sports

What will your future look like? How can you reach that exercise or diet goal? Can you imagine the day when you'll interface with your doctor through a smartphone? Many of these types of questions will be answered by wireless devices.

Treat 'em right

The innovation of wireless health or mHealth devices are especially exciting as they will have an impact not just on the health of you - the patient, but also the thousands of hospitals and clinics that see people like you daily. 

Smart sensors and wireless devices such as the smart patch (also known as a band aid) are leading the charge of this wireless revolution. These tiny transmitters are adhered to the body and measure functions such as heart rate, temperature, blood pressure, glucose, etc. 

The data is then sent to a smartphone or computer application that provides feedback in the form of prescription aid or assist in scheduling a doctor video conference, among others. 

The potential benefits are huge. The treatment and cost efficiencies will greatly improve the situation of crowded hospital beds and outpatient visits. Assisted living treatment can be improved as well, especially in the areas of emergency response.

The direct impact on chronic disease maintenance is also very exciting. Imagine a diabetic or heart patient having this technology at their disposal? In this case, information is power.

An apple a day

ESPN appears to have been prank called by a Howard Stern prankster pretending to be recently released Philadelphia Eagles running back Brian Westbrook. The Brian Westbrook ESPN prank call appears to have been the work of Captain Janks, a Howard Stern acolyte who has pulled similar pranks on live TV before.

The Brian Westbrook crank call started off like any other interview with an athlete, but went off the rails about 30 seconds in when the fake Westbrook said he had "nothing but respect for head coach Andy Reid and I look forward to a future of worshiping the prostate of Howard Stern."

ESPN host Scott Van Pelt, realizing he had been duped by a Howard Stern fan, said, ""Oh boy, we got that, huh. So that worked out well."

So who is Captain Janks? According to one report, he is Thomas Michael Cipriano, a 43-year-old Pennsylvania man who recently confessed to defrauding bar owners by failing to make personal appearances for which he received payment. Cipriano was sentenced to eight years probation and was ordered to pay restitution.

During the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, Canada Post will issue a set of commemorative stamps that celebrate the exhilaration and binding power of the Olympic Spirit.

“For fans and athletes alike, the Games are an emotional event,” explains Alain Leduc, Manager of Stamp Design and Production at Canada Post. “The Signals Design Group, the design team behind the issue, had as a goal to create a visual that could represent both the experience and memory of that emotion.” Inspiration for the design was derived from the Olympic Movement’s core goal: “To contribute to building a peaceful and better world by educating youth through sport practised without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic Spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play.” Leduc explains, “The designers wanted to reflect this spirit through the reaction in the eyes and faces of Canadian youth. Their idea was that we, as Canadians, have our own unique way of celebrating, supporting and displaying our national pride; it doesn’t necessarily include marching bands and balloons. It’s often more subtle. It’s commonplace to see young Canadians in toques and painted faces cheering on their favourite teams and athletes. And the iconic maple leaf, along with the red and white colour scheme, tell the viewer immediately that this is a Canadian event.”

The backgrounds of the two stamps feature photographs of four events: men’s four-man bobsleigh, women’s cross-country sprint, men’s short track relay speed skating, and Canadian cross-country skier Chandra Crawford as she accepts her gold medal at the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Italy. “The designers chose these particular images from hundreds of contenders because they contained gender representation, individual and team events, colour, form, and energy,” Leduc notes.

The graphic patterns in the background of the first day cover, souvenir sheet and booklet extend the energies within the stamp in abstract ways that can be read as movement, ice, snow, carved lines from blades and skis, and indoor and outdoor environments. “The success of this design relies heavily on the arrangement of its components,” says Leduc of the design team’s vision. “Each element contains energy arcs that we carefully layered to make it dynamic, yet accessible. By overlapping parts of each scene and altering their planes of axis, they work individually and together in a motion-filled circulating collage.”

Title: Celebrating our Olympic spirit
Date of Issue: 22 February 2010
Country: Canada
Denominations: 57c x 2

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Related posts:

1. XXI Olympic Winter Games – USA
2. Games of the XXIX Olympics – United Nations
3. Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games
4. Vancouver 2010 Winter Games Mascots and Emblems
5. Winter Olympic Games 2010 Vancouver

Last night the Vancouver Olympics began with the opening ceremony which was quite spectacular. I watched the entire thing on tv, and though I wish I was there in person it was still very exciting to watch. After Beijing no one thought any other city would come close to that, but Vancouver did a very good job in their own form of presentation.

Vancouver introduced the athletes first, for in their eyes the cultural ceremony is for the athletes, welcoming them. Many bore a black armband in tribute to Nodar  Kumaritashvili who died in a tragic training run on the luge. The Georgia delegation still marched however in honor of their fallen comrade.

The digital effects of the cultural ceremony were quite spectacular. I have to say I was amazed when I first saw them, though it could be because I did not witness the entire Beijing ceremony. I have to say while using a lot less money Vancouver executed very well. It would have been great to be a part of it too. The journey of the ceremony took everyone across Canada and ended up in the cosmopolitan city Vancouver. It all seemed to go off perfectly until at the end a malfunction prevented a pillar from rising to support the cauldron. After a long pause, three of the four torchbearers lit the cauldron, and Wayne Gretzky headed to light the second one in the downtown area.