Tuesday, August 05, 2008 . 8/05/2008
I haven't posted anything in ages, goddamn. For anyone who bothers to read this and/or thinks that I'm amazing and was worrying about me, let me explain why.I (or rather my dad, since I don't know how) had to reformat my computer since it was messed up and would restart every hour or so (more on this in a bit). He reinstalled Windows XP because 2000 is crap and once he did, I reinstalled Firefox and all my games etc, including Oblivion which would always crash. So I downloaded all the mods I used to use and more, which took forever... and then BAM, my hard drive pooped out. Cue ANOTHER reformat and painstakingly getting all these mods for Oblivion again. Good news is that my new hard drive is obviously much, much better, and now I have a new graphics card too. Doing some reading made me realize that the computer restarting constantly meant that my old hard drive was dying and wasn't getting enough power.
So anyway, I've been playing Oblivion quite a bit since now it runs much better than it ever did, and with high settings to boot. And to avoid looking like a shut-in, I'm going to mention that I'm going to be getting a job at the hospital my parents work at soon, perhaps next week. Data collecting at first probably, but she also suggested I could draw blood which would pay about $12 an hour which isn't bad, and I'd only have to work about four days a week. One problem, though. I have blood phobia. BUT being around blood a little every day before I were to get this job could help, and my mom reassured me that almost everyone faints at first. I know that therapists even take the "face your fears" approach so maybe drawing blood will help me conquer blood phobia once and for all.
AND NOW BACK TO YOUR SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING - animal rights activists. They're at it again:
Two University of California-Santa Cruz research scientists were targets of firebombs early Saturday, which authorities called a troubling sign of escalating violence against university researchers who use animals in their labs.
Santa Cruz police labeled the incidents "acts of domestic terrorism."
In the off-campus incident, a well-known molecular biologist and his family, including two small children, were forced to escape a smoke-filled house using a second-story ladder after a firebomb was intentionally set off, police said. One family member sustained injuries requiring brief hospitalization, and police are calling the firebombing, which occurred shortly before 6 a.m., a case of attempted homicide.
About the same time, a car belonging to a researcher parked at a home on campus also was firebombed, destroying the vehicle.
The violence occurred four days after a customer at Caffe Pergolesi, a downtown Santa Cruz coffeehouse, found fliers listing the names, home addresses, home phone numbers and photos of 13 UC-Santa Cruz science researchers and professors. Police believe unidentified animal rights activists created the fliers, which were made to appear as "wanted posters." They warned: "Animal abusers everywhere beware; we know where you live; we know where you work; we will never back down until you end your abuse." City and UC-Santa Cruz police contacted most of the people on the list to warn them.
Read on
Santa Cruz police labeled the incidents "acts of domestic terrorism."
In the off-campus incident, a well-known molecular biologist and his family, including two small children, were forced to escape a smoke-filled house using a second-story ladder after a firebomb was intentionally set off, police said. One family member sustained injuries requiring brief hospitalization, and police are calling the firebombing, which occurred shortly before 6 a.m., a case of attempted homicide.
About the same time, a car belonging to a researcher parked at a home on campus also was firebombed, destroying the vehicle.
The violence occurred four days after a customer at Caffe Pergolesi, a downtown Santa Cruz coffeehouse, found fliers listing the names, home addresses, home phone numbers and photos of 13 UC-Santa Cruz science researchers and professors. Police believe unidentified animal rights activists created the fliers, which were made to appear as "wanted posters." They warned: "Animal abusers everywhere beware; we know where you live; we know where you work; we will never back down until you end your abuse." City and UC-Santa Cruz police contacted most of the people on the list to warn them.
Read on
Horrible. What these so-called animal rights activists fail to realize is that without animal testing, they most likely wouldn't even be alive. We wouldn't have modern medicine, sunscreen, penicillin, or any of the things we tend to take for granted. Further, researchers must take as much care of these animals as they can.
I can't find the words to say much else as this is all just too insane.
Oh yeah and I just remembered something that has absolutely nothing to do with the above (unless you count vegetarian PETA terrorists) - on Saturday while I was getting my hair done, the hairdresser and her client next to me were talking about how amazing fried chicken tasted and how regular chicken was flavorless. The fuck? I felt like asking "Ever try grilling it? Smoking it? Maybe even, oh I don't know... SEASONING it?" And fried chicken is gross. Get better taste buds, fatass.
Labels: News, Personal, Stupid
1 Comments - Post/view commentsSaturday, July 12, 2008 . 7/12/2008
In Loving Memory
As my previous post stated, we had to put down our 11-year-old dachshund, Sugar, yesterday afternoon. She was an incredibly sweet dog, and this entry is dedicated to her.
It all started when I was about seven or eight years old. My dad and I were looking for a puppy, and a small hairy one caught my eye. My mom was at work that day, so we left for the time being so that she could see the puppy before we adopted her. When we did come back, a tiny little dachshund got brought in and she stole my heart. She ate her crate-mate's poop right in front of us, but she was adorable all the same. We ended up taking her home instead. I got the honor of naming her - Sugar.
I cannot stress enough how cute and sweet she was as a puppy. Her ears were huge and floppy and she still had lose skin that she needed to grow into. She would cuddle up with you in bed, right next to your stomach.
