Comments

  1. says

    Tethys, you were the one triggered by TET drug (discussion) wars earlier. Everyone else has stopped, I stopped because you were triggered.
    Either drop it or be prepared to have it take over the whole fucking discussion … again.

  2. says

    So, I’ve been dealing with side effects from my antidepressant. I’m on 30mg Cymbalta daily right now, and for the first time I’m actually suffering from notable side effects. Specifically, drowsiness and dry mouth.

    Drowsiness I can handle, I think. Dry mouth is a bigger issue. It doesn’t bother me during the day, since I always have something available to drink, but at night, my throat dries out and gets sore.

    Thing is, I don’t know whether it’s doing any good. I haven’t noticed any benefit, but I haven’t noticed any benefits to any other medication, either. At least I know this one is doing something, even if it’s not something I want…

  3. consciousness razor says

    How can you classify using prison as a last resort as draconian?

    Easy. If the crime is masturbation, or sneezing on the sheriff’s uniform, or not praying to Jesus with sufficient reverence, prison as a last resort is draconian. If the crime is drug use, that is also draconian. Being “a last resort” doesn’t make it any better.

    What less draconian solution would you suggest for people who are actively causing harm to themselves and others for any reason?

    Harm to themselves? Why would the state get involved, except for offering treatment?

    Harm to others? Depends on the type of harm and the circumstances, doesn’t it? For example, ruining personal relationships is harmful, but isn’t a criminal offense. Shooting someone in the face, however, that’s already a crime, and it isn’t the same crime as drug use.

  4. changeable moniker says

    @ad hominum:

    1) I need to understand the range of motivations which produce your sorts of arguments, and 2) the emotions are more interesting to me.

    If you had that as a .sig or something, it might really help.

    (Oh, smiley or something.)

    I get the Socratic method, but it’s tough on a blog, right?

    Not sun-related but enjoyably noisy:

    Cubanate – Oxyacetylene

  5. The Laughing Coyote (Papio Cynocephalus) says

    I’ve been experimenting with pierogis.

    All the data point to delicious as the result.

    *chomp chomp*

    I’m eager to learn more about pierogis. I quite enjoy the bland manufactured version you buy frozen in big bags and pretty much only come with potato based filling, so I can only imagine the real thing will be amazing.

  6. consciousness razor says

    I looked at some of the MN drug statutes.

    The penalties for first-degree sale/possession:

    (a) A person convicted under subdivisions 1 to 2a, paragraph (a), may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than 30 years or to payment of a fine of not more than $1,000,000, or both.

    (b) If the conviction is a subsequent controlled substance conviction, a person convicted under subdivisions 1 to 2a, paragraph (a), shall be committed to the commissioner of corrections for not less than four years nor more than 40 years and, in addition, may be sentenced to payment of a fine of not more than $1,000,000.

    How “progressive” of them.

  7. consciousness razor says

    This one’s just ridiculous:

    One can’t sell or deliver simulated controlled substances either. These are “noncontrolled” substances, which you merely represent as being a drug. No more than three years or a $20,000 fine, or both!

  8. Tethys says

    Sailor

    Yes? I’m fine now and appreciate your concern. I do not wish to take over TET as implied in the disclaimer, and tried to make clear that my reactions were irrational.

    I really don’t know much about rotary engines, and I like Chai.

    Perhaps we could discuss sailing?

    Consciouness Razor

    I agree with you on both points.

    Ad Hominim

    I sincerely apologize for my deliberate insult. I have great respect for you and your thoughts and in no way mean to imply that drug use or abuse is inherently immoral or criminal.

  9. Tethys says

    Consciousness Razor

    My original point was that in my experience, people who have committed crimes under the mitigating factor of drugs are offered help for their issues.

    I have no problem seeing the official laws as products of the failed and draconian war on drugs policy.

  10. says

    Tethys, I would not have sailed today on my boat. It was gusting 15 to 35 kts. It’s a moot point because at my marina we have to have out boats hauled by Nov 1st.

    I would have gone out and crewed on a friend’s racing boat. A 32′ blue water racing boat.

    We sailed once in gusting to 60 kts. It was … adventurous. We had basically a handkerchief for a foresail and the main was kept dowsed. It would have been more manageable if we’d had a full crew that day, (6 crew), but only 2 others were willing to ride. Ah, good times, good times.

  11. Part-Time Insomniac, Zombie Porcupine Nox Arcana Fan says

    Oh, go eat a cactus dipped in habanero sauce, Delgaudio! Spines and all! I think some arsenic would be a nice touch to that meal. And then you can wash it all down with a whole of bottle of tequila laced with antifreeze!
    ——————————–

    Vodka in my Sprite. Delicious. I’ll try whiskey next time.
    ——————————-

    Which is better for working while traveling, a tablet or a netbook? Or is a laptop better than either?
    ——————————-

    I’ve now got a picture of a beholder sitting in the pad of graphing paper I use for practicing spirals and peltas. Let’s just say that lately, I’ve wished I could summon one for real. Maybe then work would be more bearable.

  12. Tethys says

    Sailor

    I have little experience in sailing, though I do find it to be very interesting. I tend to appreciate silent sports. Is blue water a synonym for open ocean sailing or is it referring to water depth?

    60 knots? Whoo-eee!

    I used to live on the Mississippi, and several friends had speed boats. Jumping barge wakes can be great fun. The landings, not so much.

    There was a couple that owned a gorgeous antique wooden sail-boat that I greatly admired. They spent most summer week-ends anchored in a river back-channel near my home. There were many wonderful evenings spent on that boat.

    Caine

    cupcakes? *sigh*

  13. Carlie says

    Ben – most antidepressents have to build up for a few weeks to reach full strength, I think? I’m glad they’re trying something that at least is having side effects, so the dosage is probably closer to correct than what you’ve had before. (hugs)

  14. A. R says

    Caine: Is it a bad thing that that picture you linked to made me really hungry? :) (If I’d made that image, I would have placed Hispanics directly below African Americans, considering the depressingly high levels of often open discrimination and racism that they face)

  15. Carlie says

    PTI – if you’re talking ipad-like tablet, the main complaint I’ve heard from tech people is that they need the tablet and their laptop to get any work done (so no, the tablet doesn’t cut it)

  16. Richard Austin says

    consciousness razor:

    This one’s just ridiculous:

    One can’t sell or deliver simulated controlled substances either. These are “noncontrolled” substances, which you merely represent as being a drug. No more than three years or a $20,000 fine, or both!

    My understanding is that such laws are on the books because a pusher busted with fake drugs (usually scamming addicts) can’t be held under existing scam laws; with this, they can still get busted for “doing something bad” even if it’s not really selling drugs. I don’t know that that justifies it, but that’s my understanding. I could certainly be wrong.

