Offline Gmail is Excellent

I think you are going to find you like Offline Gmail. Why its fast.

The article below is also excellent. Good information with good explanation.

clipped from www.pcworld.com When Google yesterday launched a system for accessing Gmail without a Net connection, they promised it would act almost exactly like regular Gmail. From my early testing, it seems like that claim isn't entirely true -- in some ways, offline Gmail actually works better than the online version. The main difference is speed. Regular Gmail is generally fairly quick, but you can still find yourself waiting at times for it to check in with Google's servers. In offline mode or the very cool Flaky Connection Mode, everything -- opening messages, searching for information, labeling missives -- happens almost instantly, since all the data is local. You turn on offline capability through Gmail Labs. If you haven't already, you'll need to install Google Gears, the background system that enables offline capability in services like Google Documents and Zoho Mail. Once you okay Gmail using Gears, it'll start downloading messages

In-N-Out Burger vs. McDonald’s: Guess Who Won?

They actually surveyed of 94,000 users. How did they miss me?

clipped from blogs.wsj.com Consumers rate regional food chains above national fast-food chains in overall customer experience, according to a recent survey by Sandelman & Associates, a San Clemente, Calif., market research and consumer-trends firm.

Home Prices at 2004 Levels

If you live in one of the 7 green states--congratulations.

clipped from blogs.wsj.com It’s a big week for home price data. Yesterday, the National Association of Realtors reported an unexpected rise in existing-home sales. Today the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index reported record rates of annual decline in 11 of 20 metro areas. Another survey released Monday also shows dramatic price erosion nationwide, this one from First American CoreLogic and its LoanPerformance Home Price Index, which tracks resales of single-family homes. Since peaking in July of 2006, home prices have tumbled 18.5% to levels last seen in the spring of 2004. In November alone, CoreLogic reports a 10.2% year-over-year decline — with early numbers showing continued pain in December — the 10th straight month with declines above 10%.

Can sex cause a heart attack?

clipped from www.cnn.com Although heart attacks during sex are rare, no one wants to be among the unlucky few who die while getting lucky. So if you have cardiovascular disease (CVD), or even if it runs in your family, it's important to ask your doctor what type of sexual activity is safe. If you've just had a heart attack, for instance, you should wait three to four weeks before having intercourse, according to current guidelines.

Girl Scout Cookies

Don't forget to buy your Girl Scout cookies this year. The cookies are smaller, so you might want to buy an extra box.

As the cost of baking and transporting the group’s famous sweets shoots through the roof, the Girl Scouts of the USA has decided to package fewer cookies into boxes of Thin Mints, Do-si-dos and Tagalongs and to shrink the Lemon Chalet Creme cookies.


“In order to give the customer the product they’re used to instead of raising the price, this was the only alternative, lowering the weight of the cookies rather than asking the customers to pay more,” said Michelle Tompkins, a Girl Scouts spokeswoman. “I’m sure that in the future, you’ll see more of these changes go into effect.”


Other cookie brands have raised prices, she said. In the last year, the cost of flour has jumped 30%, cocoa rose 20% to 30% and baking oil has soared between 40% and nearly 200%. Transportation expenses are up 30% to 40%.

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Resveratrol Clinical Trials

Yesterday, I posted an article about Resveratrol, Fountain Of Youth In A Wine Rx? The catalyst for the article was a segment I saw on 60 minutes. The article received quite a few hits here on the Alzheimer's Reading Room and more than 400 hits on one of my companion blogs. The form of the drug, Resveratrol, that I was referring to is being developed by Sirtris Pharmaceutical, a Cambridge, Mass research company.

SRT501, a formulation of resveratrol with roughly five times higher bioavailability than the chemical alone

According to the scientist on 60 minutes the drug they are testing is in an early stage and still about five years away from being an available product.

There are a long list of clinical trials being conducting throughout the U.S. to test Resveratrol and patients with: Alzheimer's Disease, Colon Cancer, Colorectal Cancer, Insulin Resistance, and Aging (Obesity, Metabolic Syndrome, Diabetes).

One study that should be of particular interest to subscribers of this blog is, a Randomized Trial of a Nutritional Supplement in Alzheimer's Disease. The study is active and open to new enrollment. It is difficult for me to determine if the study is limited to a single location in New York, or if, it is being conducted in multiple locations by the Department of Affairs. I will find out and follow up on the blog.

A second study that should be of interest to subscribers to this web site is: Pilot Study of the Effects of Resveratrol Supplement in Mild-to-Moderate Alzheimer's Disease. It appears that this is a single location study currently being performed at the Medical College of Wisconsin. I am not sure at the time I am writing if the study is open, ongoing at this time, or closed, as the record has not been updated since August, 2008. I will check into this and find out about the current status.

You can obtain a list of all the current studies being done with Resveratrol by going to Clinicaltrials.gov and entering Resveratrol in the search box. Or click this link and go there.

If you want to know more about Sirtris go here. Sirtris Pharmaceuticals has been acquire by GlaxoSmithKline.

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Original article the Alzheimer's Reading Room

The Alzheimer's Action Plan: The Experts' Guide to the Best Diagnosis and Treatment for Memory Problems

Gold: How Bullish Options Traders Are Playing

Interesting food for thought if you are playing Gold. Gold rose almost 10 percent last week. Demand for physical gold is very robust.

Gold has a strong seasonal tendency to rise from January 15 to February 15. This seasonal tendency often stretches all the way to March 15th.

clipped from www.cnbc.com The GLD put-call ratio is very bullish at 0.26, according to OptionMonster's tracking systems, meaning that calls outnumber puts by roughly 4 to 1. The action includes 7,500 GLD calls that just traded at the February 87 strike against open interest of 1,963, with 6,800 of those contracts going off in a single block for $3.10.

