Greetings, Quotaholics:

Tonight was one of those nights where I literally could not find anything to write about.  It was so bad that out of desperation, I decided to try to do something with an article I found in The Frisky in which women are asked what they'd do if they had a penis for a day!

Seriously.  Can you imagine how bad that would have been?

Fortunately for you, Cliff inadvertantly saved you from this travesty of writing.

Cliff is the unsung hero of RGQ.  He rarely gets mentioned, but he's behind each issue.

RGQ is a complex undertaking.  I send Cliff a week's worth of jokes, quotes, images, etc., while Patti formats the comments and sends them to him as a complete unit for pasting, and the staff writers send their stuff to him.  He puts it all together into a complete issue, which he sends to Mike and me so that we can add in our pieces and then release it to you.

Somehow, in the email he sent me he accidentally forgot to attach the file.  It's happened to me before, and I'm sure it's happened to you as well.

I don't want to sound like I'm slamming him in any way because I'm not.  It's just something that happens sometimes, but by the time I was ready to try to do something with that horrible source article and noticed it, it was already 11 PM, or 2 AM in Ohio where he lives.  I figured he'd probably not appreciate a phone call, so I decided just to pass on today's issue.

This is a great opportunity for me to publicly thank all the crew at RGQ for the tireless work they put into each issue.  They're really a great bunch.

And I want to thank Cliff for proving beyond doubt that I simply couldn't do it without you.  I also owe you a debt of gratitude for saving me from writing what would undoubtedly have been the worst RGQ opening ever!

We'll be back next issue, I'm sure.

Appreciatively,

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Greetings, Quotaholics:

In the past we've discussed RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags and their possible threat to our privacy.

The people who manufacture these devices are quick to assure us that the intended use is in inventory management. Using RFID technology an item can be tracked from the point of manufacture to the point of sale.

In some places in the world however, the intended use will also include tracking people. An article in Scientific American Magazine says that "...the technology is being deployed for domestic ID cards around the world. Malaysia has issued some 25 million contactless national identity cards. Qatar is issuing one that stores the cardholder's fingerprint in addition to personal information. And in what industry observers are calling the single largest RFID project in the world, the Chinese government is spending $6 billion to roll out RFID-based national IDs to nearly one billion citizens and residents."

Dozens of countries including the UK and USA are now issuing passports that include an RFID chip in the cover. The information on these chips is encrypted and we are assured that this will prevent unauthorized access. However, "Security experts quickly proved otherwise. In 2007 British security consultant Adam Laurie cracked the encryption code on a U.K. passport and `skimmed,' or remotely read, its personal information—while it was still sealed in its mailing envelope. Around the same time, German security consultant Lukas Grunwald copied the data from a German passport's embedded chip and encoded it into a different RFID tag to create a forged document that could fool an electronic passport reader. Investigators at Charles University in Prague, finding similar vulnerabilities in Czech e-passports, wrote that it was "a bit surprising to meet an implementation that actually encourages rather than eliminates [security] attacks.'"

Now states bordering Canada and Mexico are planning to issue drivers licenses that contain an RFID tag. "The cards are being promoted by the Department of Homeland Security as a way to save time and simplify border crossings." The author of the article cautions "But if you care about your safety and privacy as much as convenience, you might want to think twice before signing up."

Since the RFID tags used in this country are designed to track inventory, they use an RFID industry standard known as EPCglobal Gen 2. This standard contains no encryption and is designed to be read from up to 30 feet away, a feature that comes in handy when dealing with a warehouse full of items.

In other countries, where storage of personal data is the aim, the tags use an industry standard known as ISO 14443, which was developed specifically for identification and payment cards and has a degree of security and privacy protection built in. This standard requires the tags to be within inches of the scanner to be read, a common situation when presenting a passport.

So you decide not to apply for the new drivers license because you're more concerned with the security of your personal information than ease of border crossing, you're safe right? Maybe not. IBM applied for a patent in 2001, which was granted in 2006, that shows how these chips can be used to capture your personal information while shopping. "The fact that no personal data are stored in the RFID tag does not present a problem, IBM explains, because `the personal information will be obtained when the person uses his or her credit card, bank card, shopper card or the like.'"

It appears that RFID is going to be used. As I understand it, WalMart has already notified their suppliers that all inventory will be required to use RFID in the near future. So it appears that we will just have to get used to the fact that everything we buy, everywhere we go while in the store will be tracked, like it or not.

Does this bother you? Is there anything that can be done about it? Do we just accept it and hope that abuses won't happen? Do you think that any suppliers or stores will reject this technology in an effort to appease their customers? Would you be willing to give up the convenience of a large retailer or use cash only for purchases in order to protect your privacy?

Privately,

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"The more you read and observe about this politics thing you got to admit that each party is worse than the other." - Will Rogers

"A fishing pole is a stick with a hook at one end and a fool on the other." - Samuel Johnson, English poet, critic and writer (1709-1784)

E-Mail the Imp

Athletes are always looking for an edge over the competition. When you're a world class athlete facing other world class athletes you're often evenly matched. On any given day it may be a toss up as to who would win in face to face competition. In the Beijing Olympics, the US team edged out the French team for Gold in swimming by the length of a fingertip…or eight one-hundredths of a second.

It's no wonder that vast sums are spent in training, using high speed cameras and computers to record an athletes form and style, looking for ways to maximize effort and minimize motion to gain an advantage and shave times.

A lot of money is spent on improving equipment to enable an athlete to perform faster, go further, or jump higher. Hardware such as skis, skates, luges, bows, arrows, and vaulting poles; clothing such as running shoes, swim trunks, and goggles, have all been improved by science to enable athletes to improve times and enhance performance. It must be effective, as of August 19th during the Beijing Olympics, 35 world records and 75 Olympic records had been broken.

That's the result of sport improvements that are legal. In the past there were other methods to improve performance that weren't illegal to start with but then were banned. The use of steroids and blood doping are methods of boosting performance that are now banned in all sports.

The use of trickery to enable a country to get an edge over the competition is also a possibility. There have been reports that some of the Chinese female gymnasts in the 2008 Olympics were under age, but that hasn't been proved and may never be. Dozens of years ago the Iron Curtain countries were accused of improving female athletic performance through the use of male hormones. Some female athletes finally admitted to the procedure claiming it was an individual decision and effort, denying any State involvement.

The latest rumor is that female athletes competing at the Olympics are getting pregnant just so they can abort the baby and by doing so enhance their performances
through hormone doping. I have no doubt that nature being what it is a female athlete or two will get pregnant. An athlete that has trained and competed for years to get a shot at being on an Olympic team may decide to get an abortion so they won't be bumped out of the competition.

An unintentional pregnancy and a follow-on abortion is perhaps a bit scandalous and the abortion might be considered a sin or a crime by some, but it hardly is the basis for a possible sporting scam…if it only happened to one or two females. If the two were on the same Olympic team and the pregnancies and abortions occurred at the same time it would be suspicious. If several female athletes had the same medical history at the same time, it would be prima facie evidence of a sanctioned procedure.

I can't believe that the desire to win at any cost would lead athletes into such a situation. This would fall into the same category as getting pregnant just to get a bone marrow, kidney, lung, or liver transplant for another child. That's a lot different than getting pregnant so a child can have a playmate.

Imagine a national effort to capture all the swimming medals at the Olympics. Secret selective breeding to produce athletes with big feet and big hands is one idea. Perhaps there could be swimmers with naturally occurring webbed toes and fingers. Maybe breeding for larger lung capacity is another.

Then there's genetic engineering…grasshopper genes for jumpers, cheetah genes for sprinters, or gorilla genes for weight lifters. Science and cheaters can stay ahead of an Olympic committee for decades!

The Bad Sied 

Noella is a longtime contributor, and she's sent some thoughts on true love. Thanks, Noella. Here are your 15 Minutes of Fame.

I think my husband is one of the most brilliant men I've ever known. He's been told that he could "be" anything he wants. Sometimes that gets in the way - the way he can figure things out. When we're watching a movie he'll have the plot figured out five minutes into the movie. He can write the most wonderful love letters. He's Sasquatch on MySpace, but when challenged as to his intelligence, he can blow them away with his words! He's building a hydrogen generator (from scratch) and it's taking a while because he wants it to be perfect. He seems to be able to figure out absolutely anything!

He's a procrastinator though. We have a front door that has needed a new door knob and lock for a couple of years now. Right now, the knob hangs on by a very, very long screw bent at an angle to keep it from falling out - quite a conversation piece. My brother-in-law has threatened to make a special trip from Tacoma to put the new door knob hardware in for us. We have the hardware, but it's been sitting on the floor beside the door for four months.

This Labor Day weekend Bill decided it was time to go to work on the door. First thing is to take off all the old hardware. We're not sure how the former owners put it on, but it was virtually impossible to get out. They used nails in a recesed area where they should have used screws. As he was fighting the hardware - jerking and pulling on it, which was a last resort, part of the door frame came out with the hardware. So in order to save the door, we have to cut out the bungled up part of the door and replace the wood. And of course, being Labor Day, all the lumber stores are closed. So he decides to go to Wal-Mart to get a slide-lock that will get us through until he can fix the door.

He took one of the twins with him and while there, they thought - what a great idea to go ahead and get a peephole for the door, so when someone comes to the door we can look through the peephole and see who is at the door. They were very excited about this idea and showed me the peephole hardware first thing when they got back!

Just so you understand our need for the peephole, here is a picture of our front door. My husband, how I love him! - Noella

P.S.

I read my letter to Bill before I sent it to make sure it was okay. And you
know, after sending off my wonderful funny little story about my husband. I
got to thinking. He's really smart, you know?

But I got this funny feeling. I thought, you know, he IS smart. I mean he's
replaced some of those windows.

So I got up from the computer and went into the living room where he was
sitting and I said, "You know, it wouldn't surprise me a bit if you
didn't do that on purpose." His laughter assured me I'd finally figured it
out! And this is after I sent off my letter!

I've got to come up with a good one. - Noella

Email Kirsten

"If I hadn't eaten so many Brussels sprouts as a kid, I'd be taller, I'd be stronger, and I probably wouldn't be gay."
~ Kirsten's brother ~

When I was a kid growing up in South Africa, you never saw interracial couples. It just didn't happen. For one thing, in the South Africa of the 70's and 80's, people were a little fearful of ethnic groups other than their own. For another thing, marrying across racial lines was illegal, so people engaged in such relationships went to great pains to keep them secret. When the Apartheid laws were dismantled and people were allowed to marry whoever they liked, critics were vehement in their opposition to this change. They brought all sorts of things into their arguments, like respect for cultural differences, and social acceptability, and of course, the what-about-the-children card. What was really bugging them, though, is that interracial marriage represented a huge cultural change, and we humans don't generally cope well with that kind of thing. Now that everyone's used to it, no-one really minds anymore.

We (and by "we" I mean society as a whole) have not necessarily achieved a higher form of social enlightenment. We have merely found something new to grouse about. The current target of the "this person shouldn't marry that person" discussion is gay (or, as the Politically Correct would have me say, same-sex) couples. Many of the arguments against gay marriage are a re-hash of what I used to hear with the interracial marriage debate. Same-sex couples don't have the same understanding as "regular" couples, what will our posh neighbours think, and of course, the what-about-the-children card. There are also some new arguments, mostly about how the fabric of society is disintegrating and how gay marriage undermines the sanctity of marriage. All I can say is that gay marriage has been legal in Canada for a few years now. The fabric of society seems to be doing OK, and the sanctity-ness of marriage is still intact. For what my opinion is worth, I honestly don't care who marries who, as long as I get to keep my husband.

The concept of choice is an inevitable part of any discussion about homosexuality. I could direct you to any number of websites – with supporting studies and statistics - claiming that sexuality is already determined by the time a baby is born. I could then direct you to an equal number of websites – with supporting studies and statistics – claiming that everyone is inherently heterosexual, and that gay people become gay by making a conscious choice to "swing the other way".

When I was in my twenties, while I was driving my brother home from our parents' house one evening, he told me that he was in a serious relationship with a man. My eyes nearly fell out of my head and I narrowly avoided driving into a tree. You see, as a teenager and young adult, my brother had been a proverbial ladies' man. A constant stream of beauties would come in and out of his life as if it were a revolving door. A woman would be his girlfriend for a few weeks, and then move on to make way for whoever was next. Some of them would come back for a second round. In the end, everyone got sent away. My brother was not callous about it. He was not trying to conquer the world, he was just trying to find fulfilment. At the end of each encounter, he would be as disappointed as the girl that it hadn't worked out.

Some time after my brother's revelation to me, after the storms surrounding his subsequent "coming out" had subsided, I asked him why, after having had so many girlfriends, he had "become gay". He pointed out that people become doctors or lawyers or teachers – they don't become gay. He didn't wake up one morning and say to himself, "Hey, you know what? I think I'll go after men from now on." He merely went through a long process of self-discovery that led him to recognise an element of himself that had always been there.

There is an increasing body of evidence lending credence to the theory that hetero- or homosexuality is influenced by genetics. Some areas of genetics are very clear-cut. For instance, two blue-eyed parents are always going to produce a blue-eyed child. The "gay gene" theory is not quite as simple as that. That wouldn't make any sense, when you think about it. A gay man and a gay woman are hardly likely to hook up and have a child – at least, not in the traditional sense. The theory is that a certain arrangement of chromosomes may make some people more prone to being gay than others, just as some people, based on their genetic makeup, may be more likely to be left-handed. Another theory making the rounds is that genetic mutation may have something to do with it. Our genes mutate all the time – most of the time, we don't even notice it. But occasionally, those mutations have noticeable effects.

