Another medical thread - Angelina Jolie

There's been an outpouring of public and celebrity support for her and the Twitterverse really cares.  Hollywood is really patting itself on the back but let's get one thing straight, Angelina Jolie is not coming across as your typical Hollywood airhead and not too many celebrities can even write a decent Op-Ed piece in the Ole Gray Lady.  Writing about her recent decision to get a preventative double mastectomy she's definitely adding substance to the discussion and I find her much more useful than K-Dash or even Madonna.  She's also hopefully helping us move past our national Hefnerized adolescence, a culture obsessed with boob jobs and longtime love interest Brad Pitt is coming across as noble, as being a good character.  I don't have a good knowledge of this area, BRCA 1&2 and the 87% chance of breast cancer and 50% chance for ovarian and all that so I'm rendering a nondecision here.  IMO breast cancer gets far more press and attention than say prostate cancer, that's another issue but having said that I find her quite articulate in her cause.  This ain't a case of Sean Penn writing down his deepest thoughts with crayons or Rodman palling around with the North Korean Psycho and so since we've been covering alot of medical ground here lately I've been thinking of starting the Z-man Foundation for the Research and Cure of Tinnitus.  I also never got the whole current conservative fixation with reading NY Times editorials, as an old Times ad used to say read what you like.

Facebook Follies

Let's face it Mark Zuckerberg was a genius and social-networking trailblazer but lately there was the FB IPO which sucked and now in business news AT&T has decided to sell the brand new Facebook Smartphone for just 99cents since that turned out to be a flop on all fronts including even the software and apps.  Facebook has also had troubles and controversy of late with some pedophiliac-themed pages which have popped up every now and then and well anyway now the next big kid on the block is Pinterest and while I don't think Facebook is gonna go the way of MySpace (MyWho?) anytime soon I really think he needs to give the big Ralph Kramden brainstorms a rest for now.  In other news Ariel Castro he of the infamous and bizarre Ohio kidnapping case now says he should have just stopped at two women as sex slaves.  Yeah you got greedy bro!  Also some big ABC News producer, the he became a she and walked on the wild side and the marriage is kaput with two kids in the mix.  Used to be you could practically go days on end in the news cycle and it was boring now it's offensive, strange for some reason but in an interesting way.  I used to like Pink but her songs are now like crabgrass on the radio, new songs every week and I've kinda had my fill and who is this Phillip Phillips guy?  They made a big deal over what Justin Bieber wrote in that Anne Frank guestbook over in the Netherlands but I categorize it probably as a brainfart, basically an expression of a thought you can't even explain or express properly and I thought what people write in the logs at museums and galleries is kinda private anyway.  Got a buck? I wanna go get me a new smartphone, maybe ten.

Thoughts on NJ Gov. Chris Christie's lap-band surgery?

How ironic that he chose to do this and now the nearly extinct TWINKIE is about to make a big comeback. Has the hallmark of a classic Twilight Zone, Burgess Meredith on the steps of that post-apocalyptic public library after having just broken his only pair of glasses with which he loved to read - It just isn't fair!

The moral puzzlement of ObamaCare

Company XYZ, a major business makes the deliberate decision to cut all part-timers' hours to under 30 per week so as not comply with the federal ObamaCare mandate. Is moral blame to be placed squarely on the company or instead on the President? Union ABC has always supported Obama and his policies but why if in this case it will make the country's underemployment situation worse? Great free-market questions.

