Iraq Safer than D.C.?

A friend who normally sends politically incorrect jokes through email sent this as a joke?

Subject: Sobering Statistic

Regardless of where you stand on the issue of the
U.S. involvement in Iraq, here's a sobering statistic:

There has been a monthly average of 160,000 troops
in the Iraq theatre of operations during the last 22
months, and a total of 2,112 deaths. That gives a
firearm death rate of 60 per 100,000 soldiers.

The firearm death rate in Washington D.C. is 80.6
per 100,000 persons for the same period.

That means that you are about 25% more likely to be
shot and killed in the U.S. Capital than you are in Iraq.

Conclusion: The U.S. should pull out of Washington.

This from a smart guy, right leaning, ok but this was insulting my intelligence. Maybe Fox News would put something out like this but does anyone really these statistics are relevant?

I referred him to this site icasualties.org for a casual read.

BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb killed two people and wounded 13 when it exploded in the Karrada district of central Baghdad, police said.

FALLUJA NEAR - Police found 15 men shot, bound and blindfolded, in a deserted building on Monday in a town near Falluja, 50 km (35 miles) west of Baghdad, police Lieutenant Colonel Jubair al-Dulaimi said.

BAQUBA - The Iraqi army found 10 bodies in a village northwest of Baquba. Dr Ahmed Faoud at Baquba hospital said the bodies all appeared to have been shot and were decomposed.

Are these people not human beings with mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters?

What is it that I'm not understanding about this?

How many U.S. and Iraqi wounded?

Charles River Run

Ran the Charles River Run in Boston. From the Boston Gardern West past MIT, Boston U, Harvard and Northeastern U, looping around the South bank of the river to the North Bank and back. What a beautiful view at night. Guessing it's 14 miles about 2 hours at 55 degrees with a light wind. The breeze over the river was warm but it cooled as I moved away from the water. There are a few water stops but you should carry a bottle. Didn't need much in the cool weather but should have been drinking more. Enjoy!

Sept 7 Memorial Park Run

Headed out of the office early today to try a run at the park. Car thermometer said 100 degrees leaving downtown but had dropped to a chilly 94 by the time I hit the tennis center. The trails are in rough shape with mud and a bit of water lingering from the ongoing monsoon. Was a bit hot and I had to cool my core temp down by bathing at the water hose after the first 30 minutes. Headed out down the blue trail and back to the water hole, thinking about quiting but Mariela showed up. Headed out for another hour. Finally feeling like a human being, as opposed to a desk jockey.

Told Mariela not to bet on me for the 5:30 am trail run in the morning. Have to head back out to Boston to work on Sunday ah, sweet relief from this rude Houston weather.

Jay Challenge Race Report

Race Report, Jay Mountain Marathon, July 28, Jay, Vermont.

Ventured up to Vermont for my first 50k last weekend with my Dad and
Brother in tow. Been working in Boston but hope to see everyone in
Houston soon.

This was the race director's last minute update about the course.

"Once again some adjustment had to be made on the course in order to
remain off-road and avoid running through the golf course that is
now completed and operational. . Consequently you will be running
approximately an extra 15 minutes in the brook before reaching the
base of Jay Peak (Aid Station # 2). As you will be coming down Jay
Peak, the lower part of the trail has also been changed by a
bushwack/Dan special in order to avoid the golf course again. Take
note that this will NOT bring you back to the base of Jay Peak at
aid station 4 but in the middle of nowhere

As I was setting up the Swamp section, the "BEAVER" have completely
changed the landscape and I was force to re-route the course in
order to give you a COMPLETE swamp/beaver dam experience.

With those changes, the ½ marathon should now be 19.5 miles as
oppose to 18.5 and 33 miles instead of 31.6 for the full Marathon.
My estimation is that the course is 30 minutes slower this year and
I will consequently increase the cutoff time to 6.00 hours from 5.30
at the ½ point or mile 19.5."

I was quite intimidated by the hype, the sight of the mountain and
the start line, which lead right up into a steep hill.

The night before we went to the swimming hole, a perfect 10 ft
waterfall surrounded by 25 ft rocks, perfect for jumping into the
cool pool below and a serious upgrade from the pool at the Inn. We
met a young man, Chris, at the swimming hole who had run the course
last year. Chris advised me to sprint the first four miles up to
the ropes section because it gets all backed up and the last thing
you want to do is have someone's ass in your face as your trying to
race. Had to ask him what "sprint" means. Oh and he said that is
was "pretty flat" once you come off the mountain.