What was funny about her was that she would steal my socks to keep me from having to go to school. In those days I went to a school where uniforms and socks were required, and I hated the socks more than the uniforms. Sugar apparently picked up on this because she would steal them and hide underneath the bed or table.
She would also steal my friend's clothes whenever we went swimming. She just took them and carried them off into the woods. You always knew Sugar was up to something when you saw a white sock or shirt floating among the bushes.
Even though she was just a small weiner dog, Sugar would herd our neighbor's goat that often escaped from its enclosure. She'd bark, run around the goat's heals, and continue doing so until she got it back in the pasture with the horses where it belonged. It was hilarious to watch.
Unfortunately, as she aged she started to become quite annoying (just like any grandma). She was diagnosed with Cushing's Disease when she was around nine years old, and because of this she'd eat anything she could get her mouth on, including shed hair from our larger dog, Kingston. She'd sneak in and steal his food, the cats' food, and pretty much everyone else's besides her own. She'd lick everything, as well, which made me increasingly frustrated because she'd leave wet spots all over the carpet.
She was very loved, despite all of that. She had her ups and downs, her funny moments and her annoying points. She had a good life.
Rest in peace, sweetie. You will be missed. <3
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As my previous post stated, we had to put down our 11-year-old dachshund, Sugar, yesterday afternoon. She was an incredibly sweet dog, and this entry is dedicated to her.
It all started when I was about seven or eight years old. My dad and I were looking for a puppy, and a small hairy one caught my eye. My mom was at work that day, so we left for the time being so that she could see the puppy before we adopted her. When we did come back, a tiny little dachshund got brought in and she stole my heart. She ate her crate-mate's poop right in front of us, but she was adorable all the same. We ended up taking her home instead. I got the honor of naming her - Sugar.
I cannot stress enough how cute and sweet she was as a puppy. Her ears were huge and floppy and she still had lose skin that she needed to grow into. She would cuddle up with you in bed, right next to your stomach.
What was funny about her was that she would steal my socks to keep me from having to go to school. In those days I went to a school where uniforms and socks were required, and I hated the socks more than the uniforms. Sugar apparently picked up on this because she would steal them and hide underneath the bed or table.
She would also steal my friend's clothes whenever we went swimming. She just took them and carried them off into the woods. You always knew Sugar was up to something when you saw a white sock or shirt floating among the bushes.
Even though she was just a small weiner dog, Sugar would herd our neighbor's goat that often escaped from its enclosure. She'd bark, run around the goat's heals, and continue doing so until she got it back in the pasture with the horses where it belonged. It was hilarious to watch.
Unfortunately, as she aged she started to become quite annoying (just like any grandma). She was diagnosed with Cushing's Disease when she was around nine years old, and because of this she'd eat anything she could get her mouth on, including shed hair from our larger dog, Kingston. She'd sneak in and steal his food, the cats' food, and pretty much everyone else's besides her own. She'd lick everything, as well, which made me increasingly frustrated because she'd leave wet spots all over the carpet.
She was very loved, despite all of that. She had her ups and downs, her funny moments and her annoying points. She had a good life.
Rest in peace, sweetie. You will be missed. <3
Well, it finally happened. We had to put our 11-year-old dachshund, Sugar, to sleep yesterday afternoon due to kidney and liver failure. What's weird is that it all started with a swollen eye. Let me explain...
A little over a week ago I noticed that Sugar's right eye was a little red and swollen, but it wasn't too bad. I showed my parents and they said that if it didn't go away or if it got worse by the next day they'd take her to the vet. Fast forward to a day or two and the whole right side of her face got swollen, she was shaking all over and she looked really tired and just plain horrible in general. And that eye... let's just say that if she happened to be a pug, it probably would have popped out.
She lost tons of weight (since she had Cushing's Disease, her stomach bloated up but you could easily feel her ribs and spine by this point). Since it was Sunday, no regular vet was open so we called an e-vet. They suggested giving her a Benadryl to calm down the swelling, so we did, and it helped a bit. We took her to the vet the next day of course, and they thought that it could have been an infected tooth that made her face poof up. Either that or it could be cancer, they said, but they wanted to rule out the infected tooth first, since they didn't think that cancer was too likely. So they gave her some antibiotics and told us to take her back to get another injection the next day. She was scheduled to be put under the following weekend to see about said possible infected tooth since she was in too much pain as it was to risk doing so while she was awake.
Fast forward to Friday and she's bleeding from her mouth, but the swelling was down quite a bit. My dad guessed that it was the infection draining out, but her breathing was shallow and it looked like she could die at any minute, so my parents took her back to the vet (I couldn't be there at the time). They ended up having to put her to sleep because it was discovered, as I mentioned earlier, that her liver and kidneys were failing.
So now I'm wondering how a swollen face could connect to liver and kidney failure. Ever since it swelled up, she stopped eating her food (she was all for cat food and beef though, as always), and she drank water but she didn't pee. Could it have been something she got into? Poisoning? Or maybe it really was cancer... I know it's pointless to speculate if all of this could have been prevented since it's obviously too late, but I can't help but wonder.
