Nightmares

Having a sick baby is a nightmare, except in a nightmare, you get to sleep.

Zombigenic

I just made up this perfectly cromulent word for my review of Dreadnought:

zombigenic, adjective. Resulting in zombification.

The Telltale Womb

Today, NPR aired a fascinating story concerning what a few small towns in New England reveal about the problems with the American medical system. I encourage you to listen to it.

Mmm...Cupcakes!

I bought the COOLEST book today.

OK, so I like dessert, particularly baked goods. I'm not so much into candy or ice cream...when I crave something sweet, I want a cookie or a cupcake or pie. But store-bought ones are kinda meh and/or have weird, unpronounceable ingredients in them. So, I prefer to bake my own. However, Michael doesn't eat stuff like that. For those of you who don't know Michael personally, he has not eaten desserts since the summer before he went to college which was, oh, 15 or so years ago. So, if I decide to bake a batch of cookies, I end up eating them all myself, and trust me...I do not need to eat 36-48 cookies. One or two, sure! Not an entire batch. A slice of cake, great! Not a whole cake. And my willpower is limited around baked goods. Thus, I mostly go without.

Enter my new cool book entitled Small Batch Baking. I know, right?

Today I made chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting and they were AWESOME...and there were only four of them! I ate two and gave the other two away because, apparently, I have no better willpower with four cupcakes than with twenty-four. Still! I was very impressed and I can't wait to try more recipes. She has tiny cakes in there that she bakes in tin cans and itty bitty pound cake in tiny loaf pans and little pies and small batches of 6 cookies. I'm so excited!

Thanks to kchristie on the dog board for the recommendation!

Prosthetic Mermaid

We've posted before about an aquatic animal being fitted with a prosthtic tail, but this story's a bit different.  A New Zealand woman, who lost her lower legs to childhood medical condition, recently received the prosthetic mermaid tail she's long dreamed of.  The tail and attached suit were built by Weta Visual Effects, the Kiwi FX house behind The Lord of the Rings and King Kong, among others.  Neat.

McCain Flip-Flops Against Stem-Cell Research

Senator John McCain has previously voiced support for federal funding of research on embryonic stem cells, research which has the potential to dramatically improve treatment of many illnesses. This week he released a statement indicating that his stance is now much more in line with the Republican Party's platform.  In particular, he would not only continue George Bush's denial of federal funding for ESC research, but also criminalize somatic cell nuclear transfer, a procedure which yields stem cells that are genetically identical to a patient's own cells and thus immensely useful.

This move by McCain is clearly aimed at winning over religios extrememists in the Republican base, and it adds to my hope that Obama will be elected. 

Too Young to Smoke

Newton, being a dog, enjoys sniffing at the ground and objects thereupon during our walks.  When he sniffs at cigarette butts or cigarette packs, I enjoy telling him he's too young to smoke, because that's the most ridiculous and least relevant reason I can think of.

Lessons Newton Taught Us: Oral Hygiene

Here's another fun fact I would never have known without Newton's help:

Oral hygiene is its own reward, at least if your toothpaste is poultry-flavored.

You Can't Get Blood From a Stone

I've given blood just a couple of times in my life. I feel good about doing it, but not while doing it. While giving blood, I mostly feel annoyed. I mean, the Red Cross just makes donating so onerous. First, you read some forms, then you fill out and sign some others, then they read the forms back to you and ask you if what you said was true. Finally, they take the blood, which actually isn't very time-consuming at all. But you aren't done yet, because then they try to give you sugary, fatty snacks and insist that you stick around even longer, just in case you pass out.

I gave platelets last time, which turned out to be a bad idea. This donation involves pulling blood form one arm, filtering out the platelets, then feeding the rest of your blood back into your other arm. This is actually rather convenient; since you get your plasma and red blood cells back, you are able to work out that day. Unfortunately, the extraction process takes much longer than a whole-blood donation does, and, since you are punctured in both elbows, you can't bend your arms. It's very irritating.

I'b Sig

Alison and I have both come down with some kind of respiratory infection. (Ah, the joys of cohabitation.) So, don't expect either of us to post any CrossFit PRs anytime soon.

