Things It Takes Most Of Us 50 Years To Learn:

1. The badness of a movie is directly proportional to the number of helicopters in it.

2. You will never find anybody who can give you a clear and compelling reason why we observe daylight-saving time.

3. You should never say anything to a woman that even remotely suggests you think she's pregnant unless you can see an actual baby emerging from her at that moment.

4. The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we ALL believe that we are above-average drivers.

5. There comes a time when you should stop expecting other people to make a big deal about your birthday. That time is: age 11.

6. There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."

7. People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them.

8. If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be "meetings."

9. The main accomplishment of almost all organized protests is to annoy people who are not in them.

10. If there really is a God who created the entire universe with all of its glories, and he decides to deliver a message to humanity, he will NOT use as his messenger a person on cable TV with a bad hairstyle or in some cases, really bad make-up too.

11. You should not confuse your career with your life.

12. A person who is nice to you, but rude to the waiter/janitor, is not a nice person.

13. No matter what happens, somebody will find a way to take it too seriously.

14. When trouble arises and things look bad, there is always one individual who perceives a solution and is willing to take command. Very often, that individual is crazy.

15. Your true friends love you, anyway.

16. Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.

(This was sent by my bro and I think it was a good example of responsible forwarding.)

South of the Border

We're back from Cabo and clinging to our post-vacation karma. It was really great to get away ... from the cold, work stress, painting the house, etc. Although I spent some time working on a travel article, in general we were able to get some quality relaxation time. I did regret not being able to savor the excellent margaritas, and I had to forgo the adventure whale-watching trip due to my "condition," but we spent lots of time eating well, floating in the pool and generally soaking up the sun and perfect weather. I even managed to get back into the country although my passport still has my maiden name and I neglected to bring my marriage certificate. What would travel be like without a little adrenaline rush?! I'm clearly not the one to ask. I'm including a view of The Baby Gut at 29 weeks, despite my better judgment.

I was reading the March 12 issue of The New Yorker on the bus today, and I was really shocked by this article. Maybe I've been totally out of it, but it didn't even know there were people who deny the link between HIV and AIDS, and prominent African government officials at that. I can't link to the whole article, unfortunately, but here's the abstract, and if you get the New Yorker, this one is worth reading.

••••••••••••••••••••

Annals of Science

The Denialists

The dangerous attacks on the consensus about H.I.V. and AIDS.

by Michael Specter March 12, 2007

Zeblon Gwala is a 50-year-old South African who sells ubhejane, an untested herbal remedy he claims will cure AIDS. On a typical day, as many as 100 people come to his clinic. Ubhejane has been endorsed by South African President Thabo Mbeki’s health minister, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, and by Herbert Vilakazi, the head of Mbeki’s Presidential Task Team on African Traditional Medicine. Vilakaze believes that the toxicity of antiretroviral drugs, or ARVs-the only successful treatment for millions infected with H.I.V.-causes more harm than good. Like Mbeki himself, he’s convinced that a cure for AIDS is more likely to be found in traditional African medicine rather than Western pharmaceuticals. AIDS denial plays a corrosive role in the health policies of many countries, but South Africa provides the most extreme and enduring example. Five and a half million of the country’s 48 million people are infected by H.I.V. Today, only 200,000 receive AIDS drugs. In 2003, the South African government issued a comprehensive AIDS policy, but it wasn’t implemented. Mbeki has never disavowed his view that H.I.V. medicines are aimed at maiming Africans, and he’s never publicly acknowledged that H.I.V. causes AIDS. With government approval, clinics like Gwala’s are thriving. In 1987, molecular biologist Peter Duesberg published a paper challenging the consensus that H.I.V. causes AIDS. Describes the history of retrovirus research and how H.I.V. was linked to AIDS. Duesberg argues that recreational drugs, not a retrovirus, destroy the immune system. To prevent or even cure AIDS, he recommends eating properly and abstaining from drug use. Through the force of his will, he essentially invented the AIDS dissident movement. Lists the three basic versions of the H.I.V.-denial credo. The most pernicious one is that Sub-Saharan Africa simply has no AIDS epidemic; instead, the problem is blamed on the absence of proper nutrition or clean water. Duesberg’s influence gained new momentum when Mbeki discovered him. Mbeki usually focuses on politics, not science, when discussings AIDS. Describes the racist tone of Mbeki and Vilakazi’s arguments. “The situation in America is one of intolerance,” Vilakazi says. “Only one approach to treating this deadly illness is permitted…Who benefits from ARVs? Hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars have been spent on research and you have to get a return on your investment…” Mentions Marta Darder, who works in Khayelitsha with Médecins Sans Frontières. Describes the activities of German entrepreneur Mathias Rath, who promotes vitamins to cure AIDS. Mentions Thami Mseleku, South Africa’s director general of health, and Quarraisha Abdool Karim, former head of South Africa’s AIDS program. Writer spoke with Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge, South Africa’s deputy health minister, who disagrees with Tshabalala-Msimang’s position on H.I.V. and AIDS.