Whether homosexuality is predetermined by genetics or not is not really the point. Same-sex couples are part of the society we live in. It's nothing new, really. There have always been gay people – they just tended to stay in the closet before. I don't see any problem with people embracing their sexuality – whether they are hetero- or homosexual – as long as they are not hurting anyone, forcing anyone to do anything against their will, or doing the deed on park benches in full view of the public.

Just as the whole interracial marriage debate ran out of steam, I believe the gay marriage issue will cease to be an issue in due course. Either people will realize that it's really not a big deal, or everyone will simply find something new to get all het up about.

Kaleidoscopically yours,
Kirsten

In spite of the missed issues, we still had a good turnout.  That's dedication!

So's ya know, Cliff isn't the only one who screws up.  It seems Annie did too, sending me a limerick missing the last line.  If ya want some extra credit, you can fill it in and let's see what we get.

Dorothy saw the Wizard and cried
I do believe that you did misguide
You had me stay in a room
With critters and a broom

Next opening line...
I looked up and got quite a fright...

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Re: Whoops

One day I tried to make a pot of coffee and I forgot to put the coffee in the filter. Next day, I forgot to put the water in, so I really got razzed by hubby....to make a long story short, in the same week, he made the same sort of mistake.
I told him Thank God, you made a mistake too, Now, I can really believe you are human. - So say I, Charlotte, An American Living In Germany, to you and Cliff. Nice to live among humans..

Trust me, Charlotte, I prove my humanity often. I think it's an age thing. Cliff

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Greetings, Quotaholics:

I've been a computer programmer for over 30 years now. One of the abilities that helps someone be a programmer is the ability to see things as black or white, false or true, right or wrong. While this ability helps in programming, it is sometimes a burden in life.

For instance, hypocrisy drives me crazy. Don't tell me something is right today that you said was wrong yesterday. Don't tell me something is good today that was bad yesterday.

What's set me off this time? Fox news host Bill O'Reilly. Now to say I'm not a fan is an understatement. If O'Reilly reported that the sky was blue, I'd have to go outside and check!

I know I'm about to stir up a political debate, and that is really not my aim. Please don't take this as an attack on any politician or party. I'm looking for input on the subject of parenting.

There have been two highly reported teen pregnancies lately. Both families are from small towns, both young ladies are unmarried. The major difference seems to be that one family is involved in politics while the other is in show business.

This is where O'Reilly comes in. On his December 20, 2007 show O'Reilly made the following statement concerning Jamie Lynn Spears the sister of singer Britney Spears;

"Now most teens are pinheads in some ways. But here the blame falls primarily on the parents of the girl, who obviously have little control over her or even over Britney Spears. Look at the way she behaves."

However on his September 3, 2008 show he had the following to say concerning Governor Sarah Palin's daughter;

"Millions of American families are dealing with teenage pregnancy. And as long as society doesn't have to support the mother, father or baby, it is a personal matter."

I'm sure the public won't have to support either of these babies. Nor will we have to support either family. So this is either the parent's fault, or a personal matter. It can't be both! It can't be right in one case and not the other. It can't be that one teen is a "pinhead" and the other is not.

The causes of teen pregnancy, to me, seem to range from stupidity on the part of the teens to a poor family life, to the teen wanting a child in order to have someone who loves her. I think most parents attempt to raise their children to make the right decisions and hopefully most of the time it works. Sometimes, whatever we do the children make bad decisions. The results can be tragic but who's to blame?

I heard one person interviewed on the news who said something to the effect that it doesn't matter what parents do, teenagers are going to do what they want. That seems to me to be a cop out. If we believed that why would we ever attempt to teach children the difference between right and wrong? Just feed and clothe them until they are teenagers and see who they become.

Now without becoming political, let me know what you think. Are the parents always to blame when kids "go bad"? Are they somewhat to blame? Are they never to blame? Is teen pregnancy a personal affair only?

What about poor teens who will probably raise their children on taxpayer money? Does this change your opinion about the blame parents share?

Is this a problem with the sex education teens are receiving? Should there be more emphasis on birth control or abstinence? Do you think that abstinence only education works?

Blamelessly,

Isn't it worth $1 a month to you to keep RGQ in your mailbox?  Please click the link and direct your contribution to reallygoodquotes@....

"Computers are like Old Testament gods; lots of rules and no mercy." - Joseph Campbell

"Computers can now keep a man's every transgression recorded in a permanent memory bank, duplicating with complex programming and intricate wiring a feat his wife handles quite well without fuss or fanfare." - Lane Olinghouse

E-Mail the Imp

Vijay Prakash, secretary of the India's welfare department has come up with a novel idea to solve the global crisis of rising food prices. Prakash's plan promotes consumption of rat meat in homes, street stalls, restaurants and even international five-star hotels.

"Regular rat snacks would translate into fewer rodents eating precious grain stocks -- 50 percent of which are lost in the northeastern state of Bihar every year to the animals", Prakash said. "Some socially deprived people in Bihar have always consumed rat meat. If they can eat rats, why can't the rest of the people?" he said. "It will save half our grain, and will also reduce villagers' dependence on food stock."

"Rat meat will make up nutrition deficiencies among villagers, since rats are a major source of protein," Prakash said. Of course where they are a major source of protein is unknown to me. Perhaps he meant that they could be a major source of protein.

Rabbits are a popular food item in some parts of the world, either culled from the wild or farm raised, and they're rodents. Squirrels are also rodents and are a popular food item also. It isn't too big a stretch to think about rats joining the ranks of rodent dinner items. At a 1990 Pest Conference at the University of Nebraska, they identified rodents that are eaten around the world. In addition to rats, rabbits, and squirrels, they identified porcupines, beaver, prairie dogs, nutria, cavies, capybaras, mice, and gerbils. The number of different species is staggering and the number of countries around the world where rodent eating is popular is daunting.

I've eaten squirrel and rabbit, and probably noshed on a B-B-Q'd rat or two in the Philippines during a night of drunken revelry. Knowingly sitting down to eat a rat makes me uncomfortable at least, sick in the stomach at most, and I'm sure that a lot of people feel the same way. To change the world's eating habits to start consuming rats will be a monumental task.

Then there's the safety of the food supply to consider. Farm raised rabbits, or even rabbits that you hunt and bring home should be fairly safe. Farm raised animals sold commercially in markets or restaurants would fall under government controls just like any other meat; such as pork, chicken, and beef.

Prakash's plan involves eating rats that are pests, just like those living in the sewers. I wonder how the FDA would regulate sewer rat collection and distribution. They'll probably apply the same positive controls that have recently made our chopped beef, tomatoes, and spinach so very safe to eat.

I'm looking forward to a Super Bowl ad for McRat Burgers…or the Colonel's Extra Crispy or Original Recipe, finger lickin' good rat haunches. Perhaps we'll find Canned Curried Capybara on store shelves, or Breaded Bat Breasts in your freezer. The Japanese will forego raising Kobe Beef to start feeding and kneading Nutria for top end dinner meat. Lastly, we need to let the oceans and all its critters recover for a few years, so look forward to strips of squirrel instead of tuna on your sushi.

Mmmmm good!

The Bad Sied 

Speak right up!

Email Kirsten

"I know that I am intelligent, because I know that I know nothing."
~ Socrates ~

Well, there go my hopes and dreams. For years I've been wanting to be one of those women who has it all - the best family in the world, ultimate success in the career of my choice, and a body to die for. I have a family that I wouldn't trade for all the tea in China, but I haven't achieved the other two. Nor am I likely to - at least, not both of them. According to recent studies, one cannot be thin and clever at the same time. Brain power, it seems, is the evil force behind the North American obesity epidemic.

Researchers in Quebec City gathered together some students and split them into three groups. The first group was asked to read and summarize a text. The second group was given a series of computer-based memory, attention and vigilance tests, and the third group got to sit around relaxing and doing whatever they liked. After a designated length of time, all of the students were treated to an all-you-can-eat buffet, where research assistants disguised as wait-staff surreptitiously noted down what each person was eating.

To the surprise of the researchers, the group that ate the least was the group that had been told to relax. The students that did the text summaries ate about 200 calories extra, and the people who did the computer-based tests had 50 calories more than that. The conclusion was that activities requiring brain power make people eat more than other activities. The explanation offered was that using the brain depletes glucose levels. Tests administered during the tasks showed that the computer-based people had fluctuating glucose levels compared to the other two groups.

Now, call me skeptical, but I just don't buy the conclusions of this particular study. A little-known fact about me is that I have a diploma in statistical analysis, and I automatically try to pick holes in any research findings I read about. And in this case, the first hole I see is the fact that the number of students in the study - a total of just fourteen - is not enough to give a statistically significant result. Every study has a margin of error. The more subjects you have, the smaller your margin of error will be. A study with fourteen subjects is going to have a margin of error big enough to fly a fleet of aircraft through. Apart from all that, fourteen is not even divisible by three, so the three sample groups would have differed in size.

There is just so much we do not know about this study. Were the fourteen participants selected randomly or was there a screening process? How were they divided into the three groups? What were their regular nutrition and exercise habits prior to the study? What did the "relaxing" group actually do during the study - did they sit around doing nothing or were they allowed to exercise? Did the two groups with tasks have a time limit, or were they simply told to do their thing until they were finished?

Or maybe I'm just saying all of this to cover up my real concern. The reason I really don't want to believe this study is that I don't want to give up on the idea of being an Uber-Woman who has it all.

Kaleidoscopically yours,
Kirsten

The make-ups saved us!

Next opening line...
I found an apartment for rent...

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Yahoo! Inc., 701 First Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94089

Greetings, Quotaholics:

Back in 2004 I was pretty stunned when I read a link Tim sent me.  It was from the Arkansas Alliance for Medical Marijuana, and it showed experimentally that many kinds of cancers, including brain cancers, can be greatly reduced or even cured by the administration of cannabinoids, or extracts of marijuana. 

I wrote about it at the time, finding myself even more shocked when I found out that researchers at the Medical College of Virginia, who had been funded by the National Institutes of Health to find evidence that marijuana damages the immune system, found instead that THC slowed the growth of three kinds of cancer in mice -- lung and breast cancer, and a virus-induced leukemia.

In 1974.

Instead of glee, the reaction of the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) was to shut down the study and halt all further research into marijuana as an effective anti-cancer tool.

Shortly thereafter, in 1976, President Gerald Ford put an official end to all public cannabis research and granted exclusive research rights to major pharmaceutical companies, who set out -- unsuccessfully -- to develop synthetic forms of THC that would deliver all the medical benefits without the "high."

If you weren't a subscriber then, I highly suggest you read it.  Without trying to pat myself on the back too hard, I think it was important information that has been suppressed, and which remains suppressed to this day.

Now I've come across something equally interesting.  According to webmd.com, researchers in Italy and the U.K. have tested five major marijuana chemicals called cannabinoids on different strains of MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus).

This is known as a superbug, very dangerous since they are infections that don't respond to conventional antibiotic treatment.

All five showed germ-killing activity against the MRSA strains in lab tests. Some synthetic cannabinoids also showed germ-killing capability. The scientists note the cannabinoids kill bacteria in a different way than traditional antibiotics, meaning they might be able to bypass bacterial resistance.

MRSA, like other staph infections, can be spread through casual physical contact or through contaminated objects. It is commonly spread from the hands of someone who has it. This could be in a health care setting, though there have also been high-profile cases of community-acquired MRSA.

In the study, published in the Journal of Natural Products, researchers call for further study of the antibacterial uses of marijuana. There are "currently considerable challenges with the treatment of infections caused by strains of clinically relevant bacteria that show multi-drug resistance," the researchers write. New antibacterials are urgently needed, but only one new class of antibacterial has been introduced in the last 30 years. "Plants are still a substantially untapped source of antimicrobial agents," the researchers conclude.

I ask again.  Why is there such fear of acknowledging what has been proven...fear that allows people to die or suffer rather than allowing them to have access to a plant that, by today's standards of pollutant exposures, must surely be seen as benign?

Why isn't this front page and top of the hour news everywhere?  While webmd is certainly respected, this transcends news that is strictly medical in my opinion.  We're talking about saving lives, limbs, or both.

Another line in the article sort of troubled me, though.

"At least two of the cannabinoids don't have mood-altering effects, so there could be a way to use these substances without creating the high of marijuana."

Why is that such a huge consideration, given the severity of the problems that are being addressed?

Disbelievingly,

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There appears to be two problems with intimacy in India that the government of India and the BBC World Service Trust (Funding provided by the Gates Foundation) are addressing in a very unique way. One problem is the population growth and one problem is the spread of STD's, with HIV-AIDS causing the most concern. Besides the standard education push, they have to break down the reluctance of the people to discuss the problems and to discuss the use of condoms.

Once people become less reluctant to discuss condom use it is believed that condom use will become more acceptable. Their target audience is young Indians, those most likely to contract AIDS and also those who are most likely to have cell phones. The strategy is to provide a free "ringtone" that chants "Condom, Condom" hopefully making the cell phone user more likely to discuss the use of condoms and actually use them.

The article I read doesn't state what languages the ringtones will be in, but there has to be more than one since India is blessed by having hundreds of millions of people speaking over a dozen languages. Hindi is the national language and primary tongue of 41% of the people; there are 14 other official languages: Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi, and Sanskrit; Hindustani is a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely throughout northern India but is not an official language. English enjoys associate status but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication.