The first four miles were up a bit of logging trail but mostly heavy
woods with a nice carpet of mulch, a bit of mud and old trees across
the trail. Chris was right about the ropes section, it was steep,
the footing was bad the ropes must have been there because the
backup was so heavy the one slip could cause a domino effect. There
were plenty of other spots on the course just as steep without
ropes.

After the ropes came mud, mud and more mud, ankle deep, knee deep,
go back and get your shoe deep, which would be a recurring theme.
Not to worry the first run-in-the brook section was next. Clean
shoes, wet feet, slippery moss covered ankle twisting rocks and
boulders everywhere. This was the easy brook section. Everyone had
to slow down picking through the best route some had more trouble
than others.

Race director Dan had advised everyone to send a dry pair of shoes
out to aid station #2, mile 7 at the base of the mountain so we
wouldn't have to carry all the mud up with us. Ahh, what a great
feeling, dry shoes, dry socks, Vaseline for the toes, gummy bears
and power bars and a wonderful fan with a "Free Hugs" sign, I told
her after my shower.

Up the mountain 4,000 ft, sure no problem, feet feel great. It was
cooler higher up on the mountain and I had some great views of the
Vermont countryside before the mist moved in and cooled the air
nicely near the top. On the top half of the mountain I stopped for
30 seconds every 5 minutes or so to let my heart rate come down. It
was amazing how much better it felt after just a small rest.

Aid station #3, top of the mountain, tired but encouraged, felt
great, time to head down. The path up the mountain was moderated by
turns and short flat sections followed by steep ascent. The path
down was steep, covered with slippery wet grass and rocks. I had to
shuffle step down most of the way and it was actually easier to go
backwards on some portions of the descent. The bottom of the ski
area came quickly but the descent down logging trails seemed to go
on forever and everyone paid the price later.

Feeling good about getting the mountain out of the way, the tough
part right, the rest is "pretty flat", I came to the "bushwack". I
don't know how they cut this path through the underbrush, high grass
and thick black mud. It was designed so that runners had to look
for the pink flagging tape with the black polka dots to figure out
where to go next. I'm sure the lead runners had to do just that but
fortunately I was right in the middle of the pack and the path was
somewhat more defined by that time.

After the bushwack we ran up and down logging roads for an hour or
so before slipping back into the woods onto a deer trail. Again,
you could only tell it was a trail because of the flagging tape. It
went up and down over fallen trees, squeezing between other trees,
sometimes on a foot deep carpet of forest mulch, sometimes in ankle
deep mud. Finally the dear train ended and we went into the stream
again for a few more miles of slippery rock jumping, falling
sometimes catching myself, sometimes splashing down in the water.

Coming out of the stream, aid station #5, mile 19, my Dad and
brother were there to offer encouragement, a life saver at this
point. Had some boiled red potatoes dipped in salt, gu, bananas,
oranges, power bar and stuffed a bunch of gummy bears into a plastic
back in my shorts with the electrolyte capsules. Up to this point
it hadn't been too hot but the cloud cover lifted a bit and it
started to warm up. I could really feel the energy shot from the
food, water and a bit of rest, but the sugar was spiking the energy
so I cut back on the gu and gummy bears a bit and tried to eat a bit
more of the protein power bar.

My brother ran with me for a few minutes, which was a nice boost as
we crossed into a field of head high grass with a path cut to about
6 inches. The path ran for a few miles through farms and fields,
beautiful country, until a river crossing. The river was waist deep
but so I took the opportunity to defeat gravity for a minute or so
and cool off, wonderful! Out of the stream an up a long gradual
hill then down into another section of stream, the most difficult so
far. About a three-mile stretch up razor sharp most strewn rocks to
navigate as went back and forth across the fast running stream and
climbed up and down the rocky banks. At one point we came to a
large waterfall, had to climb up the bank and back down a man-
made "staircase" of rocks and back across the lower portion of the
waterfall. I figured it would be a good opportunity to take a load
of and get wet so I went down the small waterfall and swam across
the nice cool pool. The runners behind cheered and started going
over the falls as everyone else was picking their way across the
sharp rocks on the other side.

