Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Takin' The Rest of the Week Off

Folks, I'm still struggling to get over this cold or flu or plague or whatever I caught a couple weeks back. It's got me too exhausted even to write at the moment. So I'm taking off until early next week. I'll leave the door to the blog unlocked in case you just want to hang out. There are some bitcoins in the fridge... unless somebody stole them.

38 comments:

  1. It is probably due to all the mercury in the vaccines, too much gluten in your diet, and topped off by your guilty conscience for being an evil white male.

    I prescribe 20 colonics followed by a lemon water purge. Then cut everything white out of your diet. Finally, take massive amounts of estrogen until you become a true feminist.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Uh. I think I'll pass on that. This stuff is annoying though. All the symptoms hit fast and left fast, but let a real feeling of exhaustion... to exhausted even to go buy donuts. :(

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hey, Andrew, sorry you're feeling poorly. Rest, drink plenty of fluids and get better...now! That is an order. And, about those bitcoins...are they in the crisper or what?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh, and chicken soup really does work wonders...

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks Bev!

    Yep, in the crisper.

    You know, it's amazing how much water, tea and chicken soup really do help when you're sick.

    ReplyDelete
  6. As an adult you don't have to take my advice but that will still cost you 100 Bitcoins (minus the standard discount rate).

    ReplyDelete
  7. Koshcat, 100 bitcoins? You didn't even recommend a single donut!


    As an aside, this is why I mentioned bitcoins today:LINK (yet another disaster).

    ReplyDelete
  8. Andrew,

    I'm going to recommend the following
    Chicken Soup, water, orange juice, and that you watch plenty of Doctor Who.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Old and New.

    I actually just finished watching the first episode of Jon Pertwee's first story Spearhead from Space.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I wasn't sure I would like Pertwee, but he grows on you fast. He's a very different Doctor.

    ReplyDelete
  11. My first exposure to Pertwee was in "The Five Doctors", and in the many, many (bad) Target novelizations I bought in the 80s. Back then, I liked him almost as much as I liked Tom Baker. I had him pictured as a good-natured bon vivant in a frilly shirt and bow tie. Then they started showing his episodes here in the states, and I liked him less. He was way too serious and sometimes he was downright grumpy. He mellowed a bit towards the end; exposure to Sarah Jane Smith was very good for him. I wish Netflix would expand their Classic "Who" repertoire so I could judge him with more adult eyes.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Dave, yes and no.

    I will go to may grave saying that the "Republican war on women" is a load of bs as long as we talk about real life and actual outcomes, not perceptions and politics. But we ARE talking about politics.

    Personally I don´t like people who can´t rationally vote for the smaller evil instead of some cooked up single issue (that goes for conservatives too by the way). One might say that the women who buy into this are voting against their longterm interest and are not making a rational decision. It´s not that I can´t make that argument.

    But all the whining does not change the fact that in politics, people vote with their gut or wallet as often as with their brain. And not just liberals. Conservatives can debate among themselves forever, and make justifications for everything, and it does not change a thing.

    So let us be rational and coolheaded like conservatives should be. In the end, the charges would not stick if Republicans had not delivered a lot of ammo. For example, yes, we know single women vote liberal, and probably not for the noblest of reasons. But it was conservatives who vocally attacked them for it and made sure they are not coming back soon. You don´t win people over by insulting them. Ever noticed how Democrats only attack people they do not need?

    ReplyDelete
  13. Sorry, this last comment was supposed to go on the War on Women thread. I also have the flu and it shows... sorry again.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Get well soon, AP (and El Gordo)! Animal House, Caddyshack, Stripes, Vacation, Ghostbusters. Rinse, cycle, repeat. Be kind, rewind.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hope you feel better soon, Andrew and EG. I've had pneumonia four times in five years. Our home remedies are chicken broth and Coke. It's weird, but often Coca Cola is the only drink I can face when I'm coming off one of those jags.

    As for chicken broth, we do the real thing: I collect and freeze chicken bones from dinner and later boil them down with onion and celery for broth. Then we freeze individual servings. It is very easy to do and it can be a lifesaver when you're sick.

    Interesting, how your body gets focused on very specific foods when you're sick.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Dave, Andrew,

    I ordered Spearhead from Space and Dr. Who and the Silurians (Pertwee's first two) on DVD from Amazon.

    ReplyDelete
  17. The Management (definitely NOT BevfromNYC)February 26, 2014 at 10:55 AM

    To: Commentaramians
    From: The Management

    It has come to our attentions that many of you are not taking care of yourselves and have become "sick". We, The Management admonish you to do better. Sickness will no longer be tolerated.

    Well, okay, it will be tolerated, but not for very long.

