Just a reminder PLEASE do not give small living things as gifts for xmas.
They may seem cute and you may get squeals of delight, but the novelty will inevitably wear off.
Next thing you know, they go feral and start congregating in packs in the park, around alleyways or near shopping centres.
Remember children are for life, not just for xmas!
[Reposted from xntrek]
So, it's the end of another year and this one has been a full one.
After all the heartaches and mess I went through over the last few years of the noughties, the hectic pace of this year has been welcome, even if it hasn't always been smooth sailing.
Of course, the predominant part of my year was enveloped in the agricultural studies and activities which I have detailed in a seperate review.
From a personal point of view, it's been full of ups and downs.
This year we moved from our wonderful and recently renovated home in Narre Warren and put it up for sale just as the housing market dropped ... and Ingrid was made redundant. We recovered from the latter, but, the house has been sitting there, waiting for the right people to come, fall in love with it and afford to pay for it.
Moving into a rental home on the complete opposite side of Melbourne has been interesting. The house is older, smaller and less energy efficient than the one we left. That said, it is closer to the CBD, school campuses and to the property which has allowed me to travel less for work and study and allow me to be more poroactive with the landcare groups.
On the downside, we lost our dear four legged companion of eleven years. Biscuit was a much loved member of our family, and the shock of losing him so unexpectedly was quite jarring.
Healthwise, I have been more stable. Whilst being drug dependant for my mental stability is not ideal, I'd rather that and not the alternative. My weight has suffered due to the increased levels of arse-on-seat-edness that this year has brought, but I am hoping to change that in the coming year as I kick off the range of activities that are needed to be completed.
We took on an architect and working through the process have a passive, autonomous eco home designed and submitted to the planning office for approval. The house is just so us - whimsical, elegant and eccentric all in one. We're both very excited by the project ... but until the house sells, it is already starting to be a financial strain on top of the other financial commitments and we may find ourselves delaying the next part of the process due to a simple lack of cash flow.
Whilst I have chosen to take on all of the study, projects and activities that have been keeping me busy, I do miss and regret the lack of social interaction with both those I have shared my life with locally and abroad. There are so many people I interacted with online who's lives are hidden from me due to my lack of time to keep up whilst locally, the same story is repeated as work, study, homework, commitee meetings and all round business wipes out any semblance of spare time.
Overall, all said and done, I'd have to say the year has treated me well. After the last few years, it's a very nice change.
So, all in all, a good 2011.
I look forward to an even better 2012!
[Reposted from xntrek]
So, it's the end of another year and this one has been a full one.
After all the heartaches and mess I went through over the last few years of the noughties, the hectic pace of this year has been welcome, even if it hasn't always been smooth sailing.
Of course, the predominant part of my year was enveloped in the agricultural studies and activities which I have detailed in a seperate review.
From a personal point of view, it's been full of ups and downs.
This year we moved from our wonderful and recently renovated home in Narre Warren and put it up for sale just as the housing market dropped ... and Ingrid was made redundant. We recovered from the latter, but, the house has been sitting there, waiting for the right people to come, fall in love with it and afford to pay for it.
Moving into a rental home on the complete opposite side of Melbourne has been interesting. The house is older, smaller and less energy efficient than the one we left. That said, it is closer to the CBD, school campuses and to the property which has allowed me to travel less for work and study and allow me to be more poroactive with the landcare groups.
On the downside, we lost our dear four legged companion of eleven years. Biscuit was a much loved member of our family, and the shock of losing him so unexpectedly was quite jarring.
Healthwise, I have been more stable. Whilst being drug dependant for my mental stability is not ideal, I'd rather that and not the alternative. My weight has suffered due to the increased levels of arse-on-seat-edness that this year has brought, but I am hoping to change that in the coming year as I kick off the range of activities that are needed to be completed.
We took on an architect and working through the process have a passive, autonomous eco home designed and submitted to the planning office for approval. The house is just so us - whimsical, elegant and eccentric all in one. We're both very excited by the project ... but until the house sells, it is already starting to be a financial strain on top of the other financial commitments and we may find ourselves delaying the next part of the process due to a simple lack of cash flow.
