible/Busted

Browse Every Mythbusters Myth on One Page

Oscar-Nominated Animated Shorts Online

No Time for Nuts

The Little Match Girl

Maestro

The Danish Poet

The Science behind Collaborative Tagging Sites like del.icio.us

A team of physicists from the University of Rome “La Sapienza” sought to determine the underlying statistical properties of this new information paradigm by studying the behaviors of tags—single words used to describe the content of a linked article or photo—on the social bookmarking/collaborative tagging sites del.icio.us and Connotea. “The idea was to try and see if we could apply complex systems science methods to modeling a system which is an IT system, but exposing, in a very explicit and complex way, the social component—the activity of people,” first author Ciro Cattuto says. “In this system, the linguistic element—the word, the symbol—is a dynamical entity and plays the role of a particle in statistical mechanics.” After studying the manner in which certain tags were associated with a pair of selected ones, the researchers determined that user behavior in collaborative tagging schemes followed a power law in which certain words were highly associated with the chosen tags. Their model exemplifies two primary aspects of user behavior: preferential attachment and aging of resources.

Preferential attachment can also be described as a copying attitude. Cattuto, who performed the research with Vittorio Loreto and Luciano Pietronero, offers the example of linking to a photo or article about New York City. The person posting the link can tag the item in several ways, a few of which are “nyc,” “newyork_city,” or newyork. The choices of previous del.icio.us users, however, are likely to influence the next group of users. “There is pressure, in essence,” Cattuto explains, “because if you use tags that are already widespread within the system, people are able to find your entries—so, using popular tags makes your content findable and makes you more visible.”

The aging of resources effect follows a previous finding by complex network researcher Albert-László Barabási of the University of Notre Dame, which found that information stays fresh on the Web for only about 36 to 48 hours. Similarly, the researchers found that users on collaborative tagging sites would likely prefer recently added tags to older ones.

Barabási, whose work focuses more on the entire World Wide Web, applauds the Italian researchers for being the first to address the new phenomenon of collaborative tagging and attempting to demystify its behavior. “They are taking a new technology, which kind of enhances the usage of the Web and the underlying network structure—and they use quantitative methods to understand its properties,” he says. “This paper probably will not tell you what’s going to be the coolest term, but it will tell you what the fundamental structures within the system.”

Boeing 777 Wing Ultimate Load Test

Have you ever worried about your airplane’s wings breaking during flight? Engineers test Boeing for 150% of the strongest forces it would ever meet in flight due to turbulence or bad handling.

The Australian Open is Upon Us

TV Schedule

Matches to watch for:

Roddick / Safin – Third Round (Friday)

Hewitt / Blake – Fourth Round (Sunday/Monday)

Nadal / Blake – Quarterfinals (Tuesday/Wednesday)

Federer / Monfils – Quarterfinals (Tuesday/Wednesday)

Nadal / Nalbandian – Semifinals (Thursday/Friday)

Roddick / Federer – Semifinals (Thursday/Friday)

Roddick / Nadal – Finals (Sunday)

When It’s O.K. to Run Hurt

 

NY Times – It sounds almost like heresy. The usual advice in treating injuries is to rest until the pain goes away. But Dr. Weinstein and a number of leading sports medicine specialists say that is outdated and counterproductive. In fact, Dr. Weinstein says, when active people consult him, he usually tells them to keep exercising. The idea, these orthopedists and exercise specialists say, is to use common sense. If you’ve got tendinitis or sprained a muscle or tendon by doing too much, don’t go right back to exercising at the same level. The specific advice can differ from specialist to specialist. Some say most people can continue with the sport they love although they may need to cut back a bit, running shorter distances or going more slowly. Others say to cross-train at least some of the time and others say the safest thing to do is to cross-train all the time until the pain is gone.

“We want to keep you moving,” said Dr. William Roberts, a sports medicine specialist at the University of Minnesota and a past president of the American College of Sports Medicine. “Injured tissue heals better if it’s under some sort of stress.” Small repeated stretching of tendons that are already inflamed leads to the production of molecules that heal inflammation. That suggests moderate exercise can actually speed healing. He and others acknowledge that the advice to keep moving may come as a surprise and that some doctors feel uncomfortable giving it, worried that their patients will do too much, make things worse and then blame their doctor. “The easy way out is to say, ‘Don’t exercise,’ ” said Dr. Richard Steadman, an orthopedic surgeon in Vail, CO. That advice, he added, “is safe and you probably will have healing over time.” But, he said, “if the injury is not severe, resting it will probably prolong recovery.”

