So far, she has collected 119 filters from all over the country. She hopes it won't take too long for Clorox to start recycling.

Yes, and the carbon footprint for shipping these filters? THINK people!

Clorox on Brita cartridge recycling: Not so easy

Reed Tuckson, the principle clinical sponsor of the report for the UHF, said the rankings should encourage individuals to "make appropriate personal health choices, actively support local community-based organizations and institutions, and advocate with elected and public health officials for necessary resources."

REALLY? No shit.

The Health of the Nation: State By State

Hello? I won a trial gym membership? How did you get my name? You pulled it out of a fishbowl? Do you have any idea who I am? I don't have any legs. And I have only one hand. I lost them over in Iraq. No, don't worry about it. I'm fine now. But I probably won't use it, so you might want to give it to someone else.

The next time you think you have problems, read this.

What I've Learned: Sgt. Bryan Anderson

This weekend I had a hole drilled through my skull. I read that this increased one’s consciousness permanently. I read about the supposed de-conditioning properties. I read about more parts of the brain working simultaneously as there would be more blood up there to help this happen. The arguments for it all seemed to be quite lengthy, quite detailed, thought out and researched, and very intelligent. The arguments against it were based solely on the opinion that it is ‘crazy’ and talk like, "What’s more conscious than conscious?". I heard from an acquaintance on telephone that she was glad she had done it, felt more mental energy, and had days of brilliance. I came to believe that the key to a permanent consciousness increase was a hole in the skull, to restore the full brain pulsation of infancy. After several months of research, discussion, speculation, watching surgical videos and trepanation documentaries, and even an actual viewing of a trepanation, I decided I certainly did want to be trepanned, and sought a way to do it.

I'm reminded of the great line from Ghostbusters:
Vinkman: "Remember that time you tried to drill a hole in your head?"
Egon: "That would've worked had you not stopped me."

Trepanation

Women's unwillingness to take their bosom by the reins could stem from an unwillingness to celebrate one's sexuality, at least as it is defined by the D cup stereotype — does anyone over 30 want to be the Hooters girl, as it were? It could be that we're slightly afraid of our boobs— after all, over time they do seem to develop a mind of their own — or it could be we don't like what larger-than-average (though not that much larger than average) breasts invite: attention, whistles, shade.

Ha! "Shade"! :-)

For girls because [alas!] no pictures for the boys: A quick, funny read about the latest Oprah-catalyzed brain hemorrhage.

-janelane, Hooters girl

TIME.com: If Your Bra Doesn't Fit, Go Shopping

There is no other industry in the world that uses so many different approaches to the same thing and in which these differences don't relate to better results.

Actually that's not true. The IT industry is another shining example of this. Enter any IT shop, big or small, and you will see a dizzying distribution of techniques and methodologies used to attempt an outcome, including (and usually) no methodology at all.

This is a really great article on what the opportunities are in the health care space that most IT players (and VC's, and entrepreneurs) are for the most part completely missing.

IT remedies for US health care: An interview with WellPoint's Leonard Schaeffer

The U.K. government has said the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu has been found in a parrot that died in quarantine

Is it just me or does this seem like it should've been an updated Python skit?

U.K. Says H5N1 Form of Bird Flu Found in Dead Parrot

But for all the complaints, scientists know surprisingly little about what causes chronic insomnia, its health consequences and how best to treat it, a panel of specialists brought together by the National Institutes of Health concluded Wednesday.

um, tell me about it!

Chronic Insomnia baffles sleep experts

] Is a complete electronic record of your medical history
] available to you or your doctors? Chances are, it isn't.
] At least not yet. Find out how personal health records
] could change that and thereby improve the quality, safety
] and efficiency of health care.

yes, PHRs are important and simply having one is better than not having one. But like all things complicated, the network effect is what's needed. How do you get all 100K physicians on the network? How do you incentivize consumers to use it? To interact with it on a regular basis?

I think I know...

Personal health records

] To that end, BlueCross BlueShield %u2014 the largest
] health insurer in Tennessee %u2014 intends to roll out a
] statewide project to put patient health-care records on a
] secure, Web-based system available to doctors at the
] point of care. Seeing a patient's medical history from
] all sources %u2014 including prescriptions and lab tests
] %u2014 should reduce costs and improve decisions on care,
] she says.

yep. so is everyone else.

Gregg is gung-ho to battle health costs with efficiencies