Commentary, Punditry, and More
As soon as I heard the news that a B-17 had crashed, I suspected I knew which one. Sadly, I was correct. Even more sad was the news that there were fatalities.
I ask you to pray for those that were lost, and for their families and all those they leave behind. I ask you to keep those injured in your prayers, thoughts, or whatever it is that you do.
I’m just surprised that anyone in DC is surprised. The other day, I pointed out evidence that Congresscritter Schitt had seen the so-called whistleblower complaint ahead of time. Yesterday, evidence came out that he had indeed done so, nor did he deny it. My questions as to how much one or more members of the committee were involved in drafting a very unusual (as in unusually well done) complaint using the just implemented hearsay complaint form. It is clear there was a LOT of help with it, which raises quite a few questions.
It’s hump day, so decided a little humor is needed.
I’m not saying some hypothetical discussions took place about 35 years ago along this same track. I am simply going to say, ‘It is satire, isn’t it?” Really would be a good way to mess up potential or actual enemies, now wouldn’t it.
Back in high school physics, we had some interesting discussions and debates about FTL. If you read both the theory and the special theory, FTL can’t be done in space normal, hence hyperspace or similar terms. There is no reason such isn’t possible outside space normal. A possible way to get out of space normal may be possible, and it is now getting some attention.
Enjoy your Wednesday, be safe. More soon.
Let me start by stating the position that while there are clearly some supplements that have a positive benefit, I am on the whole a skeptic about supplements. There are a number of reasons behind this stand.
First, one must keep in mind the history of supplements, which includes the whole “snake oil” legacy. Snake oil refers to a range of products, mostly liquid “elixirs,” that were sold touting their ability to cure anything that ailed you. If you look back at them, the bell curve is a bit skewed. Yes, there were a few of them that may well have done some good, but, there were a lot of them that could, would, and did do harm. The middle section of no harm/no fowl appears to be a bit on the small side.
The modern supplement phenomenon derives, IMO, from two different areas. The first is the “natural” movement which pushes natural remedies as an alternative to modern medicine. The second is modern medicine, which has acknowledged that any number of botanicals do indeed contain useful compounds and began to actively explore to find more. Both have their points, and it is somewhat funny to have watched these two different systems be almost forced to work together.
On the natural side, there has always been a bit of a tendency to push the “cure what ails you” side of things. This herb, or this supplement, would do the job. The problem is, not every supplement works on every individual. Your genetics and your gut biome play a part in if it works for you. What few studies have been done appear to suggest that some supplements may only work on less than a third of the population. In fact, some appear to work on less than ten percent.
Like many people, I take a multi-vitamin. In all probability, about 99 percent of it passes right through me.
Another reason for me to be a skeptic is that since the supplement industry is unregulated (for which I’m actually glad and support it staying unregulated), you do sometimes get some scams. I remember a couple of decades ago reading and hearing about a supplement that bragged of having a thousand times the daily recommended amount of calcium. True claim, it did. However, the calcium was in a form that could not be processed and used by the body. When it comes to supplements, including the new hot thing, caveat emptor.
You also have to be careful about amounts and interactions. Supplements can interact with each other, and they can and do interact with your prescription medication. There are a number of vitamins, minerals, and other compounds that you can get too much of — with potentially deadly results. Natural does not automatically equate to safe.
For this reason, I’m keeping my doctor up to date on what I’m taking and the amounts of critical compounds in each. I’m also asking for some additional blood work to be done to be sure I’m not doing something like spiking my calcium or other levels, or otherwise causing a problem as I attempt to “cure” the target issue.
Since my health is ultimately up to me, I’ve not only been researching the supplements I’ve chosen but even the brands and the forms of the supplements. I’ve also been choosing on the basis of trying to be sure they will work together, not against each other.
Will any one supplement work to make a positive difference? Will the particular regime I’m planning work to make a positive difference? Am I just generating very expensive urine and pissing away money? Ask me in about three to six months. That’s how long it’s going to take to have a realistic idea based of blood work, X-rays, etc.
