Sunday, November 30, 2008

Something You Don't Often See

Disparaging remarks about AIDS research. In P.J. O'Rouke's book Parliament of Whores from 1991 the author actually makes the same point as John Oldfeild. Actors and rock stars want to wear the red ribbon for AIDS but while more children die of dehydration from Diarrhea (from malaria) and the cure was a tablet that (in 1991) cost $0.08 a piece no one was wearing a brown ribbon (PJ's words, not mine). It's only taken the rest of the world seventeen years to catch up with PJ.

Maria Cheng, Ap Medical Writer – Sun Nov 30, 11:58 am ET

LONDON – As World AIDS Day is marked on Monday, some experts are growing more outspoken in complaining that AIDS is eating up funding at the expense of more pressing health needs.
They argue that the world has entered a post-AIDS era in which the disease's spread has largely been curbed in much of the world, Africa excepted.
"AIDS is a terrible humanitarian tragedy, but it's just one of many terrible humanitarian tragedies," said Jeremy Shiffman, who studies health spending at Syracuse University.
Roger England of Health Systems Workshop, a think tank based in the Caribbean island of Grenada, goes further. He argues that UNAIDS, the U.N. agency leading the fight against the disease, has outlived its purpose and should be disbanded.
"The global HIV industry is too big and out of control. We have created a monster with too many vested interests and reputations at stake, ... too many relatively well paid HIV staff in affected countries, and too many rock stars with AIDS support as a fashion accessory," he wrote in the British Medical Journal in May.
Paul de Lay, a director at UNAIDS, disagrees. It's valid to question AIDS' place in the world's priorities, he says, but insists the turnaround is very recent and it would be wrong to think the epidemic is under control.
"We have an epidemic that has caused between 55 million and 60 million infections," de Lay said. "To suddenly pull the rug out from underneath that would be disastrous."
U.N. officials roughly estimate that about 33 million people worldwide have HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Scientists say infections peaked in the late 1990s and are unlikely to spark big epidemics beyond Africa.
In developed countries, AIDS drugs have turned the once-fatal disease into a manageable illness.
England argues that closing UNAIDS would free up its $200 million annual budget for other health problems such as pneumonia, which kills more children every year than AIDS, malaria and measles combined.
"By putting more money into AIDS, we are implicitly saying it's OK for more kids to die of pneumonia," England said.
His comments touch on the bigger complaint: that AIDS hogs money and may damage other health programs.
By 2006, AIDS funding accounted for 80 percent of all American aid for health and population issues, according to the Global Health Council.
In Ethiopia, Rwanda, Uganda and elsewhere, donations for HIV projects routinely outstrip the entire national health budgets.
In a 2006 report, Rwandan officials noted a "gross misallocation of resources" in health: $47 million went to HIV, $18 million went to malaria, the country's biggest killer, and $1 million went to childhood illnesses.
"There needs to be a rational system for how to apportion scarce funds," said Helen Epstein, an AIDS expert who has consulted for UNICEF, the World Bank, and others.
AIDS advocates say their projects do more than curb the virus; their efforts strengthen other health programs by providing basic health services.
But across Africa, about 1.5 million doctors and nurses are still needed, and hospitals regularly run out of basic medicines.
Experts working on other health problems struggle to attract money and attention when competing with AIDS.
"Diarrhea kills five times as many kids as AIDS," said John Oldfield, executive vice president of Water Advocates, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that promotes clean water and sanitation.
"Everybody talks about AIDS at cocktail parties," Oldfield said. "But nobody wants to hear about diarrhea," he said.
These competing claims on public money are likely to grow louder as the world financial meltdown threatens to deplete health dollars.
"We cannot afford, in this time of crisis, to squander our investments," Dr. Margaret Chan, WHO's director-general, said in a recent statement.
Some experts ask whether it makes sense to have UNAIDS, WHO, UNICEF, the World Bank, the Global Fund plus countless other AIDS organizations, all serving the same cause.
"I do not want to see the cause of AIDS harmed," said Shiffman of Syracuse University. But "For AIDS to crowd out other issues is ethically unjust."
De Lay argues that the solution is not to reshuffle resources but to boost them.
"To take money away from AIDS and give it to diarrheal diseases or onchocerciasis (river blindness) or leishmaniasis (disfiguring parasites) doesn't make any sense," he said. "We'd just be doing a worse job in everything else."
I'm not trying to be an ass about AIDS. It just fascinates me how these things work, the politics of it all. I'm sure Bono is sincere in his desire to help Africans stop AIDS but why that cause? I guess you have to pick one and stick with it.

