who needs ac?

when i moaned that my new office wasn't air conditioned on sundays, my medsoc friend elaine sent me this twenty-author piece from international journal of obesity, as summarized in slate.

the authors, s. w. keith, d. t. redden, p. t. katzmarzyk, m. m. boggiano, e. c. hanlon, r. m. benca, d. ruden, a. pietrobelli, j. l. barger, k. r. fontaine, c. wang, l. j. aronne, s. m. wright, m. baskin, n. v. dhurandhar, m. c. lijoi, c. m. grilo, m. deluca, a. o. westfall and d. b. allison (do you think professors lijoi and grilo fought over the coveted 16th author position?) suggest some non-obvious contributors to the secular increase in obesity, including diminished sleep, chemicals that mess up our hormones, declining tobacco use, and antidepressants.

perhaps most intriguingly, they point to heating and air conditioning as a potential culprit. if ambient temperatures are a stable 70ish degrees year round, we needn't expend energy to maintain our body temperature. plus, when the temp hits triple digits in minnesota, we really shouldn't be all that hungry, right? i'm hedging my bets, so i made sure to fix the office AC.

research analyst job

this looks like a nice opportunity. the minnesota judicial center has a job opening that might fit a very talented recent grad with good quantitative skills. the deadline is 7/31/06.

JUD RESEARCH ANALYST 1
$ 18.73-$ 29.02 hourly, $ 39,108-$ 60,593 annually

civil rights and civilian review openings

the minneapolis civil rights department is calling for participation on two important civil rights boards:

I am sending out this email to encourage those in the Minneapolis community interested in Civil Rights and the police accountability issues to apply for the open positions with the Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission and the Minneapolis Civilian Police Review Authority. Both of these organizations are in need of individuals of color!!! If you are interested in these opportunities, please visit the links or feel free to contact the Minneapolis Civil Rights Department at 612.673.2031!!! Applications are due on July 28, 2006. Please forward this email on to anyone interested in the opportunity.

Thank you,

Michael K. Browne
Interim Director
Mpls. Civil Rights Dep't

prisonization animation

mark fiore has a new cartoon titled the united states of incarceration. although mr. fiore's treatment of criminal punishment can be criticized on several grounds, it illustrates how non-criminologists are connecting the dots between large-scale incarceration, poverty, inequality, and abuse.

i might find fault with his numbers, but i can't disagree with mr. fiore's tagline: i'm happy just the way things are, because problems on the inside travel near and far -- like right to your neighborhood!