Just finished that little essay on mice, and here they strike again! The only remaining question is whether after a period of taking Rapamycin regularly we'll start looking like this:
Or like this:
Go figure...
09 July 2009
Rapamycin - the Easter Island drug that extends lifespan of old mice
The real rulers of the Earth
Of course, it is nice to be a part of the Elders' machine and feel that you control this place. But from time to time doubts start gnawing. Or, perhaps, even bite.
Today, for instance, something triggered another chain of FUD (fear uncertainty and doubts) .
A new study shows caffeine reversed memory loss in mice bred to develop Alzheimer’s disease and reduced the level of beta-amyloid protein in the blood and brain.Haven't you noticed that many a reversal of medical thinking, faithfully and immediately carried out by the media and in a day or two by your doctor, are actually dictated by mice?
Mice tell you the caffeine is good for you, in a few months they decide that it's bad, then they warmly recommend chocolate and a bit later forbid it under threat of this or another malady. They caused an enormous brouhaha with smoking, cooking oils, red meat, chicken, various kinds of fruit, vegetables, you name it.
Mice are fickle and change their august opinions quite frequently. From time to time it even appears that there are several warring groups of mice, giving the media contradictory commands, causing even more chaos in our miserable way of life.
So, after all, Douglas Adams was right and this planet is really no more than an experiment, created and conducted by mice, for their benefit or just for amusement - we'll never know.
Another observation: mice could consume enormous amounts of stuff. Like in the exercise linked above:
In the study, mice ... were given 500 milligrams of caffeine (equivalent to five cups of regular coffee) in their daily drinking water.So, while being helpless in stopping the mice from ruling and ruining my life, at least I know enough to stock up on my favorite brand of coffee, to be on the safe side. Good.
Testicular torsion and advantages of the Internet
First you look lazily at Wiki and discover that testicular torsion really does exist and that it isn't just a funny invention of another blogger with too much time on his hands.
Then you look at the related entries on the Internet and find a hilarious remark:
If your physician sent you by ambulance from his office to rule out a testicular torsion, the paramedic stated that your last period was 2 months ago, and then I saw you in the emergency department 30 minutes later and performed an ultrasound showing no testicular torsion, could a good faith argument be made that you are a female based on those “facts”?All in all, you cannot call the time spent in the above activities wasted, can you?
Rev Al is a racist?
As these folks and many others claim. I am not sure about that. What I am pretty sure about is that the Reverend is a sharp and soulless politico who is playing the race card for so many years so successfully that it is his nature to produce a scurrilous and false statements like the one quoted in that link.
08 July 2009
The most bizarre hard core porn scenes of XX century
That post by Nizo with a vintage video of Arafat's visit to post-revolution Tehran in 1979 turned my wavering mind into a not totally unexpected direction - that of porn, specifically of its more nauseating and bizarre branch. So, the more squeamish and underage readers are invited to skip that "Read more..." and turn instead to other endeavors. Like WSJ or... whatever.
Prelude to the first, relatively innocent kiss in the series:
Here is the kiss itself:
Now the passion is heating up:
So much so that the TV channel transmitting the scene was forced to take measures:
I personally consider the above to be a mild precursor to a more serious affair:
That is real love, I would say. However, let's go back to the issue of kissing. I suggest that the subjects depicted above were nothing but mere understudies at the feet of a giant. Which was, of course, Leonid Brezhnev. No one came close to the art of slobbering over his frequently unwitting victims, like this (unidentified) politician:
Hold them firmly, get close enough and start slobbering all over the guy - not letting go was the ticket. Jimmy Carter got to love it:
Carter obviously caught the kissing bug from LB and later did his puny best to imitate it with many a dictator, but his best was far from being enough, of course. He never came within a mile of that classic (Erich Honecker):
Honecker, of course, deserved any punishment coming to him. But sometimes I wonder whether... oh well.
Yes, XX century has its porn giants. I suspect they've broken the mold since. Of course, we have some attempts at imitation, like this one:
But, in all fairness, it is simply pathetic. Like watching Romeo and Julia after Debbie Does Dallas...
Nah...
07 July 2009
Between a rock and a hard place
Opening his front door, a Rabbi found himself face to face with the local priest. "Rabbi, may I have a few words with you?" asked the priest.Source unknown. Hat tip: BB
"Of course, Father," replied the Rabbi somewhat nervously.
"Rabbi," began the priest, "It must be evident to you that in this town we are plagued by thieves. Scarcely a day passes without one of my flock coming to me bemoaning the fact that his house has been broken into. On the other hand, I have noticed that thieves do not bother you Jews nearly as much."
"Father, you are correct."
"Yes, but why is that?" inquired the priest.
"Look at this little box here on the side of my doorpost," said the Rabbi.
"It's called a mezuza. We Jews believe that when we put a mezuza on the entrances to our houses, the Holy One, may His Name be blessed, protects both us and our property."
"In that case", replied the priest, "I must have one!"
Not wishing to be the cause of an incipient pogrom, the Rabbi reluctantly handed over a mezuza to the priest.
Some two weeks later the Rabbi was awakened by the sound of someone pounding violently on his door. Dressing himself hastily, he made his way down the stairs.
"Who's there?" the Rabbi asked tremulously.
"Open the door! Open the door!" screamed a voice on the other side.
Leaving the door on the latch, the Rabbi cracked the door wide enough to see the priest standing in front of him, his eyes wild with great distraught.
"What happened?" asked the terrified Rabbi. "Were you not protected from robbers?"
"I was! But these people were worse than robbers!" screamed the priest.
"Who?" asked the rabbi.
"Fundraisers"
Patrick Tracy Burris - serial killer offed
So the murderous rampage has ended:
Gaffney, South Carolina police are in Gastonia, North Carolina looking into "similarities" between a burglar who was killed by North Carolina police July 6, 2009 and the South Carolina serial killer suspect. The dead burglar matches the physical description of the South Carolina serial killer suspect and a champagne colored Ford Explorer like the one Gaffney officials are looking for is parked outside the North Carolina crime scene.Good. But regarding the match:
I am not sure that it was possible to get the suspect based on the that composite drawing (on the right). Besides, I am not at all sure that it's a good idea to use my mug every time a crime is committed somewhere.






