So there's been mouse sightings in my workplace. I know this because of the ear-piercing shrieks that come from the women I work with when they catch sight of mice. The otherwise sensible woman I work next to is rendered nearly inconsolable when a mouse appears. More than once when there's been a sighting of these little rodents work has, for those women, ground to a halt as they scream, discuss their terror with other women, jump at every unexpected movement, and pull their feet up onto their chairs.
Now, as a concerned and indeed compassionate adult, after a mouse sighting I take great time and care to make sure these women hear what they need to hear: that they are complete pansies and absolutely entertaining to me in their terror. And, no, I'm not kidding, I rail on these women for being afraid of a thing the size of my Mr. Potato-moto chip-clip. Seriously, the biggest mouse we've seen is, including the tail, maybe the length of one of my fingers.
Maybe I'm just a jerk, but I cannot get worked up over a tiny rodent and find it silly that other people do. A spider the size of my finger would concern me a bit; a wasp that big would get me to arm myself with smashing weapons; but a mouse? A cute little mouse? No. I had lots of little pets when I was a child, including mice, and have seen adorable little rats and whatnot as a grown man. Sorry, not scary. Startling when you're not expecting them, certainly. But that startled turns to "aww" very quickly for me.
One important detail to this story is that in all these scream-inducing mouse sightings, I have barely ever even gotten the slightest glimpse of the little bastard. I think they're adorable, so that annoyed me. However, since the mouse generally ignored me, I didn't hold much hope of seeing one.
Then I neglected to put my breakfast bars into plastic tubs! I didn't see a mouse, but I saw the signs of the little guy eating my breakfast bars. Rather than throw them out immediately, I decided to wait and see if I could see the little guy. And, with my continued neglect of throwing mouse bait out, today I finally got to see the little dude! Twice! And he was a tiny, adorable little mouse who ran away from me with all possible speed.
Obviously, as I value my ears, I haven't told anyone this. The women would either freak out or get mad at me for taunting my mouseless fate; everyone else would just tell me to stop it since it's hard enough to get rid of mice as it is. But, through a combination of neglect and patience, I finally got my very own mouse sighting here at work that didn't involve screaming.
And, yes, I threw away the mouse bait. Otherwise I'd probably get more screaming at some point soon.
March 7, 2011
February 16, 2011
The common cold
Everybody's had a cold and nobody like them. Everybody has their own remedies for colds and no one agrees on which ones work. Well, as it turns out, there is evidence based science that tells us what works.
What works: aspirin and other such pain pills; antihistamines combined with decongestants; possibly hot liquids; irrigating the nose with a neti pot may also work. That's it.
What doesn't work: basically everything else. That's right, no echinacea, no vitamin C, no boiled limes, no nothing.
My source is Science Base Medicine's Treating The Common Cold post. It's really depressing, but nothing works on the common cold because the common cold is a freaking badass apparently. Science may sometimes depress me, but at least they aren't telling me to drink disgusting tinctures and cod liver oil. At least, they aren't telling me to do so without good evidence anyway. What's your favorite cold remedy?
What works: aspirin and other such pain pills; antihistamines combined with decongestants; possibly hot liquids; irrigating the nose with a neti pot may also work. That's it.
What doesn't work: basically everything else. That's right, no echinacea, no vitamin C, no boiled limes, no nothing.
My source is Science Base Medicine's Treating The Common Cold post. It's really depressing, but nothing works on the common cold because the common cold is a freaking badass apparently. Science may sometimes depress me, but at least they aren't telling me to drink disgusting tinctures and cod liver oil. At least, they aren't telling me to do so without good evidence anyway. What's your favorite cold remedy?
February 15, 2011
Aural fixation
Though I am sure you're probably thinking, "Tee hee, oral fixation," no, this post really is about my aural fixation, that is, my fixation with sound. The first, and most obvious part of my fixation is my musical tastes. I don't just like music. I like all kinds of music, a little bit of almost everything. Music can make me energetic, angry, sad, even bring me to tears. I love music and though I can't spend all my time on it, I listen to music every day.
One of those things about a movie, or tv show or video game that can make or break it is the score. An excellent example of a game made incredible is the original Halo game. That score is dark and beautiful, evoking feelings of sorrow, horror, rage, and righteous might. It's been out for years, but every single time I listen to that track, it takes me back to playing that game. If you've never heard the score and like orchestral music, I highly recommend it.