First Snow


I woke up this morning and there is a thin layer of wet, wet snow on the ground. It's very peaceful and relaxing this morning and surprisingly warm in a house that is otherwise as drafty as the Nina. Pinta and/or the Santa Maria.


Thanksgiving Part II

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. I know we did. My parents left yesterday, headed for home with a brief visit to our old hometown, Martinsville Indiana. We lived there for about five years I think. This was around the time I entered middle school and my first year of high school. Dad likes to visit Martinsville and I think the folks have been there a few times since we left. Dad tells me our old house has fallen on some hard times but the cornfeild across the street is still there. I guess there isn't a big rush on developement in rural Indiana, which makes me happy. I would love to get back to Martinsville myself someday. I actually visited one year while I was still in high school and hung out with my old friend Paul. If Martinsville has a downside it's probably the fact that it's the most racist town in the US. I remember a cross burning on the lawn of one of Dad's co-workers who happened to be Indian or Pakistani (can't remember which). I remember just a few years ago reading a headline of a small article in Sports Illustrated. The article title was something about a small Indiana town's high school basketball team being suspended from play in their league because of an incident involvong an all black team from Indianapolis. I remember thinking right away it was probably Martinsville, and of course it was (otherwise what would have been the point of this antedote).

Enough about racist little Hoosier towns. Thanksgiving was a treat this year. Like I mentioned in the last post I made dinner. It was low stress, I made it in a crock pot! You really can't get any lower stress than that. We got up and took a ride up the Illinois side of the Mississippi river to Alton Illinois. It was an interesting little town that used to hold a Federal prison during the civil war. I think we all enjoyed that a lot. Friday we went to the main street of St Charles, which was packed because of all the Christmas shopping and festivities going on. It was like a Yankee Doodle Christmas.

The folks are gone and I miss them but I'm glad they made itout for a visit before we leave St Charles.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Thanksgiving Is Reason For Thanks

Thanksgiving is shaping up to be my favorite holiday.  I'm not sure why.  Between the growing commercialism of Halloween and the King of crass commercialization, Christmas, there is this sweet simple little feast with an awesome tradition I can get behind.  You gather friends and family together and gorge all day long.  Genius!  Thanksgiving is of course not without it's controversies.  You have your typical kill joy that likes to point out how badly we've treated the native Americans for 400 years or so.  I'm sorry, now can I enjoy my jellied cranberries?  Of course that's a traditional Thanksgiving dish, but the thing I like about this holiday is mixing it up with non-traditional dishes.  This year my parents drove out to St. Louis and I'm doing the cooking.  We're having apricot glazed pork tenderloin for dinner and pumpkin cheesecake for dessert.  They're easy to make (we actually bought the cheesecake) so we get to spend time visiting.

Another benefit of Thanksgiving is the family gathering together.  Over the last several years it is getting harder to get the family together but usually you can still see everyone you love around this time.  I'm sad that my brothers and their families couldn't be with us this year.  I'm sure Lisa feels the same about her family.

Having Mom and Dad is a hoot though.  Anyone that knows them, knows they could have their own sitcom.  Of all the people that have ever visited me, my parents are probably my favorite just because of the overwhelming enthusiasm my Mom has for everything.  She doesn't travel much but when she does she remembers the trip for ever.  I'm thankful that we got to show them the St Louis arch and St Charles before we left for Colorado.  And I'm thankful that we'll have a new place to introduce them to next year.

