We're still learning things about water. Apparently under certain conditions, it can exist in two forms of liquid at once, one being denser than the other.
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Saturn is once again the king in terms of number of moons, as scientists discover 128 new moons (274 total). When I was a kid, I remember that the books said that Saturn had 9 moons and Jupiter had 12. Rookie numbers. Ya, gotta pump them up. And so they did.
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Some new study says that drinking alcohol is good for lowering cholesterol levels. But lowering cholesterol levels isn't the goal here – it's lowering cardiovascular risk. And that hasn't been shown. I'm not buying it.
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Hospitals are going to hurt some more. Oregon lawmakers are going to force them to lower "facility fees". This is going to be especially important as competition will almost non-existent if OHSU merges with Legacy. OHSU is apparently packed to capacity, and doesn't have enough beds or staff to accommodate the patient load. If you read the article, the problem is lack of staffing. This is Oregon's perennial problem, and the leadership ignores this. Why can't Oregon hire quality people? And see below.
Speaking of which, the leaders of OHSU and Legacy wrote an opinion piece supporting the merger, the main argument being that they promise to be accountable and act in the public's best interest. They also state that the merger would improve healthcare, but don't present any compelling argument for this. I think it will decrease competition and choice, as we've seen with the failure of UnitedHealth negotiating terms with OHSU. I don't want the choice of healthcare system to be just OHSU, Providence and Kaiser.
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What to do when you have so many criminals and not enough public defenders. Because Portland is a magnet for ne'er-do-wells, and the state is so unattractive to the nation as a place to move to. The Doom Loop continues.
Update (2025-03-14): OPB covered this as well.
How many Portland-area jobs could be affected by AI? A lot! And the higher-educated positions could be the most affected. Learn to code, baby.
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Some folks are going to cover graffiti-prone walls with synthetic ivy instead. I like it. Looks like a workable and reasonable alternative to just painting over the graffiti, leaving those unsightly blotchy rectangles.
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Two tech insiders are not happy with Apple's strategic direction. The first is long-time writer, Robert Scoble. The second is John Gruber (Daring Fireball). I agree with them both. It's long past time for Tim Cook to step down as CEO and hand the reins to someone else with vision.
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Downtown Seattle continues its decline. Cheesecake Factory is shutting down. Such is life under Democrat rule.
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While Oregon can't hire quality people, they can hire this person to be on the mental health board. She identifies as a turtle! Oregon is such a national joke.
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