As a more recent example, thanks to the horrible time sink that is Netflix, I found an anime I'd never heard of called Mushi-Shi. On the face of it, it's a series of disjointed stories with little more than a main character to string them together. It's not very anime of an anime, if that makes any sense, but the idea you get is that the show is supposed to be either creepy or just interesting. It's the music that takes this show to new heights. In the show episodes that are meant to be creepy are made so much creepier by the music while the interesting episodes are still brilliantly scored if less creepy. The music makes you love and hate the characters just right. It's scary good.
I can love a crappy move if the score is good (like Crank) and can despise an anime series if the music is horrible (like Blade of the Immortal). Anyway, that's my take on it. Do you ever feel the same?
That's a bit less maudlin of a post, yes?
One of those things about a movie, or tv show or video game that can make or break it is the score. An excellent example of a game made incredible is the original Halo game. That score is dark and beautiful, evoking feelings of sorrow, horror, rage, and righteous might. It's been out for years, but every single time I listen to that track, it takes me back to playing that game. If you've never heard the score and like orchestral music, I highly recommend it.
As a more recent example, thanks to the horrible time sink that is Netflix, I found an anime I'd never heard of called Mushi-Shi. On the face of it, it's a series of disjointed stories with little more than a main character to string them together. It's not very anime of an anime, if that makes any sense, but the idea you get is that the show is supposed to be either creepy or just interesting. It's the music that takes this show to new heights. In the show episodes that are meant to be creepy are made so much creepier by the music while the interesting episodes are still brilliantly scored if less creepy. The music makes you love and hate the characters just right. It's scary good.
I can love a crappy move if the score is good (like Crank) and can despise an anime series if the music is horrible (like Blade of the Immortal). Anyway, that's my take on it. Do you ever feel the same?
That's a bit less maudlin of a post, yes?
Goodbye
Last year, which I really do have to say now, I dated a woman who I had a great time with. Things took a surprising and unfortunate turn for the worse and we sadly but amicably parted ways. Though I'd felt strongly towards her, I figured I'd get over it quickly as we'd only dated for almost two months.
Here I am many months later and I still haven't gotten over her. She's been hovering in my thoughts for this entire time and despite my attempts to move forward, something's kept her there. I'm fairly sure I know what it is now, and I think I know what I need to do... I need to say goodbye.
I did say goodbye to her, but I didn't get to say everything I needed to say. Now I need to say them. I don't know if she ever even got this blog location, or if she did if she follows me or not. I wouldn't if I were her. So me posting this may be just talking to myself. But I think it's important that I put into words what I need to say. Writing what I need to say has a permanency to it that thinking does not. I hope that this is what I need to finally move on.
Yes, this post will be very personal, but I'll maintain appropriate anonymity levels.
Dear Shock,
It's been, well, a pathetically long time since you said we couldn't be together. I know this isn't anyone's fault, and I know it's not what you wanted, but that's not why I'm writing this. I'm writing this to explain a few things it's taken me this long to figure out.
When we parted ways I figured you would get over me in short order and wouldn't waste time looking for someone else. I thought I would too. I went on some dates, met some people, but nothing really stuck. Then I gave up. I didn't try anymore. I chalked it up to a temporary slump, but it's persisted to this day.
When Valentines Day hit yesterday and I saw some of the most foul pessimism about the day and some of the most wonderful and heartfelt attempts it finally made me admit something.
I was with you for less than two months, but in that short time I fell in love with you.
It's not just that I wanted to have someone to give flowers to yesterday, it was that I wanted to give them to you. I wanted to be able to do something sappy and stupid and get you to smile that smile at me. I wanted you to laugh at some stupid joke I made, or throw a chocolate at my head, or comment on my shirt. I didn't care what it was, I just wanted you to be there.
I am intensely aware that this is pathetic. You're some woman I met online who I went on some dates with. Yeah it was great, but it ended and I should have moved on. But you know what? I didn't.
To say you were great isn't sufficient. To say you amazed me doesn't even begin to cover it.
You left me breathless, stuttering, and blushing like every time we were together.
