Friend of mine said 3M was thinking of leaving Minnesot and the US.
I didn't want to post it on account it was heresay.
Guess it wasn't.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Sweats and ID’s (Part 1 by Lifer Renee)
Renee – Only a teenager, she received a 60-year sentence. Now 15 years in, Renee is writing from Perryville prison in Goodyear, Arizona, providing a rare and unique insight into a women's prison.
With my cut-off sweats and Walkman on, I decided to hit the track, to relieve a little stress. I went out of the gate at 6am, not bothering anyone.
An officer stopped me. “What’s going on with your sweats?”
“What do you mean?”
“I need these, now,” she said, condescendingly.
“Fine.” I went to my room to change. I took them to her, only she was gone. Whatever, I thought. Screw it! I’m not chasing her down. I threw the cut-offs in my cell, and hit the track.
Half-way around the track, something told me to go back to the yard, so I headed back. Officers were searching my room, seizing all kinds of things from me. They found some extra ID’s I had forgotten were there. I had them because when I worked maintenance, I was always losing my ID, ordering a new one, receiving it, and finding the one I originally lost.
It seemed the officers seized everything that was not bolted down. I walked away with a disciplinary ticket for the cut-off sweats, telling myself to suck it up. I stressed all weekend about the ticket.
Rising early on Monday, I went to see the disciplinary officer.
He said, “Sweats are not something issued from the State of Arizona. It is personal property. If personal clothing is altered, we are supposed to just seize it. If state-issued property is altered, we are supposed to seize it, and issue a ticket, so we can charge you for the damage. Get out of my office, and don’t let me see you again!”
“Thank you,” I said, relieved, and exited the building quickly – unaware that my trouble had only just begun.
Click here for Renee’s previous blog in which she comes out as a lesbian.
Post comments for Renee below or email them to writeinside@hotmail.com To post a comment if you do not have a Google/Blogger account, just select anonymous for your identity.
Renee – Only a teenager, she received a 60-year sentence. Now 15 years in, Renee is writing from Perryville prison in Goodyear, Arizona, providing a rare and unique insight into a women's prison.
With my cut-off sweats and Walkman on, I decided to hit the track, to relieve a little stress. I went out of the gate at 6am, not bothering anyone.
An officer stopped me. “What’s going on with your sweats?”
“What do you mean?”
“I need these, now,” she said, condescendingly.
“Fine.” I went to my room to change. I took them to her, only she was gone. Whatever, I thought. Screw it! I’m not chasing her down. I threw the cut-offs in my cell, and hit the track.
Half-way around the track, something told me to go back to the yard, so I headed back. Officers were searching my room, seizing all kinds of things from me. They found some extra ID’s I had forgotten were there. I had them because when I worked maintenance, I was always losing my ID, ordering a new one, receiving it, and finding the one I originally lost.
It seemed the officers seized everything that was not bolted down. I walked away with a disciplinary ticket for the cut-off sweats, telling myself to suck it up. I stressed all weekend about the ticket.
Rising early on Monday, I went to see the disciplinary officer.
He said, “Sweats are not something issued from the State of Arizona. It is personal property. If personal clothing is altered, we are supposed to just seize it. If state-issued property is altered, we are supposed to seize it, and issue a ticket, so we can charge you for the damage. Get out of my office, and don’t let me see you again!”
“Thank you,” I said, relieved, and exited the building quickly – unaware that my trouble had only just begun.
Click here for Renee’s previous blog in which she comes out as a lesbian.
Post comments for Renee below or email them to writeinside@hotmail.com To post a comment if you do not have a Google/Blogger account, just select anonymous for your identity.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
Do Something .Org
Because;
1. Studying
2. Playing sports
3. Working a part time job
4. Going to college
5. Supporting yourself
6. Spending time with friends
7. Playing video games
8. Or just plain being a normal high school kid
Isn't enough.
You need to "Do Something!"
Found this at a local high school. It's nothing more than leftist brainwashing. But what is so despicable is how the left purposely targets the young as they are too stupid to know any better.
What scares me is how many companies obviously just donated money to them despite, in the long run, participants in "Do Something" will simply vote for higher corporate taxes.
1. Studying
2. Playing sports
3. Working a part time job
4. Going to college
5. Supporting yourself
6. Spending time with friends
7. Playing video games
8. Or just plain being a normal high school kid
Isn't enough.
You need to "Do Something!"
Found this at a local high school. It's nothing more than leftist brainwashing. But what is so despicable is how the left purposely targets the young as they are too stupid to know any better.
What scares me is how many companies obviously just donated money to them despite, in the long run, participants in "Do Something" will simply vote for higher corporate taxes.
Blogging behind bars (by Jonathan Gilbert of The Courant newspaper in Preston)
Shaun Attwood, who is in Preston signing copies of his book Hard Time this weekend, moved from Widnes to Arizona to make his fortune. He ended up doing time in the state’s infamous jail. Jonathan Gilbert reports
Shaun Attwood survived the USA’s worst
jail, but the horrific experiences he lived
through still give him nightmares today.
Attwood is from Widnes, Cheshire,
but he ended up in Arizona’s maximum
security Madison Street jail, run by
“America’s toughest sheriff” Joe Arpaio,
after a SWAT team raided his Phoenix
home in 2002.
The 42-year-old told The Courant: “I
have flashbacks night after night of the
cockroaches trying to get into my ears
and nightmares which mix the real world
with my time inside.”
Attwood moved to Phoenix after
graduating from Liverpool University to
work as a stockbroker, and quickly
amassed a small fortune trading.
But he was leading a double life. Atwood,
who had been a regular on the
Manchester rave scene in the 1990s, was
heading an organisation that threw raves
and dealt club drugs.
He was held for two years in appalling
conditions before being convicted
of money laundering and drugs
offences and sentenced to nine-and-ahalf
years in prison. He served nearly six.
Attwood grabbed the world’s attention
when he began writing one of the
first prison blogs chronicling Arpaio’s
disgusting treatment of inmates.
“One of the guards told me that no
one on the outside had any idea of the
conditions we were living in and that it
would cause outrage,” he said.
Attwood would give his scrawled
memoirs to his aunt Ann, who visited
him often, by hiding them in legal paperwork.
Guards would only search the
documents for contraband and he was
never caught.
Jon’s Jail Journal grew so popular it
was partly responsible for the closure of
Madison Street a few years ago.
“I started in Arpaio’s Towers jail and
then spent 12 months in Madison
Street,” Attwood says. “I thought it
couldn’t get worse than Towers. It did.
“The violence was constant. It was
raw survival. My heart was beating so
fast it kept me awake. I didn’t sleep for
the first few days.”
Arpaio is known as the “Angel of
Death” for the peculiarly high death rate
in his jails and because he promoted
guards found to have killed inmates.
Attwood says he has paid tens of millions
of dollars in damages to the families of
prisoners who have died.
In Attwood’s first blog post, from
February 2004, he says he had no running
water for three days and tells of
sleeping next to a toilet full of sewage.
He has also spoken about the plague
of cockroaches that infested his cell.
“They would line up in cracks in the
wall waiting for the lights to go off. Then
they’d crawl all over me.”
Attwood became so traumatised he
had a nervous breakdown.
He told The Courant: “Jail was a
dangerous, illegal environment where
gang members dictated who lived and
died. The food was unfit for humans and
sometimes had dead rats in it.
“We had constant skin infections. It
was 50°C and we would sweat day after
day. Your skin would have a soggy outer
layer and clumps would come off from
under your fingernails.”
Through a combination of making
the right connections and a strong personality,
Attwood managed to avoid the
dangers of becoming affiliated to a gang.
“I kept out of trouble. Wild Man,
one of my security men at the raves, was
also inside. He could fight and looked
after me.”
But it was the relationship that
Attwood struck up with Two Tonys, a
mafia boss who murdered rival gang
members and left a trail of bodies from
Arizona to Alaska, that had the greatest
impact.
“We grew close and I wrote his life
story. I would sneak into his cell. We
would talk about philosophy and that
would help us.
“He died recently and his daughter
emailed me to say that I had really made
a difference in his life.”
Attwood was released in 2007 and
deported back to the UK. He now lives
in Guildford, near London. Meeting
people he would never have encountered
otherwise and surviving such extreme
conditions have changed him forever.
“I was emotionally immature when I
went in, but being forced to learn from
prisoners was the best education in
human nature and psychology I could
have had.
“Though they were maniacs and
drug offenders, when I found out their
background – the broken homes and violence
– I understood how they got there
and it humanised them.”
Attwood read around 1,000 books
in prison and was inspired by the classic
works of Marcus Aurelius, Cervantes and
Plato.
“They shaped my way of thinking.
My old belief systems fell away and I
learned to be free in my mind.”
Despite the trauma of jail and his
desire to expose sheriff Arpaio, Attwood
does not regret what happened to him.
“I don’t want to sound like a moaning
prisoner. I accept that I deserved to
be in there for the crimes I committed.
“I was mentally strengthened from
the suffering and I credit the system for
sending me in a new direction. I have a
thirst for life now. I wake up with a smile
on my face.
“The only thing I regret is the pain I
caused to my parents and family. My
mum had a nervous breakdown and my
sister needed counselling. But they’re
proud of me now.”
A reformed Attwood gives talks in
schools to discourage children from
drugs and crime and is delighted with
how well received they are.
He also continues with Jon’s Jail Journal
and has been writing the prequel to
Hard Time, which he hopes will be finished
by the end of the year.
But Attwood’s biggest challenge is to
bring about a change in Arizona. His
book comes out in the US at the beginning
of May and he hopes it will cause
such a stir that charges are brought
against sheriff Arpaio.
“I’ve been on a mission to expose
this since 2004,” he says. “But Arpaio is
an elected official in a right-wing state.
The big question is whether the book
will have an impact. I really hope it
does.”
Shaun Attwood will be signing
copies of his book Hard
Time: A Brit in America’s
Toughest Jail in Waterstone’s, Preston
on Fishergate this
Saturday from 11am –4pm.
Click here for more details of the upcoming book signings.
Shaun Attwood, who is in Preston signing copies of his book Hard Time this weekend, moved from Widnes to Arizona to make his fortune. He ended up doing time in the state’s infamous jail. Jonathan Gilbert reports
Shaun Attwood survived the USA’s worst
jail, but the horrific experiences he lived
through still give him nightmares today.
Attwood is from Widnes, Cheshire,
but he ended up in Arizona’s maximum
security Madison Street jail, run by
“America’s toughest sheriff” Joe Arpaio,
after a SWAT team raided his Phoenix
home in 2002.
The 42-year-old told The Courant: “I
have flashbacks night after night of the
cockroaches trying to get into my ears
and nightmares which mix the real world
with my time inside.”
Attwood moved to Phoenix after
graduating from Liverpool University to
work as a stockbroker, and quickly
amassed a small fortune trading.
But he was leading a double life. Atwood,
who had been a regular on the
Manchester rave scene in the 1990s, was
heading an organisation that threw raves
and dealt club drugs.
He was held for two years in appalling
conditions before being convicted
of money laundering and drugs
offences and sentenced to nine-and-ahalf
years in prison. He served nearly six.
Attwood grabbed the world’s attention
when he began writing one of the
first prison blogs chronicling Arpaio’s
disgusting treatment of inmates.
