Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Festivus, etc.

While I NO LONGER make any claims to be “religious,” practice any religious faith, or have anything to do with any kind of religion, faith, or the practice thereof, there are some things that, it seems to me, if there was a god/dess, such a being would be unlike us in practically every way… at least most of us.

Such a “god/goddess” or supreme being, would be concerned with our lives, the lives of humans on Earth, and with practically, or actually, every picayune thing associated with life here on this planet.

The relationship of humans to one another, to each other, the relationship of humans to the planet upon which they live, and upon which they rely as the very source of life itself, for food, for water, for clothing, for housing, for EVERYTHING — EVERY LITTLE THING — that pertains to life, including every minuscule joy, or momentary and passing pleasure, happiness, the taste of food, of smell, perfumes, aromas, all kinds of love, including sexual pleasures… ALL THAT would be a concern of a supreme/divine being, simply because that being loves those who live upon, and from, the Earth.

There is no god/goddess/supreme/diving being like that. At least there is none like that preached from most pulpits in churches, synagogues, mosques, temples and other houses of worship. And so, therefore, by virtue of that lack, that absence, I am led to conclude, that substantial lack, that fundamental absence of such a being — that again, being a being which is so full of love, and wisdom, that it cannot help but give, for giving is its very nature — that there is not such a one. There is no god/goddess/creator/divine being.

Yet, as a scientist, I must admit that we do not yet know, nor can prove, and so therefore, it is reasonable and rational to suppose that the possibility might exist, however small, that there might be such an one. But again, the likelihood is so minuscule, so microscopic, that its practically (for all practical purposes) non-existent. If it, the possibility, were but one grain of sand on the Earth, it would be so substantial, so life-changing. But those who have changed their lives have done so themselves, some with help of others, while others have done it alone. Jesus of Nazareth is even reputed to have told the renown parable story known widely as “The Prodigal Son” who “came to himself,” or as some versions put it, “finally came to his senses.” There is no indication that the son had any help in the matter.

But, it’s nice to think about the possibilities that a “supernatural,” even divine being exists, because again, if it were so, it would be a global game-changer. But, it’s also nice to think about eating all the ice cream, cake, pie, and other sweet treats that one could possibly want, without having any adverse side effect, like weight gain.

And so, this creature, this divine/supreme being… I think about a song which became popular some years ago

10 GOOD Things COVID-19 Will Cause.

Every period of change in human history has been preceded by chaos and upheaval.

COVID-19 novel coronavirus is exposing our weaknesses, our strengths, where changes are needed and must occur, and where we are performing well.

This illustration reveals ultrastructural morphology exhibited by the COVID-19 novel coronavirus. Note the spikes that adorn the outer surface of the virus, which impart the look of a corona surrounding the virion, when viewed electron microscopically. Image credit: CDC.

There will be positive outcomes, of course, one of which will be that it is no longer necessary for some people to assemble, or congregate in one place to work. It is being proven that work which can be performed remotely, i.e., from one’s residence, will be increasingly utilized, and that will be a net positive outcome in several ways.

Here’s a list of…

10 GOOD Things COVID-19 Will Cause.

• One, it will reduce going-to, and coming-from work-related commuting traffic volume.

• Two, it will increase employee satisfaction, insofar as one will not fight traffic in order to get to work, or home from work.

• Three, because fewer automobiles will be on the roadway, it will reduce automobile emissions, and therefore yield an environmentally net positive result.

• Four, because traffic will be reduced, navigation will be

Rethinking Addiction

Perhaps you’ve studied the 12-Step program, or perhaps you’ve practiced it. I have done both. Practicing it was not as a matter of addiction, or any such thing for myself, but instead, was a part of my personal spiritual growth and development.

Over the years, I’ve heard commentary, or news features which interviewed people with divergent perspectives on 12-Step programs, most notably which were skeptical of them, and were thoughtfully seeking answers themselves for the “whys and wherefores” of substance abuse, whether it’s long-term or temporary, and whether it is a genetic fault, or if it is a personality or character flaw in response to external or internal stressors. In other words, it’s the classic “Heredity vs Environment” argument.

As I have come to view it, there is validity for both sides, but I think the stronger case is made for a combination of environment and character flaw, instead of genetic defect.

—/—

“In his recent book, The Sober Truth: Debunking the Bad Science Behind 12-Step Programs and the Rehab Industry, Lance Dodes, a retired psychiatry professor from Harvard Medical School, looked at Alcoholics Anonymous’s retention rates along with studies on sobriety and rates of active involvement (attending meetings regularly and working the program) among AA members. Based on these data, he put AA’s actual success rate somewhere between 5 and 8 percent. That is just a rough estimate, but it’s the most precise one I’ve been able to find.”