Things weren't perfect, even in my rose colored glasses. You and I were eventually going to have a knock-down, drag-out brawl over astrology and other magical thinking at some point. It's possible we wouldn't have made it past that point. My skeptical thinking and your open mind were bound to have clashes. But I didn't care.
I wanted to try, to give it my all, to be someone you could be proud of being with. I wanted to know that even though we disagreed, we still cared enough to respect each others opinions. I wanted to be with you for more than a few dates. Those fantasies of being with you forever were more than I gave them credit for. I wanted to walk in my parents door with you on my arm and watch that potential catastrophe all the while smiling knowing that you would be with me, no matter what they thought. I wanted my friends to meet you and finally get why I was so excited. I wanted my sister to approve.
None of this will ever happen. I know that. And it hurts to say this, but I'm finally ready to accept that. Goodbye then was goodbye forever. I've immortalized you in my writing, but beyond that, you are gone, out of my reach forever. It's come to this...
I loved you. I really did. I wanted forever with you. But that dream is over. It's finally time to say it and to really, really mean it.
I miss you.
Goodbye.
-S
Here I am many months later and I still haven't gotten over her. She's been hovering in my thoughts for this entire time and despite my attempts to move forward, something's kept her there. I'm fairly sure I know what it is now, and I think I know what I need to do... I need to say goodbye.
I did say goodbye to her, but I didn't get to say everything I needed to say. Now I need to say them. I don't know if she ever even got this blog location, or if she did if she follows me or not. I wouldn't if I were her. So me posting this may be just talking to myself. But I think it's important that I put into words what I need to say. Writing what I need to say has a permanency to it that thinking does not. I hope that this is what I need to finally move on.
Yes, this post will be very personal, but I'll maintain appropriate anonymity levels.
Dear Shock,
It's been, well, a pathetically long time since you said we couldn't be together. I know this isn't anyone's fault, and I know it's not what you wanted, but that's not why I'm writing this. I'm writing this to explain a few things it's taken me this long to figure out.
When we parted ways I figured you would get over me in short order and wouldn't waste time looking for someone else. I thought I would too. I went on some dates, met some people, but nothing really stuck. Then I gave up. I didn't try anymore. I chalked it up to a temporary slump, but it's persisted to this day.
When Valentines Day hit yesterday and I saw some of the most foul pessimism about the day and some of the most wonderful and heartfelt attempts it finally made me admit something.
I was with you for less than two months, but in that short time I fell in love with you.
It's not just that I wanted to have someone to give flowers to yesterday, it was that I wanted to give them to you. I wanted to be able to do something sappy and stupid and get you to smile that smile at me. I wanted you to laugh at some stupid joke I made, or throw a chocolate at my head, or comment on my shirt. I didn't care what it was, I just wanted you to be there.
I am intensely aware that this is pathetic. You're some woman I met online who I went on some dates with. Yeah it was great, but it ended and I should have moved on. But you know what? I didn't.
To say you were great isn't sufficient. To say you amazed me doesn't even begin to cover it.
You left me breathless, stuttering, and blushing like every time we were together.
Things weren't perfect, even in my rose colored glasses. You and I were eventually going to have a knock-down, drag-out brawl over astrology and other magical thinking at some point. It's possible we wouldn't have made it past that point. My skeptical thinking and your open mind were bound to have clashes. But I didn't care.
I wanted to try, to give it my all, to be someone you could be proud of being with. I wanted to know that even though we disagreed, we still cared enough to respect each others opinions. I wanted to be with you for more than a few dates. Those fantasies of being with you forever were more than I gave them credit for. I wanted to walk in my parents door with you on my arm and watch that potential catastrophe all the while smiling knowing that you would be with me, no matter what they thought. I wanted my friends to meet you and finally get why I was so excited. I wanted my sister to approve.
None of this will ever happen. I know that. And it hurts to say this, but I'm finally ready to accept that. Goodbye then was goodbye forever. I've immortalized you in my writing, but beyond that, you are gone, out of my reach forever. It's come to this...
I loved you. I really did. I wanted forever with you. But that dream is over. It's finally time to say it and to really, really mean it.
I miss you.
Goodbye.
-S
January 12, 2011
While I'm on my soap box
Homeopathy is water.
