Do Bipolar Youth Misread Faces?

Web MD points out an interesting study that found that bipolar youth may see hostility even in faces that are neutral:

Compared with those without bipolar disorder, bipolar youths gave higher hostility ratings to the neutral faces and reported being more fearful of those faces, the study shows.

While viewing the neutral faces, bipolar youths' fMRI brain scans showed more activity in the left amygdala, a brain area related to fear, compared with the brain scans of nonbipolar participants.

Which came first: bipolar disorder or seeing hostility in neutral faces? The study doesn't answer that question. It also doesn't show whether bipolar participants felt more irritable or aggressive after viewing neutral faces.

In my clincial experience, I often find that bipolar youth, particularly those who are aggressive, tend to misread social cues--that is, they perceive actual situations as worse than they are or read into people's actions or expressions, more hostility and threatening behavior than is actually there. For example, if someone stares at them, they may perceive it as a threat rather than a look of curiosity. Often a youth who is poor at reading other people's behavior will strike out aggressively in a case where aggression is not called for--whether that is because of fear or anger, or both is sometimes hard to tease out. Teaching youth who are bipolar or potentially aggressive to read faces, nonverbal movements and social interactions more clearly is a first step to teaching better coping skills.

Cathy Young has an interesting post on her recent trip to Israel.

Update: Pictures from her trip are now up.

The Carnival of Homeschooling

The 22nd Carnival of Homeschooling is up at The Common Room. I found this post on how step parents feel about their step kids troubling. What do you think--can step parents care as much about their stepkids as they do about their biological kids?

Who says violence can't sometimes be beneficial? (Hat Tip: Grim's Hall)

Is There Too Much Violence in the Culture or Not Enough?

Reader Patrick sent me this article from CNN describing a new pasttime for men--fight clubs. Apparently, men from the computer tech industries are proving their manhood by beating on each other in organized fight clubs:

Inspired by the 1999 film "Fight Club," starring Brad Pitt and Ed Norton, underground bare-knuckle brawling clubs have sprung up across the country as a way for desk jockeys and disgruntled youths to vent their frustrations and prove themselves.

The article obtains these brilliant nuggets from a couple of sociologists (one from a gender studies department, of course):

Men involved in fight clubs often carry bottled-up violent impulses learned in childhood from video games, cartoons and movies, said Michael Messner, a University of Southern California sociology and gender studies professor.

"Boys have these warrior fantasies picked up from popular culture, and schools sort of force that out of them," he said. In these fantasies, "The good guys always resort to violence, and they always get the glory and the women."

There is also a sadomasochistic thread running through underground fight clubs, said Michael Kimmel, a sociology professor at Stony Brook University in New York.

"Real-life fight clubs are the male version of the girls who cut themselves," he said. "All day long these guys think they're the captains of the universe, technical wizards. They're brilliant but empty.

"They want to feel differently. They want to get hit, they want to feel something real."

My interpretation is a little different. Violence is the new sex. Sex used to be forbidden and people went underground to do it--now sex is advocated everywhere--even college campuses hand out free condoms. But now the forbidden fruit in our society is violence and it has gone underground. These men never "learned" violence from video games, cartoons and movies as suggested by one of the sociology professors.

The aggression was innate to begin with but it was never channeled, and instead was stomped out of them in the culture as something wicked, immoral and "male." Perhaps these fight clubs are the new male ritual, like in the olden days when boys went through rituals to become men. The schools and culture have attempted to squash whatever maleness is left in today's men and all they are left with (besides football which is now banned at my daughter's elementary school) are a few underground clubs to artificially practice their manhood. Wouldn't it be better for our culture to accept and teach boys how to sublimate and deal with violence when they are younger so they do not have to grow up to be men so desperate to prove themselves that a broken rib and a thrashing at an "underground" fight club is the only way to prove their manhood?

If You Rule Out Discrimination, You'll Never Find Discrimination

Reader Bob informed me of this editorial in the Rocky Mountain News on the gender gap in graduation rates between boys and girls in Denver public schools. The difference? 9% fewer boys are graduating from high school. Believe it or not, the school system is finally turning its attention to this problem:

Nearly everyone involved with education is troubled by the large and persistent gaps in academic performance among racial and ethnic groups. Now the similarly large gap between boys and girls is beginning to get the serious attention it deserves as well.

