The Left Lane
Tax dollars at work
The O'ahu Metropolitan Planning Organization, an advisory panel responsible for planning city transportation services, is polling residents about their transit habits. But the Mainland survey team hired to do the work doesn't give working folks much time to drive home and take their phone calls.
Those to be surveyed have already received two $1 bills along with an introductory letter, and have been asked to keep a trip diary on Thursday. The phone survey is supposed to follow, but they're not going to catch many people at home. Calls are to be made
7 to 11 p.m. EST — 1 to 5 p.m. our time, when most people are either knee-deep in work or stuck in traffic.
— Vicki Viotti, Advertiser staff writer
Ginseng guff
A new study on the effects of ginseng on mood, published in the June issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, found that the popular root was no more effective in enhancing the mental health of healthy young adults than a sugar pill.
"No psychological benefits were observed after eight weeks of chronic ginseng supplementation — at either its clinically recommended level, or at twice that level," wrote Bradley Cardinal, lead author of the study and assistant professor at Oregon State University.
Herbal products are only minimally regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, and a given dose may contain a megadose of the active ingredient or none at all, points out a spokesperson for the dietetic association. As a result, anyone considering taking supplements should consult their physician.
— Beverly Creamer, Advertiser staff writer
Net effect overlooked
When "The Fast and the Furious" zoomed into theaters its first weekend and carried off $40.1 million, analysts were dumbfounded. The film had been expected to gross half that. The analysts should have looked to the Internet.
More than a month before "Furious" opened, Aaron Schatz, writer of the Lycos 50, the list of the 50 most popular searches on Lycos.com, correctly pegged "Furious" as a potential hit.
"Usually, searches for trailers are for films that everybody knows are going to come out and that have a following like 'Lord of the Rings.' But 'Furious' wasn't a film with either of those," said Schatz. People had seen the trailer, and the word of mouth was, 'This trailer rocks.' "
Even a month before its opening, the official "Furious" site got 156,000 visitors, far more than such heavily hyped films as "Hannibal "and "Along Came a Spider" had during their biggest weeks. The guideline seems to work best in predicting films that will be hits among younger people.
— USA Today
