The trouble with Republicans

I think I could write a long blog post about this subject--wait, I think I have!  But instead of doing that, let me just post a picture.  I saw this while driving the other day here in the greater Atlanta area.

If you can't read those bumper stickers, allow me to help.  They say:

Hands Off
My Health Care

And:

Romney
Believe in America

Yes, on the same car.  I don't know how you could put those two stickers side by side on the same car with a straight face.  I don't think they were trying to be ironic or satirical.  I think that many people really are this stupid, sadly.

And that, my seven* readers, is the problem with the Republican Party.


* estimated

BMW HP4 - I want one!

Check out THIS bike!

From the MotorTrend YouTube channel:

2013 BMW HP4 Superbike! In-Depth and on the Track - On Two Wheels Episode 32

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rg2GFMpP5WY

Here is the BMW page, from bmwmotorcycles.com:

http://www.bmwmotorcycles.com/us/en/index.html?content=http://www.bmwmotorcycles.com/us/en/bike/sportbikes/hp4/hp4_overview.html

Song of the Day: Polica - Wandering Star

Another hauntingly beautiful song from Polica.

POLICA - Wandering Star (Official Music Video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yX4iIPlwS5c


Lyrics from LyricsReg:
http://www.lyricsreg.com/lyrics/polica/Wandering+Star/

Polica lyrics : "Wandering Star"

when the day is done
and i lay me down
i sit alone in my lonely bed
and i think about the day we had
and it makes me sad cuz your gone
when the day is done
and i lay me down
the sheets are cold
and your space is dark
and i hear you whisper something sweet
but it doesn't move any nerves in me

after all, i'm married to the wandering star
and i've kissed the moon
it was full when i fell in love with thee
but now the world turns without me
turns without me

when the day is done
and i lay me down
the sheets are cold
and your space is dark
and i hear you whisper something sweet
but it doesn't move any nerves in me

after all, i'm married to the wandering star
and i've kissed the moon
it was full when i fell in love with thee
but now the world turns without me

Are we speaking the same language?

I'm fascinated by how we speak one language, with many differences.  Consider this story, from Business Insider:

http://www.businessinsider.com/22-maps-that-show-the-deepest-linguistic-conflicts-in-america-2013-6?op=1

Love the "soda vs. pop" chart.  And the "bubbler" usage only in Milwaukee!  Based on where I'm from I got both sides of both of those issues--I'm bi-lingual!

Love the "y'all" divide in the country!

And it's true, I never did figure out "crayfish/crawfish".  I don't know what to call those things!

Quote of the Day: Louise Erdrich on Life

Saw this on a friend's Facebook page, and wanted to re-post it here.

"Life will break you.  Nobody can protect you from that, and living alone won't either, for solitude will also break you with its yearning.  You have to love.  You have to feel.  It is the reason you are here on earth.  You are here to risk your heart.  You are here to be swallowed up.  And when it happens that you are broken, or betrayed, or left, or hurt, or death brushes near, let yourself sit by an apple tree and listen to the apples falling all around you in heaps, wasting their sweetness.  Tell yourself you tasted as many as you could."  - Louise Erdrich, The Painted Drum LP


http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/8706-life-will-break-you-nobody-can-protect-you-from-that

Cryptosporidium - Ah, the Memories!

Here's a story that ... well, it doesn't warm my heart, exactly.

From the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:
"Milwaukee marks 20 years since Cryptosporidium outbreak" by Don Behm
http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/milwaukee-marks-20-years-since-cryptosporidium-outbreak-099dio5-201783191.html

Other links:

• Wikipedia: 1993 Milwaukee Cryptosporidiosis outbreak
• Water Technology: Lessons from Milwaukee
• Helio: Cryptosporidium in Milwaukee’s water supply caused widespread illness

From the Helio article:

To date, the Milwaukee cryptosporidiosis outbreak is the largest epidemic of waterborne disease reported in U.S. history.

I remember that time well, all too well.  Consider this quote from the Journal-Sentinel article:

In the days before Norquist's announcement, most of the reported illnesses were concentrated on the city's south side. City officials on April 8 took the unprecedented step of shutting down the Howard Ave. filtration plant until it could be cleansed of the parasite.

I lived on the south side.  In fact, I lived exactly 1.3 miles from Howard Avenue water treatment plant, the center of the outbreak.  I never had a chance.  :(

I was very, very sick.  It was so bad that I actually went to a doctor's office--which I NEVER do!  They prescribed some penicillin for me and I was on my way.

Except ... I quickly learned that I am allergic to penicillin!  That was it.  I was completely knocked out.  I missed a whole week of work.  I asked a co-worker to bring a computer home (we didn't have personal laptops back then, but we did have some "portable" computers) so I could do some work but I never used it once.  I just lay on the couch all day, barely conscious.  The only time I got up was to drink water, try to eat a little bit of food (and keep it down), or to use the toilet ... which I had to do OFTEN.

As the article describes:

Surveys determined about 403,000 people in the five-county metropolitan area were sickened with watery diarrhea between late March and early April of that year, according to Davis.

Yes, indeed, I was in that group of people.  My apartment was not a pleasant place during this time.  Watery diarrhea indeed!  I have never been so sick in all my life, before or since.

On the bright side, it was the best weight loss program I've ever seen.  I lost 20+ pounds, easy, and I wasn't nearly as fat then as I am now so that was a good chunk of weight to lose.  I was skin and bone after that week of eating nearly nothing.

Eye Phone?

Consider this article, from IEEE Spectrum:
"Eye-Tracking Software Goes Mobile" by Ariel Bleicher
http://spectrum.ieee.org/computing/software/eyetracking-software-goes-mobile

The article talks about "the potential to transform the way consumers interact with their devices." It talks about new applications (drivers dozing off, chefs browsing recipes), which is great.

But I think technology like this might better suited to help people with physical limitations interact with their devices on a very basic level, a level that most of us take for granted. For instance, my uncle died with ALS. Unable to speak or move at the end, but still mentally sharp and still able to move his eyes (I saw him a few hours before he died), he could really have benefited from this technology. I'm sure people with other disabilities would also benefit.

From Wikipedia:
"...although bladder and bowel sphincters and the muscles responsible for eye movement are usually, but not always, spared until the terminal stages of the disease."

From both National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and MedicineNet.com:
"ALS does not affect a person’s ability to see, smell, taste, hear, or recognize touch. Patients usually maintain control of eye muscles and bladder and bowel functions..."

So when I see technological advances like this, I think of ways in which we can improve the lives of people with certain diseases.  I hope to see many more such advances.