The Price to be on 17 Ave Calgary

This is a nice little article giving some perspective on how much it costs per sq/ft of retail space to be situated on 17 Ave SW in Calgary compared to other places in Canada and the world:

The Top 1%

According to this article you need to make at least $222000 a year to be considered the top percent of earners in the country:

People With Autism Face Grim Job Prospects

Here is an article high-lighting some of the challenges young adults with autism face finding work. I would support more public spending for people with autism who are having problems getting job placement.

Grocery Store Centre Aisle Erosion

During my first yoga teacher training one of the main instructors mentioned something to us that really stuck in my mind. She had said that the best way to shop at a grocery store is to just walk the perimeter of the store staying out of all the aisles, as around the perimeter of the store you will find the fresh fruits, fresh meats, fresh dairy, fresh baked goods, and even fresh prepared foods in the deli. And in the center of the store you will find all the canned, dried, and preservatives laden food. So imagine my surprise when the news paper ran an article on this exact same topic that seems to be trending these days.

Starbucks Downtown Toronto Among Busiest

The Starbucks in downtown Toronto is the chain's busiest store, and they are process approximately 1 order every 8 seconds for the two hour morning rush. With the most conservative of estimates that's over $6300 in just two hours.

Ultrasound on Mice Study

WASHINGTON — Exposure to ultrasound can affect fetal brain development, a new study suggests. But researchers say the findings, in mice, should not discourage pregnant women from having ultrasound scans for medical reasons.

When pregnant mice were exposed to ultrasound, a small number of nerve cells in the developing brains of their fetuses failed to extend correctly in the cerebral cortex.

"Our study in mice does not mean that use of ultrasound on human fetuses for appropriate diagnostic and medical purposes should be abandoned," said lead researcher Pasko Rakic, chairman of the neurobiology department at Yale University School of Medicine.

However, he added in a telephone interview, women should avoid unnecessary ultrasound scans until more research has been done.

Dr. Joshua Copel, president-elect of the American Institute of Ultrasound Medicine, said his organization tries to discourage "entertainment" ultrasound, but considers sonograms important when there is a medical benefit.

"Anytime we're doing an ultrasound we have to think of risk vs. benefit. What clinical question are we trying to answer," Copel said in a telephone interview. "It may be very important to know the exact dating of pregnancy, it's certainly helpful to know the anatomy of the fetus, but we shouldn't be holding a transducer on mom's abdomen for hours and hours and hours."

Rakic's paper said that while the effects of ultrasound in human brain development are not yet known, there are disorders thought to be the result of misplacement of brain cells during their development.

"These disorders range from mental retardation and childhood epilepsy to developmental dyslexia, autism spectrum disorders and schizophrenia," the researchers said.

Their report is in Tuesday's edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Early ultrasound scans are done to determine the exact week of the pregnancy and they are also done later to check for anatomical defects and other problems.

However, some expectant parents have sought scans to save as keepsakes even when they were not medically necessary, a practice the Food and Drug Administration discourages.

The Institute of Ultrasound Medicine was particularly concerned last year when it was announced that actor Tom Cruise had purchased an ultrasound machine for his pregnant fiancee, Katie Holmes, so they could do their own sonograms.

"Purchase of an ultrasound machine for private, at home use entails inappropriate operation of a prescription medical device designed for diagnostic use by a trained medical professional," the group said in a statement issued at the time.

Copel, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Yale University School of Medicine, did point out that there are large differences between scanning mice and scanning people.

For example, because of their size, the distance between the scanner and the fetus is larger in people than mice, which reduces the intensity of the ultrasound. In addition, he said, the density of the cranial bones in a human baby is more than that of a tiny mouse, which further reduces exposure to the scan.

The paper noted that the developmental period of these brain cells is much longer in humans than in mice, so that exposure would be a smaller percentage of their developmental period.

However, it also pointed out that brain cell development in people is more complex and there are more cells developing, which could increase the chances of some going astray.

In Rakic's study, pregnant mice were exposed to ultrasound for various amounts of time ranging from a total exposure of 5 minutes to 420 minutes. After the baby mice were born their brains were studied and compared with those of mice whose mothers had not been exposed to ultrasound.

The study of 335 mice concluded that in those whose mothers were exposed to a total of 30 minutes or more, "a small but statistically significant number" of brain cells failed to grow into their proper position and remained scattered in incorrect parts of the brain. The number of affected cells increased with longer exposures.

