AdamSmith

"I'll tell you. You're young, but you're one of us, and I'm one of us, so I'll tell you. Everything. Now, say someone's one of us. . . but he's also—you know—you can tell, right?" "He's not—one of us," I said. "Right! You can tell! But sometimes—you can't tell. You think someone's one of us, but they got to him and then he wasn't any more—and then we got to him, and he was—but he still has to look like he isn't, that is, like he only looks like he is! But they get wise to him and—now he isn't again, but he has to look like he isn't—or we'll get wise—and that's a triple!" Stanislaw Lem, Memoirs Found in a Bathtub http://english.lem.pl/works/novels/memoirs-found-in-a-bathtub

8 Foods that Could Kill You (If You Eat Enough of Them)

P.S. To hijack my own thread, the Allen Ginsberg Project: http://allenginsberg.org/#!/

Ahh, Dylan is God! Allen Ginsberg said, "What do his throwaway lines matter, when every third line is pure genius?" I love the anecdote that Dylan once remarked to Jagger: "I could have written 'Sympathy for the Devil' but you couldn't have written 'Tamborine Man.'"

Entirely gratuitously...

Lacking a Music forum, this lands here. Compelling rumination on Dylan by Bill Wyman. http://www.vulture.com/2014/07/how-did-bob-dylan-get-so-weird.html

Would be interesting to see how it feels as lube.

General Groves explicitly said that before the bombing. But there was also serious thought among some of the Los Alamos scientists, among others, that this limited combat use on Japan would be essential to forestall future use. Past interesting threads on this topic: http://www.boytoy.com/forums/index.php?/topic/17477-the-day-after-trinity/ http://www.boytoy.com/forums/index.php?/topic/15118-hiroshima-was-it-necessary/