  17. Richard Austin says

    PTI:

    Which is better for working while traveling, a tablet or a netbook? Or is a laptop better than either?

    Depends on what you mean by “working”.

    Android and IOS tablets are mostly good for checking email and browsing the web. If that’s “working”, they’re fine.

    Windows-based tablets are a little better at business-type email, especially if you deal with funky attachment types, but you still run into the problem of needing a keyboard for anything longer than a sentence or two. They’re absolutely amazing for certain graphics work, though.

    Netbooks have a built-in keyboard, but they’re not suited for anything that requires a decent processor. The size can also be odd for some people.

    If you’re looking to do normal “sit at the desk” type office work on the go, I’d get a 10.1 or larger windows tablet (like the EP121) and a bluetooth keyboard. If you’re a developer, get a full laptop. If you just want a larger blackberry, an Android or IOS tablet is fine.

    Full disclosure: I have a 4-year-old Windows tablet (they were called “slates” back then”), a 2-month old Android tablet, a netbook that I shipped to someone but used a bit, and a 17″ desktop replacement for work. So, I’ve got a bit of experience :)

  18. a_ray_in_dilbert_space says

    Ben,
    The effect antidepressants have can be subtle. For me, it was simply the realization that one could view the world in a way other than a depressed state. After 2 years I went off the antidepressants and found that I could accomplish the same thing cognitively… most of the time, at least.

  19. a_ray_in_dilbert_space says

    Sailor, On engines–piston, rotary, steam…how about Stirling. At present, its only application is on submarines (because it is so quiet), but it is the most efficient engine, and both Ford and GM had programs for development. Said programs were always sh*tcanned whenever either automaker decided to “concentrate on its core business.”

    Not sure who owns the IP on this now.

  20. says

    Tethys, blue water is ocean water. It’s tough out there.
    ++++++++++++++
    Ray, Stirling Engines seem great for coffee cups, and can be great for interplanetary exploration. In a gravity well, eh, not so much. I could be wrong.

  21. cicely, Inadvertent Phytocidal Maniac says

    (BTW, for those following my health saga, my respiratory specialist says that the small part of my lung that collapsed should just re-inflate with time.

    Good to hear it! What deflated it in the first place? (Not coughing, I hope!!!!!)

  22. says

    cicely, I’m afraid probably yes, it was the coughing, or the infection behind it. I had a very bad chest infection which triggered new adult-onset asthma. The coughing may also be responsible for a small hiatus hernia, though it’s possible that was there before. CT scans are amazing, you discover just how full of odd bits and bobs you can be. Cysts and nodules and phleboliths and all sorts of crap. No ostriches yet.

  23. Carlie says

    Damn, Alethea, that’s some superhero-grade coughing there.
    “Don’t mess with me – I can make lungs collapse with just my breath.”

  24. says

    Another point about the Cymbalta saga: my dosage will be doubling to 60mg in a few days.

    Monado:

    I don’t wake up during the night; I just wake up in the morning and my throat is so dry it hurts.

    I’m going to get a humidifier if I can find one that isn’t ridonkulously expensive.

    arids:

    Yeah, that was my impression: at least I know this stuff is doing *something*, even if it’s something I don’t want. Maybe that means it’ll start working properly eventually.

    ####

    My alarm clock is acting up, so I’m looking at getting another. Thing is, if I’m going to spend that much, I want something good.

    Features I want, in order of preference:

    * A LOUD alarm. (When I say loud, I mean loud. I want the kind of alarm that’ll make my neighbors wet the bed.)
    * Large, bright numbers.
    * 24-hour time display. (I’ve set my current alarm to 5:30 PM too many times.)
    * Multiple alarms.

    Any suggestions on models to look at?

  25. Zugswang says

    Good news: PSU board fires president and Paterno

    Good riddance. I hope they sell his statue at Beaver Stadium for scrap.

    Here’s what makes me ill:

    Other students were upset. A large crowd descended on the administration building, shouting “We want Joe back!” then headed to Beaver Stadium.

    I wonder when these students will realize they’re defending the enabling rape and abuse?

  26. First Approximation says

    Nervous American Voters Worried About Botching Another Election

    “I keep asking myself, ‘Am I going to completely fuck things up by dropping the ball on my vote for president and sending someone patently corrupt or incompetent to Congress?” he continued. “And the answer for me and millions of other American voters is yeah, probably. God knows we do almost every time.”

    According to the poll, 9 out of 10 likely voters said they did not trust themselves to make choices that were in the nation’s best interests, three-quarters said Election Day panic would likely cause them to base their votes entirely on hearsay, and 93 percent admitted that when it came to state and local races they would probably only recognize the names of candidates who had been featured prominently in attack ads.

  27. Rey Fox says

    I wonder when these students will realize they’re defending the enabling rape and abuse?

    Probably not until the news outlets start actually referring to what happened as “rape”.

  28. says

    “A murder of lawyers”? I think it should be a ‘pleading of lawyers’. I was going to write ‘a brief of lawyers’ but they’re rarely brief and there just too many of them.

    I was thinking of their resemblance to crows.

  29. consciousness razor says

    My understanding is that such laws are on the books because a pusher busted with fake drugs (usually scamming addicts) can’t be held under existing scam laws; with this, they can still get busted for “doing something bad” even if it’s not really selling drugs. I don’t know that that justifies it, but that’s my understanding. I could certainly be wrong.

    Right, that’s part of it. Some don’t realize they’ve got fake drugs, so that isn’t quite a scam; but this lets them get busted anyway for intending to sell drugs and failing to do so. But there’s more. Breaking this law is pretty easy. If something’s just packaged in a way which looks similar to how a drug is packaged, without any sale or attempted sale occurring, that is apparently evidence they were doing… something.

    Doesn’t really matter what the crime would’ve been, I guess. You never know with these alleged low-level street dealer types. We can just be sure it would have been some kind of crime, and that the hypothetical victims would probably appreciate them being kept in a prison for up to three years for not having committed it.

  30. says

    More on the Nu Skin story, and the way the dirty nasty scam money is being passed around, this time to Mitt Romney’s PAC, Restore our future:

    Restore Our Future got $1 million each from “Eli Publishing” and a “F8 LLC,” both of which listed the same Provo, Utah, office suite. A records search reveals that the same address is also home to trusts set up by the families of Blake Roney and Steven Lund, executives at Nu Skin enterprises and major Romney contributors in the 2008 campaign.

