Chicken Offsets

(no, I'm not talking about those novelty chickens with one leg shorter than the other)

One good thing that is coming from this new PETA campaign is a heightened awareness of just how bad things are for chickens. Did you know that some chickens were kept in cages? Yeah, me either.

So anyway, I'm thinking that with this groundswell of guilt, some readers may be interested in assuaging their guilt by buying "chicken offsets". See, how it will work is: first, you cut back on your chicken consumption, or, if you're really wealthy, you keep on eating as much as you want, then, on days that you do eat chicken, you buy "offset coupons" from me and I'll use the money to buy chicken-free dinners. Or chicken-free groceries, or some other chicken-friendly commodity. Like iTunes: I'm pretty sure Steve Jobs doesn't harm chickens by selling songs on iTunes. Not anymore anyway.

So think about it. If you feel guilty enough, maybe we can do business. One thing though: I won't be answering questions about my own chicken consumption. I'm not letting the issue get sidetracked that easily.

Buying on the Web

Sorry if blogging has been a little sparse. I saw this new Peta protest and it prompted me to attempt some web shopping. Did you know that nobody sells locusts on the web? It's true, not even as pets.

Brothers

Remember Men in Black? OK, I know this is unfair. We all take a bad picture from time to time. So I should probably point out that I don't think el Jefe del Clima is really a bug monster from outer space. Probably.

Scuffle

Can you hear the sotto voce argument, "dammit Mark, I wrestled in high school, get back on your side," "Look I said I've got it..."

Ah well, this is how the Peta girls do free speech. I say we hear them out.

Well Put

Update at the top: Lots of people have been pulling up this page looking for the 'crystal meth progression' photo below. For some reason it was coming up a lot in google photo searches, even though my link was broken. Anyway so now it's hosted here. Anything, absolutely anything, that might make someone think twice about taking this horrible drug is worth having out there. Click on the pic for hugeness.


I didn't care about the article; it was the usual stretch to prove the existence of the coming inferno. Something along the lines of: this snowmobile fell through the ice because it was too thin - and the Viking settlers never had their snowmobiles fall through the ice, ergo global blah blah blah...

But what is worse... Do you see it? See the professional writer's use of the word "effect"? If you're going to say the wrong thing, saying it wrongly doesn't make it all better. The heat affects the ice. It has an effect upon it.

Ms Beth Duff-Brown, if that is your name, go back to school now. It will affect your writing.

Changing 'he' frogs into 'she' frogs

It sounds like one of those experiments that get done "because we could," but for what it's worth:

PARIS (AFP) - Frogs that started life as male tadpoles were changed in an experiment into females by estrogen-like pollutants similar to those found in the environment, according to a new study.

Seems entirely unfair to the frogs involved. I wonder if the researchers offered counseling to the frogs they transgendered.

Anyway, I thought it was funny that they'd spend money on an experiment like this. You can do the same thing with the lawn mower. [by accident! please don't write PETA; I was talking only about accidental frog disgendering. (or is it "frog ungenitalization"?) I would never use a lawn mower to do that on purpose; and neither should you]

Headline Again

Another sometimes-the-headline-is-all-you-need:

Scuffle for organs sparks donor debate in Singapore

I've got visions of a kidney skittering across a tiled operating room floor as contenders slip and scramble after the ballistic organ. Reading the article would be a letdown.

Seen This?

Those wacky kids. Har.

Science of Antioxidants

Didja see the new study out on vitamins?

CHICAGO - Antioxidant vitamins taken by tens of millions of people around the world won't lead to a longer life, according to an analysis of dozens of studies that adds to evidence questioning the value of the popular supplements. The large review of separate studies on thousands of people found no long-life benefit from vitamins A, E and C and beta carotene and selenium.

See, the idea of antioxidants being good for us makes sense. The antioxidant cleans up free radicals - and free radicals can damage tissue, so.. it would seem reasonable to take antioxidants. It should work to keep us healthy and extend our lives.

Except this study seems to show it doesn't work that way in the complex chemistry of the human body. It's often like that. What looks convincing on paper just doesn't apply in the real world. [Have you guessed where I'm going with this? That's right, this seems to have become a global-warming/William Shatner/sheep blog, and I must hit you over the head with my viewpoint until you cry out, "Lord, make it stop!"] The CO2 greenhouse effect seems to make sense in a computer model but we don't live in a computer model.

Good news today, though: A new UN panel is recommending a global temperature ceiling. So, problem solved. We should to get them to mandate that antioxidants work to extend life too.

One other thing that makes me despair the state of science writing today:

When they eliminated the lower-quality studies and looked only at the most trustworthy ones, they actually found a higher risk of death for people taking vitamins: 4 percent for those taking vitamin E, 7 percent for beta carotene and 16 percent for vitamin A. The actual cause of death in most studies was unknown, however.

Well... ever think that people who are drawn to taking vitamin supplements may suspect (sometimes rightly) that they have a health problem?

Hufflarity

I knew what I was going to read before I clicked on the Huffi-Post comments for the Cheney assassination attempt story. Remember when Arianna launched? I think there was talk of the HuffiPo being a center for intellectual discourse. (not sure, but if "discourse" means "poop talk" well, she's succeeded marvelously)

An oddity: One comment read, "glad the VP is OK." It may not be there when you check, though. I'm sure it was flagged as abusive.