G+ Migration Blog

Every time I see a congressional hearing on tv, I am appalled by oh so many of our congresspersons. Otoh, I was actually impressed by the people being questioned. For the record, I am not in favor of the secret service just blowing everybody away and asking questions later. In spite of the fact that apparently the current trend is that we should change the laws so that they can do exactly that. I like that they are highly trained to recognize a level of threat and use their discretion to do everything other than lethal force until and unless the threat level is clearly one that warrants that response. I get that the agency has some problems, but suggesting shoot first as a solution (or a grab at media attention) just reflects poorly on the people advocating that.

I left the house briefly. It's nice out. I'm back in the house now. Too much excitement.

Evan "Skwid" Langlinais linked to an article covering this, so I looked it up. I skimmed it, and feel like I want the raw data and a more detailed look at the methodology. Because even skimming it and the figures, especially the first figure, and then reading how they are interpreting this, concerns me a lot. Firstly, although I am a critic of 'science' reporting, I don't actually think everyone is a complete idiot. However, many sources are reporting this as 'scientists aren't warm enough'. My flippant response to this is, ok, so there should be spherical kittens. My less flippant response is why are they accepting the authors' conclusions and comments at face value? How did they get there? Because, on a cursory read, I can't see it. Secondly, a superficial glance makes me wonder a great deal about the authors' biases. Theoretically, they are just reporting what they find. But they aren't; they're interpreting it. And I need to dig...

Skip to 0:45 and it's not a bad metaphor for how I am feeling. Super Cat Climbs Walls | America's Cutest Pet http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmjPGmtT3nI

I still do not understand what happened to the 24/48 hour cold thing. It was just fine. Could we have that back, please? This mini-misery that is apparently going to drag itself out for at least a week is entirely unnecessary. This thing has been genuinely bad, and ruined several days worth of otherwise important activities. Plus, I still sound like that person you don't want to be next to on the plane. The constant choking sensation is a special bonus, along with the aching, which is special, too. This morning is apparently when I run out of trying to joke about it. I mean, yeah, during my few semi-conscious moments over the last few days I've discovered how unbelievably many channels of truly awful programming there are, which should be keeping me amused by its sheer awfulness. Like, there's a movie called Bride Wars? That is the most pathetically childish, self-absorbed, offensive collection of female (and male) stereotyping I've ever seen. I should be able to amuse ...

The being sick kept me from running the 5K on Sunday, not breathing well, feeling dizzy and nauseated, etc. Just barely starting to feel better today, still weak, achy, coughing. So I'm giving up on running the 5K in Detroit. I don't know if I'll come into town or not, anyway. I mean, I would like to hang out with you guys, but I'm feeling very down, right now. It's stupid, but I feel like if I could at least have done this, it would have helped me feel a little bit better about myself, and given me a little more confidence and motivation. Which I really, really need. Anyway, I don't know when I'm going to be able to stop coughing every time I breathe, so I should probably work on that.

#notdeadyet  Geez, virus, go away.

Happy birthday Christina L Brainard!

Shooting definitely in order. Ugh. #whinywhinyprincess

Oh, menthol, you are so awesome. Thank you, Japanese scientists. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menthol

Things I have learned due to being sick: a) Marina Sirtis was in an episode of NCIS. b) That movie about the woman who cooked through Julia Child's cookbook is kind of ok. It's interesting to see the parts about Julia Child's personal life. I'm not sure how much of it is Hollywoodized. Interesting to see the technical bits of how they made Meryl Streep look like she was as tall as Julia Child.

