Thothmuffin
Don't get any crumbs on the scale of judgement.
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Meth Makers and Government: I hate you equally
April is a trying month for a libertarian with allergies. Not only are pollen counts at record highs, but the federal government has also put into effect many restrictions on the sale of pseudoephedrine. You may recall me ranting about this before.
But now it is even worse. Gub'ment has limited my purchase of pseudoepedrine-containing products to one package per day and two packages per month. Apparently they do not distinguish between a pack of 24 and a pack of 96. This is a problem, because when I asked the pharmacist for Sudafed, she only offered me two options, both of which only contained 24 pills. The drug facts on the back of the Sudafed box recommend that adults take 2 pills every 4-6 hours, not to exceed 4 doses in 24 hours. So 8 pills a day. That means my Sudafed pack lasts 3 days if taken properly. I am only allowed to buy two a month, which means: six days of decongestion. The Sudafed package lets you take Sudafed for 7 days in a row without even consulting your doctor.
So my question to the government is: what about those of us with horrific seasonal allergies that last for months and who get sinus infections and earaches and insomnia if not decongested? And what if someone had a cold with symptoms that lasted 2 or 3 weeks, or if you got two colds in a month? More importantly, why are you taking down my drivers license number every time I buy perfectly legal medication and keeping it in a database that tracks my monthly snot production? And why the idiocy of restricting it to two *packages*--a fact which, had I known it before purchase, would have caused me to demand the biggest pack they had instead of the dinky 24 pack?
Sure, you can blame this on meth users who are so desperate for a high that they abuse the noble art of organic chemistry to turn household and legal medications into poison. Luckily, natural selection will have its way with them. But a goverment that imposes foolish restrictions on the haplessly law-abiding is not spared my wrath.
The methmakers will find a way, or they will find a new high, no doubt being driven further into desperation than before. Meanwhile, the federal govenment is using my increasingly-more-vital state-issued ID to accumulate data about my personal and legal buying habits. People, all I ask is life, liberty, and the ability to breathe freely through my nasal passages during high tree pollen counts. Is that so much?
I think I'm going to go to the drugstore on the first and fifteenth of every month and buy the biggest package of Sudafed they will sell me, regardless of whether I need it. Data mine this, decongestant police!
But now it is even worse. Gub'ment has limited my purchase of pseudoepedrine-containing products to one package per day and two packages per month. Apparently they do not distinguish between a pack of 24 and a pack of 96. This is a problem, because when I asked the pharmacist for Sudafed, she only offered me two options, both of which only contained 24 pills. The drug facts on the back of the Sudafed box recommend that adults take 2 pills every 4-6 hours, not to exceed 4 doses in 24 hours. So 8 pills a day. That means my Sudafed pack lasts 3 days if taken properly. I am only allowed to buy two a month, which means: six days of decongestion. The Sudafed package lets you take Sudafed for 7 days in a row without even consulting your doctor.
So my question to the government is: what about those of us with horrific seasonal allergies that last for months and who get sinus infections and earaches and insomnia if not decongested? And what if someone had a cold with symptoms that lasted 2 or 3 weeks, or if you got two colds in a month? More importantly, why are you taking down my drivers license number every time I buy perfectly legal medication and keeping it in a database that tracks my monthly snot production? And why the idiocy of restricting it to two *packages*--a fact which, had I known it before purchase, would have caused me to demand the biggest pack they had instead of the dinky 24 pack?
Sure, you can blame this on meth users who are so desperate for a high that they abuse the noble art of organic chemistry to turn household and legal medications into poison. Luckily, natural selection will have its way with them. But a goverment that imposes foolish restrictions on the haplessly law-abiding is not spared my wrath.
The methmakers will find a way, or they will find a new high, no doubt being driven further into desperation than before. Meanwhile, the federal govenment is using my increasingly-more-vital state-issued ID to accumulate data about my personal and legal buying habits. People, all I ask is life, liberty, and the ability to breathe freely through my nasal passages during high tree pollen counts. Is that so much?
I think I'm going to go to the drugstore on the first and fifteenth of every month and buy the biggest package of Sudafed they will sell me, regardless of whether I need it. Data mine this, decongestant police!
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Canon: Metamorphoses
So, considering that Ovid's Metamorphoses is probably the most fanficced work in the history of ever, I finally decided to pick up a copy and read the whole thing all the way through. I am armed with the excellent, lyrical, and extremely readable translation by Allen Mandelbaum.
I am 12 pages in and I have already had my first source-text epiphany. So Zeus is hanging around Olympus near the beginning of the world and talking about what utter bastards mankind is. He gives an example of a king (?) who disbelieved his godhood and tried to murder Zeus in his sleep to prove Zeus was mortal. Naturally, Zeus threw down. Well, I'll let Zeus tell the rest:
The king's name? Lycaon. Like lycanthrope. OH!
