Today was not a good day. A Murphy's Law kind of day in which I was shot in the foot in every direction, including straight down (AKA by mine own hand). Rather than recount all the ways of disaster, let me just say that as I clocked out, my statement, "They could have paid someone an eight-hour day figuring out all the s#!t that befell us today!" received widespread agreement. But now I'm fed and showered, and though I have had deep reservations throughout the day about actively celebrating the rampant stupidity of mankind- having been disheartened by so much of it today- I looked over my cache of stories and said, "Someone out there needs a good laugh." So here are some of mine.
ITEM: That explains a lot, volume one: A study based on research at the medical school at Mount Sinai finds that cooking meat via the oven, frying pan, or grill can create chemicals that increase the risk of developing dementia. These chemicals, known ironically as AGEs, occur when fats or proteins and sugars interact. Mice fed a high AGE diet seem to be... well, dumber than other mice.
Before you panic over Laurie eating that Mega Monster burger yesterday ( or the two DQ double cheeseburgers I just wolfed down), the caveat is thus:
A short-term analysis of people over 60 suggested a link between high levels of AGEs in the blood and cognitive decline.
Thus, we have another 8 years and change before it starts taking a toll on us- right about when I would have lost my marbles anyway.
ITEM: That explains a lot, volume two: Yet another lovely story of global warming (cough, cough)-
A co-founder of Greenpeace told lawmakers there is no evidence man is contributing to climate change, and said he left the group when it became more interested in politics than the environment.
Patrick Moore, a Canadian ecologist and business consultant who was a member of Greenpeace from 1971-86, told members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee environmental groups like the one he helped establish use faulty computer models and scare tactics in promoting claims man-made gases are heating up the planet.
“There is no scientific proof that human emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) are the dominant cause of the minor warming of the Earth’s atmosphere over the past 100 years,” he said.
You've heard me say it; now you've heard one of THEM say it. How's that ice down in Atlanta and Dallas now, eh?
ITEM: That explains a lot, volume three: We've all heard that science is verified by extensive peer review protocols. If you see it in a scientific journal, it MUST be true, right? Ummmmmm... guess again:
Some 120 papers published in established scientific journals over the last few years have been found to be frauds, created by nothing more than an automated word generator that puts random, fancy-sounding words together in plausible sentence structures. As a result they have been pulled from the journals that originally published them.
Computer science expert Cyril Labbe of France's Joseph Fourier University has made it his life's work to track down such misdeeds. He says that there is a lot of pressure on scientists to publish reams of material- for tenure, grants, etc. He says this has resulted in sliding standards in the scientific community. HOWEVER...
But he has no explanation as to why the journals published meaningless papers.
"They all should have been evaluated by a peer-review process. I've no explanation for them being here. I guess each of them needs an investigation," he said.
The publishers also could not explain it, admitting that the papers “are all nonsense.”
So all that stuff I read... and I made that movie, and... oooh, crap. |
1. Singapore. Maybe that's why they want to pack 'em in there- to spread out the per capita?
2. Paris. After all, when you are the President of France ( or premier, whichever it was), and you have to support a mistress... and a mistress to the mistress... and another mistress that neither one knows about... and an ex-mistress... and so on...
3. Oslo, Norway. Really? Are the heating bills THAT high?
4. Zurich. Why else would Oprah shop for purses there?
5. Sydney, Australia. Why, the cost of whitewashing the Sydney Opera House alone put it into the top ten.
ITEM: The Moscow Times just published a list of the city's biggest problems. Some of them should sound familiar to Americans (at least, to those who know the difference between a "problem" and a "voter demographic." To wit:
1. The number of migrant laborers from the Caucasus and Central Asia. (ahem...)
2. Rising utility bills.
3. Traffic jams.
4. High prices for the basics.
5. Low wages.
6. High rents ($700 to $1000 a month for a one-room apartment).
7. Growing drug and alcohol addiction. (In the meantime, we open pot shops.)
8. Shortage of doctors and poor treatment. (Hang in there, we'll be right there soon.)
9. New home building going more for the rich or well to do (97%) than for the poor (3%)
10. Poor roads. (Here, we call it planned obsolescence. That way we can work on Dupont Road and I-469 8 months out of EVERY year.)
11. Widening gap between the rich and poor (ahem...).
12. Homeless people and panhandlers. Especially the ones that stand at the entrance of Wal-Mart with white pants and new shoes that somehow stay immaculately clean despite their homelessness.
13. Car exhaust fumes.
14. Poor condition of public utilities. Makes you wonder about those high utility bills, donnit?
15. Lack of parking. So you have to drive around more, and get more exhaust fumes. And wear the rods out. Heck with it, just pull in at the liquor store for a pint.