Lots of people out there think that homeopathy is some kind of "natural medicine" (both false) that is a reasonable comparison to "western" medicine. These people have heard all sorts of things in the news making homeopathy sound like a reasonable choice. But, in my experience, almost none of these people realize that homeopathy is almost always 100% water. So, in my tiny effort to spread the truth about this nonsense, the following is how to create your very own homeopathic cure! Specifically the homeopathic product Oscillococcinum, a product that is marketed as flu relief.
Step 1: Get a duck heart and liver and grind them into a paste.
Step 2: Take a single drop of that paste and dilute it with 100 drops of water.
Step 3: Shake vigorously.
Step 4: Take a single drop of this new solution and dilute it with 100 drops of water.
Step 5: Shake vigorously.
Step 6: Repeat steps 4 and 5 four hundred (400) times in a row.
Step 7: Drink 1 gram of this solution!
...
Yes, that's really it. Check out homeopathy and Oscillococcinum on Wikipedia if you don't believe me. How does this in theory work? Well, you see, when you shake the solution the water "remembers" the important bits, and you therefore gain all the benefits even though you are diluting the original solution.
...
Doesn't make any sense, does it? That's because homeopathy is batshit insane. Water memory? Diluting it makes it stronger? And why in the fuck would you start with a freaking duck heart and liver?
So remember, next time someone mentions homeopathy, there's only one response to that: "Homeopathy is water".
I will also accept "Homeopathy is bullshit." Not technically true, but it sure gets the point across.
Lots of people out there think that homeopathy is some kind of "natural medicine" (both false) that is a reasonable comparison to "western" medicine. These people have heard all sorts of things in the news making homeopathy sound like a reasonable choice. But, in my experience, almost none of these people realize that homeopathy is almost always 100% water. So, in my tiny effort to spread the truth about this nonsense, the following is how to create your very own homeopathic cure! Specifically the homeopathic product Oscillococcinum, a product that is marketed as flu relief.
Step 1: Get a duck heart and liver and grind them into a paste.
Step 2: Take a single drop of that paste and dilute it with 100 drops of water.
Step 3: Shake vigorously.
Step 4: Take a single drop of this new solution and dilute it with 100 drops of water.
Step 5: Shake vigorously.
Step 6: Repeat steps 4 and 5 four hundred (400) times in a row.
Step 7: Drink 1 gram of this solution!
...
Yes, that's really it. Check out homeopathy and Oscillococcinum on Wikipedia if you don't believe me. How does this in theory work? Well, you see, when you shake the solution the water "remembers" the important bits, and you therefore gain all the benefits even though you are diluting the original solution.
...
Doesn't make any sense, does it? That's because homeopathy is batshit insane. Water memory? Diluting it makes it stronger? And why in the fuck would you start with a freaking duck heart and liver?
So remember, next time someone mentions homeopathy, there's only one response to that: "Homeopathy is water".
I will also accept "Homeopathy is bullshit." Not technically true, but it sure gets the point across.
Immunize for Good
http://www.immunizeforgood.com/
I have become a crusader for vaccines, as you may have noticed. Now whenever I need someone to read up on vaccines and get the actual unvarnished truth, I have a great website to send them to, that being Immunize for Good as seen above. It gives direct honest answers while not sweeping anything under the rug. As sources of information about vaccines go, this is about the best one I've seen. It's easily accessible for anyone who can read, laid out simply and logically, and a lot better than trying to wade through forum discussions to find the truth. Spread the word!
I have become a crusader for vaccines, as you may have noticed. Now whenever I need someone to read up on vaccines and get the actual unvarnished truth, I have a great website to send them to, that being Immunize for Good as seen above. It gives direct honest answers while not sweeping anything under the rug. As sources of information about vaccines go, this is about the best one I've seen. It's easily accessible for anyone who can read, laid out simply and logically, and a lot better than trying to wade through forum discussions to find the truth. Spread the word!
January 11, 2011
The AZ nightmare
As someone who found out about the shooting thing early this morning by reading a blog, I'm a bit behind on the commenting/twitter/whatever conflagration that's going on right now. I have thoughts that I really want to work through, so here I go.
"Don't politicize this tragedy!"
