Mike Adams and Craig Bayer will be exhibiting in the Vendor Showcase on Thursday and Friday.
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Helping Lawyers with Mobile Solutions
2011 Hurricane Season
I have been following Dr. Jyotika Virmani for a few years on her Listserv and now on Twitter. below is her latest post along with subscription information.
-Mike
Dear Ladies, Gentlemen, Children, Cats, Dogs, and the Pony in SE Florida who might be reading this: Welcome to the official start of the 2011 Atlantic Hurricane Season!
The latest forecasts call for an active season (relative to some average – see below):
U. Colorado/Gray/Klotzbach (issued April 6, 2011): 16 named storms, 9 hurricanes, 5 major hurricanes.
NOAA’s latest (issued on May 19, 2011): 12-18 named storms, 6-10 hurricanes, and 3-6 major hurricanes.
MetOffice (issued May 26, 2011): 13 named storms, with 70% chance of the range being 10-17.
Accuweather (issued May 30, 2011): 15 named storms, 8 hurricanes, 4 major hurricanes.
In an average season we would expect 11 named storms, 6 hurricanes, and about 2 major hurricanes. I do not think this average includes the activity of the last decade, so when I have a few moments I might just check these numbers. I’ll let you know what I find. One reason we need to include the last few years in the ‘average’ value is because they are now including storms that are very short-lived that in the distant past (within the past 5 years) were not named. You may remember me grumbling about this over the last couple of years.
The first three names this year are: Arlene, Bret and Cindy.
To start the season off, there is a small blobette off the northeast coast of Florida. Obviously it didn’t get the memo that we are all just waking up and there’s no need to rush because we haven’t had our morning tea yet. Ho hum. There is some low level circulation and some thundery weather. This blobette is moving WSW at around 20mph, but I don’t think it will develop into anything more than some squally weather over Florida/Georgia because it’s really close to land.
If you have been reading this for more than a year, you can skip to the postscript if you like (although I tweaked it a bit – I was in a boring meeting with nothing else to do 
). If this is your first visit to this fabulous, amazing, wonderful blog, here are a few background notes so you know what you are getting into:
1. These updates are about fun, forecasting, and education… and tropical storms (and whatever else pops into my head that may fit those three words). It is just what I think.
2. I have a British sense of humoUr… you have been warned.
3. This is my hobby – sometimes you’ll get one update a day, sometime four. If you are really lucky, you won’t get any. If you wish to pay me to write, let me know and I’ll send out updates as frequently as you like.
4. I hope you like Monty Python and Eddie Izzard. And other funny stuff.
5. If you have any questions (preferably about tropical storms), please do not hesitate to ask. I will be happy to make up the answers for you. Over the years, I’ve talked about a lot of things already, but I can cut and paste from previous entries as well as the next person so if I say something or use some “scientific jargon” (ooh ahh, how thrilling), please please ask me about it.
6. I have a British sense of humoUr… I often write tongue-in-cheek, which sometimes hurts my cheek but what can you do? Gentle sarcasm, irony, and puns are all acceptable forms of communication. Unfortunately they don’t always translate in writing so please don’t be offended – like Planet Earth, I’m “Mostly Harmless” (Douglas Adams). Have a piece of chocolate or a drink instead.
7. I’m sure every cloud in the Atlantic is exciting to some but, unless I’m bored, I’ll usually write about those that I think have a chance of developing.
8. If you are reading this on the web blog and would like to sign up to get email updates instead go here…
http://seas.marine.usf.edu/mailman/listinfo/jyo_hurricane.
9. If you are reading this via email, are sick of me cluttering up your in-boxes and would prefer to get it via the web go here…
http://jyotikastorms.blogspot.com (and send me an email telling me to remove you).
10. I am not always right. But then neither is anyone else. Forecasting is complicated. Sometimes the crystal ball gets smudges and you are all out of Windex to clean it and the store is closed. So PLEASE pay attention to the National Hurricane Center, National Weather Service and your Emergency Managers – especially when a storm is looming because they have the most up-to-date information!!
11. I have a British sense of humoUr… er… did I mention that one already?
(It’s not too late to unsubscribe )
That’s all I have for the opening speech. More later!
J.
p.s. Did I tell you I’m a Twit now too? (@JyovianStorm) Over the past few months I’ve been tweeting about storms in other basins and other things I think are interesting.
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DISCLAIMER:
These remarks are just what I think/see regarding tropical storms – not the opinion of any organization I represent. If you are making an evacuation decision, please heed your local emergency management and the National Hurricane Center’s official forecast and the National Weather Service announcements. This is not an official forecast. If I “run away, run away” (Monty Python), I’ll let you know.
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_______________________________________________
Jyo_Hurricane mailing list
Jyo_Hurricane@marine.usf.edu
http://seas.marine.usf.edu/mailman/listinfo/jyo_hurricane
Mobile Killing Machines: Are Cell Phones Safe?
