Week in Review

Tucson, AZ

Sean Lynch clears up a bit of obfuscation regarding the safety of acetaminophen on the part of New Scientist and others.

Thank the Flying Spaghetti Monster! Jim Bovard finally has a real blog and seems to be keeping it up regularly. Jim Bovard is brilliant in illustrating the big picture AND meticulous in capturing/reporting minute yet important details. Now, if only we can get real-time blogging directly from his neurons to the web. (Heads up thanks to Sunni.)

Lookie look! Bush admits to regular spying on United States citizens without anyone's authorization but his own. Brad Spangler speculates on what might be going on here. Brad (not Spangler) reports that the New York Times sat on the story for over a year at the administration's request. Robert Parry pokes the hornet's nest a bit. Jeez, how long can a paper that crappy stay in business? What are people buying it for- to wipe their asses?

Both Sunni Maravillosa and Wendy McElroy comment on Doug Bandow's little side business.

Glen Whitman tackles the important topic of Optimal Christmas Decorating. I solved that problem weeks ago. Here's my Christmas tree. (Good thing I got mine when I did.)

Some news for M. who has quite possibly the most bacteria-friendly throat in the western hemisphere:
Penicillin, amoxicillin: Step aside for strep throat treatment

To understand why the older drugs don't work as well, consider a child's throat as a battleground for many types of bacteria vying for dominance. Repeated exposure to penicillin and amoxicillin shifts the center of microbial power, resulting in a throat full of bacteria that actually shield strep germs from the older drugs. At least four types of bacteria that Pichichero called "co-pathogens" become more dominant in the throat of someone who has received the drugs frequently. It happens in much the same way that the hardened thugs who protect a mob boss are chosen: The best henchmen are those who have survived multiple attempts on the boss's life and have become experts at snuffing out future attacks, providing the boss immunity against threats that once were formidable.

I believe that your center of microbial power has shifted. What you need, my friend, are apparently the cephalosporins.


Weekly Awards
This week's Smarter Than Genius Award goes to Bloodthirsty Vegetarian Rich who is also an audio engineer, He solved the friggin' beeping problem I've had while recording podcasts. It was driving me absolutely batty! I went to the Apple Store's "Genius Bar" (as if!) a long time ago where they smugly told me to turn off the metronome. But, no, I already had the metronome off. The "genius" played around for a long time, but eventually just sent me away without helping me at all. Meanwhile, I exchanged maybe two or three e-mails on the topic with Rich and he nailed it on his first try.

BAM!

I can't think of a word for a person who is smarter than a genius, but that's apparently what Rich is. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!


Recipe of the Week: Damn Fine Pot Roast
~3 lb piece of chuck roast, 2-3 inches thick
2 cans French onion soup
water
carrots, cut into chunks
pearl onions
mushrooms
potatoes, peeled and cubed?
2 onions, thinly sliced

Put chuck roast, soup, and enough water to cover the meat in a crockpot. Cover and cook about 6 hours on high or about 12 hours on low. In the last hour or so when the meat is pretty much done and falling apart, throw in the veggies except for the sliced onions and cook until tender. (My friend who made this for me didn't use potatoes but I think they'd be great. Could be wrong, though.)

Meanwhile, caramelize the sliced onions slowly in a frying pan. Take your time and make sure they are really dark brown for a lovely sweet flavor.

Serve pot roast topped with caramelized onions.


Wisdom of the Week
The sad truth is that crisis is a part of life that we can't always control, the part that causes us to change and, with any luck, learn. Circumstances beyond our control prod us forward -- hobbled or reeling from attendant pain -- and always will, no matter what gurus, advertisers, preachers, professors or fed chiefs promise. Welcome to our planet.

So when you get your next flat tire, break your arm or learn that you have arthritis: Complain bitterly, shake a fist at the heavens and then remember your connection to the rest of humanity, to the rhythm of the orb. Calm is next -- you can count on it. Until then, clutch someone's hand and get on with it.
--Dan Shapiro