ITEM: Finally, following Si Robertson from Duck Dynasty on Twitter can lead to some interesting web pages- including one on "some of America's dumbest laws." Here are some real winners:
-In Kaysville Utah, it is illegal to detonate a nuclear weapon. Probably a lot of need for that in the sprawling metropolis of 27,000.
- In Louisville, KY, it's illegal to walk down the street with an ice cream cone in your back pocket. And why, pray tell... oh. Kentucky.
- In Atlanta, you must keep your pubic hair trimmed under six inches. I'll bet enforcement is a popular job.
- In Oklahoma, you cannot keep a sleeping donkey in your bathtub after 7 PM. That way, the ones that are awake can have a bath, too.
- In Texas, you may be charged with a felony for possessing more than 6 dildos. Overkill, much?
- In Idaho Falls, Idaho, it is illegal for a 90-year-old man to ride a motorcycle. Isn't AARP doing something about this?
- In Crown Point, Indiana, it is against the law to carry a dog in your purse if you are wearing shoes while walking across grass. I dare you to explain that one.
- And Si's favorite, it's illegal to fish for whales in Ohio on Sunday. Damn shame, I hear the whale fishing is pretty good up by Sandusky.
If I can't trust scientific journals, who can I trust? Oh, right, I have the internets.
ReplyDeleteHope your day is better today!
Elsie
AJ's wHooligan in the A-Z Challenge
co-host IWSG
Today was much better. Always helps when you start your day with coherent prayers instead of mumbled ones.
Delete"In Crown Point, Indiana, it is against the law to carry a dog in your purse if you are wearing shoes while walking across grass."
ReplyDeleteWell that made my head spin. lol
And no offense, but Moscow's "biggest problems" ring all too familiar in the States. They aren't as special as they think they are.
Pretty much what I thought. And I guess I should ask Elsie if anyone would like to do they A-to-Z challenge next month with reasons why Crown Point had that law.
DeleteChris:
ReplyDeleteHave to hand it to 'ya...you do the logo PROUD!
1- So, what OTHER way is there TO cook meat (aside from BOILING it..yuck)?
I heard that griilling or frying also causes cancer.
Well, now I can go nuts AND be in pain...whatta revelation.
2 - I saw that ex-Greenie on TV, and all I can say is "I TOLD THEM SO" and so did those polar bears...(again).
3 - Only ONE reason why those papers are even published...FOR THE GRANT MONEY!
(and that trip to Cabo for "research")
4 - Singapore - where they STILL cane people for vandalism!
Paris? No thanks.
Oslo? Must be the fallout from those successful THOR movies.
Zurich? Well, the cocoa's good.
Sydney? No guns, no Bob.
5 - You NAILED it with these similarities and your pungent social commentary...LOL!
(especially the planned obsolescent roads)
Funny thing, a LOT of those are also in FORT WAYNE...who'da thunk it?
6 - ROFLMAO...loving those (really) DUMB laws!.
Here it's JUST the opposite (so it would seem, anyway).
((In Fort Wayne, it MUST be illegal to use the sidewalks on the SE side...!))
I can feel a blog post coming on that topic...lol.
Excellent report, my friend..
Stay safe & warm up there.
Glad you liked... just wish you'd have took a shot at the reason behind the Crown Point thing.
DeleteI literally 'laughed out loud'. Some real range and interesting truths contained here. What the benevolent 'Greenpeace' lie to us and use scare tactics...NO!
ReplyDeleteAnd all the carp contained into those 'expert papers' are pretty much good for lining the bird cage.
Even when they make sense, that's about what they're good for.
DeleteNo sleeping donkey in a tub and no dog in a purse while walking across with shoes, or was that without shoes? LOL. I have always suspected that about the "experts" - much like I suspect that the classics in literature are the revenge of literary novelists who have never had the courage to get published.
ReplyDeleteAn interesting theory. I tend to believe Rabbit Is Rich was written to pay me back for never finishing David Copperfield.
DeleteWait. WAIT!
ReplyDeleteYou mean to say that all these years I've been telling people that Global Warming was a bunch of B.S. that was being sold to the Americonned Sheeple (and Sheeple everywhere), I was actually... correct?!
Damn! And here I thought I was just trying to tick off the mASSES, not necessarily trying to promote the truth of the matter.
Heck, I'm even better'n I thought.
~ D-FensDogg
'Loyal American Underground'
Nice thing is, you can do both.
DeleteWhats the world coming to when i cant own more than 6 dildos, walk while having ice cream in back pocket and i cant keep my ass in the bathtub past 7!!
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend Chris!
I'd really like to know why one needs a dildo for every day of the week anyhow. Or maybe I don't.
Delete