the poor

So much for keeping up with posting everyday.

Work has been hectic, but only mildly so. Next week I start volunteering at the local shelter, and my duties will include serving meals and bible study. I'm not very religious, but I don't see any reason to to help others, especially if religion is what they use to keep themselves on the paths they choose.

I don't believe in the undeserving poor. I'm sure I've said that before. This is what I believe:

If I ran a shelter, and every day a man came in for food and left. And then everyday he got himself drunk and high, and the next day came back asking for food and shelter and clothes and a shower, I would give it to him. If he wanted to get sober, if he wanted a job, if he wanted to better his education, or get healthcare, all these would be available to him. At no cost, including his sobriety. I don't see the use in forcing people to be a certain way, just to get good food and clean water and some medicine. We're all humans. There is no such thing as the undeserving poor.

July 7th, 8th & 9th

On Saturday, my day off, I mostly spent the day watching the Tour de France and looking for a new mattress.

On Sunday I worked the morning shift, which was easy and went smooth.

Yesterday, also my day off, I went to Filene's basement and spent a fair bit of time trying to find a decent work short and a watch. I also purchased a pair of sneakers from a shoe store called DSW, which stocks mostly clearance items. I got a decent pair of adidas for $45.

I'm not one to spend money if I don't have to. I've been putting off getting new shoes for a little too long.

Jay and Rachel checked Rome out from the library, so I've been watching that, and Campus updated, so I've been reading that as well. I spoke to Becca (my friend in the UK) on the phone yesterday for two hours. She flies into Boston on the 7th of August and leaves on the 22nd.

Tour de France 101

The Tour de France is a stage race, and a grand tour. That means the riders race everyday for about three weeks, and that each day's race is different. They're all in different towns, and the course is sometimes flat, sometimes hilly, and sometimes mountainous.

There are 21 teams in this year's tour, and each team starts with 9 riders (some drop out). each team is named after their biggest sponsor (much like NASCAR), and team names often change for this reason. Riders need to race in teams because they have to draft each other, and work together to chase down breakaways.

There are a lot of different awards in the TdF, but there are four bigs ones. They are awarded with jerseys (maillots). There are the Maillot Jaune (yellow), Vert (green), Blanc (white), and Pois (white and red polka dot).

The Maillot Jaune is the leader's jersey, and is awarded to the rider with the best overall time.

The Maillot Vert is the points jersey, but it is also called the sprinter's jersey because a sprinter almost always wins it. You gain the most points by winning stages, and there are more flat stages than mountain stages. Sprinters power up to the line on the flats, so sprinters tend to win more stages, thus Sprinter's jersey.

The Maillot Blanc is awarded to the best young rider under 25. Best is determined by GC position.

The Maillot Pois is also called the King of the Mountains. This white jersey with red polka dots is awarded to the rider with the most climbing points (there are climb check points on every route).

Here are the 2006 TdF Maillots: Damiano Cunego, Floyd Landis, Robbie McEwen, and Michael Rasmussen.





Here's some jargon:

GC- General Classification. The overall standings, not just that day's race.
Peleton- The group of riders (comes from the word platoon).
Breakaway- Rider or riders that race away ahead of the peleton. They are usually caught near the end of the stage.
Bonk- Completely lose energy and power.
ITT- Individual Time trial. This is when each rider races a set course by themselves, racing for the fastest time. Riders tend to wear a lot of aero gear to shave off time.
Aero- short for aerodynamic.
TTT- Team time trial. Same as ITT, only five riders race as a group. The last rider over the line is the time for the whole team. There are no TTT in this year's tour.
Saddle- bike seat. Announcers will says 'he's out of the saddle' when a rider stand up on his bike.
EPO- Erythropoietin. This is a chemical produced by your kidneys to regulate the production of red blood cells. Dopers will take it to increase their rbc count, which increases endurance.


Note on Sprinters vs Climbers.

