The oldest age people can reach is 114…so far

A puzzling part to the equation has emerged. While humans are in fact living longer lives on average, the oldest age that the oldest people reach seems to be stubbornly and oddly precisely cemented right at 114.

A person born in the US at the turn of the 20th century could expect to live 49.2 years. Their ancestor born in 2003 could reasonably expect to see their 77th birthday. But while average lifespans continue to lengthen, the oldest of the old appear to be encountering a rather powerful limiting factor.

In 1990 there were 3,000 people 100 or older, the oldest of them being 114. Twenty years later the number of people aged 100 and over had grown to around 44,000, but the oldest was still 114.

Longevity researcher Aubrey de Grey, author of “Ending Aging,” was asked about this:

“Time and time again over the decades past demographers have been brutally misled by short-term phenomena, by statistics gathered only over a few years. Blips happen for all manner of impenetrable reasons. In this case we’re talking about people born in a small segment of time, around 1900, and most of them born in particular countries and going through certain types of life they might not have gone through had they been born 20 years previously or 20 years later.”

via Don Burke / Singularity Hub

Celebrate Black History Month – buy the book "How To Be Black"

“Part autobiography, part stand-up routine, part contemporary political analysis, and astute all over.”

Raised by a pro-black, pan-Afrikan single mother during the crack years of 1980s Washington, DC, and educated at Sidwell Friends School and Harvard University, Baratunde Thurston has over thirty years’ experience in being black. Now, through stories of his politically inspired Nigerian name, the heroics of his hippie mother, the murder of his drug-abusing father, and other revelatory black details, he shares with readers of all colors his wisdom and expertise of HOW TO BE BLACK (Harper; February 2012; $23.99)

Combining personal memoir, interviews, irreverent how-to, and resource guides to meet every reader’s blackness needs, this book offers practical advice on everything from “How to Be The Black Friend” to “How to Be The (Next) Black President” to “How to Celebrate Black History Month.”

For additional perspective, Baratunde assembled an award-winning Black Panel—three black women, three black men, and one white man as a control group—and asked them such revealing questions as: “When Did You First Realize You Were Black?” “How Black Are You?” “Can You Swim?”

via HowToBeBlack.me

 

“As a black woman, this book helped me realize I’m actually a white man.”
– Patton Oswalt

 

 

 

Celebrate Black History Month – buy the book “How To Be Black”

“Part autobiography, part stand-up routine, part contemporary political analysis, and astute all over.”

Raised by a pro-black, pan-Afrikan single mother during the crack years of 1980s Washington, DC, and educated at Sidwell Friends School and Harvard University, Baratunde Thurston has over thirty years’ experience in being black. Now, through stories of his politically inspired Nigerian name, the heroics of his hippie mother, the murder of his drug-abusing father, and other revelatory black details, he shares with readers of all colors his wisdom and expertise of HOW TO BE BLACK (Harper; February 2012; $23.99)

Combining personal memoir, interviews, irreverent how-to, and resource guides to meet every reader’s blackness needs, this book offers practical advice on everything from “How to Be The Black Friend” to “How to Be The (Next) Black President” to “How to Celebrate Black History Month.”

For additional perspective, Baratunde assembled an award-winning Black Panel—three black women, three black men, and one white man as a control group—and asked them such revealing questions as: “When Did You First Realize You Were Black?” “How Black Are You?” “Can You Swim?”

via HowToBeBlack.me

 

“As a black woman, this book helped me realize I’m actually a white man.”
– Patton Oswalt

 

 

 

Most Beautiful Men of Surfing: Valentine's Day Eye Candy For The Ladies

If living in Southern California and becoming entrenched in the world of surfing has taught me one thing, it’s that surfers are a beautiful lot. Here are some of my favorites…

 

Owen Wright

Australian. 21. 6’3”. Laid-back, sweet demeanor. Killer smile. And an Australian accent to boot. What more can a girl ask for?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dane Ward

The epitome of the Southern California surfer boy, how can you not adore a guy who chooses Acai over coffee?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kelly Slater

The #1 surfer in the world, I thought I was looking at a 1950s movie star when I saw this photo of him.


Continue reading “Most Beautiful Men of Surfing: Valentine's Day Eye Candy For The Ladies”

Most Beautiful Men of Surfing: Valentine’s Day Eye Candy For The Ladies

If living in Southern California and becoming entrenched in the world of surfing has taught me one thing, it’s that surfers are a beautiful lot. Here are some of my favorites…

 

Owen Wright

Australian. 21. 6’3”. Laid-back, sweet demeanor. Killer smile. And an Australian accent to boot. What more can a girl ask for?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dane Ward

The epitome of the Southern California surfer boy, how can you not adore a guy who chooses Acai over coffee?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kelly Slater

The #1 surfer in the world, I thought I was looking at a 1950s movie star when I saw this photo of him.


Continue reading “Most Beautiful Men of Surfing: Valentine’s Day Eye Candy For The Ladies”

Pinterest Hits 10 Million Monthly Uniques, Proving Women ARE Visual

If you’re not familiar with Pinterest, the visual bookmarking site/service that allows users to “pin” interesting images found online, along with notes and links back to the original source, take note.

TechCrunch recently attained exclusive data from comScore showing the site just hit 11.7 million unique monthly U.S. visitors, crossing the 10 million mark faster than any other standalone site in history.

The majority of Pinterest users are women (97 percent) with its largest growing demographic being women ages 18-34, located in middle America. And apparently this is a lucrative demographic, as Pinterest drives more traffic to retailers than Google+.

I’ve had an account for about 4 months, but haven’t really started using it until recently. The reason I like it is the same reason I enjoy screenwriting: it’s a visual art form. I may not fit the “scrapbooking” middle American female stereotype, but I do like being able to see information I save and organize from the web, in an aesthetically pleasing way (check out my Screenwriting Board, as an example).

Not only does Pinterest provides a practical service, but it does so in a manner that matches the way I like to process information. Which just goes to show, women are visual.

 

Feeling Sick? Google "Flu Trends" Tool Smarter Than The CDC

A new study in Clinical Infectious Diseases shows that Google Flu Trends can predict surges in hospital flu visits more than a week before the Center for Disease Control (CDC).

For the study, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine researchers compared Baltimore-specific data from the Google Flu Trends website, which estimates influenza outbreaks based on online searches for flu information, to ED crowding and laboratory statistics from Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Using Google Flu Trends, researchers found that the number of online searches for flu information increased at the same time that the hospital’s pediatric ED experienced a rise in cases of children with flu-like symptoms. The Google Flu Trends data had a moderate correlation with patient volume in the adult ED. Moreover, Google Flu Trends signaled an uptick in flu cases seven to 10 days earlier than CDC‘s U.S. Influenza Sentinel Provider Surveillance Network. (via Advisory.com Daily Briefing)


Feeling Sick? Google “Flu Trends” Tool Smarter Than The CDC

A new study in Clinical Infectious Diseases shows that Google Flu Trends can predict surges in hospital flu visits more than a week before the Center for Disease Control (CDC).

For the study, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine researchers compared Baltimore-specific data from the Google Flu Trends website, which estimates influenza outbreaks based on online searches for flu information, to ED crowding and laboratory statistics from Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Using Google Flu Trends, researchers found that the number of online searches for flu information increased at the same time that the hospital’s pediatric ED experienced a rise in cases of children with flu-like symptoms. The Google Flu Trends data had a moderate correlation with patient volume in the adult ED. Moreover, Google Flu Trends signaled an uptick in flu cases seven to 10 days earlier than CDC‘s U.S. Influenza Sentinel Provider Surveillance Network. (via Advisory.com Daily Briefing)