I also wonder what names they'll be using for "condom" in the chant. In English we use "condom" in polite conversation and advertisements. When Bubba and his buddies get their long neck Buds in hand and in their bellies, there are many more names in the common vernacular that may be used, some of which are vulgar. `Rubbers', `Love Gloves', and `Raincoats' pop to mind; as does `Coney Island Whitefish' and `Scumbag'. Can you imagine being on line to thank your pastor for a beautiful sermon and have your phone blurt out, "Scumbag, Scumbag"? Or you're at the day care center picking up Junior only to hear a strident, "Rubbers, Rubbers" emanating from your purse?

As uptight as the Indian people are about sex and displays of intimacy, I can't believe that "Condom, Condom" blaring from millions of cell phones will become commonplace. Who would have thought that such prudish behavior would prevail in the land that originated the "How To" book of sex, the Kama Sutra? That would be similar to Ireland becoming a land of closet drinkers.

The Bad Sied 

Speak right up!

Email Kirsten

"I have been laid up with intentional flu."
~ Samuel Goldwyn ~

Last winter, Toronto had the second-largest amount of snow in recorded history. School buses were cancelled left, right and centre. There seemed to be a major snowstorm every week from November until March. We used the snowblower so much that we had to start keeping extra stocks of gas in the garage. On a good morning, I'd go outside to go to work and find myself knee-deep in snow. My warmest winter coat was suddenly not warm enough, and our yard was full of enough snow to keep Alaska in business for a decade. Throughout the whole winter, I whined like a baby. I'm from Africa. What do you expect?

Eventually, summer arrived. It didn't suddenly show up in its full glory one day, like it does in the movies. It slunk in slowly and reluctantly, looking as if it wanted more than anything to turn around and flee in the opposite direction. Kind of like someone arriving at a party where they don't know anyone. They really don't want to be there but they have to be, and they vow to only stay as long as social niceties demand.

The summer did eventually settle in and stay a while - much like someone at said party who ends up staying longer than originally planned - and people did make the most of it. But all too soon, it seems as if the summer is on its way out, just like the shy person at the party who leaves just as people are starting to get to know and like them.

The imminent departure of summer means two things.

First, it means that the people around me have to prepare for another season of me whining like a baby. We may as well face it, no matter how long I live in Canada for, I'm always going to be a sissy where the winter is concerned.

Second, it means that the Ontario Ministry of Health, and similar agencies across Canada, are gearing up to tell people that if they don't get the flu shot, they could be endangering the lives of old people, young people, and sick people who live within a ten mile radius. A standard question at doctors' offices will be, "Do you want the flu shot while you're here?" Employers will set up flu clinics and launch campaigns to get their employees to attend. Having got the shot, people will sit back and breathe a sigh of relief, saying, "Well, that's me taken care of for another year". They will then be utterly taken aback when they get sick a month later. Right after coughing up a lung in their living rooms, they will say to whoever will listen, "But I don't understand. I got the SHOT!"

And now, according to researchers at the University of Alberta, the flu shot doesn't even really do much good. In a study of over 700 senior citizens, half of the subjects were given the flu shot, and the other half were not. Researchers controlled for such things as the general health and lifestyle of the subjects, and found that there was no difference in flu-related mortality rates in the two groups.

The doctor leading the study is not suggesting that we do away with the flu shot, but he does believe that further research is needed to determine whether the shot is really providing the benefits we are looking for.

One of the first mistakes many people make is believing that the flu shot will make them immune from any illness. The vaccine targets a specific group of bugs - whichever bugs are perceived to pose the greatest risk in any particular flu season. It does not protect against the common cold, and it does not protect against flu bugs not targeted in the vaccine. If you get the shot, you are still susceptible to getting sick, you're just less susceptible to certain particular bugs.

At the end of the day, we all have to assume responsibility for our own health, whether we get the shot or not. There is pretty much conclusive proof that the best way to avoid getting sick is frequent thorough handwashing.

If you do get sick, the best way way to knock the bug on the head is by drinking a good shot of whisky. At least, that's what my Mom always tells me.

Kaleidoscopically yours,
Kirsten

Great stuff from all, but I've really got to thank Annie/Cole.  No one has been more prolific, and some of the rhymes really stretch poetic license, but I've gotta say I love them.  I have a bunch of make-ups today.

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The zookeeper trembled in fear...

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Greetings, Quotaholics:

I love to eat. You don't have to take my word for it, anyone who's ever seen me can tell!

And when it comes to eating, the State Fair is a really good place to go. I've been lucky enough to live in several states and attend their fairs. I've got to say my favorite fair food is at the New Mexico State Fair, but the Texas State Fair is a close second.

Every year the folks at the Texas Fair have a contest to find the best new food. This year's winner is Glen Kusak's chicken fried bacon. Apparently, Mr. Kusak decided that bacon, on it's own, wasn't quick enough at clogging your arteries, so he battered and deep fried it! (You know you want some!)

Among the finalist this year were deep fried s'mores, fried chocolate truffles, fried banana split, and a waffle cone filled with deep-fried pineapple and topped with a banana-flavored whipping cream frozen in liquid nitrogen which smokes when it's served.

With food like this, is it any wonder that as a nation we're overweight?

I guess Alabama must have some pretty good food too. The latest rankings have Alabama as the second most overweight state. But now all this weight is going to start costing people, not only health wise, but cold hard cash in the form of higher insurance payments.

Not long ago I wrote about some employers forcing their employees to quit smoking or refusing to hire people who smoke. I asked at that time, "Is if fair to charge smokers more for health insurance?" I predicted that the practice could expand to people with other health related problems.

According to an article at the website ajc.com, "The State Employees' Insurance Board this week approved a plan to charge state workers starting in January 2010 if they don't have free health screenings."

"If the screenings turn up serious problems with blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose or obesity, employees will have a year to see a doctor at no cost, enroll in a wellness program, or take steps on their own to improve their health. If they show progress in a follow-up screening, they won't be charged. But if they don't, they must pay starting in January 2011."

So now if you're a state employee in Alabama, you have no privacy as far as your health is concerned. I mean, it looks like you could refuse the health screenings but you would have to pay higher premiums then even if you're healthy.

Now the whole idea behind group insurance policies is to spread the insurance costs over a large enough group to make it affordable to everyone. If you are healthy and wanted to get a policy on your own, you could probably save money. But once you are in the group your premiums don't generally go up if your health gets bad.

That's really the essential idea of insurance. Everybody assumes some of the costs associated with the group's risks. If you cherry pick the most insurable people it makes the cost too high for everyone else.

I'm sure that most of us would agree that something needs to be done about the general health in this country. And maybe hitting people where it hurts, in the pocketbook, is the answer. But it seems unfair to me to require health screenings with the results turned over to the employer.

Do you see this as an effective way to get people to get healthier? Is it likely to lower insurance costs for anyone in your opinion? Is it simply a way for insurance companies to make more money? Could it be a way for employers to discriminate against unhealthy employees?

Overflowing my chair,

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Part 1

Science News Headline: Hydrogen Economy Sustainable In 15 Years (Jul 17, 2008)

According to the article a panel of 17 experts, from private organizations and research institutions, published a study that states switching from gasoline to hydrogen would be technically and financially feasible on a national scale in 15 to 20 years. Until then, the panel says, carbon-dioxide emissions should be kept in check by a multi-pronged approach, which would include hybrid cars, biofuels, and increased fuel efficiency of gasoline-powered vehicles.

The study was accomplished by the National Academy of Sciences National Research Council and the panel was chaired by Michael P. Ramage who was the executive vice president of Exxon-Mobil Research and Engineering Co. Does the phrase "A fox in the hen house" sound apropos?

There are a couple of sentences that should ring warning bells when you read the article. They are:

"With substantial investments, hydrogen could become a competitive fuel within 15 years…."

"….fuel cells are still very expensive and distributing hydrogen to consumers would require new infrastructure. Consequently, a large-scale transition to hydrogen will require help from the federal government."

"In 10 years, the hydrogen vehicles will be commercially available, if still expensive. At that stage, the government would need to step in with subsidies."

The panel "….assumes that the government will invest $55 billion between now and 2023, and that private industry will invest $145 billion over the same time period."

Switching to hydrogen in 15 – 20 years is a bit longer than the 7 – 12 years we've heard rattling around Washington, and that's assuming we started a full bore effort to switch yesterday. They also cite an estimated cost of $200 billion that would be shared by government and business.

I only have a few figures to work with but I think $200 billion is just a pittance compared to what the real costs will be. Right now there are just 62 Hydrogen fueling stations in the country (26 in California), and there are over 187,000 gas stations. Replacing those gas stations with Hydrogen fueling stations at nearly $2 million a copy will require an outlay of about $375 billion; just about double the preceding estimate.

That doesn't consider the cost(s) of building Hydrogen production facilities, building power stations to support those facilities, building an infrastructure to transport the Hydrogen, building facilities to manufacture Hydrogen fuel cells, building new and modifying old automotive plants, and we can't forget the need for modifying safety and emergency response equipment and procedures.

While we wait for government and industry to get around to putting this alternative to oil in place, we might consider a temporary return to the horse and buggy. We already have horses and we can breed more quickly. We can feed them from the ground up corn stalks and cobs we use to make ethanol. We already have shovels to clean up with and the manure can be used to produce more corn for ethanol.

Win – Win, Giggle – Giggle!!

The Bad Sied 

Speak right up!

Email Kirsten

"Never cry over spilt milk, because it may have been poisoned."
~ W.C. Fields ~

Did you ever see a commercial so annoying that you wanted to reach into the TV screen, stick your hand down the throat of the person in the commercial, pull out their small intestine, and strangle them with it? Maybe it's a commercial featuring a woman playing a mindless housewife, or a man playing a clueless father. It could be one of those ten-minute-long pleas to sponsor a sick, starving child in Africa (have you noticed, by the way, that the allegedly impoverished kids in these commercials always have clean clothes, healthy-looking skin and an intact set of teeth?) In my case, the S.A.C. (Supremely Annoying Commercial) features cows. Not of the human variety, either, although there could be some of them in the commercial too.

In the S.A.C., a large crowd of brown cows (of the bovine variety) are staging a protest. They're gathered in an open square, mooing loudly in outrage while holding placards with such proclamations as "Chocolate milk is not inferior to white milk", and "Brown cows are cows too". A few people are interspersed with the cows, joining in the protest with gusto. In front of the crowd, a cow (of the human variety) yells into a microphone, "What do we want?" The human-and-cow crowd responds with glee: "Brown cow rights!" The ringleader yells, "When do we want it?" The crowd responds, "NOW!" and then erupts in a renewed burst of moos and chants.

Somewhere in this weird set-up, viewers are supposed to get the message that chocolate milk has the same health benefits of white milk, and is, in fact, a lot tastier. For that reason, we are told, we should set our prejudices aside and embrace chocolate milk as a viable healthy snack.

Yeah, right. I don't even regard white milk as a viable healthy snack, even though it may taste good to many people.

Whether you drink white milk, chocolate milk, or milk that is pink with purple spots, most regulatory health bodies have decreed that milk cannot be sold unless it is pasteurized. Pasteurization - the process of heating a substance to a point just below boiling point - has two benefits where milk is concerned. First, it increases the shelf life of milk by slowing down the process of spoilage. Second, and more importantly, it inhibits the ability to bacteria to survive and multiply. Drinking unpasteurized milk can put one at risk of listeriosis and other serious food poisoning illnesses.

Some people still prefer unpasteurized (or raw) milk, though. They claim that raw milk tastes better and promotes healthy digestion.

Well, OK. You may get food poisoning, but if you survive, at least you will be "regular".

There is a loophole in Canadian law available to people who want to assert their right to drink raw milk. All you have to do is buy a cow, stick it in a barn in your back yard, and milk it every day. You cannot sell or give away unpasteurized milk, but it is perfectly legal to drink raw milk from a cow you own.

A farmer who has been accused of contravening the health directive is relying on this loophole to get him off the hook. Apparently, he has been selling raw milk from a cow named Anna (yes, a brown cow) from a blue bus in a church parking lot. Authorities caught wind of this and a court case was born.

At first glance, it would seem that the farmer doesn't have a leg to stand on. That the milk is unpasteurized is beyond question, and it has been firmly established that there several transactions, with raw milk going in one direction and money going in the other. The farmer, however, is claiming that his customers are not actually buying milk. They simply buy shares in Anna the Cow. Since they are part owners of Anna the Cow, they are allowed to drink her milk, and no-one's doing anything wrong. The customers who don't want their supply cut off are verifying this. One says, "I can visit Anna, I can give her a hug if I wish".

I'm not one to judge. I have nothing against cows, brown or otherwise. And if someone wants to risk their health for the sake of regular bowel movements, I say, go right ahead. It's not as if anyone's forcing me to drink raw milk. But shares in Anna the Cow? All I can say is this. If it walks like a cow and quacks like a cow, chances are that we are dealing with a thing that says "moo", that is not a duck disguised like a cow.

Kaleidoscopically yours,
Kirsten

I finally got a good line!

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My anniversary date I forgot...

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Greetings, Quotaholics:

A guy I work with called me a "crusty old bastard" the other day.

What brought this about was a discussion we were having about news reporters. I made the comment that I was sick of hearing the term "hunker down". We are told that the candidates are "hunkering down" for a long campaign. The people in the path of the hurricanes were told to "hunker down" until the storm passed. The reporters said they were going to "hunker down" in the path of the storm and continue reporting while the storm struck.

At this point in my rant he said I had officially crossed over to being a crusty old bastard. I'm not sure if I should be offended or not!

But this got me thinking about the recent storms. Three years ago before Katrina hit everyone was told to evacuate, yet many stayed behind. Because of this decision many died and many more had to be rescued.