Finally we came out of the stream and up into the forest right
around the swimming hole waterfall. Up and down on the dear trail
we went, then down into a swamp. The swamp had a narrow trail of
head high grass pushed to the side, blind corners with holes, mud
and swampy water. The trail went back and forth across the swamp
until I could see and opening an realized that this was beaver
territory. The trail crossed up onto the beaver dam, out the other
side of the swamp, up another steep hill and onto a logging road,
which lead down to the river crossing.

The river had a rope across it but it was just as easy, probably
easier and more refreshing to swim the 30 yards to the other side.
A ladder lead up the far bank and a group of volunteer firemen were
sitting there in comfy chairs surrounded by empty water bottles and
beer bottles? I was praying that this was aid station #6 but the
said no, the aid station was about a mile up the hill through the
woods.

Aid station #6, blueberry hill, fresh blueberrys, "don't eat to
many", fresh socks and shoes, big blister under big callous on big
toe. Could have used some coke at this point but someone handed me
a Pepsi, a Diet Pepsi, no thanks. More bananas, gummy bears, power
bars and boiled potatoes and another gu and power bar for the road.
I had been running without a water bottle or camelback to this point
but it was a long way between aid stations and as luck would have it
I had place a water bottle in my second drop bag, thank goodness.

Ahh, mile 24, almost there, what could be next? Started out down
the hill, finally 200 yards, flat dirt road, turn up into a gravel
driveway, down to a gully and up a gas line right of way trail cut
to 6 inches or maybe just pushed down by the four wheeler. I looked
up and saw runners? Walkers just above going over the rise in a
fairly step and long incline. Ahh, just getting over the rise,
what? Walkers, strung out, going up hill for another 2 miles, have
to be kidding me!

Ok top of the hill, winding down through 2 miles of logging trail,
quads are killing me, would rather go backwards. Next River
crossing, sandy trail, then 30 feet straight up a sand dune. Top of
the sand dune, oh, it's a sand pit and we have to go down into it
then 40 feet up the wall on the other side. Out of the sand pit, up
through the forest again, through a head high cornfield, approaching
aid station #7 people cheering, better start shuffling my feet
again.

My support team has made it to Station #7, great boost, food, etc.
I walked and talked with John from Maryland through the farm fields
in a daze for a few miles. Talked about Htrex, John knew Larry
Teeter from Runners World, also John's first 50ish K. At this point
I caught a glimpse of Jay Peak off in the distance where I had been,
oh 6 hours ago. Had a sip of water at 30 miles and headed for the
last mud pit.

I ran the last mile or so and a thunder shower broke out just as I
crossed the finish line 8 hours and 34 minutes after starting. What
a great adventure! Thanks to the family for support, Dan (I don't
know how he even marked the course) the race director, the
volunteers and the free hugs girl who was at every aid station
cheering the whole day.

After my show, attempted nap and massage, I caught the last three
finishers. The last guy from Kentucky came in at exactly 11 hours
and was thrilled to finish because he had been cut off the last two
years at the half.

Loved Vermont, next time I'll get a room at the Inn that isn't over
the bar with a window to the pool where the band played until 1:00
am the night of the race.







http://www.jaychall enge.com/ Html/Jaymountain marathon. htm

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Trail Running in the Heat

Went out to Memorial Park last night for an evening run. 94 degrees, a little hot in the sun. Made my way from the tennis center counter-clockwise with two power aid bottles and a power shot in my shorts. Coming up the hill on Memorial Drive and a bank of dark clouds started coming my way from downtown. By now I was pretty hot but the clouds were just teasing me with a few sprinkles. They finally let loose as I crossed Memorial to enter the woods and thank goodness as everything felt heavy and hot. Usually I carry a water bottle to splash on my head when it's so hot nobody should be running but since I only had power aid the rain was welcome. It dropped the temperature about 10 degrees as well.

It didn't rain enough to really muddy up the trails except for those spots that were already muddy from the last rain. Didn't see any big snakes this time but every branch I jumped over looked like a snake to me. I saw Richard at the water hole, ran into Johnny Mac on the loop and ran Ashley in on the tail end of her last 1m repeat. All in all a great run. Beats sitting on the couch.

Dirt exposure 'boosts happiness' from the BBC

Exposure to dirt may be a way to lift mood as well as boost the immune system, UK scientists say.

As an avid trail runner, I already knew there was something to this.  On Mother's Day this year we took the kids to the park and let them run through the mud puddles and get as dirty as they wanted to.  Good sport Mom!  Talk about happy as a pig in mud.