Smartphone techno-geek support forums

Since I still have some technical questions/issues with smartphones in general I've been browsing some of the more popular online tech-support forums of late.  They're a real hoot to read, basically the geeks are having nervous breakdowns 'cause they don't understand their smartphones.  Look it takes time and one of the more common complaints you'll see is when they use their WAP browsers to roam the mobile web they hit on a site they really like and up pops the ever-annoying "Page too large - open mobile site."  I'm kinda resigned to this by now and am still playing around with my own mobile settings but have come to the conclusion for serious computer work you probably shouldn't even be using a cell in the first place, at least get yourself a tablet.  The other day another common complaint I saw was some folks were having trouble connecting to WiFi using a certain product although it could be any product it's just a general techno-geek angst out there and when somebody does answer their technical questions or tries what's funny is nobody really has any answers or real solutions it's just moral support from fellow geeks-in-suffering.  Guy was having trouble logging onto Wayport at Mickie D's or something and I'm thinking are you just gonna sit there at that table and hog up the space for an hour or more after eating your cheap burger that you didn't really want anyway but it was just an excuse to go to a local hotspot and some family wants to sit down and enjoy their value meals but Dorkman is still experiencing technical difficulties.  When I encounter problems I don't understand more likely it's something I don't get yet rather than it being the smartphone company's fault and there's just the hint, the merest whiff of a Corporate Conspiracy at work among some of these posters like they're deliberately programming cells to give you a hard time so you'll buy more Airtime cards or something.  I just came up with a good expression though - My brain is experiencing technical problems, please stand by. 

I'm now in favor of medical marijuana

...provided you put it in pill or capsule form.  Isolate the main medicinal analgesic element in pot and put it in a tablet and folks will quickly lose interest in it as an issue.  You'd think we didn't have good pain management until weed came along.  What's Oxycontin anyway a pussy drug? it's good and all but you can't smoke it.  It's all about getting in touch with your inner Munchhausen, your purported bad back now gives you an excuse to go to the medical dispensary in states where this is legal.  Help your cancer management and alter your mind at the same time, the two work in tandem and that's the whole point.  Smoking medical weed as opposed to taking a pot pill is kinda like seeing a sex surrogate instead of consulting a textbook to work out your sexual problems and save your marriage - "I'm doing this for us honey."

Bitcoin - techno-libertarianism?

Digital currency with no fixed rate, no real value. One business in NYC is starting to accept Bitcoin payments. So maybe after your next night on the town you can scan your restaurant bill with your brand new RandPhone.

The McBlog - a couple of thoughts on the go

Is it a sign of age when you spend most of your time on the computer looking up medical ailments? The failure of gun control - conservatives would rather you have a nuclear shoulder launchpad than risk a government takeover. Lovingly from my mobile device.

The Boston Marathon Bombings

One of my first and earliest thoughts in the tragic wake yesterday was Mayor Bloomberg needs to stop worrying about stupid stuff.  My other feeling was we've been lulled of late, no major domestic terror since 9/11 really and the few thwarted plans within the last few years were obviously concocted by amateurs (e.g. shoe bombers, undie bombers) and so there probably wasn't that heightened security at such a major event as there should have been not that there wasn't any security but you know what I'm sayin'.  Learned from some of the experts interviewed on the news yesterday that just like in the movies it is possible to detonate a bomb using a cell phone so maybe you can chalk up another negative into the cell phone/techno-addiction corner ("today's mayhem brought to you by Droid").  John Miller I like and will always stop while channel-surfing at such a time and see what he has to say, insightful and well worth listening to.  During his first address on the subject President Obama it was said made a deliberate decision to not yet use the word Terror even though CBS's Scott Pelley and some others were freely using the word so that seems to be some kind of early initial reflex on the part of the president following such events so make of that what you will.  Lastly Mayor Bloomberg needs to stop worrying about Stupid Stuff and if God forbid something like this should happen in NYC again many folks are gonna look back and say too much time spent on the Big Gulp:) 

Pro-abortionism, the quicksilver in the debate

Trying to nail down what exactly is pro-abortionism since everyone denies it so I've come up with this by way of example.  Let's say I'm against affirmative action or "reverse discrimination" as it's been called, now I think I can come up with a fairly respectable and intellectually legitimate defense of my position but let's say to make my case I then relied almost exclusively on the arguments made by avowed white male racists would it be a fair assessment among the folks-at-large to say I'm a racist or bigot, that the reason I'm against a quota system is because I hate blacks?  In the same way if I say I'm not pro-abortion but pro-choice but rely almost exclusively on pro-abortion argumentation, the pro-abortion worldview re the fetus in making my case then I think it not a far-fetched conclusion to say I'm also pro-abortion in addition to being pro-choice, nay probably pro-abortion first and foremost.  It's not really just another abortion thread just a caveat regarding semantics that when making your case be careful whose arguments you choose to use.  IF a pro-choicer uses the same material that a hardcore pro-abortionist uses and does this time and again know what I'm sayin'? 