Not really dying, but want being shot held for consideration. #nopatienceforvirus   #whinywhinyprincess

Obviously, I wasn't the only one with this question. http://techcrunch.com/2014/09/24/bending-all-the-phones-iphone-6-vs-htc-one-m8-vs-moto-x/?ncid=rss&cps=gravity http://techcrunch.com/2014/09/24/bending-all-the-phones-iphone-6-vs-htc-one-m8-vs-moto-x/?ncid=rss&cps=gravity

Ugh. Sick. Please just be a quick cold, please just be a quick cold. #notagoodpatient   #nopatienceforvirus

In an interesting and unrelated incident earlier today, there was a morning snack for a very large, somewhat random group of people. It consisted primarily of freshly made donuts. Someone made a comment about the relative healthfulness of the offerings in one of those self-deprecating humor sort of ways. In due course, I made a comment, also humorously, that not all frying is bad. Immediately, an eager younger person piped up that she would just have to keep herself from making a comment because she was a diet and nutrition major, etc.  I said nothing, but my immediate thoughts were what a good little indoctrinated student she was, and whatever university she attended clearly didn't feel it necessary to keep up with reading the relevant research literature, or engage in critical and complex thinking (and how she utterly lacked any sense of humor). And how much harm she could potentially do out in the world where we are already bombarding people with this week's critical diet up...

Today was a nice day. Now, I am feeling unaccountably pissy. (Not really unaccountably, but whatever.) Therefore, a purposeless rebuttal to a comment or post made within recent memory. The appetizer originating in St. Louis is called toasted ravioli and it is, in fact, fried, in its original and truest form. Later low fat weirdness came up with baked recipes, but that is not the real deal. Stupid and pointless, I know, but I'm in that mood. (Pete will back me up, and, as we all know, that is the definitive research source.) Other uniquely St. Louis foods include gooey butter cake, and provel cheese (integral to the horrifying thing known as St. Louis style pizza). Not entirely unique, but strongly associated with the city is the fried brain sandwich (usually calf). Ted Drewes is a St. Louis frozen custard purveyor credited with inventing the Concrete, later borrowed by DQ as their Blizzard. Except you really can turn a Concrete upside down and it doesn't move. Personally, I li...

I had a reasonably nice day with my parents, today. It was nice.

I'm signed up for a 5K on Sunday. Yikes.

Trying to come up with some new music for running/exercise mixes.

Is it just me, or does the google doodle look like a bunch of whomping willows?

After spending basically all week last week sick from the allergic reaction or the drugs to treat it, I tried running today. Ow.

Thrust, parry, parry, thrust. Good! http://xkcd.com/1424/ http://xkcd.com/1424

Whatever you may feel about Scalzi and his public persona, I cannot deny the truth of the last tweet in his thread: "P.S.: Need tips on how to clean up glitter. This shit is EVERYWHERE, man." http://whatever.scalzi.com/2014/09/21/ruining-science-fiction-with-glitter-the-scalzi-chronicles/ http://whatever.scalzi.com/2014/09/21/ruining-science-fiction-with-glitter-the-scalzi-chronicles

How to annoy my mother - not that that was the intent. My parents, reasonably, prefer to have lights off in unoccupied rooms. My mom has made a big point of this. So now I habitually turn off lights in any room I go through that isn't occupied when I pass through it. However, my mom apparently wanted the lights on in the room next to the room she was currently ensconced in, but I didn't know that and turned them off when I walked through. After a brief dialogue on this subject, she said, "Only turn off the lights you've turned on." To which I replied, "I don't have that kind of relationship with the lights." My dad laughed. My mom made inarticulate noises of frustration and an aunty face.

I'm just glad they included the agricultural use of antibiotics.  http://time.com/3399231/obama-antibiotic-resistance/ http://time.com/3399231/obama-antibiotic-resistance

Weird insight during a conversation about a job and a dog. You think real poop is worse than metaphorical poop, but real poop is easier to clean up.

Not illogical - I might survive ebola, I don't care if I die later from hepatitis or HIV or pretty much anything else. Of course, unless they inject it IV, it probably won't help, and the point about B-movie viral mutation is sadly valid. In case nobody thought this situation was horrible. http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/18/health/ebola-blood-black-market/index.html http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/18/health/ebola-blood-black-market/index.html

Never get involved in a land war in Asia. http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/19/politics/bill-clinton-daily-show/index.html?hpt=hp_t4 http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/19/politics/bill-clinton-daily-show/index.html?hpt=hp_t4

Funnier than the headline suggests. http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/19/tech/social-media/apparently-this-matters-ig-nobel-prize-banana-peel/index.html?hpt=hp_t4

Still feel completely ennervated. What the heck?

