Computer Monitor

I'd like to move away from this Goodwill-procured 17" CRT monitor and onto something larger in screen size and smaller in footprint depth and heft. I will first need a new video card (GeForce 9800 or GTX 260) but after that happens, I will be looking at monitors. The monitor world is changing rapidly right now and new technologies are being utilized. I am hoping to buy one before the end of 2009.

• Cost: $650 maximum
• Display Type: S-PVA (?)
• Size: 24"
• HDMI with HDCP support
• LED-backlighting (?)
• Stand not that important, since I plan to buy an Ergotron arm at some point.

Suggestions:

• Dell 2408WFP - $689 from Dell
• HP LP2475W - $610 on Newegg

The Fall of Rome : Bacteria

Previous Entries: 1 - Introduction

I do not hold to Ray Kurzweil's technological utopianism. In fact, I don't think things are going to get much better. Sure, we'll have flashier cell phones, smaller computers and more GM food but diseases are going to increase at a faster rate than medicine can fight them for the bare fact that the medical industry is fighting them. Anti-biotics were the miracle cure and are now feature prominently in every restroom, kitchen and clinic in America. Anti-biotics kill "germs" but "germs" is a mystery term for a superstition that things you can't see are bad for you. Yes, a superstition. I am not going to tell you that bacteria and viruses don't exist, that's not my point.

Think about this: 10% of your body mass[1] is not you -- cells that do not carry your DNA, they are independent bacteria in a symbiotic relationship. Without these bacteria, we cannot survive. Yet anti-bacterial agents are everywhere, supposing that killing all bacteria might hit the few which could be negative for human health. But we don't really kill all bacteria with anti-bacterial soaps and such, we kill the weak ones and it's usually the stronger ones that are dangerous, it's just the number of benign or helpful bacteria which the bad ones under control. With these out of the way, strong, dangerous bacteria can flourish. More people get sick and they get sicker than they would have because their immune systems (which include bacteria) are weakened due to the use of anti-biotics. Yet people keep buying consumer anti-biotics.

Not only that, but bacteria are wonderful examples of evolution. They quickly adapt and more resilient strains are formed. Anti-biotics are not only hurting us but helping bad bacteria evolve to be stronger. As medical science attempts to find ways to kill the bacteria we have, they are pushing bacteria to be hardier and hardier. The predator actually makes his prey stronger by culling the weak.

Actually, the primary source of anti-biotics is not through soaps and cleaners but through animal farming. Due to the massively increased strain on animals in industrial farms, disease is rampant. Thus heavy doses of anti-biotics are given to cattle, chickens and other animals universally (without regard for the individual) which makes it's way into our bodies through meat and dairy products. Chemical run-off is also causing huge problems in the water supply in certain areas. Organic farms shun these artificial immune systems and separate the animals into reasonable distances, opting to produce less per acre for the sake of the health of the animal and of the consumer. Buy organic for your health.

Pasteurization kills bacteria -- all bacteria. Lois Pasteur actually invented the process for the wine making industry, so they could kill the natural bacteria and use cultured bacteria of a known quantity and quality instead. This was also used as a solution before the invention of anti-biotics of how to deal with the increased disease inherent in industrialized farming. Milk was pasteurized to kill pathogens in it from diseased animals. The problem with this is that it also eliminates protective, benign bacteria and is now a "blank slate" for any number of different bacterias, some of them pathogenic and some of them just gross. For a number of reasons, many local US government and other countries have banned the sale of non-Pasteurized milk. Some people are coupling with dairy farmers to secretly buy raw milk (my grandma used to when my mom was younger) due to excessive government regulations which are actually hurting people. In some areas (such as my town) raw milk is not prohibited and sells in the local organic food-coop and elsewhere. If you consume dairy products, try to make sure they are raw.[3]

The US Government is even listening!

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Nonprescription Drugs Advisory Committee voted unanimously on October 20, 2005 that there was a lack of evidence supporting the benefit of consumer products including handwashes, bodywashes, etc. containing antibacterial additives over similar products not containing antibacterial additives.

• FDA "Facts About Antibiotic Resistance"
• CDC "Frequently Asked Questions" (about drug-resistant bacteria)

People survived for thousands and thousands of years without Pasteurization or anti-biotics. Many health problems are now caused by these "solutions". Traditional food is best.