Meantime, I plan to share a bit more on what I’m trying and why I have chosen those particular supplements. If anyone out there has a suggestion, feel free to chime in.
Back before Trump was even sworn in, Congresscritter Chuckles Schumer made a comment about the intelligence services having multiple ways to get back at Trump for saying bad things about them. Warning or threat, take your pick. Curious.
Jump forward to December of 2018 and Nancy Pelosi quietly changing the rules of the House to exclude Republicans (and others) from participating in the impeachment process. She stood tradition and accepted practices of 200 plus years on their ear. Curiouser.
In August of this year, the intelligence community suddenly revised the form used to document “Disclosure of Urgent Concern” aka the whistleblower form. Minor change? Not hardly. The form was redone to allow submission of hearsay concerns — i.e. the complainant did not have to have first hand knowledge of the alleged problem. Curiouser indeed.
Also in August of this year, it appears that Congresscritter Schitt was given the whistleblower complaint. Or, might he have had it earlier? There is strong evidence that this was not a typical complaint and that whoever filed it had a lot of help. Was that help from a member or members of the committee and/or lawyers associated with them? And yet curiouser again.
Conspiracy or not, what has happened has set a very dangerous precedent. I agree with Mr. Wright on his thoughts, and will add my own.
First, no President from any party can now trust the intelligence community on any level. There were already issues of leaks of Presidential communications, hence the move to a government secure server (as opposed to an unsecure server in a bathroom). The will have to assume from the start an adversarial relationship and consider that any one person in the community can and will act against them.
Second, they will no longer have faith in the intel or the intel analysis provided. As the intelligence community has moved into policy over the last few years, anyone with a brain will have to presume that the intel and analysis is corrupt on some level.
It’s actually not the first time for that, as Reagan came into office having doubts about the analysis (if not the intel) of the Soviet Union from various parts of the intelligence community. In my own biased opinion, he was quite right to do so. His solution was an extensive “kitchen cabinet” that provided input on everything from the Soviet Union to science. Trust but verify was not just for the Soviets.
Finally, no matter what else comes out of this, it will be seen by the public as one more institution that is corrupt. The loss of faith in institutions harms society and the Republic. Given current rhetoric and violence, the loss of faith in the rule of law may well be a crippling blow — particularly when it comes on top of the loss of faith in the FBI and the DOJ.
All we can do now is hang on. If it turns out that this was indeed orchestrated, the results will be to no one’s liking. Even if not as orchestrated as it appears at first glance, the damage to the credibility of the government and the electoral process will still be profound.
There is no way for Pelosi et al to back down now. Well, they could, but they will not. They are throwing the dice on a longshot, and no matter what, it is the Citizens of the United States and the Republic itself that will pay the price.
This is not the type of post I would normally write and post on a Sunday. Sunday is supposed to be my day of rest, a day to think, contemplate, and enjoy.
However, some things can’t wait and for me this is one of them. If you’ve been under a rock, a young man in Iowa made a joke by asking for money to buy beer. He got it.
Being an amazing young man, an example of good (which progressives seem to loathe on sight) that is refreshing and amazing to see, he decided to give the money to a local children’s hospital. Upon making that decision, he got serious about fundraising and got companies, including the beer company named in his joke, involved. Currently, more than one million dollars has been raised for that local children’s hospital.
Of course, this meant he needed to be cancelled and the Des Moines Register was up for the hatchet job. The reporter assigned to the hit dug down to find some posts, put up when the young man was sixteen, quoting a comedian (Tosh something) in not nice ways. Yeah, they were bad but we are talking about a teenage boy (girls aren’t much better), humor, and judgement.
Anheuser-Busch dropped him and his effort like a hot potato. Doing good for kids with cancer? Fuck them seems to be the attitude of the Des Moines Regiser, AB, and others. It’s past time that the cowardice, envy, and general destructiveness of the cancel culture be dealt with. You don’t destroy a cancer like that by punching back twice as hard.
