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Why there’s no new logorrheic Insolence today…

…is because I lucked out and my iPhone 4 arrived a day early. Gadget geek that I am, I couldn’t resist taking the time I’d normally spend blogging last night to set it up the way I like it. Yes, whenever I get a new smartphone, just as whenever I get a new computer, I like to start from scratch.

i-27e4bf108413a56ad4a2c6e549f4de55-iphone4.jpg

What? Did you think it had something to do with something else, like a certain college student from Brandeis? Perish the thought! In fact, here’s my response:

More later. Maybe. I was too busy testing out the new phone to bother with such petty concerns.

Queue the Apple haters to battle the Apple fanboys…three…two…one…

Discuss.

By Orac

Orac is the nom de blog of a humble surgeon/scientist who has an ego just big enough to delude himself that someone, somewhere might actually give a rodent's posterior about his copious verbal meanderings, but just barely small enough to admit to himself that few probably will. That surgeon is otherwise known as David Gorski.

That this particular surgeon has chosen his nom de blog based on a rather cranky and arrogant computer shaped like a clear box of blinking lights that he originally encountered when he became a fan of a 35 year old British SF television show whose special effects were renowned for their BBC/Doctor Who-style low budget look, but whose stories nonetheless resulted in some of the best, most innovative science fiction ever televised, should tell you nearly all that you need to know about Orac. (That, and the length of the preceding sentence.)

DISCLAIMER:: The various written meanderings here are the opinions of Orac and Orac alone, written on his own time. They should never be construed as representing the opinions of any other person or entity, especially Orac's cancer center, department of surgery, medical school, or university. Also note that Orac is nonpartisan; he is more than willing to criticize the statements of anyone, regardless of of political leanings, if that anyone advocates pseudoscience or quackery. Finally, medical commentary is not to be construed in any way as medical advice.

To contact Orac: [email protected]

44 replies on “Why there’s no new logorrheic Insolence today…”

Frankly, Orac, I could not give a damn. Never been into the buy now, buy later, syndrome.

However, that is one rockin’ video. It neatly sums the issue up. I just feel sorry for Louis Brandeis, though, to have his name associated with the Boy Wonder, a mental cretin.

I’ll be sticking with my 3GS for a while. It’s jailbroke, so I can tether it without having to fall for the “add teathering to your plan” trick to get me to change my unlimited plan.

AT&T sucks in this part of Texas. It’s either a Droid or crap reception. For now the iPhone is not worth it.

I’m a total Luddite, but *Chacun a son gout*! and “Vive la difference*!I actually have two cell phones-one is in its pristine, original packaging in my jeans drawer and the other is in my SO’s car,designated as the “emergency phone”.(Believe me, I spend money on other stuff)Enjoy your new phone!

Oh,I’ve possibly found a theme song for all those who cry,”Pharma connections!”,”No HIV virus was ever isolated!”,”No proof of greater longevity due to vaccines!”,etc.,etc.,etc.There is a song called, “Grasping at Straws” by Ensign.

The iphone was the first apple product I considered buying, but their tie-in with AT&T made that urge go away. I’d rather drag 50 miles of land line behind me than go with that company again.

Mu – I was so disgusted by my former carrier that switching to AT&T has been a treat. The old company screwed up my corporate discount every single time I renewed my contract and it took months to correct. I’ve been very happy with my AT&T service and my iPhone.

The iphone was the first apple product I considered buying, but their tie-in with AT&T made that urge go away. I’d rather drag 50 miles of land line behind me than go with that company again.

Yep, that was why I avoided the iPhone, and now Verizon finally caught up by releasing the Droid, and it turns out I like the Droid slightly better anyway.

Apple makes really cool stuff — I am most certainly not an “Apple hater” — but their lock-in practice will always handicap them.

Orac, what is your opinion on this study: http://www.montrealgazette.com/health/Omega+fight+depression+Study/3185889/story.html#ixzz0rc5TgKIT

I don’t have access to the actual study, and going by the media report is probably unwise, but the article says,

“Overall, we found there was a small trend favouring Omega-3 over placebo, but it was not statistically significant,”

And then,

However, a subgroup of depressed patients who didn’t also suffer from an anxiety disorder saw their depression symptoms decrease after taking the Omega-3 supplements compared with those who took the placebo.

Which gave me the impression that they could find no effect from taking Omegma-3 for depression, so they cherry picked and called it “subgroup analysis.”

I have avoided smartphones altogether to avoid the monthly connect charge but wifey got sucked into getting the droid by tech daughter so I get to enjoy it with a little less guilt.