“One of the guards told me that no
one on the outside had any idea of the
conditions we were living in and that it
would cause outrage,” he said.
Attwood would give his scrawled
memoirs to his aunt Ann, who visited
him often, by hiding them in legal paperwork.
Guards would only search the
documents for contraband and he was
never caught.
Jon’s Jail Journal grew so popular it
was partly responsible for the closure of
Madison Street a few years ago.
“I started in Arpaio’s Towers jail and
then spent 12 months in Madison
Street,” Attwood says. “I thought it
couldn’t get worse than Towers. It did.
“The violence was constant. It was
raw survival. My heart was beating so
fast it kept me awake. I didn’t sleep for
the first few days.”
Arpaio is known as the “Angel of
Death” for the peculiarly high death rate
in his jails and because he promoted
guards found to have killed inmates.
Attwood says he has paid tens of millions
of dollars in damages to the families of
prisoners who have died.
In Attwood’s first blog post, from
February 2004, he says he had no running
water for three days and tells of
sleeping next to a toilet full of sewage.
He has also spoken about the plague
of cockroaches that infested his cell.
“They would line up in cracks in the
wall waiting for the lights to go off. Then
they’d crawl all over me.”
Attwood became so traumatised he
had a nervous breakdown.
He told The Courant: “Jail was a
dangerous, illegal environment where
gang members dictated who lived and
died. The food was unfit for humans and
sometimes had dead rats in it.
“We had constant skin infections. It
was 50°C and we would sweat day after
day. Your skin would have a soggy outer
layer and clumps would come off from
under your fingernails.”
Through a combination of making
the right connections and a strong personality,
Attwood managed to avoid the
dangers of becoming affiliated to a gang.
“I kept out of trouble. Wild Man,
one of my security men at the raves, was
also inside. He could fight and looked
after me.”
But it was the relationship that
Attwood struck up with Two Tonys, a
mafia boss who murdered rival gang
members and left a trail of bodies from
Arizona to Alaska, that had the greatest
impact.
“We grew close and I wrote his life
story. I would sneak into his cell. We
would talk about philosophy and that
would help us.
“He died recently and his daughter
emailed me to say that I had really made
a difference in his life.”
Attwood was released in 2007 and
deported back to the UK. He now lives
in Guildford, near London. Meeting
people he would never have encountered
otherwise and surviving such extreme
conditions have changed him forever.
“I was emotionally immature when I
went in, but being forced to learn from
prisoners was the best education in
human nature and psychology I could
have had.
“Though they were maniacs and
drug offenders, when I found out their
background – the broken homes and violence
– I understood how they got there
and it humanised them.”
Attwood read around 1,000 books
in prison and was inspired by the classic
works of Marcus Aurelius, Cervantes and
Plato.
“They shaped my way of thinking.
My old belief systems fell away and I
learned to be free in my mind.”
Despite the trauma of jail and his
desire to expose sheriff Arpaio, Attwood
does not regret what happened to him.
“I don’t want to sound like a moaning
prisoner. I accept that I deserved to
be in there for the crimes I committed.
“I was mentally strengthened from
the suffering and I credit the system for
sending me in a new direction. I have a
thirst for life now. I wake up with a smile
on my face.
“The only thing I regret is the pain I
caused to my parents and family. My
mum had a nervous breakdown and my
sister needed counselling. But they’re
proud of me now.”
A reformed Attwood gives talks in
schools to discourage children from
drugs and crime and is delighted with
how well received they are.
He also continues with Jon’s Jail Journal
and has been writing the prequel to
Hard Time, which he hopes will be finished
by the end of the year.
But Attwood’s biggest challenge is to
bring about a change in Arizona. His
book comes out in the US at the beginning
of May and he hopes it will cause
such a stir that charges are brought
against sheriff Arpaio.
“I’ve been on a mission to expose
this since 2004,” he says. “But Arpaio is
an elected official in a right-wing state.
The big question is whether the book
will have an impact. I really hope it
does.”
Shaun Attwood will be signing
copies of his book Hard
Time: A Brit in America’s
Toughest Jail in Waterstone’s, Preston
on Fishergate this
Saturday from 11am –4pm.
Click here for more details of the upcoming book signings.
Resistant Starch & Butyrate: Eades' Shmashthematics
While finally finishing off my last post on short chain "fatty" acids, I was reminded of a whopper of a post on Dr. Eades' blog that I came across a long ago on resistant starch and butyrate. This post, too, has been in my Drafts for a very long time waiting for some finishing touches.
I came across this whilst I was looking into soluble fiber, low carbing and stalling and discovered that for all intent and purposes, SCFA's are carbohydrates metabolically, not fats at all. On LC forums I was repeatedly told or reading that soluble fiber is not really a carb because it is converted to a fat therefore doesn't stimulate insulin (I've got a fair amount of info on this to summarize in a future post). So this was one of the first things I began inquiring after.
I had read several highly informative pieces by Eades through links in discussions, etc. But when I found and read this one, it perked my "fact check" bunny ears right on up. He seemed to get so caught up in his smug condescension of the RD in the video (unfortunately no longer available) that he was discussing, that he put out quite a bit of erroneous information of his own. Don't get me wrong, the misinformation she was putting out deserved criticism and correction. But Eades only compounded things with his analysis.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Chimney Sweeper > Communications Major
Chimney maker makes $240 an hour.
Starbucks "Barrrrrrrrristas" make considerably less.
This concludes your lesson in basic economics.
Starbucks "Barrrrrrrrristas" make considerably less.
This concludes your lesson in basic economics.
Breaking the Social Contract, Gone Fishin', Teacher Union Math and More
Linkfest!
A rather succinct summary of enjoying the decline. (though the Captain does NOT endorse the Bon Jovi lameness at the end)
Haley goes to a hell that makes Normandy on a rainy June day in 1944 look good.
Progression of Egyptian graduates from 1959 to Present (Just four photos to look at and a very quick post).
How teachers unions do math.
We're still not at 5 months supply, so expect housing prices to continue down.
Can we just "turn down the rhetoric?" Thank god Althouse is on the ground.
And Grerp! You're supposed to ENJOY the decline, not fear it! Embrace the decline. The decline is your friend.
Retro Captain!
A rather succinct summary of enjoying the decline. (though the Captain does NOT endorse the Bon Jovi lameness at the end)
Haley goes to a hell that makes Normandy on a rainy June day in 1944 look good.
Progression of Egyptian graduates from 1959 to Present (Just four photos to look at and a very quick post).
How teachers unions do math.
We're still not at 5 months supply, so expect housing prices to continue down.
Can we just "turn down the rhetoric?" Thank god Althouse is on the ground.
And Grerp! You're supposed to ENJOY the decline, not fear it! Embrace the decline. The decline is your friend.
Retro Captain!
Prison Lunch (by the Occult Killer)
Dubbed the Occult Killer by the media, Brandon is serving 6 to 12 years in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. His crime: he killed his best friend in a drunk-driving accident. When police investigators discovered Gothic paraphernalia in his bedroom, they claimed Brandon had committed a sacrificial murder for the benefit of Satan.
It is just after 11am on a Friday in early December. My unit, Foxtrot-Alpha, is in the middle of mainline movement in chow hall #3. That is, we’re eating lunch. I stare over my plastic tray of cheese steak hoagie and out the barred windows at falling snow, blown horizontal by vigorous wind. Gazing down at the steaming side-pocket of vegetable soup, I’m suddenly very thankful for a hot meal.
Seated with me at the four person table are two friends, Bill and Mike, and an unknown from I-Block (intake), his new ID number and crisp, shining state-issued brown uniform give him away.
The usual small talk and ball-busting abounds while we assemble and otherwise prep the food to our liking. Mike and I are busting Bill for moving cells yet again, telling him we’re running a pool on how long this one lasts. I chuckle and dip my spoon tentatively into some scary-looking cheese whiz, just touching it to my tongue for a taste. For years now, they done away with real cheese and replaced it with a rancid, garlic-loaded, powdered alternative. This stuff looked different.
“Holy Shit,” I gasp.
“What?” asks Bill. “That bad?”
“It tastes like pepperjack,” I sputter. “It’s delicious!”
Mike lifts his head, “Hmm?”
Bill snorts, “Get the fuck out of here!”
“Fine, then don’t eat it,” I say, greedily dunking my hoagie in its warm gooeyness.
In seconds our faces are smeared with whiz while we chomp away, sighing and groaning with delight.
Bill: “This is so good, it’s worth doubling up for!”
Me: “This is so good, it makes me want to break the law all over again!”
Mike: “This cheese is so good, it must be poisoned.”
We all stop dead, steal glances at one another and burst out laughing.
“Think about it,” Mike continues, “That week of the tomato recall, we had fresh tomatoes for the first time in years. And the egg scare? Eggs for breakfast every other day.”
We roared. “He’s right,” I squeaked, my voice strained with laughter, “We had spinach almost every dinner after the E. coli outbreak! As we speak, truck loads of tainted stadium cheese is on its way to every prison in PA!
We’re all gonna die!”
Bill: “Geez, I wish we had some tainted t-bone steaks and poisoned Budweiser.”
Mike: “Fuck, I’m telling the powers that be that blondes, brunettes and redheads are not fit for human consumption.”
We continued to giggle and list the “unfit” things we so desperately wanted that moment until the meal was done and it was time to return to the block and wait for midday count.
Click here for Brandon's previous blog.
Click here for Brandon's review of Hard Time.
Dubbed the Occult Killer by the media, Brandon is serving 6 to 12 years in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. His crime: he killed his best friend in a drunk-driving accident. When police investigators discovered Gothic paraphernalia in his bedroom, they claimed Brandon had committed a sacrificial murder for the benefit of Satan.
It is just after 11am on a Friday in early December. My unit, Foxtrot-Alpha, is in the middle of mainline movement in chow hall #3. That is, we’re eating lunch. I stare over my plastic tray of cheese steak hoagie and out the barred windows at falling snow, blown horizontal by vigorous wind. Gazing down at the steaming side-pocket of vegetable soup, I’m suddenly very thankful for a hot meal.
Seated with me at the four person table are two friends, Bill and Mike, and an unknown from I-Block (intake), his new ID number and crisp, shining state-issued brown uniform give him away.
The usual small talk and ball-busting abounds while we assemble and otherwise prep the food to our liking. Mike and I are busting Bill for moving cells yet again, telling him we’re running a pool on how long this one lasts. I chuckle and dip my spoon tentatively into some scary-looking cheese whiz, just touching it to my tongue for a taste. For years now, they done away with real cheese and replaced it with a rancid, garlic-loaded, powdered alternative. This stuff looked different.
“Holy Shit,” I gasp.
“What?” asks Bill. “That bad?”
“It tastes like pepperjack,” I sputter. “It’s delicious!”
Mike lifts his head, “Hmm?”
Bill snorts, “Get the fuck out of here!”
“Fine, then don’t eat it,” I say, greedily dunking my hoagie in its warm gooeyness.
In seconds our faces are smeared with whiz while we chomp away, sighing and groaning with delight.
Bill: “This is so good, it’s worth doubling up for!”
Me: “This is so good, it makes me want to break the law all over again!”
Mike: “This cheese is so good, it must be poisoned.”