Anyway, my next post will be dedicated to the happier memories.
Sunday, June 29, 2008 . 6/29/2008
I've been thinking about how I used to believe in ghosts and such lately, especially how I used to absolutely love the show Ghost Hunters. I was kind of sciencey back then (less then than now, obviously) and I wanted to have my cake and eat it too when it came to science and the paranormal. Ghost Hunters claimed to include science with their "investigations" so I was thrilled. I bought into it all, hook, line, and sinker. They claimed to be more interested in debunking hauntings than proving them to be true and I believed it.
But there is a big problem (ok, there is more than just a single problem but this one is major) -
TAPS goes in already assuming that ghosts exist, which means if they can't debunk something to their satisfaction, they assume the place is haunted. This is not good science. I could just as easily go into these so-called haunted places assuming that invisible fairies exist, try to prove that invisible fairies were not the cause of all the ruckus, and when I can't, fall back into my original conclusion that it was invisible fairies. Never mind that there isn't any evidence ghosts exist in the first place, let alone invisible fairies: it's circular reasoning. It's a logical fallacy.
I really do wish ghosts existed though, don't get me wrong. In fact I cannot even begin to describe how much I want them to be real, and truth be told I kind of miss believing in them whilst happily ignoring more logical explanations. Unfortunately though, just wishing something existed does not poof said something into existence.
Labels: Personal
0 Comments - Post/view commentsMonday, June 16, 2008 . 6/16/2008
HOLY SHIT.I'm one of the five people who won the Set Ben Straight contest!!! I completely didn't expect that as so many of those looked better than mine!
AAAAA I'M SO HAPPY!
This is the email:
Dear Ms. -name-,
Congratulations! You were among the five entrants to the Set Ben Straight contest to be randomly selected to receive a year's subscription to Reports of the NCSE and a book from NCSE's shelves. The five books that we have the most copies of at the moment are:
Mark Isaak's The Counter-Creationism Handbook
Eugenie C. Scott's Evolution vs. Creationism
The AAAS's The Evolution Dialogues: Science, Christianity, and the Quest for Understanding
David Quammen's The Reluctant Mr. Darwin
Edward Humes's Monkey Girl
Let me know which of those sounds most appealing, and I'll send it along. (If by chance you have all of them, or don't want any of those, let me know, and I'll see what else we have on the shelf.) And thanks again for entering. We're quite pleased with the effect of, and the response to, the Expelled Exposed website, and we value your contribution -- even if it took us a while to post it and to select our winners!
Congratulations! You were among the five entrants to the Set Ben Straight contest to be randomly selected to receive a year's subscription to Reports of the NCSE and a book from NCSE's shelves. The five books that we have the most copies of at the moment are:
Mark Isaak's The Counter-Creationism Handbook
Eugenie C. Scott's Evolution vs. Creationism
The AAAS's The Evolution Dialogues: Science, Christianity, and the Quest for Understanding
David Quammen's The Reluctant Mr. Darwin
Edward Humes's Monkey Girl
Let me know which of those sounds most appealing, and I'll send it along. (If by chance you have all of them, or don't want any of those, let me know, and I'll see what else we have on the shelf.) And thanks again for entering. We're quite pleased with the effect of, and the response to, the Expelled Exposed website, and we value your contribution -- even if it took us a while to post it and to select our winners!
I chose Mark Isaak's The Counter-Creationism Handbook although I wish I could have all of them!
edit: Aww, three of the other winners chose that book and they don't have anymore. Oh well, I can just order it on Amazon. But my second choice would've been Edward Humes's Monkey Girl so that's what I picked now. 2 Comments - Post/view comments
Uhg. You know what's annoying? This. It's an MSN "article" on which celebrities are "too thin" and which ones are "just right". On the ones that they deem too thin (all of them), the obnoxious author says something like "HEY YOU LOOK LIKE YOU'RE STARVING THERE, EAT SOMETHING!!!". You know what, though? If those women have actual eating disorders, telling them to eat something or that they look like they're starving doesn't help. It really doesn't. In some cases, saying to someone with an eating disorder that they look too thin is actually a compliment and can encourage the disordered behavior. And just eating more isn't as easy as it sounds.
Some might wonder how I know this so I thought I'd just bring it out in the open already: I have a disordered view of food, myself. No, I'm not anorexic - I'd need to skip three periods in a row. I'm not bulimic, either. And yes, I do eat. But people telling me that I look too thin and that I need to eat more because "you're underweight already, you won't get fat" doesn't help one bit.
So please, if you know someone with an eating disorder, there are better ways to try to help them than by telling them to "just eat, already".
Tuesday, May 27, 2008 . 5/27/2008
Ever feel like just doing schoolwork at home and never having to step foot into a classroom? Like correspondence classes, for example?Don't do it. Just don't. I have been taking correspondence classes for a little over a year or two now and I am not getting anything out of it. Thing is, I only have a final exam to complete and I'll be done with high school.
I regret not sticking with regular school so much, I really do. Why?
- No teachers. You are your own teacher, and while this may sound good at first, it really isn't all it's cracked up to be. Unless you are a person that can stay super focused, being your own teacher is not a good idea.