The Sarah Palin Channel is full of bugs, but maybe that's the whole pointMy free trial cost me $9.95. And then I found Palin’s new intelligibility Jeb Lund theguardian.com, Wednesday 30 July 2014 08.32 EDT Sarah Palin wants your money. Still via the Sarah Palin Channel Given the content available and the affectedly simple presentation, it’s hard not to see the new Sarah Palin Channel as simply a moneymaking enterprise. Her competitor Glenn Beck’s vertically integrated TV-website-dogwhistle aggregator, the Blaze, takes in $36m per year before ad revenue. And, as both Rick Perlstein and Alex Pareene have noted, one of the animating principles of the conservative movement over the last 40 years has been soaking every last dollar out of people whose intellectual incuriosity has never been an impediment to further rage and paranoia. It’s why places like WorldNetDaily run obnoxious flash ads in columns that, top to bottom, tell you to buy and hoard gold, to click here to join a paid newsletter that outlines the UN/Agenda 21 plans to annex Joe’s Crab Shack, and how your $25 check to FreedomWorks is the only thing standing between repealing Obamacare or toiling in the lesbian nose-earring mines while wearing Soviet-style tracksuits that give everyone frontbutt. I wanted to see for myself, but I still can’t even sign in for the free sample of the Sarah Palin Channel. Each attempt ends with a server error and my desultorily trying to glean something from available teaser videos. Waiting for Palin, in error. I try different browsers – Chrome, Firefox, Safari – and the social media login options of Facebook, Google+ and Twitter on each. Nothing works. I briefly consider logging into a relative’s AOL account and entering the keywords “the sadness of constantly frightened old white people”, but that seems too general. I even attempt to find a YouTube mashup of reverse mortgage videos to watch during an NCIS marathon on USA, figuring I might not even miss Palin TV. Free samples usually work better than this. Ordinarily, I’d be satisfied with the statement one Twitter wag issued regarding this predicament – “Wow, even her server quits” – but I am here to learn. I crave content, and I have already used up all the other content on the internet. I am discontented. I begin to suspect that the free sample is not for me. Maybe the website knows who I am. If you’ve ever done drugs – and you have – you know the first hit’s free so you get hooked. There you were, going through life like a stupefied Commie drone, until you got lit up by some smilin’ Wasilla sunshine, and now you can’t get enough. That won’t work on me. I grew up in America in the 1980s. I got a certificate from a Drug Abuse Resistance Education class every year from ages eight to 15. I know what happens with free samples: you drop out, your tree house falls into gloomy disrepair like the Fall of the Secret Hideout of Usher, you wear army surplus jackets for some reason, and the girl you like begins holding hands with someone who has an Osmonds haircut. Instinctively, I know getting into a real heavy Palin habit will make me like that guy who took too much PCP and sneaked onto Moffett Airfield and thought the propellor on a C-130 was going so slow that he could touch it, and then he, like, walked into it and went tsssssst and turned into red mist like that guy Kid Sampson when McWatt’s plane got hit by a wind gust, and it totally happened – my brother said he went to high school with him. Still, I press on, desperate for my fix. The non-video portions of the free site are as much of a mess as the video servers. After a banner photo of Alaska, the site background fades to an ugly gray – the default-menu-bar gray of a Macintosh Classic II from 1993 – which seems an odd choice for a site ostensibly run by people in the mainstream media. The top banner logo makes a little more sense: SARAH PALIN CHANNEL in slanted block letters next to a star – suggesting that maybe this site was repurposed from SARAH PALIN VAN LINES or SARAH PALIN AUTO BODY. (The owners of Wal-Mart MURPHY USA gas stations are either going to be incredibly flattered or a little bit angry.) Sarah Palin’s logo looks a little familiar. Beneath the lead video, you find “content” in white rectangles, headed by blocks of red and blue in a kind of dumbed-down HuffPo vibe. It’s more Townhall than Daily Caller, although