Spinning Djinn, or an update on my health.

I'm still dizzy. Ditzy, too, but that's for a different post. The weekend before last I drove (or rather, was driven (thank you, George)) out to my company's retreat about an hour away in the Columbia gorge. There was, of course, a traffic accident somewheres along the way -- hour delay. I was late, walked into a room full of people being lectured about something or other having to do with dividing us all up into four separate communications styles. The room was big, with a high ceiling. I put my head in my hands for about 30 minutes, and then bolted. Now many people at my firm either think I'm asocial/nuts or are in on the secret that I've got something wrong with me. Not with me, so much; rather with my equilibrium. I was devastated. For one reason, I saw this as a dry run for my upcoming trip to Utah to my very good friend Jen's wedding. Not looking good.

I came back home to Portland, tried once again to get that referral from my ENT to a Neurologist--hasn't happened yet, and called my regular Dr. once again. My dizziness has been going from bad to worse and back to bad again in the course of a day, as I explained to him. In response, he took me off the alprazolam I've been on for going on 7 months and put me on another K--uh--lam, which, he explained, had a longer dwell time in my system. Picking up the new drug at the pharmacy (they said 20 min. wait, took an hour--We can't believe we're this busy!--I blame the 4th of July weekend) I again read the really scary list of side effects of my meds, the main one being addiction. So... I thought, and thought, took one of the new meds and promptly got sick. Perhaps the reason for the swings during the day was the medication itself--i'd been on it long enought now to be addicted. I spent the July fourth weekend detoxing. Yes, dear reader, I stopped my meds cold. Wikipedia says symptoms may include anxiety, dizziness (wha?), appetite loss (huzzah!), insomnia, hallucinations--i'm bored--you get the idea, wasn't a pleasant time. Now, at the other end, I'm still dizzy (does it sound cooler if I say I have vertigo instead?), but without the dramatic ups and downs. I'm no sicker now than before. Improvement? Perhaps.

I can get through a work day sitting quietly in my dark lair of an office. Having to venture out into the flourescent-lit hallways does me in--I come home too sick to do anything but type in the occasional blog post. This may be why there are so many of them. Upside, no cooking, cleaning, weeding... (I did pull a few weeds this weekend before George caught me and reminded me how sick it made me, but still, yay me!)

So, no trip for Utah; thus, no wedding for me. Too sick. So sorry Jen, plus, just darn darn darn darn.

Nietzsche updated for the new century.

Can I has Superman?

And with this I say a fond farewell to my LOLcats period.

Iraq to US--U can go nao, kthxbye.

Prime Minister al-Maliki won't sign an agreement to allow US troops to stay in Iraq without a timetable for withdrawal: "The goal is to end the presence (of foreign troops)."

In response, the White House states (and this may be a paraphrase, but only barely) "uh, he didn't really mean that."

Other breakup lines Iraq might try:
We have to break up, America, because I'm gay.
It's not you, America, it's me.
My schedule is really busy right now, but maybe next Millenium.
You're Drunk (on power.) Time to go home. I'll call a Taxi.

A funny thing happened on the way to the gas pump

Oil is not priced like most sane goods. The price is not a buyer, say, me, will pay today to a seller with a gallon of crude. Rather, the price is an average of the futures contracts for some percentage of the world's supply. Got that? The price is what people think it will cost off into the future, not what someone will pay right now. (I'm having trouble finding links, but this is the way it works, baybee--I used to work for an energy company and wrote rather bewilderingly complex spreadsheets to determine this stuff--I'm looking, google, don't let me down......) Ahh, here's something. Notice, the futures contract price is the same as the spot price (actual cost) for "light sweet crude) in OK.

Because the price (and this is the actual price) we all hear quoted on the radio is unrelated to the price some average jo would pay, Oil is destined to bubble.

Plus, Oil does not require inventory. If no demand, the producers just don't pump it out of the ground. So, there's no pile-up of inventory when the price outpaces the demand.

If oil was considerably overpriced, and if the price was not set by the consumer, then you would expect that at some point, buyers couldn't find sellers.

Here's one, Iran.

Here's an entire blog that discusses these ideas rather exhaustively. As a disclaimer, the geologists I worked with seemed to think that oil had peaked around 1998 (unlike the website I linked to here) however, the current drastic run up in price is a bubble. It will go down prior to its slow, steady rise back up.

Bush misquotes Jefferson on the 4th.

Thomas Jefferson said:

May it be to the world, what I believe it will be, (to some parts sooner, to others later, but finally to all,) the signal of arousing men to burst the chains under which monkish ignorance and superstition had persuaded them to bind themselves, and to assume the blessings and security of self-government.

Bush, in quoting, said:

"May it be to the world, what I believe it will be -- to some parts sooner, to others later, but finally to all -- the signal of arousing men to burst the chains, and to assume the blessings and security of self-government."

Shall we assume Bush is for "monkish ignorance and superstition?"

Stolen, shamelessly, from Ed Brayton. Thank you.

Cleanliness leads to sickliness

I confess, straight up, that I have bad allergies, so I am rather interested in why my body would decide that perfectly harmless substances (eggs, chocolate) are life-threatening.


Perhaps, this is explained by the Hygiene Hypothesis--kids who grow up surrounded by more pollution have less asthma and allergies than those that grow up in more desirable circumstances. Growing up with insufficient exposure to dirt gives us a bored immune system. It must find something to do...Ah ...ha! No Peanuts for You!