    Excerpt above is from http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0711/60329.html

    The book that Nu Skin executives managed to get banned from Barnes & Noble and from Amazon has shown up on a Japanese site: http://www.nuskintrophy.com/

    Mother Jones mentioned Nu Skin in an article about Jon Huntsman back in September:
    http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/09/jon-huntsman-pyramid-scheme-mlm
    Excerpt:

    Utah is home to the nation’s largest concentration of companies built around the practice of multilevel marketing, which is widely considered to be a type of pyramid scheme. While Huntsman was governor, he did his part to keep them in business.

    Known as MLMs, these companies often sell overpriced nutritional supplements or other health products, not through retail outlets but rather through networks of individual distributors. Among the signature companies in Utah are Nu Skin, Usana, Tahitian Noni Beverages, and Nature’s Sunshine Products. Instead of relying on consumer sales, they make their real revenue from constantly recruiting more salespeople, who usually have to “invest” in the opportunity to sell the products and then must recruit their own network of distributors to make money. Most distributors at the bottom of the pyramid never make the big bucks promised by the company. Because of this structure, these types of companies are frequent targets of law enforcement, federal regulators, and consumer lawyers.

    Huntsman took Nu Skin executives to China and introduced the MLM there.

    Huntsman did the MLMs even more of a favor in Utah:

    At the behest of the Direct Selling Association, the trade lobby for multilevel marketing companies, the state Legislature passed a bill that essentially gutted Utah’s anti-pyramid-scheme law. The bill Huntsman then signed into law may have sanctioned the practices of at least 20 companies in the state thought to be illegally operating a pyramid scheme under the old statute, according to Jon Taylor, the head of the Utah-based Consumer Awareness Institute. Taylor, a retired former Brigham Young University professor, became a critic of the industry after a friend pressured him to become a distributor for Nu Skin….

    … The state’s longtime attorney general, Mark Shurtleff, was elected with lots of money from MLM companies, and he supported gutting the anti-pyramid scheme law that he was charged with enforcing….

    Nu Skin, for one, has a provision in its contracts with distributors requiring them to bring any lawsuits against the company into Utah courts, where the Utah law applies [emphasis added], rather than in their home states, which might have more stringent consumer protection laws. The new law ensures that ripped off distributors don’t have a prayer of holding the company accountable in a Utah court….
    The Provo-based Nu Skin, which purportedly sells vitamins and skin care products, has a long and troubled history with regulators dating back to the early 1990s, when several states were investigating the company for operating a pyramid scheme. In 1992, it settled a threatened lawsuit with the Michigan attorney general’s office and four other states, promising to clean up its business practices and paying $25,000 to cover the cost of the investigation. It’s worth noting that during that time, when Nu Skin was under fire from state consumer protection officials, its official spokesperson was Jason Chaffetz, who now represents Utah in Congress. In 2004, Chaffetz managed Huntsman’s gubernatorial campaign, and he went on to serve as his chief of staff.

    As bad as the influence of piles of cash are in the political arena, I think it gets one more layer of evil when the piles of cash fertilize mormonism. Mormonism seems to teach businessmen to be unethical in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. All that talk about honesty is a false front.

    Nu Skin also got into hot water with the Federal Trade Commission for making false claims about its products, including weight loss supplements and baldness cures, and for misrepresenting the earnings new individual distributors would make….

    ———
    Update: and just now, when I went back to check the article on the Mother Jones website, the site seemed to be being slammed with a DOS attack or something … “server having trouble” — will check back later. There’s a second article about Romney, the Mormon Church, and Nu Skin.

  31. chigau (---...---) says

    The Sailor re language acquisition
    I know all the syllabics used for Japanese plus several hundred of the ideographs.
    I cannot compose a Japanese equivalent of, “Yesterday I went to a movie that I read about in last month’s Playboy.”
    For whatever that’s worth.
    Maybe everyone should learn that Alpha Bravo Charlie stuff.
    —————
    Ben Geiger
    As long as you are going big-bucks on an alarm clock, get one that wakes you every two hours so you can take a drink of water.
    Fuck sleep disruption!!!!

  32. says

    Nu Skin-related articles still not available on Mother Jones site:

    This server is experiencing technical problems. Please try again in a few moments. Thanks for your continued patience, and we’re sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.

    Error 503 Service Unavailable

    Service Unavailable

    XID: 1876108076

    Here’s the link; http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/09/mitt-romney-nu-skin-mormon-church

    And here’s some of the text from another source:

    …unlike the Wall Street financial whizzes Romney is usually associated with, Nu Skin is what’s known as a multilevel marketing firm. It supposedly sells vitamins and skin care products (the Post called Lund the “luxury cosmetics king”). But virtually none of its revenue comes from selling anything. Instead, its money comes from recruiting a never-ending stream of new distributors who are the primary buyers of the company’s products and who pay to attend seminars in the hopes of making big bucks.

    …These actions [legal actions against Nu Skin, filed in US courts] are one reason that for the past decade, 85 percent of the company’s distributors are in Asia, where the market is not yet oversaturated with distributors and consent orders don’t apply…

    Romney’s ties to the firm go back at least to his time overseeing the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympics, when Romney convinced the company to contribute $20 million to sponsor the city’s Olympic effort. After the sponsorship deal was announced in 1999, Romney appeared at the company’s 10th international convention in Salt Lake City, where more than 10,000 of the company’s distributors had assembled for a meeting. Romney took the stage to address the crowd, telling them that both Nu Skin and the Olympics are “about taking control of your life and managing your own destiny.”

    …As part of the Olympic sponsorship deal, Nu Skin and its subsidiary Pharmanex distributed nutritional supplements and vitamins to the athletes even as the International Olympic Committee was advising athletes not to take any of the supplements because of concerns that they may be adulterated with steroids and other banned substances that could get athletes kicked out of the games. …

    More importantly, though, Nu Skin may also be serving as an important conduit for Romney’s Mormon donors. In his last campaign, he raised more than $5 million in Utah, tapping the Mormon community’s wealth in a way no other presidential candidate had before. But in 2006, Romney came under fire for meeting with officials of the LDS church to discuss setting up a donor network. The church is barred by its tax-exempt status from supporting candidates. But Romney could have done worse than picking Nu Skin as a substitute for the church.

    Nu Skin is dominated by Mormons. Roney and Lund are heavily involved in the church. Last year, the pair donated hundreds of thousands of shares of Nu Skin stock to the LDS church, which sold them for a whopping $10 million. The pair also underwrote a PBS documentary on Mormons in 2007, during the heated battle over California’s anti-gay marriage initiative Proposition 8, which was supported by the LDS church. In 2003, Lund stepped down as Nu Skin’s CEO and served for three years as the LDS mission president in Atlanta before returning to Utah to join the church’s Fifth Quorum of Seventy, a full-time leadership post in the church. (He’s currently the vice chairman of the board of Nu Skin.) Roney is such a church supporter that he commissioned a Mormon sculptor to carve giant pieces of stone into replicas of the original sunstone capitals that were part of the legendary 19th-century Mormon temple in Nauvoo, Illinois. He put them in his front yard in Provo…

    No separation of church and business. No separation of church and state.

