I don’t know if other bloggers out there have experienced anything like this, but I’ve experienced this a few times since starting this blog. Last night I started writing about an article that—or so I thought— was the perfect distillation of the message of the NCCIH and its desire to co-opt nonpharmacological treatments for pain as being “integrative,” “complementary” or “alternative.” As I sometimes do when I’m tired and, no matter how hard I try, can’t motivate myself to finish it before dozing off, I chugged through about half of what I saw as the ultimate length, meaning to get up in the morning a bit early to finish it off. It’s a method that’s served me well after long days at work.
So I got up in the wee hours of the morning, seemingly with plenty of time to finish it off. (1000 more words? A little more than an hour? No sweat! At least not when I thought I knew what I was going to write!)
But then I got a strange feeling. It was actually a feeling of déjà vu, or, as Yogi Berra so famously put it, déjà vu all over again. Something seemed very, very familiar about the article I was subjecting to a bit of my old characteristic Insolence. Then it hit me. I had already blogged about this article before. Damn. I wonder if any other blogger, longtime or otherwise, has run into this issue.
I blame the bone chilling temperatures in my neck of the woods for freezing Orac’s circuts.
This isn’t the first time this has happened to me, either, but usually I catch it before I get that far into the post, so that I have enough time to switch topics. Not this time. It looks like Orac needs to let Avon have a look at his tarial cell, but, damn, if that guy isn’t shifty.
Until tomorrow...I have to get ready for work now. I should have started 15 minutes ago!
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It happens to everyone at some point. I happened to me not long ago on a spaceflight forum. I was all prepared to write a post about something only to check and find that I had already written a post on the same subject.
Since computers like the cold, I'd say that your system needs a cold-reboot.. :-)
In all seriousness, I think we can survive you missing a day of insolence. But we expect something incredible tomorrow. :-)
You should try some Prevagen® | The #1 Selling Memory Supplement in Pharmacies....or relocate to Arizona :)
No, no, you've got to use Cebria®! It's got neuropeptides! Oddly, they don't seem to have ever done an IND on these neuropeptides.
But Prevagen has received more warning/sanction letters from the FDA the Cebria...
Yeah, FDA wouldn't do that unless Prevagen really works. They always suppress the good stuff. Like vitamin B-17.
https://www.leafly.com/news/politics/new-dea-rule-says-cbd-oil-really-t…
Yea, screw those jerky kids with Dravet's for which CBD is the only thing that works.
" I blame the bone chilling temperatures..."
Although I speak from the luxury of a coastal- i.e. more moderate- clime, I feel your pain, Orac and minions Narad, Calli, PGP, Shay, Eric and others.
Even then, I took out the much despised ( but useful) shearling coat and (( shudder)) hoodie which I wear when I'm not going to see anyone important or work-related and it's below freezing. I think I need a Uniqlo product ( lightweight jackets etc).
@ Chris Hickie:
Prevagen! Hah!
@Orac and Minions
In the spirit of “integrative,” “complementary” or “alternative" medicine I've written a review tilted, Rubber Elongation Factor and Natural Allergy-Oncology".
https://bioaccent.org/cancer-sciences/cancer-sciences25.pdf
Any respectful insolence would be greatly appreciated, my pseudo-friends!
Simply put, I'm just trying to put Orac out of his cancer surgery job so he can concentrate on avoiding the Déjà blogging syndrome. :-)
About the loon's article -
Sub Date: November 10, 2016, Acc Date: November 11, 2016, Pub Date: November 13, 2016.
That's some fast peer review, eh?
What did they charge you?
Johnny asks (#11),
What did they charge you?
MJD says,
What a terrible question, Johnny.
I made sure I crossed all my t's and dotted all my I's.
Maybe that's why it was such a fast review?
Hmmmm.... I thought peer review was more than looking for typos.
Anyway, I found their 'processing fee' chart - it looks like they charged you $650, eh? Well, it is Christmas, and sometime you have to get something you want for yourself. Good for you.
MJD #10: Rubber Elongation Factor? Is the person who isolated that named Ralph Dibny by any chance?
Orac: If Prevagen isn't your speed, maybe nootropics would do. I keep getting ads in my FB feed for Qualia. Sounds mind blowing!
