Political Global Warming

Many of our glorious politicians declare repeatedly that global warming is a crisis, and they must do something to save us all. Even if it means spending all our money and all our children's money. But that's okay, because they base their rhetoric and fear-mongering on cold, hard science, right?

Thanks to their intrepid fund-raising, uh, I mean campaigning to educate we ignorant masses, everyone now knows the truth that global warming is caused primarily by rising levels of atmospheric carbon gas. And the rises in atmospheric carbon gas have been measured very carefully, and have indeed been going up and up, for the last 20 years and beyond.

So, then, what do you think is the warmest year in modern recorded history? Last year? This year? If atmospheric carbon gas causes global warming, and it has been going up every single year the last 2 decades, then you would reasonably expect...

1998.

1998 was the warmest year in modern recorded history. Despite that nasty continuous growth in gaseous carbon. Huh. What could possibly account for that incredible anomaly?

Could there be some other factor at work? Could carbon gas be a non-decisive factor after all? Of course not, that would mean the impossible, that our politicians weren't basing their agitation on scientifically established facts.

I guess we'll just have to wait another century or so, and let our great-grandkids figure it out.

In the meantime, does anyone know where I left my sunglasses?

Exercise-Induced Asthma

Well, chalk up one more malady in my medical chart, add a problem I didn't even realize was a problem, and then cross that problem off the list.

During my annual physical a few weeks back, my doc asked me some questions no one ever asked before. My answers prompted more questions, and she began to suspect I might have exercise-induced asthma. I didn't know there was such a thing. I figured the trouble I've had breathing after running for a few minutes was normal. Those who know my history well know that there was a period of 20 years or so when my health was too poor to run, but I can clearly remember the same breathing problems while running in my twenties.

Well, Doctor Drew gave me an Advair sampler disk, which is an inhaler-gizmo with long-term anti-asthma drugs. She urged me to try it, and I did. Wow! What a difference!

Breathing is no longer my weak link while running... now it's my muscles, as it's probably supposed to be. So, despite my lungs not being fully recovered from the flu yet (it's dragging out a really long time), I'm running again and enjoying it even more than usual. What a blessing! Maybe I can finally start working on increasing speed or distance.

Breathing... I can personally recommend it!

The Cutest PC in the World!

In case you haven't see it, here is the cutest PC you will ever see:

Do You Trust Your Doctor?

Do you trust your doctor completely? When they're prescribing medication, you shouldn't. It's a lot of extra trouble, but if you want to do your best to make sure you're pursuing the best health you can, you should research everything you can about medications they prescribe. This article gives some good background on how marketing drives much of pharmacology industry, to the detriment of our health.

Being God's Pockets

From an article in the NY Times: The paramount moral challenge... in this century, is the brutality inflicted on so many women and girls around the globe: sex trafficking, acid attacks, bride burnings and mass rape.

Regardless of whether you like the NY Times or not, regardless of whether you can think of other serious issues to give your attention, this is certainly an area where the Body of Christ can and should make a difference in the world. We're familiar with the idea of being God's hands and feet by being missionaries and personally going overseas to preach the Gospel. But you can also stay home and give money to support other people who work as missionaries. And you can also provide very small no-interest loans to desperate people around the world, through organizations like Kiva. You don't have to do this instead of contributing to missions, you can do it in addition. As little as $25 can make a huge difference in people's lives.

That's why I've tagged this NY Times article. Read the first page and you'll see how a mere $65 changed the life of a Pakistani woman named Saima, who was in a very nasty situation. And you'll see how the effect of that loan grew to help other families through Saima.

Typically, multiple people each put up a small portion of a loan, sharing the risk. Note making zero-interest loans is not a way to plan for your retirement. But it is a way to help improve lives and make poor societies more stable, and therefore likely to produce fewer terroristic maniacs.

The more financially stable families there are in a country like Afghanistan, for instance, the less power groups like the Taliban have. So please consider making a loan to a hard working, but poor person, just because you like helping people, or to make the world a little safer place for you, your family, or for the missionaries in those countries.