This time, in advance of Gustav, the percentage of people who left was much higher and the storm turned out to be weak enough that most would have been safe anyway. Next time they will probably be reluctant to leave since Gustav caused so little damage.

When Ike started toward Texas evacuation orders went out again. And again, while many left, many stayed behind. The people we refer to as "first responders", police, fire department, etc., were kept busy right up until the storm struck trying to rescue people who became trapped by high water or had other emergencies.

As soon as Katrina passed, and now as soon as Ike passed, the first responders were out, in some cases putting their lives in danger, trying to rescue people who had been ordered to evacuate.

I understand that this is their job. I'm sure that most people in this line of work would not hesitate to risk their lives to save others. But should they be expected to risk their lives when people make the stupid decision to stay in the path of a hurricane?

Should the communities affected by these types of events adopt the stance that the safety of their first responders comes first? Shouldn't they be concerned first with clearing the roads, shutting off power to downed lines, putting out fires, and shutting off gas leaks, before they concern themselves with saving people who aren't even supposed to be there?

Or does the safety of the citizens, even the stupid ones, take precedence over the safety of the first responders? Should they be expected to leap into flood water in the midst of a hurricane to save someone who was too stupid to leave before the storm hit?

Crustily,



P.S. The remains of Ike blew thru Arkansas Saturday afternoon and night. It has since continued on to Ohio where it knocked out power at Cliff's house. Cliff is the one who usually puts RGQ together and Patti and Sied send their pieces to him. Since we have no Cliff tonight, unfortunately we have no Patti or Sied either! Hopefully Cliff has suffered no serious damage and we'll have everybody back in the next issue.

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Email Kirsten

"Ah, yes, divorce ... from the Latin word meaning to rip out a man's genitals through his wallet."
~ Robin Williams ~

Today's column is a slight departure from the kind of stuff I usually write about. I don't feel too bad about that, because after all, my column is a Kaleidoscope. The slightest movement can yield completely unexpected images. Human relationships work in much the same way. You can see two people who are, by all appearances, completely right for one another. They have the same values and are in agreement over major life decisions, and seeing one without the other is almost the same as seeing someone who is suddenly missing a leg. Then you see the same two people a year later, and to your amazement they are splitting up, accusing each other of horrible things, and fighting bitterly over who should get custody of the kids.

I am in the unfortunate position of being friend to two people currently going through a bitter divorce. The events leading up to the split form a long story. The short version is that he did stuff wrong, she did stuff wrong, and in the end she left him. She went off to live with another man; he quickly got involved with another woman. In the beginning, the separation was amicable enough. Tom (not his real name) and Denise (not her real name) split custody of their son, the only child resulting from their union. They sorted out logistics and division of assets with a minimum of fuss. There wasn't any anger or resentment, although there was sadness and a sense of loss on both parts.

My role as Friend was easy in the immediate aftermath of the separation. I was friends with Tom, and I was friends with Denise. Each one knew that I was friends with the other, and no-one minded. I listened when they needed to talk, but I was careful not to express any negativity about the other person. Our respective children, who have been friends since the birth of my older son, continued to attend each others' birthday parties and have playdates at each others' houses.

Unfortunately, in the last month or so, the whole situation has exploded in a frenzy of chaos. My first clue that something was wrong came shortly after I sent Denise an invitation for her son to attend my son's upcoming birthday party. Denise sent me a response by email, in which she said that since I was friends with Tom, and saw any redeeming qualities in him whatsoever, I was now one of her biggest enemies and she had no desire to have anything to do with me whatsoever. I was asked, therefore, to send her son's invitation to Tom's address.

In the week since this happened, I have discovered that Denise has launched an all-out war against Tom. She has cleaned out the joint accounts that were supposed to be used to support their son. She is suing Tom for half of the value of his business - a claim that, if successful, would force Tom out of business. Her lawsuit includes a claim for half of all of Tom's future earnings. Over and above that, she is claiming an astronomically high amount of child support, complete with built-in annual increases.

It should be noted at this point that Denise has a well-paying job, and that she left Tom for a man who also has a well-paying job. It should also be noted that Tom has, since the separation, allowed Denise unlimited access to his bank account, for the purposes of caring for their son.

Denise's attack on Tom's current and future income isn't even the worst part. Unfortunately, her lethal weapon of choice is the one person who doesn't have a voice in all of this - her son. She is trying to deny her son access to everyone who loves him - his friends, his grandparents, and worst of all, his father. She even went to extent of calling Children's Aid and reporting abuse and neglect on Tom's part - claims that were investigated and found to be groundless.

Now, we all hear stories about people who stay together for the sake of the children. It is often not a good idea, and leads to the kids growing up with constant exposure to their parents' fights. Admittedly, my husband and I went through a somewhat bleak period in our marriage when we stayed together for the sake of the children. In our case, it worked out, and now I am extremely grateful that we stuck it out, whether our reason for it was right or not.

What I am absolutely not in favour of, though, is people using their children as pawns in their marital break-ups. Unless abuse or neglect are part of the picture, children should have access to both of their parents. They should not be made to divide their loyalties. They should not be expected to start abandoning their friends to make one or both parents happy. They should be sheltered from the trauma as much as possible. Some emotional fall-out is probably inevitable. But what really makes my blood boil is when parents deliberately and knowingly force their children into the fighting ring with them. Because invariably, the kids are the ones who stand to get hurt the most.

Kaleidoscopically yours,
Kirsten

That wasn't exactly a spectacular turnout...

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I'm really getting bad here.  It looks like we had no comments at all for today's issue, but I found all this stuff that's several weeks old that I never ran.  My bad!

Re: Home Business

Home businesses are difficult critters to manage for municipalities or even county governments. Small engine repairs in your garage could also mean mower carcasses all over the yard and oil and gas seeping into the water table. Selling your "excess" plants could result in customers parking on lawns or blocking fire lanes. Even if it's "not for profit" business there could be consequences that have to be considered for the greater good. There's also the business license regulations to consider, which are hopefully designed for consumer protection as opposed to simply adding money to the public coffers.

As Mike said, there also has to be common sense woven into the equation. I work as a part time logistics consultant from a home office. No customers come to the house, there is no disposables problem, and no smoke, fumes, or leaking liquids. But in Pickering, Canada, I'd be in breach of the law if somebody ratted me out.

It seems to me that any cottage industry has to be looked at on a case by case basis to determine if it should fall under the control of the local government. Apply the common sense "What if" rule to the local ordinance and see what general exceptions should be included, and what businesses must be controlled, and include a proviso that all others will be considered on a case by case basis. Businesses that could pose health problems such as tattoo parlors, barber shops and beauty parlors should be controlled as well as those that could pose environmental damage. Businesses that are intrinsically dangerous because of fire or explosion hazards are another concern.

I have a neighbor who reloads his own ammo. He reloads two of the several calibers I use and he reloads those for me at cost about once a year, and he also reloads for his son. But if he spent a few hours a day reloading for all of his friends and relatives, at cost and not for profit, that would be a concern. He'd have to stock a lot of powder for all the different loads and that would surely be a hazard in case of a fire or even a wayward spark.

When you get into the business versus hobby situation, common sense and community welfare sometimes butt heads...particularly when the volume of the activity is considered. If I tinker on one mower a week as a hobby, no problem. If I tinker on twenty or thirty a week, that might be a different story. It's unfortunate that the commercial "one size fits all" can't be applied in this case to have standard laws for all communities, but each community has different geography and demographics. Too bad common sense can't be standard instead, and "zero tolerance" slaughtered and B-B-Q'd. - sied



Re:  Stupid Laws

The law is like musac. In its grand attempt to protect everyone from everything and meet everybody's political agendas, it ends up just bing stupid and illogical. I have a case that demonstrates my point. Children in Indiana have to be in appropriate child restraints if they are passengers in a 4 wheeled vehicle. Logical? Of course. I'm a devotee of seat belts myself, and feel that children make better future presidents then speed bumps. However, there is apparently no law against transporting a 3 year old child on the back of a motorcycle. The welfare department agrees it is dangerous, and the child could recieve a permanent injury. However, the judge in his anxiety not to offend anyone refuses to declare this particular activity unsafe until he has had a full blown hearing. My client's choice is to defy the court's original visitation order or permit her ex to continue risking her child's life. Fortunately, she has taken the brave route, which is risking fines or jail so her kid will remain safe. However, rather then using a little common sense, the judge is willing to risk the child's life because "welfare isn't done investigating". - Lucille



Re:  Reader Submission


I wote about people living in airports, here's a guy with a new twist on "public" housing.

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_2963490.html?menu=
A pint-size down and out had made his home in a left luggage locker in a railway station. Every evening, former art student Mike Kirsch, 29, slips into locker 501 at Dusseldorf station and beds down for the night. At just 24 by 20 inches his railway residence may be handy for commuting but it's certainly more bijou than palatial. And even though he's just eight stone, nine pounds and 5ft 6 inches, it's still a squeeze for its occupant. Mike hit the road after breaking up with his student girlfriend 10 years ago and quickly settled on the locker as a secure, dry bed for the night. But now efficient German railway authorities are trying to remove him and have accused him of a breach of the peace. Now Kirsch is facing nine months in prison but said: "Who knows. Maybe I will get another chance." - sied

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Greetings, Quotaholics:

Gay-bashing is probably a lot more commonplace than most of us realize.  I don't have any statistics that give hard numbers, but my suspicion is that there are a lot of people who have so much animosity towards gays that they'd resort to physical violence, even though they've never met or even seen the person before, and, like the crime of rape, it seems logical that a lot of the assaults go unreported to authorities.

Denverpost.com is reporting that Nima Daivari went out for the evening, decked out, as most of us do, in what we think is our most attractive garb, even though it might look ridiculous or even offensive to someone else.  Nima's choice of clothing and accessories were tight, white jeans, snakeskin shoes and a fairy that he wore on a chain around his neck.

On St. Patrick's Day 2007, he was on his first and only visit to Denver when he, his cousin and her boyfriend were walking home from dinner.

Suddenly, a pedestrian passed by and yelled, "Keep that faggot away from me."

"Excuse me?" asked Daivari, who then was punched in the head by the assailant.

What the stranger didn't count on was that Nima was a trained boxer, and the results were predictable.  The stranger took some hard punches, and wound up with his neck in a crushing headlock, where he was forced to wait humiliatingly in a mall in front of presumably hundreds of onlookers until police arrived to rescue him.  I secretly relish the thought that the attacker was more terrified of being that close to a gay man than he was of his physical predicament.

The more astute among you may have noticed that I named one party but not the "stranger".  The reason is quite simple.  When Officer Richard Boehnlein arrived he refused Daivari's repeated demands to press charges, telling him, "No, go home."  He wouldn't investigate the hate crime or even bother to take the attacker's name, so he slithered off into the darkness, likely for an appointment with a chiropractor and meal of humble pie.

Daivari, however, decided to sue the city.  His complaint resulted in a finding that the officer should have at least documented the case and probably arrested his attacker. Boehnlein was reprimanded merely with "a fine of one regular day off." 

The city refused Daivari's settlement request that Boehnlein undergo sensitivity training, with the City Attorney commenting that, "The training the city provides its police officers is exemplary in these areas."

U.S. District Judge Zita Weinshienk dismissed the case Thursday, holding that no rights were violated.  The reason is that gay men are not a protected class under the Constitution.

Says Daivari's lawyer, Jessica West: "The city of Denver essentially claimed that gays and lesbians in Denver live without any right to police protection. I certainly hope that they are wrong."

I was pretty shocked by this story.  I know that sexual orientation is not one of the Constitutionally-protected categories, but I never realized until this moment what that really means.

Maybe I'm naïve, but I never imagined that a guy could walk up to a complete stranger in a public place and assault him, and then have police just let the attacker walk. 

I've gotta ask how you see this.  The judge's ruling is pretty cut and dried.  It seems similar to the difference between killing an eagle or killing a cat.  One is on the endangered species list, and one isn't.

However, I think that if someone were beating or killing a cat they would have been arrested.  Maybe that's speculation, but I don't think I'm far off the mark.

Does it seem that legally it's worse to harm an animal than a human, if that human happens to be gay?  And what does this say to the argument that gays are already protected and don't need special classification?

Daivari was pissed about one thing. 

"I would much rather they arrested the guy who attacked me so there would be a mug shot out there of him with his face ----ed up by a homo," he says. "But the city deprived me that right and seems perfectly comfortable with its cops letting hate criminals beat people up and walk free."

Equitably,

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Part 2

In Part 1of this piece I tossed out figures in the billions of dollars. No doubt some readers have done some research and say my estimates were way too high, or way too low, or failed to include some potential costs, or even included some that shouldn't have been considered. I doubt anyone would come out and say it will be a cheap process.

In addition to the costs involved with creating a Hydrogen infrastructure there are conversion costs that most pundits are either over looking or flat ignoring. There are the costs involved with converting some internal combustion engines to run on Hydrogen. There are costs to dispose of gas burning vehicles that aren't converted to operating on Hydrogen. There are the costs involved with taking out the old oil and gas production, distribution, storage, and dispensing infrastructure; not to mention the cost of toxic clean-up of those sites. There are costs to re-educate mechanics and technicians to work on and repair Hydrogen fuel cells.

The federal Superfund hasn't been funded by taxes on the oil and chemical industries since 1995 and clean-up is now funded from the general revenues based on Congressional appropriation. There are now over 1200 priority sites identified that will cost in excess of $57,000 per acre to clean, in 2002 dollars.