They didn't even do that. Have you looked at it? The "review" is effectively a two-page paper.
^ Generously larded with what should be block quotations.
^^ And a W—dia entry in the references.
Not to mention the Wikipedia article isn't even cited correctly. There are numerous errors in his citations across the board.
But the biggest thing is, those quotes should have been paraphrased. Michael if you were my student, we'd be having a conversation about academic honesty and your future in my program. You'd have gotten a big fat zero on the assignment.
Vanity, thy name is MJD.
What a load of cobblers.
Hell and damnation, it's this responder's watchword.
That said, it only occurs on days ending in "y" in English.
Yeah, it happens. A lot.
@ MJD
Before paying for an Open Access journal, be sure that it is indexed in PubMed. You can put everything you want in the Internet for free.
After reading MJD's latest opus, I felt a desperate need for reality-based material so I sought out references to:
- Fancy Bear
- Cozy Bear
I suggest that minions do the same or similar.
Criticism about $, Wikipedia reference, a big fat zero for a grade, vanity, and indexing in PubMed.
No criticism on the mechanism-of-action to suppress tumor growth and metastasizing.
I'm am therefore confident that this paper, based on "complementary medicine", passes the Respectful Insolence peer review process and will not be on Orac's radar.
Someone I Work For ( Not Me) suggests that I should serve as a provider of frequent doses of reality in a topsy turvy world - thus, in light of my function here is an additional resource the minions might employ:
usairnet.com ( current temperature maps)
Michael,
You wanna go there?
Ok, let's go there.
When someone writes a paper that is little more than a collection of citations from the work of other people, it is clear they have little original thought of their own to contribute. This is why plagiarism is bad: 1) it is stealing the ideas of other people, and 2) it shows that the thief truly does not understand the topic he is discussing.
If you can't take the thoughts of another person and distill them down into one simple, elegantly written sentence (two at most) then you do not understand what that person said.
What you are trying to do is take the actual work of other people and twist it into supporting whatever your position is. What's lacking is any original thought of your own. You're essentially advocating "exploring" a weak theory based on your "review" of the research of other people in a poor attempt at meta-analysis that is fraught with confirmation bias: you assume this treatment is a good thing in your thesis statement, rather than ask a research question, which is what a real scientist would do.
Given that, any discussion of this topic as a potential treatment is a colossal waste of time using your article as a jumping off point. Maybe if someone provides a competent meta analysis that shows properly conducted studies that actually show a potential for a treatment we'd have something to talk about, but not from the dreck you've written.
And THAT sir, is why if this paper had been an assignment for me it would receive a grade of zero. It is poorly premised, poorly written, does not demonstrate an understanding of the topic, offers little original thought on the subject matter, and steals or distorts the ideas of the people you cite.
Happy now?
I'm curious to know what your actual field is. Your LinkedIn page seems to show some connection to chemistry, but that doesn't mean you are a chemist.
Seriously?
This paper of yours is simply a whole host of quotations, several taken out of context, and jammed together. There is no real attempt to review the literature and determine from that review what the main hypotheses are and what evidence currently supports them.
This paper is clearly the work of someone who has gone around trying to find evidence, any evidence no matter how bad, that supports a pre-existing conclusion.
It is junk science at its best. Given that, it can be dismissed without having to attend to every argument made after the fact.
I was much more succinct in my previous comment, but clearly you don't appreciate succinctness.
Panacea (#25) says,
"if this paper had been an assignment for me it would receive a grade of zero."
MJD says,
Most disheartening, I always thought assignments were for the students and not for their professor.
What a power play Sir Panacea.
If you feels so strongly against the review please consider writing to the BAOJ editor-in-chief in an effort to have it retracted.
I do agree that if this review had been an assignment from you (i.e., my professor) I would have distilled one simple, elegantly written sentence (two at most) so you could quickly understand it and give me 100 points.
Chris Preston writes (#26),
It is junk science at its best. Given that, it can be dismissed without having to attend to every argument made after the fact.
MJD says,
I respectfully disagree and submit that the prior art fails to teach or suggest the use of Rubber Elongation Factor as an anti-cancer agent.
@Orac,
What say you?
