Edition #1145

Friday, and now you are soon to be released for the blessings of the weekend. Go forth, my children, and frolic away.

“Too much agreement kills a chat.” Eldridge Cleaver, quoted in Texas Metro News. I couldn’t agree m…

I know. Most of you don’t care, but the launch of Starship was delayed once again to today at 3:45 pm Pacific Time…until delayed again or some such thing.

Since I am getting a bit hungry as I sit here typing away, I thought I would show you the proper way to enjoy a three hundred pound sunfish. I don’t know if any of you have ever had the experience, but I somehow doubt it. At least I doubt it as far as this type of dining. Watch the video at the beginning of this linked article and thank your favorite metaphysical being that you are not a sunfish. As a bit of trivia, the sunfish is the largest bony fish, and can get to a few thousand pounds. Their skin is made up of what are called dermal denticles, which are similar to shark skin, a rough toothlike scale. And so, to make it easier to eat, I suppose, orcas make shredded sunfish. How do they do this? Well, thanks for asking. They begin by playing with it a bit, kind of like a soccer ball, until it is helpless or dead. Then one orca holds it by the tail in its mouth as another orca comes in at high speed. As the first orca releases the sunfish, the second one rams it hard, making it explode into pieces…which are quickly gobbled up. And this behavior has been witnessed on multiple occasions. The video in the article shows two separate encounters a year apart. Shamu has a lot of explaining to do.

I cannot tell you that I am all that put out by Trump’s deal to provide civilian nuclear technology to the Saudis. Assuming that it contains all of the usual restrictions and oversight that accompany all other such deals to prevent diversion to weapon development, I think I am in favor. And before we delve any further, it has to be recognized that if we did not do this, the Saudis had offers from the Russians, the Chinese, and a few European companies as well. So it is not as if Trump refusing to make a deal would have settled the matter. It just would have made any oversight by us less effective. Now that said, there are still issues of allowing the Saudis to refine their own nuclear fuel or not, and I believe there is a question as to whether Saudi Arabia will be required to sign up under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and be subject to IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) inspections. And of course there are the voices on both sides that see this as either an unwarranted expansion of a nuclear threat, or a balancing of the scales given that Israel has, or at least is reported to have, nuclear weapons. And to this I will repeat something that I heard many years ago, as Iran was first advancing their nuclear program. What I heard was that the Arab countries knew from the late 1960s that Israel had such weapons, but took no real action. But when Iran started its program, all of them were looking to join the club. In other words, Israel’s arsenal was not seen as the same threat that Iran’s was. I assume this was because Israel’s was known to be of a defensive nature, while Iran’s was a more offensive threat. Make sense?

Ha, no, I am not referring to the roller coaster of a ride our political class is making us go through. I am referring to the real roller coasters, the ones that will turn your stomach inside out. Well, I suppose that could describe our political landscape as well. So how to put this? The metal behemoths that shoot our physical bodies at great speeds around a track with the intention of making us lose our lunch. Got it? Roller coasters. Well, this article describes five new ones that will have you screaming…which reminds me of a story that I may tell at the end of this, or not. There is the “Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift” at Universal Studios Hollywood in which you get into hot rod cars inspired by the movie, and they twist sideways as a car “drifts.” Could be exciting. The “Tormenta Rampaging Run” at Six Flags Over Texas, which hangs you almost four hundred feet in the air before dropping you at a complete vertical, or beyond, at eighty-seven miles per hour. Or the “Galacticoaster” at Legoland, which seems like a Space Mountain-inspired ride, but does look pretty cool. Now for the “Flying Fox” at Kentucky Kingdom, in which you hang below the track, swinging back and forth as it propels you across a rather relaxed ride, from the way it is described. For beginners, I am assuming. And then there is the “Quantum Accelerator” at Six Flags New England. Here you will be straddling a simulated motorcycle, I think, as you hold on with everything you’ve got, as it accelerates you at two points during the ride. Once at the beginning and once a little bit later to get you really moving fast, or faster at least. So if you are so inclined, and in the vicinity of any of these rides, step out of your comfort zone and make a day of it.

Yes, I know…gross. But ticks are out there, and none of us are immune. So knowing what to do when the time comes, and you have to remove one, either from yourself or someone else. I do remember when my wife, a former nurse, was shown something on my back that felt weird to me. As she moved in to touch it, the legs began to move. She screamed and almost refused to do anything. Eventually she did get it out, I am not remembering how, and all is good. This article should be read. Don’t just rely on my inadequate rehash. But it starts off strong…Don’t wait, and don’t pull out a match. Interestingly, the majority of ticks reported are from New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania (a combined forty-seven percent), with Hawaii and Oklahoma (????) reporting none. But when out for a walk in the woods, or wherever, during tick season, it is recommended that you wear long sleeves, long pants (light colored to make it easier to spot the little fuckers), and to top off the nerdy look, always tuck your pants into your socks. I won’t go into the things you should not do, but you can read about it in the article. What you should do is react fast. Grab it with your fingers or tweezers, if available, and pull it out. Try not to grab the body too hard, as you can make it vomit into the bite, which could cause an infection. Man, I hope you are not reading this during a meal…sorry if you are. When you pull it, pull straight up, trying not to twist or jerk, and push down on the skin on either side to make your skin taut. Then clean the area with soap and water and alcohol. And get that little guy over to be tested for Lyme disease or other things that it might be carrying. Public service announcement complete.

A while ago, a lawsuit by five hundred plaintiffs was thrown out by the trial judge. The case was alleging that Tylenol usage by a woman during pregnancy contributed to the subsequent baby developing ADHD or autism. Usage by a man during a woman’s pregnancy was either deemed to be safe or is completely irrelevant to this issue. The case was thrown out as the judge determined that the primary expert witness for the plaintiffs was cherry-picking from studies and misrepresenting the science. A three-judge panel on appeal ruled that excluding such expert testimony was inappropriate. In essence, the appellate judges believe that a jury is the best arbiter of what is sound science and what is not. And as complete bullshit as this is, I do understand the dilemma. The average jury is ill-equipped to interpret scientific studies and determine whether one or another expert is more or less credible. It is ludicrous to believe differently. The OJ Simpson trial with weeks of testimony about DNA did nothing but confuse the jury and the general public. But is it really within the wheelhouse of a judge either? Does knowing the law or presiding over hundreds of criminal or civil cases related to dozens of issues make a judge better suited for that job? Probably not. So the conclusion that I come to is that our judicial system is just the wrong venue for litigating scientific issues. I am not sure what the answer here is, but we now face the possibility that, although there are no studies that show a link between Tylenol and ADHD or autism, we will be living in a world where we need to pretend that it does.

Well, another strait is closed, or closing, or restricted, or stressed, or whatever. As a result, oil prices are up…again…and war is where we are at, with threats that no one takes all that seriously continuing out of the White House, and an Iranian regime that has proven that they do not respond to the transactional approach that is the only arrow in our president’s quiver. Yes, it is just Friday. Stay healthy and be good to each other.

Me.