Category: misc

Oh no, not this again

So I came across this little gem this morning via Reddit. It seems that a group of scientists have found a way to interfere with THC’s interaction with various molecular receptors, meaning that they can now create THC-based pills with effective, long-term pain relief properties that avoid the high associated with marijuana use. My thought: “Pain pills without the high? Wonderful!”

I wonder how many of the “medical” marijuana advocates will agree.

Given that they’re starting trials, it seems like this is something that could actually become viable on the market. If this happens, I think it will make the lines clearer as to who is in this fight for actual pain relief and valid medical applications versus those who are in it for a way to get high legally.

Should be interesting…

Health is a funny thing

I think it’s odd, though perhaps only sensible, that it was only once I’d decided to get healthier that I realized how very unhealthy I was. When one finds it hard to even find a scale capable of measuring his weight, it makes him think twice about the poor decisions he’s made over the last few years.

For instance: I learned that the food that’s easily accessible to me – and to you – is horrible for you. I should rephrase that; I knew this before, but I never understood how bad, and how profound a negative effect it could have. As an example: simply cutting out soda from my diet completely transformed the way I felt on a day to day basis, and it happened in a week.  I felt better. I had more energy. I slept better. I wasn’t constantly hungry. All from that one simple change.

As an aside, high fructose corn syrup is a terrifying thing. And it’s everywhere, because it’s government subsidized. But that’s a different rant for a different time.

Additionally, the more I read about the way the body processes carbohydrates, the more I wonder how it’s not common knowledge. The more I wonder why nearly everything we eat is stuffed to the gills with carbs – mostly empty ones! It’s shockingly easy to consume a ridiculous amount of carbs without thinking about it. Drastically reducing my intake of carbs on a day to day basis has further increased my energy levels and made me feel better all around than I have in a long time. Simple changes.

Combine that with paying attention to calorie intake and just being more active throughout the day and I’m starting to lose weight and make positive changes in my life. It’s kind of exciting – and while it seems a long way off, and purely abstract at this point – it’s nice to know that I’m at least progressing in the correct direction, for once.

On a completely unrelated note, I saw Tron: Legacy the other night. I was pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable it was, though the young Jeff Bridges face was basically a textbook demonstration of uncanny valley.

What is “rape culture?”

Man, I’ve seen people use the word “rape” a lot lately. Perhaps as a denizen of the internet you have become acquainted with the webcomic Penny Arcade; if you have not, and you enjoy acerbic, sometimes crude, often video-game related humor, you should. If you are acquainted with this webcomic, you may also know about the rather ridiculous firestorm surrounding the creators’ decision to remove their “Dickwolves” t-shirt from vendors at their upcoming Penny Arcade Expo. This stems from a series of complaints that the joke in this comic promotes/condones rape or “rape culture.” I’m not going to get into that debate right now – although I generally agree with Gabe’s “if you don’t like it, then don’t read it” policy – but I do want to talk a little about this idea of “rape culture.” I confess I hadn’t heard much about this before tonight, not being one who frequents leftist/feminist blogs, where the term seems to find its stronghold. According to Melissa McEwan over at Shakesville, Penny Arcade’s antagonist in this debacle:

The rape culture is a collection of narratives and beliefs that service the existence of endemic sexual violence in myriad ways, from overt exhortations to commit sexual violence to subtle discouragements against prosecution and conviction for crimes of sexual violence. The rape joke, by virtue of its ubiquity, prominently serves as a tool of normalization and diminishment.

Let’s break this down a bit. Continue reading What is “rape culture?”

Experiments in cooking

So this year I decided I’m going to try to make myself a better person in many ways. I’ve really been inspired by my current job to make a lot of changes in my life; one of these realizations was that I really need to eat healthier. The first part of that was quitting soda; I had quite a habit going. I’m sure Coca-Cola will miss me. So, my latest experiment is to see if I can manage to learn to cook without killing myself in the process.

Let me explain: I am a horrible cook. Anything beyond “place in microwave, cook for 6 minutes on high” is intimidating to me. Growing up, I managed to set the toaster oven on fire at least twice, and turn what was supposed to be a grilled cheese sandwich into a lump of formless charcoal from which a rather unbelievable amount of smoke emanated. Needless to say, sometime during high school the rule became that Dan stays away from the kitchen. I was that guy. So when I moved out on my own, I didn’t really have any skills to put together a good meal on a day to day basis. I lived off delivery food and frozen meals, with occasional cold cuts or hot dogs to liven things up. Side note: Stouffers frozen meals are God’s gift to those who cannot cook.

Anyway, given my decision, I had spoken to a couple of friends and the universal decision was that I should get a crock pot, because there was little I could do to catastrophically fail at that endeavor – or so they thought. My first couple of crock pot experiments resulted in inedible, hard-to-clean-up messes, including an ill-advised attempt at oatmeal (thank you, internet). But tonight, I celebrate my first successful crock pot meal: Salsa chicken. And it’s actually really tasty. I feel so accomplished, like the first hunter to kill a boar. (Ladies and gentlemen, I give thee: Suburbia!)

So, this is where it starts. Soon I will move to the grill. And from there, who knows where I’ll stop.

Look out world. Here I come.

Happy New Year

In the words of one of my very favorite writers, Neil Gaiman, who regularly puts things far better than I imagine I ever shall:

May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you’re wonderful, and don’t forget to make some art — write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.

Happy new year, friends.