Whilst I have chosen to take on all of the study, projects and activities that have been keeping me busy, I do miss and regret the lack of social interaction with both those I have shared my life with locally and abroad. There are so many people I interacted with online who's lives are hidden from me due to my lack of time to keep up whilst locally, the same story is repeated as work, study, homework, commitee meetings and all round business wipes out any semblance of spare time.
Overall, all said and done, I'd have to say the year has treated me well. After the last few years, it's a very nice change.
So, all in all, a good 2011.
I look forward to an even better 2012!
[Reposted from xntrek]
This is what my outside-of-work life looks like from the view of my assessment commitments ...
Someone tell me again what I was thinking when I took all of this on?
[Reposted from xntrek]
I was pointed to a blog today via twitter entitled "The Hidden Vegan Agenda"
In the post the author states that:
People say “veganism has a hidden agenda.”
Every aspect of animal consumption and slaughter takes place with a hidden agenda.
and then promptly goes into a full page tirade of the evil of meat production and consumption before concluding with the enlightened gem of
“Contrast this with eating a plant-based diet. There is nothing hidden about veganism. Everything we grow, everything we eat and discuss, is quite literally out in the open with anyone at any age”
Which is all very well and good, except the fact that it's a blinkered view. It blinkers the fact that plants are alive and have feelings – they have been recorded playing, and have been proven to have personalities and reactions – however, since they do not walk around, nor scream, nor even perform in a timeline that is along our own – it’s not a factor, is it?
Here’s the truth. Life eats life.
At the end of the day, all life consumes life. There is no exception. You are choosing a ethimoral stance based on the fact that food looked back at you – fine, no problem. But do not ever compare the wilful torture and torment of an animal at the hands of a psychopath-in-training to the humnane and ethical treatment of farm animals. Otherwise I may have to compare the Vegan manifesto in the same sentence as the Aryan charter.
The question of “Agenda” is that many people utilise emotive half-truths and clouded arguments rather than a truly objective, factual and reasoned argument.
Often, Vegans attack an industry or practice under the guise of the humane treatment of animalsand yet, will not be satisified until the entire industry is shut down. Hardly an argument for not having an agenda.
As for hiding the animals to food relationship – no farmers do that. That is an issue that is firmly the domain of those who are too superior to go out into the country and spend time learning about their food and the true practices of the farmers.
Humans are omnivores. It is the way we are gentically created. The “perfect” diet for us is one of 75% plant based and 25% meat based. This is true for all primate ape species – us, gorillas, chimpanzees.
Certain things may be choices – but do not turn it into a holy war.
[Reposted from xntrek]
A new Trace Element was discovered today - Common Sense (Cs) has been part of the human psyche and mythology throughout history, but proof of it's existence has long been debated. However, thanks to the work of scientists and particle acceleration based elctron spectroscopy, scientists have been able to find the rare element.
Unlike many other elements, Cs cannot exist beyond a single ppm of an object. The scientific team that made the historic discovery, Wundaer, Aldoe & Herzfott, discovered that they were able to determine the measure of the deficiency of Cs by bombarding an object with a short lived synthetic element Ss (affectionately called "the Stupids") and determining the uptake amount.
This measurement is referred to as the number of WAHs.
As one WAH is equivalent to one part per billion, it has created the common misconception of the absence of the Cs element.
A common Human being, for example, is said to have a Cs deficiency of between 3 to 12 WAHs.
More research is planned and government grants are being sought to determine public benefits to the research.
[Reposted from xntrek]
An extremely entertaining talk by Erez Lieberman Aiden and Jean-Baptiste Michel who show us how playing with Google Labs' NGram Viewer is an addictive tool that lets you search for words and ideas in a database of 5 million books from across centuries and a few of the surprising things we can learn from 500 billion words.
[Reposted from xntrek]
Victoria's first director of education, Frank Tate, a eugenicist, adopted many of [Richard] Berry's ideas. Tate supported a multi-streamed system of secondary education in which students at the age of 12 would be funnelled into vocational or academic schools.
In Victoria, a system of technical schools was established mainly in the northern and western suburbs in the 1920s. This was because Tate believed that the working class was genetically fit for a vocational education, but not an academic one. As his friend Berry said, ''You can't put a brain where there isn't one.''
[Reposted from xntrek]
In our hearts and in our arms from the beginning to the very end.