- Schedule. You need to make your own. If you're a procrastinator like I tend to be, this is bad.
- It just isn't fun. Unless you are doing correspondence with a friend, it gets pretty damn lonely and boring.
- It feels like I could be learning a hell of a lot more. See #1.
Labels: Personal
0 Comments - Post/view commentsTuesday, April 29, 2008 . 4/29/2008
I entered the Set Ben Straight contest sometime last week (it ended yesterday), not expecting my refutation to even get published. But it did, albeit not the whole thing. This is the full version to a claim I chose for anyone who's interested:The first thing I thought of when I read this was your science teacher calling out "Stein... Stein..."
Because really, Ben, if you would have attended your science classes more often you would've known better and wouldn't have gotten expelled! So let's review:
Abiogenisis tries to explain where life originated. Evolution doesn't even try to answer where life came from or where physics came from, as these are completely different fields!
Elementary, my dear Stein!
All evolution does is provide an explanation as to how life on earth came to be so various, and the fact that you don't understand how the cell got so complex, or how it can repair itself, doesn't make evolution any less valid. Do some research, man! If you don't know something, make it a goal to find out!
And if it was simply a matter of freedom of speech, I or anyone else could waltz into medical school, say that witchcraft is a valid alternative, and demand it be taught that way. But it isn't like that, and in fact, the very grounds of medicine relies on biology which in turn relies on evolution! Isn't that amazing?
So get your tush back in class, because learning is fun, damnit, and assuming a divine being did everything is the lazy way out and I know you can do better than this!
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Because really, Ben, if you would have attended your science classes more often you would've known better and wouldn't have gotten expelled! So let's review:
Abiogenisis tries to explain where life originated. Evolution doesn't even try to answer where life came from or where physics came from, as these are completely different fields!
Elementary, my dear Stein!
All evolution does is provide an explanation as to how life on earth came to be so various, and the fact that you don't understand how the cell got so complex, or how it can repair itself, doesn't make evolution any less valid. Do some research, man! If you don't know something, make it a goal to find out!
And if it was simply a matter of freedom of speech, I or anyone else could waltz into medical school, say that witchcraft is a valid alternative, and demand it be taught that way. But it isn't like that, and in fact, the very grounds of medicine relies on biology which in turn relies on evolution! Isn't that amazing?
So get your tush back in class, because learning is fun, damnit, and assuming a divine being did everything is the lazy way out and I know you can do better than this!
Saturday, April 19, 2008 . 4/19/2008
I actually went shopping with my mom and aunt today. I'm pretty proud of myself; I didn't cry or get irritated at all, like I thought I would.Small post but that's all I have to say.
Labels: Personal
0 Comments - Post/view commentsFriday, April 18, 2008 . 4/18/2008
My social anxiety (as I've already said a few times) is almost completely gone, but what's left is what I can only describe as a fragile shell, as emo as that sounds. Let me explain...I went to get my hair done yesterday. While I was at the salon I didn't exactly feel like crying, but when I got home I broke down. Every little noise seemed loud to me, I cried, and went to bed early.
This almost always happens when I go somewhere; either I'll break down and cry while I'm actually in public or I'll suck it up and wait until I get in the car. And my mom and aunt are supposed to go shopping tomorrow. I really want to go with them, but I have a feeling I'll get overwhelmed and cry. This especially tends to happen when other people laugh real loud, which my mom especially will probably do with company.
I've always been like this, even as a kid. I'd get overwhelmed easily and cry. I know it's not because I'm not used to being around people and noise, since I've been doing that all my life up until 10th grade when my mom agreed to take me out of regular school so I could do schoolwork at home (which is what helped my anxiety to fade).
Am I just weak, or is there something else wrong with me?
edit: durr, this sounds a lot like introversion. But I hate it, and I feel like there's something wrong with me when I break down and cry simply because of a noise that everyone else would say isn't loud, but is loud to me. Like yesterday, my dad was talking loudly, I told him and asked him to stop, and he had to ask my mom if he was talking loud. I didn't see if she shook her head or not but my dad replied to me by fucking yelling, saying that maybe he can't help it. He always does that when I ask him to stop talking so loud; he yells at me. Same thing when I ask him to turn down the volume on the TV, he'll usually just yell my name as if I'm stupid and turn it down one or two notches. It's like he couldn't care less.
And yet he wonders why I don't seem like him that much, even though I've told him several times why: because he's loud, and I can't stand it.
Labels: Personal
5 Comments - Post/view commentsSunday, April 13, 2008 . 4/13/2008
On Friday night I woke up to the sound of my cats growling and just making really loud noises in general. Thinking they got themselves into a fight like they sometimes do, I got out of bed to break it up. But they weren't fighting - they were looking out the door. It was another cat! Since all I could see was a vague outline/blur of it I rushed back into my room to get my glasses. What I saw when I came back was one of the sweetest looking cats I've ever seen. He/she wasn't exactly a kitten but didn't look to be a full adult either.
