Interesting. This blog post about the “Era of Open Energy Information” mentions the use of APIs, allowing developers to build their own tools that pulls in energy data. Makes perfect sense, but hadn’t really thought of it in those terms before. Still not quite sure I understand how the data is extracted from the smart grid receiver, but I’m assuming someone has figured that problem out. As we’ve seen proven on the web over and over again, once you open up the data nerds will find something fun to do with it. Of course there are some dangers of privacy, etc., but that’s the case with any new technology …
Archive for October, 2009
Smart Grid APIs
Thursday, October 8th, 2009The Impact of Calorie Listings
Wednesday, October 7th, 2009Interesting New York Times article on the actual effect of the calorie listings in NYC.
It [an NYU study] found that about half the customers noticed the calorie counts, which were prominently posted on menu boards. About 28 percent of those who noticed them said the information had influenced their ordering, and 9 out of 10 of those said they had made healthier choices as a result.
What’s interesting is that just a few weeks ago someone mentioned a similar (maybe the same) study to me and said that what was also found was that if you anchored the calories with the suggested daily intake for adults the numbers went way down. The problem is a lack of anchoring.
Health as Currency
Tuesday, October 6th, 2009An interesting idea from this Slate article on the relationship between health and wealth:
The “health-wealth gradient” refers to the fact that, as a general rule, the richer you are, the healthier you are. This applies across different countries and across the full range of social classes within the same country. (It’s not just that the very poorest people are sick.) No one knows exactly what causes the health-wealth gradient or why it’s so resilient. It may be that rich people have access to better health care. Or, as we’ve seen, it could be that being sick costs you money. Then there’s the possibility that poor people have a greater incentive to behave in unhealthy ways: Since they don’t have as much money to spend on happiness, they “spend” their health instead. (The pleasures of smoking and eating, for example, are easy on the wallet and hard on the body.)
Specifically it’s that last sentence: I had never thought of health as something you spend, but of course it is. I, for one, know that I go to the gym at least in part so that I can eat whatever I want. I am essentially purchasing health credits at the gym which I then spend on less healthy activities that I enjoy. Wow.