    ———-
    Update: Mother Jones server back up, but still iffy.

  33. Weed Monkey says

    Teh Kitteh has grown into a 4 kg strapping youngster, and her claws into terrifying weapons of cloth and skin destruction. While I bleed from many little wounds it’s still nice to have her on my shoulders warming my neck while I write this. =^.^=

  34. says

    Hey Physics types, I have a question ! I never thought I’d say this, but I think I understand the (special) theory of relativity now. Just one thing, how did Einstein figure that he should use Lorentz transformations ? Does anyone know ?

  35. Rey Fox says

    Morello and Hoffman are seeking damages in excess of $15,000.

    Chump change. They should be bleeding the fuckers dry.

  36. says

    I cannot compose a Japanese equivalent of, “Yesterday I went to a movie that I read about in last month’s Playboy.”

    But chigau, can you say:

    1. Last month I read Playboy Magazine.
    2. There was an article about a movie.
    3. Yesterday I saw that movie.

    Parataxis (TM), helping non-native speakers communicate for millenia

    (As a linguist, I of course decry that teaching of grammar is often not done well in the language education sector.)

  37. First Approximation says

    Hey Physics types, I have a question ! I never thought I’d say this, but I think I understand the (special) theory of relativity now. Just one thing, how did Einstein figure that he should use Lorentz transformations ? Does anyone know ?

    Lorentz transformations follow from the postulates of special relativity. Here’s Einstein himself on how to get Lorentz transformations. If that gives you trouble, here’s a (somewhat) simplified derivation similar to Einstein’s.

    (Personally, I prefer the group theoretic derivation.)

    Maxwell’s equations, which govern electromagnetism, don’t hold under a Galilean transformation. Lorentz found his eponymous transformations by looking for a way to preserve Maxwell’s equations. Einstein had read some of Lorentz’s work and I believe that’s where he came across them.

  38. Weed Monkey says

    And when I say “Never been a fan of Henry Rollins”, I mean “please Henry drop that clue-by-four, you don’t know what to do with it.”

    Just for a quick example, Rollins Band’s greatest hit Liar. Musically, it’s abso-ma-fucking-lutely brilliant. But if those lyrics are Henry’s idea of how a liar’s psyche works it’s just rubbish.

  39. chigau (---...---) says

    pelamun
    yep
    I can say the 1, 2, 3.
    but I would really like to say the more complex sentence. Without having to ‘translate’.
    This is, of course, almost impossible.
    To paraphrase that great linguist scholar Dave Barry, “The best way to learn Japanese is to be born in Japan to Japanese parents.”

  40. says

    theophontes,

    based on your recommendations, a little app review

    Architecture Digest

    They have “AD Deutschland” as an app, but as far as the American version is concerned, only “AD Kitchens”

    The AD Deutschland app allows you to buy both the English and German versions for $6 a pop.

    There’s also an app for the China edition, but it seems to be focused on style.

    Domus

    No app for the magazine, but they have Domus guides for particular cities, Milan, Beijing, New York and Berlin, for $5 a pop. Only the Milan one is universal.

    While not a magazine, this is exactly what I need when I go on an architectural exploration tour in a city. Instead of schlepping guidebooks, it’s nice if you can have the data on your device, through the GPS map you can see immediately which buildings are near you.

    (Domus has a China edition, looks interesting; compared to the AD China edition, this seems to be more about buildings than interior design)

    L’architecture d’aujourd’hui
    You can get it through Zinio (French version only). $18 per issue. Wow.

    Wallpaper Magazine
    iPad app. $10 per issue.

    (Subscriptions might be cheaper. But the reason I use the iPad for magazines is that I occasionally want to read one)

  41. says

    Maxwell’s equations, which govern electromagnetism, don’t hold under a Galilean transformation. Lorentz found his eponymous transformations by looking for a way to preserve Maxwell’s equations.

    Fuck, and I think I actually know what that means ! Thanks !

  42. says

    Essentially, what the STR says is that the time between 2 events, and the distance between 2 points, is not independent from the motion of the reference frame in which they are measured.
    Still trying to get my head around the fact that a measuring rod in a moving train is shorter than the same rod on the footpath next to the train line.

  43. says

    chigau

    but I would really like to say the more complex sentence. Without having to ‘translate’.
    This is, of course, almost impossible.

    I think it always depends on what your goals are. At some point you will get to a point where you can’t progress any more without constant immersion. If you’re not in Japan right now, and do not interact with Japanese speakers in Japanese on a daily basis, then this will be hard.

    But you can do:

    (0. Review vocabulary regularly – you need to have something to fill the grammatical patterns)

    1. Learn the grammar well. I’ve met some people who learnt a language “on the streets”. While they can get their points across effectively, their grasp of grammar can be lacking, and their sentence structure garbled, especially for those complex sentences you speak of. Make use of learner’s grammars, for “big languages” there will be books especially for intermediate learners. Identify areas of more complex grammar you want to focus on.

    2. Apply those grammar bits regularly in an environment where you can be corrected. If you don’t have a teacher that reviews your conversational performance, use a writing platform such as lang-8.com

    3. Expose yourself to material every day and look how the structures in question are applied. Manga, anime, newspapers, novels, what have you.

    I also don’t think that Japanese has a very complex grammar. It is just quite different from Standard Average European (SAE), with many syntactic rules “backwards” from a SAE point of view. The fact that Japanese has the most complex writing system ever known to humankind obscures the fact that the grammar itself is not that complex. I mean only four and a half irregular verbs, learners of SAE languages will laugh about this.

  44. chigau (---...---) says

    pelamun
    Sometimes I think it may be a problem with my native language.
    When challanged to write a “journal”, I often end up with, “The weather was nice today.”
    so when I do my Japanese journal, I get the same;
    今日の天気かいい。

  45. Weed Monkey says

    chigau, if you don’t mind me asking, what actually ID your native language? :D I’m sure you have mentioned but I tend to forget

  46. says

    chigau,

    of course your native language will create what’s known as interference effects. So for your particular example, you need to review topic-comment structures in Japanese, and practice those.

    It might be different for every person, but at some point it will make ‘click’ and you will start thinking in the target language. (this is my unscientific opinion based on anecdata)

    But I can only recommend lang-8. You don’t have to write a journal in the classical sense, it can be about anything, if journals aren’t your thing.

  47. says

    So as an SAE native speaker, learning another SAE language is infinitely easier than learning a language that is typologically and lexically quite different.