In 2004, the EPA had identified over 77,000 sites needing clean-up and estimated from 294,000 to 355,000 to be formally identified and added to the list. I doubt they were counting gas and oil refining and distribution sites back then…we all assumed that gas stations were forever. The EPA also estimated that it would take over thirty years to clean-up known sites at a cost of $253 billion.

Clean-up is the responsibility of the property owner, or the last owner identified as having owned the site when the toxic waste was generated. The federal government assumes the responsibility when the owner of record can't be determined or if the owner of record is financially unable to conduct the clean-up.

What does all this mean? Since the money isn't in a fund to cover the costs, all costs, it has to come from some where. If I were Exxon, Dow-Corning, or Grace International, I'd raise prices. If I were Congress, I'd raise taxes. If I were smart, I'd get the hell out of Dodge before I'd have to lean forward and grab my ankles to get "Bum-Bumped" by big business and big government.

Have a nice day.

The Bad Sied 

Speak right up!

On this day in history, September 17, 1930: Ceremonies are held for the official beginning of construction on the Boulder Dam (relocated to Black Canyon) and Secretary of the Interior renames the misnamed dam to Hoover Dam. It was traditional to name great projects after the President – i.e., Coolidge Dam. An Act of Congress changed the name officially in February 1931. President Hoover lost his bid for re-election and by March 1933 President Franklin D. Roosevelt began changing the name back to Boulder Dam. Roosevelt died in office in 1945 and machinations immediately began to return the name, once again, to Hoover Dam. Public Law 43 did this in 1947.

The dam and its power plant are run by the Bureau of Reclamation of the US Department of the Interior. It crosses the Colorado River on the border between Arizona and Nevada across the Black Canyon. In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt signed the Reclamation Act and engineers began their investigations into controlling the Colorado River. There were a series of devastating flood between 1905-1916. The Dam was first proposed for Boulder Canyon in 1918. It took another ten years before the Boulder Canyon Project Act, now located at Black Canyon, was finally passed. In 1931 contracts for the construction were awarded.

It took 21,000 men (3,500 - 5,218 daily) five years to build earning a monthly payroll of $500,000. Lake Mead was formed by the Dam. Before work could begin, Boulder City had to be built to house employees and 7 miles (11 km) of roadways were needed to connect the new city to the construction site. Another 22.7 miles (36.5 km) of railroad tracks needed to be laid to bring in materials and 222 miles (357 km) of power transmission lines were installed. Total cost was $49 million ($676 million when adjusted for inflation) and 112 deaths were attributed (96 at the site) to the construction. Maximum electric power produced by the water turbines is 2,080 megawatts.
[I don't usually comment on a writer's piece, but I divided the average number of workers (4359) into the $500,000 payroll.  $114 a month!  For digging into solid granite at the bottom of a hell-hole canyon in broiling desert heat!

Dammmm...]



"I have never regarded the name as important. The important thing is a gigantic engineering accomplishment that will bring happiness to millions of people." – Herbert Hoover



"The Democrats are going to change the name of the Hoover Dam. That is the silliest thing I ever heard of in politics . . . Lord if they feel that way about it, I don't see why they don't just reverse the two words." - Will Rogers


"Economic depression cannot be cured by legislative action or executive pronouncement. Economic wounds must be healed by the action of the cells of the economic body - the producers and consumers themselves." - Herbert Hoover

Email Kirsten

"I'm not addicted to sex. I just think about it all the time."
~ Kirsten's husband ~

I won't be lining up anytime soon to join the David Duchovny Fan Club. I don't have anything against him personally. I know he's had his odd spots of bother, but having never met the man, I'm not in a position to be judgmental. I don't have anything against his acting. He certainly made a mint from The X-Files, so we can only assume that there is a modicum of acting talent there. No, the problem I have is with his voice. Mr. Duchovny couldn't sound more dull and lifeless if you gave him enough tranquilizers to take down a hippopotamus, and then whacked him in the back of the head with a baseball bat for good measure.

So when I heard that he had checked into a rehab clinic for sex addiction, my first reaction was, "Eh?" I couldn't really understand how he, or anyone else, would stay awake through the sound of his own voice long enough to get any action. Then again, conversation is probably not at the top of his list of skills, and he has to make contact with other human beings somehow.

This situation that he finds himself in has led me on a train of thought about addiction in general. My friend Wolf (don't ask) had to undergo treatment for gambling addiction many years ago. His problem started harmlessly enough one day at the racetracks. Within a year he had lost his house, his car, his job, his girl, and his money. The treatment basically involved learning the skills needed to avoid or resist the temptation to gamble. For the rest of his life, Wolf cannot go to the races. He cannot play Bingo, go to a casino, invest in the stock market, buy a lottery ticket, or enter a raffle. He has had to make very careful choices about his career, since many jobs involve an element of gambling that we don't even think of. He cannot start a business of his own, because let's face it, what could be more of a gamble than that? Even though he hasn't had anything to do with gambling for years, the fact of his gambling addiction will always have a large element of control over the choices he makes.

Most forms of gambling are the same. Alcoholics - whether newly alcoholic or long-recovered - cannot touch alcohol in any way, shape, or form. One bender can undo years of hard work and destroy relationships of trust. When drug addicts become clean, they cannot take drugs or drink alcohol, which is a drug itself. It all makes sense, really. If you're addicted to something, just avoid it. That way, it won't be a problem.

But how do you treat sex addiction? I find it hard to believe that the addict would be expected to forego sex for the rest of his or her life. Even if that were the case, how far would the ban go? Would the poor unfortunate soul find his or her addiction triggered by the simple act of giving someone a hug? In that case, should all forms of physical contact be restricted?

That would not even solve the problem, because the addict would always have access to his or her own body, and sexual gratification does not necessarily require the presence of a partner. You clearly cannot tie someone's hands up to stop them from doing stuff. And it seems blatantly unfair to tell them that they cannot give themselves the satisfaction that they crave. That would be like expecting a gambling addict to live in a casino without going near the slots or tables. It would be like telling an alcoholic that they have to permanently carry around a bottle of whisky without ever drinking any.

Some sex addiction rehab places stipulate that addicts may have sex only within a marital relationship. I fail to see how this would help, though. That's like telling an alcoholic that they can only have a drink within a pub.

The only remedy left, therefore, is to reduce the addict's desire for sex. In essence, we have to cure addicts of their addiction. And I question whether any addiction is actually curable. It seems that you can work on controlling your impulses, but ultimately, addicts have a lifetime of resisting the craving. That is clearly more difficult when it comes to sex addiction, because of the addict's permanent access to his or her body.

I don't have the answers. Maybe the problem lies in the classification of this particular problem as an addiction. A different classification might lead to new ideas for treatment.

Ultimately, we - society - should work on reducing the social stigma attached to addiction - sex or otherwise. Addiction is, after all, a recognized illness. It is not the fault of the addicts. If the social stigma is reduced, we will open ourselves up to a greater understanding of the problem. And with understanding comes better ways of dealing with the issues.

Kaleidoscopically yours,
Kirsten

Great responses here, but what happened to all the new submitters that chimed in only once or twice?  We had a dynamite turnout, but only three submitters.  Where the heck are the rest of you?

And for you three, great job!

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If I had the guts I would try...

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Re: Galveston Evacuees

Mike asked: Or does the safety of the citizens, even the stupid ones, take precedence over the safety of the first responders? Should they be expected to leap into flood water in the midst of a hurricane to save someone who was too stupid to leave before the storm hit?

Absolutely not! I am extremely sick and tired of watching this pathetic show on television. I'm sick of the 'someone needs/should help us' attitude of people that had ample time to evacuate. So once again the first responders are expected to risk their lives, not to mention potentially leave their families for weeks at a time or god forbid forever, to rescue nutcases that refuse to take care of themselves. - Laura in Minneapolis



Regarding the people who stay behind after being ordered to evacuate. I first noticed this with Katrina and all the work and money that went into rescuing these people.

I suppose there are people who have no means to evacuate - no car, no money, etc. I don't know if there is an answer. One part of me says that if they have to be rescued, they should be fined. I get really disgusted with people who will not prepare for their future, whether it's not saving money, not finishing school so they can get a half-way decent job, etc.

However another part of me realizes that not everybody has the same chance; they've been raised in ignorance - depending on other people (which is usually our government) to take care of them and knowing that someone (which is usually our government) will. So who can blame them?

The days of personal responsibility are declining. - Noella



First, sue for sexual harassment. Women can do that if a "B" word is used, so I'm sure you can, too.

I've written about the Weather Service before on my blog. They need to have something to say and so say it vehemently. Those of us with an ounce of sense know that some weather can be destructive, but the majority of the time, it's not. I lived in Ohio for most of my life. One day we did not have a tornado, although it was hard to tell.

The Weather Service behaves in such a way that it is presumed they are perfect prognosticators and exact historians. They are neither. Weather prediction is simply statistics and probability. That's how they come up with the chance of rain stuff. However, when seeing a massive cloud pattern from a satellite, even stupid people should be aware of the size thing. You see, size matters.

If you choose to stay in an unsafe place, when you were warned to get out of Dodge, then your safety should be second to the rescuers. If a town, like my sister-in-law's town, forces an evacuation when a tropical storm isn't even headed directly at them (and causing great loss to the tourist industry), the town coffers should pay for the inconvenience and if they need to countersue the Weather Folks, then I guess that's what they have to do.

Let me simplify. If people were mandated to evacuate for nothing, then this behavior should be punished. If there was cause to evacuate and you stayed, you should be punished.

And news agencies and weather folks who want to sit in the middle of a hurricane should be hit in the head with either flying bricks or baseball bats, whichever come first. Let's make it illegal for these dolts to stay behind. When the news people talk about car wrecks, they have a still life of a car crash behind their heads, just in case we don't know what one looks like. There can be a still picture of blowing palm trees and no live feed from the storms. This is stupid. Get out of town and stop all this hunkering. I, too, am sick of it. But I'm not a crusty old bastard. – Patti, in SC and in the path of storms



Mike, Thanks for opening up one of my frequent and favorite bitches to comment!
I suppose if you have been called a "Crusty Old Bastard", I can call myself a "Crusty Old Bitch". Having spent the last 3 days watching the devastation of Galveston, Houston, and others along the path of Ike, and the previous days of watching the devastation of Haiti, I have to wonder... does Texas really need to revamp its school system to teach common sense?

Surely more than 66% of its residents should be able to lay claim to a higher IQ than their common roadkill, the armadillo, which hasn't the intelligence to get out of the way of an 18-wheeler bearing down on it in the middle of the road. (Hmmm, a large danger, seen from a long way away...) Seriously, these people had to know a storm was coming their way.

Clips from Haiti's devastation were shown days before predicted landfall around Galveston. It was then predicted to hit Galveston within an hour of when it did.This storm was BIG! I heard Galveston news clips days earlier first urging people to leave, then making it mandatory, saying if you don't have the sense God gave an armadillo to get out of the path of danger, "We won't help you until it is safe for our crews". (Yet they were out the next day rescuing the idiots, instead of doing the numerous things you mentioned). Then the idiots decide to stay, without making ANY preparations.

After reading your blip Mike, this came on my puter: I am appalled at the woman that is crying because she ran out of food on Sunday, and her son needed to eat 4 times a day because he is diabetic, but she only had 2 days of food in her house, and NO water. Everyone seems to be clamoring for water, did they not think to store some in advance? Frozen gallon jugs of water will stay cold for at least 9 days in a cooler, if kept in some shade. This was proven this summer in Nevada at our camper for 2 weeks in over 105 degree heat. It was cool enough to drink comfortably after the entire 14 days.

No food? What about canned foods? Pack enough in another cooler to feed your family for a week, plus any meds your family might need. Coolers float, (even with that weight) and ropes keep them contained. This was proven to our family when our boat capsized in Blue Mesa Lake in Colorado on a camping trip. We did have a 40 pound bag of dog food in there also. All was dry and still floating when we reached shore.

Now what is to stop these imbeciles in Louisiana and Texas from preparing when they have so much advance notice? Lack of money? Buy 2 extra cans every time you go shopping and put them aside, in a cooler in your attic (IF you think your home will survive a tidal surge) with a rope tied to your roof. Clean out your milk jugs and fill them with water, freeze them in the weeks notice you have before you have a storm. Don't have an attic? Then GET OUT!!! Living thru the Northridge earthquake, and the Big Bear/Landers earthquakes in SoCal with our ALREADY PREPARED supplies has shown us how OUR own preparation for safety is our first concern, NOT pissing, moaning and whining to the government about lack of response to our stupidity, and demanding it take care of us.

Time to get off my soapbox trying to talk about the stupidity of Americans in disaster-prone areas. -NorCalKat



Re:  Reader Submission

Okay, Fellow RGQers, I need some advice.  Here's the situation, which I'll try to convey as simply as possible.

My next door neighbor and I began trading favors last fall. Her gas was cut off for a few weeks, so she'd shower at my place. Also, she was job searching and lost her cell phone service, so I let her list my home phone number on job apps. She'd repay me with home-cooked meals, which was fine with me, because I'm not much of a cook. After selling her truck and half of her possessions just to stay in her apartment, she finally started a job in early January. She got a roommate to share expenses with and although she was still struggling, her life did improve and she was much less dependent on me.

Several months ago, she told me that she was charged with conspiracy by the Feds because she made the mistake of living with some people who were involved in a theft ring. She didn't participate, she was just hanging with the wrong people. I didn't ask for any details, but something tells me I wouldn't have gotten much more out of her anyway.

Well, she was sentenced to 10 years in Federal prison (Sept. 5) and she has 30 days to turn herself in to authorities. Her lawyer is optimistic that he can get the sentence reduced to 5 years. Now, here's the kicker - she wants me to be her power of attorney while she's in there.
I have been unable to discuss the matter with her any further because she's gone all the time now and also, my Dad's only brother died the same day she was sentenced and I've been feeling like I a bomb dropped on me.