But it's when you look at both factors simultaneously that the real puzzlement begins. A News report last week of the graduating class of 2005 in Denver Public Schools found that girls in any ethnic group are more likely to graduate from high school than boys in the same group. And the gaps are so large that black, white and Asian girls all graduate at higher rates than white boys.

We are probably on safe grounds ruling out any intention on the district's part to discriminate against white boys, so what else is going on? And not only in Denver, but in other big-city districts that have similar patterns?

Okay, what safe grounds would that be--that white boys are not discriminated against? Was a study done, did you ask the white boys what they thought? How will "experts" ever figure out the problem if they have already closed their minds to the possibility that their preconceived ideas about boys just might be wrong? Could it be that the schools are run mainly for the benefit of girls? Could girls have been told for the past thirty years to get ahead and get an education while boys are told education is for girls? I don't know--just a guess. But I guess it is easier to say the whole situation is puzzling then to open up a real dialogue with boys and their feelings about school.

The High of Mount Everest and the Lows of Human Behavior

I guess for people who have a dream of climbing Mount Everest, nothing else--not even a person dying--can keep them from their goal (Hat Tip: Ann Althouse). I say that's pitiful. It reminds me of the French tragedy when thousands of elderly died of heatstroke when their kids and the government went on vacation in the month of August. What do you think--would you pass a dying man by to reach the top of a mountain or leave the elderly to die so you could have a vacation?

The Psychology of Confrontation

Have you ever noticed how frightened people are of confrontation--even if it just means the slightest bit of displeasure from another person? Normally, these non-confronters think of themselves as "very good and moral people" and believe the reason they do not confront is to save another's feelings. But in truth, they are so afraid of causing themselves a moment's displeasure, that they will do anything to get out of being direct with another person.

Case in point: one day our office secretary had to be fired. She had been given numerous warnings and told how to improve her performance, but to no avail. She continued to ignore requests to be in the office to answer the phones, call us when patients had important messages and well, you get the idea. Everyone in the office agreed that she needed to be let go, but would not fire her. Finally, I was asked to do the dirty work. As much as I did not like it, I knew that the secretary was bad for business and had to go. Yes, it was a scene. I was direct, told her why we were letting her go and told her I hoped she found other more suitable work. She burst into tears. Naturally, the others in the office had fled.

There have been a number of times in my life that friends, family or others have asked me to assist them in telling somebody no, or give someone information that was very difficult. In some cases, I have done it because no one else would. When my father was sick with cancer, none of my family wanted to tell him that we had hired a nurse to help us as he did not want a stranger in his home. I totally understood but there came a point where we needed medical assistance. No one had the nerve to tell my father and asked me to do it. I did, but not without a great deal of pain and difficulty. But the alternative of having no help was worse.

I sometimes wonder about the difference between people who will confront others in a direct manner and those who will not. I am frequently told that the former group is vicious or insensitive but I think it is just the opposite. It takes a great deal of bravery and self discipline or sometimes kindness to be direct with other people. I am not talking about the kind of confrontation that is just to get one's jollies, like telling someone off, but rather the type of confrontation that makes one unpopular, but is necessary to produce positive, constructive change in the long run. Those who wish to take the moral high ground and lie to themselves about their "superiority" and compassion by avoiding confrontation and having others do their dirty work know deep down what they are. Or they sublimate their feelings by posting anonymously on other people's blogs to say impolite things to people that they would be terrified to confront in the real world.

Is Marriage in Britain on the Rocks?

Here is an article from the Times on the rewritten rules of marriage and divorce in Britain. I found the responses to the debate on the issue of whether or not divorcees should live off their ex-partner's fortunes interesting. I wonder if all of these intrusive rules are why marriage in Britain is "on the rocks?" (Hat Tip: dhdiary blog)

What I find amazing in these divorce cases is that the British legal system sees fit to think that women are entitled to enormous compensation from their rich ex-husbands because they go into the marriage expecting to be wealthy and then, when the marriage ends, they have a "need" to keep up this wealthy standard of living.

Wouldn't the equivalent for men be that a guy expected super hot sex when entering the marriage and once divorced, should be able to expect this from the ex-wife on a regular basis as long as a "need" is present? Maybe men in Britain should bring up this idea to the Parliament and see how it plays out.

The Tea Room

I took my daughter who just graduated from 5th grade to a new Tea Room in Knoxville that features a great selection of teas, finger sandwiches and tiny salads. I had received a gift certificate to this little gem of a shop but frankly, did not think it would be my cup of tea as I imagined a quiet, reserved place full of delicate socialites discussing their latest art, projects, and charities. I, on the other hand, am a loud talker, rather clumsy, and tiny sandwiches are not my thing. However, I admit that I was wrong about the place.

