Are Cell Phones the new Tobacco?

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Monday February 08, 2010 · 4:58 AM PST

2010/02/08 · 04:58

I love cell phones. They've made life so much more convenient. I don't have to plan my trips to the store; when I get there I can just call my wife to find out what I need to get. If I we get separated in Costco, I can call her to find out where she is. It's comforting to know I have it when I'm out driving in case the car breaks down or I get locked out.

That being said, I've known for years that they might be dangerous. I don't talk long on it, and when I do I use an earphone. I switch ears often. I never let my children use it. And I try not to carry it on my person for long periods.

But it's easy to forget how potentially dangerous they are. I just read a great article that reminded me of this.

Poll

127 votes Show Results

How often do you use your cell phone?

127 votes Vote Now!

How often do you use your cell phone?

An hour or more per day

9 votes

30-60 minutes or so per day

8 votes

15-30 minutes per day

14 votes

5-15 minutes per day

19 votes

5 minutes or less per day

24 votes

A few times a month

29 votes

I don't own a cell phone and never use one

24 votes

I admire Barack, but the Peace Prize?

Arclite

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Friday October 09, 2009 · 1:14 PM PDT

2009/10/09 · 13:14

Let me just say up front that I voted for Barack Obama, and I admire and support the man and what he is doing (with some caveats). However, he is no Gandhi. We're not out of Iraq. We're not out of Afghanistan. Guantanamo isn't closed. We still hold people without due process. Our security apparatus still has programs in place that violate the constitution and basic human rights.

Arclite

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Wednesday April 09, 2008 · 10:57 AM PDT

2008/04/09 · 10:57

Kossacks, we need your help. (I apologize about the loud title).
Yesterday I posted a diary about a blog poll at Time online. Dailykos was being freeped by someone and had only a 6 out of 10 rating. We pushed it up to 7 out of 10 and seventh on the list out of 25. However, it has fallen back to 6 out of 10 and number fifteen on the list.

Sitting at the top spot with ~~4772~~ 16,720 (changed from last night) votes and an eight out of 10 rating is the derisive conservative site Ace of Spades HQ. Ace of Spades recently got its 10 millionth hit being online since 2006. Dailykos does that in about two weeks. So how is it that a second tier blog gets the top spot at Time? A couple of well-designed freep campaigns.

Arclite

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Tuesday April 08, 2008 · 2:05 PM PDT

2008/04/08 · 14:05

Over at Time, they're doing a blog poll. Currently, conservative blog Ace of Spades is at the top of the list with a ranking of 8 out of 10. Meanwhile, Daily Kos sits at number 14 out of 25 with a rating of about 6. With 3874 votes, they've got a lot more than we do, so obviously they've organized some kind of effort to get the vote out. DailyKos has only 1461. We all know Dems are doing a much better job this year to get the vote out, so let's get over there and show the love for DailyKos!

UPDATE: I'm changing the links to avoid tracking by Time. To spoof the tracking system:

Open a new browser window

Cut and paste the links below.

UDPATE2: DailyKos is moving up! It's now number 7 in the poll with a rating of 7 and 1930 votes. Ace of Spades now has 4400 votes. I hope most of the new ones are negative...
Specific links beneath the fold.

Arclite

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Tuesday March 18, 2008 · 5:59 AM PDT

2008/03/18 · 05:59

Robert Zubrin wants to destroy OPEC. I won't argue against that. Whether it is doable is debatable, but using alcohol as the fuel to reduce oil demand is not just a bad idea, it's suicide. Corn-based ethanol drives the cost of all staple crops up. Converting food into fuel will result in hundreds of millions starving to death while a relatively small rich upper class drives (I doubt you will be among them). Converting corn to ethanol actually produces more greenhouse gases than burning gasoline instead. And corn-based ethanol may actually use more energy than it produces.

In his first Dailykos diary, Mr. Zubrin made a lot of claims which were not backed up by any cites, making ethanol out to be a panacea.

Below the fold I examine his post and put his claims to the test.