Thanksgiving has become my holiday of choice.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Tales From My Yoot

I was recently reading an article in USA Today about bullying and it's affects on the grown up victims. My first thought was that it was a bunch of whiners who never moved on. I'm not sure where I stand in the bully scale but I imagine it was somewhere in the middle. I wasn't a target of a coordinated campaign like some kids I knew. When I was picked on I had some misplaced sense of bravery and would either smart off or stand up to the bully. I only suffered physical attacks two or maybe three times. I'm sure my experiences weren't much different than 90% of America (or maybe just my generation). I got to thinking of the article though and noticed that most of the victims were girls. I started thinking of Samantha Kershaw. Samantha was probably the most ostracized girl in the history of Martinsville West Middle School. Her biggest offense was that she was homely. I don’t recall ever picking on her myself but I do remember any contact with her was social suicide. If you think of this stuff long enough it can really get you down. I know it’s all part of growing up but it’s still a pretty fucked up part of growing up.

The few bullying events that occurred in my life were relatively tame. How hard can a fourth grader hit really? And as a kid you’re still pretty rubbery. I got picked on during a game of kick ball at recess in the first grade. I don’t really remember the event but what happened after word. Back in class I put my head on the desk and started crying. Yeah, I know, right. Big pussy. My teacher, instead of doing something about the bullying, gave me some advice that actually stuck. She told me not to let him see that he got to me. The “he” in question was Tommy Wheeler. The biggest kid in class and not really the classic bully I guess. He did like to start fights. When I was a kid we tended to rotate through the roster. Tommy and I could be friends one day and enemies the next. For the most part I liked him and that was true of most of the kids from my elementary school.

When we moved to Lyndhurst, Ohio my tormentor was a little douche bag named Happy Hughes. He was a grade behind me but was the boss of the school. He worked his way through the school, picking one new kid every couple of weeks to terrorize. I got lucky; he picked on me in the winter months. I remember it like it was yesterday, I had a huge jacket on, he had two toadies pin me to the wall and he commenced to wailing on my stomach. Of course I felt nothing physically; I had three freaking layers of clothes on. They flung me to the ground and Happy climbed on top of me. Looking back on it now it was almost homoerotic and I don’t wonder if he was dealing with some issues. Wish I’d been smart enough to figure that out then, I could have used it. A teacher broke us up and scolded us to stop. To this day I remember being incredulous to the fact that I was included in the rebuke like I had somehow been a willing participant. My response to Happy was to make fun of him as loud and as often (which with a name like Happy wasn’t too difficult) as I could and to make sure I picked on his toadies whenever I saw them alone. I’m not sure what kept me from another ass beating. It sounds like I was well adjusted to the situation, but at the time I was mortified and lost a lot of sleep over it.

I guess like everyone I’ve had my share of shameful behavior too. I remember some odd brief week long period where I would let some kids egg me on into picking a fight with some kid named Billy every morning in the classroom. I’m not sure how it happened but I know I would start it and there was name calling and shoving but nothing too bad. I guess it gave me a feeling of power to find out that there was actually someone more timid then me. Fortunately Billy and I, like Tommy and I, made up and became friends again.

I like to think that with a rare lapse in judgment I’ve always been a good guy. When I was in Kindergarten an older boy thanked me for being nice to his sister. She was a quiet, pudgy little girl who didn’t seem to get picked on a lot but didn’t have many friends either. I always talked to her and I guess it made a difference. Her brother thanking me made a difference to me too.  It stuck with me all these years.

It’s a shame that as adults some people had such terrible memories of bullying they can’t get over it.  I wonder if Samantha Kershaw ever got over it?  I certainly hope so.  While I acknowledge that bullying is a part of growing up, nothing makes me angrier faster than a bully.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Colorado

Well, the Glass-Miller clan is on the move again! I’m transferring to Colorado Springs in a month or so. We’ve been trying to get to Colorado ever since I began applying for my job. It’s actually one of the first places I applied for over a year ago. I don’t know what took them so long to fill the position but it’s been a source of aggravation for me for the past couple of months. If they had excepted me back then I could have saved myself several thousand dollars in relocating costs moving to St Louis first. That’s neither here nor there now I guess.