A sprinter cannot win the Tour de France. Sprinters are bigger guys, with powerful thighs and gluts that help them reach speeds of up to 60mph in order to win flat stages. Because of their additional muscle weight, they tend to suffer in the mountains. Some drop out altogether. Climbers are also very strong riders, and occassionally they win sprints, but usually they stick to winning in the mountains. They are a lot smaller than sprinters for this reason: When you climb up hill, every ounce of additional weight pulls against you and decreases your time. Some riders like Michael Rasmussen are so obsessed with reducing weight that they shave all their body hair. Here is Sprinter Tom Boonen compared to climber Michael Rasmussen:

July 4th, 5th and 6th

On the fourth I considered going to the Charles river and watching the fireworks, or seeing the Boston pops. I did neither of these. Instead I called relatives and caught up with their lives. My father informed me that my Aunt Cathy, who has been struggling with cancer for the past few years, has decided to forgo chemo in favor of spending her remaining few months relatively pain free and doing what she loves. This made me depressed all day, and I was unable to sleep.

Which brings us to the fifth. I stayed up all night and was exhausted when 5am rolled around I headed to work. I kept up an internal dialouge, reminding myself throughout the day not to expend too much energy, for fear of passing out. I requested not to be on register too much, and my shift obliged. Event though I was going easy, I still busted ass, and later in the day I goofed off with my manager, which was refreshing because I really like her, and I enjoy 'bonding'. I also love it when she teases me about being a 'terrible worker', 'can't stand her' etc, which is often. When I got home at 1pm I passed out and slept until 7pm. I got up, went to the store, dicked around online and went back to sleep at 11 or so. I slept until 1pm. I was so friggin tired.

Today, after waking up at 1pm, I went to the bank. I stopped at a Buck on my way home, the store near Mass. General and bought an iced chai. There were two transplant surgeons getting drinks there and one of them asked for two large cups of ice. I laughed out loud and hard, and said "You do realize how hilarious it is that you just ordered ice." They laughed with me and then I left for the train station.

Now I am going to head to the store, grab some grub and then watch Superman Returns, followed by Batman Begins.

I live as few men dare to dream.

A few weeks ago I went to a trivia night at a local tavern, and all the teams chose their own names. One team was named the Gaza Strippers, and another Fuck the MBTA (Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority). I thought of that today, when after work I hung out at 1 Financial, Rachel's 'Buck, killing time because the outbound Red line was experiencing technical difficulties. I spoke at length to a woman named Cory, who is a 'Buck partner in New Hampshire. I asked her to guess how long I had been a partner, after we discussed coffees and drink recipes, and she said "At least 2 years." Try two months.

When Rachel clocked out we went to the Braintree/Ashmont platform, which was insanely crowded, and we kept each other from having bad anxiety attacks while waiting interminably for the next outbound train to JFK/UMass. When we got home we both raided the fridge I crashed on the couch. I didn't wake up until 11pm. Rachel and Jay went to some barbecue. I would have gone, but I was exhausted.

Tomorrow I'll probably go watch the fireworks at the Charles River.

On SiCKO

The guys over at the Cato Institute are a lot smarter than I am. Here's what they had to say about Michael Moore's new movie Sicko

"56 Word Review of SiCKO" by Michael Cannon

SiCKO was a very funny film, and I praise Michael Moore for starting the conversation and pointing out many horrors of the U.S. health care system.

But from a policy standpoint – and I say this more in sadness than in anger – SiCKO was so breathtaking a specimen of ignorant propaganda that it would make Pravda blush.

"Sicko" Health Care Reform

by Michael D. Tanner

Michael Tanner is director of health and welfare studies at the Cato Institute and coauthor of Healthy Competition: What's Holding Back Health Care and How to Free It (2005).

I recently saw a sneak preview of Michael Moore's new movie Sicko, and I can tell you honestly that the movie is both funny and poignant.

Some of the stories Moore tells of Americans who have been caught up in the bureaucracy of the American health system are truly heart-wrenching. The insurance company bureaucrats he exposes are cruel and capricious.

There is no doubt that Michael Moore is a skilled filmmaker and an effective propagandist, but serious advocates of health care reform would be advised against relying too heavily on his view.

Moore ignores the positive side of American health care altogether. For all its problems, the United States still provides the highest quality health care in the world.

Eighteen of the last 25 winners of the Nobel Prize in medicine either are U.S. citizens or work here. With no price controls, free-market U.S. medicine provides the incentives that lead to innovation breakthroughs in new drugs and other medical technologies.