    Well, okay, you can be sick, but you need to rest, drink plenty of fluids, and see your doctor if you symptoms do not improve. Oh, and watch really stupid daytime T.V. It has an amazing restorative effect of just plain making you will yourself back to good health so you won't ever have to watch "The View" again or Ronan Farrow's new talk show on MSNBC.

    That is all,
    The Management

    ReplyDelete
  18. I don't understand the whole Bitcoin. A virtual currency? We already have that. Our company wires money to pay for chemo then electronically wires the insurance the bill. They wire payment back to our account and eventually a small part gets back to my paycheck, which is directly deposited into my bank. I then take that money and pay 90% of my bills on line. I pay for most of my day to day item on credit card to get "cash back" and pay it off each month online. I carry enough cash mostly in case I get mugged so I have something to give. I suspect 90% of money transacted with US dollars never actually involve physical cash. A check is still just another way of sending it electronically as there is no physical cash exchange involved.

    As for trusting the backing of the currency, I think it is safer still to trust the US government than some Japanese computer geek.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Definitely NOT Bev, I'm ODing on "Modern Marvels." :)

    ReplyDelete
  20. KRS, It is funny, but I'm the same way. When I get sick, I start craving certain foods.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Kit & Dave, He's a different kind of doctor from a different era. His stories have more of an adventure feel to them rather than a sci-fi feel to them. And yeah, he's grumpy.

    I hope you enjoy them Kit. He does take some getting used to, but I like him a lot. My favorite episodes of his are "The Three Doctors," "The Curse of Peladon" and the sort of sequel "Monster of Peladon," and "Frontier in Space."

    ReplyDelete
  22. "I start craving certain foods"

    Yes, it is biological. Your body (you) works to actively heal what ails you and to supply the proper nutrients to do it. Except donuts - donuts probably don't help much. However, they have a lot of sugar and fat that may supply much needed energy boost. Btw, this my own anecdotal experience, not scientifically analyzed.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Koshcat, I think the idea is a combination of utopian thinking, opportunism, and trying to get a currency that no government can control.

    The thinking is that if they can create a currency with a fixed number of units that exists beyond the control of governments, then people could trade in that and no longer be subject to problems like governments deflating their currencies. It also lets you do things like launder money by avoiding banking regulations.

    On the downside, the whole thing is wishful thinking and depends on everyone agreeing that the fantasy is and will remain real.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Btw, Andrew, you will never get better if you watch really interesting T.V. shows like "Modern Marvels". It will probably make your illness drag on. For example, when I had pneumonia a few years back, I O.D.'ed on "Parking Wars" on A&E. It was a reality show about parking issues in Philly...I probably recovered 3X faster just to get away from that show! Really, "parking"???

    ReplyDelete
  25. Bev, I've heard that and I believe it. And that definitely explains why I find myself looking for things like orange juice or salad when I get sick.

    The one I don't understand is why I often find myself craving Chinese take out when I get sick.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Good thinking, Bev! I'll switch to old Obama speeches. I'll be healthy in minutes.

    ReplyDelete
  27. I don't know. The nausea and headaches from listening to those speeches could make it worse. You could even die from boredom.

    ReplyDelete
  28. "I'll switch to old Obama speeches..."

    NOOO! DO NOT DO THAT!!! That would be cruel and lots of other bad stuff.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Bev and Koshcat, Don't worry. My doctor called and said not to do that. He said it can lead to coma. So I'm still watching Modern Marvels. You wouldn't believe how sharp some things are!

    ReplyDelete
  30. Thanks for the bitcoins offer Andrew, but when I looked, I found that your fridge had mysteriously been taken offline. I hope you are managing okay without it.

    Get well soon!

    ReplyDelete
  31. John, Thanks! I've been following this bitcoin story with true fascination. I can't wait to see how it all turns out.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Yes, bitcoin is a fascinating idea/story. The technological idea is pretty neat. and it would be nice to have a government-free currency. However, it is flawed economically because it is inherently deflationary, which is what you want from an investment, not from a currency.

    ReplyDelete
  33. By the way, acclaimed Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki has a new movie coming out in US theaters this weekend: The Wind Rises. It looks pretty good.
    LINK

    ReplyDelete
  34. Thanks Cris! :D

    Kit, It does look good.

    ReplyDelete
  35. John, Ultimately, the biggest problem with bitcoins is that there isn't someone standing behind it. So it will only have value so long as people believe it will work. And as more and more people refuse to take them and as instances of fraud like the one in Japan occur, that will kill the trust.

    ReplyDelete
  36. I agree completely, and it relates to my point. Since money is constantly losing value (inflation), a substantial infrastructure is needed to persuade people to use it (lending, interest, banks etc.). Bitcoin is developing some of that, but it seems to me that the kind of backing required amounts to having a government, which undermines the original purpose!

    Hope you are feeling a bit better!

    ReplyDelete