Is modern technology of mobile phones killing our children? In today’s world, almost everyone has or has access to a mobile device. Several new mobile device platforms also include programs or applications that are designed for children to use, including games and educational material. These productivity tools are now used as toys to placate screaming kids. With the recent rise in brain cancer in children, parents should not let children use a mobile phone for non-emergency calls. Mobile phones have the capability to be very dangerous and should not be used by children as toys until scientific research can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that these devices are safe!
The Mount Sinai Medical Center reports on their web site that childhood leukemia and brain cancer have increased sharply in incidence. Between 1975 and 2004, primary brain cancer increased by nearly forty percent and leukemia by over sixty percent among children fourteen years and younger. Cancer is now the second leading cause of death in childhood in the United States, exceeded only by deaths from injury (Mount Sinai Medical Center). With this increase in children’s cancer rates, parents should use their best judgment when letting their children use a mobile phone as a toy. This decision may be a tradeoff of pacification of a child who needs something to occupy their immediate time or a lifetime of medical problems.
“Suppose several hundred marine biologists were to study your swimming pool. A reasonable percentage of them report that you’ve got sharks in your pool. Would you dive in? Would you let your kids swim in the pool? According to European reports, cellphone radiation may be the shark in the water, and it is endangering our health.” Says Jeffry Fawcett, Ph.D. in an article he authored in 2008. The research material was looking at this from the European Union where they seem to take the health concern more series than in the United States. An example of this is how the European Union will use a lack of evidence to support restriction (Senior).
A research study was conducted over a two-week period to look at the exposure of mobile phone signals on stem cell growth and reported in March 2010 in Environmental Health Perspectives. Even though the research period didn’t seem like a long-term exposure, it produced significant results that the researches have concluded that additional research is needed. The paper is focused on stem cell research, but draws conclusions about cancer, and links directly to blood cancer and even includes references to higher rates in children. The article includes additional information that discovered that mobile phones also produce a very low frequency that can also contribute to the cancer risks. Igor Y. Belyaev, one of the papers authors draws the following conclusions, “our results indicate that stem cells are more sensitive to microwave (MW) exposure than are differentiated human primary cells, lymphocytes, and fibroblasts, whereas fibroblasts are least sensitive. Inhibitory effects of MW exposure on DNA double-strand breaks (DSB) repair in stem cells may result in formation of chromosomal aberrations and therefore origination of cancer. Alternatively, MW exposures may induce a stress response. Both possible interpretations provide a mechanistic link to increased cancer risk.”
This new research seems to directly challenge the long held belief that these devices are safe. For example, back in 2000, author Kathryn Senior wrote a magazine article based on research conducted in the United Kingdom and covers the general safety of mobile phones. While the author did not do her own research, she relies on material that was already published. The article concludes that mobile phone use is unlikely to cause cancer or any other disease. However, the report does recommend caution and suggests that children should be discouraged from using mobile phones for “non-essential calls” (Senior). In her article, Senior quotes Colin Blakemore from the University of Oxford, UK, that the still developing smaller brain and thinner skull of children exposes them to longer exposure periods of radiation and these factors should be taken into consideration.
In 2009, author Michael Kundi reviewed thirty-three different epidemiologic studies that have been completed and draws conclusions that the overall evidence speaks in favor of an increased risk, but its magnitude cannot be assessed at present because of insufficient information on long-term use. This seems to be the general conclusion that most governments and mobile technology companies rely on to keep the product in the market place and declared as safe. While Kundi’s article does not include any facts about children, a general consensus can be drawn from the article and research. Those adults are experiencing higher exposure of high-frequency electromagnetic fields (EMFs), in addition to exposure to extremely low-frequency magnetic fields that occur from battery discharge which leads to a higher risk category for cancer. If children, who have smaller bone density and immune systems that are not fully developed are exposed to those same EMFs, the consequences are very damaging.
Dr. Devra Davis has a new book called Disconnect and is marketed as the truth about cell phone radiation. She has published the following 10 Things you can do to reduce the cancer risk of cell phones on her web site:
1. Children should only use cell phones next to their heads for emergencies. Children’s skulls are thinner than adults’ and their brains are still developing. Hence, radiation from cell phones penetrates more deeply into their brains and is likely to cause more damage. Texting (while holding the phone away from their body) is still fine for kids!
2. While talking on your cell phone, try to keep the cell phone away from your body as much as possible. The amplitude of the electromagnetic field (radiation) is one fourth the strength at a distance of two inches and fifty times lower at three feet. Whenever possible, use the speaker-phone mode or a wired headset (not a Bluetooth).
3. Avoid using your cell phone when the signal is weak or when moving at high speed, such as in a car or train, as this automatically increases power to a maximum as the phone repeatedly attempts to connect to a new relay antenna.