Arclite

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Tuesday February 19, 2008 · 11:32 PM PST

2008/02/19 · 23:32

I drove my wife to yoga (she's Japanese and can't caucus) then took the kids to Stevenson middle school, the location of the caucus. Sign-up was slated to start at 6:30 with the presidential candidate polling due to start at 7:00. I arrived at 6:20, and the school parking lot was packed with a line of ten cars waiting, and the street parking was taken for a quarter mile in both directions.

Arclite

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Thursday January 31, 2008 · 12:48 PM PST

2008/01/31 · 12:48

There's was some discussion in the straw poll results about what percentage of DKos readers are men and what percentage are women. A few years back there was a poll that showed DKos readers about 2/3 male. I wasn't able to find the poll or any more recent ones.

Poll

428 votes Show Results

What gender best describes you?

428 votes Vote Now!

What gender best describes you?

Female

216 votes

Male

212 votes

Bill Hicks, we miss you.

Arclite

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday November 12, 2007 · 2:33 AM PST

2007/11/12 · 02:33

WARNING: This diary has a two drink minimum.

Second Warning: Links Not Safe for Work.

Bill Hicks was one of the few openly progressive comedians to ever work in stand up. He remains one of the few people to use his fame to further the progressive agenda.

How did he do this? More below.

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Arclite

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Friday September 28, 2007 · 1:55 AM PDT

2007/09/28 · 01:55

How much damage has the passage of the Patriot Act, the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, and the implementation of various illegal wiretapping schemes done to our civil liberties? Here's a story that is neither the first nor the last of its kind. More importantly, how big is the iceberg in relation to the visible tip exposed above the waters of secrecy and authoritarianism?

A special agent for the Department of Commerce is facing up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for using a Department of Homeland Security database to cyber-stalk his former girlfriend.

Read the full story here, and more comments and quotes below the fold.

Arclite

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday April 19, 2007 · 5:48 PM PDT

2007/04/19 · 17:48

Below the fold, I've posted some intersting (mostly satirical) video clips about a variety of subjects including the war, missing emails, religion, presidential hopefuls, and other stuff.

Enjoy!

Arclite

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday March 17, 2007 · 2:18 AM PDT

2007/03/17 · 02:18

Since most of the world seems unable or unwilling to both reduce consumption of and find alternatives to carbon dioxide producing fossil fuels, scientists are now forced to entertain bizarre ways of counteracting its effects and delaying the inevitable.

Much like a chronic overeater who would treat his obesity with liposuction instead of proper eating and exercise, this article over at Wired has a pretty good round up of some of the ideas being bandied about to help us have our petroleum and burn it too.

There's the man-made "volcano" that shoots gigatons of sulfur high into the air. The space "sun shade" made of trillions of little reflectors between Earth and sun, slightly lowering the planet's temperature. The forest of ugly artificial "trees" that suck carbon dioxide out of the air. And the "Geritol solution" in which iron dust is dumped into the ocean.

Discussion below.

Arclite

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday October 04, 2006 · 5:13 PM PDT

2006/10/04 · 17:13

At a time when the Foley scandal and the mid-term elections are (rightly) dominating the media and public discourse, I'd like to make this reminder of a serious long term issue that drives us to vote Democrat. Getting the Democrats into office to stop the global warming denial and corporate control of government is a most important short-term goal. And seeing a vision of the future if we continue with Republican control helps motivate us. Global Warming will be the most destructive long term threat to our nation and all of humankind if no action is taken.

Continued south of the equator. Read More

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Are Cell Phones the new Tobacco?

I admire Barack, but the Peace Prize?

ACTION NEEDED: Dailykos is being Freeped in Time poll! Part 2

Dailykos is being Freeped in Time poll!

Zubrin is wrong: Alcohol fuel won't save us

Caucusing at Stevenson middle school, Honolulu, Hawaii

DKos Gender Poll - Are you male or female?

Bill Hicks, we miss you.

Fed Agent Uses DHS Database to stalk girlfriend

Miscellaneous Video Clips

Global Warming Watch: Getting Desperate

Global Warming Watch: One Third of the Planet Uninhabitable by 2100