    Thus, interference effects can be a huge problem, and a great deal of effort needs to be made to address those. A German speaker can mask their ignorance of English rules by using the same structures as in German, and more often than not it’ll make sense to an English speaker (unless they say “Waiter, I want to become a steak”). No such luck in Japanese. If you ask me, this point should be hammered home right from Japa 101, starting with the lesson that YOU DON’T START EVERY SENTENCE WITH “WATASHI” IN JAPANESE (/rant).

  48. First Approximation says

    pelamun, according to The New York Times:

    It was not until several minutes later, when he received another turn, that he explained himself, saying: “By the way, that was the Department of Energy I was reaching for a while ago.”

    It’s gotten to the point where Perry would probably be better off not doing the next one thousand Republican Presidential debates*.

    *Seriously though, there’s been a lot of them and there are plans for a lot more.

  49. First Approximation says

    Looking up, it seems like this was the NINTH Republican presidential debate. Ughhh. Bill Maher recently said it resembles a reality show and I’m beginning to agree.

  50. says

    First Approximation,

    Thanks. Yeah, 9 debates, that’s crazy.

    But the debates have been effective so far in eliminating Pawlenty and Perry (though there’s still a small chance for him) so far. Also in showing America how crazy those teabaggers really are.

  51. says

    My alarm clock is acting up, so I’m looking at getting another.
    (…)
    Any suggestions on models to look at?

    iPhone + docking station?

    A LOUD alarm.

    Like this?

  52. says

    Will the American populace mind that Perry didnt remember which other essential governemnt agency he wants to shut down ? I hope so, but I won’t hold my breath.

  53. says

    language learning
    I always earn surprised looks when I tell my students to search their 400+channel digital TV for some Spanish ones and watch the children’s program.
    But getting people off translating is hard. And it makes them crash into walls every time. Not only because gramatical structures are different, but also because their ability in their native language of course exceeds their ability in the target language by miles.
    Modern books usually don’t tell people to “translate”, but ask “how do you ask for the time in Spanish?” They try to remove the instruction from the question as much as possible.
    I think much progress has been made here in methodology, now we need teachers to catch up, too (oh, and politicians).

  54. SteveV says

    Features I want, in order of preference:

    * A LOUD alarm. (When I say loud, I mean loud. I want the kind of alarm that’ll make my neighbors wet the bed.)
    * Large, bright numbers.
    * 24-hour time display. (I’ve set my current alarm to 5:30 PM too many times.)
    * Multiple alarms.

    Any suggestions on models to look at?

    My Sony Ericsson W995 does all those things.
    Especially if I use THIS as the alarm tone instead of singing whales.

  55. theophontes, flambeau du communisme says

    @ Pelamun

    Glad that you are coming right with the magazines. As I said, I am not much into the things. If I was to read any of those, it would likely be “Wallpaper”, in the paper edition.

    The problem I have with magazines is that they are, too often, too lacking in depth to do much justice to the subject matter. I would rather pick up a good book.

    Even though I practice (funny word that, kekekeke) architecture, I don’t regard it as particularly important (not that it doesn’t have the potential to be, it is generally severely limited by extraneous factors).

    More interesting, and this may also apply to you, is town planning. Especially if you love cities.

    Try looking out for these books:

    “Architecture and Utopia. Design and Capitalist Development.” by Manfred Tafuri (or any of his books).
    “The City Shaped” by Spiro Kostoff (He also wrote a follow up called “The City Built”.)

    The above are a good starting point to get more deeply into the subject of urbanisation. They are both excellent books for going into the historical and social forces at play in city development.

  56. theophontes, flambeau du communisme says

    @ Kitty

    Hugs to teh kitteh (but only after wrapping him in an old, disposable blanket – just in case).

  57. Rev. BigDumbChimp says

    Congrats Penn State students, you’ve officially set your level of worldly perspective to levels near that of a Professional Wrestling fan.

  58. Carlie says

    People are rioting in support of a guy who refused to turn a child rapist over to the police, even as he kept on raping.

    And people wonder if we live in a rape culture?

  59. Ing says

    Penn State announces proudly that they will not tolerate pedophilia hurting their football legacy.

  60. Ing says

    @Carlie

    JINX!

    Behind about 2,000 100% normal people proudly coming out with violence in defense of child rape.

  61. Birger Johansson says

    Fuck! Bloody hell!

    Climate Change: World Reaches Point Of No Return In Five Years, Say Scientists http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2011/11/09/climate-change-five-years_n_1084052.html?ref=uk

    Fried tarantula or birds’ saliva soup: Weird And Wonderful Food Delicacies From Around The World http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2011/11/09/10-weird-food-delicacies-from-around-the-globe_n_1083541.html?ref=uk-lifestyle

    California Refuses to Accept Obama’s Banking Sellout http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-scheer/california-refuses-to-acc_b_1085581.html -Forget relying on the federal government to hold the Wall Street swindlers accountable.

    Finally a rich guy that is nice: Stephen King Offers To Help Struggling Maine Residents Stay Warm This Winter http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/10/stephen-king-heating-aid-maine_n_1085415.html

    Mendocino County Marijuana Program At Risk After DEA Raids Permitted Farm http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/09/mendocino-county-marijuana-at-risk_n_1085123.html

  62. Birger Johansson says

    Katherine Lorraine at 415:

    (spoiler alert for The Walking Dead)
    Not quite a “load-bearing boss” –rather a case of an inflexible computer program in charge of biological sterilization measures (a small-scale derivative of the situation in Doctor Strangelove). The script writers had poor imagination. I recommend written zombie tales instead –“Day to Day Armageddon” is strongly recommended.

  63. Carlie says

    Honest to criminey – if I hear one more time “but he did his job and reported it to his superiors”, I’m going to blow a gasket. If you come across someone molesting a child in public, do you go hunt down the person’s employer and tell them, or do you call the fucking police? Gee, you call the fucking police. So maybe instead of telling his superiors that he got a report that Sandusky raped a kid, Paterno should have told the person who reported it “Wow, we’re going to call the police now while you’re here in my office”, and then later told his superiors that hey, I called the police because Sandusky was raping a child.

  64. says

    Rev BDC, I heard on NPR this morning that Penn State students are blaming the media for raising the child-sex-abuse case to a level of prominence that affected their precious football program. They turned a TV van over onto its side.

    Odd. I thought students would be wise enough and old enough to recognize that they could honor their old coach’s good points, while still seeing that sexual abuse of children was swept under the rug under his watch.

    It’s not the media that raped those children.