Try it sometime, or you could just get one of those mud-face things at the Spa.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6509781.stm

technorati tags:Trail, Running

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Use Your Own Judgement on This One

Arkansas GOP head: We need more 'attacks on American soil' so people appreciate Bush

Josh Catone
Published: Sunday June 3, 2007

In his first interview as the chairman of the Arkansas Republican Party, Dennis Milligan told a reporter that America needs to be attacked by terrorists so that people will appreciate the work that President Bush has done to protect the country.

From RawStory
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Arkansas_GOP_head_We_need_more_0603.html

Talk about not accepting Responsiblitly

Wolfowitz blames media for resignation AP - Mon May 28, 5:50 AM ET

LONDON - Departing World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz in a radio interview broadcast Monday blamed an overheated atmosphere at the bank and in the media for forcing him to resign.

Honor? Dignity? Character?

If we deny it enough does it become not so?
If we advocate lies enough do they become true?

Talk about Alice in Wonderland.

Calgary

Spent the week working in Calgary, Ab.  Nice city with a beautiful view of the rocky mountains.  I liked the cool weather, nice restaurants and easy going people.  I walked from the Marriott in front of the tower to work each morning.  One day took the light rail, two stops to the office, very convenient.  They have an indoor walkway called the +15 so you can avoid the really cold days.  Also a nice promenade street with shops, etc. Visit if you get a chance.  Go here for the official tourism site Visit Calgary.

technorati tags:Calgary

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Jet Blue Debacle

This was the 5:30 wakup call to get from Albany out to JFK for my 1:10 flight on JetBlue, Thursday, Feb 14, 2007.

The car, from Enterprise, was a mild mannered 4 banger with stained carpets and a malfunctioning window washing system. I was like Jim Carey in "Dumb and Dumber" trying to see throught the windshield, pulling over every 20 miles on the Thruway at the rest stops. I took a gander at the Taconic before the booth operator convinced me to backtrack the 10 miles to the Thruway, what a great stroke of fortune. Can't believe what a great job they did getting the road in shape and rest stops every 25 miles or so. Those high taxes in New York are helping your tourists get around, thanks.

So I made it to Enterprise at about 11:30 am. They did a great job with service as usual but the car was weak. The only thing about enterprise is they try so hard to provide good service that it's overdone. Then at the end they ask the obligitory, "so did we provide excellent customer service?" Am I taking a survey? Are you going to give me a coupon? Are you going to get a raise? Ok, they're nice and friendly but real, non-robotic nice and friendly is somehow better.

Next stop, the train to the terminal and the terminal. No big deal everything looks great they have an nice bag drop area and place to get a bite. My salad, powerbar and drink work out to about $20 but the food and the selection are great. Ok, breeze through security then...


It turned into a debacle. The morning flight and the evening flight to Houston were cancelled. My flight, the 1:10 boarded at 5:00 pm est, took off at about 9:00 pm est and landed at 1:00 cst. How about that! I felt luck, there were people there from the day before. JetBlue was telling everyone that the next available flight was next Tuesday. The told people to call the 1-800 number but the 1800 number said that they were not accepting calls!

Again, I felt very fortunate to fly. Many people were waiting in the terminal for my seat. The woman I sat next to connected from Boston. She said it looked the the Superdome during Katrina. I thought, they didn't have sushi and brie available down there, not so bad.

I met many nice people on my stay at JFK. We were trying to think of what it would take to passify such a crowd. There was not information available and flight were randomly cancelled or you were strung out until 11:30 pm at night, the departure time moving from hour to hour, then unceremoniously cancelled.

More communication would be good. And how about going to Wallmart and pick up a truckload of pillows and blankets for everyone. Setup a buffett line and bring in a few big screen TVs. Have your executives camp out with the common folks. Talk about an opportunity.

Learn, don't blow it next time.

Inkblots

Nothing better to do? Interpret this image of Prince at the halftime show of the superbowl and get upset about it. Maybe he was dancing suggestively too? It's a rock and roll show, what do you expect? The guy is playing the guitar, the musical phallus. Isn't every instrument a musical phallus of some sort? This is just another way to make the buzz last a little longer.

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Customer Service

Seth Godin talks about the monopolies that don't have to provide customer service but pretend they do as they ram policy down are throat, ala TSA, phone company, power company, city government, cable company, etc. What I can't understand is how small service oriented businesses can employ people who act comatose and look like they crawled out from under a bridge. Go to your local McD's in any big city and order a coffee, then go to a Starbucks and do the same. Enough said?