I am 12 pages in and I have already had my first source-text epiphany. So Zeus is hanging around Olympus near the beginning of the world and talking about what utter bastards mankind is. He gives an example of a king (?) who disbelieved his godhood and tried to murder Zeus in his sleep to prove Zeus was mortal. Naturally, Zeus threw down. Well, I'll let Zeus tell the rest:
...I, with my avenging lightning bolt,
struck down his home, which caved in on itself--
walls worthy of their owner. He ran off
in panic, and when he had reached the fields,
within the stillness, he began to howl:
he tried to utter words--to no avail.
Wrath rises to his mouth; he foams; and just
as he was always keen on slaughter, now
he turns against the sheep; indeed he's pleased
to shed more blood. His clothes are changed to fur,
his arms to legs: he has become a wolf.
But he keeps traces of his former shape.
His hair is gray; he has the same fierce gaze;
his eyes still glitter, and he still presents
a savage image.
Ovid, Metamorphoses, Book I, pg. 12, trans. Mendelbaum
The king's name? Lycaon. Like lycanthrope. OH!
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Hilarious Musicpants Meme
Ganked from Fiore. Put your playlist/mp3 player on random, select the first 10 song titles, then add "in my Pants" to the end of each title. This just made my day so much better.
1. "Wonderful Life in my Pants," Black (QAF)
2. "Approaching Lightspeed in my Pants," Wolfsheim
3. "Personal Jesus in my Pants," Marilyn Manson cover of Depeche Mode
4. "The Colour of Love in my Pants," Beborn Beton
5. "I'm the Main Man in my Pants," Jason Nevins (QAF)
6. "Find You're Gone in my Pants," Wolfsheim
7. "The Conductor in my Pants," The Faint
8. "Slave to the Wage in my Pants," Placebo
9. "Andy, You're a Star in my Pants," The Killers
10. "The Whole Shebang in my Pants," Grant Lee Buffalo (Velvet Goldmine)
1. "Wonderful Life in my Pants," Black (QAF)
2. "Approaching Lightspeed in my Pants," Wolfsheim
3. "Personal Jesus in my Pants," Marilyn Manson cover of Depeche Mode
4. "The Colour of Love in my Pants," Beborn Beton
5. "I'm the Main Man in my Pants," Jason Nevins (QAF)
6. "Find You're Gone in my Pants," Wolfsheim
7. "The Conductor in my Pants," The Faint
8. "Slave to the Wage in my Pants," Placebo
9. "Andy, You're a Star in my Pants," The Killers
10. "The Whole Shebang in my Pants," Grant Lee Buffalo (Velvet Goldmine)
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
TM: Humorless Feminist?
So I was forwarded a chain email today that was entitled "If Women Controlled The World" that contained pictures of everyday objects that would be different in such a land. Only problem with email: all the pictures were stupid and lame and mildly offensive. The pictures did not include text, but the insinuations were clear enough.
Examples:
1. Computer mice would actually have makeup inside...because girls think computers are scary and weird and just want to be pretty!
2. Parking spaces for women would be extra wide...because women are bad at driving and lack spatial skills!
3. Hammer and screwdriver sets would be replaced by shoes and butter knives...because women are too silly to use actual tools!
4. Speedometers would have descriptions like "Slow" "A Bit Scary" and "Close Eyes" instead of numbers...because women are not quantitative, and are also risk-averse!
Etc. etc. The worst part about this email is that it seemed to have been passed pretty much just from woman to woman before it got to me. Do other women think this is funny? Would they be offended if a man forwarded it to them? Why aren't they offended when a woman forwards it to them? Does this jive with (m)any women's ideals about how the world should be?
And then I thought to myself, no wonder there's so many jokes about humorless feminists.
Examples:
1. Computer mice would actually have makeup inside...because girls think computers are scary and weird and just want to be pretty!
2. Parking spaces for women would be extra wide...because women are bad at driving and lack spatial skills!
3. Hammer and screwdriver sets would be replaced by shoes and butter knives...because women are too silly to use actual tools!
4. Speedometers would have descriptions like "Slow" "A Bit Scary" and "Close Eyes" instead of numbers...because women are not quantitative, and are also risk-averse!
Etc. etc. The worst part about this email is that it seemed to have been passed pretty much just from woman to woman before it got to me. Do other women think this is funny? Would they be offended if a man forwarded it to them? Why aren't they offended when a woman forwards it to them? Does this jive with (m)any women's ideals about how the world should be?
And then I thought to myself, no wonder there's so many jokes about humorless feminists.
Monday, April 03, 2006
Gmail Broken
My gmail has been broken all day. Is anyone else having problems sending/receiving, error code 700? Their little "Oops" message is a lot less cute the 56th time you get it. >_<