  65. Beatrice says

    People are mean. I can’t stand mean people. Let’s make fun of a not conventionally attractive woman and wonder how anyone wants to have sex with her, let’s make fun of the man with what’s considered to be a girly voice, let’s make fun of a singer because he can’t pronounce r perfectly, let’s make fun of everyfuckingone who isn’t just as you think they should be.
    Because all that (and more, much much more) is soooo funny. And I have to hold in my comments because I am already considered unsocial, and really wouldn’t want to make it worse.

  66. Carlie says

    And I have to hold in my comments because I am already considered unsocial, and really wouldn’t want to make it worse.

    And it’s considered unsocial or antisocial if you disagree with ripping apart other people for not conforming enough. :(

  67. Rev. BigDumbChimp says

    Odd. I thought students would be wise enough and old enough to recognize that they could honor their old coach’s good points, while still seeing that sexual abuse of children was swept under the rug under his watch.

    You’d hope that, especially considering how much more is coming to light on this.

    It’s really depressing. I had my asshole moments in college, for sure. I never rioted (though I participated in a number of large “camp-ins” protesting the first gulf war) and I would never have excused the football coach of my School for something like this.

    And I fucking love football.

    It’s shameful on all fronts.

    I will have to say, I listen to a couple of national sports Radio shows and the callers have been overwhelmingly in the right on their commentary. That is encouraging.

  68. Rev. BigDumbChimp says

    Honest to criminey – if I hear one more time “but he did his job and reported it to his superiors”, I’m going to blow a gasket. If you come across someone molesting a child in public, do you go hunt down the person’s employer and tell them, or do you call the fucking police? Gee, you call the fucking police.

    This X100

    I’ve been making this point all week.

  69. Rev. BigDumbChimp says

    WTF people.

    Seriously.

    Shopping online can be a real time-saver, and you can get some great deals. But skip lollipops that come with the virus that causes chickenpox.

    This caution comes after a woman in Nashville, Tenn., advertised lollipops contaminated with the varicella virus on Facebook. The tainted pops were intended for parents who want to expose their children to the disease.

  70. Beatrice says

    Carlie,

    In such situations in the past, I used to pat myself on the back for not joining in and agreeing with the badmouthing, but now I feel a bit like an ass for staying quiet.

  71. Algernon says

    People are rioting in support of a guy who refused to turn a child rapist over to the police, even as he kept on raping.

    And people wonder if we live in a rape culture?

    This should be pasted in every thread where some one like GBD questions rape culture.

  72. Ing says

    BTW, since it came up on the WLC thread. Bill Corbet (Crow T Robot) on his twitter had some amusing “Oh no, the pro-pedophiles dont’ LIKE me!” on his Twitter.

  73. says

    “Despite a powerful eyewitness statement about the sexual assault of a child, this incident was not reported to any law enforcement or child protective agency, as required by Pennsylvania law,” Kelly said. “Additionally, there is no indication that anyone from the university ever attempted to learn the identity of the child who was sexually assaulted on their campus or made any follow-up effort to obtain more information from the person who witnessed the attack firsthand.”

    Basically, they did not care who the child was.

    http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/11/report_former_coach_jerry_sand.html

  74. Carlie says

    Tim Minchin has weighed in on the comment thread at Skepchick that rorschach linked to earlier (at least, someone calling themselves Tim Minchin). I’m happy to report that, after thinking it over for awhile, he does indeed Get It. (it’s about halfway down here)

  75. says

    I remember playing Scrabble with the older sister of a classmate of my (younger) brother, because I had a disease she hadn’t had yet. I can’t remember which disease, but it might’ve been chickenpox or mumps. Don’t know if it worked or not. Probably should ask my mother.

  76. a_ray_in_dilbert_space says

    OK, now let me get this straight. In the tiny, little minds of rethuglicans, groping women is acceptable, but cerebral flatulence–that ends your campaign? How do these people not slit their own throats out of shame?

  77. Algernon says

    How do these people not slit their own throats out of shame?

    They had their kick-the-dog moment so long ago, they can’t possibly have shame at this point.

  78. Janine Is Still An Asshole, OM, says

    ARIDS, you know that girls are there to be groped. And any girl who complains is just a gold digger.

  79. cicely, Inadvertent Phytocidal Maniac says

    Benjamin, here’s hoping that the Cymbalta does the job for you.

    Bill Maher recently said it resembles a reality show and I’m beginning to agree.

    Who Wants To Be President Of The United States? Or maybe Survivor: Debates. Oooh; or Dancing With The Talking Points. Or The Amazing Presidential Race. America’s Funniest Debate Videos. The list just goes on and on.

    *hug* for Katherine Lorraine, and best wishes for teh kitteh.

    Odd. I thought students would be wise enough and old enough to recognize that they could honor their old coach’s good points, while still seeing that sexual abuse of children was swept under the rug under his watch.

    I would offer to lend you a cup of *cynicism* if I wasn’t sure that you were already using *sarcasm*.

  80. Weed Monkey says

    Sorry Threadisens, I got a bit carried away last night: I had simultaneous access to the Internet, my music library and a case of beer. I’ll try to contain my internal monologue better in the future.

  81. Rey Fox says

    I may have been an asocial loser at times in my life, choosing free time to learn about things or just wander off somewhere rather than padding my credentials with extracurricular activities and joining organizations, but at least I’ve never been in a situation where I had to choose between the group and upholding the law and human decency.

    Fuck tribalism.

  82. Rev. BigDumbChimp says

    Holy fucking shit

    Still rumors, but it wouldn’t surprise me if true. They said there were more allegations to come to light.

    Just unsubstantiated allegations as of right now so take with a bucket of salt.

    “I can give you a rumor and I can give you something I think might happen,” Madden said on the radio. “I hear there’s a rumor that there will be a more shocking development from the Second Mile Foundation — and hold on to your stomachs, boys, this is gross, I will use the only language I can — that Jerry Sandusky and Second Mile were pimping out young boys to rich donors. That was being investigated by two prominent columnists even as I speak.”

  83. ad hominum salvator ॐ says

    I don’t understand what’s wrong with the chicken pox lollipops. It seems more convenient than arranging a play date with some kid in the neighborhood who has chicken pox. (Possibly an annoyance if your kid doesn’t usually play with the poxkid. OTOH, at least poxkid gets to be popular for a week.)

  84. Rev. BigDumbChimp says

    I don’t understand what’s wrong with the chicken pox lollipops. It seems more convenient than arranging a play date with some kid in the neighborhood who has chicken pox. (Possibly an annoyance if your kid doesn’t usually play with the poxkid. OTOH, at least poxkid gets to be popular for a week.)

    That doctors says it’s a bad idea and that the vaccination more effective and safer?

  85. ad hominum salvator ॐ says

    Tethys, that’s kind of you. You did recognize that I was being unfair with my “sure am glad” comment. Thanks for also recognizing my frustration.