For the sake of this post I'm going to call this cat a she. So she just kind of stood there in a half-sitting kind of way, looking up at me curiously from the other side of the sliding door. My mom got up to see what all the fuss was about since our two cats kept on chatting away at this other cat. We kind of sat there for a few minutes, and I kept saying how much I'd like to hold the cat but knowing full well that our own would have at it in a second as soon as the door was opened. After a while she (the other cat) went wandering off our porch, so my mom and I decided to go back to bed.
But then the growling started up again.
The cat was back, and it was then that I decided that I wanted to hold her. I coaxed our own cats into my room with food, then shut the door. I went back into the living room and opened the sliding door. The cat was skittish, but came inside. My dog got excited and walked towards her, scaring her shitless. My dog is good though and I eventually convinced him to lay down and behave while I examined the cat more closely.
She had no collar, was a really pretty tabby with white patches and a few calico spots, and when I picked her up I realized just how skinny she was. I started to cry. I felt her ribs and her backbones, especially. Knowing that my parents would be angry with me for bringing the cat in but wanting to tell someone about this, I carried her into my parents' room. I asked them to not yell at me, but that I had the cat and I told them how skinny she was. My dad got mad at me but after I started to really cry they started to understand. My mom got up and had a look at the cat, agreeing that she was pretty damn skinny. She suggested we feed her so we did, but after a minute or so of the cat not eating my mom said that she might feel more comfortable if she ate outside, and she was right. We watched the cat eat and I told my mom that I wanted to take the poor thing to the local animal shelter and that maybe they could run some lost pet ads for her in case she was owned by someone. But it was in the middle of the night, and there was no way we could keep her in our house because our cats would get upset, to put it mildly.
After a while the cat walked away, this time for good. I like to think that she found her way home. She was really sweet around people so I'm assuming she belongs to someone.. maybe she accidentally slipped outside while her owner was opening the door.
In other news, I went shopping yesterday with my mom, got some nice clothes and stuff, then went to the new Border's next door. It was very big and nice, but I noticed yet again that the Religion section was quite big whereas the Science one had just a small corner, competing for space with Mathematics. When you think about it though, I guess it kind of makes sense since with religion all you have to do is make up shit and pull it out of your ass.
Labels: Personal
0 Comments - Post/view commentsMonday, March 24, 2008 . 3/24/2008
Well, I went to the eye doctor today. When I walked in I noticed this really annoying infomercial-style thing on this screen that played the same thing over and over about how the retina works and what this new machine does, etc. So that pissed me off real quick. I only lasted until after they took measurements and stuff of my eyes and then I started to cry. I don't know why, but I did. All I wanted to do was go home and go to bed. Needless to say, I had the appointment rescheduled. I don't know what went wrong.. I just felt overstimulated and irritated and it was terrible. And it got me thinking - how the hell am I ever going to make it in the real world? My mom was with me today to get her eyes tested as well and I can only imagine what it would have been like if I went by myself. I feel so fucking helpless.-------------------
Brown criticized over embryo bill
Cardinal Keith O'Brien will use his Easter Sunday sermon to launch an attack on the government's proposals.
He will also call on Gordon Brown to allow Labour MPs a free vote on the issue at Westminster.
Downing Street did not respond directly to the cardinal's attack, saying Mr Brown had already made his views clear.
The prime minister has said the bill would improve research into many illnesses.
Hybrid embryos
Supporters of the bill believe hybrid embryos could lead to cures for diseases including multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease.
Leading scientists accused the Roman Catholic Church of "scaremongering" over research which had the potential to save many lives.
Cardinal O'Brien, who is the Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, also wants Catholic ministers serving in the Cabinet to stand down rather than support the bill.
In his sermon, which was released on Friday, the cardinal claims that the bill would lead to the endorsement of experiments of "Frankenstein proportions".
Cardinal Keith O'Brien will use his Easter Sunday sermon to launch an attack on the government's proposals.
He will also call on Gordon Brown to allow Labour MPs a free vote on the issue at Westminster.
Downing Street did not respond directly to the cardinal's attack, saying Mr Brown had already made his views clear.
The prime minister has said the bill would improve research into many illnesses.
Hybrid embryos
Supporters of the bill believe hybrid embryos could lead to cures for diseases including multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease.
Leading scientists accused the Roman Catholic Church of "scaremongering" over research which had the potential to save many lives.
Cardinal O'Brien, who is the Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, also wants Catholic ministers serving in the Cabinet to stand down rather than support the bill.
In his sermon, which was released on Friday, the cardinal claims that the bill would lead to the endorsement of experiments of "Frankenstein proportions".
He says: "This bill represents a monstrous attack on human rights, human dignity and human life.
"In some European countries one could be jailed for doing what we intend to make legal.
"I can say that the government has no mandate for these changes: they were not in any election manifesto, nor do they enjoy widespread public support."
The cardinal describes the practice as "grotesque" and "hideous".
Dr Stephen Minger, director of the stem cell biology laboratory at King's College London, said: "This is yet another example where it is clear that the Catholic Church is misrepresenting science because it doesn't understand the basic facts."
He added: "The church should carefully review the science they are commenting on, and ensure that their official comments are accurate, before seriously misinforming their congregations."
Read more...He says: "This bill represents a monstrous attack on human rights, human dignity and human life."
This research is to save lives you fucking idiot.