presently it lacks the frenetic flash animations of both that tell you to PUT THIS NOOSE ON OBAMA TO WIN A FREE iPAD or FIT EACH BENGHAZI BODY INTO A COFFIN TO WIN THIS GUN WE FOUND OUTSIDE. Sarah Palin’s website makes you wonder if there is a kind of deliberately shitty aesthetic to conservative fundraising vehicles – perhaps a notion that anything too slickly packaged is redolent of elite influence. A glossy, flawless personal site with smooth drop-down menus screams, “I don’t need money, and I don’t need you. I’m already too much of a commodity”. But the Sarah Palin Channel displays the kind of humility that Palin herself desperately tries to effect between 24-hour news appearances, entertainment TV appearances, book tours and Conservative Political Action Committee speeches during which people hoot after every line. If Palin’s followers are the sorts of people who either literally or spiritually still want to sign the guestbook on a website after choosing whether to view it “with frames” or “without frames”, then the Sarah Palin Channel’s clunkiness works. I eventually break down and order a month’s subscription for the site for $9.95, revealing ... well, not much else, really. Easily the most original content comes from Scrabble™ fan and Palin momma Sally with her Word of the Day – they are somewhat politically useful vocab words like “factitious” instead of outright cultural/political warfare words like “Burpo” and “Benghazi”. The rest of the content is a bit more warmed-over: there are Palin speeches, like this one in Denver a few days ago, which you can already find on YouTube. Palin’s Case for Obama’s Impeachment contains a link to FoxNews.com, where the case was published 18 days ago. There’s a link to Bristol Palin’s blog – already hosted on another site. Most of the genuinely original-seeming content comes in the form of behind-the-scenes videos leading up to or following things you’d prefer to watch (if you enjoy watching Palinania), like the Denver speech. The overall effect of the Sarah Palin Channel, though, is like buying a $30 double-CD release from a ‘70s band that gives you one disc of their C-grade greatest hits and a bunch of studio noodling everyone declined to release for the last 40 years for dozens of excellent reasons. Still, there are some aspects of Palin’s channel to recommend it to the devoted movement conservative that isn’t necessarily already a fan of hers – especially its obviating the need to resort to Palinology. Like Kremlinology, Palinology is a discipline that responds to an almost total want of coherent information via examining the remaining words in the way one interprets especially terse poetry in college. The Kremlin did it on purpose, of course – which makes it more reasonable – but Palin has always felt a kind of kinship with Russian inscrutability. Speaking of the Russians, one video on her site, “The Solution to Putin’s Aggression: American Energy Development”, offers something that her Fox News appearances avoid with almost pathological determination: intelligibility. Because she isn’t speaking off the cuff, she had time to formulate a little essay and deliver it in a tidy, digestible take. It’s some of the best stuff she’s done since the 2008 RNC (before she devolved into speeches composed of a miscellany of punchlines and red-meat-for-the-rubes bumper stickering). Sure, the video tells you nothing new, and its predictability as conservative intellectual comfort food isn’t worth $9.95. It relies on proven conservative logic, like giving America the option of either expanding its energy resources by drilling for gas and oil or ... not ... uh, doing that. But in its patriotic Palinology way, it is the “socialism is great, and everyone in the USSR is happy, and no one here disagrees” of global energy diplomacy. Still, Palin sits there, composed, thoughtful and energetic. She’s feet from the camera, engaging it and giving the setting a feeling of personal intimacy. Her familiarity with the material – as easily memorizable to you as it is to her – even feels smart. So if a misleading sense of kinship and education is all you want, then it’s well worth the $9.95 per month – although apparently, if you cancel your subscription within two weeks, you get your money back. http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jul/30/sarah-palin-channel-problems