Ouch, Part 2 (which is certainly one part too many)

I know everyone is concerned about my blood-drawing incident. Last night, it was an interesting experiment to tell how much of a wuss I really am. We had a portamedic come by to do a quick exam for our life insurance application (a sure sign that we are officially grown-up adults). Not only did I have to pee in a cup in our own bathroom (and then siphon it into two separate tubes), but she also drew blood. I'm happy to say, it didn't hurt one iota, so I guess the Park Nicollet woman hit a nerve in my arm. Literally.

The medic lady informed me that she was just told she's pregnant with her fifth (!) child, and then she said she had just picked up a prescription for an infection in her mouth, which I didn't really want to know about, and they gave her SOMEONE ELSE'S prescription, which she didn't realize until she had taken it. It turned out to be thyroid medication, and while her doctor told her it wouldn't hurt the baby, it's still a good lesson: If you're getting a prescription, check the name on the bottle in addition to the name on the bag. Especially if it's from Walgreens.

GROSS!!!! And sickly, believable...

From Gawker:

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Was Daniel Really Danniellynn's Daddy?

"My theory is she couldn't handle thought of paternity test b/c it would show that Dannilynn's [sic] daddy is Daniel," said our commenter Rudy Huxtability, mere moments after Anna Nicole Smith's death on February 8th. Ha... ha? Today we're thinking this tasteless remark somewhat psychic! Because we hear the ridiculous rumor, from someone who believe it or not seems credible, that Anna's twisted tale has indeed taken a turn for the Sophoclean: our tipster says that DNA tests have suggested that Daniel is Anna's baby's father, and that his body will soon be exhumed in order to confirm. Gross! Fascinating! Totally random! We'll keep you posted, especially when we get to the part where it's revealed that infant Danniellynn actually killed both Anna and Daniel. Will she put out her own little baby eyes?

Ouch

I went in for my monthly MD appt. today and all appears to be well. However, in the process of drawing blood for my glucose test, the lab technicians managed to pull the needle out while causing as much pain as possible. I just took off the cotton swab, expecting there to already be a bruise radiating up my arm. So far, just looks like a little pinprick. I'm usually not to intolerant to pain, so I think she really did screw up. I'll be keeping my eye on it. Waaaahhh!!!

The heartbeat was average (140), and I'm carrying very high, which "they" say can point to a girl. However, I'm not sure there's anything to that, and Nicole always carried low and she's had two girls. Whateva! As long as it's healthy. The upshot is I'm A-OK to travel and will be heading to Mexico in a week. Can't wait.

Update: I feel much better. I guess I'm just a baby.

Typical

How very Minnesotan. We get another foot of a snow in a week and I had to head into work. I was forced to wade through a hip-high snowdrift in front of our walkway, but once I did, the roads were pretty good. Damn MN efficiency! Turns out our office opened a few hours late, but I (and half the staff) called the wrong number to find out. Oh, well! Back to the grindstone!

Snow Day!

So last weekend we got about a foot of snow, and it looks like we're well on our way to at least another foot by tomorrow evening. We got to leave the office early, and the bus ride home was surprising not too bad. Tomorrow, we're preparing for a full-on snow day! Granted, I do have work to do ... but I'll just have to be productive at work. At least now we've got the snowblower all gassed up and ready to go. We're hunkering down and in my case, eating at least once an hour.