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Just a short whine.
When you have chronic pain your life is at the mercy of the vagaries of whatever controls the pain. Good days are the ones where I simply hurt a lot. Bad days I am insane with the pain. Good days are usually mad foggy by the effects of pain and meds (both for pain and depression). Bad days I am insane with the pain. Oddly enough my mind is sharper on the bad days. My mind races and analyzes every aspect. On good days mind races and analyzes every aspect – just not the same as the bad days.
The last couple months have been worse than the months that preceded it. And, thankfully, chronic pain is cyclical and the current bad cycle seems to be ebbing.
At 51 I find myself asking if the good outweighs the bad? And I search for ways to make the good times better and the bad times shorter or of less effect. Some find escape in alcohol and illegal drugs. I cannot see how alcohol, in the long run, can make things better. As for drugs, a case can be made for cannabis, but other drugs, like alcohol, take a toll that outweighs their value.
I have spoken to a number of people who seem to be benefiting greatly from cannabis. I am happy for them. I have not met a single person who is doing better with alcohol or other drugs. They have simply added a new misery to their pain.
For me cannabis is not an option. I smoked my last joint when I was 18 or 19. Like the pain and the prescribed meds I currently cannabis fogged my mind and was not pleasant. I decided that my life would be better without it and that assessment still holds. I am happy for the people who are helped by cannabis.
 Derek Jeter Yankee Hit Champion If you had asked me before this season how many Yankees had made it into the 3000 Hits Club I would have guessed at least a half-dozen. The answer is none. None! Of all of the Yankee greats and none made it to 300. Amazing.
Today Derek Jeter took the next to joining that club by tying Lou Gherig for the lead in Yankee history. According to the AP: Jeter singled to right field in the seventh inning for his third hit Wednesday night against Tampa Bay, matching Gehrig with 2,721 hits in a Yankees uniform.
Already on their feet in anticipation, fans at Yankee Stadium let loose with a roar when Jeter’s sharp grounder inside the first-base line got by a diving Chris Richard(notes).
Jeter’s parents, watching from an upstairs box between home plate and first base, raised their arms and exclaimed in excitement.
Jeter will make it to 3k for another first in his wonderful career. I may be a Red Sox fan but I am really a baseball fan and I appreciate all of the greats in baseball. Even the ones who were the Yankee uniform.
I wish Derek all the best on his journey to 3000 hits and eventually the Hall of Fame.
 The Way We Saw Molecules In The Past - Just A Drawing Science has always fascinated me. As a teen I assumed that my life would be somehow involved in science. In high school I decided that I would study biology in college and then go from there. Life had other things planned and I never got to college. The fascination with science has never died. And what better time in the progression of scientific discovery that right now?
So now they have developed a method for imagining a molecule. Until now when we wanted to represent a molecule we could only do it with a graphic done by an artist. In our textbooks we would see the typical ball and stick figures that represented one molecule or another. That is one on the left.
But now, scientists at IBM have developed a method to actually image the chemical structure of a molecule. The method is called “non-contact atomic force microscopy.” They focused on a single molecule of pentacene. The molecule is made up of 22 carbon atoms and 14 hydrogen atoms.
The result of this procedure is an amazing image of a pentacene molecule.
 Pentacene Molecule Imaged By IBM This is from the IBM supplied description: “The delicate inner structure of a pentacene molecule imaged with an atomic force microscope. For the first time, scientists achieved a resolution that revealed the chemical structure of a molecule. The hexagonal shapes of the five carbon rings in the pentacene molecule are clearly resolved. Even the positions of the hydrogen atoms around the carbon rings can be deduced from the image. (Pixels correspond to actual data points)” Image courtesy of IBM Research – Zurich
IBM Research – Zurich scientists Fabian Mohn, Leo Gross, Nikolaj Moll (standing), Gerhard Meyer and Reto Schlittler (from left to right) in the STM/AFM laboratory. In front of them is the scanning tunneling/atomic force microscope used for the experiments. The team is reviewing the first-principles density functional theory calculations that corroborated the experimental findings of imaging the Pentacene molecule at atomic resolution.
