February 2009

There were 46 posts published in February 2009 (this is page 3 of 5).

Salvia

How could a pediatrician-turned-lawmaker be so ignorant about drugs? Laurinburg Democrat Bill Purcell compares salvia to meth as if the two are remotely similar: a plant versus a caustic mixture of chemicals (including drain cleaner) – with drastically different effects.

Think the good folks of Laurinburg are running around crazed, knocking over convenience stores to get money for more salvia? Think again: even he admits there’s no problem with salvia.

Hey Rep. Purcell: that budget shortfall? Remember that? That’s the problem you should be trying to solve. How about putting the celebrity bills aside and getting back to fixing our state’s real problems.

No kidding

Poor Richard said “early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” I say “sleeping late makes me stupid.”

This morning I can’t seem to get my brain in gear.

A leaky idea

wal-mart-case_less_milk_jugs-smallWe like shopping at Costco because it’s convenient and has great prices. There are occasions where an item we like to buy sometimes vanishes from the shelves but overall we can usually find what we need.

One staple that has remained the same (infuriatingly so, actually) at Costco is milk. Costco’s Kirkland-brand milk (as well as Wal-Mart’s) comes in containers that are by far the worst-designed I’ve ever seen. Rather than the traditional milk container with an angled spout, the Creative Edge Design Group-designed “milk pitchers” are squarish with a minimum of curves (so as to maximize their stacking ability). The result is a container that buckles when milk is poured, resulting in the milk running down the side. In all the many Kirkland milk containers I’ve used, not once have I avoided spilling milk all over the place.

I discovered a message now being stamped on the top of the milk. “Tilt and pour slowly,” it says. So, now spills are apparently our fault because we’re not doing it right.

Yes, the new containers allow big box stores to get more milk into their trucks and freezers. The downside is that the extra milk often winds up on the buyer’s table or countertop. So who is it really seeing the savings here? I’m all for making the process of milk delivery more efficient (and more green), but this container is too flawed to make it worthwhile. Back to the drawing boards, folks!

(I see the New York Times, Huffington Post, and various blogs have covered this. )

Eat Steak

Eat Steak
Reverend Horton Heat

Eat steak, eat steak eat a big ol’ steer.
Eat steak, eat steak do we have one dear?
Eat beef, eat beef it’s a mighty good food.
It’s a grade A meal when I’m in the mood.

Cowpokes’ll come from a near and far
When you throw a few rib-eyes on the fire.
Roberto Duran ate two before a fight,
‘Cause it gave a lot of mighty men a lot of mighty might.
Continue reading →

Stereoscopic posters

Remember those “Magic Eye” stereoscopic posters that were all the rage during the mid to late 90s? You know, those posters that looked like a jumbled mess until you crossed your eyes the right way and then the images jumped right out at you? Remember how hugely popular they were? You couldn’t walk through a mall without wading through a large crowd of cross-eyed people, trying to see the magic pictures. There’s a fad that dropped like a rock, huh.

Maybe the problem with the posters is just that: a large crowd of people would stare at them in the mall but never buy anything. It was enough to get someone to stop shopping for a few minutes but not long enough for them to want to take it home.

Maybe the posters’ creators should’ve hidden some subliminal messages in the jumbled images to jump-start the sales.

Cherry trees

I saw a few cherry trees around town that are already blooming. February isn’t even halfway over yet.

The weekend should be more seasonal, with highs struggling to get into the 50s. I’ll miss this short taste of spring.

Sea breezes

Walking between buildings today I could’ve sworn I smelled the sea in the air. It immediately made me wish I was out on the water, maybe doing some fishing.

I don’t realize how much I miss the ocean until I smell it again.

The suckiness of healthcare

Recently on an internal company mailing list, a coworker asked for recommendations for a primary care physician. From a list of perhaps hundreds of members, there was only one response. It wasn’t a recommendation but a cynical “good luck.” His doctor “sucks,” he says. The surprising thing is that no one seemed to disagree.

I shop for a doctor the way I shop for a greeting card: I look for the one that’s the least terrible. There’s always a long wait to become a new patient with a doctor and once you do there’s no guarantee you’ll like that doctor. Many I’ve seen would rather pull out the prescription pad than spend any time figuring out what’s really wrong. Medical knowledge has continued to increase but so has the depersonalization of the patient. How did healthcare get so broken?

I’m still griping about my health insurance premiums going up considerably – not because I’m not healthy but because I have the gall to actually use my health coverage. What if as a patient I was instead rewarded for taking care of issues before they became bigger ones? Wouldn’t that be in everyone’s best interest?

Yessiree, America has the best healthcare in the world. Keep telling yourself that until it seems true. Even when you’re “lucky” enough to have coverage the best you can hope for is something that doesn’t suck.

Replacable CFL parts

I had another CFL lightbulb burn out tonight. Once it went dark I was immediately treated to the unpleasant but all-too-familiar smell of a fried capacitor.

It got me thinking that there has to be a better way to design these bulbs. If the cheap electronics could be replaced without throwing the whole bulb away it would keep a huge amount of mercury out of our landfills (and air, and water supply, etc).

When an incandescent bulb dies there’s no choice but to throw it away, as the filament is gone and the bulb’s vacuum makes it almost impossible to replace it. There’s no reason a dead CFL bulb has to be tossed, however, as the electronics could be separated from the bulb while leaving the bulb intact. And the electronics are always the first to go on a CFL bulb.

Warm wet winter gives rise to skeeters

I was out playing with Travis this evening when I found myself swatting at mosquitoes. The warm, wet winter we’ve had has been a boon to the bloodsucking critters.

It’s also been a boon to bats. I saw three of them merrily circling our house at dusk, gobbling up as many mosquitoes as they could. You go, bats!