Some more post-Newtown thoughts,

since it's still percolating out there and the state of CT has just passed some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation.  I only thought I'd do another Newtown thread if I have any fresh insights and so let's begin with the mathematics of Newtown.  Now all these massacres of late within the last several years are being lumped together somehow but in the vast majority of shooting massacres grown adults are the victims.  That's tragic enough but what happened at Sandy Hook is on another level totally IMO, a kind of existential quirk.  In fact it's bizarre and I don't think there's a snapshot anywhere of Adam Lanza where he's not a bug-eyed bastard, such a joyless individual.  Now the math angle, if you gun-controllers want to prevent another gun massacre ok but if your goal here is to prevent another Sandy Hook you're trying to prevent something that may not happen in another 150 years or ever for that matter.  Another point - how did the post-Newtown debate/discussion somehow evolve into ONLY talking about guns and gun control with a healthy side of mental health and no mention of DRUGS whatsoever?  meds, PCP, bath salts, prescription abuse, airplane glue, whatever but it's high past time authorities lay it all on the table so maybe we can have that other discussion.  One senses just another generic post-gun massacre political debate with an angle or two being deliberately suppressed and I've been wondering why.  Lastly since I'm trying to be fresh in this blog, to look at these things from another angle when you post comments I'd like some fresh and original thoughts too, maybe give yourself an aerial view of the issues instead of same-old same-old, left/right-wing talking points.  NRA Bad, ok we get that but how can you legislate exactly against or to prevent the tragically bizarre which is what Newtown was?  Conclusion: I'm not disagreeing with you about gun control per se but could Sandy Hook have been prevented?  I'm gonna go with a no:)  

The Mobile Web

My cell has the WAP browser deal where you can roam the Internet and it's real cool and addictive.  For instance when word first came out that we have a new Pope Francis I went on and found out within literally two minutes he had one lung since his teen days.  Just the other day I was doing the Sunday crossword and couldn't get the drug used in the movie Awakenings so again I went on the mobile web and within not even five minutes had my answer: L-Dopa.  Of course for real serious computer work you should have at least an iPad but it is fascinating just the same to have such information while on the go but there does seem to be limitations.  Newsmax.com itself has a nice mobile site, that's a conservative newssite but I find with Drudge the page is just too vast and sometimes you'll get a message that says "Page too large - open mobile site."  Browsing through some 'droid forums and other cyberdiscussions the other day and the things people get frustrated about like one guy wants to get the mobile version of a certain site on his laptop and it's really bothering him and I'm like why in hell would you even want to do that, are you that bored?  Anyway for those with Blackberrys or any other kind of smartphone device ya got any technical advice or pointers?