The shop was charming, the staff sported British accents, great tea suggestions and the food was superb. We had vanilla tea with finger sandwiches filled with artichoke and pesto, pimento cheese and salami (which I do not touch but looked pretty yummy). The tiny salad was amazingly good and the atmosphere was luxurious without being obnoxious. The patrons were cheerful and mainly consisted of moms with their newly graduated daughters--mainly from kindergarten. The staff showed my daughter and me their various tea gadgets, showed us how to make decaf teas and gave us some free samples to try. I would definitely go back. Anyone else have a fun rendezvous with their child or children for graduation?

An Interesting Essay

Many of you out there may have already read this essay, The Pussification of the Western Male, by The Other Side of Kim--but I think it is worth re-reading or reading for the first time as it speaks volumes about what is happening to many men in our culture. I do not particularly agree with all of this essay, of course, as a woman, but it does ring true in many areas. Especially where he talks about men not taking a stand against misandry--apparently, it is just easier not to.

Browbeaten into Submission

Now here is a blogger who believes that the proper role for a man in marriage is submission. Actually, the blog of this "Mad Suburban Dad" sounds like it is written by a woman. Apparently, if you don't acknowlege that men should kowtow to women in marriage, act frightened of their spouse's wrath, hide out in a tent like a wuss (see entry 4-4-2006 and 4-11-2006) and say you are "on strike" instead of confronting her, or otherwise kiss up to women at every opportunity--you are pegged as a woman-hater. What do you think--is this "guy's" blog satire or not?

Update: Normally, I do not care what other people write about my blog or me in their own personal blogs--it is usually of little interest. However, in this case of Mad Suburban Dad, I think his blog and commenters speak volumes about the way our society treats men and those of us who are female who do not toe the party line of the virtues of women and the sins of men. Just call them sexist, woman haters, racist or whatever to make them look bad. Sorry MadDad, this type of behavior no longer works--everyone sees through this cheap psychological maneuver.

Mad Dad calls my commenters (and me, by association) "women-haters and the women who love them," yet here are the statements from his commenters regarding myself, Cathy Young, and a woman named Heather:

Well, I have been a reader here for a while now and I have always thought your entries were well written and humorous. I can only hope my marrage is as happy as your is, we should all hope to be as lucky. I went ahead and read those two womens blogs and I have to tell you I am ashamed to be a woman right now. Those two humorless twits are ruining the reputations of women everywhere turning us into nagging humorless bitches who will leave you at the drop of a hat. Accckkkk... they make me sick. I appologize for the rest of us who are not bland, cranky, miserable, lackluster and emotionally repressive.

frankly they sound a couple of jealous ol' BFHs (Bimbo from a Terribly Hot Place ;-)w absolutely no sense of humor to me! I loved the story of the 'well-managed' man and think that tho Mrs Mad-Dad was apparently born a 'Yankee', that she's really a Southern Lady at heart (w all the smarts that being a Lady entails), and you sir are obviously a Gentleman (w all the courtesy that being a Gentleman requires).

Well MadDad, first of all, Heather is an A-hole. You know it, I know it, and the rest of blogland should know it..... I wonder what Dr. Helen & Cathy Young's relationships are like? Tee Hee.

Wow, it sounds like Mad Dad and his commenters are the woman-haters to me.

Carnival of Homeschooling

The 21st Carnival of Homeschooling is up. I found this post entitled, "That's Mrs. Crazy Freaky Nut Job, Young Man!" to be an amusing response from this mom when others act rather shocked at her decision to homeshool:

No, he won't have a blast at school and I'll be his teacher because I'm a crazy freaky nutjob who plans to teach her kids horribly at home, all the while turning them into recluses who will grow up to live in shacks in Montana and mail letter bombs to people. Make me proud kids! At least, that's what it seems like I say because everytime I mention that I'm going to homeschool I get these very odd looks, like I just told my audience that I have airborne VD or something.

Uhh, I thought recluses who mailed letter bombs to people graduated from Harvard.