I feel for this woman because she lost her husband to a drunk driver and then lost their farm. Apparently, she's been struggling ever since. Her parents are dead, she has no children, no close friends and she isn't close to her only sibling.

What would be my responsibilities as her power of attorney? Would it be much of an inconvenience? Should I even agree to it? Help! - Pam in Arkansas

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Greetings, Quotaholics:

Sometimes trying to find something to write about can be a daunting task. These days the news deals primarily with politics and the economy. Since politics is off limits, maybe it's time to talk about the economy.

There doesn't seem to be much encouraging news these days. From tent cities of homeless people popping up in the cities, to continued bank failures, to buyouts and mergers of companies that were once thought to be the backbone of our financial industry. Now even investments that were considered "safe", like money market funds, are beginning to experience trouble.

I remember the stories my grandparents and parents told of the great depression. Bank failures, soup kitchens, joblessness, food shortages.... No wait that was yesterdays paper!

So what is the average person to do?

I've mentioned before that I've gotten to an age where retirement is beginning to be a not so distant goal. But like a lot of people my retirement is going to depend heavily on my 401K. Most of this money is invested in the stock market. I've watched it lose money for several years now.

I get quarterly statements on my account and it will lose money for two or three quarters then make money for a quarter. This keeps me hanging on hoping that everything is turning around and I need to stay in the market so I can earn money on the way back up. But now I'm wondering if there is going to be a "back up".

We're trying to become more self-sufficient. I've talked about our garden and canning more of our food. We've cut back on some of our expenses and are trying to pay off debt. But with prices going up there is less money to pay things off and none left to save.

So what can be done? Is there any investment that's safe? Do any of you have retirement funds that are invested? What have you done with yours?

Are any of you taking any steps to prepare for a worsening economy or do you think this is temporary? Do you think that it's possible that we could see a depression anything like the one in the 1930's?

Depressingly,

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Twenty years ago the county decided to widen the highway that runs past the entrance to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island. That included a new bridge over Battery Creek to replace the steel trestle bridge that went up in the early 1930's.

They started building the bridge from both sides of the creek and across the marsh. They put in pilings and then attached roadway sections. When they got close to putting in the last four roadway sections, they found that the road would be twelve feet off side to side and six feet off up and down. It took almost two months to correct. We now have a four lane highway with a dip and a kink…not enough to bother traffic, but enough to give it character.

What brought this to mind is an article in Ananova about a train tunnel that was constructed in Warsaw, Poland. When construction was complete, inspectors found that it was too small for trains to fit. Rail bosses claim the mix-up happened because workers who were laying new tracks didn't talk to the team that was building the tunnel.
"During work on the tunnel, tracks were laid down on newly-raised ground which meant the distance between the tracks and roof of the tunnel became shorter," said Polish Railways spokesman Marta Szklarek.

This seems to be more of continuing problem rather than an isolated incident. This "cock-up" is the latest in a series of public transport construction fiascoes in Poland.
A tunnel built recently to divert truck traffic in Warsaw turned out to be too low for trucks. Last year, the Polish road authority produced plans for two sections of major motorway that would have missed each other by five miles - each coming to a dead end in the middle of the countryside.

I don't want to pick on the Polish, I'm sure there are "cock-ups" of a similar nature that occur every day all over the world. It can occur for any one of several reasons. Two different construction companies on a project that don't talk to each other could be one reason. Two architects using different types of measurement; feet versus meters is another. Or it could occur if inspectors and construction crews have different versions of plans and blueprints.

It's a good thing runways don't have kinks in them, or high speed rail lines. Of course it would only take one test run to find and then correct, if the problem ever got that far. But roads are a different story, we expect them to twist and turn, so we don't pay that much attention to where they're going.

The Bad Sied 

Speak right up!

"A birthday is just the first day of another 365-day journey around the sun. Enjoy the trip."
~ Unknown ~

As I write this, it is 2:58 P.M. on Thursday, September 18th. Five years ago exactly, I was sitting in a wheelchair in hospital, comatose with exhaustion but unable to sleep. I was gazing at my newborn baby, who was lying in an incubator in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Born with extremely low blood sugar levels, his immune system needed to be protected for his first twenty-four hours outside the womb. Every now and then during that first day, my baby was taken out of the incubator and handed to me. I was allowed to nurse him and hold him for a while, and then he would be gently taken from my arms and laid back in his little centrally heated cocoon.

As I held him, I would look at him with utter disbelief at the miraculousness of it all. How was it possible for a human being to be so tiny and yet so perfectly formed? Was I really going to be able to keep this baby alive when he looked so vulnerable, so fragile and helpless? I felt that I would fine as long we were both in the hospital, but I had no idea what I going to do with this new baby when we got home. I realized somewhat belatedly that I had done tons of research about being pregnant, and no research about actual babies. Of course, I had not yet discovered that babies - even newborns - are a lot tougher than they look.

Fast forward five years. My tiny fragile baby is long-gone. In his place is a tall, lanky boy who can work the computer and the DVD player better than I can. There is not a single shred of fragility remaining; if he falls, he bounces right back up. If his little brother takes a toy from him, he gets it back and proceeds to hit said brother over the head with a Lego piece. He goes to school, picks out his own clothes, brushes his own teeth and gets his own apples from the fruit bowl. Even with his autism, he is gaining a little more independence every day. He is growing up a little more every day. When he's sleeping, I can sometimes see a hint of the baby he once was.

Because it's my son's birthday, I'm going to be giving his some presents and inducing sugar-highs in both of my kids with the help of chocolate cake. I therefore won't be writing an article tonight. I'll be too busy celebrating the fact that I have survived half a decade of parenting with a shred of sanity intact.

Kaleidoscopically yours,
Kirsten

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Greetings, Quotaholics:

I've never really liked milk. I know that as a child I drank it, but by the time I started school I didn't like it.

It's not that I'm lactose intolerant or anything like that. I like things made from milk, ice cream, custards, whipped cream, sauces, etc. I even eat milk on cereal, I just don't like the taste of straight milk. And when I say milk, I mean cow's milk. Don't even bother to offer me some other kind of milk like goat, sheep, buffalo, or yak.

I figure milk is made for babies and once you are grown you should drink something else and leave the milk for the babies. But in Switzerland a restaurant owner has decided that not only is milk good, human milk is better!

Oh don't worry, you can't go in and order a big glass full, but they are using it in place of cow's milk in their cooking.

According to an audio clip from WBBM News Radio in Chicago, the restaurant is using "...human breast milk wherever milk is called for in a menu item."

The restaurant, described as "exclusive", said they use at least 75% human breast milk in any recipe that calls for milk. It is used in soups, sauces, and stews, among other things.

The owner was quoted as saying "We're raised on it why should we not include it in our diet?".

Now I don't know about you but my first thought upon hearing about this was, "OMG! I think I just threw up a little".

But seriously, isn't this pretty gross? I mean it's probably not as disgusting to think that we would eat something produced by humans for humans as opposed to eating something produced by some great hairy beast intended for small hairy beasts. But still I don't think I could do it. Well, maybe straight from the faucet.......

At least there's one positive aspect to this. The owner is advertising to buy milk and is offering $6.00 for 14 ounces. Which brings up the question, how much does a woman produce in a day? Is there any way that a woman could make any money at this?

How about you? Would you even consider eating at this restaurant? Do you think using human milk should be allowed? Do you think it should be legal for a woman to sell her milk?

Grossed out,

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"He may be a son of a bitch, but he's our son of a bitch." – Franklin D. Roosevelt, on either Anastasio Somoza, dictator of Nicaragua, or Rafael Trujillo, dictator of the Dominican Republic

"It is an act of insanity and national humiliation to have a law prohibiting the President from ordering assassination." – Henry Kissinger, to President Ford, at a National Security Council meeting

E-Mail the Imp

Everyday we're coming closer to having autonomous robots and artificial intelligence coded into computers. At some point the two will match up and we'll have mechanical devices that can evaluate problems and solve them; and perhaps even create music and art or do original scientific research.

We've seen rudimentary interfaces between humans and computers where connections between the nervous system, and even the brain itself could be used to exercise control of computer functions. It is hoped that this type of research and experimentation will lead to quadriplegics being able to control a robotic exoskeleton that will allow them to have some semblance of a normal life.

The same research could one day allow a human/computer interface to have two way exchanges of data. Instead of sitting at a computer and Googling a request for locations of gentlemen's clubs that feature pole dancers, you could just think about it and be able to visualize maps and drool over promo dancer videos.

Jeremy Hsu, in an article for Space.com, suggests that the next step in the interface is a cyborg. For space exploration where long voyages to extremely dangerous places are concerned, robots are a safer and less expensive proposition than manned flight. Even with artificial intelligence in a robot it is felt that the human brain would be better suited to problem solving, ergo put a human brain in the robot to control everything…a cyborg; a "Frankenbot".

We've come one step closer to the "Frankenbot". Kevin Warwick, a professor at the University of Reading, is one of the principle architects of a robot that is controlled by living brain tissue. "The purpose is to figure out how memories are actually stored in a biological brain," he said. The neuron-powered machine's brain is stitched together from cultured rat neurons.

>From the very start, the neurons get busy. "Within about 24 hours, they start sending out feelers to each other and making connections," said Warwick. "Within a week we get some spontaneous firings and brain-like activity" similar to what happens in a normal rat -- or human -- brain, he added. But without external stimulation, the brain will wither and die within a couple of months.

Now that's eerie and disconcerting also. It makes you wonder how they'll experiment with human neurons and brain tissue. My immediate thought was, "How did the neurons react when they started to respond to stimuli?" Did they react as rats since they were rat neurons to start with?

If we ever build a human cyborg, will we use a transplanted brain or start with human brain tissue and let it learn like a human being? Will we teach it only science or will we teach it the arts also? Would a space exploring cyborg need to have the same human experience as a human to be successful? Would there be a way to ensure the cyborg doesn't develop mental disorders like real people? (Think of HAL in "2001- A Space Odyssey")

The Bad Sied 

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Email Kirsten

"Preconceived notions are the locks on the door to wisdom."
~ Merry Browne ~

Things aren't always what they seem. For instance, if you see a profoundly overweight person in a shopping mall, it would be wrong to assume that that person is a compulsive overeater. And if you see a child screaming in a grocery store, you're not necessarily witnessing a tamtrum borne of poor discipline. The child could have autism or some other developmental delay characterized by frustration.

If a man is a registered sex offender, that does not automatically make him either a pervert or a pedophile. Some time ago, I heard a story about a man who had been at a nightclub with his friends. When he went to answer the call of nature, he found a group of people shooting up drugs in the restroom. He retreated, and went to do his business in a patch of grass at the back of the building. Unfortunately, the alley he was in was not quite as deserted as he thought. A woman was walking past the building with her eleven-year-old daughter, who saw the man relieving himself. The mother reported the incident, and the man found himself being registered as a sex offender because a minor child had seen his mickey.

A couple of months ago, the Dr. Phil Show featured a story about a woman whose boyfriend was a registered sex offender. The woman had a three-year-old son, and the child's grandmother started making claims that the man was abusing him. She claimed that her daughter was being extremely irresponsible in moving a registered sex offender into her home, with constant access to a young child. She told Dr. Phil that the child was suffering from nightmares, that he was hostile towards his mother's boyfriend, and that the boyfriend was guilty of over-discipline. As the show progressed, it became fairly clear that the child was not experiencing anything beyond what most kids experience. Grandma's real issue was not the man's behaviour, but the fact that he was a registered sex offender.

On the face of it, I can understand the concern. After all, if someone has been registered as a sex offender, they clearly did something to deserve it. The authorities don't just randomly prowl the streets looking for people to register. And to most people's minds, exposing sex offenders to children can be a very risky proposition.

But as I said, things aren't always what they seem. Dr. Phil's guest was registered as a sex offender following a conviction of statutory rape several years previously. It was a story we've all heard dozens of times. Boy meets girl at a party. Girl claims to be nineteen. She looks and acts like she's nineteen. They go on a few dates, and one night they go to her parents' place and have sex on the couch in the basement. Dad comes down the stairs, catches them in the act, and informs the boy that his daughter is a month shy of her sixteenth birthday. A lawsuit is filed, and the young man finds himself slapped with a permanent stigma, even though he behaves impeccably from that point forward.

It seems to me that there is something wrong with the whole sex offender registration thing. On the one hand, we always say that when someone has served their sentence or paid their fine, their debt to society is paid. Making someone register as a sex offender flies in the face of that. Society is making them continue paying, even though they have already paid. On the other hand, if someone is a convicted pedophile, I would want to know if they were living next-door to me. Very clear statistics show that pedophiles have a very high rate of recidivism.

So while I think we need the ability to register sex offenders, the system is somehow lacking. It seems wrong to put a violent child rapist in the same category as someone who unwittingly pees in public or has sex with a fifteen-year-old who looks a lot older. Maybe we ought to colour-code sex offenders, so that the general public can have some idea of just how much damage they did.

Or is it OK to just judge someone on bare facts? I think not.

Kaleidoscopically yours,
Kirsten

There's some clever stuff here.