I’ve been swinging back and forth on the decision to move since I found out about the possibility of a transfer. There were a lot of things my decision hinged upon. First I like the people at STL. I don’t think there’s a single person I don’t get along with (or failing that I can’t just avoid) and I love the work. Second we love St Charles and our neighborhood. It feels like home after just a few months. On the down side is the almost catastrophic collapse of the job market around St Louis. The airport looses flights everyday (of course what airport doesn’t). The biggest doubt I had was the information I received that my location pay would drop, meaning my salary would be cut. By the look of our research the cost of living was no cheaper in Colorado Springs than it was in St Louis.

When I flew to Colorado Springs (CS from now on) I immediately remembered how beautiful Colorado is and how much I love it. The pendulum swung west. After a day at the airport I was worried that I wouldn’t have enough to do (it’s very small) and the pendulum swung east. By the end of the second day after talking to the HR specialist and finding out I had been misinformed about the locality pay (it’ll stay the same) I was sold. I got to check out houses and it seems like we might actually get a bigger place for less. It won’t have the character of our current house but I can live with that.

So off we go, packing and moving an entire household for the second time in seven months. WE’RE STAYING PUT THIS TIME!!! 

Unless there’s an opening in Alaska.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Health Issues

Well, this is frustrating. I had two profound thoughts I wanted to write down but in the time it took me to get from the bathroom to the computer they were gone. That’s right. Profound thoughts come to me on the can. Of course it doesn’t do any good because they usually disappear five minutes later. I’m hoping that some day you’re not reading this and watching the slow collapse of my mental capacity as I slide into old age, senility and dementia. There was, after all, a study a few years ago that tied dementia to obesity. And like the study that claims I’m obese, it’s got to be true. Of course I don’t consider myself obese. I’m 5’8” and 220 lbs so I am fat but I like to think of myself as strapping. My last job required a physical every year and every year I tested fine for everything but triglycerides. They were always “elevated” and the form letter that accompanied the test results suggested I consult a physician. Well this year as I slide closer and closer to fifty, sixty, senility and dementia, I decided to consult a physician. Like all doctors I’ve seen before, he was impressed by my genes, which is always comforting to me. Apparently I come from good stock, the Glass family tends to go on, the occasional case of emphysema not withstanding. I digress. Anyway after a “battery” of tests it was determined that I was healthy except for elevated triglycerides. I was sure I would receive a severe dressing down from my doctor but my condition was met with a life affirming “meh, it’s not that high”. I guess at this time I should point out that triglycerides are related to cholesterol in some shady way that I don’t completely understand, it’s the fat count in the body or some such. I should also point out that Lisa had elevated levels too and got the same devil may care response from our doctor. Either he’s one callous bastard or these triglycerides aren’t as big a deal as the Today Show would have us believe. Lisa’s results got me wondering how many people have this problem (I’m not typing triglycerides again). Is it the internal medicine equivalent of labeling everyone not 5’8” and 164 pounds as obese? Do I sound bitter?

As always I have no conclusions to draw from any of this, I was just hoping that that profound though would have come back to me by now.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

The End Of 2008

All I can say is thank God. Maybe 2009 will be better. Actually, for me that's really just a joke, so far it hasn't been that bad for us. Not economy-wise anyway. I took a pay cut to take my current job and the adjustment has been a little rough but the pay off is we have a normal life. So now I don't know if our hard times are a result of the crappy economy or my crappy pay check.

The USA Today cover story from yesterday was about American's digging deep to save money. Maybe the recession will be good for us. It seems like people are working to pay down credit card debt. It doesn't make sense to me why it's a crisis when the interest rate for credit cards is 27% but people were still charging when it was only 18%. Lisa and I have stopped eating out since we can now enjoy the thrill of making our own food. I guess luxury is a matter of perspective.

In other news Martina McBride will be performing with Elvis in a video. She'll be inserted into his comeback special. I would like to meet anyone that thinks this is a good idea. I would like to know why that person would enjoy it. I assume that there is a demand for it or they wouldn't do it. I saw Celine Dion's duet with the King on the American Idol special and it was disgusting, and it would have been even without Celine. I just don't get it.

