Awesome send-up

Gotta find me some more Keith Blanchard after this: Attention K-Mart Shoppers: Could America's Throwaway Holiday Crap Industry Be Next To Fail?

Actually, just did. Mind you, I'll admit that it's tough to square that attitude with Blanchard being a co-founder of Maxim, which just feeds double-bacon cheeseburgers the entitlement mentality of the American male. (A contradiction not unlike someone working at a weight club and a fast food joint.) Sharp, funny writing, though. Today, that's enough for my mood.

Uh-oh, Part II

I'm a programmer by trade, so I can't claim to be unbiased when it comes to offshoring. Partly, it's the insult of the double-speak that brasses me off. To wit: I can't get full concentration when I need it because The Powers That Be insist that being stuffed into an eight-cube "pod" makes me more "collaborative." Yet the same suits have no problem putting half the friggin' planet between those who dictate the specifications for software and those who implement them. (To contemplate such contradictions does not lead to Zen-like enlightenment; rather, it is the short road to madness.)

But quite apart from the headline-hogging aspects of offshoring our manufacturing base or our brain trust (and with it any motivation for new generations to opt for useful trades), there is the the question of whether or not America's corporate kleptocrats are digging our graves in more than a purely economic sense.

As if the profits made by Big Pharma weren't obscene enough, let's talk about the "side effects" of offshoring drug manufacturing to squeeze a few more drops of cream from that cash cow:

1. First, there's the strategic aspect. If medicines, particularly vaccines, are primarily manufactured in China, the question of availability (particularly in times of pandemic) are second only to those of quality, given the litany of tainted and/or deadly products in the headlines. In the event of pandemic, the Chinese government will--quite understandably--attempt to take care of its own. Except for those who can be bribed to turn a blind eye to the black market. Which, naturally, will be positively rife with tainted, counterfeit or under-dosed stock.
   
2. Now let's throw into the mix the abysmal environmental track record of these nations, this time turning to India's slice of pharmaceutical manufacturing. The take-away: "Those Indian factories produce drugs for much of the world, including many Americans. The result: Some of India's poor are unwittingly consuming an array of chemicals that may be harmful, and could lead to the proliferation of drug-resistant bacteria." [emphasis mine] Yes, I realize that bacteria and viruses are different things, but viruses mutate too, and randomly messing with peoples' immune systems most certainly doesn't help matters.
   
3. Finally, let's connect the last dots by considering the geography of avian influenza. The Spanish Flu pandemic spread world-wide in the considerably slower-paced WWI era. We, on the other hand, live in a world where an iPod is engraved in China Tuesday afternoon and on my desk Thursday morning.
   

Anyone else hear a ticking sound?

Tell me they didn't receive grant money for this...

Personally, I was a little incensed that somebody's deliberately coking up honeybees, particularly when the "research" basically confirms what's already known about behavioral reactions to the drug. How it's supposed to dislodge the spoon from a socialite's nose or the needle from a crack-addict's veins I fail to understand, unless a blocker drug is concocted. For cocaine anyway. But then there's the whole smorgasbord of (ahem) pharmaceutical--contraband or not--alternatives. Not to mention that blocker drugs do bupkis for the whole context of addiction. Feh. I guess what bothers me is that this seems like another silver bullet "solution" that may just end up contributing to the problem in the long run.

Or maybe I'm just cynical.

Part 1603 of "You know you're a costume geek when..."

...your go-to catalog is discontinuing its corset-making supplies and you're figuring out how many yards of stuff you can rationalize at 15% off.

A farewell (sort of) and thanks

One of the regular stops on my morning news-cruise is the blog "Managing Globalization," which is mostly the handiwork of Daniel Altman. Yesterday was its last day, as Mr. Altman will focus on other ventures, including another book, which I very much hope will hit the shelves no later than 2010.

In a world where economics is much less science than religion--with nearly as many schisms, jihads, and Kool-Aid-swilling cultishness than the real thing--Dr. Altman's clear-eyed, evenhanded approach combined with his humane outlook elevate him to statesman status in my opinion.