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Re: Money Matters

I started an ira for retirement and the stock market plummeted. I bought real estate, and that market crashed too. I just hope there are food stamps when I retire, if I ever do. We could have another depression. If we do, it will have been induced by our old buddies, the gov'ment. - Lucille



The 30's had some trouble with drought, as well as some market adjustments that were hard on most people who had only been taking advantage of the economy, not actually running it. Eighty years later, we have some drought, plus fires, floods, earthquakes, extinctions, hurricanes, tornadoes, novel insect infestations, dying pollinators, and a system of agriculture that is dependent, like the rest of the world economy, on oil that is quickly becoming scarce and unavoidably more expensive to produce. We are on the brink of a runaway catastrophe of global warming, and we have about four times as many people to feed. With the exception of a few marginalized efforts, we have been wasting all our opportunities to convert to a technology that we might reasonably expect our children to be able to enjoy. Instead, we have been handing them the bill for cleaning up after all our mistakes, along with the responsibility to develop and build a sustainable technology, using only a tiny fraction of what used to run so easily.

In the 40's, we used a World War to boost consumption, but now, the expense of war is ruinous, and it is in a positive feedback loop, as we try to bury our guilt under yet more corpses. I really don't see an exit strategy for this whole mess on the horizon at all - All the possible spoils of war would not fuel another 50's, on the scale that would be expected now. The west has had its party on credit, and all it has left is a bunch of nukes. Let's hope we don't try to use them for more leverage.

Two years ago, I moved from an area that imports food and fuel, to an area that exports them. I'm growing and gathering some of my own food, and my only investment is in 3-cylinder cars, although my house has also been appreciating very quickly. I'm planning to build a solar hot water heater, with some extra capacity for the house. I'd be converting to wood heat and power, but those CHP generators are more practical on a village scale, so I'm looking at a possible rural location where wind power would work well.

Given that my vocation is producing sustainable technology, the notion of retirement seems ludicrous. In another year, I might even be in demand. - Bob of the North
[I think we need you to give us some pointers on sustainable technology Bob.  I would really like to do some solar collectors and things like that but the cost is so high that I don't see it being worthwhile yet.  What's the most cost efficient thing that a person could do?]



Like you, we've watched our net worth decrease over the past few years. I don't think anyone is immune from the financial meltdown, although those who have a bundle put away feel it less. The parts of our money that are not going down are with insurance companies (as long as they don't go under). Our fixed annuity and insurance savings plan return just a hair under 6% -- obviously great compared to the stock market. And we've got an insurance program where the money we put in is guaranteed to increase in ten years, so that we'll be able to withdraw an amount equal to 10% of our original investment per year, as long as we live.

Other than that, we've started working with a very good network marketing company (no commercial here) -- one with a truly unique product and proven management team that will absolutely be around for decades to come. If you research the industry carefully and work diligently, you will have a financial safety net to counter problems in the economy in general. And the bonus is you get healthier in the process. And, unlike watching the news, you can actually control your future. - T.I.M.



Re: Vanna White

Vanna White is an interesting "Celeb". She's been around and been a fan favorite for 25 years with no scandal...amazing!

She's made a couple of $million$ being a clothes horse and turning letters around on a huge game board. In 2006, it was estimated that she made around $3M - $5M a year combining salary and endorsements. Not bad for a star struck girl from North Myrtle Beach.

She's getting a bit "long in the tooth" now, and I'm sure she'll be leaving the show soon. If she'd had succeded as an actress, she could look forward to acting roles well into her 70's if she wanted, but I doubt she'll get any offers. Her few film roles were less than memorable.

I wonder if she'll retire to become the Grande Dame of the Grand Strand? - sied



Re: Image

RGQ said, "Even seagulls can be magnificent!" Have you never heard of Jonathan Livingston Seagull? - Faithy in Baltimore - "Mine, Mine, Mine"
[I thought about that comment after I sent it.  I was trying to say that even the most commonplace creatures that we take for granted because of their ubiquity are wonders.]

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Greetings, Quotaholics:

These days it's not unusual to hear of a man having a sex change. It's gotten to be pretty common.

I can understand a person who has always felt they were trapped in the wrong body. Men who have always looked and felt feminine. Who were attracted to other men. I can see why they would want a sex change. And I've seen some who made much more attractive women than men.

What I don't understand are the men, of which there seem to be many, who are by all accounts normal heterosexual men who undergo sex change. Most end up being fairly unattractive women who are still attracted to women.

Today's source article, from ABC News, deals with such a man. David Schroer was married and had a successful career in the U.S. Army, rising through the ranks to become a Special Forces commander while leading a classified anti-terrorism unit involved in covert operations.

"That all changed when Schroer abruptly retired from the military and made a shocking announcement that stunned both his colleagues and family. He would no longer be Col. David Schroer, because he is now Diane Schroer, a transsexual."

"Schroer then began the long and painful process of becoming a woman, undergoing intense therapy and taking female hormones under medical supervision. He also started wearing makeup, and underwent extensive cosmetic surgery."

"But Schroer wasn't envisioning a sexual relationship with any men. Schroer is interested in dating women. `I would say I am, in fact, a lesbian,' she said."

So now Schroer is a lesbian. It might just be me but it seems that life as a man who occasionally wears women's clothes might be easier than being a somewhat unattractive lesbian. But what do I know.

Anyway that's not really what this is all about.

After retiring from the Army Schroer applied for, and was offered, a job as a terrorism analyst at the Library of Congress late last year. Because she was still legally David Schroer, she did not reveal her plans to her prospective employer during the interview.

"She decided to tell the woman who hired her that she would begin work as a woman, not a man. Schroer said it seemed as though the woman took the information in stride and that the hiring was going forward as planned. But the following day, Schroer said she was told that she was no longer `a good fit' for the position."

She filed a lawsuit claiming that she was discriminated against because she was transgendered.

This week the federal district court in Washington, D.C. ruled in her favor.

But that's not what this is about either.

What I wanted to write about is the fact that several lower courts had ruled against her. The lower courts ruled that the federal sex discrimination statute, Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, didn't apply to transgendered people. What this meant was that if you were transgendered, you could be discriminated against and there wasn't anything you could do about it!

The district court ruling is being called a "potentially groundbreaking" case in the field of civil rights.

Schroer said, "I very much hope that this ruling will help to eliminate the all-too-pervasive discrimination against sexually nonconforming people in all areas."

Does it surprise you that transgendered people were not covered by the 1964 Civil Rights Act? Just because nobody in 1964 thought to specifically mention them, doesn't it make sense that everyone was intended to be covered?

Do you think the Library of Congress was justified in retracting their job offer once Schroer revealed his/her plans to begin work as a woman? Do you think that if Mr. Schroer was qualified for the job it only stands to reason the Ms. Schroer was too? Do you feel that the federal district court made the correct decision in this case?

Touching up my makeup,

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"I have noticed even people who claim everything is predestined, and that we can do nothing to change it, look before they cross the road." - Stephen Hawking, English physicist, (b.1942)

"I think computer viruses should count as life. I think it says something about human nature that the only form of life we have created so far is purely destructive. We've created life in our own image." - Stephen Hawking, English physicist, ( b.1942)

E-Mail the Imp

Starting in the mid-1920's with the build-up of America's roads and the production of inexpensive automobiles like the Ford Model "A", families began taking weekend excursions by car and also vacations by car.

Roads were being built that would let a driver travel from coast to coast with hardly any navigation problems, or travel from north to south, north-east to south-west, or any other direction with a simple map showing the new "US Routes". Navigating around after you left the major highways was another story.

Local communities tapped into the business of tourism quickly. Enterprising businessmen built Motor Courts, the precursor of today's motels, to house the travelers, and all sorts of attractions to lure them off the highway. Some attractions were based on natures gifts; waterfalls, caverns, canyons, mountains, lakes etc. Some where based on the wild imagination of the locals, alligator wrestling, dinosaur bones, dancing bears, amusement parks, even restaurants that looked like apples, elephants, or whales.

The tourist trap was born. The types of tourist traps have changed over the years. There aren't very many whale shaped restaurants anymore, and the attractions are both larger and a bit more sophisticated and hi-tech. While the natural attractions like the Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, and Luray or Carlsbad Caverns are still in business, we now have new attractions like Disneyland, Sea World, and the MGM Grand Theme Park.

It's difficult for a small tourist attraction to compete. To be effective, it has to be unique. In Florida, alligator farms and alligator wrestling still draw tourists since there aren't very many alligators once you leave the Deep South. In California, tourists are still attracted to wineries and Redwood Forests. Old forts and ghost towns are still profitable also, but coming up with something new is difficult.

In the Ukrainian town of Truskavets, they may have come up with a new and unique idea to attract tourists. It is a tavern named Eternity, and it is the world's largest coffin. (Inside-outside pics) Inside, regular sized coffins will serve as tables, and it is the brainchild of a local group of undertakers led by Stepan Pyrianyk. I suppose if you can sit on commodes and eat out of bedpans and mini toilets in the "Modern Toilet Restaurant" in Taiwan, you can sit and drink in a coffin. (Restaurant Pics)

There's nothing in the article about how the waiters or waitresses (or is it wait-persons to be PC?) and bartenders will be dressed. I can imagine all black with pasty faces like Morticia and a mini-Lurch. There's no information on any signature drinks they may have in planning or what types of bar snacks might be served. I'll suggest a Dead Bastard or a Death Wish for a house special drink and pale ale to go with the pasty complexions.

As far as bar snacks go, I think they should pass on the peanuts and pretzels. They need to come up with some type of fried "Sail Rabbit" noshes. Here in the south that's an extremely polite euphemism for rabbit road kill. That means the rabbit has been run over so many times you can scrape it up with a putty knife and sail it like a Frisbee.

They also need to make sure they have a smoking section…where else would it be more appropriate to suck on coffin nails?

The Bad Sied 

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Kirsten's having computer problems.  She should be back Friday.

Another new submitter.  Welcome aboard, Nancy Lynn.

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Do you think using human milk SHOULD BE ALLOWED? Do you think it SHOULD BE LEGAL for a woman to sell her milk? (emphasis is mine).

Just because YOU are uncomfortable about something doesn't mean it should be ILLEGAL! I would much rather live and let live. If you don't want to eat food prepared with human milk, don't patronize that restaurant. There is no reason this should be ILLEGAL! When considering things such as human milk or toplessness, my question is always "What is the overwhelming State interest in making this illegal?" Usually there is none. - Doug from Plymouth, Minnesota
[Doug, thanks for the comment. It's always nice to see new folks jumping in.

I didn't say I thought using or selling milk should be illegal, I only asked what others thought. As I said, I don't like milk so the thought of human milk sounds pretty gross to me but that doesn't mean it should be illegal. However, I'd be willing to bet it is illegal in the U.S. In most parts of the U.S. it's illegal to sell unpasteurized cow's milk. I can't imagine any states allowing the sale of human milk. As a matter of fact, my understanding is that most areas that require topless dancers to wear pasties covering their nipples use the health codes to argue that something could drip from the breast and contaminate food or drinks if they're not covered. Anybody who's that scared of human milk sure wouldn't allow it's sale.]



Bizarre as it seems to be offering human milk, the Swiss restaurant stands alone in using common sense. Cow's milk was never intended for human consumption. It's been linked to osteoporosis, diabetes, cancer, and other diseases. And then there's obesity, and lactose intolerance. Humans are unique on this planet in that they drink the milk of another species. Just because we can force another creature to give up its milk (and its offspring) doesn't mean it's right.

Many children around the world have suffered because their parents believed that mother's milk wasn't right for them, when -- designed by nature -- it's the only thing that's right for them. Colostrum is a substance in mother's milk that gives a baby immunity and important nutrients. Yet our laziness/ignorance/gullibility has many mothers depriving their babies of the prime directive of breasts so that some manufacturer can make a profit. If we left the cow's milk to cows, we'd all be a lot healthier. But since your tax dollars help to convince kids from school age that we need cow's milk, we'll probably spend the next few centuries drowning in the white noise of the dairy airs... T.I.M.



I don't really see human breast milk as a "disgusting" thing. It has a different nutritional make up than milk from, say, cows or goats, which is why doctors encourage mothers these days not to feed a child cow's milk at an early age. Personally I consider the difference to be very small, but you know how protective people are.

Anyway, the point is that it's healthy, and the only thing stopping someone from having it is probably the fact that it's not sold nationwide, and perhaps the taste of it.

And then there's the social aspect of it.
Somewhere along the line, our society came up with the idea that, "Human breast milk is good for babies, but not allowed for older people." But why? I don't recall ever hearing reasoning for it, but I do remember seeing scenes that enforced this. In the 1989 film "Look Who's Talking," John Travolta is drinking a glass of milk and enjoying it. Then Kirstie Alley (I think) tells him it's breast milk. He spits it out like it's a urine sample at that moment.

Although I can see some troubles with how one might get a "constant supply" of breast milk. No real 100% steady sources, I think. - David, 22, Pennsylvania.



I've enjoyed a taste or two from my wives and girl friends over the years as part of sexual foreplay. I never thought about using it in cooking, let alone calling the gal over and asking for a squirt in my coffee. Apart from the shivering thought of mother's milk in my sausage gravy or breakfast, I'd wonder about the source of the juice.

If I buy "Moo Juice" at the store, there's a bunch of checks and balances and inspections to ensure the purity of the product and an expiration date on the container. Admittedly that doesn't always guarantee a safe product. But in the case of this restaurant, what regulatory controls exist for ensuring the safety of the Mother's Milk supply? I sure wouldn't want to tackle a bowl of Cream of Mushroom soup laced with an HIV positive crack whore's lactation. Makes you wonder if he's putting any additives in his egg whites. - sied
[The source of the milk would be a big concern for me too sied.  Although most guys aren't real picky about who they have sex with so why should they be that picky about who their milk comes from?  Most (not all, but most) guys wouldn't have sex with a cow but they drink their milk!