Read Seth Here

technorati tags:service

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Texas gov., lawmakers in vaccine dispute

Governor Perry is taking one from Bush's playbook here. If you're not for the mandated vaccination of young girls for cervical cancer with a drug sold by his supporters then you must be soft on cancer. Don't want to "protect" the youth of Texas with a very profitable "safe" vaccination from the people that sold you Vioxx. We're the government, our friends at the drug company asked us to help you. I thought George was the master of this back pocket bag job.
Here's the clip, click the link for the full article.

By LIZ AUSTIN PETERSON, Associated Press Writer 2 hours, 5 minutes ago AUSTIN, Texas - Gov. Rick Perry's office challenged lawmakers Wednesday to override his order that schoolgirls be inoculated against the virus that causes cervical cancer, acknowledging for the first time that the Legislature holds that power.

Texas gov., lawmakers in vaccine dispute - Yahoo! News

technorati tags:drug, corruption

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How Humble Leaders Rock

If you've ever thought your boss was one of Satan's minions you might enjoy this article from Trizzle. It's amazing how hostile the workplace can be at times so it's great to see a great leader succeed. I suspect there are many people like this that we don't hear about because they don't toot their own horn.

From Trizzle, "How Humble Leaders Rock"

Our main man, Tony Dungy, won his first Superbowl as a coach of the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.

All week long and after the game, the media has described his “humble” persona.

1. His players love him.
2. He never shouts.
3. He never points fingers.
4. (Well, actually he does: at himself when things go wrong.)

And when bad things do happen (like during the opening kickoff at the Super Bowl), he’s calm, cool, and collected— ready for an action plan to right the wrongs.

You put him in charge of any Fortune 500 company, and you’ll see it soar higher than bald eagle on crack.

technorati tags:Leadership

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Blowing the Whistle on MSG

by Chris Gupta

Blowing The Whistle On MSG Is Our Responsibility, Get The Word Out - Share The Wealth

Current research links MSG to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s, Parkinson’s, and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). FDA records show that MSG was never actually tested, but it was given an automatic GRAS (generally regarded as safe) status as were salt and pepper in the 1950s. Children and elderly are most vulnerable to the degenerative effects of MSG. Here is a brief list of common effects of MSG and some curious statistics published by national organizations. Heart maladies- More than 70 million Americans have one or more forms of cardiovascular disease and 43% of all deaths in the U.S. are related to these problems. The number of cardiovascular operations went up 287% from 1980-1990. Alzheimer’s disease, not an identifiable healthcare cost in 1980, now ranks third after cancer and heart disease among the most costly health problems in America. Four million people afflicted at a cost of $47,000/person/ year, is $188 billion/year in healthcare costs. Headaches & Migraines- $2.2 billion/year are spent on drugs to treat headaches, with a 74% increase in these chronic conditions between 1980-1990. Asthma, which was on the decline until the mid-eighties, now shows a 100% increase in the death rate among children and seniors. Incidence has increased 600% in the last 10 years. The FDA recognizes that uncontrollable asthma” can be caused by MSG, but stops there, unfortunately. Tumors– There has been an 88% increase in tumors since 1982. Birth Defects and Reproduction Disorders - MSG is a known mutagen” (mutates fetuses) and causes significant damage to intellectual development, growth patterns, reproduction and gonadal functions. Neurological/Emotional Disorders - Lab studies show devastating effects on brain development including dyslexia, autism, attention deficit disorder, hyperactivity, schizophrenia, violent episodes (rage), panic attacks, seizures, paranoia, depression, and cerebral palsy. Humans are 5 times more sensitive to MSG than rats which were used in tests. Obesity is one of the most consistent effects of excitotoxin exposure and is a growing problem, nationwide, that knows no age or sex boundaries. In fact, scientists feed glutamate to young laboratory animals as a reliable way of inducing obesity. MSG triggers an insulin/adrenalin/fat storage/food craving response. This depletes seratonin levels which trigger headaches, depression, fatigue, and leads to more food cravings. Fibromyalgia is a growing epidemic. Fibromyalgia patients who eliminated MSG and aspartame during a study conducted by the University of Florida reported complete relief of symptoms (2001). Parkinson’s, ALS, MS, and Huntington’s diseases, like Alzheimer’s, are all progressive neurogenic diseases showing brain/nerve cell damage.