OK, even if I can get past things like having a summary, an abstract and an introduction (which repeats word-for-word the first sentence of the abstract), there are still some glaring holes in this paper.
1) Which specific cancer indications? Just glioma?
2) Why rubber/latex and not some other "natural allergen" like, say, bee venom?
3) The paper never defines a GTPase, what its mechanism of action is or which cells produce it.
4) If the IgE-cancer suppression link were real, shouldn't all people with allergies never get cancer?
5) And now the paper talks about cervical cancer, which had a very different cause than many other cancers. So is this for all cancers or now just glioma and cervical cancer?
6) Why would you choose to induce a serious latex allergy in a person who is being treated for cancer in a very high latex environment? Again, why not another allergen?
7) Where are the proposed studies? There is nothing specific in this paper.
8) The paper is poorly written with non-standard citation (naming papers in the text rather than just including the citation). It is very hard to read even for people experienced with technical papers.
And all of that is before check the citations, which I'm not going to do.
I don't think they will retract your paper unless your check bounces.
@JustaTech (#29),
Allow me to simplify the review using Panacea style writing as follows:
Natural Allergy Oncology - An immunotherapy method wherein Rubber Elongation Factor is used to reduce the expression of endogenous proteins that induce tumor growth and metastasizing.
In simplification, the method may provide IgE primed effector cells that cross react with said endogenous proteins based on structure homology.
@JustaTech,
I'm unable to provide specific details about this potential anti-cancer agent in fear of being placed in automatic moderation by Orac.
The instant free-speech has been wonderful and I'm reluctant to have it absconded.
@Orac,
What say you?
Johnny says (#30),
I don’t think they will retract your paper unless your check bounces.
MJD says,
What a terrible thing to write, Johnny.
I'd give everything I have to help cure cancer in patients.
Love you Amy and Lynn, we all miss you.
Michael,
Students write papers to learn how to think. Writing is thinking when you do it properly. The goal is to have the student explore the topic, demonstrate understanding of the topic, and draw conclusions from the sources cited that make sense. In a scientific paper for publication, which graduate students can and do write, more is required. A question has to be asked, evidence has to be offered, and the method has to be scientifically sound, the data correctly interpreted. We call this validity and reliability. You offer none of that. Instead you make a snake oil salesman's pitch for research dollars to be wasted on some kind of research that is never sufficiently quantified or explained. I'll spare you a repeat of JustaTech's analysis.
If the student is not able to meet those thresh holds (with a Rubric I provide them) and does not adhere to the accepted standards of academic integrity (codified in the student code of conduct) then the student will score poorly. I have and will continue to assign grades of zero to students who plagiarize their work because I explain to them what plagiarism is, why it is bad, how to avoid it, and I give them resources to help them avoid this most serious academic sin.
One, as I've explained, that you committed and shamelessly dance around.
I'll forgo writing to your editor. It's unlikely your paper will be cited by anyone who is not a community college student (such a citation, if done properly, is forgivable since they are just learning to discern between good and bad sources) or an off the wall loon.
What did I say about the latex and rubber thing, oh so long ago? This is your one and only warning. I wish I had noticed this earlier to nip it in the bud.
Peripherally linked, even if more OT:
FDA ban on Powdered Surgeon Gloves; Powdered patient examination gloves; Absorbable Powder for Surgeon’s Glove.
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/12/19/2016-30382/banned-…
I'm allergic to latex, Orac. Would you care to help me nip some treatment buds?
Panacea writes (#33),
I have and will continue to assign grades of zero to students who plagiarize their work because I explain to them what plagiarism is, why it is bad, how to avoid it, and I give them resources to help them avoid this most serious academic sin.
MJD says,
A definition of the word "sin" is as follows:
an immoral act considered to be a transgression against divine law.
Again, what a power play Sir Panacea.
In the real world (i.e., non-academic), plagiarism of the prior art is encouraged and rewarded with a patent based on novel and useful improvements therein.
So, if I were a humble Professor I'd teach real world circumstances and never attribute progress as a sin .
@Orac (#34),
Understood!
Really? Try making your own Star Wars spinoff, enjoy losing your shirt in court. Try patenting an already patented device, enjoy losing your shirt in court - assuming that the patent office doesn't simply reject the patent.