Workplace malaise

I think it's time for a fresh blog.  Politically I can't latch onto anything at the moment and so I figured I'd do another work blog.  The workplace, it's been said companies and corporations have become more impersonal over the years.  Now I've had many jobs in my life, a quite varied resume but back in the day you were more like Family.  Most recently I've been getting over a severe groin pull and told my boss about it and even called out sick one day.  This is really a weird ailment because the pain is worse at night and in the morning but when you're active during the day you kinda forget it even exists.  Mild activity is better than staring out your bedroom window all day but anyway I took the one day and when I got back nobody really asked me how I was.  While everyone knew what the problem was because I told them and it's kind of awkward talking about your nether regions but no person in authority came up to me and said do you need some time off? not that I would've used it but it's nice to ask.  You know, concern.  Then there's the winter weather.  You could have 1 1/2-2 feet of snow and the place is still open and if you do call in there's a kind of weird silence on the other end of the line ("you mean you're not coming?").  Minor criticisms -- now I'm of the opinion that let's say you've put in 20 years at a place, they know your work product and on balance you're damn good and so one day some boss levels a mild criticism at you for whatever.  Nothing earth-shattering mind you but imo it shouldn't be brought up as the bulk of your work production over the years really outshines the minor bad and you do work through various ailments which people tend to forget so what's the purpose of the nitpicking point?  Oh yeah they're cutting back the hours on alot of people because of ObamaCare which I'm sure it's not Obama's fault and I ain't understanding the problem correctly.  I've got some years to go but I'm retiring the first day:)

Pope Francis I

Argentinian Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio is the first pope from the Americas.  One news station treated him as a political candidate and flashed on the screen "opposes abortion, euthanasia and same-sex marriage."  Well every pope in modern times has opposed those things, it's part of official church teaching if you haven't heard but then again the msm is so used to covering politics maybe it's hard to switch gears.  This was a great day for the Spanish news stations like Univision.  When I first heard the news that we have a Pope Francis I went on my mobile web and found out he has only one lung because of a lung infection he had as a teen, he has prefered humble living quarters and public transportation and has a special concern for the poor.  I have a good feeling about him.  At 76 he defied conventional conclave wisdom that held the 115 cardinals were gonna go with somebody younger and so as one commentator put it maybe they prefer shorter-term papacies now, God knows that would be a good idea for politics.  It's said he supports many social programs for the poor so we'll see how the National Review crowd reacts as they've been critical of popes in the past who have seemed to veer to the Left in their eyes.  Oh yes he chose Francis which is my middle name, Francis of Assisi one of my favorite saints:)

OK so Florence Nightingale she's not

I found this item on the website of the Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network.  Since the TS Life & Hope Network is obviously an anti-euthanasia organization I just had to read about this incident but after reading it at least two times I came to the conclusion there was no pro-euthanasia motivation that I could detect on the part of the nurse involved or her place of work although I do think she and her facility were tragically mistaken.  I blame the lawyers.  At my workplace for instance one of the co-managers came over one day and we had a kind of impromptu meeting and the gist of it was if a customer is in need of some type of urgent medical attention just call 911 and leave it at that.  Attend the person in need but that's it, don't try to help them yourself so I politely said what if someone is choking on a chicken bone can't you perform the Heimlich?  I mean by the time the paramedics arrive and he said well ok but you have to be properly trained and certified in these life-saving procedures.  Well the reason he gave that you're not supposed to help the person in need besides calling 911 is your workplace can be sued later, YOU could even be sued if something goes wrong.  Better to sit back and do nothing and wait for the ambulance to arrive and just hope they're not navigating heavy traffic.  Again I blame the lawyers.  Interesting scenario though, a lawyer is choking on a chicken bone......

Rand Paul's filibuster on drones

By all accounts he got rave reviews from across the political spectrum and well deserved I may add.  The only sourpusses in his own party were John McCain and Lindsey Graham.  McCain's probably just jealous he couldn't do such a thing without making periodic trips to the bathroom or else wear a catheter.  Look it doesn't matter that Paul was discussing a hypothetical, it's valid anyway and today's hypothetical may be tomorrow's reality.  He finally got his answer from AG Holder stating that no Obama does not have the constitutional authority as president to use a weaponized drone on a US citizen on American soil who's a noncombatant or something like that and I think we all agree Jane Fonda is safe in her cafe.  Rand Paul is fresh, McCain and Graham by contrast are old and stale and represent the old guard.  So John Brennan was confirmed as new head of the CIA but that's not the point and that point is that drones are now a valid part of our national political discussion.  It's not so much an attack on Obama but do you want to live in a world where politics and sci-fi eventually meet?  So hear hear to Rand Paul libertarian Senator from Kentucky and he somehow pulled it off without sounding like Alex Jones:)