Link to the full story below

Blowing The Whistle On MSG Is Our Responsibility, Get The Word Out - Share The Wealth

technorati tags:health, nutrition, food

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Government Runs the Media

Google: Disabling the Politically Incorrect
Posted by: APR on Feb 01, 2007 - 07:46 AM
Media

As Raw Story tells us, Google has finally addressed link bombs, attempts to influence the ranking of a given page in results returned by the Google search engine. Specifically, and apparently embarrassing for the corporation, entering “miserable failure” in the search engine returned George Bush. Vladimir Putin returned “enemy of the people,” a description not too far off the mark.

“While Google has known about link bombs for years, it had previously expressed reluctance to defuse them individually because it didn’t want to tinker with the objectivity of its Internet search model,” notes Raw Story. However, as we know, in the Bushzarro era, such objectivity is no longer acceptable. Indeed, for a profit-based corporation, it can be deadly.

technorati tags:BigBrother, Media, Censorship

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Cheap, safe drug kills most cancers

New Scientist has received an unprecedented amount of interest in this story from readers. If you would like up-to-date information on any plans for clinical trials of DCA in patients with cancer, or would like to donate towards a fund for such trials, please visit the site set up by the University of Alberta and the Alberta Cancer Board. We will also follow events closely and will report any progress as it happens.IT SOUNDS almost too good to be true: a cheap and simple drug that kills almost all cancers by switching off their "immortality". The drug, dichloroacetate (DCA), has already been used for years to treat rare metabolic disorders and so is known to be relatively safe. It also has no patent, meaning it could be manufactured for a fraction of the cost of newly developed drugs.

Cheap, safe drug kills most cancers - health - 20 January 2007 - New Scientist

technorati tags:health, cancer, drugs

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Herkimer Diamond Mine

The big guy and I breaking rocks at the Herkimer Diamond Mine in Herkimer, NY. The diamonds are made out of quartz and they have one of the best gem shops I've ever seen. Be prepared to get a few blisters after all, you're breaking rocks!

Strange Fun with Faces

This site link came from the RK Blog.  The web designer, Masayuki Kido does some interesting in picture physical changes.  Pull on the face with your mouse and it stretches.  Also, check out the digital toys ling below.

http://roxik.com/index.html

http://roxik.com/toy1.html

This would be great for an Avatar in an online game!

What do you think?

technorati tags:design, User, Interface, avatar

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This is Why you Might want to Sell or Shop on the Web

I do almost all my shopping on the web.  Even if you have to go to the brick and motar store a little research on the web will save you a lot of headache and maybe some money too.

Popularity of Web brands signals power shift By Lucas van Grinsven, European Technology Correspondent Fri Jan 26, 12:00 PM ET AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A consumer poll on Friday exposed the worst kept secret in the business world: Internet companies are becoming more important to people than firms that operate in the real world.

Popularity of Web brands signals power shift - Yahoo! News

technorati tags:web, techology, shopping, products, business

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Joe Dispenza, Manage you Brain

We saw Dr. Joe speak at the Unity Church in Houston. He talks about Daniel Amen's book Change Your Brain, Change Your Life and the connections between our thoughts and our physical brain and body. He talks about spontaneous remissions and how that occurs. His presentation style was a little dry but the information was compelling, rational and actionable. You might look at his book Evolve Your Brain: The Science of Changing Your Mind

Dr. Joe offers a strategy to break the chemically driven habits built by your history by creating new overwhelming connections, habits and strategies. "The greater the use of the frontal lobe of the brain, the less propensity for emotional outbreak".

Warning, some of the talk is quite new agey, but give this guy a chance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QE8yP5PPdHU

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Iraq, It's In Our Face

Use Em Then Spew Em - The Abuse of Soldiers For Profit

"If I've got a soldier who's on Ambien to go to sleep and Seroquel and Qanapin and all kinds of other psychotropic meds, I don't want them to have a weapon in their hand and to be part of my team because they're a risk to themselves and to others," he said. "But apparently, the military has its own view of how well a soldier can function under those conditions and is gambling that they can be successful." Thought it may be a good idea to post this whole dialogue to the list as there is considerable fodder for thought that obviously escapes most of us as such things are simply not discussed in the media at large....

by Chis Gupta

I don't understand how the mercenaries make $100k plus and the kid wearing the uniform is on foodstamps? How many mercenaries have died? How many Iraqis? What is the true cost of the wounded to the U.S. taxpayer? What is the cost of the wounded to their families?