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/04/the-irrationality-of-alcoholics-anonymous/386255/

The Irrationality of Alcoholics Anonymous
By Gabrielle Glaser, April 2015 Issue
Its faith-based 12-step program dominates treatment in the United States. But researchers have debunked central tenets of AA doctrine and found

Best & Worst States to Practice Nursing in 2014

To be certain, there’s plenty of misunderstanding about what exactly Nurses do, and who exactly Nurses are.

So, to clear the air, let’s set the record straight, and get a quick backgrounder before diving into the deep end.

In whatever state they choose to practice, all 50 states requires all Nurses to be licensed before they begin practice. Licensed Vocational Nurses (LNVs) are considered technicians, while Registered Nurses (RNs) are professionals.

The LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse), which in some states is called LVN (Licensed Vocational Nurse), most often has earned a certificate in less than a year, and has a significantly different educational track than a Registered Nurse (RN), even when the RN has an ADN (Associate Degree Nursing). The RN utilizes critical thinking skills, and the responsibilities the RN has are more complex, and therefore always supervisory in nature over the LVN/LPN. Because of the complexities and advances in healthcare, and patient care, LVNs are NOT permitted by license to do the same things as a RN. Pay, of course, comes along for the ride, and RNs are paid more.

Registered Nurses may begin practice by earning an Associate’s Degree Nursing (a two-year degree) typically at a Junior or Community College, or by earning a Bachelor of Science Nursing (BSN), a four-year degree most often earned from a University. Both the ADN & BSN must pass the NCLEX – the National Council Licensure Examination – before they can practice Registered Nursing.

Advanced Practice Nurses (APNs) are BSN-prepared RNs whom have obtained additional education and training, typically a Master of Science Nursing (MSN) in a specialty area of Nursing practice such as Gerontology (specialized care for the elderly), Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP), Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (ACNP), Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (PNP), Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA), etc. Frequently, following earning their MSNs, APNs have also obtained National Certification in their area of specialty, and many have prescriptive authority, depending upon the laws of the state in which they practice. Because they have more education, more experience, and more responsibility, they are also paid more. APNs may also continue education and training to the doctoral and post-doctoral levels.

In some states, APNs are allowed independent practice, and are not required by law to be supervised by a physician. Other states have laws that limit practice of APNs – even though they may be Board Certified – and require physicians to collaborate with them, or in some cases, to oversee their work. Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, Wyoming, and the District of Columbia all allow APNs to practice independently. Alabama is one such state which does not allow Board Certified Advanced Practice Nurses independent practice. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, “in at least 45 states, advanced practice nurses can prescribe medications, while 16 states have granted APNs authority to practice independently without physician collaboration or supervision.”

There’s an entirely different can of worms when comparing the practice of APNs and physicians. One of the ways they differ, are that

Which are the BEST & WORST States for Nursing Practice?

The nursing industry – like most segments of the economy – is in a state of significant transition under the weight of major overarching socioeconomic dynamics, from the aging U.S. population and the Affordable Care Act to the student loan crisis and concerns about the future of key entitlement programs. It’s therefore understandable if recent nursing school grads aren’t sure where to turn once they receive their diploma.

That concern is not unique among recent graduates, regardless of industry, but both the magnitude of the issue – the nursing industry is expected to grow far faster than the average occupation through 2022 – and the various day-to-day demands placed on nursing professionals – from overstaffing and mandatory overtime to unionization and allegations of systematic disrespect – are indeed profession-specific. With that in mind, WalletHub decided to take stock of the nursing industry in order to help nurses, particularly the newly minted of the bunch, lay down roots in areas that are conducive to both personal and professional success.

We compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia in terms of 15 key metrics that collectively speak to the job opportunities that exist for nurses in each market, how much competition there is for each position, differences in the workplace environment, and projections for the future. You can check out our findings as well as

Could this be the worst “dining” experience in America, or… even worse?

Does Eat Place, Greenville, Mississippi, front door

Torn between numerous thoughts, I struggled with the headline, and opening paragraph.

The headline “Public Food Establishment Not Fit For Human Consumption” would be adequate, I suppose, but I really like this lead as a headline much better: “I feel like I should’ve eaten a cucumber sandwich.”

