29th March 2007

Nip the tip

In the “Stuff you can’t make up” department, the head of the WHO’s HIV/AIDS program, which today announced that men should be circumcised in order to reduce their chance of getting HIV by 60%, is named Kevin De Cock.

I’m not sure how I feel about the recommendation myself. Actually, I can tell you that my immediate reaction was anger, before I read the study, which makes it clear that the effect is almost certainly real (that is, attributable directly to the circumcision and not attendant factors). It seems risky in the extreme to pin a lot of emphasis on something with a relatively modest effect if it’s only going to result in more risk-taking behavior. It’s also not cheap at all to circumcise everyone in sub-Saharan Africa (it costs $50-100 a slice), which means it’s arguably a big waste of money as well. But maybe they know what they’re talking about - I’m not a public health specialist.

posted by saurabh in Biology, Health!, Il Mundo | 4 Comments

7th October 2006

We are all Lost.

I was torrenting the season premiere of Lost*. My torrent client, KTorrent†, is incredibly snazzy and has a nice info-widget where it shows all the peers you’re connected to, as well as (uselessly) where they are located. Check out this international festival:

Argentina 1
Australia 2
Austria 1
Belgium 3
Brazil 7
Canada 8
Colombia 1
Cyprus 1
Czech Republic 2
Finland 4
France 4
Germany 2
Greece 1
Hungary 1
Ireland 1
Israel 1
Italy 1
Kuwait 1
Malaysia 2
Malta 2
Netherlands 1
Norway 1
Poland 8
Romania 1
Saudi Arabia 1
Slovenia 1
Spain 2
Sweden 1
Switzerland 1
Thailand 1
Turkey 1
United Arab Emirates 2
United Kingdom 29
United States 17
Unknown 7

The Internet is definitely cool.

* I know… the depth of my shame is great. I am hanging my head even now.

† Only for KDE, chumps!

posted by saurabh in Il Mundo | 7 Comments

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