We all stop dead, steal glances at one another and burst out laughing.
“Think about it,” Mike continues, “That week of the tomato recall, we had fresh tomatoes for the first time in years. And the egg scare? Eggs for breakfast every other day.”
We roared. “He’s right,” I squeaked, my voice strained with laughter, “We had spinach almost every dinner after the E. coli outbreak! As we speak, truck loads of tainted stadium cheese is on its way to every prison in PA!
We’re all gonna die!”
Bill: “Geez, I wish we had some tainted t-bone steaks and poisoned Budweiser.”
Mike: “Fuck, I’m telling the powers that be that blondes, brunettes and redheads are not fit for human consumption.”
We continued to giggle and list the “unfit” things we so desperately wanted that moment until the meal was done and it was time to return to the block and wait for midday count.
Click here for Brandon's previous blog.
Click here for Brandon's review of Hard Time.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Aren't You Glad You "Stuck it to the Man?"
Hope protesting in the 60's was worth it.
Because in the end what drives your 401k's is corporate profits.
Not going green.
Not overburdensome regulations.
Not higher corporate tax rates.
Filed under, "Jim Morrison died on a toilet bowl"
Because in the end what drives your 401k's is corporate profits.
Not going green.
Not overburdensome regulations.
Not higher corporate tax rates.
Filed under, "Jim Morrison died on a toilet bowl"
Monday, February 21, 2011
Adipose Tissue Characteristics in Obese Teens & Insulin Resistance
Yes ... I'm going to be on a bit of a bookmarking post spree here :-)
This study looked at fat cell size and proliferation in obese teens and compared this to IR and fatty liver. This study seems to be consistent with the whole "critical threshold" or "normal fat capacity" theories on why some obese are relatively "metabolically healthy" while others are not. I've not, however, had a chance to read thoroughly.
Conclusions: A reduced lipo-/adipogenic capacity, fraction, and estimated number of large subcutaneous adipocytes may contribute to the abnormal distribution of abdominal fat and hepatic steatosis, as well as to insulin resistance in obese adolescents.
Thinking out loud: It seems more and more to me these days that abdominal fat - visceral in particular - is our short term buffer as Frayn describes the behavior of fat tissue in the postprandial period (recently fed state). Overages go into our subcutaneous "overflow tank". If we have insufficient capacity in that tank, our fat gets "sick".
Glad I Had a Vasectomy
If for any other reason my would-be-child does not have to suffer the mental-carpet-bag this poor kid is going to become when he gets older. Read the whole article and you will see why I'm happy I'm out of the genetic propagation race.
hat tip.
hat tip.
Subcutaneous and Visceral Adipose Tissue: Their Relation to the Metabolic Syndrome
Subcutaneous and Visceral Adipose Tissue: Their Relation to the Metabolic Syndrome
Another bookmarking post of sorts.
One interesting statement:
Another bookmarking post of sorts.
One interesting statement:
... in a review of 23 published studies of intervention strategies to promote loss of visceral adipose tissue... (32) concluded that individuals with greater visceral fat mass, either through an increase in body weight or the propensity to store fat in the visceral depot, lose more visceral fat when adjusted to the loss of body fat, regardless of the intervention applied (caloric restriction, pharmacological therapy, or exercise) because the visceral adipocyte has a higher lipolytic rate also in the steady state.
For me, this makes my body fat distribution change all the more confusing, except that it does seem I'm talking more subQ belly fat than visceral in my case.
Free Fatty Acids (FFA), A Link between Obesity and Insulin Resistance
FREE FATTY ACIDS (FFA), A LINK BETWEEN OBESITY AND INSULIN RESISTANCE
Evidence, gained from human studies, is reviewed showing that elevation of plasma FFA levels produce peripheral and probably also hepatic insulin resistance in obese healthy and diabetic subjects. First, plasma FFA levels are elevated in most obese subjects. Second, physiological elevations of plasma FFA inhibit acutely as well as chronically insulin stimulated glucose uptake in a dose dependent fashion. Responsible for this inhibition is a FFA induced defect in insulin stimulated glucose transport and/or phosphorylation which develops after 3-4 hours of raising plasma FFA and a second defect, consisting of inhibition of glycogen synthase, the rate limiting enzyme of glycogen synthesis, which develops after 4-6 hours. FFA induced inhibition of fatty acid oxidation (Randle effect) does not affect insulin stimulated glucose uptake or glycogen synthesis and thus does not cause insulin resistance.
Elevated plasma FFA levels also modestly increase insulin suppressed endogenous glucose production (EGP) although this effect has not been found by all investigators. The reasons why it has been difficult to demonstrate unequivocal effects of FFA on EGP include 1) the fact that FFA promote insulin secretion which counteracts its effect on EGP (FFA increase, while insulin decreases EGP); 2) the recognition that FFA induced increase in gluconeogenesis may be compensated by intrahepatic downregulation of EGP (i.e., by a decrease in glycogenolysis).
The FFA induced insulin resistance is physiologically important during starvation by preserving carbohydrate for oxidation in the central nervous system and during pregnancy, where the well recognized accelerated starvation pattern provides carbohydrate for the growing fetus. In obesity, however, there is no need to spare carbohydrate and the FFA induced insulin resistance may result in type 2 diabetes and other cardiovascular risk factors.
Mostly a bookmarking post for the time being. An excellent review by Dr. Guenther Boden of Temple. That name might ring a bell to my readers as he was one of the researchers Gary Taubes contacted around a year ago to discuss glyceroneogenesis/G3P and such. Boden, like Frayn, is author to a large body of research in the area of fat metabolism.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Free Fatty Acids/NEFA and Arrhythmia
From: Circulating Nonesterified Fatty Acid Level as a Predictive Risk Factor for Sudden Death in the Population
Read more »
In ischemic conditions, concentration of circulating nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA) is increased and has a proarrhythmic effect that is responsible for ventricular tachyarrhythmias. In nonischemic patients, high NEFA plasma concentration has been shown to be associated with frequent premature ventricular complexes and increased familial risk of cardiovascular disease, but its relation to sudden death has not been studied. We assessed the role of circulating NEFA in sudden death in asymptomatic men in a long-term cohort study.Above is the abstract for the study. Something that might not be alarming to some. The association could be due to a co-correlation with insulin resistance, for example.
Read more »
Friday, February 18, 2011
Liars, Cheats and Teacher's Unions
I shall be short and sweet with this because it is that simple.
In the many articles you can find about the Madison protests, of all that is insulting and angers me the most is when I hear the various unions, protesters and teachers say, "We're fighting for democracy."
No you aren't.
Democracy is where the majority rules.
You are by default tyrants and oppressors.
The majority of the population in Wisconsin has voted in Republicans and, among other things, they are going to reel back what is frankly huge overpayment to a corrupt union. Fighting against it, to the point cowards flee from their responsibility to "hide" is the DEFINITION of TYRANNY. Of course these corrupt officials and the idiot protesters who support them, frankly do not have the maturity or intellectual honesty to adhere to democracy.
Additionally, I will post two charts that should be in every state capitol and in the hands of every state legislator and every governor, so please feel free to send them. They are for Minnesota, but I'm quite sure the statistics would hold for any state;
Do not tell me you need more money or that it's horrible you have to pay for your own damn pensions.
In the many articles you can find about the Madison protests, of all that is insulting and angers me the most is when I hear the various unions, protesters and teachers say, "We're fighting for democracy."
No you aren't.
Democracy is where the majority rules.
You are by default tyrants and oppressors.
The majority of the population in Wisconsin has voted in Republicans and, among other things, they are going to reel back what is frankly huge overpayment to a corrupt union. Fighting against it, to the point cowards flee from their responsibility to "hide" is the DEFINITION of TYRANNY. Of course these corrupt officials and the idiot protesters who support them, frankly do not have the maturity or intellectual honesty to adhere to democracy.
Additionally, I will post two charts that should be in every state capitol and in the hands of every state legislator and every governor, so please feel free to send them. They are for Minnesota, but I'm quite sure the statistics would hold for any state;
Do not tell me you need more money or that it's horrible you have to pay for your own damn pensions.
Rec Room Fight (by Guest Blogger Big Jason)
Big Jason was incarcerated as a youth in Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s Durango jail and the Arizona Department of Corrections Adobe Mountain juvenile facility for assault, attempted burglary, and violation of probation.
Lance was a giant “corn-fed” white guy that didn't fit in anywhere, at least not anywhere in the correctional system. He stood about 6 feet 5, and kind of resembled the cartoon character Big Baby Huey, bulbous and round, uncoordinated and childlike. No matter how hard he tried, he never seemed to get along. Not for lack of honest intent, he was just annoying in general and in a prison setting with kids pining to be the next Spartacus, it was bound to cause problems
Watching television in the recreation room meant having to sit on cockroach-infested couches that stunk from years of inmates’ dirty feet and smelly asses. Some of us had gathered around for a boring day of the same old humdrum, which usually meant watching something that we had seen over and over and in this case the film ”La Bamba”. Between my incarceration in Durango and Adobe Mountain, I must have seen that movie nine times, allowing myself to learn to do the characters. Bob played by Esai Morales was my favorite impersonation.
Bored with the TV, Albert, a Hispanic gang member from East Side LCM, found a way to break the monotony. He chucked the broom he was holding at Lance's gigantic head. Boink! The broom hit with accuracy, thudded off the back of his head, and dropped to the floor in front of my feet. The couches were set up in four rows in front of the TV, and when Lance turned around to see who had done something, I became his target of retribution. He scowled, showing an extra set of incisors that would jade even the most deviant tooth fetishists. Albert and his friends were laughing as they always did when picking on Lance, and this aggravated him even more. With a angry rush, he jumped up, moved to the side of the couches, and unleashed a verbal tirade. Kids from various ethnic and economic backgrounds scattered about, some just getting out of harms way, others to instigate and jeer. This alerted the officer, who called for rec time to end.
As I moved into the hall area, Lance came up and shoved me as if to prove he was no punk. I was no little guy at six foot, 200 lbs. His push moved me a good foot. I told him to chill, and that I hadn't done anything to him, but he remained in a rage that turned his forehead a reddish hue. He stepped to me again, this time getting punched in the process. My first jab hit his head. I went to follow up with a second, but missed as he was stumbling back from the first blow. Feeling like an idiot for missing with the second punch, I wasted no time posturing and went to work with some pugilistic skills that would help to solidify my reputation as “Not to be fucked with.” Lance started swinging wildly with looping punches that missed. Bam-bam! I hit him two more times with a force that sent him reeling over to avoid more damage. The final punch came in an uppercut that he couldn't hide from no matter how far his tall frame leaned forward. The impact sent his head right back up to reveal a split from his lip to nose that required stitches. All of this happened in about five seconds, and was over almost as soon as it had started. I backed away amidst cheering and taunting from inmates who were hyped over the blood sport. My blood pressure high and adrenaline flowing from what had just happened, I regained some composure and relaxed as much as I could. The lone officer, flustered, yelled at us to break it up and get locked down. We complied and followed the fluorescent lit corridors to our cells.