It's kind of hard not to politicize an attempted assassination of a political figure. However, it's really easy to hide behind politicization to avoid actually having to think clearly. This whole Sarah Palin nonsense is just that, utter nonsense. Yes she made an inappropriate graphic, that's not in question, but did that graphic cause this situation? Um... That's one hell of a stretch. Yes it would be nice to have someone to blame, but life is never so easy.
What about the fact that it was a right wing psycho that killed a left wing target? Well, Loughner (the assassin) wasn't a right wing psycho. He was described as liberal by his friends, he has been reported as a registered Republican and Independent which is confusing, and unless the Tea Party put the Communist Manifesto on their reading list recently, he's just not fitting the cookie cutter "right wing" shape.
Well Giffords was obviously a right wing target, I mean, remember that Sarah Palin document? Once again, details cloud the issue: Giffords was a "Blue Dog" democrat, which isn't the leftest of the lefts. As much as it would be easy to say this is is Red on Blue crime, reality complicates things by not making perfect sense.
Most importantly, we don't, as far I as know right now, know why this happened. It may not have been politically motivated. It seems to make logical sense, but as someone once said "Logic is a method by which we go wrong with confidence." This situation is neither simple nor easy and certainly isn't logical. I read today that Loughner had a gripe with Giffords because she failed to answer one of his fairly incoherent questions to his satisfaction, but was that enough to drive him to try to kill her? As he's not talking, we may never know.
Guns
I have heard over and over that if this man didn't have access to a gun this never would have happened. As this particular event took place outside, Loughner could have done as much damage, or more, with a well aimed car. One of the main reasons the shooting stopped where it did was because Loughner took time to reload and was overwhelmed by two bystanders. Imagine if he had brought a sword and was any good with it? Don't need to reload a sword. He could have done as much damage and more. Yes, the gun is bad, but if sufficiently motivated, any weapon would have done.
I have also heard that a bystander helped the situation by pulling his legally concealed weapon and firing on Loughner, but I can't verify that.
I'm sure I'm beating a dead horse here, but it's not a gun that killed those people, it was a person. He made the choice.
Mentally Ill.
As I am mentally ill, this particular point is really grating on my nerves. I am mentally ill; I have mentally ill friends; the stigma attached to "mentally ill" is not fair to the millions of people in this country who are mentally ill but wouldn't ever do something like this. Not every person with a mental illness is sitting on the edge of a knife, a random thought away from a murder spree.
I've heard it guessed, by a doctor no less, that Loughner was very likely a paranoid schizophrenic and I tend to agree that this is likely. I still have to point out that for every paranoid schizophrenic that does something horrible like this, there are tens if not hundreds of thousands who do not. Demonizing the diagnosis isn't helping anyone, and may indeed endanger people who have this diagnosis. It makes as much sense to say that every person who has a heart defect will eventually die because of that heart defect.
Jared Lee Loughner
This man killed 6 people and wounded at least 14 others. It bothers me that this, his defining moment, will be all we're ever likely to know about the man since he's not talking. He'll be branded as left or right wing, a psycho, and a killer. But is that all there is to him? Just some political beliefs and that he killed people? He liked the Communist Manifesto and Mein Kampf, but is that it?
It is the usual reaction of people to take someone like this, paint him in black and white, and leave it alone. But this young man made choices, some good, some very bad, and I want to know why. Aside from his choices, he was also a son, a friend, someone who read a lot, and had strong opinions. He liked YouTube and MySpace. He read The Wizard of Oz, Peter Pan, Gulliver's Travels, and Through The Looking Glass. I want more.
My point is Loughner was a person. Whatever his faults may have been, however bad his choices, he was still a person and should be treated as more than just a killer. Yes, he killed people, but if we brush the person off, accept the "right wing psycho" label, and don't try to understand why he did what he did, how can we ever hope to prevent this in the future? He had friends and family. They could see he was unhinged. Could they have done anything to help? Is there anything useful we can learn from Loughner's tragically bad choices?
Imprisoning all the mentally ill isn't an option. Telling politicians they can't do anything that can possibly be taken out of context in a bad light isn't going to work. Restricting guns from responsible adults won't work. We need to find out, from Loughner, how he could have been reached, how someone could have helped prevent this tragedy. Otherwise, we're doomed to repeat this tragedy.
"Don't politicize this tragedy!"