Podcast with Mary Cheney

Today, we are talking with Mary Cheney about her new book, Now It's My Turn : A Daughter's Chronicle of Political Life. Ms. Cheney worked as her father's campaign manager in the 2000 and 2004 Presidential election and tells us about the trials and tribulations of the job, starting with the fact that she was targeted by Democrats for being the "lesbian daughter of a Republican Vice President." She discusses being part of a political family, her favorite blogs and their importance in politics and the hostility of the media. She tells us what she wants readers to know about her father--that he is not the monster, killer, robot etc. that the media has touted him as. In fact, he is actually a pretty nice guy and a good father who supported her no matter what.

You can listen to the podcast by clicking here or you can subscribe on iTunes. You can hear our previous podcasts at the archive here, and there's a dialup version here.

Please leave comments or suggestions below.

Hey Women, Quit Being So Selfish!

If men were writing the advice columns, is this the kind of advice they would give? Are the advice columns written by women really any less selfish?

John Ford, MD, discusses his concerns with the Shangri-la Diet at TCS Daily.

Portion Control

Remember the old drugstores that doubled as diners in your youth? We still have one in Knoxville---Long's Drug Store has just celebrated it's 50th anniversary and has not changed much at all over the years. What's interesting is, neither have the portion sizes of the food. They still serve portions sizes of the past--it's no wonder people were not as fat in the 50's, 60's and 70's. But Long's is unusual--if another restaurant around here tried to cut back on its portion sizes, I have a feeling that it would not last long. We had a place like that downtown--The Elephant Room, an Indian Restaurant, that served the most petite portions I had ever seen. It was also quite expensive. Needless to say, it folded pretty quickly. Luckily for Long's, the portion sizes are small but so is the price. Lunch for two--$7.16 and a tip.

Carnival of the Insanities

Dr. Sanity's Carnival of the Insanities is up.

Can't They Just Hire a Hitman?

I was watching the news tonight when I saw this story about two elderly women befriending homeless men and then allegedly killing them for insurance money. What I found interesting was the way the news story portrayed this tragedy. Instead of focusing on the cruelty of this act, the story seems to ponder the idea that women of this age should not be involved in such dirty work:

Police are investigating two women in their 70s who they believe hatched a scheme to offer two homeless men shelter, then collect more than $2 million in insurance policies after they were killed in hit-and-run crashes.

Police also believe the women may have committed the accidents and were befriending other men to set up more insurance policies.

"Anyone would think that even though they're making financial gains for this, that they would leave the actual dirty work to someone else or hire someone," police Detective Dennis Kilcoyne said. "We're not so sure about that anymore."

What is the point of this remark by the detective--that these ladies should have had better things to do than actually dirty their hands with killing these men? Uhh--detective--did you ever stop to think that women so cruel that they would try to rip off homeless men might resort to anything? Really--shouldn't the point of the story be that potential killers can come in all shapes, sizes, ages, and genders? What a sad story.

Podcast on the Shangri-La Diet

Do you ever groan when a new diet book comes into vogue and people are talking about how little fat or sugar they are eating? Sounds pretty boring. Today, we are talking with Dr. Seth Roberts, the author of The Shangri-La Diet, who actually tells you to drink sugar water and eat olive oil in order to lose weight. Sound impossible? Not so, says Dr. Roberts, a psychology professor at the University of California at Berkeley. Listen to Dr. Roberts tell us about his self-experimentation with his own diet and how he and many others in the blogosphere have lost the weight for good. Hey, I guess we all need all the inspiration we can get with bathing suit season around the corner. You can even join a forum with Dr. Roberts here to discuss the diet and to get support.

Tune in here (no iPod needed) to listen to the podcast or subscribe via iTunes. You can listen to other podcasts at our podcast archive here.

Please leave comments or suggestions below.

Helicopter Parents

I took a quiz at Newsweek to see if I was a "helicopter parent." Okay, so my kid is seven years away from college but I already know that I am not and will never be, a helicopter parent (I hope!). The Newsweek article described the process of boomer parents letting go of their children. I warn you, it doesn't sound pretty:

Most boomers don't want to be "helicopter parents," hovering so long that their offspring never get a chance to grow up. Well versed in the psychological literature, they know that letting go is a gradual process that should begin when toddlers take their first steps without a parental hand to steady them. And hovering is certainly not a new phenomenon; both Gen. Douglas MacArthur and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had mothers who moved to be near them when they went to college. But with cell phones and e-mail available 24/7, the temptation to check in is huge. Some boomer parents hang on, propelled by love (of course) and insecurity about how the world will treat their children. After years of supervising homework, they think nothing of editing the papers their college students have e-mailed them. A few even buy textbooks and follow the course syllabi. Later they're polishing student résumés and calling in favors to get summer internships. Alarmed by these intrusions into what should be a period of increasing independence, colleges around the country have set up parent-liaison offices to limit angry phone calls to professors and deans. Parent orientations, usually held alongside the student sessions, teach how to step aside.