Before Kenneth Cavness posted that article, I was thinking about the high turnout for the Scottish independence vote. And I was thinking that if some part of the US decided to push for a secession vote, even that wouldn't get people out to vote here. I have great faith in my fellow Americans' apathy. #cataloniaherewecome

OMG, you guys! I've trained my parents on how to use the intercom feature of the phones!! In only 6 months!

Meant to mention this the other day. They had a nice Doodle honoring Laura Secord. https://www.google.com/doodles/laura-secords-239th-birthday

It's probably just a gimmick, but it might be a tasty gimmick. Someone must investigate. For Science! http://www.tor.com/blogs/2014/09/morning-roundup-doctor-who-themed-doughnuts

Sort of amused: http://www.phdcomics.com/comics.php?f=1743 http://www.phdcomics.com/comics.php?f=1743

"The data, which was published in JAMA, also underlines why it’s problematic to base weight status and health on body mass index (BMI)." https://time.com/3386735/americans-are-getting-larger/ Thank you. Also, has anybody yet done a study of people ages 65 to 85, say, and determined what is 'normal' for them? Because I'm pretty sure we are still basing everything on what was normal decades ago for people 45 and under. Which is not rational. Personally, if we're going to treat this as a disease, I think we should develop true metabolic testing, a la what competitive athletes do, and try to get some real longitudinal information about the body's function, not just use the latest version of our ancient height and weight charts. And it would probably have to be done in our teens, then once a decade. Unless something indicated there might have been a medically or functionally important change that suggested more frequent evaluation was needed. However, this pre...

Had severe allergic reaction earlier this week to I have no idea what the hell tooka chunk outta me. I am told possibly a random flea. Seriously, that's the big suggestion here, for various reasons. This naturally means there were moderate to large doses of things like anti-histamines, which also make me feel rotten in those doses. Now, I just mostly feel like I have a bad case of anemia. Have felt like dirt for three days. So freaking exhausted. Dear immune system, Please engage in focused information gathering in order to determine the necessary and appropriate action pursuant to a proportionate and measured response. IOW, get your shit together. No love, me #stateofhistamergency   #whateverdoesntkillyouisstilltryingtokillyou

Amusingly, one of the better articles on the great hazelnut crisis of '14. (The empty tuile posting reminded me about the nutella crisis.) http://teachingkidsnews.com/2014/09/11/2-price-hazelnuts-go-nutella/ http://teachingkidsnews.com/2014/09/11/2-price-hazelnuts-go-nutella

This is an opinion piece, so take it fwiw, but really? We're still hung up on OMG FREE SEX VACCINE? Because, cancer, meh? Women still die from this. Sure, death rates have gone way, way down (in this part of the world) because of the charming custom of invasive exams, but all that does is catch it before it kills you. There is still potential morbidity, depending on how early it's caught, and what has to be done to you to kill the cancer and keep you alive. How about something that could prevent you from EVER HAVING THIS CANCER? Yeah, it's not perfect (what is), but I am so beboggled that we are still having to fight off this kind of superstitious ignorance. HPV is a virus; it causes cancer. Studies of vaccination rates with anti-HPV vaccines have yet to show a correlated increase in sexual activity, but so far seem to show a decreased rate of HPV transmission. What is so hard to grasp, here? http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/831348?nlid=65504_1521&src=wnl_edit_medp_w...

BBC America does not seem to allow you to watch recently aired episodes online. BBC proper does in the UK, Space does in Canada. Reserving wtf for possible later application in case one of you tells me I am wrong, but if I am right, well, piss off is a mild description of my feelings on the subject.

I may have gone a little bit nuts at the farmer's market today .... oh, well. Dinner tonight was huge wild caught scallops, dusted with grindey pepper on one side (a mild to moderately coarse grind), sauteed in olive oil with fresh minced shallots, accompanied by fresh organic shiitake mushrooms, sauteed in olive oil with minced fresh shallots. I highly recommend this as a meal.

