Making, baking, and (un-)breaking things in Southeast Michigan.
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I just finished watching The Business of Being Born. Despite what the trailer (which will automatically start playing if you visit The Business of Being Born’s website) seems to imply, this film was about modern day midwifery. Sure, the film does touch on the idea that the dramatic rise in number of Caesarean section births is a product of hospitals being more focused on getting women in and out as quickly (and as profitably) as possible, but that strike me as the focus.
Leave a CommentToday I didn’t even have to use my AK.
As opposed to yesterday when all sorts of things seemed to be going wrong, today was all right. I got a bunch of stuff done at work, got to hang out with
Thanks very much to everyone for the kind words last night when I was feeling more than a little bit poopy. The problems are looking up, and I think I know how I can sort through them. I should be (and am) really glad that they are as basic of problems as they are, too. No one was hurt, relationships are good, and all the problems are really not that big of a deal when looked at in a proper light.
Now it’s time for bed. Goodnight, everyone.
Leave a CommentAfter failing to get my grandparents iMac G5 working again and with an overwhelming feeling like I haven’t been accomplishing anything, I started to get in a bad mood this afternoon. Fast forward to this evening and I’m feeling downright awful. I think I’m just acting cold, not very talkative, and extremely pessimistic all while feeling like little matters and I can’t fix the problems I’ve created. I wish I knew how I could make myself be in a better mood, but absolutely nothing sounds like it’ll help.
Maybe I just need some better food and a good night sleep. The bowl of potato chips in front of me do not qualify as good food, so I’ll have to eat something else soon.
On a related note, I think the only realistic solution to my screwing up my Grandparents’ computer is to build them a PC out of spare parts, locate a (working) monitor, and get that to them. It’s not as elegant as an iMac and likely won’t be as easy to use, but at least it should work. I’ll then part out the iMac and sell the pieces on eBay. I know the display, RAM and various small cables work properly.
This means more work for me. Hopefully I won’t screw this up somehow too.
(No, I didn’t get it working, even after attempting to reflow some of the connections, checking for any solder droplets or wire pieces on the board, ensuring all cables are right, etc.)
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The toilet paper in the middle stall at work is currently broken. It seems as if glue (or something) ended up on the middle of the roll at the factory, which results in the paper tearing off in four thin strips. One for each half, then the separated layers. This was a hassle.
Leave a CommentLast night after finding it available in the Netflix Streaming stuff, Danielle and I watched King Corn. This documentary was very similar to the first part of Michael Pollan‘s book The Omnivore’s Dilemma and even included Mr. Pollan and thanked him for the inspiration for the film.
In this film two guys decide that they want to grow an acre of corn and figure out many of the things that industrial corn is used for in the US. They spend most of their time in the farming town of Greene, IA, with side trips to NYC, feed lots in Colorado, and a few other places. For those who are already familiar with how industrial corn is used to make the vast majority of processed foods in the state it’s nothing too new, but it’s well put together and fairly entertaining.
I think the film could have spent more time going into a few areas which were hinted at, such as how the determination is made which shows that most of the carbon in most USians is originally from corn or what happens to cause a particular farmer to auction off all his belongings and move, but that might have made the film a bit drawn out. As it stands, I definitely recommend seeing this.
Here’s some more info about it:
Leave a Comment· King Corn – Official Site
· Independent Lens: King Corn (PBS)
· King Corn at Apple Trailers
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Winter is definitely on its way. I guess this is a good day for it, though, as Danielle and I are both stuck here at my house sick with something sort of flu-like. It’s my last day of vacation, but she was supposed to be at work today.
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Every couple of months I notice an abnormal, particularly thick whisker growing out of the right side of my neck just above my laryngeal prominence (Adam’s apple). The most recent time I found one of these I pulled it out and saved it so that I could photograph it. Here it is compared to a normal whisker removed from the same part of my neck after not shaving for approximately one week. Click on the photo or here for the photo at full resolution.
1 CommentIf you live in the state of Michigan, when you go to vote on November 4th you will be asked to vote on two proposals, 08-1 and 08-2 (State Proposals: November 4, 2008 General Election [PDF], from the State of Michigan).