I thought religion like this was supposed to embrace the possibility of lives being saved. And since their non-existent god won't help us achieve this, we have science. These idiots have two choices: pray that all problems will go away, OR ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. And they aren't doing anything but whining as far as I can tell. This is how almost all religion is; go to church, preach to the choir, and whine about how science is so gosh darn evil. I am not going to lie or sugar-coat this any longer - I absolutely hate religion. It is a useless piece of shit that does nothing to help us advance further. If it isn't homosexual discrimination, it's racist. Or telling a woman whether or not she can have a zygote removed from her own body, even if she gets raped. Or letting AIDS run rampant in Africa because missionaries refuse to hand out condoms or do anything but preach abstinence. Or pushing ignorance such as creationism. Or bitching about how science is immoral and wrong.
I am fucking sick of it. And not only is protesting against stem-cell research and the like idiotic, it also shows how absolutely ignorant you are. They are cells. There are cells everywhere, really. They can't think and they can't feel. Did these people not pay attention in Biology class or did they just drop out of school in the 3rd grade? Or think of it this way: I'm willing to bet that these people have eggs for breakfast at least every once in a while. Eggs such as these are the biggest cells we can see without a microscope. Why aren't they protesting against eating eggs since they had the potential to contain life? And why don't women who protest against stem cell research just get pregnant all the time? Every time they get their period, an egg goes to waste!
And as a final note, let me just say that I think anyone who considers a bunch of non-sentient cells more valuable than an actual human life is immoral. Or an idiot, whichever.
Labels: Personal, Religion, Stupid
0 Comments - Post/view commentsMonday, March 03, 2008 . 3/03/2008
The following is a stupid post that you most likely couldn't care less about.On Friday I went to the hospital with my mom since she had to get a test done which took about 20 minutes. I had to wait in the waiting room and there were quite a few people there, but amazingly I felt very comfortable, especially after I resumed reading the book I brought to keep me occupied (Demon-Haunted World). After that we went shopping, which was really fun. I think I really am starting to get over my social anxiety, which is exciting. In short, I guess you could say that I'm finally starting to wake up and live life instead of being miserable all the time. I only have one life and I'm going to try and make the best of it, goddammit. But one thing (or two) is still missing: friends.
And the thought of having to one day live on my own is terrifying.
I still don't really know what job I want to pursue either. I'm stuck between a really weird dilemma between being a biologist or some other type of scientist, and being a model. Maybe I could be both and promote scientific literacy or something.
Labels: Personal
2 Comments - Post/view commentsFriday, February 29, 2008 . 2/29/2008
I was thinking that maybe I am a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) but the thing is, I don't even know if it's a real condition or not. I can't find any legit scientific sites that acknowledge it (I don't know how credible this site is); most, if not all sites that mention HSP include "woo" such as spiritual healing etc. The Highly Sensitive Person is said to be pretty spiritual after all. But other personality traits include being overwhelmed easily and being very sensitive to stimuli such as noise and activity, which describes me. If the condition is real then I'm guessing a lot of people take HSP as being "supernatural" because it means picking up small environmental stimuli or whatever that many people don't notice.Uhg. I don't know. Maybe it's just introversion. If anyone's reading this then any information will be helpful, thanks.
Oh yeah, and I tried searching for it on ScienceBlogs.com and it came up with this guy who seems to just be exaggerating normal annoyances (except for maybe the first two points).
Labels: Personal
2 Comments - Post/view commentsWednesday, February 27, 2008 . 2/27/2008
I went to work with my mom yesterday (the hospital) and I've come to the conclusion that I would never be able to work in an office. It's just too much for me. I got so overwhelmed that I cried. The talking, and especially people who laughed in a horrible high-pitched squeal that fat ladies have nearly made me go into a nervous breakdown; there was just too much noise. I remember being overwhelmed by it all even as a kid, and surprise surprise, it hasn't gotten any better. And that hospital smell.. I hate it. But office smell is even worse because it smells like a mixture between coffee, crummy cafeteria food, and ass. Though to be fair, I had a delicious cheeseburger and some fries that came from the cafeteria.I'm not too sure if I could work in a hospital, either. Don't get me wrong though, it would be very interesting, especially in a Trauma center I would imagine. But again, I don't think I'd be able to handle all the noise and activity. Besides that, I can't stand the sight of blood (although my mom tells me I'd just get used to it). So unless there's a pill for being overly sensitive to noise etc (one of the main reasons I couldn't handle regular school - tried to up until about 10th grade), I'm out.
Oh yeah, and I found out I was born two weeks early, the heart palpitations that I had were most likely normal, and the "second ankles" on my feet are either some type of cyst or extra cartilage or something. Can't really tell until I get an X-ray.