He was loved and he will forever be missed though never absent from our hearts or thoughts.
[Reposted from xntrek]
Biscuit, our little eleven year old Persian is very sick. He was very lethargic, hadn't eaten or drunk anything in a few days and has lost over 700grams. When we saw the the vet today at 5pm, he tells us that he thinks it's likely kidney failure or something else just as serious that has a rapid onset and that Biscuit has a 50/50 chance of not surviving the next few days ...
I already was not coping with that news too well.
Then over the course of this evening - he got worse. He kept losing strength until he couldn't walk and then he started twitching ... a sign of possible convulsions and the horrors that such a condition brings. So we took him down to the Emergency Animal Vet Hospital where he is checked in and spending the night while they drip fluids into him and run further blood tests.
We are hoping to give him a fighting chance, and we are hoping he has what it takes to pick up ... but I have to prepare myself that he isn't coming out of this.
I don't want to put him down, but I don't want him to suffer either.
Knowing where that line rests is just as painful as seeing him deteriorate so quickly in just a few days.
[Reposted from xntrek]
Next week will see it becoming the stepping stone to our continued tree change project and hopefully it will also be the beginning of someone else's dream as it goes onto the market ...
[Reposted from xntrek]
From the "things wot at lunch I learns" category:
44 year old men, in particular, are "most at risk" to succumbing to a new social disease that is spreading across the country ... and you'll never guess who the carriers are!
[Reposted from xntrek]
[Reposted from xntrek]
I was sent this by a friend asking me if I had started modelling for Drizabone and R.M.Williams ...
I know, I know, he looks like me ... and has a similar stance ... and i have the same jeans ... and similar glasses ... and the hat ... but other than that, we're nothing alike.
I have come to the conclusion that all fat, hairy, glass wearing rural guys look the same.
[Reposted from xntrek]
Well, to be more precise, I guess I was happy to believe a line about evil profiteering pharmaceuticals ...
After going back and doing a little bit more research about the previous post (Pharmaceuticals ignore cancer cure ...) I discover a more detailed analysis and response to the situation:
Unfortunately, the New Scientistarticle and articles in the Edmonton Sun featured headlines to that effect and quotes bythe investigator Evangelos Michelakis lamenting how he had had difficulties finding funding to do the next step, clinical trials in cancer. As a result of these sensationalistic stories, unscrupulous "businessmen" sought to bring DCA to the masses. A frenzy of sorts was unleashed, with desperate cancer patients scrambling to find DCA. If you're interested in the details, scroll to the end of this post for a list of the numerous blog posts that I did on the topic as the story was evolving. That's the past, and all the "Insolence" and science are there for you if you want to read it.
and read it I did.
One has to remember that cancer is not just one disease. Not only that, but even a single type cancer is often not just one disease. As I have written extensively about before, cancer is incredibly complex. Because of that complexity, it's incredibly unlikely that any one drug will be any sort of "magic bullet" to cure cancer. Worse, simply using a drug like DCA outside the auspices of well-designed clinical trials will virtually guarantee that we will never know for sure whether the drug actually works. Because of that, as frustrating as it is, as slow as it is, letting science take its course to determine if DCA works, how it works, and for what cancers it works is the best method to make sure that the most patients are helped and the fewest are harmed. I don't say this because I want DCA to fail; I say it because I want DCA to be shown to be an efficacious treatment for cancer.
-- read the full article at the source
[Reposted from xntrek]
Researchers at the University of Alberta, in Edmonton, Canada have cured cancer last week, yet there is a little ripple in the news or in TV. It is a simple technique using very basic drug. The method employs dichloroacetate, which is currently used to treat metabolic disorders. So, there is no concern of side effects or about their long term effects.
This drug doesn’t require a patent, so anyone can employ it widely and cheaply compared to the costly cancer drugs produced by major pharmaceutical companies.
Canadian scientists tested this dichloroacetate (DCA) on human’s cells; it killed lung, breast and brain cancer cells and left the healthy cells alone. It was tested on Rats inflicted with severe tumors; their cells shrank when they were fed with water supplemented with DCA. The drug is widely available and the technique is easy to use, why the major drug companies are not involved?/p>
[...]