I might have chosen an iPhone if we weren’t locked into the forever 2-year extensions by Verizon and all the kids on the plan whining about needing new phones and services on a regular basis. Soon they will be gone (FSM willing) and we may then be free to explore non-Verizon options.

Toys are fun! Enjoy yours Orac.

I’m just wondering what a plastic box with circuits needs an iPhone for.

I’m one of the few people I know who switched *to* AT&T for the coverage. (Verizon doesn’t cover my house and had no plans on fixing it.)

The real question is: What does Orac think of the new Skittles-themed Daleks?

@ cervantes:this woo sounds like EFT woo(no,it’s not *exchange traded funds* scrambled up)**sometimes touted by Mercola.**”emotional freedom technique”

Did you make sure the network doesn’t drop out when you hold the thing in your freakin’ hand?

I’m just wondering what a plastic box with circuits needs an iPhone for.

Computers get lonely too, and those iPhones are muy sexy…

But there is news:

Boyd Haley honors Orac.

At the website of Haley’s company, CTI Science, it is proclaimed that his chelation “supplement” for autism, OSR#1®, has the highest “ORAC” score, which was “developed by Brunswick Laboratories, which measures the effectiveness of antioxidants. The ORAC score for OSR#1® is 192,400 µmoleTE per 100 grams, one of the highest recorded for a lipid soluble antioxidant. The HORAC (Hydroxyl Radical Absorbance Capacity) for OSR#1® is even higher at 299,000 µmoleTE per 100 grams. ” See http://www.ctiscience.com/CTIScience/Home.do and the accompanying chart.

There is, however, the little matter of the FDA’s warning letter. But, since Prometheus is covering that, no need to mention it here.

In any event, Kudos to Orac — having a score to settle with Prof. Haley.

a certain college student from Brandeis

Your limerick is missing four lines.

There was a young student from Brandeis
who thought that Orac he’d ice.
his logic was weak
his facts took a leak
all over the youngster from Brandeis

best limerick I could come up with on short notice.

Oh, and.. the Dalek is there to Exterminate! the old iPhone?

Denice Walter

@ cervantes:this woo sounds like EFT woo(no,it’s not *exchange traded funds* scrambled up)**sometimes touted by Mercola.**”emotional freedom technique”

EFT is a type of energy psychology – a sub woo within an uber woo. EFT was developed by Gary Craig (an unfrocked engineer) from Callaghan Thought Field Therapy. The latter was heavily promoted by Kevin Trudeau so it must have been good. Gary Craig added some acupuncture “theory” spoon bending and any other woo that he encountered. I know rather more about EFT than anyone in their right mind should.

When the subject of EFT comes up us engineers need to don not mere paper bags, but welding helmets and birqas.

The stupid new iPhone release has all the Apple fanboys lining up outside the stores and making it impossible for me to get an appointment to go inside to the Genius Bar to fix my defective Mac (again)!

Honestly, I don’t see the appeal in a smartphone that you have to hack just to make it do what every other smartphone does out of the box. I’m sticking with my 6-year-old dumbphone, thank you very much. It calls people, and that’s all I need a phone to do.

@ Militant Agnostic:If you feel ashamed enough for the welding helmet and/or birqa, think about how *psychologists* feel!There,unfortunately,is no shortage of psychologically-based woo(abbreviated as “psycho-woo”- and it *is*).Oh, don’t get me started….

I did the update on my 3GS and that’s good enough for me since I’ve only had the thing for two months. The multi-tasking is working and I can listen to Pandora and do NY Times Crossword now at the same time!

My first iPhone is sitting in a drawer–too much stuff with no good disposal, so I can’t get the 4 just for the hell of it. I don’t want or need to edit video, and the antenna on the outside that makes it look “new”, doesn’t help much according to the analysis I heard last night on the BBC Podcast I can now listen to while…well, nothing actually–but I COULD have!

BTW, one of my apps is for Mother Jones Magazine. They had a short piece on pertussis outbreaks that was very science-based and made it clear that anti-vaxers are nuts. Some of the comments were truly scary. I was looking for fence sitters, but they were hard to find. So many kept saying, “keep studying it”, “give them some credit for pointing to problems”, “it only seems reasonable to worry about giving to many shots to tiny babies” and those were the ambivalent ones. Happily, some serious science people did their best to dispel a lot of nonsense. The bad news is that MJ did an update to “clarify” (and almost retract) that there is no proof as yet that lack of vax caused the outbreaks.

My new iPhone came a day early too!! It’s keeping me away from spending too much time commenting on whooping cough in California.

I’m giving more DTaPs this week than ever before!

By the way, MJ, the lack of vaccines does increase outbreaks. Specious reasoning to assume otherwise.

There is no proof, however, that the new iPhone OS does or does not cause autism.

Best,

Jay

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