Friday Focaccia - TGIF Edition
Most people (except those that work weekends), are usually happy when Friday rolls around. But in our household this is definitely a week we would like to put behind us and not look back at.
It started with me getting a new laptop with Microsoft Vista. I guess I am getting old, because this “cool new interface” (some of course claim it is nothing but a Mac ripoff), is nothing short of annoying, and instead of making my life easier has slowed me down dramatically. Now from a sneak peek I had gotten, I already knew that I hated Office 2007, but until I started to actually use Vista, I had no idea how dumbed down they made it, which is slowing me and my production down immensely. Microsoft is very lucky that I am too invested in Windows to switch. Of course, as this week went along, it turned out my Vista issues were the least of my worries.
As I had already mentioned we had the the discovery that my step father-in-law has advanced Lung Cancer which has already spread, and was given “6 to 9 months.” What I have been avoiding talking about to this point was the TheWife had to go in for a biopsy on a “surpising large” lump that was found during her last breast exam. It was thought because of the size and speed it had grown that perhaps it was just a puss filled cyst. Well that was not the case, and it is a solid mass, so now we get the joy of sitting around a week waiting for results. In most cases this would not be a big deal, but considering the news we got earlier in the week, nerves are to say the least frazzled.
OK, perhaps it isn’t really all that much, but I still am quite happy to put this week “in the books” and move on. So let’s go to some less serous things shall we.
Idiot Savant - Week after week, I continue to be amazed that Helen Popkin continues to be employed as a columnist with MSNBC. What I can’t figure out is if this is MSNBC’s way of trying to be hip, to have a “blog like” column written by a complete idiot, or if they are trying to pick on bloggers in general by having such trash highlighted. Her latest piece, “How Technology has ruined life for our kids” really highlights her intellectual level as she laments that thanks to technology kids don’t have the joy of making crank calls anymore, or that thanks to “nannycams”, your poor babysitter won’t know the joys of being able to rifle through everything in your home while you are out. She does point out some more meaningful stuff such as that fall or embarassing momment that my have just gone unnoticed or at least forgotten relatively quickly in years gone by can now live in infamy on You Tube. But overall, this article is more proof than anything that she listed, since in today’s technology age, this is what can pass for news. I feel sorry for the kids of tomorrow.
Propaganda as News - Then there is this other brilliant story that the Associated Press picked up (but I guess I can’t blame them as they are just reporting it). According to a report to be published, a panel of “Medical Experts” concluded that Pot smokers are at a higher risk of psychosis. Now let me point out up front just to be clear, I do not nor do I condone smoking pot, so you can not say, “Well it is because he is ‘pro-pot’” as that is not the case. But this isn’t even a complete study. This is a panel reviewing other studies and pulling out what they want to “prove” a point. Now deep in the article it is admitted that they can not say if there are any “pre-existing conditions” that perhaps led to this. They can’t even rule out that this is because a certain number of people happened to go on to other drugs. They can’t even tell you what came first. Perhaps people that are at risk of psychosis are more likely to seek out pot as a way of dealing with their condition. None of these facts though was enough to keep them from making their declarative conclusion. Would anybody be surprised when I say that the study was funded by the British Health Deparment, which (like the U.S. health department) has a vested interest in “Just Say No”?
When does it happen too often to be called news? - After her lastest fiasco with a former Personal Assistant, I just officially give up on reading anything that contains the words Lindsay Lohan. She needs to be hospitalized, incarcerated or both. Not only for her own good, but for the good of the population in general. She really has just become a public menace, and she is going to kill somebody if they don’t put a leash on that animal.
News you can’t tell anybody - It has been a good year cheering the New Jersey Supreme Court, with the decisions that they have come down with (Abuse of Eminant Domain, Forcing equal rights for same sex couples), but that came crashing down yesterday when they declared unanimously that homeowners in “private communities” are NOT protected by 1st Amendment Rights, and things such as signs or displays on the lawn can be banned by the homeowners association of the community. It is widely believed that the New Jersey case will have implications throughout the country.
WTF News - Couple denied adoption of a child for being too fat. (CNN Video story can be seen here. News.com.au report can be read here.) Look, I understand obesity is a problem, but is bias against fat people the answer? This is actually becoming more of a problem (and not with just adoption) as people and officials seem to be developing definite discriminating tactics in dealing with overweight people.
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