They are also apparently killing off Bruce Wayne as Batman for a reboot. There's another term I've grown to hate over the years. Maybe curmudgeons are only people that have been around long enough to see it all come back around and think it was better the first time. Sometimes a reboot works, like James Bond (which made $70 million this weekend) or the Batman movies but now it's just getting old. From the retooled Star Wars with Greedo firing first to the new Star Trek, reboot is a fancified word for retread.

Right now things aren't looking good for the big three auto makers. I remember I was devastated when AMC disappeared in 1987. Do you remember when you were so new it seemed like everything was always there and always would be. I can't imagine that the government will let them go under. GMC has $16 billion in operating cash which they estimate will last until sometime next year so $25 billion split three ways won't help for long. When I was young I also didn't think I would be around to see the fall of the US as the world's financial leader either. Hopefully I'm just over reacting and they'll all be able to turn it around, just like Chrysler under Lee Iacocca and Harley Davidson after AMF Voight did.

And finally the Simpsons featured the New York Times crossword puzzle in last Sunday's episode, which I found odd.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Today We Did Nothing

I work weekends so that's about all I did. I watched an episode of 30 Rock on NBC.com at lunch. I'm sure that's not legal but at least it was on lunch. I got home and Lisa and I ran to the nearest Walmart Supercenter we could find around here, twenty miles away. We got groceries had dinner and now I'm ready for bed. If your Saturday was any more exciting than that I would love to hear about it. Oh and gas is $1.79.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

18,000 Views

I hit a milestone of sorts today. I had 18,000 views of my photostream on Flickr today. It's not really much of an accomplishment. I've been on Flickr since 2005 so it was bound to happen but I still thought it was interesting enough to note. I still like Flickr but I haven't practiced photography as much as I had hoped. I don't think I've gotten any better either. Some day I'll pare my hobbies down to a few dozen and be able to concentrate on becoming a better picture taking guy (photographer sounds like too lofty a goal).

Monday, November 10, 2008

Our Monday Afternoon

Lisa surprised me by agreeing to see RocknRolla. I think it was Gerard Butler. She loved his abs in 300 and his soft sensitive side in P.S. I Love You. Well whatever works. It was a good day for a British crime drama, cold and cloudy. I've never seen a Guy Ritchie film before but this one was pretty good. I may have to go back and check out Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels or Snatch.

After the movie we played Uno at which time I pissed Lisa off with my obsessive demand for adherence the rules. The game ended poorly, but thankfully she has forgiven me.

That was pretty much our day, the best parts anyway.

Friday, November 7, 2008

A New Era

Well, I thought I would write some stuff down and check back in four years and see how things are going. I would like to try to look at things objectively and I'm going to start practicing right now. While I'm Libertarian, I'm not blind to the weaknesses of that idealogy. So since this is the beginning of a new, exciting time (for some people anyway) and this is the first time I've had a blog for a new President it seems like a good time to try being objective. I don't remember seeing so many happy people after an election, not even when Clinton won. I've noticed the press has already started stirring it up, accusing Obama's choice as Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, as partisan. It may be true (apparenly he once sent a dead fish to a rival) but do we have to hear about it already?

So for the history record, the unemployment rate is at a 14 year high of 6.5 (which was midway through Clinton's first term). Ford announced a $129 million third quarter loss and gas is at $1.97 at the Qwik Trip on our block. I'm curious to see how much changes. I hope I can keep up my interest for the next four years. I hope things get better, right now I'm feeling a little hopeful myself but I'm sure that'll pass in a few hours.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Damn It

It looks like P Diddy is going to get his way. Lisa and I voted this morning at 7:30. I voted pretty much straight Libertarian down the line except where one wasn't on the ballot. Barr for President, Finkenstadt for Governor. I probably won't get my way.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Gas Price Today

Gas is down to $2.11 at the QT around the corner. It's about $2.04 at the Sam's Club.