I will never understand these parents who hover over their children like this. Is it just one more selfish boomer characteristic that they feel their child is an extension of themselves and they try to live vicariously through them, or is it the fear that the kid will come home to live in the parent's basement if they do not succeed? Either way, wouldn't it be best to teach one's child independence and how to care for themselves? I thought that is what good parenting was about. Apparently, good parenting to some boomers is to extend adolescence to the age of 30-35 and then complain when Johnny or Jane moves home because they never learned to make it on their own. Truthfully, I would rather have a young adult who could care for themselves and had no college education (or attended a state school) than I would one who went to Harvard and then used me as a crutch the rest of his or her life.

Update: Some thoughts from Glenn (Instapundit) on why parents are having so few kids to "hover around."

Hope Chelsea's Not Working too Hard in the Sweatshop

Wow, Hillary Clinton makes one of the first true remarks of her political career and then she takes it back and apologizes. I guess she needs every vote she can get come 2008.

Happy Mother's Day and Other Rambling Thoughts

I hope all the moms out there are having a great Mother's Day weekend. We are having a mother's day brunch for our families-there will be six moms here, including me, so it should be fun. Lord knows, my mother deserves something for having had five kids--four of us before the age of 25 (I am in the middle). My siblings and I each have one child--I guess none of us could stand the thought of having two kids who would fight with each other and create chaos the way we did. I often think that the number of kids that people have is correlated with the size of their original family, in addition to how well that family managed with it's size.

For example, I know a woman who was an only child and had children later in life but was determined to have two children so that the first would not be an only child like she was. Apparently, she and her mother had a very symbiotic relationship and this woman felt that another child was needed to keep that smothering bond from rearing its ugly head in her new family. I, on the other hand, was always afraid to recapitulate my early years where noise was endless and uncontrollable, and privacy nonexistent. Of course, many people who come from larger families see their childhood as idyllic and go on to have large families themselves, like one law professor from a family of six who went on to have seven children. All the more power to those like her!

Anyone else notice that the size and function or dysfunction of the family you were born into shaped how large or small your current family is?

Medtees in the News and Study on Men and Guns

ABC Chicago has a story and video about Dr. Wes Fisher, an electrophysiologist and blogger, and his wife, Diane, a clinical psychologist, who run Medtees.com. Dr. Fisher was the star of our Cardiology podcast which is one of our most popular. The Fishers' site displays and sells various t-shirts that help patients feel better about their illnesses and can bring some laughter to a bad situation. I know they helped me.

Oh, and check out this post by Dr. Wes in which he makes fun of a "scientific" study on men and aggression from (who else?) the New York Times. The title of the study says it all--"In Men, Trigger-Happy May be a Hormonal Impulse."

Handling a gun stirs a hormonal reaction in men that primes them for aggression, new research suggests.

Psychologists at Knox College in Galesburg, Ill., enrolled 30 male students in what they described as a taste study. The researchers took saliva samples from the students and measured testosterone levels.

....The "taste sensitivity" phase of the experiment was in fact intended to measure aggressive impulses. After the writing assignment, the young men were asked to rate the taste of a drink, a cup of water with a drop of hot sauce in it. They were then told to prepare a drink for the next person in the experiment, adding as much hot sauce as they liked.

And this aggression is bad how? If you handle a gun to ward off an intruder, isn't the willingness to be aggressive necessary? The researchers found that those men who handled a gun later added more hot sauce in a drink for the next person who was going to do the experiment. After they found out the aim of the experiment, the subjects were found to be disappointed when the next student was not going to drink this wicked brew. Frankly, I would be disappointed that I was not serving it up to the anti-gun lobbyists who cooked up this little trigger-happy experiment.

Update: Jonah Goldberg has more on this aggressive absurdity.

Podcast with Ken Mehlman and Michael Barone

Articles such as this one make it sound like Conservatives are fleeing the Republican Party in droves. However, some are just disenchanted with the GOP and want to know how the party will address their concerns. Today, we are talking with Ken Mehlman, the chairman of the Republican National Committee and Michael Barone, Senior writer for US News & World Report and principal coauthor of The Almanac of American Politics. Chairman Mehlman discusses what the GOP is trying to do to keep the constituents happy and touches on topics of immigration and spending. We then turn to political expert, Michael Barone, for a discussion of the possibility of a third party in the 2008 Presidential election--he thought Oprah might have a chance! I sure hope not.

