Octopus Overlords

coopasonic wrote: ↑Fri Jan 05, 2018 3:07 pm Had an MRI yesterday in the ongoing effort to relieve my sciatica. Note from my doctor after reviewing the radiologist report:

Mr [redacted]

MRI showed large disc compressing right L5 nerve root --you should see a surgeon at texas back institute

--[redacted]

He likes to get right to the point.

I'm meeting with an orthopedic surgeon Monday morning.

When did we get so old?

Daehawk wrote: ↑Mon Jan 08, 2018 4:58 pm I wish you luck Coop. I refuse all back surgery. My brother should have.

Scientists used to think of mutations as rare events. But in recent years they have gradually come to realize how many mutations happen. They are accumulated at the rate of about one hundred per genome per generation in mammals. That is, your children will have one hundred differences from you and your spouse in their genes as a result of random copying errors by your enzymes or as a result of mutations in your ovaries or testicles caused by cosmic radiation.

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Wed Jan 10, 2018 4:44 pm I can honestly say, I've never spent a moment thinking about how cosmic radiation is impacting my testicles, but now I'm intrigued.

Daehawk wrote: ↑Wed Jan 10, 2018 4:45 pm I make a mean cauliflower casserole.

Had a frozen lasagna last night. Was actually surprised by how good it was for $4.

In 1998, Disney led an entertainment industry lobbying effort that resulted in the term of copyright being extended by 20 years, even for works that had already been created -- a law with an incoherent basis, given that the US copyright system is constitutionally constrained to passing laws to promote new creative works (giving creators more copyright on works they've already created doesn't get them to make new ones, and it reduces the ability of new artists to remix existing works, the way Disney did with the Grimm's fairy tales).

20 years later, the US public domain is set to start expanding again, with works from 1923 entering the public domain next year, and Mickey Mouse cartoons entering the public domain starting in 2024, with Steamboat Willie.

Ars Technica's Timothy B Lee polled lobbyists for the record and movie industries and both of them said they weren't planning any legislative pushes this year.

Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Thu Jan 11, 2018 2:09 pm Cold front...

Scuzz wrote: ↑Wed Jan 10, 2018 8:42 pm

Daehawk wrote: ↑Wed Jan 10, 2018 4:45 pm I make a mean cauliflower casserole.

Had a frozen lasagna last night. Was actually surprised by how good it was for $4.

Last year while working two jobs I sometimes bought a frozen lasagna (Stauffers maybe?) and took it to work. Individual sized, worked great in the microwaves and was actually pretty good. I don't get much lasagna normally as the wife is lactose intolerant and lasagna without cheese sucks.

Another cheap frozen meal I had was the frozen Taco Burrito's somebody makes. I would heat them and then add picante sauce over the top.

Hmm...maybe now I know why I lost 10lbs working nights last year.

At Rainbow Grocery, a cooperative in this city’s Mission District, one brand of water is so popular that it’s often out of stock. But one recent evening, there was a glittering rack of it: glass orbs containing 2.5 gallons of what is billed as “raw water” — unfiltered, untreated, unsterilized spring water, $36.99 each and $14.99 per refill, bottled and marketed by a small company called Live Water.

“It has a vaguely mild sweetness, a nice smooth mouth feel, nothing that overwhelms the flavor profile,” said Kevin Freeman, a shift manager at the store. “Bottled water’s controversial. We’ve curtailed our water selection. But this is totally outside that whole realm.”

...

The founder of Live Water, Mukhande Singh, started selling spring water from Opal Springs in Culver, Ore., three years ago, but it was a small local operation until this year. Marketing materials show Mr. Singh (né Christopher Sanborn) sitting naked and cross-legged on a hot spring, his long brown hair flowing over his chest.

Pure water can be obtained by using a reverse osmosis filter, the gold standard of home water treatment, but for Mr. Singh, the goal is not pristine water, per se. “You’re going to get 99 percent of the bad stuff out,” he said. “But now you have dead water.”

He said “real water” should expire after a few months. His does. “It stays most fresh within one lunar cycle of delivery,” he said. “If it sits around too long, it’ll turn green. People don’t even realize that because all their water’s dead, so they never see it turn green.”

Mr. Singh believes that public water has been poisoned. “Tap water? You’re drinking toilet water with birth control drugs in them,” he said. “Chloramine, and on top of that they’re putting in fluoride. Call me a conspiracy theorist, but it’s a mind-control drug that has no benefit to our dental health.” (There is no scientific evidence that fluoride is a mind-control drug, but plenty to show that it aids dental health.)

pr0ner wrote: ↑Thu Jan 11, 2018 3:25 pm

Call me a conspiracy theorist,

pr0ner wrote: ↑Thu Jan 11, 2018 3:00 pm

Scuzz wrote: ↑Wed Jan 10, 2018 8:42 pm

Daehawk wrote: ↑Wed Jan 10, 2018 4:45 pm I make a mean cauliflower casserole.

Had a frozen lasagna last night. Was actually surprised by how good it was for $4.

Last year while working two jobs I sometimes bought a frozen lasagna (Stauffers maybe?) and took it to work. Individual sized, worked great in the microwaves and was actually pretty good. I don't get much lasagna normally as the wife is lactose intolerant and lasagna without cheese sucks.

Another cheap frozen meal I had was the frozen Taco Burrito's somebody makes. I would heat them and then add picante sauce over the top.

Hmm...maybe now I know why I lost 10lbs working nights last year.

I always thought Marie Callendar's frozen lasagna was superior to Stouffers.

Now, Stouffers frozen mac and cheese? Yum.

GreenGoo wrote: ↑Thu Jan 11, 2018 3:52 pm Yeah I saw the raw water thing somewhere.

Since I don't live on a mountain with a nearby naturally filtered spring, I think I'll stick to treated water thanks.

The idea of boiling every glass of water before drinking it is not appealing.

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Thu Jan 11, 2018 5:50 pm I have to wonder why the FDA hasn't body slammed them.

If a company is legally selling bottled water in the United States, it has to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This means it has to pass some safety standards that no natural spring found during a hike is likely to pass.

The FDA requires that bottled water facilities “have the source water inspected and the water sampled, analyzed, and found to be of safe and sanitary quality” according to state and local laws.

A Maine company called Summit Spring sells an “untreated” water brand called Tourmaline Spring. Officials explained that they applied for and were allowed to leave their water untreated by the state and were in compliance with the FDA and state officials.

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Sat Jan 13, 2018 6:15 pm The flu has kept me on the couch for the last couple of days, which has led to a lower back ache. Just a second ago my phone rang. I managed to knock it onto the floor when I grabbed for it. I bent down to get it, and good lord - I have no idea what I just did to my back, but I damned near blacked out. Now I can barely stand to move it.

I hope it is just a pulled muscle.