I was now facing extra charges that could end up with me being held accountable after I became an adult, depending on how long they waited to file the charges. I've seen some guys turn 18 and leave Adobe Mountain in handcuffs only to get into a sheriffs car for their trip to county jail and life as adult felons. I hoped like hell this wouldn't be my future. After a review of what happened and a 24 hour lock-down, I received no charges, but a loss of privileges, and a cell to myself as they felt I was becoming more dangerous to other inmates – stemming from other situations where my cell-mates ended up on the receiving end. But they are other stories…
Click here for the previous guest blog by Big Jason
Big Jason was incarcerated as a youth in Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s Durango jail and the Arizona Department of Corrections Adobe Mountain juvenile facility for assault, attempted burglary, and violation of probation.
Lance was a giant “corn-fed” white guy that didn't fit in anywhere, at least not anywhere in the correctional system. He stood about 6 feet 5, and kind of resembled the cartoon character Big Baby Huey, bulbous and round, uncoordinated and childlike. No matter how hard he tried, he never seemed to get along. Not for lack of honest intent, he was just annoying in general and in a prison setting with kids pining to be the next Spartacus, it was bound to cause problems
Watching television in the recreation room meant having to sit on cockroach-infested couches that stunk from years of inmates’ dirty feet and smelly asses. Some of us had gathered around for a boring day of the same old humdrum, which usually meant watching something that we had seen over and over and in this case the film ”La Bamba”. Between my incarceration in Durango and Adobe Mountain, I must have seen that movie nine times, allowing myself to learn to do the characters. Bob played by Esai Morales was my favorite impersonation.
Bored with the TV, Albert, a Hispanic gang member from East Side LCM, found a way to break the monotony. He chucked the broom he was holding at Lance's gigantic head. Boink! The broom hit with accuracy, thudded off the back of his head, and dropped to the floor in front of my feet. The couches were set up in four rows in front of the TV, and when Lance turned around to see who had done something, I became his target of retribution. He scowled, showing an extra set of incisors that would jade even the most deviant tooth fetishists. Albert and his friends were laughing as they always did when picking on Lance, and this aggravated him even more. With a angry rush, he jumped up, moved to the side of the couches, and unleashed a verbal tirade. Kids from various ethnic and economic backgrounds scattered about, some just getting out of harms way, others to instigate and jeer. This alerted the officer, who called for rec time to end.
As I moved into the hall area, Lance came up and shoved me as if to prove he was no punk. I was no little guy at six foot, 200 lbs. His push moved me a good foot. I told him to chill, and that I hadn't done anything to him, but he remained in a rage that turned his forehead a reddish hue. He stepped to me again, this time getting punched in the process. My first jab hit his head. I went to follow up with a second, but missed as he was stumbling back from the first blow. Feeling like an idiot for missing with the second punch, I wasted no time posturing and went to work with some pugilistic skills that would help to solidify my reputation as “Not to be fucked with.” Lance started swinging wildly with looping punches that missed. Bam-bam! I hit him two more times with a force that sent him reeling over to avoid more damage. The final punch came in an uppercut that he couldn't hide from no matter how far his tall frame leaned forward. The impact sent his head right back up to reveal a split from his lip to nose that required stitches. All of this happened in about five seconds, and was over almost as soon as it had started. I backed away amidst cheering and taunting from inmates who were hyped over the blood sport. My blood pressure high and adrenaline flowing from what had just happened, I regained some composure and relaxed as much as I could. The lone officer, flustered, yelled at us to break it up and get locked down. We complied and followed the fluorescent lit corridors to our cells.
I was now facing extra charges that could end up with me being held accountable after I became an adult, depending on how long they waited to file the charges. I've seen some guys turn 18 and leave Adobe Mountain in handcuffs only to get into a sheriffs car for their trip to county jail and life as adult felons. I hoped like hell this wouldn't be my future. After a review of what happened and a 24 hour lock-down, I received no charges, but a loss of privileges, and a cell to myself as they felt I was becoming more dangerous to other inmates – stemming from other situations where my cell-mates ended up on the receiving end. But they are other stories…
Click here for the previous guest blog by Big Jason
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Screen Time = Eat More?
Interesting study discussed by Yoni Freedhoff over at Weighty Matters
Playing Video Games Makes You Eat More?
The video game players used ~20 cal more but ate ~80 cal more than simply seated controls in a subsequent lunch. That caloric excess was not compensated for by eating less later in the day. Kind of a fascinating result!
Playing Video Games Makes You Eat More?
The video game players used ~20 cal more but ate ~80 cal more than simply seated controls in a subsequent lunch. That caloric excess was not compensated for by eating less later in the day. Kind of a fascinating result!
Elevated Free Fatty Acids: Detrimental?
As many of my readers know, I've been challenged lately on my beliefs on NEFA. So I thought I would summarize my thinking on this in a post rather than having several comments scattered amongst a few threads. I'm not going to be referencing my post here at this time (it's too time consuming to do so at the moment). If/when I have the opportunity to do so in the future, I'll do a bumped update.
These are my thoughts based on extensive research of the peer review literature on this topic, in almost all cases, considered review of full text articles including reading as many supporting citations in major reviews as possible. Over the past year I have read at least a hundred such articles.
Elevated non-esterified or free fatty acids (NEFA/FFA) are a symptom associated with insulin resistance, Metabolic Syndrome (aka Syndrome X) and Type II diabetes. The overwhelming evidence in the literature points to elevated NEFA being more than just associated with these conditions, but rather the initiating step in their development..
Read more »
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Mandating Charts by Law in All Reuters Articles
Reuters reports "Housing Starts SURGE in January!"
Does this look like a $#$ing surge to you people at Reuters?
You shameless political shills.
I swear, when I am king there will be a law passed that forces all media reporting on the economy to provide the corresponding chart or link to a chart that shows the data.
File under "The Cancer is Spreading Less Slowly"
Does this look like a $#$ing surge to you people at Reuters?
You shameless political shills.
I swear, when I am king there will be a law passed that forces all media reporting on the economy to provide the corresponding chart or link to a chart that shows the data.
File under "The Cancer is Spreading Less Slowly"
The End of Political Correctness
I believe as the economy continues to collapse and people's futures continue to look bleak, people will have no economic incentive any longer to be politically correct and will instead just start speaking the truth.
For example.
Hat tip.
For example.
Hat tip.
The Death of an Entrepreneur
Let me tell you about Bill and then I have to bolt.
Bill is my buddy and my realtor. I've known him a long time as I've been in real estate a long time. And ever since I've known him he's been an entrepreneur. He's been in real estate, works hard and has always been on the look out for what we call "Cunning Plans" as a reference to the Black Adder Comedy Troupe.
His "cunning plans" included grandiose things like boosting some of the poorer communities by bulldozing the worst neighborhoods and putting a golf course right in the middle while building around the periphery of the course condos to house those displaced.
Another was to analyze and identify key houses in the richest of neighborhoods, purchasing them and housing ex-cons and loud youth in them to drive prices in the neighborhood down, only to repurchase the land, kick the criminals out and resell the properties at a markup.
Whatever the case, he was always thinking, planning and scheming coming up with new ideas.
No longer.
Now he's gone into complete defense mode. His purchases and "investments" are not really investments at all, but food supplies, survival gear and potentially finding a safe house. Admittedly he's gone a little further down the "society collapsing" route than I have, but be it him, me or any other young entrepreneur, there is a HUGE ramification that just dawned on me.
The entrepreneurs are no longer entrepreneuring. They've stopped.
Now, if you study economics enough, you will realize that what REALLY advances economies and societies is NOT working harder and more efficient. It is revolutionary ideas, largely led by entrepreneurs and youth, that revolutionize society and produce massive amounts of wealth (ergo why I support STEM degrees and advocate the elimination of liberal arts and other such worthless degree and programs).
Regardless, the juxtaposition of talking to Bill the other day and what the clueless leaders in Washington say is hilarious, though sad. Obama wants a "sputnik moment." He also wants to "win the future" and his rosy budget forecasts rely on 5% RGDP growth in the future. Our governor, Mark Dayton in his speech hailed a "generation of greatness."
Not without the likes of Bill.
For idiots such as Mark Dayton and Barack Obama who never work a real job in their lives and have never produced an ounce of genuine economic production (both trust fund babies), think they can simply "order" "greatness" and "sputnik moments." They don't realize they need to get out of the way, shut up, lower taxes and make the country hospitable to future entrepreneurs. They also don't realize that the single biggest fear driving away investment and future entrepreneurs is that damn deficit and the forever increasing likelihood of economic collapse.
And until that happens, you can expect Bill to store nuts for a horrible economic winter instead of start up another company and employing people.
Enjoy the decline!
Bill is my buddy and my realtor. I've known him a long time as I've been in real estate a long time. And ever since I've known him he's been an entrepreneur. He's been in real estate, works hard and has always been on the look out for what we call "Cunning Plans" as a reference to the Black Adder Comedy Troupe.
His "cunning plans" included grandiose things like boosting some of the poorer communities by bulldozing the worst neighborhoods and putting a golf course right in the middle while building around the periphery of the course condos to house those displaced.
Another was to analyze and identify key houses in the richest of neighborhoods, purchasing them and housing ex-cons and loud youth in them to drive prices in the neighborhood down, only to repurchase the land, kick the criminals out and resell the properties at a markup.
Whatever the case, he was always thinking, planning and scheming coming up with new ideas.
No longer.
Now he's gone into complete defense mode. His purchases and "investments" are not really investments at all, but food supplies, survival gear and potentially finding a safe house. Admittedly he's gone a little further down the "society collapsing" route than I have, but be it him, me or any other young entrepreneur, there is a HUGE ramification that just dawned on me.
The entrepreneurs are no longer entrepreneuring. They've stopped.
Now, if you study economics enough, you will realize that what REALLY advances economies and societies is NOT working harder and more efficient. It is revolutionary ideas, largely led by entrepreneurs and youth, that revolutionize society and produce massive amounts of wealth (ergo why I support STEM degrees and advocate the elimination of liberal arts and other such worthless degree and programs).
Regardless, the juxtaposition of talking to Bill the other day and what the clueless leaders in Washington say is hilarious, though sad. Obama wants a "sputnik moment." He also wants to "win the future" and his rosy budget forecasts rely on 5% RGDP growth in the future. Our governor, Mark Dayton in his speech hailed a "generation of greatness."
Not without the likes of Bill.
For idiots such as Mark Dayton and Barack Obama who never work a real job in their lives and have never produced an ounce of genuine economic production (both trust fund babies), think they can simply "order" "greatness" and "sputnik moments." They don't realize they need to get out of the way, shut up, lower taxes and make the country hospitable to future entrepreneurs. They also don't realize that the single biggest fear driving away investment and future entrepreneurs is that damn deficit and the forever increasing likelihood of economic collapse.
And until that happens, you can expect Bill to store nuts for a horrible economic winter instead of start up another company and employing people.
Enjoy the decline!
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
I Support the Teachers
A teacher who has the courage to speak her mind about public education and then is lambasted by the school administration?
Damn right I'll link to her.
Filed under, "Institutions trying to violate your freedom of speech if they don't agree with it and threaten to fire you for having an opinion."
Damn right I'll link to her.
Filed under, "Institutions trying to violate your freedom of speech if they don't agree with it and threaten to fire you for having an opinion."
Monday, February 14, 2011
Good Journalism
In preparation for a speech I will be holding at the U of Minnesota, I spent a fair amount of time looking up University salaries as a means to gauge education inflation.