A lot of questions, not many satisfactory answers.

technorati tags:war, iraq, bush

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Steve Pavlina on Health Studies

Health Studies Are Worthless to Those Who Care About Health

January 19th, 2007 by Steve Pavlina

http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2007/01/health-studies-are-worthless-to-those-who-care-about-health/

Check out Steve's tell-it-like-it-is article about the marketing of "Health". If you've thought about it and read about it you know a lot of this, if not you're educated now.

You're smarter than they think you are.

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I-10 Most Popular on Yahoo

Texas view on environment is 18 lanes wide-critics

Reuters Photo: Houston traffic flows towards the downtown area September 24, 2005.

By Anna Driver

President Bush readies a new plan on global warming, environmentalists say an 18-lane highway going up in Houston speaks volumes about how people in his home state of Texas view the planet.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070119/lf_nm/bush_environment_dc

O'Reilly and Colbert

NEW YORK - Parody met its inspiration Thursday whenStephen Colbert and Bill O'Reilly traded guest appearances on each other's shows in an exchange that Colbert called "a meeting of the guts."

Colbert, O'Reilly face off on both shows - Yahoo! News

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ADHD Alternatives

Learn about alternatives to powerful mind-altering drugs prescribed by physicians for children.

Ritalin: Side Effects and an Alternative to Ritalin

Ritalin Side Effects

Ritalin (Methylphenidate)

Our opinion is that Ritalin is a good medication. But it can cause problems, sometimes serious side effects, and must be used with caution. Our Clinical Director Dr. Cowan worked with over 1,000 children and teens with ADHD over the past 16 years, and hundreds of those ADHD patients were treated with Ritalin. For about a third of those patients Ritalin made a "day and night" difference. For another third Ritalin was "helpful." For the rest, Ritalin either didn't help significantly, or it actually caused problems. For some ADHD kids there were significant side effects ranging from loss of appetite, to seizures.

Most of the Ritalin side effect problems observed over the years were due to physicians not being careful with the prescriptions, and prescribing too much Ritalin per dose, especially when first beginning treatment. Other problems were observed when parents would continue to give the Ritalin to their ADHD kid even when they saw that the medication was causing the child problems. Ritalin is a powerful tool and must be used carefully, if used at all.

Read full article here

http://www.newideas.net/ritalin_side_effects.htm

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Houston Marathon 1.14.2007

Finish 4:02:41 Not bad for a fat guy. This was my first marathon in 7 years. I've previously run 4:23, 3:52 and 3:19. The weather was nice, low 50s at the start and into the 60s at the finish but with a nice mist and overcast skies. Mom and the kids came out with supplies and encouragement. Miles 17-21 hurt but something about Allen Parkway always makes me feel better.


Photo by Cybertoad from Flickr

My Buddy Ashley is in the Chronicle

Ashley talks about her experience in the Houston marathon. The Chronicle want to know if people should wear headphones during the race. Ashley coaches the advanced training program for Houston Fit and is a world class adventure racer. She also owns Ashley's Movin' Groom mobile pet salon. Give her a call at 832-K9Groom.

Ashley Rules at the Chronicle

technorati tags:Marathon, dogs, houston

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Customer Service During the Holidays

Went to San Francisco for New Years with the family to see my brother and sister-in-law, had a great time, told him to send me the photos on his Sony Vaio from his Sony camera, sent him a bunch of links for file transfer drop sites.

He picks oFoto, Kodak's site.  I have to sign up to be a member, it won't let me download photos and wants me to order prints from them.  I can pick up the photos same day at a retailer or they'll mail them. 

If I want to order a CD I have to transfer the photos to my account.  If I want to do it as a batch I have to download and install their spyware application that batch loads, otherwise I can do them one at a time.

No wonder everyone has sold their stock, can't believe they're still in business.

On the bright side, I was late for my flight to meet the family.  A helpful porter at the Houston Airport  took pity on me even thought I didn't have any cash. Earned himself $20 on the return flight.  The reason I was in the line was because Continental had a bag drop for those who checked in online, but if you printed your boarding pass at the airport instead of onine you had to stand in the bag check line even though you have your boarding pass because the code from the online printout is the only thing thing that can scan at the bag drop counter.