So I didn't want to let the week run out without a hat-tip and a thanks for his insights. I will be looking forward to Dr. Altman's future work, and wish him all success in those ventures.

Stupid Friday humor

From from The Onion archives to you: Zombie Nutritionist Recommends All-Brain Diet. Better stale than compost: Bon appetit, mes amis.

New lunchbox hero?

The web comic "Do You Work Here?" laces my Mondays and Thursdays with a lovely note of cynicism, and today there was a bonus: A link to this comic, in the wake of Friday's WalMart trampling death. (Disclaimer: I did do some shopping Friday, but it was purely a grocery run. Mama may have raised a fool, but not that kind of fool...)

Really good Seth Godin blog post

Whether you're a consumer or a marketer, "Hungry" is definitely a meal for the brain--well worth the few minutes you'll spend nibbling it.

Because you're never too old for silliness

Or the Muppets. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpcUxwpOQ_A

Too darned wierd not to pass along...

One has to wonder what Dr. Suess would think: Glowing pig passes genes to piglets. Just gives a whole 'nuther spin to "Green Eggs and Ham," dun'nit?

Playing catch-up

The links and such that I've sent myself for passing along are piling up. In fact, a number of them have 404'd already, if that tells you anything. I'm actually supposed to be baking cookies tonight, but my sinuses are draining--the dregs of last week's cold I hope--painfully. It's been a busy couple of weeks between work and extracurriculars. I don't think that it will slow down much between now and the time Dearest and I leave for vacation.

Speaking of whom, Dearest sent this along tonight. The ancients used honey to preserve bodies because of honey's antibacterial properties--a sometime nuisance for we mead-makers. (Actually, there's a schadenfreudish, possibly apocryphal, story about a couple tomb-robbers getting their comeuppance that way--but that's another tale for another time...) But apparently the observations of the ancients are taking up the slack for the shortcomings of modern antibiotics.

Actually, I've since forgotten where I found this piece of spot-on defiance in the face of egregious fear-mongering. The FDR and Churchill bit darned near had me cleaning off my monitor screen, 'cuz it caught me so out of left-field. I sooooo wish I knew enough about this dude to look him up. He could knock back pints on my tab all night.

I nabbed the following off Slate.com. It Just Says It All, doesn't it? Sad thing, is, this was published slightly before the Ninnyhammer Sissypants Wing of the Democratic Party wedged dynamite in the cracks of the trunk and pushed the plunger:

But stepping away from politics... It's a good thing that I don't believe in St. Peter--well, not the "Saint" part, anyway--because I certainly wouldn't want his job when Bill Gates rings the doorbell of the Pearly Gates. I have a mixed admiration for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and this just adds to the "mixed" part of it. It's part of what I call the "Marshal Petain" conundrum, namely the illusion that by staying on the inside, you can offset the negative effects of your collaboration by mitigating what would otherwise have been a much harsher situation. I hope to never have to make Petain's decision.

And, in the "News of the Wierd" category: Disciplinary protocol for Thai police officers apparently now involves a day of wearing pink "Hello Kitty" armbands, which--despite a few quasi-feminist scruples--I have to applaud as highly efficient creativity. Understand that this is not about police officers in particular. I've actually had many positive experiences with the constabulary of my state. One of them gave me a lift to the auto shop (and hung around while the tow truck was called). Another even changed my tire in a bitter, windy November night. My applause stems more the fact that the people in question could keep working...and were not likely to fall down on their duties in the near future. Rather like Harvey McKay's description of the black armbands at the "stand-up strike" of disgruntled Japanese corporate workers. If we could concoct similar sanctions for the cowboy coders who have made my work life particularly annoying these past few weeks, it would be well...

A hodge-podge...even for this blog

This version of classical Rome ("Rome Reborn") seems far, far too surgically sterile, but makes the ancient city seem more tangible than anything short of an extensive museum exhibit (such as the Pompeii/Herculaneum one that Dearest and I saw in Quebec two summers ago).