Pharmaceutical companies are not investing in this research because DCA method cannot be patented, without a patent they can’t make money, like they are doing now with their AIDS Patent. Since the pharmaceutical companies won’t develop this, the article says other independent laboratories should start producing this drug and do more research to confirm all the above findings and produce drugs. All the groundwork can be done in collaboration with the Universities, who will be glad to assist in such research and can develop an effective drug for curing cancer.
-- source
[Reposted from xntrek]
In the 200,000 years since Homo Sapiens took her first steps across the African plains, just 57 billion people have ever lived.Astonishingly that means over 12% of all the people ever born are walking the planet at this very moment. Or to put it another way: one in eight people who have ever been born are alive today.
-- Source
[Reposted from xntrek]
This last week and a half has been hectic. I am in my usual situation of doing toooooooo many things and unable to give any of them up in fear that my life is very much a working reality special of a kerplunk game ...
Which brings up another point. I realised that my entire life is run by fear. Fear, fear, fear and fear. It may seem strange to some people, but in all aspects of my life, fear is the biggest factor holding me back. They say that acknowledgement is half the battle ... but without Jedi powers, how is one supposed to face the rancor that is the beast inside?
Anyhow.
That aside, my mind space is filled with concepts that are fighting to come out. With the lack of either relaxation nor Internet connectivity or, for that matter, computing time ... I am failing to get the opportunity to release them into any form of solid form. It's an opportunity I need to make time for, because it is how I manage to solidify my thoughts and reshape my thinking.
Thinking.
My mind, in all honesty, has not been the same since my breakdown a few years ago. My mental acuity, at least from a very subjective point of view, does not seem to be at the same level as it used to be. Mind you, the amount of stress is also no longer there ... so I sometimes wonder if the combination of stress, pressure, fear and drive created a constant "fight or flight" response that kept my mind at a level of activity that was (in hindsight) unsustainable, and thus my subjective view of my diminished intelligence and acuity? I don't know how to answer that.
There are too many rancors in my mind's dungeon ... and this team status meeting is almost over, so I better sign off and get back to the consulting gig I'm working on.
[Reposted from xntrek]
We packed, moved and unpacked half our house this weekend ... so, that's all we did.
This week we are probably going to do the some more of the same every night as we discovered that since there is no TV, no internet and no computes at our place and while they are available at the rental place, there's no electricity there until Thursday ... that the range of pastime activities after 8pm come down to reading, sleeping and one other bedroom based activity.
Among the list of tasks, I still need to:
I also have to build some screens to put together a cat run at the rental as well ...
I may not be relishing this part of the "plan" ... I know that my goals require sacrifice, but this is ludicrous!
Ah, well, I have no one to blame but my own dreamy self. I wanted this farm plan and eco home ... so I need to shut up and get on with it I guess.
[Reposted from xntrek]
This is, in my not so humble opinion, one of humanities greatest weaknesses and one that infects every single one of us, including those who have dedicated themselves to seeking the truth and being objective.
“If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face — forever.”
-- George Orwell, 1984
Every time you ignore one section of society and allow them to be treated as second class citizens, you take one step closer to authorising this behaviour.
Every time you turn away from this behaviour, you take one step closer to being the one kicked.
Between the lack of sleep, the huge storm last night that exasperated the already flood and rain damaged areas and roads, the three cancelled services and the humidity, today is not shaping up to be a good day. I'm already over 90 minutes late and I forgot my headphones.
Is it too early for fermented malt on ice?
Imagine a media atmosphere that isn't dominated by lame stereotypes about gender and other demographic characteristics. Can you even imagine what that looks like?
Media researcher Johanna Blakley makes an argument today that seems a little bit crazy - social media will create the end of gender based media and advertising.
It's an interesting concept - and one that I hope I will see the effect from in my lifetime.
Truth, as found in a cookbook.
Snapped from my copy of "Building a Meal: From Molecular Gastronomy to Culinary Constructivism" by French Chemist and one of my personal food heros: Hervé This
Is this a gay Christian fish symbol?
Because, that is how I'm choosing to interpret it ...
who decided that just as the train is arriving was the right time to purchase a $50 ticket - with a bag full of 20c coins. I’m sure it’s okay. I mean, all of the commuters behind you wanted to miss that train and catch the next train … no, really.