That was actually a SMS which I’d sent a good friend of mine, who had mentioned that earlier in the day, he purchased some cucumbers at a local Farmer’s Market, was pondering how to prepare them, and was considering preparing cucumber sandwiches. Naturally, I gave him a fair amount of good-natured ribbing over the matter (suggesting perhaps that he should consider joining a ladies tea party group) particularly given that he has a penchant for sausages & “fair food,” sometimes aka “carnival food.”

How did I feel after that decidedly “ungastronomic” experience?
A picture is worth a thousand words.
Here is but one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nevertheless…

Back to the Greenville, Mississippi fiasco.

It may be best to characterize the experience with a few terms:

• Clip Joint

• Nasty

• Filthy

• Overpriced

• Nickel and Dime

• Avoid at All Costs

Having read the reviews on UrbanSpoon.com, I was somewhat prepared – with strong emphasis upon the minimal aspect.

The following video is

Everything old is new again: Researchers find ancient concrete technique superior to modern formula

To improve today’s concrete, do as the Romans did

By Sarah Yang, Media Relations | June 4, 2013

Chris Brandon of the ROMACONS project collects a sample of ancient Roman concrete drilled from a breakwater in Pozzuoli Bay, near Naples, Italy. The breakwater dates back to around 37 B.C. (D. Bartoli photo, courtesy of J.P. Oleson)

BERKELEY —In a quest to make concrete more durable and sustainable, an international team of geologists and engineers has found inspiration in the ancient Romans, whose massive concrete structures have withstood the elements for more than 2,000 years.Using the Advanced Light Source at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), a research team from the University of California, Berkeley, examined the fine-scale structure of Roman concrete. It described for the first time how the extraordinarily stable compound – calcium-aluminum-silicate-hydrate (C-A-S-H) – binds the material used to build some of the most enduring structures in Western civilization.

The discovery could help improve the durability of modern concrete, which within 50 years often shows signs of degradation, particularly in ocean environments.

Sample of ancient Roman maritime concrete from Pozzuoli Bay near Naples, Italy. Its diameter is 9 centimeters, and it is composed of mortar formulated from lime, volcanic ash and chunks of volcanic tuff. (Carol Hagen photo)

The manufacturing of Roman concrete also leaves a smaller carbon footprint than does its modern counterpart. The process for creating Portland cement, a key ingredient in modern concrete, requires

God is punishing Oklahoma with tornadoes.

Recently, Moore, OK was devastated by a mile-wide twister.
Serves ’em right.
God hates fags.
Our government should do nothing.
Everybody knows, this is an act of God.
God is punishing Oklahoma for their wickedness.
This is purely a religious matter, and government should get out of the way.
This has NOTHING to do with climate change.
Insurance companies should cancel & deny coverage.
They have that right.
Tough luck.
Suck it up.
Oh… wait.
It was.

The reader should understand, this is PURE SARCASM.

What is sarcasm?

Simply put, sarcasm is

DoD says Climate Change is National Security Risk

Here’s an item from our “Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Climate Change“ file.

While there continues to be much frothing about the mouth from conservative and libertarian types about climate change, there remains no doubt of its existence.

Some – mostly Republican & Libertarians – continue to assert that climate change is as much a hoax as the Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny or Great Pumpkin. However, to be certain, there is no doubt that change has occurred, and continues to occur. The reason(s) why, and causes of the same are subjects of valid scientific debate and research. But there is no disagreement that change has, and is occurring.

The United States Department of Defense,

Thoughts on Global Warming

Science, it is often claimed, takes a skeptical perspective on many issues. The accepted scientific “gold standard” in medical science is the double-blind placebo-controlled study. However, in other scientific endeavors, the ability to replicate the experiment and the achieve the same findings or results is the standard. That is to say, is the experiment able to be duplicated exactly by others, whom will also obtain similar results?

Toward that end, in science, the ability of researchers to duplicate their colleagues’ work is paramount to validation.

As the scientific process relates to the issue of Global Warming, there are numerous valid scientific questions about it. For example, if we acknowledge, and give the benefit of the doubt to those whom say that the warming trend the Earth is now experiencing is part of a cycle, what we do not know is how long such cycles have lasted, or will last.

There is little question that

Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs have Mercury!?!

Many folks don’t know it, but ALL Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) bulbs contain a small amount of mercury. And while using CFLs throughout the house can and does save a significant amount of money because they use less electricity and last longer, they are initially more costly than traditional incandescent bulbs. And yet, the overall cost difference is significant enough to warrant using CFLs over incandescents.

Make no mistake, mercury is a highly toxic element, though it