Hey, I Need That Skin

Here's a photo of (most of) the Rollerquest inline skating club before the group skate around the BWI trail last Saturday. You may recognize stumpy guy on the far right as me.


About 45 minutes after this photo was taken, I was a bloody mess. I took a spill and got quite a bit more intimate with the pavement than I would have really preferred. Fortunately, I'm healing quickly, as usual. Even so, I skipped out on today's skate; another fall on the parts of my anatomy would be...unpleasant. I hope to be back on my wheeled shoes soon.

I'b Sig Episode II: The Illness Continues

The illness I reported last Monday tuned out to be influenza.* After a visit to my doctor on Wednesday and staying home from work nearly all last week, I've started feeling better. It's clear, however, from my last few attempted workouts, that I'm a long way from well. Ugh. This sickness is really starting to impact my lifestyle.

* Apparently the flu vaccine I received this season did not include all relevant strains.

Oh By Gob, I'b Sig

I think it's safe to say that I'm seriously ill, given that the effort required to turn the steering wheel while playing Forza 2 wore me out, and I had to take a break.

The fevered dream I experienced during my nap this afternoon also indicates that the virus infecting my respiratory system is no pansy strain. In said dream, Stewie and Brian Griffin tooled about in a Miata that had had an RX-8's 2-rotor Wankel engine dropped into it. Brian was driving, of course, since Stewie is too young to be licensed. Come to think of it, swapping a 2-rotor into an MX-5 isn't that crazy. As for a 3-rotor, only a madman would do that.

"Inconclusive" is a 4-Letter Word

Many readers know that I have a lot of difficult sleeping. I just can't seem to clear my mind and let go of my problems. I recently went to see a neurologist specializing in sleep disorders about the problem. He ordered some bloodwork, which came back normal. He also ordered an overnight sleep study. As Swandiver knows, sleep studies are terrible, miserable experiences. Sadly, the study produced the worst possible result: inconclusive. That means I have to go back for another overnight study followed by a daytime napping study. Ugh.

What Price Privacy?

A few months ago, my officemate---Let's call him "Bob"---was out for about four weeks* for "treatment of a medical condition." Now, those of you who've met Bob know he's a very laconic individual; most of the time, he works away quietly on his computer, and I hardly know he's there. Thus, you won't be surprised to learn that "treatment of a medical condition" was the only explanation---or even acknowledgment---of his absence I received. Now Bob's been gone for an additional four weeks,* with no indication of when he will return. I've certainly enjoyed having my own office---though it's not that different from sharing one with him**---but I don't think I want to have it at the cost of some serious illness to a nice, if shy, engineer.

* He was supposed to be out for three weeks.
** See previous comment on Bob's taciturnity.

xkcd Disease

I'm ashamed to admit that I suffer from the same problem as xkcd's protagonist. (Be sure hover over the comic to read the long caption.)

The Ideas Engine Needs a Tuneup

Those members of the readership who work in science, particularly if you work in the defense or biosciences industries, may be interested in this article about how the Pentagon's funding agencies are becoming dangerously risk-averse, if such a phrase isn't oxymoronic.

Mice Regain Lost Memories

This article reports a study in which mice suffering from a conditions similar to Alzheimer's disease were made to regain some long-term memories using either environmental stimulation or drugs. This work may indicate one means of treating humans with advance Alzheimer's.

Alzheimer's Mutation

New Scientist is reporting that researchers in Canada have found that a mutation in the SORL1 gene results in production of toxic fragments of the beta-amyloid protein, which is thought to trigger neurological damage. This find could lead to a drug to increase production of the protein that harmlessly recycles amyloids. I just hope this treatment is available before I start to show symptoms. In the meantime, I guess I should redouble my efforts to learn Japanese.

Ep and Sode

Here are a couple of neologisms---abbreviations, really---which originated with the same word, but have quite different meanings. I can't take credit for inventing either of them, but I enjoy using them quite a bit.

ep, noun. An episode in a television or film series.

sode, noun. A brief but traumatic medical or psychological event.

Example: Jaye had a sode on the pilot ep of Wonderfalls.