U.S. companies have developed half of all the major new medicines introduced worldwide over the past 20 years, and Americans played a key role in 80 percent of the most important medical advances of the past 30 years, according to a survey by the president's Council of Economic Advisors.

When you are sick, the United States is the place to be.

Comparing the outcome for specific diseases like cancer or heart disease, the United States clearly outperforms the rest of the world. Take prostate cancer, for example. American men are more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer than men in other countries, but we're less likely to die of it.

Fewer than one in five American men with prostate cancer will die from it, while a quarter of Canadian men will, and even more ominously, 57 percent of British men and nearly half of French and German men will.

Similar results can be found for other cancers, AIDS and heart disease. When former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi needed heart surgery last year, he didn't go to France, Canada, Cuba or even an Italian hospital - he went to the Cleveland Clinic.

Moore points out that too many Americans lack health insurance, but ignores the fact that most are uninsured for only brief periods of time. Nor does he mention that nearly 10 million of the 47 million uninsured Americans are actually eligible for Medicaid, but fail to apply.

Moore highlights the stories of several Americans who were denied reimbursement for experimental treatments. Some of the results are tragic. But does he really believe national health care systems would cover such treatments?

Indeed, Moore generally overlooks the flaws of national health care systems. For instance, he downplays waiting lists in Canada, suggesting they are no more than inconveniences. He interviews apparently healthy Canadians who claim they have no problem getting care. He even follows an uninsured American who slips across the border from Detroit to visit a free Canadian clinic.

Yet somehow, Moore couldn't find any of the nearly 800,000 Canadians who are currently on the waiting list for treatment. Nor apparently did he have time to interview Canadian Supreme Court Chief Justice Beverly McLachlin, who wrote in a 2005 decision striking down part of Canada's universal care law that many Canadians waiting for treatment suffer chronic pain and "patients die while on the waiting list."

Similarly, in a truly funny sequence, Moore struggles to find the payment window at a British hospital. It might not have been so funny if he had talked to any of the 850,000 Britons waiting for admission to those hospitals.

Every year, shortages force Britain's National Health Service to cancel as many as 50,000 operations. Roughly 40 percent of cancer patients never get to see an oncology specialist. Delays in receiving treatment are often so long that nearly 20 percent of colon cancer cases considered treatable when first diagnosed are incurable by the time treatment is finally offered.

The American health care system clearly needs reform. But it would be a shame if Moore's latest piece of propaganda stampedes Americans into sacrificing the quality, choice and freedom that our health care system provides today.

Went to the fed building, after that I cut through the common. On my way a gent in his fifties, apropos of nothing, started ranting to me about the homeless people who camp in the common. He digressed into a diatribe about welfare, taxes, why single mothers are whores, why everyone needs religion (i.e. Christ) and why gays are deviant and evil.

I told him "You can have a strong moral core and not be religious, and you can be 'religious' and have no moral code. I work my ass off, I got to church, I pay my taxes, I'm a registered republican, and I've been gay my entire life."

I ditched the gent near Downtown Crossing and headed to Congress st. I hung out with Jay, Daniel, Aaron and Phil for half and hour, then went to work. After work I walked to the public gardens to watch the sun set. The sky was amazing, tumultuous. On one side it was bright blues and brilliant whites, and on the other it was rolling mass of grey-blue hues highlighted by the red-shifting sun. The Boston sky reminds me of the Portland sky, reminds, me of the Palm Springs sky, reminds me of the Alaskan sky. All sky can seem the same, it's the surroundings that distinguish it. The sun reflecting gold off the forest, or the forest of buildings.

I went home and made dinner. I've been eating two Clif bars, a box of macaroni and a vitamin everyday. Also hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.

I insistently relayed my daily anecdotes to Jay and Rachel's patient ears.

Nothing at all happened today

Today I accomplished very little. I surfed the net (I still refer to it in those terms, and most likely forever will), and later in the evening got completely trashed with a few friends. Sean, a guy I just met, is a member of the Coast Guard reserve and a friend of Big Joe's. Earlier I had a dream about hanging out in a bookstore/pub with Jenn, Keegan and Rebecca (from work). Keegan and I drank Maker's Mark, I teased Rebecca about her bad taste in sci-fi books, told her I was David Edding's niece, and hit on Jenn a bit. That's all I remember. A few minutes ago I watched some Henry Rollins and decided to be more dedicated in recording my life, even if it is mundane. Tomorrow I work at 2:15, but I have to head to the bank at the O'Neil federal building to grab rent monies before then.