Dr. Weinstein’s advice for injured patients is among the boldest — he said it’s based on his basic research and his own experience with sports injuries, like knee pain and tendinitis of the Achilles and hamstring. Before exercise, he said, take one anti-inflammatory pill, like an aspirin. Ice the area for 20 minutes. Then start your usual exercise, the one that resulted in your injury, possibly reducing the intensity or time you would have spent. When you finish, ice the injured area again. The anti-inflammatory pill should forestall new inflammation from the exercise that is about to occur. The icing is to constrict blood vessels before and after exercise, thereby preventing some of the inflammatory white blood cells from reaching the injured tissue.

Behind Niagra

Behind the raging horseshoe falls of Niagara there lurks a dormant monster, a century old tunnel painstakingly laid brick by brick. There is no recorded tally of its human cost but in 1906 it would be the biggest tunnel of its type in the world. Like the secret hideout of a supervillain it defies belief and comprehension, a secret stronghold behind the crashing waterfall. A rappel through the treacherous bowels of a decrepit powerstation is the single entrance. With great confidence the three foreigners converged upon Niagara Falls wherein they sought adventure and challenge of the highest caliber. Their hearts brimmed with equal measures of excitement and anxiousness in attempting what less than a fistful before them had achieved.

10 Most Underreported Humanitarian Stories of 2006

From Doctorswithoutborders.org

Somalis Trapped by War and Disaster
Fleeing Violence in the Central African Republic
Increasing Human Toll Taken by Tuberculosis
Consequences of Bitter Conflict in Chechnya
Civilians Under Fire in Sri Lanka While Assistance is Limited
Effective Strategies for Treating Malnutrition Not Implemented
Congolese Endure Extreme Deprivation and Violence
Living in Fear in Colombia
Violence Rages in Haiti’s Volatile Capital
Clashes in Central India

Soy Sauce

Traditionally brewed soy sauces come in two types, shoyu and tamari.

Shoyu is the Japanese word for soy sauce made of soybeans, roasted wheat, sea salt, and koji, mold spores that when exposed to moisture begin growing giving rise to unique enzymes that create the fermentation process. This is the all-purpose cooking and condiment soy sauce made since the 1600s in Japan. A true shoyu’s most prized quality is not its own flavor, rather its strong ability to harmonize and enhance the flavor of foods. Its complex natural gives it a deep flavor and beautiful bouquet. These qualities are the result of long, slow fermentation.

Tamari literally means liquid pressed from soybeans, originally it was the thick brown liquid that pooled in casks of fermenting soybean miso. For centuries this tamari was a rare delicacy reserved for special occasions. Eventually producers learned to brew tamari as a liquid soy sauce that had similar characteristics as the original by-product of miso. It is said that tamari soy sauce implants its flavor in food. This tamari is brewed from whole soybeans, sea salt, water, and koji (Aspergillus hacho). Tamari is wheat free and popular with those who have wheat allergies.

Tamari is most commonly used in food processing, while Shoyu is most commonly used in the kitchen and at the table. Shoyu is best for everyday cooking such as stir frying or seasoning vegetables, as it harmonizes and enhances without overpowering. Tamari, with its stronger flavor, is traditionally used to season longer cooking food such as soups, stews, and baked dishes. Both tamari and shoyu are good in marinades and salad dressing, to flavor grilled food, and on the table as condiment or dipping sauce.

Carefully choose your soy sauce as you would an olive oil or a fine wine. Look for the words traditionally brewed and natural or organic, and make sure the manufacturer backs this up. Real shoyu is made by artisan’s skilled in the ancient method of koji fermentation, a complex process using koji inoculated whole soybeans, wheat, careful tending and aging in cedar casks through two cycles of the seasons. Traditionally brewed soy sauces are an ideal replacement for, and improvement over salt. By contrast, commercial soy sauces (even some labeled as shoyu or tamari) are usually made from soybeans that have been defatted with hexane, a petroleum derivative. Common shortcuts are artificial fermentation methods including genetically engineered enzymes. In fact most soy sauce is actually caramel colored water with lots of salt,hydrochloric acid treated soy isolate, and sugar added.

EDEN Traditionally Brewed Shoyu was the highest rated and only Highly Recommended brand in two comparisons of 12 soy sauces by Cooks Illustrated Magazine as reported in their January/February 2000 issue: Tasters decisively ranked this distinct soy sauce number one in both taste tests. Its flavor was toasty, caramely, and complex, not wimpy. Rich, clean, and balanced with vivid flavor. The salt flavor was tangible but not overpowering, said the authors.