New research shows that roundworm infections (ewww, gross, but roundworms activate the histamine response, the same response that runs amok to create allergies) lessens allergy & asthma attacks--presumably gives our poor bored immune system something productive to do. I say let's just teach it to surf the net.


When cleanliness goes terribly wrong; Ukrainian Eurovision entrants; clearly the result of overzealous scrubbing--how else would everything be so shiny?
PS. This video is quite possibly my current fave on the intertubes.

How to tell if you've materially supported a terrorist organization

Or, Dinner at the Kafka Cafe.

Check your political affiliation--

Are you a Republican, then no; well, maybe, but we'll let you off this time.
One of John McCain's top fundraisers paid 1.7 million dollars to a right-wing Colombian death squad. Woops. They did have to pay a fine. Poor things.

Not Republican? Then, quite possibly, Yes.

For example, here's the story of an Iraqi woman who has been denied refugee status because she paid ransom to a terrorist organization to free her kidnapped son. The ransom was the material support.

If your wife and children are kidnapped by a terrorist organization and are forced to carry water for them, then, tough. The water-carrying is "material support." There is no provision for duress.

Even if an organization isn't declared terrorist when you donate to it, if the US determines that it is at some time in the future, congrats! You're guilty!

"How should I reasonably have known of their activities before the U.S.?"

Here's the law. Vague? Somewhat?

International dispute resolution and bake-off

Billlee in the comments suggested that international disputes should be settled by interpretive dance. I think that there's an existing program that would work even better. A sing-off! All we have to do is expand the Eurovision song contest to include a few more states and raise the stakes just a tiny bit.

The Eurovision Song Contest (French: Concours Eurovision de la Chanson)[1] is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU)....The Contest has been broadcast every year since its inauguration in 1956 and is one of the longest-running television programmes in the world. It is also one of the most-watched non-sporting events in the world.

So, for example, with the oil laws now being negotiated in Iraq between the Gov't and, uh, us (read various oil companies) we just have the main parties (Iraq and the oil companies) have a sing-off! Spangly costumes and back-up dancers required.

The pic's of Lordi, last year's winner. From Finland.

Here's the French entry from last year, just to get us all in the appropriate mood. As a bonus question (prize to be determined later) what animal does the bald lead singer have sewn onto his shoulder? A weasel, perhaps?

My garden

Pic by GeeBee; also, all work required for upkeep of said garden by GeeBee.

The old, yet ever popular lie--It is good and just to die for one's country

Dulce Et Decorum Est

...

GAS! Gas! Quick, boys!-- An ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
And floundering like a man in fire or lime.--
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.

In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.

...
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.

Wilfred Owen

The virtue of the vicious - Oscar Wilde's def. of Patriotism

I've always found the idea of patriotism terrifically distasteful.

Patriotism writ small --
I remember thundering student football assemblies in High School designed to whip up what can only be described as "hate" against the opponent high school. Chance geographical location = required disdain. I persuaded a handful of friends (preen, preen) that they were the equivalent of Nuremberg rallies; we all ditched, in the name of international peace.

Patriotism writ large --

Freedom fries? Remember? Why did we invade Iraq? My country right or wrong? How many Iraqis dead (1M+) or displaced (5M+)? If this is patriotism, not for me.


Quoting a vet I heard on the radio, Chance Cox; "I look at my American flag and think: "Not that good, not that bad." Kudos.

Simple rule for being happy

Live in Denmark!

From the world happiness survey:
"The results clearly show that the happiest societies are those that allow people the freedom to choose how to live their lives."

Happy birthday Theory of Evolution and gigantic Siberian blast!

<


One Hundred and Fifty years ago today, July 1, 1858, Charles Darwin and Alfred Russell Wallace read their papers (Darwin first!) describing the Theory of Evolution--the modern world was born.

One hundred years ago today, (in Pacific Northwest time) a mysterious gigantic explosion rocked Siberia, the Tunguska event; estimated to be 1000 times as strong as the atomic bomb that devastated Hiroshima.

Happy cataclysmic July! May yours be less interesting.

McCain vs. Clark

Everyone and their pet robot seems to be tripping over themselves to distance themselves from General Clark's comment that McCain was "Untried and untested" on matters of national security. McCain was a POW for five years, a true war hero.

McCain graduated almost last from his class at Annapolis, was seen by his flying instructors as an abysmal student, but still managed to land one of the most coveted positions in the Navy, aircraft carrier pilot, where he proceeded to crash three navy planes (because he just couldn't fly.) (This doesn't count the other two plane crashes he was in, but did not cause.) Think having a four star general father helped his career?

Plus, he has confused Shia and Sunni at least three times this year.

Clark was valedictorian of his class at West Point, was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to the University of Oxford where he obtained a degree in PPE (Philosophy, Politics & Economics), and later graduated from the Command and General Staff College with a master's degree in military science. He spent 34 years in the Army and the Department of Defense, receiving many military decorations, several honorary knighthoods, and a Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Clark commanded Operation Allied Force in the Kosovo War during his term as the Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO from 1997 to 2000.

(Wikipedia)

Go Gen. Clark!

Tyson Homosexual, sprinter. Marvin Homosexuale, singer.

Useful tips: on your news site automatically replace all instances of words you don't like (gay) with more descriptive terms (homosexual).

(Stole the Marvin line from Janine, at pharyngula. )