I came across this piece put together by the Minnesota Daily (the student newspaper) that was heartening in that it was;
1. Well written
2. Relevant
3. An actual example of good journalism
Sadly there are no comments on the site which leads me to believe such work largely falls on deaf ears in the university world.
I came across this piece put together by the Minnesota Daily (the student newspaper) that was heartening in that it was;
1. Well written
2. Relevant
3. An actual example of good journalism
Sadly there are no comments on the site which leads me to believe such work largely falls on deaf ears in the university world.
Insanity (by Shane)
Shane - Denied psychiatric medication by ValueOptions, Shane turned to illegal drugs financed by burglaries. For stealing a few hundred dollars worth of goods, he was sentenced by Judge Ron Reinstein to eleven years. Shane is the author of the blog Persevering Prison Pages.
The sound of the heavy steel barred cell door slamming shut echoed throughout the antiquated cellblock – a sound tucked away permanently in my mind.
“One time! Charlie run!” a prisoner shouted this warning as a guard began a security walk into the inmates’ living area.
Approaching the last cell on the run, the guard noticed the cell front had been covered with a bed sheet to conceal its occupant. Rapping on the front with his Maglite, the guard said, “Take down that sheet!”
There was no answer.
“Rack number C7!” The guard told the other in the control cage.
“Racking Charlie-7!” the control-room guard warned, just before unlocking and hand- cranking the door open.
Yanking down the sheet, the guard was startled by what he discovered in the cell: a naked convict. Jimmy was a mammoth of a man, one of the biggest convicts on the yard. He had never caused the staff any trouble, and had always been silent and introverted. He was towering before the guard, his naked skin glistening with a bright golden-yellow coat of hair grease. His blank stare sent a shiver through the guard.
Reaching for his pepper spray, the guard didn’t take his eyes off Jimmy’s bare body. He pulled his spray, aimed, and sprayed Jimmy in the face. “Shut C7!”
Before the door was secure, Jimmy managed to rush past the guard, knocking him out of the way. Eyes burning, mucus running from his mouth and nose, Jimmy grabbed out in confusion and pain, ripping the guard’s shirt, flinging him to the ground. Crying out in pain, pacing back and forth over the guard, Jimmy rubbed his eyes, and mumbled incoherently.
“Help me!” the guard yelled to his co-worker.
His shout spooked Jimmy, who stomped down on the guard, breaking his clavicle. Minutes later, the cellblock was saturated with guards who overpowered Jimmy.
Prisons are full of the mentally ill. Overcrowding has left many of them among the general prison population. They can be found on every prison yard across the state. It’s only when one acts uncontrollably that any attention is given. Often times, too late.
The problem isn’t those responsible at the unit or complex level. Some C.O.’s, sergeants, lieutenants, go out of their way to help the mentally ill – to no avail. The problem lies with the administration, the Arizona Department of Corrections policymakers, Governor Brewer and Arizona lawmakers. Budget cuts to ADOC have been minimal compared to other state agencies; however, cuts have been directed at already fragile and broken areas such as medical care and security.
Click here for Shane’s own blog
Some of Shane's prison stories:
What Comes Around
Convict Justice
Fighting For No Good Reason
Our friends inside appreciate your comments
Post comments for Shane below or email them to writeinside@hotmail.com To post a comment if you do not have a Google/Blogger account, just select anonymous for your identity
Shaun Attwood
Shane - Denied psychiatric medication by ValueOptions, Shane turned to illegal drugs financed by burglaries. For stealing a few hundred dollars worth of goods, he was sentenced by Judge Ron Reinstein to eleven years. Shane is the author of the blog Persevering Prison Pages.
The sound of the heavy steel barred cell door slamming shut echoed throughout the antiquated cellblock – a sound tucked away permanently in my mind.
“One time! Charlie run!” a prisoner shouted this warning as a guard began a security walk into the inmates’ living area.
Approaching the last cell on the run, the guard noticed the cell front had been covered with a bed sheet to conceal its occupant. Rapping on the front with his Maglite, the guard said, “Take down that sheet!”
There was no answer.
“Rack number C7!” The guard told the other in the control cage.
“Racking Charlie-7!” the control-room guard warned, just before unlocking and hand- cranking the door open.
Yanking down the sheet, the guard was startled by what he discovered in the cell: a naked convict. Jimmy was a mammoth of a man, one of the biggest convicts on the yard. He had never caused the staff any trouble, and had always been silent and introverted. He was towering before the guard, his naked skin glistening with a bright golden-yellow coat of hair grease. His blank stare sent a shiver through the guard.
Reaching for his pepper spray, the guard didn’t take his eyes off Jimmy’s bare body. He pulled his spray, aimed, and sprayed Jimmy in the face. “Shut C7!”
Before the door was secure, Jimmy managed to rush past the guard, knocking him out of the way. Eyes burning, mucus running from his mouth and nose, Jimmy grabbed out in confusion and pain, ripping the guard’s shirt, flinging him to the ground. Crying out in pain, pacing back and forth over the guard, Jimmy rubbed his eyes, and mumbled incoherently.
“Help me!” the guard yelled to his co-worker.
His shout spooked Jimmy, who stomped down on the guard, breaking his clavicle. Minutes later, the cellblock was saturated with guards who overpowered Jimmy.
Prisons are full of the mentally ill. Overcrowding has left many of them among the general prison population. They can be found on every prison yard across the state. It’s only when one acts uncontrollably that any attention is given. Often times, too late.
The problem isn’t those responsible at the unit or complex level. Some C.O.’s, sergeants, lieutenants, go out of their way to help the mentally ill – to no avail. The problem lies with the administration, the Arizona Department of Corrections policymakers, Governor Brewer and Arizona lawmakers. Budget cuts to ADOC have been minimal compared to other state agencies; however, cuts have been directed at already fragile and broken areas such as medical care and security.
Click here for Shane’s own blog
Some of Shane's prison stories:
What Comes Around
Convict Justice
Fighting For No Good Reason
Our friends inside appreciate your comments
Post comments for Shane below or email them to writeinside@hotmail.com To post a comment if you do not have a Google/Blogger account, just select anonymous for your identity
Shaun Attwood
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Why You Should Be Against "Male Studies"
I didn't think it would exist because of inherent male psychology, but it does. Found it on one of the manosphere blogs and I can't remember which, but it's come to this;
Male Studies.
So let me explain this as short and succinctly as I can.
Male studies should not exist.
Not because men aren't important.
Not because aspects of society aren't assailing and assaulting men.
And because not that we shouldn't be calling attention to the plight men have.
Male studies should not exist because the concept of having a "male studies" degree or program is antithetical to being male.
Men solve problems. Men are direct and to the point. Men are practical.
Ergo, the idea of having a "male studies" program in college is inane. It doesn't solve the problem, but instead is simply a side-show that distracts from the main issues. It's a means to profit off of the naive feelings and emotions of kids who lack the intellectual rigor to study a real discipline in college, but enough of their parents money they can afford not to (just like women's studies, or any hyphenated American studies). It does nothing to help its participants.
To champion "male causes" or fight against "the war on boys" the tools already exist in the form of the public forum. The internet, the media, your legislators, the judicial system and (above all) your personal decisions are all one needs to help the cause of men.
The idea of making it a "science" or a "discipline," where no doubt taxpayer money would be used, is frankly insulting and beneath all real men and their standards everywhere. Besides, in creating a "male studies" program, how are we now any different than those who participate in a "womens studies" program?
Male Studies.
So let me explain this as short and succinctly as I can.
Male studies should not exist.
Not because men aren't important.
Not because aspects of society aren't assailing and assaulting men.
And because not that we shouldn't be calling attention to the plight men have.
Male studies should not exist because the concept of having a "male studies" degree or program is antithetical to being male.
Men solve problems. Men are direct and to the point. Men are practical.
Ergo, the idea of having a "male studies" program in college is inane. It doesn't solve the problem, but instead is simply a side-show that distracts from the main issues. It's a means to profit off of the naive feelings and emotions of kids who lack the intellectual rigor to study a real discipline in college, but enough of their parents money they can afford not to (just like women's studies, or any hyphenated American studies). It does nothing to help its participants.
To champion "male causes" or fight against "the war on boys" the tools already exist in the form of the public forum. The internet, the media, your legislators, the judicial system and (above all) your personal decisions are all one needs to help the cause of men.
The idea of making it a "science" or a "discipline," where no doubt taxpayer money would be used, is frankly insulting and beneath all real men and their standards everywhere. Besides, in creating a "male studies" program, how are we now any different than those who participate in a "womens studies" program?
Hypertension, Insulin and Free Fatty Acids (Part I)
Obesity Hypertension Is Related More to Insulin's Fatty Acid Than Glucose Action
Read more »
Although resistance to insulin-mediated glucose disposal has emerged as a link between abdominal obesity and hypertension, abnormalities of nonesterified fatty acid metabolism may play a greater role. ... Fatty acid concentration and turnover were markedly more resistant to suppression by insulin in obese hypertensive than in lean or obese normotensive individuals. ... The data indicate that blood pressure is related to the effects of insulin on fatty acid metabolism. The findings raise the possibility that resistance of hormone-sensitive lipase to insulin participates in elevating the blood pressure of abdominally obese hypertensive subjects by increasing fatty acid concentration and turnover.I'm C&P'ing the entire Introduction because it contains live links to background references some readers may be interested in.
Up for debate: Diabetes Mellitus or Diabetes Lipidus
In light of recent comments suggesting I'm barking up the wrong tree with my concerns over free fatty acids, I decided to bump this July 2010 post. I think it is an excellent review. The rest of the post remains unchanged.
Introduction
Since ancient times the search for causes of diabetes was related to the sweetness of urine and other body fluids. In England, Thomas Willis (1621–1675) was among the first to taste the urine of diabetic patients and declare that “its sweet taste was imbued with honey sugar” with the supposition that it was derived from blood. This finding led to the addition of “mellitus” to the word diabetes.
We should reconsider whether the definition of diabetes as mellitus is justified. The traditional emphasis on the insulin-glucose axis with respect to examining glucose tolerance, although diagnostically useful does not explain the basic pathophysiological mechanisms operating in diabetes. The glucose-insulin axis has been overemphasised, while alterations in the insulin to non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) ratio and metabolism received much less attention both as diabetes derangement and as diagnostic potential. Perhaps this is partly due to the fact that the techniques for glucose measurements have been considerably simplified for home use, whereas the measurement of NEFA and triglycerides is still encumbered with relative difficulties, being more expensive and time consuming.
This article discusses what happens to post prandial (after eating) NEFA levels in normal, insulin resistant, obese and diabetic people. My research seems to point to the conclusion that elevated circulating NEFA precedes the development of IR and diabetes and is therefore likely the cause of these. Hyperinsulinemia may well be protective in that insulin controls the release of NEFA from adipose tissue, and VLC diets have been shown to blunt insulin's protective role and increase NEFA levels. I think this should give pause to those on VLC diets who are obese, insulin resistant and or diabetic.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
It's Tough to Pay Taxes Without a Job
Which is why I refuse to make more than $30,000 per year and instead take 2 month vacations out West on my motorcycle because, well, even if I wanted to work more;
1. Nobody's hiring and
2. Why would I do such a thing when i'd only get to keep half the extra money.
1. Nobody's hiring and
2. Why would I do such a thing when i'd only get to keep half the extra money.
Don't be a Yo Yo! (Effect of weight change on energy expenditure)
Effects of experimental weight perturbation on skeletal muscle work efficiency, fuel utilization, and biochemistry in human subjects
Or in plain English, what happens to your metabolism when you gain or lose weight.