And on behalf of myself and the rest of the group I'd like to say, the egg white comment might keep me from ever eating out again!]

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Greetings, Quotaholics:

I have always tried to keep RGQ apolitical.  While there is a political component to many of the pieces run here, we don't get into the "rotten Democrats, stinking Republicans" kind of thing here.  I've always believed there are millions of other places on the web for that sort of thing, and RGQ is refreshing because it's not part of the dialogue.

Occasionally I bring up an issue like electronic voting machines because it transcends simple politics.  We're all affected by it, regardless of ideologies.  The current financial crisis certainly qualifies.  The unbelievably enormous figures of $700,000,000,000 to $1,200,000,000,000 that are being bandied about literally stagger the imagination.  The numbers are simply numbers.  The enormity of what is spoken of is truly inconceivable, and when they come for the money, it doesn't matter a whit whether you're conservative or liberal, black or white, young or old.  They're coming for it and they'll get it.

Bloomberg.com is reporting on another looming financial crisis that's receiving scant attention when it should be front page news.  I'll try to synopsize it briefly, but it doesn't look good for the home team (us).

In 1934, in the wake of the Great Depression, the Federal Deposit Insurance Comnpany (FDIC) was formed to prevent the runs on banks that occurred after the crash of Oct. 1929.  It required banks to pay insurance premiums to a government-backed insurance company, and made it possible to guarantee the deposits of individuals up to $100,000. 

The Bloomberg report indicates that the FDIC itself now may fail, and if it does, taxpayers may be on the hook for another $150,000,000,000.  I'm writing these figures with zeroes in order to try to demonstrate how huge they really are.

This quote from Bloomberg is particularly distressing.

"By the end of 2009, about 100 U.S. banks with collective assets of more than $800 billion will fail, predicts Christopher Whalen, managing director of Institutional Risk Analytics, a Torrance, California-based firm that sells its analysis of FDIC data to investors."

What?  We're asked to put up as much as $1.2 trillion dollars in September of 2008, we may have to put up another $150 billion to bail out the FDIC, and even with all that, another $800 billion is going down within a year?

Shouldn't this all be part of the current debate?  Don't we have the right to understand the full enormity of what is facing us?  And what should we do?  What if we did nothing?  Can this country survive with this level of debt?  After all, as individuals we understand how crushing debt can be, when every penny you earn is being demanded to pay for past expenses.  Our tax money must first go to paying off the debt before one nickel is left over for any current spending.  So we have to borrow more money to finance the defecit, and the debt limit inexorably rises.

What about asking how this happened?  Nowhere is it mentioned in the press how we got here, except with bland, undefined terms like "mismanagement", and occasionally "greed".  Why isn't that THE center of this debate?  After all, how can you fix something when you don't understand what's wrong with it?  Does it make sense to throw such incredible sums to "save" something that seems beyond saving if those predictions are correct?  And does anyone believe that paying the current numbers will end the bleeding?  Do you know how the money is to be spent?

Because this has such incredible implications that affect everyone, I'm going to suspend my ban on political comments, but only if you can provide links and documentation to back up what you say.  I'm not taking blanket comments condemning one party or candidate or another as stupid, dumb, corrupt, etc.  I'm gonna play this as straight as I can, but I need your cooperation, too.  If you can offer factual insight I want to hear what you have to say. 

If you can't back up a claim or prove a point, then don't make it.  It's really that simple.  You're welcome to write about your own personal experiences, but we need to understand what the hell happened and what it really means to real people.  Others aren't doing the job for us.  This is a serious crisis, and we need serious thoughts, information, and suggestions.

Insolvently,

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"When the President does it, that means that it's not illegal." - Richard M. Nixon

"When a man comes to me for advice, I find out what kind of advice he wants and I give it to him." - Josh Billings

E-Mail the Imp

I love the Australian news services; they seem to be able to find interesting news items that are also a bit bizarre. The latest article that I found to be a bit strange concerns animal rights.

For several years there have been clashes over the use of animals in medical experiments, abuse of animals in the entertainment industry, and abuse of working animals. What one person or organization considers abuse may just be the norm that has existed for years in that particular area. The fur industry comes to mind. We…humans…have been stripping the fur and hides off animals for tens of thousands of years but only recently has it been considered abuse by some.

I think dressing your puppy or kitty up in cute outfits is animal abuse, but I'm not going to run around trying to liberate dressed up Shih Tzus or Chihuahas.

Switzerland has always seemed to me to be a stable country, with a population that is level headed and not prone to the common idiocies that appear in other European countries. Their government has also seemed to be staid and not prone to making changes in policy or procedure based on momentary whims of the public.

The government of Switzerland has come up with legislation concerning animal rights that has me wondering how much marijuana smoke seeped into the air conditioning system of the Federal Assembly offices while this law was being conceived.

Not all of the law is explained in the artcle, but there's enough explained concerning fish, both wild and domestic, to make you think the legislative body was high on weed or strung out on speed when they signed off on it.

If you go fishing, you can't use live bait. So bash your bait to death and use it in chunks. They put a stop to recreational fishing, no more "catch and release". There was no information about how to handle fish that were under sized…so I suppose you get to take them home also. I suppose that if you catch something other than what you're fishing for yoy have to put that in your creel for take-home also. I can't imagine fishing for perch and getting stuck taking home some damned eels I didn't want.

As for those goldfish in your house, you can't just flush them down the toilet anymore. You have to knock them out, then kill them, then flush them. Although the article doesn't state it, I presume this procedure would apply to all tropical fish pets.

This last bit makes me think of bizarre things. Will the sporting goods companies be marketing miniature saps and billy clubs so you can knock out your fish? Will the government be publishing a "How To" manual for applying effective knock-out techniques for different fish species? Will there be accepted methods for applying the coup de grâce? I can't imagine that such a caring legislative body would condone immolation, electrocution, or stomping under one's heel as a humane way to dispatch a cherished pet.

Lastly, how will the government enforce this new law? How are they going to police the fisherpersons who may practice "catch and release" clandestinely? How will they monitor who is sneaking goldfish into the bowl with a wad of toilet paper after a heavy dump? They're either going to have to hire a bunch of game wardens or mount a lot of surveillance cameras, both inside and outside of homes, or both. Sure sounds a lot like the CCTV surveillance in the UK and their ubiquitous parking attendant gnomes.

The Bad Sied 

Patty has some thoughts about being blind, and shares a humorous story as well. Thanks Patty. Enjoy your 15 Minutes of Fame.

Well, now I have a sort of new/old topic to talk on today! Get ready A-men corner!
I'm going to copy and paste an article I wrote for a different article source and let yawl laugh along with the rest of every one else, and then at the end, I have a question for you, if I can remember it after I laugh again!

Well this after noon Rowdy and I took a nap in the sunshine. Then I came in, and he finished his nap under the fan while I took a long soke in the tub. Then I realized that we were out of dog food, and so I took a long walk with Rowdy and ended up at Donnie's knocking on the door. When he opened it I said in Rowdy's voice, "May I borrow a half a cup of Dog Food or so"?

Donnie laughed and got the food for him, and after we chatted a bit, and Cassie and Rowdy sniffed and kissed each other, and Cassie hopped up and down and said, "Daddy, let him in I want to play"! about ten thousand times, we went along our way.

Once outside, Rowdy just couldn't wait to get into that Dog Food, and so I put some out on the sidewalk and let him eat out for a change. Lol!

Any how as I was leaving from there some guys stopped me at the bottom of the ramp leading out to the main sidewalk.

One said, "You can't make a Beagle Dog mind". I laughed, a bit aggravated, but nicely smiling, and said, "Sure I can, I do it every day".

Then the other dumber of the two said, "Are you blind"?

I again while smiling nicely, and biting my tongue a bit said, "yes, all my life". I stopped myself from saying, "All my life, want to fight about it"? LOL!

Anyhow, then the other, almost dumber of the two says, "Does that work"?

I thought, that I was gonna scream, but I asked, not really wanting to know, "Does what work"?

He said, "That stick"? (My Cane) I laughed and said rather meanly, "Depends on what I use it for"!

That stopped the conversation cold! LOL!

I love it, ask a stupid question! I'll be happy to answer in a way you'll surely understand! LOL!

Now, here's my question. After my article on Blind Pedestrians, and other things like, when the police themselves did not know that I was blind, well do people still not get it? Are blind persons, and other persons with other disabilities ever going to be put out of the minority scene? Are people ever going to know what a real guide dog looks like?

I mean come on! Rowdy Dog is my sweetest Beagle Baby Dog! He's my bestest friend in the whole wide world, but he's not a guide! He doesn't have a harness! He doesn't wear a sign! He doesn't get to go all places with me, and he can not even ride the town bus system where I live because he's nothing more than a companion dog!

My point is this, people ought to know just by looking at me, and my red and white cane that I am blind, they ought to know by seeing Rowdy Dog and his appearance and behavior that he is not a specially trained dog, and people ought to have enough sense to not ask me stupid....ed! questions like, "Does that work"? when referring to my cane. They ought to be prepared to find out whether my stick works, and how it might have other really neat uses! LOL! laughing so hard that I almost gotted lost with this one!

My true point is this! Here's what I want yawl to know. Oct. is Blindness awareness month. Please? Please? get a book from the library, go and visit a blind workshop, go and visit a blind school in your state capital!

Oopsy? Did you not know those existed? Oh! dear, did you think that blind kids stayed at home and did not go to school? Oh! yeah, did you not know that there were blind workshops? Did you ever wonder if that CRS person on the other end of the line when you're ordering your Christmas presents from some catalog company might just be blind? Did you know that I can work a phone system with five lines all ringing at once with no special ring tones to separate them, and still keep them straight?

People who have a difference in they way they see, walk, talk, and or hear. Well, they're not stupid, folks, they just do things differently than you! Get a grip folks, and learn something new today! - Patty, Celine Kitty, the Rowdy Dog, and the Tazz

Email Kirsten

"It's hard for me to get used to these changing times. I can remember when the air was clean and sex was dirty."
~ George Burns ~

You know you're getting old when you start sentences with phrases like, "In my day..." and "The trouble with the youth of today...". I used to swear high and low that I would never talk like this, but that was a long time ago. It was back in the day when my Dad used to boast that when he was a kid, he had to walk to and from school every day. Five miles there and five miles back, barefoot in knee-deep snow. It somehow failed to register on my young mind that since this was South Africa, with an average snowfall of half an inch every twenty years, this story was probably somewhat exaggerated. In my Dad's case, though, this cliche probably did have an element of truth. He and his two siblings were raised by a single Mom in the years during and immediately following World War Two - a set of circumstances invariably leading to financial hardship.

Now that I am older, and arguably wiser, I find myself telling people that when I was a kid, twenty cents would buy me candy, a comic book, a bottle of Coke, a glow-in-the-dark yo-yo, an ice cream, and a ticket to the zoo, and still leave me with enough to save ten percent of my earnings. When my two boys are old enough to be regaled with my tales of how cheap things used to be, they will no doubt groan and roll their eyes and tell me that they will never engage in conversations like that when they're grown-up. Then, thirty years from now, they will be writing an article similar to this one.

Every now and then something happens to remind me that I am firmly entrenched in the "sandwich generation" (too old to be called young; too young to be called old). There is the simple fact of the circumstances in my life. I have almost twenty years' experience in my industry; I have one parent who is deceased and one who is over the age of 70; I am rapidly approaching the age where I should undergo annual breast cancer screening; my husband and I are frequently in conversations where someone says, "You won't believe who had a heart attack last week".

Apart from all that, though, there are sometimes specific events that remind me of my age. A couple of weeks ago, for instance, I was stopped behind a school bus that was discharging passengers. They were rowdy high school kids - maybe sixteen or seventeen years old. The girls were clones of each other - long, straight hair that somehow looked immaculate despite the wind that was blowing; flawless makeup; fashionable T's; jeans that stopped just short of being indecently tight. The boys were either tall, gangly and awkward, as if they didn't know what to do with their long limbs, or they were short, muscular and compact. The last person to get off the bus was a boy who was the ideal of physical perfection. Tall, muscular, perfectly proportioned, warm easy-going smile. Before I could stop the thought, I said to myself, WOW! I wouldn't kick him out of bed for farting!

As quickly as the thought arrived, I banished it, mortified at myself for having allowed it to formulate in the first place. I mean, I'm old enough to be this boy's mother! Now, there's a concept I was not comfortable with. I'm actually old enough to be the mother of someone about to finish high school. Ga-a-ack! Old age alert! OK, I appreciate that I'm not old enough to be an exhibit in the Natural History Museum, but still.

Earlier this week as I was waiting to board a subway train during rush hour, I felt someone pinch my backside. I turned around and saw a bevy of schoolboys laughing raucously, trying not to make it obvious that they were looking in my direction. They were about fourteen, and wore identical uniforms with shirts half tucked in, identical bad haircuts, and identical inane grins reminiscent of a stereotypical village idiot. It was clear that one of them had pinched my butt as a dare, but since they all looked the same, I had no way of identifying the culprit. Well, this was just great. Now I'm old enough for my ass to be the subject of a teenage boys' dare.

I take comfort, though, from the fact that with age comes certain benefits. Young people may have the vitality of youth and all that, but I've got the kind of knowledge that can only come with life experiences, my car insurance is lower than theirs, I don't have to waste time keeping up with the latest fashion trends, and I no longer have to navigate the dating jungle.

Now, can you believe that a loaf of bread costs over two dollars now? Back in my youth, we only paid... OK, I'll shut up now.

Kaleidoscopically yours,
Kirsten

A great turnout today!

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