NJ School to Violate Civil Liberties

In legislation that attempts to extend the reach of school administration beyond the hallways, the Pequannock Township High School will begin random testing for alcohol. The fact that a school needs to legislate what students do on their own time says a lot about the parenting skills of Generation Z (does that mean Generation Armageddon is next?). Although benign on the surface, the move is also a roundabout way of CYA or CTAOPTHS; Covering the Ass of Pequannock Tonwship High School. If a student were to perish in an alcohol related incident, the school, having taken steps to educate and test students, would likely be absolved of any blame and potential lawsuits.

Much like the government, the school has given in to fear and tightened the strings. Instead of the burden of responsible parenting remaining in the home, the school has assumed this role. Thus begins the inevitable slide towards a day when the school must legislate what children can eat and pay for their students’ cell phone minutes. Because the school has assumed this responsibility, the moment any incident occurs, public outcry will lead them to legislate when students can breathe and mandate breathalyzer testing before lunch periods. The current testing, which is accurate up to 80 hrs. after imbibing, and done on Mondays will become an everyday occurence. Such is the slippery slope of over-legislation.  In a meek attempt to link this to the erosion of civil liberties nationwide, I quote Benjamin Franklin:

Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.

Make sure not to eat any salad over the weekend (from AP Article):

Urine screenings look for ethyl glucuronide, produced by the body after it metabolizes alcohol. School officials acknowledge the test is sensitive, and false positive readings can be the result of using products containing ethanol, including mouthwash and Balsamic vinegar.

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Fitness Tips for the Frugal – Basic, Cost-Free Exercises

It’s that time of year when the holiday weight starts creating stretch marks and you start wondering where your old self went. When adults are just about to fall off the new year’s resolution bandwagon and college kids are plotting their spring break plans.

For some, paying a substantial portion of money to join a gym is not feasible so I’ve come up with personal training tips that require no expense and no equipment. All of these exercises can be done at home and/or on the road so there should be no more excuses. Remember, the hardest part is getting started!

The basic parts to any workout are a warm up, workout, and cool down. Following is a list of of activities we can do during our workouts. There are many exercise combinations one can use to split up their workouts. You can utilize any combination of these exercises to do a total body workout in one day or split up your workout into upper body/lower body over two days. Never do the same exercises two days in a row.

Get your workout after the jump! ——>

Cheap Cancer Drug Possible?

The drug dichloroacetate (DCA) has been found to be a cheap and effective method of killing human cancer cells in test cultures outside of the body. The drug works on the premise that cancer cells shut off the cell mitochondria, thus turning off the cell device in charge of apoptosis, i.e. cell destruction. With the mitochondria disabled, cells can grow unchecked and eventually metastisize to other part of the body. DCA re-activates the cell mitochondria and causes abnormal cells to die (as they are supposed to).

The next, and possible most difficult step, will be human trials. Where the funding will come from remains to be seen. DCA is an unpatented drug and therefore presents zero profit appeal to big pharma. Therein lies an issue that is common for many “miracle drugs” that never go beyond the research phase. Hopefully someone/thing will step up to drive this process forward.

Updated January 19, 2007

Found a second article that discusses DCA:

He says one of the most exciting things about this compound is that it might be able to treat many different forms of cancer because they all suppress mitochondrial function.

Therefore, DCA can primarily affect the cancer cells without affecting the normal ones.

Researchers also say DCA may prove to be effective because it is a small compound, thus easily absorbed in the body.

• Second Article: CTV.ca
• Original Article: newscientist.com

Updated February 12, 2007

Bottled Air is Next

In a breakthrough that has Poland Spring quaking in their Uggs, Aqua Sciences, has invented an atmospheric water capture device. While not new in and of itself, this device differs from others in that it can work in relatively low humidity conditions (e.g. Middle East). Similar devices rely on condensation reactions that occur only in high humidity conditions, but the Aqua Sciences water stations utilize a “secret” reverse osmosis reaction involving natural salt. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) had recently commissioned several companies to develop such a system but Aqua Sciences was the first to develop a viable product:

Darpa gave millions to research companies like LexCarb and Sciperio to create a contraption that could capture water in the Mesopotamian desert. But it was Aqua Sciences, that was first to put a product on the market that can operate in harsh climates. The Water Stations can be used in a variety of situations where the cost of supplying clean water was previously a large financial strain. FEMA has purchased two devices and the U.S. Army is considering a purchase that would potentially save them billions in water transport and purification costs. Article: Off-grid

Strategery for A New American Century

Guided by Neo-Conservative doctrine and his own religious naivette, George W. has managed to spoon out more dirt from the hole he’s digging straight to North Korea. If you haven’t heard of Project for the New American Century (PNAC), take a look at their website to see the ideolody that is running this country. Read the September 2000 publication, Rebuilding America’s Defenses: Strategy, Forces and Resources for a New Century. This ‘Think Tank’ is one of many groups pulling the strings of the president and the country. Paul Wolfowitz, I. Lewis Libby, Dov Zakheim, etc., a virtual neo-con cabal whispering into the president’s ear.