Go figure!

technorati tags:Sony, Customer, Service, Useability, Continental, Travel, Airlines

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Quagmire of the Vanities from the New York Times

Paul Krugman | Quagmire of the Vanities

Paul Krugman writes, "The only real question about the planned 'surge' in Iraq - which is better described as a Vietnam-style escalation - is whether its proponents are cynical or delusional."

technorati tags:Crazy, Delusional, Surge

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Be Aware of Intelligent Voices on Gulf Coast Hurricanes

Hurricane Center Chief Issues Final Warning

Frustrated with people and politicians who refuse to listen or learn, National Hurricane Center Director Max Mayfield ends his 34-year government career today in search of a new platform for getting out his unwelcome message: Hurricane Katrina was nothing compared with the big one yet to come.

technorati tags:GulfCoast, Hurricane, GlobalWarming

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Check Out This MicroLending Site

http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=3402

A low risk way to do some good. I'm in for $25 bucks

technorati tags:microlending

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Trizzle.. How to set Goals for the New Year

How to Set Goals for the New Year

Scenario: “Dude, just set one big-freakin’ goal. Then strive for it. Strive because you believe in yourself. Strive. You-can-do-it. Yay!”

It all sounds fine-and-dandy:

Set a big goal, then strive for it like the mutha $@!$% that you know you are.

But, there’s a reason most people don’t achieve their New Year goals:

It’s too freakin’ big to achieve in one sitting. That gets you procrastinating, with your subconscious telling yourself:

• “Hey, I can’t achieve my big goal now. Maybe I’ll start seeking it in the near future when I feel ready. Right now, I’m not ready. Yay!”

That statement becomes a viciously cruel cycle that gets you doing: Nothing.

How to Set Goals for the New Year

Go to Trizzle to read the full article.

technorati tags:NewYear

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New years Post from Trizzle

How to Talk to Yourself

Scenario: “Dude, you gotta be your harshest critic. Blast yo’ self. You’ll do better and make billions. Yay!”

But if you’re just blasting yourself for every itty-bitty thing that happens to you, you’re destroying your self-esteem.

And, once you lose your self-esteem, you’ll lose all hope of building a ridiculously awesome company that rocks the world.

So how should you really talk to yourself?

Dump negativity, and get your booty thinking:

“I’m already a badass.”

When you use that as a foundation to everything you tell yourself, you start fighting every struggle fiercely.

Instead of whimpering about some certain flaw, you start seeking ways to overcome it.

Trash Negative Mumbo-Jumbo

You know those filthy-sucky phrases that depressingly drag you down:

• “I suck.”
• “My customers want to hurt me.”
• “My employees hate me.”
• “I can’t ever do anything right.”
• “My nose = too big.”

For every negative thing you tell yourself, you’re chewing away at your self-esteem.

Think of it this way:

You = Born a Badass.

Imagine when you still floated in mommy’s tummy.

Mommy’s tummy injected you fully with badass-juice.

So when you were a toddler, you believed you could do anything and everything.

“I’m a one sexy badass,” you told your tiny-self.

Your self-esteem was sky-mutha-$@#@!$-high.

No one could touch you. You dreamed the impossible, and knew you could achieve it.

Yet, enter the bastards when you got older — those who told you:

• “You’re too small.”
• “You’re too stupid.”
• “You’re too slow.”
• “Your nose = too big.”

So, you started believing them. You started questioning yourself. You started shredding yourself with your flaws.

Worse: You started depleting a portion of your badass-juice every instance you criticized yourself.

Then the inevitable: you drained the entire badass-juice from your body.

Your self-esteem: squashed.

The next thing you know:

1. You’re losing customers to competitors.
2. Your veteran employees leave you for smaller firms.
3. Your intellectual property suffers.
4. Your vendors sue.
5. You file for bankruptcy.

Uh-oh.

But, lucky for your cool-self, it doesn’t have to end that way.

Your Body’s Like a Big-Freakin’ Coke Bottle

That bottle contains your badass-juice.

You could empty the bottle with incessant criticisms.

Or, you could fill it up — and keep it filled — with sweet encouragement:

Every positive reinforcement adds more badass-juice to your bottle.

Each makes you more resilient, determined, and driven to imprint your mark on the crazy world.

Instead of whining about how the world’s so full of hostility, you instead get yourself thinking:

• “I’m the fiercest fighter in my industry.”
• “I overcome trivial obstacles that impede my path to stardom.”
• “People who don’t believe in me drive me to prove their ineptitude.”

You’re already a badass. No one can take that away from you.

The template to get you filling your bottle:

“Ten reasons why I’m the baddest mutha-$%#!^@ around: _____________.”

technorati tags:Trizzle, Newyear

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