 IBM Scientists You can read more at the IBM Research site: http://www.zurich.ibm.com/news/09/pentacene.html
The Honolulu City Council is considering a ban on riders if their body odor offends someone. Under the law, police could cite riders if their body odor annoyed others and a convicted offender could face up to $500 in fines or six months in prison. What an amazing load of smelly poop.
So here is some poor guy who just got off of work. Lets say he worked eight hours on a loading dock. So now, along with trying to raise a family, concerns about the economy, and all of the other challenges that face the average person, he has to worry about possibly “offending” someone’s sensitive nose and risk a $500 fine or even jail. Jail! For not smelling properly!!
Make note of the idiots who proposed this: Councilman Rod Tam and Councilman Nestor Garcia.
Now I know that someone is going to say that this is simply aimed at those homeless people who don’t bathe for days, you know, “those people.” Well, even if I did accept that it was just aimed at, you know, “those people”, I wonder how long it would take for Mr. I. M. Superior to decide that our loading dock worker is “offensive”. My guess, not long at all.
But let’s get back to the homeless guy. I have been on buses and trains with that homeless guy. Yes, he does reek. But should that keep him from being able to ride on a bus? He probably has more than a few strikes against him. For whatever reason he is homeless, and yes, he smells. So we add to his problems by banning him from public transportation.
And here we come to another problem. For many years I rode the “T” in Boston, to and from work. Without fail there was usually more than a couple people on my bus or train who, like me (and unlike the homeless guy), woke up that morning and took a shower. Unlike me however they then splashed on way too much cologne, after shave, perfume, and in some cases, all of the above. And, though freshly showered and sporting some nice clothes, they reeked. Not like the homeless guy but just as offensive.
So what of these people? Do we make categories of smells? Sweaty work guy smell: 6 months in jail. Smell that comes from a bottle: Have a nice day!
Like many things in life there are no easy answers. Sadly, there are some people (like Councilors Tam and Garcia) who insist that there are and when they have the power to force their easy answers on others they rarely fail to act. Usually they act stupidly. For them, homelessness is not seen as a complex problem. They view it in simplistic terms. The outcome of their simplistic views is to ban people from what is otherwise “public” transportation. I do not expect the Honolulu City Council to solve the problem of homelessness. Nor the “problem” of workers who smell either from a long day of physical labor or from splashing on too much Old Spice. What I do expect, sitting here in Maine 5112 miles from Honolulu, is some clear thinking, some compassion, and some common sense.
Want to read the original story? Check it out here at the website of KITV: http://www.kitv.com/mostpopular/20679481/detail.html
 Roger Stephens, Jerk, Bully Child Abuser The picture on the left is the mug shot of a jerk named Roger Stephens. According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution this hero could not take the crying of a two year old so he slapped her. Five times!
They were in a Walmart* and this moron could not take the crying of the child. So, instead of just moving away he confronted the mother and threatened that “if you don’t shut that baby up, I will shut her up for you.” Their paths crossed again moments later in another aisle and this bully “grabbed the 2-year-old and slapped her across the face four or five times.”
A grown man slapped a 2-year-old child 5 times! Even his mug shot tells you that this guy has a problem. He has lived on this earth for 61 years and has not learned that if a crying child annoys you then you simply just walk away. Walmart* is a pretty big place.
The thing that bothers me is that there are so many of these people who walk the streets in a constant rage. Every stray look or accidental bump in passing is viewed as a tremendous affront. Being “dissed” is a reason to go to war and the quick resort to violence all too frequently leads to someone getting shot. And Roger Stephens is a prime example.
Ted Kennedy has died. Senator Kennedy had brain cancer, which was diagnosed in May 2008. Sometimes, lost in the vitriol that seems to so thoroughly permeate politics today, is the realization that someone like Senator Kennedy is a husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle and friend to people who are now grieving. I have been critical of him over the years and I have made those criticisms public in this blog and its former incarnation. But today is not a day for criticism.
