Debating Recession, Building Snakes

Merrill Lynch (but not other banks) think we're already in a recession. They sardonically refute the other banks with,

"To say that the backdrop is 'recession like' is akin to an obstetrician telling a woman that she is 'sort of pregnant'," the report said.

Got it. Most people do think we're headed towards some sort of downturn though. A definition is appropriate here :

The NBER defines a recession as "a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months".

It bases its assessment on final figures on employment, personal income, industrial production and sales activity in the manufacturing and retail sectors.

On the health care end, we're figuring out ways to avoid using the knife altogether. The i-Snake is a new tool being developed for minimally-invasive heart bypass surgery. I've seen the scars resulting from the old way of doing CABGs, and what they're trying to do here is have "smaller scars, reduced hospital stays and shorter recovery times." Pretty amazing...

Also, if you're having trouble waking up, maybe the SnūzNLūz alarm clock might help. For every push of the snooze button, it sends an amount of money you preset to your most hated charity. Love the common usage suggestions at the bottom of the article,

Are you a butcher? Set your SnūzNLūz to donate to PETA
Are you a republican? Set your SnūzNLūz to donate to the ACLU!