Going to New York City--Use Google

Plan your New York City trip and get all the maps from Google.

Great link to the Official NYC Information center.

clipped from google-latlong.blogspot.com On the Official Google Blog you can read New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's words about an exciting partnership between NYC and Google.  The partnership is one of the most ambitious projects to leverage our APIs for Google Maps and Google Earth, and it delights us that we've helped New York City develop such a useful and compelling way to explore the city. Check out nycgo.com and the Official NYC Information Center in this video:

Use Google Maps for Public Transportation

Another great service from Google. Now you can use Google Maps to plan trips using public service transportation.

clipped from google-latlong.blogspot.com maps.google.com/transit, clipped from maps.google.com Plan a trip using public transportation See what cities are covered View text only version

You might be hearing about the new drug resveratrol. The so-called (by me)---Fountain of Youth drug.

Sirtris, a Cambridge, Mass research company is developing resveratrol-based drugs that they believe zero-in on the longevity gene. These drugs are designed to slow down aging. Basically turning a 90 year old into a 60 year old.

You might also know that reservatrol is found in red wine. The scientist say you would need to drink about 1000 bottles of wine to get what is contained in one Reseratrol pill.

Right now the only way you can get the Reservatrol pill is if you are a mouse. The Company however is moving from experiments with mice to experiments with humans. The good news is if it works it could be available within five years.

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Fountain Of Youth In A Wine Rx?

Around my Blogosphere

Are the Democrats peddling voodoo economics?

A Simple Three Minute Test Can Detect the Earliest Stage of Alzheimer's Disease

Goog 411

If it is not Alzheimer's, What is it?

The $4350 Medicare Donut Hole

Yes We Can Include Energy

In our "SPANX Million Dollar Girdles" slideshow, what archaic derogatory term is referenced?

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Are the Democrats peddling voodoo economics?

Voodoo economics: a slanderous term used by President George H. W. Bush in reference to President Reagan's economic policies known as Reaganomics. Now know as "trickle down economics" by democrats. Bush used the term voodoo economics to categorize Reagan's strategy of extreme supply side economics. One of the early tenants of supply side economics was that that across-the-board cuts in income-tax rates might raise overall tax revenues.
It now appears that the new theory being espoused by the Obama administration is the use of extreme demand side economics. The theory being that each dollar of government spending can increase the nation’s gross domestic product by more than a dollar. In some arguments the multiplier is as high as 1.5 times.

This has me thinking two things. First, if this is true why don't we spend two trillion dollars instead of one trillion? Second, why are savings in such ill repute that no one is saying a single word about savings. The argument being used right now is that savings do not add to demand--in other words if people save then they don't spend. As I look at past bull markets, they are always preceded by savings. Prior to the latest bull market in the U. S. the savings rate soared to 8 percent. More recently, saving rates have dwindled to zero percent and sometimes less than zero.

I don't think it is a crazy to assume that over consumption and creating artificial demand for things like houses and cars is part of our problem. Our current problems are being caused by the use of credit gone wild. Nevertheless, the government is proposing spending over savings, and by the way, they will borrow the money to do it. On the other hand, when people save they have to invest it somewhere--usually in stocks, bonds, or bank CDs. This helps the economy grow and creates jobs because these savings get invested directly into companies or in the form of loans by banks to companies.

The articles by economist for and against the stimulus package are coming out rapid fire. Here are a few that are very thought provoking.

Is Government Spending Too Easy an Answer?
Government Spending Is No Free Lunch
Let's Stimulate Private Risk Taking

Source All American Investor

Question: As of Jan. 19, how much bailout funding did HSBC request from the U.K. government?

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In Jane Wells' blog post, Adidas Attends Etnies Party, which beer brand is shown in all four photos?

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Which global steel maker, identified by ticker symbol, did Jon Najarian examine in his Jan. 21 Stock Blog post?

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Question: Which alleged "hedge fund swindler" was "barred from contact" with his girlfriend on Wednesday?

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When "Squawk Box" co-anchor Becky Quick was an undergrad, what newspaper did she lead?

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If the S&P 500 goes down 1%, how much does SDS go up?

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The Disappearing Money Multiplier

I caught this over on Greg Mankiw blog. I am a professor of economics at Harvard University. You can visit his blog and bookmark it by following the link.

Feel free to add you comment and analysis.

clipped from gregmankiw.blogspot.com Econ prof Bill Seyfried of Rollins College emails me: Here's an interesting fact that you may not have seen yet. The M1 money multiplier just slipped below 1. So each $1 increase in reserves (monetary base) results in the money supply increasing by $0.95 (OK, so banks have substantially increased their holding of excess reserves while the M1 money supply hasn't changed by much). Thanks.

In Jon Najarian's Monday Stock Blog post, which natgas company did he say options traders were targeting?

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Twitter Off to a Rough 2009

I caught this over on Digits.
If you are a twitter user you might want to check this out.

clipped from blogs.wsj.com You might be familiar with phishing attacks, those messages sent by criminals that look like they’re from a bank or Nigerian prince. But what about Twishing? The term may enter the tech lexicon this week, thanks to an attack targeting the Web site Twitter, which runs a popular service that lets people share short updates about what they’re doing. (Blame Brian Krebs of the Washington Post if it sticks.) Over the weekend, cyber baddies sent phishing messages via Twitter’s service to other account holders. The message directed people to a Web site that looked like Twitter’s home page, but was really operated by the bad buys. As people logged in to the fake Twitter site, the bad guys captured their user names and passwords. Twitter warned account holders Saturday about the scam in a post on its blog, and advised those concerned to change their passwords.