It's kind of hard not to politicize an attempted assassination of a political figure. However, it's really easy to hide behind politicization to avoid actually having to think clearly. This whole Sarah Palin nonsense is just that, utter nonsense. Yes she made an inappropriate graphic, that's not in question, but did that graphic cause this situation? Um... That's one hell of a stretch. Yes it would be nice to have someone to blame, but life is never so easy.
What about the fact that it was a right wing psycho that killed a left wing target? Well, Loughner (the assassin) wasn't a right wing psycho. He was described as liberal by his friends, he has been reported as a registered Republican and Independent which is confusing, and unless the Tea Party put the Communist Manifesto on their reading list recently, he's just not fitting the cookie cutter "right wing" shape.
Well Giffords was obviously a right wing target, I mean, remember that Sarah Palin document? Once again, details cloud the issue: Giffords was a "Blue Dog" democrat, which isn't the leftest of the lefts. As much as it would be easy to say this is is Red on Blue crime, reality complicates things by not making perfect sense.
Most importantly, we don't, as far I as know right now, know why this happened. It may not have been politically motivated. It seems to make logical sense, but as someone once said "Logic is a method by which we go wrong with confidence." This situation is neither simple nor easy and certainly isn't logical. I read today that Loughner had a gripe with Giffords because she failed to answer one of his fairly incoherent questions to his satisfaction, but was that enough to drive him to try to kill her? As he's not talking, we may never know.
Guns
I have heard over and over that if this man didn't have access to a gun this never would have happened. As this particular event took place outside, Loughner could have done as much damage, or more, with a well aimed car. One of the main reasons the shooting stopped where it did was because Loughner took time to reload and was overwhelmed by two bystanders. Imagine if he had brought a sword and was any good with it? Don't need to reload a sword. He could have done as much damage and more. Yes, the gun is bad, but if sufficiently motivated, any weapon would have done.
I have also heard that a bystander helped the situation by pulling his legally concealed weapon and firing on Loughner, but I can't verify that.
I'm sure I'm beating a dead horse here, but it's not a gun that killed those people, it was a person. He made the choice.
Mentally Ill.
As I am mentally ill, this particular point is really grating on my nerves. I am mentally ill; I have mentally ill friends; the stigma attached to "mentally ill" is not fair to the millions of people in this country who are mentally ill but wouldn't ever do something like this. Not every person with a mental illness is sitting on the edge of a knife, a random thought away from a murder spree.
I've heard it guessed, by a doctor no less, that Loughner was very likely a paranoid schizophrenic and I tend to agree that this is likely. I still have to point out that for every paranoid schizophrenic that does something horrible like this, there are tens if not hundreds of thousands who do not. Demonizing the diagnosis isn't helping anyone, and may indeed endanger people who have this diagnosis. It makes as much sense to say that every person who has a heart defect will eventually die because of that heart defect.
Jared Lee Loughner
This man killed 6 people and wounded at least 14 others. It bothers me that this, his defining moment, will be all we're ever likely to know about the man since he's not talking. He'll be branded as left or right wing, a psycho, and a killer. But is that all there is to him? Just some political beliefs and that he killed people? He liked the Communist Manifesto and Mein Kampf, but is that it?
It is the usual reaction of people to take someone like this, paint him in black and white, and leave it alone. But this young man made choices, some good, some very bad, and I want to know why. Aside from his choices, he was also a son, a friend, someone who read a lot, and had strong opinions. He liked YouTube and MySpace. He read The Wizard of Oz, Peter Pan, Gulliver's Travels, and Through The Looking Glass. I want more.
My point is Loughner was a person. Whatever his faults may have been, however bad his choices, he was still a person and should be treated as more than just a killer. Yes, he killed people, but if we brush the person off, accept the "right wing psycho" label, and don't try to understand why he did what he did, how can we ever hope to prevent this in the future? He had friends and family. They could see he was unhinged. Could they have done anything to help? Is there anything useful we can learn from Loughner's tragically bad choices?
Imprisoning all the mentally ill isn't an option. Telling politicians they can't do anything that can possibly be taken out of context in a bad light isn't going to work. Restricting guns from responsible adults won't work. We need to find out, from Loughner, how he could have been reached, how someone could have helped prevent this tragedy. Otherwise, we're doomed to repeat this tragedy.
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