Health Care Reform

You want to know what significantly socialized medicine would look like in this country? Look no further than the Veterans Association. VA 'beneficiaries' have so many red tape horrors stories, they are actually the source of the term. It seems to me what the average person wants in relation to universal health care is a combination of widespread availability and affordabilty, both of which can be readily provided by a system involving the creation of a national health insurance company. Instead of socially regulating hospitals, doctors and other providers (which causes a significant increase to the overall cost of health care), better to take a constitutionally mandated position.

In Article 1, section 8 of the US Constitution there reads the following:

Congress shall have power ....To establish post offices and post roads

At the time the Constitution was written in 1789, medicine was not widely considered a necessary public service, but the post was. The ability to send and receive mail was deemed so important, it was constitutionally mandated, and I believe it can be easily and rationally argued that, had cardio-thoracic surgery existed in 1789, federally mandated health care would have been included as a power of congress.
Instead of paying larger, profit driven middle men for expensive and limited coverage, every citizen should be able to pay the government health care insurance company and affordable premium, show their insurance card and receive coverage anywhere in the United States. Why do so many people make a direct correlation between employers and health benefits? Forcing employers to mandatorily provide benefits reduces either the amount they are able to pay their workers, or the number of employees they are able to hire. Yes, many insurance providers shop their plans to companies, insisting on it as a brilliant worker incentive, and it often can be, but in the process the service provided is expensive, and COBRA aside (which most workers never use) it is usually far to expensive coverage to carry without the employer's assistance.

Choice is important. In the UK, for example, the quality of health care often depends on where you live, because you generally have to see physicians in your neighborhood, even if there is a better hospital elsewhere. This has much to do with the simple fact that more qualified doctors live in more affluent areas, and therefore work at more affluent hospitals. We cannot force people to be physicians, therefore we cannot 'entitle' medicine. However, so long as such services are available, we can provide a system that allows citizens to receive care without going bankrupt.

National Guard

With all the flooding and disasters in Texas and the midwest this month, I think it would be brilliant for one or more of the state governors to call up their national guard (most of whom are in Iraq and Afghanistan) and pressure the President to return them home. If he refused, they should take it immediately to the Supreme Court (since it would be the only court with jurisdiction I believe), where they would probably win, because in a states rights vs federal, the states have the right to the National presence of the National Guard.

Why no one should be surprised

The CDC has been aware of the potential outbreak of drug resistant tuberculosis in the United States for almost a decade. The public is less informed about it because the news agencies only cover it when there is (non-African) human drama involved. The 2005 movie The Constant Gardner had mdr and xdr TB heavily featured in its plotline.

First work-rant post

Last night I couldn't sleep well. My anxiety was getting to me, and rem escaped me for most of the night. That my roommates set off the fire alarm in the middle of the night, and that someone kept hitting the buzzer to our house at 1am didn't help in the slightest.

Today was possibly my worst day of work so far. Everything seemed to be going wrong. When I clocked in I learned I was not working with my favorite co-worker, as i had thought. That ticked me off. Then I couldn't find my hat, so I used the aforementioned person's. I was castigated for floating initially instead of immediately signing onto a register. When I work my instinct, aside from ringing, is to clean and stock. When there is disarray and abject filth, I want to clean and organize. Instead I rang. I still have trouble knowing when to yell for things and when to do them myself, and I thought a co-worker was angry with me for that, but I talked about it with him later and he clarified that he wasn't angry at all, his voice is simply loud and brusque by nature.

A customer came in and was incredibly snide. I wanted very badly to lay him out. Not wanting, however, to be fired and or charged with felony assault, I quietly counted to ten while he looked on continuing to make rude comments.

Later when there was a lull I cleaned. While cleaning a trash bag leaked and I had to mop. When I grabbed the mop, the mop bucket spilled everywhere, creating another mess to clean. When I finally mopped the trash spill, the mop head broke. When I went to count down my till, the cash drawer fell off the table and the coins went everywhere.
Other numerous small incidents are being excluded. It was my worst day so far.