The research was funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/science/discoveries/2006-08-07-ultrasound-baby-brains_x.htm 

Here is another great article on the subject:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/witw/articles/2013/04/29/are-ultrasounds-causing-autism-in-unborn-babies.html 

Billionaire Weidner Investment Services Began 1977

Canada's Real Estate Bubble May Burst

I'm been feeling this for awhile and this article backs my thoughts.

Google's New Holding Structure

Interesting article about a new holding company being formed call Alphabet Inc. that will own Google along with all their other investments and companies.

59th Facebook Gender Identity

I'd be hard pressed to name a handful of gender identities but I guess there is 59 options for it on Facebook. Wow.

Why Never to Buy Chrysler or Jeep

I've known this kind of information for a long time, and I was very unsettled that our governments gave billions of our tax dollars in bail-out funds to Chrysler and Chevrolet(Chevy is just as bad if not worse than Chrysler). Considering we live in a capitalist society when the auto businesses were failing the government should of let them fail. The government won't bail-out smaller businesses so why should large corporations receive special attention. And had these two auto makers gone bankrupt it probably would of directly saved lives(Jeep gas tank placement has caused deaths according to the following article)

I found this on Calgary's news radio station, 660 and I am cutting and pasting it here for future reference


:

DETROIT – Fiat Chrysler will buy back from customers more than 500,000 Ram pickup trucks in the biggest such action in U.S. history as part of a costly deal with U.S. safety regulators to settle legal problems in about two-dozen recalls.
The trucks, which are the company’s top-selling vehicle, have defective steering parts that can cause drivers to lose control, and some previous repairs have been unsuccessful. So to get them off the roads, Fiat Chrysler agreed to the buyback, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Owners also have the option of getting them repaired, the agency said in documents released Sunday.
Also, owners of more than a million older Jeeps with vulnerable rear-mounted gas tanks will be able to trade in their vehicles for more than market value or be paid to get them repaired, the agency said in a statement. The Jeeps’ fuel tanks are behind the rear axle and have little to shield them in a rear crash. They can rupture and spill gasoline, setting the vehicles on fire. At least 75 people have died in crash-related fires, although Fiat Chrysler maintains they are as safe as comparable vehicles from the same era.
Both the Jeep and Ram measures are part of a larger settlement between the government and the automaker that includes a record $105 million fine and the appointment of an independent recall monitor.
“Today’s action holds Fiat Chrysler accountable for its past failures, pushes them to get unsafe vehicles repaired or off the roads and takes concrete steps to keep Americans safer going forward,” Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in the statement. The record civil fine, he said, puts automakers on notice that NHTSA will take action when recall laws aren’t followed.
NHTSA has been involved in vehicle buybacks in the past, but never with this many vehicles. A buyback usually happens when a problem is so serious that it can’t be fixed and the vehicles need to be removed from service. The buyback and the Jeep trade-ins likely will cost Fiat Chrysler hundreds of millions of dollars or more.
The agency’s actions come less than a month after it held a rare public hearing to detail problems with 23 Fiat Chrysler recalls covering more than 11 million cars and trucks. It’s another sign that NHTSA is taking a much tougher stance against automakers that don’t obey auto safety laws.
The fine beats the old record of $70 million assessed against Honda Motor Co. for lapses in recalls of air bags made by Takata Corp.
At the July 2 hearing, NHTSA detailed a litany of shortfalls: failure to notify customers of recalls, delays in making and distributing repair parts and in some cases failing to come up with repairs that fix the problems. Some of the recalls date to 2013.
During the hearing, Fiat Chrysler did not dispute any of NHTSA’s allegations. Scott Kunselman, the company’s head of vehicle safety, said it is changing the way it manages safety to follow the industry’s best practices. The safety system, he said, has been reorganized with added personnel. He now reports directly to CEO Sergio Marchionne. Previously the person in his position was three rungs down the organization chart from the chief executive, he said.
“We have learned from our mistakes and missteps,” he said.
___
AP Business Writer Jonathan Fahey contributed from New York.

Three or More Affectations Rule

Self Made Billionaire

A good article describing a self made billionaire who called himself a small town boy who got lucky!

Cycle Track Update

Here was an letter to the editor that explains my point of view almost perfectly.

Your Health Vs Big Corporations

If you think a fun sounding company like Nestle is looking out for your best interests think again:

Palliative Care Opinion Article

I enjoyed this article because it pin pointed some things I too noticed during my Mother's passing.

Criminals Retain Rights

Ambra Walls

My new favorite material. I can't wait to be able to utilize this stuff somewhere! They installed it in the entrance to the public bathrooms at the Talisman Center.

Homebuyer Fee Hike

Interesting article on how the costs of registering your house after purchase are being raised dramatically.