You do it by bringing the pain and making it rain. Until those doing this experience the pain and suffering themselves, it is not going to stop. So, let it rain.
People need to go through the social media history of every employee at the Des Moines Register (and any other organization that doxxes and cancels) and shine a light on them. That is especially true for every reporter, editor, and even the publisher, but do it to all. Make them live up to their rules.
Others need to step up and cancel any advertising they do with the paper. Everyone else needs to encourage those businesses they frequent to stop advertising there. Look into the business dealings of the publisher and others: after all, if due diligence is the excuse being given for the dig, it should apply to their own efforts, no?
No, it’s not nice, it’s not polite, and it’s not a cultured response. It is, however, an effective response. Appeasement has been tried many times in history and it never works. If libertarians, conservatives, and others continue to cede this ground to progressives, it will never stop.
The reporter who did the story has been tossed under the bus (and is already whining about being the “real” victim in all of this). The leadership of the paper has posted a couple of arrogant non-apologies. It’s not enough.
If you want it to stop, it is not even a good start. Bring the pain, let it rain, and let it soak every person that works there.
There are none of us alive who have not said or done stupid or even bad things in our lives. We have all made bad jokes, held flawed positions, and said or done things that our current selves would not do. It’s called growing up. I’m very glad social media was not around when I was growing up.
This needs to end. You can’t make it end by being nice, turning the other cheek, or even by giving them lube as you bend over. Punching back twice as hard, as Obama said to, is for wimps. You punch back as hard as you can, as often as you can, until the other party gets the message. Only then will the cancel culture end.
There is much to say about the Congresscritter Shitt show and more. The relentless focus on Orange Man Bad is ignoring a lot of important news, especially from overseas. That said, I’m not getting into it today. I want to get through the day and relax a bit. Not sure if I will cook this weekend or not, but until then, enjoy a shot from a few years ago when I made up some truly amazing pesto using basil (and possibly even the parsley) out of my garden.
Given the large number of people who have had successful joint replacements, why not go with the surgeon and have my right shoulder done immediately? Good question.
Unless it is an emergency, I think it always better to take the time to review options, get second (or more) opinions, and make an informed decision about any medical treatment. Remember, the person ultimately responsible for your health is you, and it is incumbent upon any responsible person to be informed and to make informed decisions.
In this case, there are several factors at work.
Back the second time I worked for NASA (as a contractor), I worked commercial space research and as part of that worked with the Center for Commercial Applications of Combustion in Space. The team there was working with partners on advanced bone replacement materials. The problem with the implants then (and it applies to current day as well) is that they are solid chunks of metal or other similar materials. Natural bone may be smooth on the outside, but inside they are quite porous. Thus, you have density and mass differences that can and do affect the system on a mechanical basis. The stem of a replacement has to be glued in place, and that has caused problems on occasion.
The work CCACS was involved with produced a metallic/metallic-ceramic replacement that was smooth where needed, and had a porosity effectively equivalent to natural human bone. The research was focused on how to get the same results on Earth so that custom replacements, as close to identical to what was being replaced as possible, could be produced on Earth in the OR. Since the reaction was exothermic, the replacement parts would be sterile.
The truly advanced work, however, was focused on developing materials that would serve as a scaffold for natural bone to grow. As the patient’s bone grew into it, the replacement would dissolve and pass out of the body until after a period of time the patient was left with natural healthy bone in place.
There is a good bit of research underway (see here for one example) on advanced materials. Such advanced materials are needed because of a different area of medical research: regenerative medicine.
Regenerative medicine uses things such as stem cells, the extra-cellular matrix, and even some genetic manipulation to heal. In fact, using regenerative medicine, it is possible to not simply heal, but to restore a site, organ, limb, etc. to what it was before. Ultimately, they are looking at being able to regenerate limbs, organs, and other structures. To call it an exciting field is an understatement.
While separate, regenerative medicine ties into a variety of anti-aging research. This research focuses on restoring the body to the cellular conditions of youth.