Labels: Personal
0 Comments - Post/view commentsSaturday, February 23, 2008 . 2/23/2008
I went to the grocery store with my mom today, and as I was waiting for her to get lettuce this old-ish guy walked by me, smiling, and said something like "Smile, dear". I wasn't even aware I wasn't smiling, I didn't feel sad, and as soon as he said that I ended up feeling terrible. And what was I supposed to do, walk around with a cheesy smile all the time? I know he meant well but I hate it so much when people tell me I look sad or tell me to smile when in fact I feel quite happy. It makes me think that there's something wrong with me.Labels: Personal
3 Comments - Post/view commentsFriday, February 22, 2008 . 2/22/2008
Emo post alert.I've been feeling a bit depressed lately, mostly at night when it really hits me that I'm alone. In the day, I don't really bother thinking about how I've never had a boyfriend (if only I wasn't so quiet). But at night, the thought that I could be cuddling up to someone sends me to tears. I was thinking that I should take my pills again, but depression isn't the problem. Depression is being sad for no reason, and I have a reason. I am getting sick of being alone.
Labels: Personal
1 Comments - Post/view commentsWednesday, February 20, 2008 . 2/20/2008
Total Lunar Eclipse Tonight
A total eclipse of the moon tonight is expected to delight skywatchers across the United States and much of the world.
It will be the last total lunar eclipse until 2010.
The easy-to-watch event will play out in several stages as Earth's shadow blocks sunlight from shining on the moon. Weather permitting, the eclipse will be visible from all locations in the United States, according to NASA. Along the Oregon and northern California coasts, the moon will rise during the early stages of the eclipse, however.
When to watch
Eclipses occur only at full moon when the sun, Earth and moon are in a perfect line. Because the moon's orbit around Earth is not perfectly aligned with the plane of Earth's orbit around the sun, eclipses do not occur at every full moon.
The moon will enter Earth's umbral shadow (the full shadow) at 8:43 p.m. ET (that's 7:43 p.m. Central, 6:43 p.m. Mountain and 5:43 p.m. Pacific) on Wednesday, Feb. 20. It will appear as though an ever-larger bite is being taken out of the moon.
Some 78 minutes later, the moon will slip into full eclipse. About 51 minutes later, a bright scallop will appear as the moon starts emerging. It will be completely out of the umbral shadow at 9:09 p.m. Pacific time, which is 12:09 a.m. ET on Thursday morning.
For Europe and Africa, the eclipse is a predawn Thursday event, with the moon starting entry to the umbral shadow at 1:43 Greenwich (or Universal) Time.
What you'll see
Look for the moon to possibly turn red during the total portion of the eclipse. "The exact color that the moon appears depends on the amount of dust and clouds in the atmosphere," according to a NASA statement. "If there are extra particles in the atmosphere, from say a recent volcanic eruption, the moon will appear a darker shade of red."
The redness occurs because while the moon is in total shadow, some light from the sun passes through Earth's atmosphere and is bent toward the moon. The effect is to cast all the planet's sunrises and sunsets on the moon.
Christopher Columbus famously used a blood-red eclipse in 1504 to frighten natives on Jamaica into feeding his crew.
The planet Saturn and the bright star Regulus will form a broad triangle with the moon's ruddy disk, according to Joe Rao, SPACE.com's Skywatching Columnist.
You don't need any special equipment to watch a lunar eclipse. Comfortable chairs and warm clothing are good ideas. A telescope will bring out interesting details of the lunar surface, and even a small telescope will reveal Saturn's stunning rings.
[Source: LiveScience]
A total eclipse of the moon tonight is expected to delight skywatchers across the United States and much of the world.
It will be the last total lunar eclipse until 2010.
The easy-to-watch event will play out in several stages as Earth's shadow blocks sunlight from shining on the moon. Weather permitting, the eclipse will be visible from all locations in the United States, according to NASA. Along the Oregon and northern California coasts, the moon will rise during the early stages of the eclipse, however.
When to watch
Eclipses occur only at full moon when the sun, Earth and moon are in a perfect line. Because the moon's orbit around Earth is not perfectly aligned with the plane of Earth's orbit around the sun, eclipses do not occur at every full moon.
The moon will enter Earth's umbral shadow (the full shadow) at 8:43 p.m. ET (that's 7:43 p.m. Central, 6:43 p.m. Mountain and 5:43 p.m. Pacific) on Wednesday, Feb. 20. It will appear as though an ever-larger bite is being taken out of the moon.
Some 78 minutes later, the moon will slip into full eclipse. About 51 minutes later, a bright scallop will appear as the moon starts emerging. It will be completely out of the umbral shadow at 9:09 p.m. Pacific time, which is 12:09 a.m. ET on Thursday morning.
For Europe and Africa, the eclipse is a predawn Thursday event, with the moon starting entry to the umbral shadow at 1:43 Greenwich (or Universal) Time.
What you'll see
Look for the moon to possibly turn red during the total portion of the eclipse. "The exact color that the moon appears depends on the amount of dust and clouds in the atmosphere," according to a NASA statement. "If there are extra particles in the atmosphere, from say a recent volcanic eruption, the moon will appear a darker shade of red."
The redness occurs because while the moon is in total shadow, some light from the sun passes through Earth's atmosphere and is bent toward the moon. The effect is to cast all the planet's sunrises and sunsets on the moon.
Christopher Columbus famously used a blood-red eclipse in 1504 to frighten natives on Jamaica into feeding his crew.
The planet Saturn and the bright star Regulus will form a broad triangle with the moon's ruddy disk, according to Joe Rao, SPACE.com's Skywatching Columnist.