Obama Fatigue

You had it with Bill Clinton and George W. Bush now I think it's beginning to settle in especially with the sequestration.  Obama is slowly but surely going down in History as The President of Bad Times.  It's as if he doesn't mind so long as he doesn't get blamed for it, so long as he can blame them Republicans.  Also you have to ask yourself how stupid was it to pick a fight with Bob Woodward, I mean he's not some new squirrel in the park.  At least with Clinton he felt our pain, Obama abstracts it always into some political issue that throws him in the best light.  Drama Queen-in-Chief, our existential leader and now I get this on my Mobile Web day in and f'ing day out.  QUESTION: does the IRS get sequestered?   Followup Question: can Woodward deepthroat Obama?

Will they sequester Planned Parenthood?

I mean it's a meat cleaver approach as Obama has said and so it has to fall on everyone......

right?

Oscar thoughts

It dawned on me that I haven't even seen any of the big movies nominated here.  I thought Argo was some sort of update of Jason and the Argonauts until some woman at work explained to me it had something to do with Iran or Iraq and the war.  Lincoln I'd have to be in the proper frame of mind first to sit through and even then I might find it boring.  Silver Linings Playbook, chick flick.  Of the current crop I'd opt for Django.  Zero Dark Thirty is the type of movie I'd definitely watch but it's not so pressing that it can't wait 'til the DVD comes out which is my way of doing things lately that is if all the FYE stores don't close down in the meantime.  I was in a DVD store just last week on my day off and it must be slow there and/or they're overly concerned about shoplifting or something but no sooner did I enter the store than the young female clerk practically accosted me, handed me a bag for my goodies, asked me if this is my first time here and then when I started to browse kept following me and asking me if I'm finding everything ok and things like that and I found the whole experience supremely distracting.  My whole shopping concentration was thrown off and I have to say I made some poor selections.  Look I get it about customer focus and all that but sometimes us browsers just want to be left alone.  I mean I don't know what I want, I'll know it when I see it.  Don't go to the movies, can't shop - anybody got a bootleg copy of Django?

Pope Benedict resigns

His was a kind of quiet papacy in the eclipse you could say of the charismatic and saintly John Paul II and his grand and long mark on history.  I was not really surprised to learn of Benedict's leaving the papal office at the end of this month, he's up there in years and has had health issues so now the attention turns to possible successors, papabile.  Former Vatican Secretary of State Angelo Cardinal Sodano is no good, he suppressed alot of stuff on Fatima.  Same with the current Sec'y of State Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone.  Re the Third Prophecy the BVM had said to Lucia: "Look my child don't be surprised if, at a certain moment, a certain diabolical disorientation affects the best of minds, a disequilibrium so that they no longer judge according to the voice of my Son and of Peter."  Dolan is a long shot for the job but I think he would enjoy it for no other reason than that fine Vatican cuisine and impressive team of professional chefs.  I picture him for starters with a nice draught of abbey ale in the papal den perusing the New York sports pages and that husky laugh of his when he gets a visitor.  Incidentally if you're ever on Jeopardy and get asked this question they do have a team of what are called tastetesters whose sole job is to sample the food cooked for the pope on the offchance it may be poisoned, a kind of gustatory secret service.  Betcha didn't know that, you get the occasional nugget here.  My personal favorite is the Cardinal from Nigeria Francis Arinze who's been around the Vatican for awhile most lately as Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.  He was a chief advisor to JP2, he knows the players, he's conservative and we've already had a Pole to break the long line of Italian popes and so I think for many different reasons one from Africa would be ideal.  Benedict, now Ratzinger again? will probably go back to writing books, tweeting and playing with his mobile device.  My favorite newspaper headline is from today's New York Post, "Pope Gives God 2 Weeks Notice."