Work aside, my roommate continues to irk me. Although I thought I had clarified my position on her attitude (I made it clear that I think she is fake and I don't appreciate it) she inquired about work last night. it wasn't the question, it was the tone of voice. She has no intonation, no inflection. It doesn't sound at all genuine. I told her that "I don't like those kind of 'how are you?' questions [from her] because they sound retail." I'm not certain she gets the point. She also never does dishes. Yes, the dish drama, naturally. She is the only one who doesn't do them. Daniel (my friend and her BF) seems to think I am unfairly picking on her. I'm simply trying to be honest.

Also, I came out at work. Again and again. It's always fun.

Tour de France/ Floyd Landis scandal explained

The Tour de France is the most famous bike race in the world. It starts in July, and lasts for about 25 days. Each day of racing is called a stage. There are usually 21 stages with a few rest days during the Tour. Each stage consists of a different course. Some stages are flat, and these favor the sprinters. Other stages are hilly, called mountain stages, and these favor the climbers. Only a climber can win the entire Tour. There are individual time trial stages (ITT), in which each rider takes a turn racing alone, trying to get the best time. There are also team time trials(TTT), in which five riders race together for the best overall time.

In 2006 the Tour field was open. Armstrong, or Le Boss as the French called him, had retired. Less than a week before the tour started, a doping scandal broke in Spain. A doctor's facilities were raided and a list of names were found suspected to contain a list of athletes the doctor had helped dope. Inexplicably, only the names of professional cyclists were immediately released, and among these were Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso, both favored to win the 2006 Tour de France. They, and others, were banned from competing pending further investigation

So now on the literal eve of the Tour, the playing field is really open. Perhaps even George Hincapie, Lance's longtime domestique (support rider) has a chance to take the Maillot Jaune (yellow jersey-overall leader)

Speaking of jersey, let me explain those. There are Four jerseys in the Tour de France, essentially trophies that can be won. They are as follows:

Maillot Jaune: Yellow jersey- overall winner
Maillot Vert: Green Jersey- best sprinter (also called points category)
Maillot Blanc: White jersey- best rider under the age of 25
Maillot a Pois Rouges : White jersey with red polka dots- King of the Mountains (best climber)





Pictured above: Damian Cunego, Floyd Landis, Robbie McEwen, Michael Rasmussen

The Maillot Jaune might technically hold any of the other jerseys (or theoretically all of them) but he will only wear the Maillot Jaune, and so the second best rider(s) in any category will wear the jersey for it.

Now, in 2006 Floyd Landis of Team Phonak (an American and former teammate of Lance) won. He held a decent lead until stage 16, when he 'bonked' (cycling for maxed out) Then, on stage 17, he essentially time trial-ed the entire time (riding as hard as he could right to the end) and won and impossible lead, securing the maillot jaune. It was later suspected that he injected artificial testosterone in order to manage his inhuman feat. This week he is defending his innocence.

to be continued

ad nauseam

If you're going to be political, be fucking political.

I'm sick of supposed activists stealing space from people who actually care. There is a social climate that exists primarily in the collegiate world, though it bleeds into the peripherals. It is a climate of activism, the idea that apathy should be an anathema, and that if you're not active, you are somehow morally bankrupt. A lot of people buy into this bullshit, and so instead of actually caring, they simply make the pretense. You know this because when pressed they generally have little more than a cursory understanding of any issues.

And for me that is the selling point. How can you truly care about something if you know little or nothing about it? How do you know you're correct, if you haven't done any research to support your opinions?

You might think that it goes without saying that every genuine political opinion, right or left, should be considered based on its individual merit, and not vilified or made an epithet.

I make this rant about three or four times a year, depending on the number of political-posers I encounter. I live with one right now, and so it crops up more often.

Giro D'Italia and DC team

The current GC (general classification) standings for the Discovery Channel team tells me they are most likely using the Giro as a warm up for Le Tour. George Hincapie is in 58th as of stage six, and that is the best DC position right now. Last year after Armstrong retired the team decided to take a break from focusing on Le Tour alone, and everyone essentially did their own thing (George the classics, Tom the Giro, etc) and the results were mediocre. This year the contract with DC is up in October, and they'll need a new sponsor. In order to get the best deal (i.e. the most cash) they'll need a better performance record this year. Hopefully that will mean a Maillot jaune for team leader Levi Leipheimer. Any bets on who the new sponsor will be? I'm thinking Nike right now, but we'll see. Generally the sponsors are companies that need the exposure, and Nike obviously doesn't.

mandatory minimum murders

We want to bring Democracy to Iraq?