You don't need any special equipment to watch a lunar eclipse. Comfortable chairs and warm clothing are good ideas. A telescope will bring out interesting details of the lunar surface, and even a small telescope will reveal Saturn's stunning rings.
[Source: LiveScience]
Here's to hoping the sky will be clear tonight!
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I just got the book The Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan. I've only read a few pages so far since I read better at night when everything's quiet, but I can already tell that I'm going to enjoy it a lot. What's sad is that I've noticed it was published in 1996 - the year Sagan died. I often find myself wishing that he could somehow come back to life, because truly, from what I've read he seems to have been a great person. I guess I'm kind of greatful that I was only six when he passed away.. but now I'll have to deal with hearing in the news when the time comes for other great minds such as Richard Dawkins. That's one of the reasons I'd like to go to Oxford - so I could get a chance to meet him [Dawkins]. Of course that'll make it ten times harder for me when he dies, but I'll be kicking myself in the foot for not taking a chance to go to, or at least visit that college.
One of the reviews for Demon Haunted World says that Sagan was very gentle when it came to religion, and that's how I want to be. As I've said in a previous post, it does next to nothing to be intolerant and rude, although for some people that's the only way to get through to them.
Also, looking back at old posts in this blog and at all the books I had on ghosts and astrology, I think it's amazing I managed to come through and be skeptical of everything. It's like a visual time-line of my journey to "enlightenment", I guess you could say. 2 Comments - Post/view comments
Tuesday, February 19, 2008 . 2/19/2008
I don't usually report personal stuff about me but.. this is pretty big. I have this sort of "second ankle" on both my feet, like a bony bump just below my ankles. When I went to get a physical the nurse said it could be an enlargement of a bone there but she didn't know for sure. So since my parents work at a hospital I'm going to be going with them to work next Tuesday to get it checked out, and if possible I'd like to have them removed. The thought of surgery though is scary.. I'd have to use crutches or be in a wheelchair and be crippled for a couple weeks or months or something.Yeah I'm a freak.
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Huge Frog Was Eating Machine
With an armored head and a mammoth 16-inch body, it wasn't quite the frog prince. Scientists have discovered the remains of what might have been the largest and fattest frog ever to have lived on Earth.
A team of researchers unearthed the fossilized frog in Madagascar. Dating from about 65 million to 70 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period, the frog is 3.5 inches longer than the largest living frog, the goliath frog of West Africa.
The scientists named the creature Beelzebufo ampinga, or "devil frog," because its incredible size, frightening appearance and predatory nature made them call it "the frog from hell," said Stony Brook University paleontologist David Krause, who led the team that discovered it.
Fierce predators
"They are just these big round blobs, basically all mouth and stomach," Krause told LiveScience. "They were sit-and-wait, ambush predators."
They didn't have very long legs, so they probably didn't hop around much. It was more likely they would let prey come to them. The scientists think they feasted on smaller frogs, lizards and mice.
"When you consider its size, I don't think it's outside the realm of possibility that it could have consumed some hatchling dinosaurs," Krause said. The largest living frog on Madagascar today, at just over 4 inches long, "would have been a nice hors d'oeuvre for Beelzebufo."
The discovery will be reported on-line this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Read more..
With an armored head and a mammoth 16-inch body, it wasn't quite the frog prince. Scientists have discovered the remains of what might have been the largest and fattest frog ever to have lived on Earth.
A team of researchers unearthed the fossilized frog in Madagascar. Dating from about 65 million to 70 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period, the frog is 3.5 inches longer than the largest living frog, the goliath frog of West Africa.
The scientists named the creature Beelzebufo ampinga, or "devil frog," because its incredible size, frightening appearance and predatory nature made them call it "the frog from hell," said Stony Brook University paleontologist David Krause, who led the team that discovered it.
Fierce predators
"They are just these big round blobs, basically all mouth and stomach," Krause told LiveScience. "They were sit-and-wait, ambush predators."
They didn't have very long legs, so they probably didn't hop around much. It was more likely they would let prey come to them. The scientists think they feasted on smaller frogs, lizards and mice.
"When you consider its size, I don't think it's outside the realm of possibility that it could have consumed some hatchling dinosaurs," Krause said. The largest living frog on Madagascar today, at just over 4 inches long, "would have been a nice hors d'oeuvre for Beelzebufo."
The discovery will be reported on-line this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Read more..
I love biology. From the giant crocodiles of the past to Tiktaalik, it never fails to be interesting to me.
Labels: Biology, Evolution, News, Personal
0 Comments - Post/view commentsFriday, February 15, 2008 . 2/15/2008
I am really tired right now so this post probably won't make too much sense, but I'm having a thought and if I don't type or write it down I'll keep thinking about it and won't be able to sleep until I do.This whole global warming thing reminds me of the evolution controversy. Many people in America don't think evolution is real/say that it is "only a theory" or that it has lots of gaps in it. AGW deniers likewise think there isn't sufficient evidence for it or that scientists are still debating on whether or not it's real when in fact that isn't the case at all. I think it's pathetic that in a country where science has done so much for us, its citizens are still way behind in knowing what actual science is.
Labels: Global Warming, Personal
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