Now, having worked with such research at NASA, and having had the honor of working with the late Leslie A. Geddes at Purdue — who pioneered several fields of biomedical research including regenerative medicine — I’ve been keeping a bit of an eye on such things. As Glenn Reynolds the Instapundit often notes, “Faster, Please.”
And I do want to see it faster, much faster, please. Based on current research, and even allowing for the FDA approval system that seems designed to prevent advances and competition, I believe I have a good twenty to forty years of life ahead of me barring something catastrophic. Which gets back to the current state of joint replacement.
Current materials are not designed to take advantage of future advancements. Nor are they designed for the life of the patient. The sad fact is that for many types of replacement, you can count of having to have the replacement replaced about every fifteen to seventeen years. So, at least two if not three replacements.
I would also note that because of the issues connecting bone with replacement, I would be limited to picking up no more than 15 pounds at a time, not have full range-of-motion restored, and face other limitations on activities. This would include many things I enjoy doing. Add in that at least two people I’ve talked to who have gone this route would not do the replacement over again, well…
So, I could opt for immediate replacement with parts that are close/semi-close to the size of my bones and will limit my activities because of the mechanical and other differences. These parts also are not designed to work with near-term or long-term advances in medical treatment; but, the replacement would reduce (though not necessarily eliminate) the pain in the joint and prevent further damage.
Or, I can opt to wait and experiment. The experimentation is potentially two-fold.
The first part is to try a supplement regimen that could slow, or even stop, damage not just in my shoulders but my entire body. Such a regimen has reportedly resulted in healthy regeneration (to some extent) in some patients. The odds, as I understand them from medical research, are long. I’ve faced some long odds in life before, it’s worth a shot.
The second part is to research clinical trials in regenerative medicine and advanced bone replacement materials. If I qualify for one or more regenerative medicine trials and participate, then I have the potential for at least partial restoration if not full. Add to it the fact that by participating I can help drive things forward faster please, even if it does not help me, then it’s still a win.
If regenerative trials don’t work out for whatever reason, then I will look to advanced bone replacement materials trials. If I have to have a replacement, why not go for one designed to take advantage of advances in medical technology?
Meantime, I’ve lived with chronic pain for years, decades even. I don’t like it, am working on dealing with it, but can handle a bit more. So long as I minimize damage to the shoulders and other joints being attacked by arthritis, I can and will put up with the additional pain.
That’s it in a nutshell, and there are several areas that can, and may be, explored in greater detail later. However, for now, it lays out the base case for my decisions.
I, however, am his Designated Emergency Human and according to Cappie (short for Capt. Neurotic, my name for him) a permanent state of emergency has been declared. He cries at my door some nights, begging for me to let him in. Usually, he’s waiting for me when I get up. If I get up other than at my normal time, he comes running, which you see here. If it hadn’t been for the light, you would see this odd little thing he does as he turns the corner.
Grrrrr. Not letting me post the movie, will work on it and update later.
There is so much going on in the world, from the shit show that is media coverage of American politics to the various bits of tawdry sadness that is “news” via celebrities. I pity that hapless teen from Sweden, and fully agree with those who hold her parents and other handlers in complete and fundamental contempt. Against that background, it is easy to let gloom and despair fill our view. It is easy to believe that we are doomed on one or more levels.
It isn’t. The media bubble does not reflect reality. Reality is much more upbeat and happy. When you are out of the bubble, you see people coming together and doing good things. You see stories like this one, or the very definition of sang froid that is Texas Man. Reality is full of stories like this.
Yes, we are in a fight as to the direction of the Republic. It is important. It is also important to realize that outside the media bubble, people still are willing to listen, to help each other, and do those things that have made — and can continue to make — the Republic a success. Discourse is still possible, outside the bubble.
I’m not going to post today about health or anything else. Instead, a quick challenge: go commit a senseless act of beauty. Pay it forward, complement someone, take a photo and share it — just do something positive. As you do so, get outside the bubble for a bit. You will be amazed at how much better you feel and how energizing it is.