---

[1] - Dry body weight. Considering that the human body is at least 60% water, this means at least 4% of normal body weight is bacteria. E.g. a fit adult man weighing 150lbs has at least 6lbs of bacteria in their system.

[2] - CDC Contact FAQ

[3] - Response to CDC and FDA press releases warning about "dangers" of consuming raw milk

The Fall of Rome : Introduction

This begins a series of posts which relate to the fall of our modern Roman empire, the United States. The US's allies and dependents will also be severely effected. For example, if the US economy crashed today, what would China do since they are an export economy, largely to the US and other "first world" nations? Thus with the US's crash, China would crash and the effect would be severely felt around the world.

We are entering a new Dark Ages.

Nobody thought Rome would perish. It was the backbone of western civilization, but empires inevitably come and go. When the Western Roman Empire declined and fell, from the 300s to 400s, it threw the European world into darkness. Culture almost disappeared, no longer could Rome be depended on for trade and food sources, peoples had to find their way back to their local roots and learn to survive without her.

The United States will collapse. We are not the thousand year empire, we will probably crash before 250 years is up. Right now, we are beginning to feel the effects of high oil prices. Gasoline prices are over $4.00 and will likely hit $4.50 / gallon in a couple months. Food prices are skyrocketing as a result, small businesses are folding. Along with the mortgage crisis, these are hints that the empire is not as stable as we supposed it was (our memories are notoriously short). Ways to mediate this crisis are the problem of the next president but it will inevitably progress harsher and harsher.

So what we need to do is to insulate ourselves from this problem. This means keeping a buffer of food so that our food costs are evened out (and cheapened!) and, in case of a severe famine, we can survive until we can get our own food production (also an ideal). This is my series on what is going wrong with America and the rest of the "modern world" and what I am doing and what you can do to both fight it and save yourself from it's inevitable crash.

When it crashes, many thousands of people will die and chaos will ensue. We need to band together and strengthen our local communities in order to provide for our own needs. May God have mercy on us.

I do not know if this end of the global empire is going to be the end of the world, it will certainly be the end of the world as we know it. God has His own timings. However, know that the end of the world and Christ's triumphant return will happen so be prepared.

And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; ' And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: ' For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
-- Rev 6:15-17 (KJV)

... and it was good.

Posted here

I grew up surrounded by Young Earth Creationists. As a kid, I read the anti-Darwinist books. Most Creationism is anti-Darwinist instead of positive ~ errors, hoaxes, flaws in evolutionary science means that evolution does not happen and thus the Bible is true and Yahweh created the world much as it is today 6,000 years ago.

Well, here's the deal ~ I'm still Christian. But I no longer see the conflict. What you have here are really two people with different sources of information. You hear Dawkins and other modernists railing against pre-modernists. But from a post-modernist perspective there is no conflict ~ they can both be right.

I will agree that most scientific evidence supports an old earth and biological evolution. I will also agree that the Bible says God created the world in six days. The Hindus say it's all a dream. The Norse say we're under the skull of a giant.

I happen to adhere to the Christian worldview. But I do see value in other systems, including science. Science's creation myth is the same as anybody else's.

The Buddha replied to a question about our origins with a famous parable of the man shot with an arrow and taken to the doctor's. "But before you do anything," he said, "I want to know about the arrow, what kind of wood is it? Who made it? What is his family like?" The man died because he asked too many questions. What matters is not where we come from but where we're going.

New Keyboard

I had the same keyboard for many years from my 486 through a couple years ago. However, it started spazzing out, probably after too many things had been spilled on it. As a cheap stop-gap, I plopped down $10 for a new one instead of just getting one from the Goodwill (I don't remember why).

Today, after 2 years of the "temporary stop-gap", I finally bought a new keyboard. I had been holding out for a famed IBM Model-M. However, today I hit it lucky. I stopped by the ReStore after church and there were a couple keyboards. One was logo'ed by a local computer company (which must have closed or moved, I don't recognize the name and the address is now a sporting goods store...). It's a Win-95 keyboard so it's not terribly old. However, I flipped it over and it actually had a real brand on it! It's a KEY TRONIC!!! How lucky is that? I paid $4 for a KeyTronic E03601QLPS2-C. Googling shows prices anywhere from $25 to nearly $100. It's nice...