4. Avoid carrying your cell phone on your body at all times. Do not keep it near your body at night such as under the pillow or on a bedside table, particularly if pregnant. You can also put it on “flight” or “off-line” mode, which stops electromagnetic emissions.
5. If you must carry your cell phone on you, make sure that the keypad is positioned toward your body and the back is positioned toward the outside so that the transmitted electromagnetic fields move away from you rather than through you.
6. Only use your cell phone to establish contact or for conversations lasting a few minutes, as the biological effects are directly related to the duration of exposure. For longer conversations, use a land line with a corded phone, not a cordless phone, which also uses electromagnetic emitting technology similar to that of cell phones.
7. Switch sides regularly while communicating on your cell phone to spread out your exposure. Before putting your cell phone to the ear, wait until your correspondent has picked up. This limits the power of the electromagnetic field emitted near your ear and the duration of your exposure.
8. When possible, communicate via text messaging rather than making a call, to limit the duration of exposure and the proximity to the body.
9. Avoid using your cell phone in places like a bus, where you can passively expose others to your phone’s electromagnetic fields.
10. Choose a device with the lowest SAR possible (SAR = Specific Absorption Rate, which is a measure of the strength of the magnetic field absorbed by the body). SAR ratings of contemporary phones by different manufacturers are available by searching for “sar ratings cell phones” on the internet.
The research papers and studies that have been completed in both the United States and in the United Kingdom all seem to have a similar underlying tone, which is no one can say for sure whether mobile phones are safe or are dangerous. Until such a time that the technology is vetted by parties that do not profit from them or from any possible side effects, you should err on the side of caution and protect your children from these mobile killing machines.
Works Cited
Davis, Devra. “The Disconnect Book Web Site”. 2011. 23 April 2011. http://www.disconnectbook.com/cell-phone/10-things-you-can-do-to-reduce-the-cancer-risk-from-cell-phones/. Web.
Fawcett, Jeffry. “Health risks from WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES.” /Alive: Canadian Journal of Health & Nutrition/ 306 (2008): 154-157. /Alt HealthWatch/. EBSCO. Web. 16 Apr. 2011.
Igor Y. Belyaev, et al. “Microwaves from GSM Mobile Telephones Affect 53BP1 and gamma-H2AX Foci in Human Lymphocytes from Hypersensitive and Healthy Persons.” /Environmental Health Perspectives/ 113.9 (2005): 1172-1177. /Health Source – Consumer Edition/. EBSCO. Web. 16 Apr. 2011.
Kundi, Michael. “The Controversy about a Possible Relationship between Mobile Phone Use and Cancer.” /Environmental Health Perspectives/ 117.3 (2009): 316-324. /Health Source – Consumer Edition/. EBSCO. Web. 16 Apr. 2011.
The Mount Sinai Medical Center: Importance of Children’s Environmental Health. 2010. 23 April 2011. http://www.mountsinai.org/patient-care/service-areas/children/areas-of-care/childrens-environmental-health-center/childrens-disease-and-the-environment. Web.
Senior, Kathryn. “Mobile phones: are they safe?.” /Lancet/ 355.9217 (2000): 1793. /Academic Search Complete/. EBSCO. Web. 16 Apr. 2011.
Twitter: What you need to know about it
I am not going to cover everything on this post, but just address a few things that I have been asked about since Sunday night.
- How did Twitter break the news about bin Laden?
That’s the magic of Twitter, you are indirectly connected to millions of users who put up good content all the time. The key is filtering it out. Twitter moves at the speed of light, so you have to use your best judgement on what to believe or not. Read these 2 stories: Twitter delivers news of bin Laden’s death first and When Twitter punks the world: 5 fake news stories - Why do I Tweet?
I like Twitter! I use it to help me. One thing that I like about Twitter, is that its a great tool. If you see something that you like, or want to know more about, Tweet it. For starters, you will assemble a collection of all those things on your profile page. Then other people may comment about it? If you need a new cell phone, and you throw up a Tweet, “Should I get the iPhone 4 today or wait for the 5?” If you have done the work to build a great network on Twitter (which is really simple) you will get some great answers back, and most likely in minutes. Try sending out an email blast to your friends and getting the same response. Plus, via Twitter you can follow experts and other bloggers that you would not have email access to. - How do I filter out “all the stuff?”
Use Lists. Read this HOW TO: Use Twitter Lists
Read a paper. A lot of twitter users publish a Daily or Weekly Paper that collects Tweets and assembles them into a “newspaper like” reading experience. Keep in mind, that Twitter only pushes out headlines in the feed, you have to click on the story or go find the details yourself. Read my Mobile Law Blog Weekly paper and see for yourself.
Be sure to Follow Me on Twitter by going to Twitter.com/MobileLawBlog