Or in plain English, what happens to your metabolism when you gain or lose weight.
Maintenance of a body weight 10% above or below that “customary” for lean or obese individuals results in respective increases or decreases in the energy expended in low levels of physical activity (nonresting energy expenditure, NREE). These changes are greater than can be accounted for by the altered body weight or composition and are due mainly to altered skeletal muscle work efficiency at low levels of power generation.Read more »
Internetiquette II: Big Fat Head, etc.
Warning: This post contains absolutely no science. If you are looking for science, please look at 99% of the other content on the blog. If you are offended by non-science posts on a predominantly science-based blog do not read this.
Yes ... that means you, insert name here , if after reading this anyway, you're compelled to comment on how and what I should write about here.
More Courting Advice from the Captain
Recessions are great things in that they force reality upon people.
Oh sure, little Suzie, you can major in communications with a minor in Ethiopian-Czech-American-History. But if a recession comes, you'll be living with mommy and daddy once again (whilst no doubt spouting how independent you are).
But for men (and those women of a certain mechanical nature) recessions do two things that do actually provide an upshot;
1. They cut your income
2. They increase the amount of free time
These two factors forces you to consider a long lost art from the Manly Men of Yore;
Fixing and repairing things.
With less income, you can't afford to fix your motorcycle.
With more time, you CAN learn how to fix it yourself.
And if you combine all these factors, you may actually come out financially ahead on account you are at a lower income tax bracket, but still have the same disposable income because you're fixing things on your own.
For example the Captain is rapidly become an excellent motorcycle mechanic. Advantages?
1. Saving tons of money.
2. Learning a new skill.
3. Increased sexual attraction from the ladies (and no, I'm not making that up, you just see what happens when you walk back inside the house all mucked up in grease and sweat and see what happens)
Or another example, I installed my own wood burning stove. Advantages?
1. Saving money on heat bills (TONS of money on account I live in Minnesota).
2. Learning new carpentry skills.
3. Increased sexual attraction from the ladies (not just because you are being manly constructing new things, but the ladies do seem to like nice warm fires on cold, blustery winter nights)
It is here men, that regardless of your occupation or profession, you must learn some blue collar skills. Not just to save money or prepare for an inevitable decline of the country where a Mad Max world would be upon us. And not just for the psychological benefit that comes with actually producing something (of which Barry O knows nothing about). But because it is a huge advantage in the dating world.
Go to any university and there's little Suzie (once again majoring in 13th Century Feminist Interpretive Dance). She's a cutie and her car breaks down. Oh no! Who will save Cutsie Suzie?
Will it be Tanner Jones-Feelingsman, a fellow 13th Century Feminist Interpretive Dance major, and sensitive 90's man extraordinaire?
Will it be Gaylan McHippie-Goatee, a poetry major whose parents couldn't teach him the difference between a phillips or a flat head screw driver, but he uses a reusable bag when he goes to Whole Foods?
Or will it be Mike Jones, regular ole American guy whose dad, instead of giving him a free ride through college, bought him a Stanely Tool set and taught him how to fix cars?
You young men figure that one out.
Oh sure, little Suzie, you can major in communications with a minor in Ethiopian-Czech-American-History. But if a recession comes, you'll be living with mommy and daddy once again (whilst no doubt spouting how independent you are).
But for men (and those women of a certain mechanical nature) recessions do two things that do actually provide an upshot;
1. They cut your income
2. They increase the amount of free time
These two factors forces you to consider a long lost art from the Manly Men of Yore;
Fixing and repairing things.
With less income, you can't afford to fix your motorcycle.
With more time, you CAN learn how to fix it yourself.
And if you combine all these factors, you may actually come out financially ahead on account you are at a lower income tax bracket, but still have the same disposable income because you're fixing things on your own.
For example the Captain is rapidly become an excellent motorcycle mechanic. Advantages?
1. Saving tons of money.
2. Learning a new skill.
3. Increased sexual attraction from the ladies (and no, I'm not making that up, you just see what happens when you walk back inside the house all mucked up in grease and sweat and see what happens)
Or another example, I installed my own wood burning stove. Advantages?
1. Saving money on heat bills (TONS of money on account I live in Minnesota).
2. Learning new carpentry skills.
3. Increased sexual attraction from the ladies (not just because you are being manly constructing new things, but the ladies do seem to like nice warm fires on cold, blustery winter nights)
It is here men, that regardless of your occupation or profession, you must learn some blue collar skills. Not just to save money or prepare for an inevitable decline of the country where a Mad Max world would be upon us. And not just for the psychological benefit that comes with actually producing something (of which Barry O knows nothing about). But because it is a huge advantage in the dating world.
Go to any university and there's little Suzie (once again majoring in 13th Century Feminist Interpretive Dance). She's a cutie and her car breaks down. Oh no! Who will save Cutsie Suzie?
Will it be Tanner Jones-Feelingsman, a fellow 13th Century Feminist Interpretive Dance major, and sensitive 90's man extraordinaire?
Will it be Gaylan McHippie-Goatee, a poetry major whose parents couldn't teach him the difference between a phillips or a flat head screw driver, but he uses a reusable bag when he goes to Whole Foods?
Or will it be Mike Jones, regular ole American guy whose dad, instead of giving him a free ride through college, bought him a Stanely Tool set and taught him how to fix cars?
You young men figure that one out.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Failure of LC/HF Diets to Suppress NEFA Release
Thanks to reader MM, I have procured a full text copy of the following study that I've discussed a bit previously: Lack of suppression of circulating free fatty acids and hypercholesterolemia during weight loss on a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet
A bullet pointed, sometimes paraphrased abstract/summary:
Read more »
A bullet pointed, sometimes paraphrased abstract/summary:
- This study compared a low carb (less than 20g/day, no fat content provided but "high fat") diet to a high carb diet (55% energy, 30% fat)
- Fasting, 24 hour AUC (cumulative exposure) and time courses for metabolites were measured during weight loss.
- Subjects were healthy, obese adults (n = 32; 22 women, 10 men) - diabetics and those with a history of CVD were excluded.
- The study lasted six weeks.
- A 24-h in-patient feeding study was performed at baseline and after 6 wk. Glucose, insulin, free fatty acids (FFAs), and triglycerides were measured hourly during meals, at regimented times. Remnant lipoprotein cholesterol was measured every 4 h.
- Results:
- Patients lost a similar amount of weight in both groups
- There was no difference between groups on fasting triglycerides or on remnant lipoprotein cholesterol, which was the main outcome.
- Fasting insulin decreased, and both fasting and 24-h FFAs increased within the High Fat group.
- Twenty-four-hour insulin decreased for both groups.
- Fasting LDL cholesterol decreased in the High Carb group only.
- In both groups, the differences in fasting and 24-h FFAs at 6 wk were signiļ¬cantly correlated with the change in LDL cholesterol.
- Conclusions: Weight loss was similar between diets, but only the high-fat diet increased LDL-cholesterol concentrations. This effect was related to the lack of suppression of both fasting and 24-h FFAs.
Link Fest!
He's tired, he should enjoy the decline!
"like getting banned by a store you don’t visit"
Why the colonel (a real economist) should replace Paul Krugman (a fake one)
Drink before watching.
"like getting banned by a store you don’t visit"
Why the colonel (a real economist) should replace Paul Krugman (a fake one)
Drink before watching.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Latest Hard Time Review and Book Signing
The review of Hard Time by Christopher Zoukis is one of the strongest so far. Here's the link: http://www.midwestbookreview.com/rbw/dec_10.htm
The next Waterstones book signing is this Saturday February 12th, 2011 - Waterstone's, 83-84 County Mall, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 1FD (0129 353 3471) from 11am until 4pm.
The review of Hard Time by Christopher Zoukis is one of the strongest so far. Here's the link: http://www.midwestbookreview.com/rbw/dec_10.htm
The next Waterstones book signing is this Saturday February 12th, 2011 - Waterstone's, 83-84 County Mall, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 1FD (0129 353 3471) from 11am until 4pm.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Non-esteriļ¬ed fatty acid metabolism and postprandial lipaemia
Yet another gem from ... who else? ... Keith Frayn!
Non-esteriļ¬ed fatty acids (NEFA, or free fatty acids) are an important metabolic fuel. Both the concentration of NEFA and their ļ¬ux through the circulation vary widely from hour to hour, reļ¬ecting nutritional state and physical activity. Inappropriately elevated plasma NEFA concentrations may have a number of adverse effects on both carbohydrate and lipid metabolism.
As my regular readers know well, this is a focus of my research.
These adverse effects are likely to be most marked in the postprandial period, when NEFA release from adipose tissue is usually suppressed. Although the regulation of NEFA release in the postabsorptive state is well understood in molecular terms, the predominant pathway for release of NEFA in the postprandial state is the action of lipoprotein lipase (LPL) in adipose tissue capillaries on chylomicron-triacylglycerol (TG). Fatty acids released by LPL may either be sequestered in the adipocytes by esteriļ¬cation, or released as NEFA into the plasma. The regulation of this branch-point, which may be of crucial signiļ¬cance for postprandial metabolism, is not well understood. Factors stimulating tissue retention of fatty acids include insulin and acylation stimulating protein.
1998 Keith Frayn
Read more »
5th Grade Economics
I have maintained that economics is above all else, simple.
It's common sense.
It's easy.
And if you're just willing to spend the 3 minutes or so to check something out on the internet to see if something is true or not, it becomes very apparent how pretty much all of the world's problems can be solved.
And so, now an economics lesson your average 5th grader can understand.
The Republicans have proposed $74 billion in budget cuts from the Federal Budget. They will catch hell for this and be called racist and evil and so forth.
I ask you, is this anywhere near solving the problem?
It's common sense.
It's easy.
And if you're just willing to spend the 3 minutes or so to check something out on the internet to see if something is true or not, it becomes very apparent how pretty much all of the world's problems can be solved.
And so, now an economics lesson your average 5th grader can understand.
The Republicans have proposed $74 billion in budget cuts from the Federal Budget. They will catch hell for this and be called racist and evil and so forth.
I ask you, is this anywhere near solving the problem?
Internetiquette & The Full Email Exchange with Gary Taubes
Warning: This post contains absolutely no science. If you are looking for science, please look at 99% of the other content on the blog. If you are offended by non-science posts on a predominantly science-based blog do not read this.
UPDATE 2/9/11 ~1:30 EST: I somehow chopped out the emails! Have edited them in. Thanks MM for the alert!
UPDATE 2/9/11 ~1:30 EST: I somehow chopped out the emails! Have edited them in. Thanks MM for the alert!
I > Society
"Me and my beliefs are more important than adhering to any modicum of unspoken and generally accepted societal decorum because ultimately I am more important and better than the rest of society."
I shall file this under, "Girls who make it painfully obvious I don't want to date them."