An ethical judicial system is the FUCKING BACKBONE of a free society. It is THE difference between a despotic oligarchy and democratic-republic.

There are many countries in the world with rabidly corrupt judicial systems. Iraq is the only one that WE are currently occupying. The phrase fucking moral obligation comes immediately to mind.

Starbucks Plans to Invest in Burundi

This is one of those rare moments where I am proud of my employer. It is not in Starbucks' best economic interest attempt to find a stable, consistent supplier in Burundi. Although 35% of their land in arable, widespread farming on only moderately arable land and deforestation (mostly for fuel) has created severe risks for flooding and erosion. Burundi coffee will most likely be a specialty blend (think blended whisky), containing Burundi beans and a filler from elsewhere if the suppliers around Bujumbura fail to meet their quotas. That of course would not be the official line, but no one would really be able to taste the difference.

Burundi needs this economic boon. Starbucks' willingness to invest in an only moderately stable country like Burundi will encourage other large companies to invest as well. Barring labor exploitation (hiring children/not paying a fair or prevailing wage), this is what countries like Burundi (and Chad among others) need to increase their economic foothold in the world markets, and perhaps begin to more efficiently tackle their growing health crises- 6% of Burundi's have HIV/AIDS (compared to .6% in the US) and 68% live below the international poverty line.

Iraq Again. Why the Veto should never have been stamped.

Before deciding to veto HR 1591, a spending bill which included a clause requiring a deadline for the removal of US troops from Iraq soil, the President of the United States should have taken an early morning drive down to Arlington National Cemetery, and spent a few hours touring the bone white headstones. He should have then walked down the Vietnam Wall, and read as many names on the wall as there are words in the Constitution.

I did not support the invasion into Iraq. I do not believe our actions since the invasion have been even remotely prudent. I believe our expectations for the region were at best idealogical, and at worst fanciful and adolescent. Saddam Hussein, as with all despots, needed very much to be ousted. However, the action taken to achieve that end should have been a massive and multilateral endeavor (having Micronesia on your side does not count). The powers which opposed the invasion, namely Russia and France, were primarily those who stood to lose greatly if Hussein were no longer in control of Iraqi oil fields. The powers which supported invasion were those who stood to gain nothing so long as Hussein remained in power, namely the US and Britain, because he refused to make oil trade agreements with any of them. Whoever controls Iraqi oil controls the price of oil. Iraq has a democratically elected government, and our mistake is to continue to expect statesmanship, to hope that the Iraqi people will reconsider their elected body in favor of our Federalist and Whig equivalents. Iraq is a nothing if not a Muslim nation, and its politics necessarily reflect that. We sit across the pond refusing to accept that we are not alchemists, and that we cannot turn the political steel of Iraq into democratic gold. Hell, we cannot even accomplish that for ourselves.

Basso Out

Ivan Basso, champion of the 2006 Giro D'Italia and current Discovery Channel rider has been benched pending further investigation into alleged blood doping from the Operacion Puerto scandal. Apparently they have now decided to take all the frozen blood and test it against the DNA of suspected cyclists. Based on what I've read, Jan Ullrich has already been found guilty.

What pisses me off about Operacion Puerto is that only the names of pro cyclists have been released, even though other Olympic level athletes are involved. Why choose only now to test the DNA? This whole thing stinks worse than used chamois cream (she said ineloquently, her voice dripping with sardonic disdain).

MIT Dean Canned

MIT's Dean Marilee Jones got fired. She applied for low level position using academic credentials she didn't have, 28 years ago for a job that didn't require them, mostly likely to have a small upper hand on the other applicants. This kind of deception is innocuous, and the 'anonymous' tipster was probably a disgruntled applicant who knew something they shouldn't have, and felt scorned after not being admitted.

This is fucking retarded. It isn't as if precedent doesn't exist for this in Corporate America. Performance should trump this, especially 28 excellent years of it. She made MIT a harder, but cooler place to get into. We should be sorry to see her go.