  86. A. R says

    Good morning thread. Declaring thread bankruptcy and making myself a pot of Earl Grey. Anyway, amused at Perry, happy that Penn State finally did the right thing.

  87. Weed Monkey says

    ad hominum salvator ॐ, it’s absurd you claim not to see what’s wrong with it. But here, Orac can tell you.

  88. ad hominum salvator ॐ says

    That doctors says it’s a bad idea and that the vaccination is more effective and safer?

    Oh, ok. So it’s not equivalent to SQB’s chess game. Makes sense.

  89. ad hominum salvator ॐ says

    ad hominum salvator ॐ, it’s absurd you claim not to see what’s wrong with it.

    No it’s not. I really am quite stupid.

  90. Rev. BigDumbChimp says

    Oh, ok. So it’s not equivalent to SQB’s chess game. Makes sense.

    I must have missed this

  91. Weed Monkey says

    No it’s not. I really am quite stupid.

    If you say so. Hopefully that link to Orac’s clears this thing up.

  92. says

    Come to think of it, it probably was chickenpox, since over here (NL) people are normally not vaccinated against it, as opposed to the USA.

    In the absence of vaccination, it does make some sense, as chickenpox is more severe in adults than it is in children, or so the Pft! tells me.

  93. says

    Hm. Rarely fatal, the Pft! says, but anyway, I thought the biggest problem was fetal varicella syndrome, which I forgot about in my previous comment.

  94. algernon says

    Long term friend on FB just told me men face more gender discrimination than women. I’m crished. This is after days of arguing. And he’s the one who posted about women not having ambition. I’m done. I can’t do this alone. I post this because we have no power alone.

  95. Rev. BigDumbChimp says

    Strange… just posted a comment with one link and it was eaten.

    Had this happen a few times here recently

  96. Rev. BigDumbChimp says

    Apparently ftb no likely links from addicting info

    Let’s try this again

    Cain makes a great point
    For Every Woman Herman Cain Harassed, There Were Thousands He Didn’t

    For every one person that comes forward with a false accusation, there are probably thousands who will say that none of that sort of activity ever came from Herman Cain.

  97. A. R says

    SQB: Direct quote from the Pft:

    Infection in otherwise healthy adults tends to be more severe and may be fatal.

  98. says

    Algernon, here‘s a song for you. Please scream along.

    (Deja-vu? Didn’t I offer this song to you before? In that case, feel free to swap out any of your ‘friends’ for any number of Pharyngulites.)

  99. says

    Direct quote from same:

    Chickenpox is rarely fatal, although it is generally more severe in adult males than in adult females or children.

    Yep, had shingles once already. So I’m absolutely in favor of vaccination, but in absence of that, I can understand why you would want to have it as a kid instead of as an adult and even try to get your kids infected when possible. A very crude form of vaccination, if you will.

  100. says

    All the best to Katherine’s kitten.

    Disappointed about PSU students. Way too damage your alma mater’s reputation…

    Watching yesterday’s TRMS was a delight (hasn’t been the case for a long given the way American politics have been going recently)

    Rachel said to politics junkies, Election Day is like Christmas, and this politics junkie agrees wholeheartedly, but to newspeople it’s more like parents organising Christmas for the kids, haha, good anaology

    Among the highlights:

    – Mitch McConnell taking credit for the one statewide race Republicans won, and ignoring all the others
    – Mitt Romney doing the flipflop again: finally coming out “110%” in support of failed Ohio bill, and now accusing the media of misrepresenting him as supporting the failed personhood bill (TRMS’s answer: just playing the video from the Huckabee show where he declared his support)
    – Iowa’s Republican governor had a plan to flip the state Senate into Republican control by appointing a conservative Democrat to a state office, thus prompting a special election in an off year. Conservative district, the winner was another Democrat. Gambit failed.

  101. opposablethumbs, que le pouce enragé mette les pouces says

    algernon I am really sorry. It’s bad enough when people you don’t know or like are coming out with this crap; to hear it from someone who’s supposed to be some kind of friend – and worse, a long term friend – is the pits.

  102. Weed Monkey says

    Dhrovath, thank you but there’s no need. But the mention of Ufomammut reminds me of Nightjar, she used to like it too. When did she disappear? And hope she’s ok, of course.

  103. says

    Yes, and having chicken pox as a child puts one at risk for shingles as an adult.

    This is because the immunisation effect from the chicken pox infection wears off after 50-60 years right (my mother just had to go through this)? Would that be any different in case of vaccination?

  104. Rev. BigDumbChimp says

    A very crude form of vaccination, if you will.

    And irresponsible if actual vaccinations are available.

  105. says

    SQB

    Come to think of it, it probably was chickenpox, since over here (NL) people are normally not vaccinated against it, as opposed to the USA.

    Still not?
    Over here it’s included in the MMR vaccine, but that’s fairly recent. 10 years ago they didn’t vaccinate at all and then they didn’t vaccinate enough.
    So, yes, it was fairly common to send your kid to play with the chicken-pox kid 20 years ago. Only it didn’t work for me, I never caught them. I only caught them when I was 20 and my cousin came to visit with her kids. Having chicken pox on my 21st birthday was bad. I locked myself in the bathroom and swore I wuld never leave again.
    But there’s a safe and effective vaccine avaible now, so intentionally infecting your kid should count as assault and child abuse.

  106. says

    Nope, still not. I wonder how far asking for it specifically would get us — or rather our kids. Like most people, we’ve just been going along with the regular schedule, which doesn’t include it yet.

  107. Dhorvath, OM says

    Weed Monkey,
    I have not seen Nightjar at the new digs, but have read comments from her at Sciblogs since the move. Not recently mind, haven’t been over there for a month or more. It’s a sad, blf is missing too.

  108. says

    Giliell,

    one of my bio-son’s mums (the non-bio-mum*) ) has never had chickenpox (and thus was quite afraid of getting infected when my mother had the shingles). Given the fact that she is a high school teacher I think it’s a question of time until she gets it.. And also since she wants to get pregnant, maybe now is the time for her to get vaccinated?

    *) stupid term, is there a better way of saying things?

  109. Ing says

    Not a friend, but his friends came out in support of Da Coach and how we shouldn’t smear his legacy. I’m probably gonna get in trouble over my responses. I don’t care about people not liking me, but some friends have vetoed me talking on their walls because it upsets their other friends. Which frankly insults me.

    HOly shit on the rumors of Penn. I’m hesitant to even share that story in case it is only rumors, but damn

  110. says

    SQB,

    I checked some info. The German Wikipedia says the vaccine has been available since 2004. Children between 9 and 17 who haven’t had it by then should get vaccinated.

    Also there’s a whole list of risk groups that should get it too, like women trying to get pregnant, people with neurodermitis, leukemia etc.