In his latest middle finger to the American Public, Bush decided to send 21,500 more troops to Iraq. A 1999 series of U.S. war games determined that an invasion of Iraq would require 400,000 troops. The recent move would give us a total of approximately 130,000 troops in the region; still far short of 400,000. What does this accomplish? That George W. is still in office says a lot about the ideology and unfortunately the apathy of the American public.

From being led into a war under false pretenses to ignoring his own congress, the lack of accountability is astounding. In his January 11 broadcast, Keith Olberman provided bullet-point commentary on why this latest move will fail. Citing a complete lack of credibility, Olbermann managed to outline the presidential lies in a 2.5 minute speech. Watch it here:

Olbermann is not the only one to disagree with the latest move. In the January 10 edition of the Washington Post, Republican Senator Chuck Hagel opined that the U.S.:

…misunderstood, misread, misplanned and mismanaged our honorable intentions in Iraq with an arrogant self-delusion reminiscent of Vietnam.

Is it so presumptuous to think that the Christian-right’s Democracy is not the same freedom other people seek. What arrogance is it that we should go into a foreign country under the pretense of liberation and Democracy. I do believe Bush said he was not a “Nation Builder“.

Instead of calling this a fight against terror, liberation, Democracy bringing etc., why not call it what it is; angling for a strategic position in the middle east for future conquests in Europe and especially Asia. One of the core foundations of PNAC is that the U.S. must build a political and military presence in the Middle East as a staging point for future wars.

I suppose now is a good time to invest in Real Estate…

It’s Not Just a Yellow Bracelet

Lance is getting angry. You wouldn’t like him when he’s angry. Not only does he have one testicle, but he turns yellow when he is mad. Lance bemoans the lack of funding toward Cancer research. Specifically, the fact that cancer research was not even a talking point in the most recent congressional elections. For the first time in 30 years, cancer funding has been cut:

The political ads didn’t tell voters that earlier in the year funding for cancer research was cut for the first time in 30 years. Nor did they explain that a lack of funding slows the pace of scientific discovery and the development of treatments. Our candidates did not mention the decrease in funding for programs that provide information and screening to people who need these services. I think this is unwise, but it is what our government has done this past year. I waited patiently for an explanation, some clarification or justification. Ten million cancer survivors deserve an answer. We didn’t get one.

You don’t have to wait for Lance to arrive on his shiny yellow bike. There is a lot you can do; volunteer, advocate, and donate.

Livestrong for more info.

Would it go Backwards if the Engine Wasn’t On?

If you’ve been on the internet anytime during the past year, I’m sure you’ve seen it. The plane on a treadmill question. If a plane on a conveyor belt has Goodyear tires but a 6g72 Mitsubishi engine will it take off? Or something like that. Here is the question as I first saw it:

Imagine a plane is sitting on a massive conveyor belt, as wide and as long as a runway, and intends to take off. The conveyor belt is designed to exactly match the speed of the wheels at any given time, moving in the opposite direction of rotation.

Can the plane take off?

I was reminded of the question by the recent Patrick Smith article in Salon. Lots of people with opinions on this one. From newest to oldest.

• Patrick Smith of Salon.com reignites the issue
• David Pogue blogs in the Dec. 11 issue of the NY Times
• kottke.org blogged about a year ago
• Cecil Adams of the Straight Dope Forums Answers
• Straight Dope Forums

What do you think? Got any other interesting links? Let me know in the comments.

What About Buttered Celery and a Coke?

Great article with pictures of 200 Calories worth of different foods. Every photo has 200 Cal. worth of food but the portion sizes are incredibly different. It goes to show which foods are calorie dense and makes you think twice about some of the foods we eat. This is good information, especially If you’ve made a new years resolution to lose weight, eat better, or just be healthier.

200 Calories is 200 Calories is…

Touch

Just another 35 yr. old weekend warrior who played a little footie in his youth:

That ball control reminds me of someone else.  This guy is toying with these kids. Find out who after the jump…

A Slippery Slope

The recent Bill Simmons post on espn.com brings up the issue of Mark McGwire’s hall of fame candidacy. Mark, as we’ll call him, is the first of what will be many “known” steroid users up for the HOF. Known in quotes as we don’t actually have his confession like we do Bonds and Giambi. It’s a wonder why people still call Bonds and Giambi “alleged” steroid cheats, when they themselves have admitted it, but that is a story for another day. Nonetheless, the debate is a nasty one; being that while Mark used steroids, he did so before they were illegal in baseball. He broke the rule of the nation, but not the sport. Should he get in on the basis of achievement within the rules of baseball or be left out as a felon within the rules of the country?