In my home state of Massachusetts Ted Kennedy was loved. He touched the lives of many people and was as good a representative in Washington as anyone could wish for. He knew how things worked in Washington and he used that knowledge to forward his agenda. And that is not entirely a bad thing. We vote for politicians who agree with our views and we expect them to go to Washington and work for those views. In Massachusetts those views are decidedly liberal and so was Senator Kennedy.
I am sure that countless news reports and blogs will provide a full account of the failings of Senator Kennedy. And I am sure they will also tell of his success as the consumate Washington insider. I will simply wish the best for his family. The death of a loved one is never easy. My prayer for them is that they will find comfort, joy, and peace in their memories.
 How Can Magic Help Rip-Off-People? Magic, Magic, Magic. Are you so poor that you need to endorse a product that preys on poor people? On top of the questionable tactics of Jackson Hewitt now you have partnered with Rent-A-Center. Shame on you!
I have lived in poor neighborhoods for most of my life. When you announced that you had HIV I remember people in a storefront church praying for you. In my neighborhood people looked up to you and wished you well. Though we were in Boston you had more than your share of fans. And these fans transcended basketball. When an article was published about some business venture of yours people were proud. Years later the yellowed newspaper clipping was still posted in the local grocery store.
 Rent-A-Center Truck (On Monday) I am not sure of when I first realized that there were companies like Rent-A-Center. I remember going into one of the stores and, in short order, turning around and leaving. Nothing spelled scam to me like paying many times the retail cost for a sofa. Sadly some of my neighbors and friends were not so wise. They fell for the spiel and the allure of having something they desired even if they truly could not afford it. Oh, they could afford the payments. That is until a child got sick, the car broke down or they lost one of the jobs that contributed to their household income.
How many times did I ask friends to “do the math” only to hear some rationalization for the purchase? These rationalizations were helpfully provided by the sales people and TV hucksters. So eloquent and yet so wrong. And so it continued and today I am in a different neighborhood in a different state, and the story is the same. Usually on Friday a Rent-A-Center truck pulls up and unloads the bright, shiny, goodies. But when I see the truck on a Monday it usually means that someone is going to lose a fridge, some furniture, or most sadly, a computer that the children have gotten used to using for school. A computer that they have already paid $400 for. And, if they had saved, or if they had real credit, $400 probably would have bought them all the computer they would need.
But hey, that’s not Magic’s fault, is it? No, of course not.
In one of the commercials Magic talks about his Dad working double shifts to give his family a better life. The same is true for most people today. Sadly there are pressures and temptations that even Mr. Johnson did not face. One is a company telling him, as society joins in the chorus, that they can provide “the good stuff your family deserves”. How can you deny your family something they “deserve.” And who is pushing this? Someone they prayed for, cried for, and cheered for. Someone they respect. In one of the commercials Magic is even talking about respect as we see trophies and photos of his career roll by. Respect. Magic earned it and now he is using it to shill for the loan sharks.
If you do a Google search you will find many sites that detail the crimes and deceit of Rent-A-Center. I will quote one of those sites just to show you some of the theft perpetrated by Rent-A-Center.
“Last month, Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna sued Rent-A-Center. The lawsuit charges the company with “unfair and deceptive business and collection practices.”
McKenna says customers cannot figure out how long it will take them to own an item, because the company “consistently fails to provide the true purchase price for each item that’s being rented. We’ve seen people pay $3,600 for a fridge, $4,000 for a laptop, $6,600 for a used TV set,” he says.” – From MSNBS ConsumerMan
Magic, have you no shame? $3,600 for a fridge, $4,000 for a laptop, $6,600 for a used TV set!!! Where is the respect in directing vulnerable and manipulated people to a company that rips them off? These people prayed for you when you were at one of the lowest points of your life. They cheered for you both on the court and as you began to have business success off the court. And this is the thanks you give them? So sad.