You can listen to the podcast by clicking here or subscribe via iTunes. You can listen to our previous podcasts at the podcast archive here, and there's a dialup version here.

As always, comments and suggestions are welcome.

Carnival of Homeschooling

The 19th week of the Carnival of Homeschooling is up at the Why HomeSchool Blog. I like the post by She's Right in which she talks about her disdain for the NEA.

White Guilt

I have a column up at TCS about the new book, White Guilt, by Shelby Steele. Here is an excerpt:

While listening to the radio recently, I heard the writer Christopher Hitchens' riveting description of Shelby Steele's new book White Guilt : How Blacks and Whites Together Destroyed the Promise of the Civil Rights Era. I promptly ordered it and have not been disappointed.

White Guilt is a powerful essay that (as George Will says in the cover blurb) "braids family memories with an acute understanding of national policies." Will says Steele "demonstrates what went wrong when whites for their reasons and blacks for theirs, embraced the idea that white guilt explains blacks' problems and can be the basis of polices for ameliorating them."

But what happens when our national policies are derived from white guilt and black anger rather than the universal principles that free societies aspire to -- freedom for the individual, rights for all individuals, equality under the law, equality of opportunity, and an inherent right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?"

Read the whole thing.

Dave, at The Crisper Blog, thinks french fries should remain legal.

Update: I see here that there is talk of banning french fries in schools. Do you think we could get them to ban the fruit pies and candy the schools manipulate our kids into selling every year to raise funds? I sure hope so, because I am tired of my kid looking pathetic and sad that she did not win a party in class because of her poor ability to sell this artery clogging fare endorsed by her principal. Why is it okay to be selling expensive fattening pies "for the good of the school" when it is not okay to provide cheap fattening fries "for the good of the children?" Who do the schools think are buying these fattening pies and candy? Uhhh...could it be the same parents who will serve it to the same kids who are not supposed to be eating this type of food at school? What kind of hypocritical message does this send to kids?

Carnival of the Insanities

The Carnival of the Insanities is up at Dr. Sanity's blog. She filed one of my posts under Breaking Medical News, stating that "men are living longer and the opposite gender will just have to suffer!"

Regulating French Fries?

So it appears there are health nuts, freaks, nanny state suck-ups--I mean advocates--who want to ban french fries and trans fat from grown adults. Should we even be having this conversation?

Update: Instead of just regulating french fries, maybe the government should also force all of those who are overweight to read Berkeley psychologist, Seth Roberts' new book, The Shangri-La Diet and follow it. I read the book this morning and apparently, all you do is eat one or two tablespoons of Extra Light Olive Oil and some sugar water daily to control the body's set point and lose weight. {Note: I am not saying that Roberts' plan does not work--it might be great, probably is--I liked the book very much--but I use it as an example of a current popular diet that if successful, could be the next step in government regulation}.

If the government can regulate trans fat, can they also regulate weight loss for the overweight? If so, how do I get a piece of the action? Can I write a diet solution and force others to follow my plan and buy my products and books? If so, where do I sign up? Because, of course, my needs and desire to see only slim productive citizens should take precedence over free choice and personal responsibility--or so, some misguided health nuts think.

The bottom line is, once we start on the slippery slope of regulating what people can consume based on how good it is for them, there is no telling how far we can go in deciding that free will, in and of itself, is bad for people.

Podcast on Alternative Fuels and Blog Advertising

Popular Mechanics editor Jim Meigs joins us again for a discussion of a recent PM article on alternative fuels. He talks about the pros and cons of ethanol, methanol, hydrogen and biodiesel fuels. Will our reliance on Middle East oil soon be obsolete?

We also hear from Henry Copeland of Blogads.com,who tells us about his recent demographic survey on blog readers. I found out some interesting tidbits about the kinds of people who read blogs and why. He also discusses the future of blog advertising as well as the future of advertising on podcasts. If you run a blog, read blogs or want to advertise on blogs, take a listen.

You can listen to the podcast here (no iPod necessary) or subscribe via iTunes. You can find previous podcasts here and there's a low-fi version for dialup available here.

As always, leave any comments and suggestions below.