  111. says

    pelamun
    If she doesn’t want to spend the whole pregnancy at home, she should make an appointment with her GP, get her imunisation status checked and get the vaccines*.
    Which reminds me that I have to make an appointment with my GP as well to get my vaccinations up to date.
    I made it through almost all of the nasty childhood diseases, and I even if I had zero knowledge of risks, herd imunity and stuff, that alone would convince me of vaccination.
    But vaccines are their own enemies: People don’t know anymore how nasty the stuff was.

    *Pretty common for women who work in education and whose vaccinations are not up to date.

  112. says

    I guess it doesn’t matter in everyday life who the bio-mom is, they both want to have natural kids of their own and then adopt each other’s bio-kids. So effectively the only time it becomes relevant is regarding medical issues (also the kid had to find out very early in life that not all breasts are nutritional sources), so I guess bio-mum is the more important word here. Was just wondering if there are established terms for “non-bio-mum”, maybe “adoptive mom”, but they haven’t gone through the civil union-adoption process yet.

    The kid’s still using ma/mama (singular, plural) for both moms, no distinctions as of now.

  113. says

    Giliell,

    I think they might be slightly wary of vaccinations, though I haven’t seen any thing of the vaccines-cause-autism scale yet. It’s just part of mainstream culture, sadly, to be skeptical of vaccines. But I think the pregnancy argument will be convincing.

  114. Algernon says

    Well all may not be lost. He called me to apologize. Maybe in a small way something got through. But that is just hard shit to do, isn’t it.

  115. Algernon says

    Not a friend, but his friends came out in support of Da Coach and how we shouldn’t smear his legacy. I’m probably gonna get in trouble over my responses.

    Good for you! I can’t believe there is even an argument to be had. Frankly, it just boggles my mind.

  116. A. R says

    pelamun: About Shingles, remember, chickenpox/shingles virus is a herpesvirus, which means that it hides in the nervous system (where the immune system can’t get to it) after the primary infection. Essentially, the virus is triggered to reactivate by some external factor, and replication begins. Axoplasmic transport carries it along the sensory nerve tracts, where it causes the characteristic lesions at the subcutaneous endings. How the virus is able to escape immediate destruction by the immune system upon reactivation is not well known.

  117. Ing says

    @Algernon

    Yeah, people are surprised that despite the anonymity I don’t act too different in real life than on the net. Hence why I am often in trouble with friends of friends.

  118. says

    pelamun
    Urgh, can they be helped with science?
    Although I know that science alone doesn’t help. What convinced my BIL that we should vaccinate against those relatively harmless diseases as well wasn’t that he’s a virologist but that he caught Rubella…
    I’m pretty firm on vaccination. I think that’s a point where the right of the child not to get sick certainly overrules the right of the parent to believe stupid.
    We have a bad case of anthroposophic anti-vaxxer in the family and I think what she does is criminal. I fail to see why denying a kid antibiotics so he’s sick with scarlet fever and pneumonia for 6 solid weeks isn’t the same as keeping him intentionally hungry, or beating him.

  119. says

    Giliell,

    yeah they have friends who are anthroposophs and have very strange notions about child-rearing. I’m always a bit worried that they might be influenced by them, but so far it doesn’t seem to have happened (OTOH, I’m not barging in and demanding to see the vaccination pass)

    A.R,

    so are you saying that reactivation can happen earlier than 40-50 years? Be it as it may, that’s what the doctor said. Probably dumbed it down.

  120. A. R says

    Giliell: How very Civil War of your family member. Yeah, it’s child abuse not to provide proper medical treatment.

  121. A. R says

    pelamun: Yeah, it’s possible. Cases typically don’t appear until the mid teens though. I had shingles at age ten though.

  122. says

    Yeah, a neighbour’s kid had shingles in his teens. Told me too if the rash came “full circle” he’d die. German name of the disease was poetic too, “belt rose”.

    OK, acc to this article, 50% of shingles cases occur in people over 60

  123. A. R says

    pelamun: Yep, in fact the shingles vaccine here in the US is only available for individuals 60ish and up.

  124. Tethys says

    Katherine Lorraine

    Is it normal cat mommy behavior to be completely and utterly freaked out over the fact that Snip is having probably a minor tummy problem and the fact that I can’t get him to the vet until Saturday is making me go into minor hysterics?

    Yes. That is completely normal behavior for a caring person.

    What is Snip doing that is alarming you so much?

  125. says

    Chick-fil-A is coming to Salt Lake City, and some LGBT groups plan to protest at the restaurant’s opening.

    Owners of Chick-fil-A (Baptists) claim they love everybody, but they’ve also given big piles of cash to anti-gay and anti-gay-marriage campaigns. The owners say they run the business on “biblical principles.”

    ..Dan Cathy, president and chief operating officer of Chick-fil-A, said publicly that while he and his family believe in the “biblical definition of marriage,” they love and respect those who disagree…
    “I can’t, in my mind, understand how someone can say, ‘I love and respect you, but I spend millions of dollars fighting your equality,’” said Foote, a gay Salt Lake City resident.

    Q Salt Lake magazine recently reported that WinShape, Chick-fil-A’s nonprofit foundation, has donated $3 million since 2003 to “anti-gay groups,” such as the Eagle Forum, Focus on the Family and the Marriage & Family Legacy Fund….
    [Chick-fil-A representatives said] “We are not politicians and we don’t want to get into having a political voice here, but we support, financially and otherwise, organizations that are going to be strengthening society and raising young men and women that are of the character that we would want in our restaurants.”…

    http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/52888536-78/lake-marriage-salt-chick.html.csp

  126. says

    changeable moniker
    Interesting. I know the kids become contagious after the vaccination, which might explain the hightened risk of shingles in elderly people, I only don’t understand why they think it’s more risky to have kids that are contagious because of vaccination than having kids that are contagious from having chicken pox.
    Probably because the latter are usually at home and not running around.

  127. says

    One of the Osmond brothers recently added to the misinformation about homosexuals bandied about by religious people of various stripes.

    Alan Osmond, the eldest of the singing group the Osmonds, says being gay is not genetic and that “reparative” therapy is successful, and reveals Chuck Norris was enlisted to butch up the group’s dancing.

    Osmond, who sang with his younger brothers in the 1960s and ’70s, posted a very misguided and ill-informed article on his website The Family last July that is just now getting media attention after being reported on today by Will Koehler at Back2Stonewall…. Though his family is synonymous with the Mormon faith, Osmond makes an effort to distinguish his thoughts from the church’s. In the mission statement for the site, launched in 1994, Osmond writes, “Though we are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, this site reflects our words and is not an official site of our Church.”…

    Link to text and video