Shame on you Magic Johnson.
I thought it was a joke when I saw the commercial. There was Brooke Shields telling me about the wonders of a drug called “Latisse”. We are told by Brooke and by the Latisse website that it is “the first and only prescription treatment approved by the FDA for inadequate or not having enough eyelashes”. I didn’t know that this was a problem. In the eyelash department I am one of the fortunate ones. Mine are long and full. But now these lashes are within the
 Brooke Shields Before And After reach of everyone. Everyone, that is, who wants to risk the possibility of changing their eye color (a slight but real side-effect), and pay about $130 a month. The effect of lengthening your lashes is not permanent, the eye color change (it could add brown pigment) is permanent.
Sadly people imagine that all kinds of physical things detract from their personhood. Lack of hair, color of hair, wrinkles, and now eyelash length to name a few. And, luckily for drug companies, they keep finding that the unintended consequences of some drugs (i. e. Side effects), help “solve” these perceived faults. Latisse is actually a low dose of Lumigan which is used to treat relieve increased eye pressure in glaucoma patients.
On the one hand these discoveries are good for the drug companies. They get to make money from an unexpected revenue source. And, I hope, some of the profit goes back into research. As for profit, it appears that they are charging about $50 more for a smaller dose. So the people who feel that they have inadequate eyelashes are making the manufacturer, Allergan, very happy.
As for Brooke Shields and her inadequate lashes, is there a difference, yes. Does it matter? I guess it does to her and others like her. And, unlike things like Botox, it doesn’t make you look like a lifeless fool.
I hate party politics. I hate anything that is done because it is good for one party and its hold on power. Usually this is good for the parties, the politicians, and the power-brokers and bad for the peons – us ordinary people.
Ted Kennedy (D – MA) is terminally ill. That is sad but it is a fate that awaits us all. As a parting gift to the Democrats he is now trying to overturn a 2004 Massachusetts that took the ability of the Governor to appoint the replacement of a Senator who resigns or dies.
The Wall Street Journal puts this situation in perspective with one paragraph:
What Mr. Kennedy doesn’t volunteer is that he orchestrated the 2004 succession law revision that now requires a special election, and for similarly partisan reasons. John Kerry, the other Senator from the state, was running for President in 2004, and Mr. Kennedy wanted the law changed so the Republican Governor at the time, Mitt Romney, could not name Mr. Kerry’s replacement. “Prodded by a personal appeal from Senator Edward M. Kennedy,” reported the Boston Globe in 2004, “Democratic legislative leaders have agreed to take up a stalled bill creating a special election process to replace U.S. Senator John F. Kerry if he wins the presidency.” Now that the state has a Democratic Governor, Mr. Kennedy wants to revert to gubernatorial appointments.
In his letter advocating for the law change Kennedy trots out his supposed concern for citizens of Massachusetts “to have two voices speaking for the needs of its citizens and two votes in the Senate during the approximately five months between a vacancy and an election.” This is all very noble but the question immediately comes to mind: During his illness ho often has Sen. Kennedy been present to lend his voice and vote to the job he seems so concerned about? Well, in 2009 he has been absent for a staggering 97% of the votes. Of 270 roll-call votes he has been absent for 261. And these absences started last year.
Senator Kennedy, concern is not saying the right about a subject. Concern is doing the right thing. You say you believe “it is vital” the people of Massachusetts “have two voices” representing them in the Senate. Well, where has your concern been for part of 2008 and 9 months into 2009? Do they only deserve two Senators when it is politically convenient for you and your party? This is not leadership and, as a former constituent of yours, I am not surprised.
I stole that headline from the original article. Now to add a big “Duh”. Really, they needed to study that? Maybe they did, I would have thought it was closer to 80%. I am guessing, based on conversations I have overheard, that the same number of wireless phone calls are “pointless babble”. I have followed a few people on Twitter and ultimately found that they were a waste of time and a crashing bore. Some are informative, but very few.
The original study can be found at Pear Analytics.
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