I finally have a keyboard that feels solid instead of something that would warp if you twisted it. It's actually quieter though, the old one had a cheap loud click to it, whereas this has a nice solid muffled sound. It may be still a membrane keyboard (my long-lasting one had plastic switches) but it's a beautiful thing to have a solid, full-travelling keyboard again!

Caucusing

I attended the local Democratic caucus today. Although I'm rather undecided, I have come to the conclusion that I just don't like Hillary. There are a few specific issues with both candidates but a lot of it's personality. Although having either a woman or a black man in office marks a significant turning point in the American presidency, I feel that Hillary has been more committed to the establishment in the past few years as senator. In contrast, I also feel that Obama is more able to bring a voice from the people to Washington. Sure that's fuzzy but I think personality matters more than ideals in this case because the President is really only able to do so much. Congress currently has a 22% approval rating, something tells me they might get stirred up and more Democrats in office at the next election. But we'll see.

So no Hillary supporters convinced me and I, like 90% of our precinct, voted for Obama. Seriously, we had 99 people, which resulted in 10 Obama delegates and 1 Clinton delegate. I volunteered to be one of the delegates so on April 5th, I am going to the County convention.

At the county convention, I will also be able to vote on the county platform. In order to be part of that process, I volunteered for the Platform Committee which will meet in two weeks. The LGBT part of county platform is weak, especially compared to the very Progressive ideals in other sections. It is almost as though no gay people actually were part of making it. Today, we brainstormed more ideas including support for a fully-inclusive ENDA (and local variations), expanding domestic partnership rights/benefits, HIV/AIDS eduction, trans prisoners, and the aging LGBT population. I think it's a good start. I also have some ideas for talking about agriculture and the environment.

Yay! I feel empowered!

Monsanto Tries to Force-Feed Consumers rBGH

(From my local food co-op paper)

The good news is that a critical mass of dairies and supermarket chains are banning Monsanto's Bovine Growth Hormone, bowing to consumer pressure. The genetically engineered cow hormone is banned in most industrialized nations, due to its negative health impacts on cows and cancer risks to humans, but Monsanto, the manufacturer of the drug, is apparently still determined to force-feed rBGH to U.S. consumers.

Under pressure from Monsanto, the notoriously pro-agribusiness Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) has recently announced new regulations outlawing the labeling of dairy products as rBGH-free. The twisted rationale for the ruling is that truthfully labeling dairy products as rBGH-free is "making it hard for consumers to make informed decisions." In other words allowing consumers freedom of choice is bad for Monsanto's profits, and the profits of Pennsylvania's factory-style dairy feed-lots who continue to inject their animals with the drug. PDA listed 16 companties that were required to remove rBGH-free labels by December 31, 2007. Monsanto is also working to pass similar anti-consumer laws in other states. The Organic Consumer Association plans to join their allies to stop this latest episode of biotech bullying.

For more information, see www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_7941.cfm

From Zoe: Please make sure you know where your food comes from. Stick to organic foods only and contemplate going partially (ovo-lacto) or fully vegetarian (Vegan). Animal farming, particularly industrial animal farming, is hurting our planet and our health.

Update: Apparently, due to massive public outcry, the Pennsylvania Dept. of Agriculture has withstood Monsanto and made regulations for allowing dairies to label their milk as being produced without genetically-engineered hormones [story].

Dennis Kucinich

As counterpoint to my previous post on Ron Paul, I present Congressman Dennis Kucinich. He dropped out of the presidential race early this time but the important part is what he does while he's in the office he already holds, not his single-digit presidential campaigns. However, I tabled for Dennis in 2004 and stand by that. There are few people I would support more for the President of the United States of America.

Truly Peaceful

Now that we've realized that the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars are a mess and that we can't really control the direction of another country easily, anti-war sentiment has become more popular. In contrast, Kucinich voted against going to war and against renewing funding for the war. He would support replacing the Department of Defense (formerly, the War Department) with the Department of Peace, dedicated to finding peaceful solutions instead of military buildup. He supports nuclear disarmament. He is a strong supporter of gun control and has proposed legislation to ban handguns.