I drank a cup of coffee and had a donut*. Now my head is buzzing, literally. There's this high pitched sine wave flutter like there's an electronic device IN MY HEAD. Augh, make it stop! *I cannot decide whether to blame the coffee, the donut, or their synergy. Because it was a hot out of the oven first of the season pumpkin donut that was omg so good. But how can I dis coffee? Augh!

Medical literature can be wrong? Shocking. The conclusion concluding paragraph is a bad writing cop-out*, but still, not a bad overview. Title of article: It Ain't Necessarily So: Why Much of the Medical Literature Is Wrong http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/829866?src=wnl_edit_specol&uac=21663HG#1 *(Augh! I am required to have a conclusion, but haven't got one. Wait, I know, I can cobble together a concluding paragraph that will lower my grade but still technically meet this requirement, Phew!)

We need this for a social. What could go wrong? http://makezine.com/2014/09/12/boom-youve-got-cereal/ http://makezine.com/2014/09/12/boom-youve-got-cereal

Dear Culinary Lazywebs: Making semifreddo - requires eggs or not? Particularly as this sometimes means raw. I have found recipes with and without the egg component. Is it just a richness thing? a texture thing? or is it simply not a semifreddo without the eggs? Please help before I cook something evil.

Having trouble finding a full article on this that is from a general source, but since public health issues have been regarded as a responsibility of physicians for many decades at this time, including asking questions to find out about possible lead paint, possible fall hazards, etc. it isn't surprising to me that gun safety, esp around kids, is considered an education issue. Presumably, if you have swords and throwing stars, etc. these would also be included, but those are probably less common in the overall population, although many people probably phrase the question as "any types of weapons, such as guns" kept in the home. Probably followed by, "Do you have appropriate safety precautions in place". Anyway, apparently Florida has an issue with asking invasive questions specifically if they are about guns. http://tbo.com/news/crime/florida-argues-doctor-guns-law-does-not-limit-speech-20130718/ http://smartgunlaws.org/eleventh-circuit-upholds-florida-law-preve...

Happy birthday Mikael Vejdemo Johansson!

Went running, well run/walking, and did a little extra walking afterward this evening. Hey, you know, it's something.

omfg, now my mother is emailing me instead of talking to me. presumably this is so she doesn't forget what she thought of for the next time she sees me and writing it down is, I guess, well, sending an email? headdesk

Ymmv, and I'm no longer in a position to have all the most detailed and up to date info on the subject, but I think this is important, and anyone who feels that it is worth supporting the concept of funding medical training might think about supporting this effort. This is not about whether or not there are other ways, or better ways, of making sure we continue to train physicians in the US. By all means, tell your Congresspersons if you have opinions on that. This is about the current system, in which we have resident and fellow positions because the federal government provides the primary funding for them. You cannot practice medicine if you do not complete a residency and/or fellowship, even if you've completed medical school. http://savegme.org/2014-save-gme-action-week/ http://savegme.org/2014-save-gme-action-week

Everybody needs a little cute, sometimes. Pug goes crazy in his first ball pit! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZYq-c5OdGw

I kinda like this video. http://makezine.com/2014/09/08/papercraft-stop-motion-animation-in-sci-fi-music-video/ http://makezine.com/2014/09/08/papercraft-stop-motion-animation-in-sci-fi-music-video

Not time to panic, just get it checked if you don't feel well. http://abcnews.go.com/Health/enterovirus-outbreak/story?id=25345098 http://abcnews.go.com/Health/enterovirus-outbreak/story?id=25345098

I spoke with my dad. It seems he, my sister, and I have all talked and feel there is reason to be concerned about my mother and what she is doing in regards to my uncle. However, he is exhausted, in pain, and depressed, and literally cannot handle any more emotional trauma with my mom. Currently, my mom is trying to be supportive and caring about my dad, although no one is discussing my uncle. My dad doesn't feel he can handle speaking with the social worker, or the possible repercussions with my mom. So, I am supposed to try to find a way to contact her social worker friend and talk to her, purely to say that we have reason to be concerned that our mom is getting herself into a situation that may be detrimental to her, and she will not hear us, but just gets angry. However, I feel like I have to ask first, assuming I can figure out how to contact her, whether it is possible to speak to her confidentially, without violating any professional ethics, and without her being obligated t...