Post Post
This is a comment (rarely do I post them) and I want you to view it as if we were studying something scientifically in a cage. The reason why is it exemplifies precisely the psychology I'm talking about and reiterates my point;
I see absolutely nothing wrong with breast feeding in public. What's the big friggin deal? Somebody's "sensibilities" might get offended? Because god forbid somebody get offended, we should have laws against that shit so nobody will ever have to feel bad again. Ever.
I shall point out just these few points and leave the rest to you guys;
1. The absurdity about making laws so that nobody feels bad anymore. I feel bad this person has the right to vote. I feel bad I can't drive 100 MPH on the interstate. I feel bad a democrat is president. I feel bad Green Bay won the super bowl. So let's outlaw these things? It's so childish and inane the point needn't be hounded.
2. Notice I've made no demands or requests to outlaw breast feeding in public. I merely am pointing out many people find it inappropriate and will continue to find it inappropriate, whether it's legal or not, and when confronted with the fact that this might deter potential suitors, the cage is severely rattled.
Enjoy the decline!
I shall file this under, "Girls who make it painfully obvious I don't want to date them."
Post Post
This is a comment (rarely do I post them) and I want you to view it as if we were studying something scientifically in a cage. The reason why is it exemplifies precisely the psychology I'm talking about and reiterates my point;
I see absolutely nothing wrong with breast feeding in public. What's the big friggin deal? Somebody's "sensibilities" might get offended? Because god forbid somebody get offended, we should have laws against that shit so nobody will ever have to feel bad again. Ever.
I shall point out just these few points and leave the rest to you guys;
1. The absurdity about making laws so that nobody feels bad anymore. I feel bad this person has the right to vote. I feel bad I can't drive 100 MPH on the interstate. I feel bad a democrat is president. I feel bad Green Bay won the super bowl. So let's outlaw these things? It's so childish and inane the point needn't be hounded.
2. Notice I've made no demands or requests to outlaw breast feeding in public. I merely am pointing out many people find it inappropriate and will continue to find it inappropriate, whether it's legal or not, and when confronted with the fact that this might deter potential suitors, the cage is severely rattled.
Enjoy the decline!
Sky TV Live Thursday Feb 10th
I was just asked to appear live on Sky TV tomorrow at about 1pm to argue the case as to why UK prisoners should be allowed to vote. It will be with Adam Boulton and another guest TBC.
I believe that the more responsibility granted to prisoners, the greater the chances that they will go on to be good citizens after they are released. Exlusion does not help rehabilitation. On that basis, the right to vote seems to be a step in the right direction.
What do you think? It you can help me with any further arguments for tomorrow I'd appreciate it.
Here's the link: http://blogs.news.sky.com/boultonandco/Post:b47d4289-b10c-41c5-84d3-9d9ea3700c73
I was just asked to appear live on Sky TV tomorrow at about 1pm to argue the case as to why UK prisoners should be allowed to vote. It will be with Adam Boulton and another guest TBC.
I believe that the more responsibility granted to prisoners, the greater the chances that they will go on to be good citizens after they are released. Exlusion does not help rehabilitation. On that basis, the right to vote seems to be a step in the right direction.
What do you think? It you can help me with any further arguments for tomorrow I'd appreciate it.
Here's the link: http://blogs.news.sky.com/boultonandco/Post:b47d4289-b10c-41c5-84d3-9d9ea3700c73
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
IDE (Insulin Degrading Enzyme): Insulin & Glucose
Glucose inhibits the insulin-induced activation of the insulin-degrading enzyme in HepG2 cells
This was an in vitro study done with human liver cells (HepG2 cell line). The cells were incubated with either a normal glucose solution (1g/L = 100 mg/dL common units for blood glucose) or a high glucose solution (4.5g/L = 450 mg/dL) and treated with insulin for 24 hours vs. untreated cells. The activity of insulin degrading enzyme, IDE, was measured. (For those not familiar with IDE, here's the Wikipedia entry on it)
Here are the results for one insulin concentration studied: (as always you can click to enlarge)
Note: cytosol = fluid inside the cells
So we see that at normal glucose levels insulin markedly stimulates IDE inside the cells while mildly suppressing it in the membrane. The total effect is a marked stimulation of IDE by insulin. This effect is almost nullified by hyperglycemia with an insignificant uptick in cytosolic activity and an uptick in membrane activity for only a small total stimulatory effect.
The observed increase in IDE activity after insulin treatment in human hepatoma cells under normal glucose concentration obviously switches off the action of insulin: insulin induces an increase in IDE activity which leads to increased insulin degradation and decreased insulin signalling.
Insulin stimulates its own proper degradation and disposal under normal conditions.
Read more »
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Coming Out (by Lifer Renee)
Renee – Only a teenager, she received a 60-year sentence from a judge in Pima County. Fourteen years into her sentence, Renee is writing from Perryville prison in Goodyear, Arizona, providing a rare and unique insight into a women's prison.
My roommate’s girlfriend went home on Monday. Since then, she has been all over the map emotionally. This has made me remember some things.
I have had a few relationships with women prisoners. I remember being in love with Rachel. We spent almost every day for almost 7 years together. She made me feel safe, loved, we laughed and argued for 7 years. When I was with her, I honestly did not feel like I was in prison. Then it was time for her to be released. My heart was crushed. I felt as if I had lost one of my appendages. I knew in my gut that life would go on for her, and I would still be standing here.
Though it all ended on good terms, all I ever asked of her was if she ever knew she could no longer stand by me, to just have the respect for me as a friend to write and let me know.
“Don’t leave me hanging,” I told her.
“I promise,” she said.
One day at mail call I received a letter from her. I read the last words she would ever write: “I love you. I will always love you. I want to stay in contact, but I don’t think that I can.”
I was crushed and I still am. Her walking out of my life completely almost made me lose myself.
Now I listen to my roommate who is serving a 40-year sentence. I see the longing in her eyes to have a life with her girlfriend. I try not to be negative. I just sit and listen and pray she does not feel the same pain as me.
I have gotten better. It has been almost 6 years since she left, but the pain some days feels just as fresh as 6 years ago. Seeing my roommate like this has made it surface all over again.
I guess now that I’ve come out of the closet, I’ll close for now.
Post comments for Renee below or email them to writeinside@hotmail.com To post a comment if you do not have a Google/Blogger account, just select anonymous for your identity.
Shaun Attwood
Renee – Only a teenager, she received a 60-year sentence from a judge in Pima County. Fourteen years into her sentence, Renee is writing from Perryville prison in Goodyear, Arizona, providing a rare and unique insight into a women's prison.
My roommate’s girlfriend went home on Monday. Since then, she has been all over the map emotionally. This has made me remember some things.
I have had a few relationships with women prisoners. I remember being in love with Rachel. We spent almost every day for almost 7 years together. She made me feel safe, loved, we laughed and argued for 7 years. When I was with her, I honestly did not feel like I was in prison. Then it was time for her to be released. My heart was crushed. I felt as if I had lost one of my appendages. I knew in my gut that life would go on for her, and I would still be standing here.
Though it all ended on good terms, all I ever asked of her was if she ever knew she could no longer stand by me, to just have the respect for me as a friend to write and let me know.
“Don’t leave me hanging,” I told her.
“I promise,” she said.
One day at mail call I received a letter from her. I read the last words she would ever write: “I love you. I will always love you. I want to stay in contact, but I don’t think that I can.”
I was crushed and I still am. Her walking out of my life completely almost made me lose myself.
Now I listen to my roommate who is serving a 40-year sentence. I see the longing in her eyes to have a life with her girlfriend. I try not to be negative. I just sit and listen and pray she does not feel the same pain as me.
I have gotten better. It has been almost 6 years since she left, but the pain some days feels just as fresh as 6 years ago. Seeing my roommate like this has made it surface all over again.
I guess now that I’ve come out of the closet, I’ll close for now.
Post comments for Renee below or email them to writeinside@hotmail.com To post a comment if you do not have a Google/Blogger account, just select anonymous for your identity.
Shaun Attwood
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Question on Gastric Bypass Surgery
I'm not talking lap band here but the ones where you detach and reattach further down on the intestines like here.
Does some sort of digestive tract flush/cleaning or fasting/cleansing like for a colonoscopy precede these procedures?
Thanks :-)
Free Fatty Acids & Sudden Cardiac Death
I finally found the paper I've been alluding to here for a while, but have some other things in the works both for this blog and in my "real life" so that I'll just do a bookmark for now. Keith Frayn's Metabolic Regulation is just a gift that keeps on giving as in re-reading some parts that led to a blurb on FFA's citing one author of this review.
Sudden cardiac death: the lost fatty acid hypothesis
Sudden cardiac death: the lost fatty acid hypothesis
Friday, February 4, 2011
Working to Pay for Somebody Else to Take Care of Your Children
I shall summarize these lengthy economic studies quickly and succinctly so you needn't bother with reading them in their entirety.
When both parents work, there is nobody there to take care of the children.
Ergo, the feeding, raising, rearing and general "bringing up" of the child is foisted upon the government.
This necessitates a higher government spending as a percent of GDP which correlates with more labor force participation by women.
HOWEVER,
Because more and more women are working, this increases GDP per capita (which is a good thing)
HOWEVER,
Think about the two statements above.
Think about it....
THIIIIIINK ABOUT IT!!!!
KEEP THINKING!!!!
What do your economic spidey senses tell you!????!!!
And you will probably realize that in essence (and with an admittedly VERY broad stroke of a brush I am painting here) women have essentially given up being stay at home moms so they may work up the tax dollars to pay government paid strangers to bring up their own children.
READ THAT AGAIN
women have essentially given up being stay at home moms so they may work up the tax dollars to pay government paid strangers to bring up their own children.
Matter of fact, if you think about the plurality of jobs women pursue, it is simply to take care of other women's children (teachers, social workers, day care, nannies, etc.). But hey, at least they're not bothered bringing up their own icky yuck gross children. I mean, at least they don't have to spend time with them. I mean who wants to do THAT? They are too busy working up the money to pay taxes to pay some government worker to take care of their children. Thank god for outsourcing! I mean, otherwise you might have sit down dinners and conversation and a healthy nuclear family void of divorce.
Now imagine,
JUST IMAGINE (and I know this is going to be a revolutionary thought)
if ONE PARENT STAYED AT HOME TO BRING UP THEIR OWN CHILDREN
AND
ANOTHER PARENT WORKED TO SUPPORT THE FAMILY!
Then you wouldn't need to have two parents working because the government wouldn't need the taxes to bring up other people's children, because (drum roll please)....
YOU'D BE BLEEPING TAKING CARE OF YOUR OWN BLEEPING CHILDREN!!!!
I know! CRAZY STUFF! huh!? I mean, society should try that sometime! Oh, it would be experimental and we don't know what the results would be. But, pha, I don't have my "doctoroate in sociology" or "family psychology" so what do I know? I'm just an economist.
In the meantime I will continue to enjoy watching parents forced to slave away to pay other parents to take care of their children through forever increasing taxation so they can afford the outsourcing fee to pay governmental strangers to bring up those yucky icky gross children of theirs.
BIG Hat tip
When both parents work, there is nobody there to take care of the children.
Ergo, the feeding, raising, rearing and general "bringing up" of the child is foisted upon the government.
This necessitates a higher government spending as a percent of GDP which correlates with more labor force participation by women.