I would like to ask you to vote YES on each of these proposals. Here is the text of each proposal along with why I feel that you should support it:
PROPOSAL 08-1: A LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVE TO PERMIT THE USE AND CULTIVATION OF MARIJUANA FOR SPECIFIED MEDICAL CONDITIONS
The proposed law would:
· Permit physician approved use of marijuana by registered patients with debilitating medical conditions including cancer, glaucoma, HIV, AIDS, hepatitis C, MS and other conditions as may be approved by the Department of Community Health.
· Permit registered individuals to grow limited amounts of marijuana for qualifying patients in an enclosed, locked facility.
· Require Department of Community Health to establish an identification card system for patients qualified to use marijuana and individuals qualified to grow marijuana.
· Permit registered and unregistered patients and primary caregivers to assert medical reasons for using marijuana as a defense to any prosecution involving marijuana.
My Comments:
In our country marijuana (specifically Tetrahydrocannabinols) is currently classified by the Federal government as a Schedule I drug, requiring that this drug not be prescribed for any reason. This is despite research showing that THC can be effective in treating a number of conditions, particularly the nausea which is associated with chemotherapy.
This legislation proposes allowing marijuana (and thus THC) to be prescribed by doctors for treating conditions as seen fit. We currently allow doctors to prescribe countless other controlled substances (opiates, in particular) which will help patients, so why not this?
Sure, it’ll fly in the face of Federal law, but changing things at a state level is the first step towards removing this Federal prohibition. It’s a slippery slope which we must start down, as once a critical mass of states adopt reasonable legislation such as this the Federal government (and in particular the DEA and drug lobbying firms) will be unable to stop it.
PROPOSAL 08-2: A PROPOSAL TO AMEND THE STATE CONSTITUTION TO ADDRESS HUMAN EMBRYO AND HUMAN EMBRYONIC STEM CELL RESEARCH IN MICHIGAN
The proposed constitutional amendment would:
· Expand use of human embryos for any research permitted under federal law subject to the following limits: the embryos —— are created for fertility treatment purposes;
— are not suitable for implantation or are in excess of clinical needs;
— would be discarded unless used for research;
— were donated by the person seeking fertility treatment.· Provide that stem cells cannot be taken from human embryos more than 14 days after cell division begins.
· Prohibit any person from selling or purchasing human embryos for stem cell research.
· Prohibit state and local laws that prevent, restrict or discourage stem cell research; future therapies and cures.
My Comments:
As I read this law, it will allow medical research to continue to explore the possibilities of stem cells to without imposing undue restrictions. I feel that we should do whatever we can to understand both our selves and the world around us (particularly things which may help us as a society), and I see nothing in this legislation which should be problematic. I see this legislation as bringing potential research to Michigan (read: jobs) while potentially helping the world.
One particular site, 2goes2far.com is the flag bearer forarguments against this law, but each argument seems to be quite far off base. Here’s how I see each argument, as presented by TV commercials the group is showing:
3 Comments· Bull and Bricklayer: Both ads indicate that this legislation will cost taxpayers money, despite there being nothing in the text of the legislation indicating where funding will come from.
· In The Name Of Good: States that this law will allow unrestricted research on live human embryos, visually comparing the research to poorly conducted science headlines interspersed with images of black people. Tries to equate this research with scientists taking advantage of the helpless.
· In The Wrong Hands: Hints that this law will allow “profit-driven corporations” (aren’t they all?) to find a way to profit from producing embryos via purchases made from women. As selling eggs is legal and this law outlaws the sale of embryos, I don’t see how this argument applies.
· Teacher’s Pet: Hints that scientists will make human-animal hybrids after talking about using combinations of human and animal DNA for research and how this is too extreme. The jump from DNA research to full-on hybrids is a huge jump and strikes me as misguided, at best.
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I really like Lebanese food and when I couldn’t decide what to have for dinner (I didn’t want leftovers again) I decided to go get some falafel, hummus, and garlic. It tasted really good, but it just didn’t hit the spot while sick.
That said, Lebanese Grill between Costco and Hall Road in Shelby Township is pretty darn good. I’m glad to have that place close by, because it means that I can get good Lebanese food pretty much whenever I want it.
Leave a CommentBreaking down the large pile of cardboard boxes in the basement and carrying them upstairs has worn me out. It’s a good thing I didn’t give into temptation and go for a bike ride.
Now to find some dinner. Last night was some nice Thai curry, but as I also had that for lunch, three meals of it in a row is a bit off putting. Pizza is tempting, but unhealthy. Someone come make me soup? And bring a movie?
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