And you thought your weather was bad. (Montana and Wyoming probably got snow, as well.) http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/09/03/alberta-snow-sept-3_n_5760324.html?utm_hp_ref=tw http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/09/03/alberta-snow-sept-3_n_5760324.html?utm_hp_ref=tw

Went to yoga yesterday, didn't go this am. Partly because my left hip was finally feeling better and I thought I might give it a rest, and partly because I got bitten by something yesterday and was feeling meh and needed to get drugs therefore. Plus, my dad decided that he should make himself leave the house and went with me to get some breakfast and briefly go to the farmer's market. He's really down, and I thought that was kind of important, you know?

Nathaniel Hawthorne would be proud. http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/09/05/florida-school-forces-new-student-to-wear-shame-suit-after-skirt-deemed-too-short/ http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/09/05/florida-school-forces-new-student-to-wear-shame-suit-after-skirt-deemed-too-short

Money returned for donuts not received. Staff supposedly being instructed on how not to screw up donuts did receive. One person gave the absolutely correct response of you should never have to open boxes to check if an order is correct. Other person tried to explain, well, obs couldn't fit in boxes. Really? You want me to spread 3+ dozen donuts all over your counter while I try to check 'em out? How many times should I have to ask if all the donuts are present and accounted for? How does that square with oh, yes, absolutely the blueberry one is in there after taking them into the back and checking and bringing them back out? A blueberry that you acknowledge special ordering. That wasn't in the boxes I received. I get that you have to stand up for your business a little, and I'm glad that this doesn't happen often, but you also got five of the ones we did get wrong. So, yay for minimal fussing over giving me some money back. Be glad that one of four people gave that ...

Dad had more biopsies today. Cancer may have mutated into some other cancer. He is feeling extremely down and uncomfortable. Maybe has to have more surgery and radiation. Has to wait two weeks for biopsy results - fuck cost containment that means specialized pathologists aren't worth paying so you have to mail biopsies who the hell knows where and the few remaining pathologists have to read random fucking everything that's backed up so it takes two weeks - sorry. Three doctors are supposed to confab about next steps when they have info. His next appointment is in three weeks so they can get the results and talk. He came back from the doctor's office and told me he was sorry he forgot to buy me a birthday card. I'm just gonna go sit in the corner and cry for a while. #fsckcancer

Sad. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/05/arts/television/joan-rivers-dies.html?_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/05/arts/television/joan-rivers-dies.html?_r=0

I ran tonight. Just a little but I did. Calves cramped, and left hip hurts, but that's life. Went to yoga earlier today, as well.

http://globalvoicesonline.org/2012/09/09/france-yemen-vanishing-women/ http://globalvoicesonline.org/2012/09/09/france-yemen-vanishing-women

Happy birthday Maggie Brazeau! I had no idea ;)

Sad Not the Onion. http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/sep/01/russia-death-five-geckos-space-sex-mission http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/sep/01/russia-death-five-geckos-space-sex-mission

Made it home, many hours more than it should have taken. Sooo tired. Crashed for several hours as soon as got home. Thank you, thank you, thank you so much Bethany Willick for hosting. Great to meet PRK  , Jez tribell, Drew Gillmore and all in person. So good to see everybody. The alternate birthday was awesome :) Teleportation cannot come too soon. Weather reports, why you lie to me? I checked before I left, and I should have been between any major storms the whole way. Nope. On the radio as I was driving: chance of light showers in the morning..chance of heavier showers clearing by early afternoon..chance of thunderstorms clearing by early afternoon..clearing by late afternoon..clearing by evening. Doesn't anybody ever look out the window? Chance of thunderstorms, my buttocks, I'm in one! but yay for the new enRoute stops on 401. Pulled off at one and waited for over an hour until I could see enough to drive, again. Bugger people who won't pull over into the right lanes w...