Thoughtfully Pro-Choice

Dennis has held a pretty staunchly anti-choice voting position in the past. However, Bush's push towards a full-on ban and criminalization has pushed Dennis to reconsider his position. Through much thought and soul-searching, he has decided that it is more valuable to keep abortion a legal option for women. I like this much better than knee-jerk pro-choice Democrats.

Equal Rights

Kucinich is the only Democratic candidate to support full equal marriage rights for same-sex couples instead of mealy seperate-and-unequal "civil unions". He also voted against the PATRIOT ACT (which I have also worked against).

Government-Sponsored Murder

He is a strong opponent of the death penalty and has proposed legislation to ban it on a federal level.

Drugs

Dennis supports lowering the drinking age to 18 in order to lessen the allure. He has supported decriminalization of marijuana and opposes the so-called "War on Drugs".

Environmental Concerns

Dennis is a true environmentalist. Not simply jumping on the bandwagon of cheap solutions like ethanol and coal (electric cars -- the primary source of electricity in America is coal). He opposes genetically modified foods. He is also a Vegan (as am I).

Universal Health Care

He is a co-sponsor of the National Health Insurance Act.

Immigration

Dennis supports promoting a clear road to legal citizenship for illegal immigrants. He was a co-sponsor of a bill to give legal status to all immigrants who have been in the country more than five years.

There are many other positions which Dennis Kucinich has actually acted upon which show him as a true Progressive. We need to understand and support some of the actions he has done in Congress.

Ron Paul

I don't understand the obsession with Ron Paul. He's just a free-market libertarian Republican. The kids don't get this excited over the Libertarian Party. It's almost creepy. Not quite as creepy as the LaRouche-ites, but still disturbing. Why would I want to support a guy who champions the very ideology I have struggled against?

Free Markets

Ron Paul's "Invisible Hand" has crushed billions of people, not helped them. Lifting government restrictions only hurts more people. Remember London of the 19th century? That's free market. Unmanaged free market economy was also one cause of the Great Depression and US fiscal policy changed dramatically to try to soften the natural periodic recessions and depressions which will occur under a market economy. I am strongly opposed to capitalism, especially unrestricted capitalism.

Civil Rights?

Ron Paul claims he champions "civil rights," yet these "civil rights" are often those of corporations and the government, not individuals!

Reproductive Rights?

He is also staunchly anti-choice, whereas I do not support legal restrictions on abortion and support state and federal funding of sex education. He has worked hard against Roe v. Wade and supported the so-called "Partial Birth Abortion Ban". The government is a poor place to handle complicated, personal, moral decisions like abortion with a sweeping ban.

Government-sponsored Murder

He is pro-death penalty. He objects only on its unfair application, not its inherent evil.

Private Murder

Ron Paul strongly supports gun ownership, including automatic weapons. He believes that more weapons will help curb crime and violence rather than promote it. Yet he claims the Iraq war is un-Christian.

Civil Rights for Us?

Notably (because it directly effects me) he is anti-gay. He opposed same-sex adoption. He supported the DoMA and opposed ENDA and the hate crimes bill. He opposed Lawrence v. Texas, saying that the government has the right to tell people they can't have sex (not very Libertarian, eh?). He supports "Don't Ask, Don't Tell".

Strom Thurmond 2.0?

Ron Paul he has opposed the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act. He supports a border fence. He was author and supporter of several several far-right racist publications. Maybe he really is no better than Lyndon LaRouche...

Friends in Odd Places

In addition to the Lyndon LaRouche defectors, Ron Paul has also gained the support of neo-Nazi David Duke, Pat Buchanan (unsuprisingly, I was comparing them in a discussion a few nights ago), Larry Pratt, and the John Birch Society.

I have no idea why he has become so popular among young people. I live in a pretty liberal "hippie college town" and I see Ron Paul stickers all over. People are fascinated by him and they're barking up the wrong tree if they have any respect for civil rights.

Reproductive Rights

I have also cared about reproductive rights since I was old enough to understand them. Watching my partner go through pregnancy only increased my belief in reproductive freedom. There’s something wrong with an administration that wants a woman to carry a fetus to term if she conceives, but will not give her permission or wherewithal to raise that child in a legal relationship with the person she loves, whom she knows will be a responsible, loving parent.

~ Dana Rudolph