What's everyone up to right now?

[Tea Earl Grey Hot]

Aren't all the meats sold on the supermarket somewhat "preserved"? I mean they have additives in it to increase their shelf life right? Or do you get it from the butcher?

Hm, I know so little about buying meat.

I don't know. I thought it was only meats like sandwich meat, hot dogs, pepperoni, sausage etc that had the nitrates that I was worried about. I didn't think it was in the raw beef and chicken I buy. I don't buy from a butcher.

[Angrboda]

Makes sense. Inhibiting spoilage is dangerous stuff.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_nitrite#Toxicity This is why, but I noticed now that it says Vitamin C added to all meat in the US inhibits the formation of carcinogens. I never heard that before so now I don't know what to think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vT1v4JpuOlo

[pineapplebunnybounce]

Took a break and then finished watching the other 2 episodes of Victorian Pharmacy, it's a great documentary I really highly recommend it. And when they were trying to extract salicylic acid from willow bark, they talked about how it was used as pain medication in childbirth and a whole bunch of religious people were against it, saying that it's against god's work (apparently women are supposed to suffer the pain of childbirth). Man, it's like there's always a bunch of religious people who hate progress.

TEGH, I really don't know, but I would assume they are preserved.

[KichigaiNeko]

Exhausted from "Spring Cleaning" so much more to do but the list IS getting smaller.

Right NOW? Into my third glass of wine and feeling very mellow.

[c172]

Insomnia. Plus, I have this stuck in my head:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUnS9NsOGAg

And I need to wake up early for the Nutcracker, which is in a really unfamiliar neck of town.

[pineapplebunnybounce]

Finished reading Genome by Matt Ridley, it's a science book which means it's outdated. But anyway, so it's pretty interesting, and I got to the last pages and he made a remark about climate change and equated politicians who are pushing for action to be done about climate change to the politicians who were pushing for eugenics. So I googled him and turns out he thinks that climate change is good for people!

And this is not just some writer who decided to write about the genome, he has a science education up to PhD and then became a journalists that continued to write about science and has a few books on evolution and such.

You just can never tell these days.

[Angrboda]

Sitting in the lobby of an apartment building complex, killing time until my critical thinking meetup club starts. It starts at 10:00, I requested that handicap transport get me here by 9:45, they picked me up at 10 to eight, and delivered me at 8:15. Yay government systems. I'm currently unable to book further rides because my bus got me home late the other day, making me miss my handicap ride, and leaving a balance on my account of negative four dollars. So I have to bus it to far suburbs, including coming back from tonight's presentation on sexuality on a bus which I'll either pick up at 10 or 11 tonight. In the dark. Yay.

And I'm still trying to scrounge together $7.50 for a pitcher of beer at tomorrow's Packers versus Vikings football game meetup tomorrow morning. I have a Disney princess night light I could return for $10, but a) I don't know if I have the time today, and b) I don't want to return it. (Mine!)



(ETA: Got my ride to the football game sorted. One less worry this weekend.)

[The Reality Salesman01]

Apo, if I could, I'd be glad to pick you up and buy you a beer. Critical Thinking club? That sounds interesting. How do the meetups normally playout? Is each meetup oriented around a specific topic?

---

Finished reading Genome by Matt Ridley, it's a science book which means it's outdated. But anyway, so it's pretty interesting, and I got to the last pages and he made a remark about climate change and equated politicians who are pushing for action to be done about climate change to the politicians who were pushing for eugenics. So I googled him and turns out he thinks that climate change is good for people!

And this is not just some writer who decided to write about the genome, he has a science education up to PhD and then became a journalists that continued to write about science and has a few books on evolution and such.

You just can never tell these days.

It speaks volumes about your character that you were able to make it through to the end. If I get a sense that the author of a book I'm reading is an idiot, it's hard for me to press on. Or were you saying it wasn't apparent until the end?

[Whateverist]

Finished reading Genome by Matt Ridley, it's a science book which means it's outdated. But anyway, so it's pretty interesting, and I got to the last pages and he made a remark about climate change and equated politicians who are pushing for action to be done about climate change to the politicians who were pushing for eugenics. So I googled him and turns out he thinks that climate change is good for people!

And this is not just some writer who decided to write about the genome, he has a science education up to PhD and then became a journalists that continued to write about science and has a few books on evolution and such.

You just can never tell these days.

No, you can't. There is no reason to suppose that doing science or understanding science will guide one to enlightened policy positions. Science provides a means but the ends they are put to are entirely subjective. This should really grab people's attention more than it does.

[Angrboda]

Apo, if I could, I'd be glad to pick you up and buy you a beer. Critical Thinking club? That sounds interesting. How do the meetups normally playout? Is each meetup oriented around a specific topic?

Basically. Meetup provides the website, and hosts your SIG's information, including booking and discussion board services, for an annual fee. I believe that Ivy is a meetup.com group owner / organizer; she could probably provide more detailed information.