An Old, Unknown Empidemic

Your family probably has a very serious health problem that you've never heard of. The latest flu? No, this has probably been an epidemic since people started working in factories and office buildings, but has gone unnoticed and unheralded until very recently. So I'm writing this little note to add a little heralding.

From WebMD: "Seven out of 10 U.S. children have too-low vitamin D levels, putting them at risk of heart disease, rickets, and weak bones... Vitamin D deficiency is a serious health threat..."

70%! Every family is probably affected. Your family is probably affected!

While the linked article is about children (of all ages), do a little more research and you'll find that vitamin D inadequacy and deficiency is also prevalent among adults.

Doctors have been increasingly aware of the seriousness of vitamin D inadequacy and deficiency, not only for physical health, but also for mental heath. And they've been increasingly aware that they have not been adequately monitoring the problem, which prompted the study at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine behind the article linked above. "We expected the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency would be high, but the magnitude of the problem nationwide was shocking."

So, read the linked article, read other articles, then get everyone in your family tested to find out what your vitamin D levels are, and if they're low, start getting more. If you take vitamin D supplements, make sure they're vitamin D3. Get it locally to start with, and while you're taking those, you can save money by ordering online. This is where I get my vitamins, and no, that's not an affiliate link so I'll get a little commission if you buy something there. It's just a link directly to a reliable source of inexpensive vitamin D3, from a large vitamin manufacturer.

By the way, my doctor found my vitamin D inadequacy a few years ago, and I started taking supplements, and it makes a big difference to my energy levels and helps me keep a positive attitude toward life. I'm sure, because I have a compartmentalized pill box with a box for each day of the week. That let's me see when I've forgotten to take my vitamin D, B-complex, fish oil, thyroid pill, and blood pressure med. When I forget them for a day, I can see a real difference. When I forget them for 2 days in a row, I see a much bigger difference. And a few times I've run out of D when I had the other things, so I learned what it was like to take everything except D, and wow, does D make a big difference!

Remember, 70% of U.S. kids have inadequate vitamin D, and 10% have full-on vitamin D deficiency, and it causes a wide variety of mild to very serious health problems. And since it's easy to test for, and cheap to take supplements, don't ignore it!!

My Famous Disease...

Hey, if you're gonna have a rare disease, especially if you're a guy and 85% of the people who get this disease are female, at least make it a famous disease! And Fibromuscular Dysplasia (FMD) just made the front page of the Wall Street Journal! Dr. Olin, my specialist for this particular problem, is quoted. Cool, huh? I go to New York to see him again in a few weeks... and I've thought of some new possible treatments: an arterial transplant, a whole-body arterialectomy, and if those don't work, Teflon-coated chain-linked carbon nanotubes artery liners!

Beautiful Music: Hang Drum

A beautiful song on a variation of steel drum:

Rules for a Gunfight

I stole this pic from Greg Long:

Need a Gift Idea?

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Installing Windows Storage Server 2008

The Administrator password when installing Windows Storage Server 2008 is wSS2008!.

No, I don't blab confidential Microsoft information. No, I don't give away keys. And no, I don't give away any real passwords. However, this is the default install password, and it's not a secret or confidential, it's just too hard to find. You have to download the Tools CD from MSDN and then read the release notes. So, I'm putting the WSS08 default admin password here in case it makes a little easier to find for people who search the Internet before they read all the docs. (And who's going to read the Tools docs before they install the basic software?)

So, with "wSS2008!" you can now log in to your fresh install of the fantastic new Windows Storage Server 2008. Ta-da!!

Now what's the first thing you're going to do after you log in...? CHANGE THE DEFAULT PASSWORD, if you're smart.

Paradise...

Paradise isn't a tropical island. Especially when the island in question has traffic problems, employment problems, housing problems...

I'll say this for Hawai'i, nowhere else have I seen rainbows so frequently, so complete, so large (very wide from red to violet and the ends miles apart), or glowing so vibrantly.

Paradise, however, is in our hearts and minds. It doesn't matter whether we're in a mansion, a cozy home, or a tent. What matters is who we're with, and how much we appreciate each other. It doesn't matter where.