HOWEVER,
Because more and more women are working, this increases GDP per capita (which is a good thing)
HOWEVER,
Think about the two statements above.
Think about it....
THIIIIIINK ABOUT IT!!!!
KEEP THINKING!!!!
What do your economic spidey senses tell you!????!!!
And you will probably realize that in essence (and with an admittedly VERY broad stroke of a brush I am painting here) women have essentially given up being stay at home moms so they may work up the tax dollars to pay government paid strangers to bring up their own children.
READ THAT AGAIN
women have essentially given up being stay at home moms so they may work up the tax dollars to pay government paid strangers to bring up their own children.
Matter of fact, if you think about the plurality of jobs women pursue, it is simply to take care of other women's children (teachers, social workers, day care, nannies, etc.). But hey, at least they're not bothered bringing up their own icky yuck gross children. I mean, at least they don't have to spend time with them. I mean who wants to do THAT? They are too busy working up the money to pay taxes to pay some government worker to take care of their children. Thank god for outsourcing! I mean, otherwise you might have sit down dinners and conversation and a healthy nuclear family void of divorce.
Now imagine,
JUST IMAGINE (and I know this is going to be a revolutionary thought)
if ONE PARENT STAYED AT HOME TO BRING UP THEIR OWN CHILDREN
AND
ANOTHER PARENT WORKED TO SUPPORT THE FAMILY!
Then you wouldn't need to have two parents working because the government wouldn't need the taxes to bring up other people's children, because (drum roll please)....
YOU'D BE BLEEPING TAKING CARE OF YOUR OWN BLEEPING CHILDREN!!!!
I know! CRAZY STUFF! huh!? I mean, society should try that sometime! Oh, it would be experimental and we don't know what the results would be. But, pha, I don't have my "doctoroate in sociology" or "family psychology" so what do I know? I'm just an economist.
In the meantime I will continue to enjoy watching parents forced to slave away to pay other parents to take care of their children through forever increasing taxation so they can afford the outsourcing fee to pay governmental strangers to bring up those yucky icky gross children of theirs.
BIG Hat tip
More Todd Becker (Getting Stronger blog) on Insulin
I am really enjoying the back and forth that has ensued between Todd and I following my Insulin Wars installment on his commentary on James Krieger's series on insulin. For those who are unfamiliar, here are the links to content on this blog:
I received an email from Todd that he will be responding once again so stay tuned for version IV.2 and continued discussion! Todd certainly gets the old gray matter working. Reading a bit more at his blog I think we have some areas of agreement regarding this beleaguered hormone.
In the meantime, Todd has posted a discussion of his own at his blog: Does insulin make you fat?
I have some comments on that to add over there, hopefully soon.
Also, don't miss Todd's interview with Jimmy Moore. I haven't listened to this one yet, but I will be!
Thursday, February 3, 2011
It's Called "Capital Flight"
This one, with such a small mention in the Pioneer Press, almost slipped past the radar.
Of course, this is good that BP is shutting down it's refining capacity here (good luck finding a buyer). Because BP is an evil oil company and we don't want any of those jobs here in the US.
Of course, this is good that BP is shutting down it's refining capacity here (good luck finding a buyer). Because BP is an evil oil company and we don't want any of those jobs here in the US.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
"Well My Husband is a Republican, So So Am I!"
This is a really big pet peeve of mine.
And let me explain why.
Politics, tainted as it may be as a "hobby," is one of the more noble ones in that it shows you actually care about the country. THis is why this blog is here and arguably why you are here. You care about the future of the country and so you opine, theorize, and if you're particularly intellectually honest, study and research the facts and then form an opinion.
But Bruni, all of the sudden, deciding she is "not so left wing anymore" is just another example of a another typical leftist-turned-conservative because "her husband is conservative." It's akin to the "Sean Hannity Trophy Wives" I spoke about before where a "typical" 20 something girl with the politically correct liberal arts degree, swallows the leftist BS whole and skips along in la la liberal land during her 20's with no serious or rigorous thought given to her supporting a leftist ideology and what the ramifications are for her country and future in voting so.
Then comes along the first REAL challenge and responsibility she ever has face - a husband and children.
This heavy dose of reality does two things.
1. She now has something more important than her politics (her husband). And since supporting liberal causes was not really an passionate ideology for her as much as it was a "hobby" or something "fashionable" to do, she abandons it to pursue a family.
2. When kids come into the equation, HOOO BOY! Now the woman has genuine skin in the game in the future. And instead of being worried about whether there will be a Sex and the City 3, she now has plenty o' time to think about what kind of future her child will grow up in (which is why I LOVE it when liberal Gen X'ers start having children and all of the sudden start to take an interest in the federal deficit).
Of course, while this is disproportionately a phenomenon you see with women, men are the same to blame too. THough I like listening to him very much, Michael Medved was a liberal. And if I recall correctly Dennis Prager was one too (in his youth??? Or am I thinking of another talk show host?) Took my old man 55 years of life to finally get past "stage 1 thinking" and realize "just throwing money at the poor" doesn't solve anything. Here, I'm even more harsh on men because I want to say, "WHAT THE HELL!? Where the hell have you been??? You're FINALLY GETTING THIS NOW?! Great, thanks for effing up everything up with your past 30 years of voting. Oh, and look, you get to die off and not see the destruction you've wrought upon this country!"
Of course the catalyst which brings about men's realization that youthful leftism is stupid and ultimately unsustainable is usually the real world. The working world. That when you're done with college and the smoking pot and partying, you realize "claiming to be a liberal to score with chicks" might have some long term and serious consequences if you don't grow up. It's not because, "Oh, all of my buddies are Republican, so I am too!"
But now that I think about it. Perhaps not. How else can you explain union members religiously voting left all the time when Detroit has been gutted and the Iron Range is at a mere fraction it's former employment.
And let me explain why.
Politics, tainted as it may be as a "hobby," is one of the more noble ones in that it shows you actually care about the country. THis is why this blog is here and arguably why you are here. You care about the future of the country and so you opine, theorize, and if you're particularly intellectually honest, study and research the facts and then form an opinion.
But Bruni, all of the sudden, deciding she is "not so left wing anymore" is just another example of a another typical leftist-turned-conservative because "her husband is conservative." It's akin to the "Sean Hannity Trophy Wives" I spoke about before where a "typical" 20 something girl with the politically correct liberal arts degree, swallows the leftist BS whole and skips along in la la liberal land during her 20's with no serious or rigorous thought given to her supporting a leftist ideology and what the ramifications are for her country and future in voting so.
Then comes along the first REAL challenge and responsibility she ever has face - a husband and children.
This heavy dose of reality does two things.
1. She now has something more important than her politics (her husband). And since supporting liberal causes was not really an passionate ideology for her as much as it was a "hobby" or something "fashionable" to do, she abandons it to pursue a family.
2. When kids come into the equation, HOOO BOY! Now the woman has genuine skin in the game in the future. And instead of being worried about whether there will be a Sex and the City 3, she now has plenty o' time to think about what kind of future her child will grow up in (which is why I LOVE it when liberal Gen X'ers start having children and all of the sudden start to take an interest in the federal deficit).
Of course, while this is disproportionately a phenomenon you see with women, men are the same to blame too. THough I like listening to him very much, Michael Medved was a liberal. And if I recall correctly Dennis Prager was one too (in his youth??? Or am I thinking of another talk show host?) Took my old man 55 years of life to finally get past "stage 1 thinking" and realize "just throwing money at the poor" doesn't solve anything. Here, I'm even more harsh on men because I want to say, "WHAT THE HELL!? Where the hell have you been??? You're FINALLY GETTING THIS NOW?! Great, thanks for effing up everything up with your past 30 years of voting. Oh, and look, you get to die off and not see the destruction you've wrought upon this country!"
Of course the catalyst which brings about men's realization that youthful leftism is stupid and ultimately unsustainable is usually the real world. The working world. That when you're done with college and the smoking pot and partying, you realize "claiming to be a liberal to score with chicks" might have some long term and serious consequences if you don't grow up. It's not because, "Oh, all of my buddies are Republican, so I am too!"
But now that I think about it. Perhaps not. How else can you explain union members religiously voting left all the time when Detroit has been gutted and the Iron Range is at a mere fraction it's former employment.
Of Mice & (Wo)Men: When's the last time you saw an 5'4" 130 pound fat woman?
I'm always amused when a rodent study that seemingly counters the calorie-based theories on obesity comes down the pike. In predictable fashion, someone in the LC webosphere will pick up on it and use it as an example to counter calorie-based theories on weight/obesity. A recent example of this is brought to us by low carbers' favorite comedian edutainer, Tom Naughton: Fat Mice & The Laws of Thermodynamics that referenced the following study: Mild calorie Restriction Induces Fat Accumulation in Female c57BL/6J Mice.
Now Tom starts out misrepresenting things by picturing a fat mouse, likely an ob/ob. This study actually involved females of the strain pictured below:
Kind of a cute little critter, no? The study was also conducted in the context of calorie restriction and it's demonstrated increase in longevity of mice. They are not a mutant strain genetically predisposed to obesity.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
From Warrior (Letter 10)
Warrior - Serving 14 years for kidnapping and aggravated assault. Half Hispanic and Scottish-Irish with family still in Mexico. Brought up by a family steeped in drug commerce. He writes some of the best prison-fight stories on the Internet.
A prisoner named Richie died and the guards didn’t find his body for two days, despite headcounts and security walks. Due to budget cuts, less sick prisoners are being seen. In a complex of 5000 prisoners, there is only one doctor who cherry picks who he wants to see. Richie had prostate cancer, medical staff decided they didn’t want to see him, so he took an overdose to end his life. I’m helping a man now who medical won’t see. He has polyps in his colon and is peeing and crapping out blood. We have reported this to the ACLU and other human-rights organisations, but they don’t even respond to us. It seems that they only get involved when there are news headlines to be made, and only immigration issues are in vogue anyway.
The Arizona Department of Corrections has not only put your book, Hard Time, onto their contraband list, but they have put it at the very top! I’ll try to get you a copy for gloating rights. It means you’ve made it, brotha, ha ha ha…
Click here for Warrior’s previous blog
Click here for Letter 9
Warrior - Serving 14 years for kidnapping and aggravated assault. Half Hispanic and Scottish-Irish with family still in Mexico. Brought up by a family steeped in drug commerce. He writes some of the best prison-fight stories on the Internet.
A prisoner named Richie died and the guards didn’t find his body for two days, despite headcounts and security walks. Due to budget cuts, less sick prisoners are being seen. In a complex of 5000 prisoners, there is only one doctor who cherry picks who he wants to see. Richie had prostate cancer, medical staff decided they didn’t want to see him, so he took an overdose to end his life. I’m helping a man now who medical won’t see. He has polyps in his colon and is peeing and crapping out blood. We have reported this to the ACLU and other human-rights organisations, but they don’t even respond to us. It seems that they only get involved when there are news headlines to be made, and only immigration issues are in vogue anyway.
The Arizona Department of Corrections has not only put your book, Hard Time, onto their contraband list, but they have put it at the very top! I’ll try to get you a copy for gloating rights. It means you’ve made it, brotha, ha ha ha…
Click here for Warrior’s previous blog
Click here for Letter 9
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