...and gratuitously...

http://m.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/federal-review-stalled-after-finding-forensic-errors-by-fbi-lab-unit-spanned-two-decades/2014/07/29/04ede880-11ee-11e4-9285-4243a40ddc97_story.html

Not, regrettably, the least bit funny.

Just occurred to me to think of the ad above as picturing the Bizarro version of Anita Bryant.

From daddy's own posts, it sounds as if he physically owns and operates his server hardware. If I'm not mistaken, he spoke of needing to buy a new server to replace the one that died.

I don't watch the evening news either.

Because why not? And last but certainly not least...

AAAAND we're back! What is constipation? Constipation is a digestive disorder that affects the bowels. It can cause bloating, abdominal pain, hard stools and reduce the frequency of bowel movements. Who can suffer? Anyone! Over three million people in the UK suffer from constipation every month, so the good news is you’re not alone. Children – a lack of the right fluids and dietary fibre can trigger constipation Teenagers – fluctuating hormones and physical changes can cause sluggish bowels Pregnant women – physical and hormonal changes can cause constipation Menopausal women – hormonal changes can affect the bowel The elderly – as you age, your body’s systems begin to slow. This can lead to constipation. What can you do? Eating a balanced diet with plenty of, fruit and vegetables, wholegrains, nuts and seeds will help to ensure you have sufficient fibre in your diet. This, together with enough fluid (adults usually need around 8 cups/day) and following a healthy lifestyle with plenty of exercise will set you on the right track. SUNSWEET Prune Juice is 100% pure juice. With no added sugar and no preservatives- just the naturally occurring sugars that nature provides. It’s made from our deliciously ripe SUNSWEET prunes, a quality prune that’s so good it has become the world's bestselling brand. The deep purple elixir is a natural fruit juice that can count towards your daily 5 portions of fruit and vegetables, - a tasty addition to your balanced diet! Learning about constipation Please note that these pages are designed for information only. If you have any health concerns or issues you should discuss them with your GP. What is constipation? Constipation is a digestive complaint that affects the bowels. It can result in bloating, abdominal pain, hard stools and reduce the frequency of bowel movements. Many of us know what it feels like, but how exactly does constipation begin? The colon, or large intestine, plays an important role in digestion. When food reaches the colon, some water is absorbed back into the bloodstream and through the colon's muscle contractions, waste is eliminated. Constipation occurs when the colon absorbs too much water, or when its muscle contractions become sluggish which causes the waste to move more slowly than usual. The slower passage of waste through the colon means more water is absorbed back into the body which contributes to the stools becoming hard and dry. Although the frequency of bowel movements can vary significantly between healthy people, constipation is defined as having less than three bowel movements per week. Who suffers from constipation? Constipation is extremely common with almost 14 million sufferers in the UK and women are twice as likely to become constipated than men. Constipation can affect anyone from any age group and most people will suffer from it at some stage in their life. However the following groups are most prone to the effects of constipation: Children Young Women Pregnant Women Menopausal Women Elderly What might occur if you experience constipation? Some common problems include: Fewer bowel motions than usual Stools or motions become hard often making it difficult or painful to pass Cramps, aches or pain in the lower abdomen. Feeling 'bloated' or ‘sluggish’ Nausea Loss of appetite You may experience a feeling of incomplete bowel emptying Long Term Effect: If left untreated Constipation may cause piles and rectal bleeding as a result of excessive straining. What are the common causes of constipation? Some of the common causes of constipation include: Diet Insufficient fibre in the diet is a common cause of constipation. The recommended daily intake of fibre for an adult is 18g per day, however the average person in the UK has a daily intake of just 12g. Fibre helps keep you regular by “bulking up” the stools which helps ease the passage through the bowel Dehydration Weight loss diets Therapeutic diets e.g. gluten free Anorexia nervosa Menstrual cycle and pregnancy: About 40% of women become constipated during pregnancy primarily due to hormone changes that slow down the muscle contractions in the colon Medication: Constipation is often a side effect of certain medications such as anti-depressants, codeine based painkillers, iron supplements, antacids for indigestion (especially those containing aluminium) and diuretics Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS): Constipation can often be a symptom in IBS Some diseases including diverticular disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, colorectal cancer, haemorrhoids, hypothyroidism and diabetes. Other possible causes include significant lifestyle changes such as travel, or change in diet; lack of physical activity; stress; and ignoring the very natural ‘urge’ to use the toilet- possibly because the environment does not make you feel comfortable. How do I avoid feeling Constipated? The good news is that most cases of constipation can be addressed through dietary and lifestyle changes, although treatment ultimately depends on the cause, severity, and duration of constipation. To learn more about constipation and ways to treat or even prevent it, please follow one of the links below: How to avoid Constipation Constipation during Pregnancy Constipation in Children Prune Juice and Constipation Keeping you Smiling on the Inside! Who doesn't like to feel great? But when you're irregular, everything about your day can seem sluggish. Your digestive health plays a significant role in keeping you mentally and physically fit and well. That's why maintaining good digestive health is a goal everyone feels good achieving. Health professionals agree that the body operates at peak performance when all parts are working properly, including the digestive tract. "Regularity," the process by which the body moves food through digestion and absorbs nutrition while eliminating waste, is a vital contributor to overall daily health. "Regularity’ depends on having a good intlae of dietary fibre, adquate fluid, and plenty of exercise. Fibre is found in wholegrains, beans and pulses, vegetables, salad and fruits, including dried fruits such as prunes. Having a glass of Sunsweet prune juice in the morning or adding a few juicy Sunsweet prunes to your cereal or yoghurt, is a great way to kick start the day. To get some great tips on how to keep you smiling on the inside, download your free guide on Ten steps to Build a Healthier Lifestyle. http://www.sunsweet.co.uk/constipationoverview.aspx

My role model. (Don't tell hito! )

The low- or no-salt canned foods are some improvement. Still being canned, of course, that just means they taste moderately less horrible. The one exception I can think of is prepared chicken broth. Most brands I've tried that are packaged in the newfangled cardboard boxes are notably good, and even more so in their low-salt versions.

Star Trek salt vampire!