During yesterday's "book bender," I couldn't resist adding "Ancient Rome on Five Denarii a Day" to the stack. I was so stoked that John Julius Norwich has another sweeping history (the kind he does best), this one on the Mediterranean. I typically revel in rediscovering his "Venice: a History" every few years, but haven't been able--shockingly--to justify the expenditure for all three volumes of his "Byzantium".

A friend sent me this link, "Women in Art", which is an animation of a different sort. I had a laugh at how many I recognized via costume research. There is also much to chuckle about in how men want to perceive women. Do they mentally airbrush us in real life? I can't help but wonder. There's more than a little irony in the fact that the friend who sent it to me has such an incredibly keen eye for beauty, except where he himself is concerned.

And, sort of on the same theme of beauty and perception, I darned near Snoopy-danced in my chair when I learned that the thought-provoking "Evolution" ad that Olgivy and Mather did for Dove won a Grand Prix.

Party checklist

Just back from helping two friends paint their house in preparation for selling it. Dearest and I owed them big-time for helping us move several years ago.

During the wall-washing and taping and such, I compiled a mental checklist of how do do a painting party or moving party the right way. Or at least my idea of the "right" way. So I'm posting it as a public service to anyone who has to call in friends, rather than pay professionals, for these unpleasant (though karma-building) jobs:

___ Don't procrastinate on the prep-work. It won't kill you to have it done ahead of schedule, for pity's sake. If your friends think they're coming over to help you move, they should not have to help you pack.

___ For love of the FSM, have a Plan. Then make a backup Plan in case the original Plan goes astray due to mishaps or people not showing up.

___ Clean the place thoroughly. "Thoroughly" as in, "We could perform surgery in the bathroom and pre-wash our scalpels in the toilet." Moving and painting are sweaty, ooky jobs as it is.

___ Arrange to have children and pets out of the house, or at least out from underfoot for the duration.

___ Stock the refrigerator/cooler with beverages and have munchies at the ready, even if you're feeding folks later on.

___ Have enough equipment and supplies on hand for everyone.

___ Take responsibility for being the straw boss, knowing what has to be done, and communicating that to everyone else. Don't just get stuck into your piece of the job and ignore what's going on around you.

___ Better still, have a checklist posted. (H/t to Dearest for the idea)

___ If possible, have another person designated as gopher, namely the fetcher and finder of things, who orders the pizza, restocks the 'fridge, etc.

___ Take care of yourself, but also expect to work harder than what you ask of anyone else.

___ Understand that the people helping you are working for YOU, not for beer and pizza. They can buy their own freakin' pizza and beer, and have the rest of the day/weekend/whatever to do something they'd really rather be doing. Don't undermine the karma--you might need to ask these same people for help again soon.

A random act of violets

Our freaky Spring played hob with the lilacs, but the lovely white violets with their purple centers turned out in droves for it. Alas, the lawn (desperately) needed mowing, so I figured that picking them to digitally memorialize their beauty was better than the alternative dismembering.

A banal composition, but I'm still in "finals" mode. Enjoy.

Uh-oh

It seems that the TB vaccines don't carry the same punch anymore, according to this article from The Toronto Star. This hit my radar because my partner and I (foolishly) bought a batch of finches from a friend-of-a-friend several years ago, and two birds died from TB. The only mercy was that the they did it pretty quickly, before infecting the rest of the flock. But my Dearest, being their primary handler, took the precaution of being tested, and came up clean.

I wonder if that means that we'll all have to be re-inoculated in a few years. I remember having my arm popped with the "gun" in kindergarten, which wasn't too bad. (I dread shots, although I do manage not to make quite the fuss of olden days when I have to grit my teeth through one.) All the same, it beats TB any day. I've been blessed with a decent arsenal of immunity so far in life, but I'd rather not double-dog-dare something that scary.