I watch the ripples change their size
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence
And so the days float through my eyes
But still the days seem the same
And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They're quite aware of what they're goin' through

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Linkee-poo is sure I'm not being rude, but it's just your attitude

The Cranberries were one of those bands you would hear the more popular bands cite when asked about their musical inspiration.

"CVS Pharmacy, the retail division of CVS Health Corp., wants to end touch ups of its beauty images in its marketing campaigns by the end of 2020." Nothing about in-camera trickery, airbrushing blemishes, or any of the other photographic tricks. But I'll believe it when I see it.

"A Southern California couple are in custody after one of their daughters called 911 and led authorities to their home, where 12 of her siblings were inside, including 'several children shackled to their beds with chains and padlocks in dark and foul-smelling surroundings.'" Ah, parenting.

"There have been a number of different missions over the years with the goal of collecting this space junk and removing it from the Earth’s orbit. Now, a group of scientists in China have offered what is easily the most exciting solution that has been proposed so far. They want to blast the junk in Earth’s orbit with giant lasers, obliterating large objects so that their remnants are just tiny pieces that don’t pose any threat." I have some questions. (Grokked from Dan)

"People diagnosed with cancer understandably reach for the very best that medical science has to offer. That motivation is increasingly driving people to ask to have the DNA of their tumors sequenced. And while that's useful for some malignancies, the hype of precision medicine for cancer is getting far ahead of the facts." The term you want to keep in mind here is "neoplasticism." As you're developing in the womb the various cells of you body, through chemical signals, begin to differentiate into different types of cells. This is the "plastic" nature of plenipotentiary stem cells. For example at a certain point a form of stem cell in the fetus determines that it is a liver cell. From them on, it's only a liver cell. Until something happens (exposure to chemical, radiation, or just the error process of cell division) and the "child" of that cell is now no longer a liver cell, but it's still in your liver. Most times these cells are killed by your immune system, self-destruct, or fail to thrive. Sometimes, however, the cell's mutation also causes them to multiply in an out of control fashion and either outgrows your immune system's capability or tricks it into thinking the cells are a normal part of your body. This is cancer, or a neoplasticism. You cells have learned a new trick. The problem for patients who have responded well to targeted therapies is that life finds a way. Once your cells demonstrate this capability they are likely to do it again. Fuck cancer.

"Since enrolling last year in a program that rewards food stamp beneficiaries for buying more fresh produce, Gonzalez has regularly filled her shopping cart with the fruits and vegetables of her childhood — not only avocados and artichokes, but pomegranates, various types of squash and more." And now we'll hear from the other side wondering why tax-payers should subsidize people eating healthy foods. "Prickitt says he hopes that even after their financial incentives end, participants will retain what they have learned about healthy eating and continue buying produce." Except they won't have the money to purchase those items again.

"Britain’s Royal Air Force scrambled two fighter jets to intercept Russian bombers near U.K. airspace on Monday, in another illustration of ongoing tensions." And "The Russian military is conducting massive drills involving truck-mounted intercontinental ballistic missile launchers." With "Russia’s Defense Ministry on Thursday displayed a pair of drones that it said were captured following attacks on two Russian military bases in Syria, saying the attack required know-how indicating it was carried out with outside assistance." It's like the Cold War never ended.

"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has postponed a briefing on how to plan and prepare for nuclear disaster." Well because the flu is a more imminent threat to public health. And seriously, how long does it take to say, "you're fucked either way"? (Grokked from Jim Wright)

Buyer's remorse? "Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has accused the United States of destabilizing the world, airing a list of grievances over the Trump administration's foreign policy." I think I sprained my eyes from that eye roll.

"Teresa Manning, the controversial official in charge of the Title X federal family planning program, was escorted from the Department of Health and Human Services premises on Friday… A source with knowledge of Manning's dismissal said that staff members were told to leave the floor of the HHS building and to take their computers, in order to ensure that no one witnessed her being escorted out." Nothing unusual about that. (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)

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