What you described is theft of intellectual property. It's actually a felony and the last time I checked, felonious behavior is rewarded - with time in prison, fines and restitution.
As you invented, out of whole cloth, a bald faced lie about the laws of this and every other civilized nation on the face of the earth, how can you be trusted to present anything as fact?
Maybe now is a good time to discuss the unreasonable standards born from an antiquated and divine academic system.
The word "plagiarism" should be replaced with the word "prior art" so students aren't guilted into learned helplessness.
The word “plagiarism” should be replaced with the word “prior art” so students aren’t guilted into learned helplessness.
What a wonderful idea! Let's ignore intellectual property, encourage the plagiarized works of others as one's own work and while we're at it, I can go and take your television set from your living room and put it into mine.
After all, theft is OK in your distorted view of reality.
You can't be trusted with even the most basic principles of a civilized society and lie outright about the law.
Go away.
It's not plagiarism if it's clearly marked as a quotation. The slovenliness here is of a different nature.
@ MJD
It was not a criticism of your paper. I did not try to evaluate its merits. I was simply not interested and I did not read it. If it were indexed in PubMed, I wouldn't have read it either. I just wanted to point out that you didn't have to pay for your paper.
Don't be silly MJD, prior art is a term used for patents, not for scientific papers. Scientific papers are built on prior art. Out of left field hypothesis with no data to support them - like your silly latex ideas - are most likely to be crank ideas.
Yours even more so than most, because it is entirely premised on a concept you call natural allergy therapy, which has exactly zero evidence to support efficacy.
No-one has proposed the use of Rubber Elongation Factor as an anti-cancer agent, because there is no evidence of any sort to support such a proposal.
There is one positive out of your 'review'. I was in need of a good laugh.
@Chris Preston, to be pedantic, "prior art" exists both in patent *and* in copyright law.
Making it doubly damned.
The remainder is drivel. To the point where I wonder if dude liberally pours moron milk upon his triple helping of stupid flakes in the morning.*
*Note that I've refrained for several days from engaging this scion of village idiots.
I'm still angry over a burglary, firearm theft, electronic theft, etc. Championing idiocy and theft, yeah, dud set me off.
"Dud" being intentional, once he went afoul the law. Dorit, if you're about, please do join in to run the dud into the ground to harmless depths.
I have never doubted you are sincere. But that doesn't mean that I think that your ideas have any merit, or that your giving money to some random web site to have them 'published' isn't a waste.
Our host has made it clear that you are not allowed to discuss your latex fetish, and it would be unsportsmanlike to try to engage you on that topic. But your poor business sense is fair game.
Narad, I don't agree about the over quoting not being plagiarism.
When your work is little more than a connection of long quotes, it is clear the work is not original or your own and you are substituting the thoughts and ideas of others but presenting them as your own work. That's the definition of plagiarism, and it's how Michael writes his paper, especially towards the end which is a string of long quotations. He uses the quotations of other authors to make his argument for him (taking their words out of context), rather than make his own argument and support it with evidence. Thus, even though they are cited, I still call this plagiarism, and I definitely call it academic dishonesty.
Ah, fooey. Darned autofill. My handle went in wrong.
Wzrd1 says (#44),
“prior art” exists both in patent *and* in copyright law.
Making it doubly damned.
MJD says,
Patents and trademarks are a foundation of business in the medical industry.
Wzrd1 may need to read my soon to be published book on patents and autism for more information.
https://www.novapublishers.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=602…
How much is that costing you?
Johnny asks (#49),
How much is that costing you?
MJD says,
About 25 years of patent experience and >1,000 hours to study and summarize the amazing patents directed at therapeutic interventions for autism spectrum disorders.
Has anyone noticed that I'm the only person who uses an authentic photo in this discussion?
Why is that?
Are the minions to cowardly to show their faces?
In my opinion, a face-less responses is less credible.
@Orac,
Maybe it's time for you to stop hiding and show yourself?
1. I use my face in my photo, MJD.
2. Unless you have a profile, you are assigned a picture by the system.
3. Orac's real name is widely known. A Google search on it will turn up pictures of what he looks like in real life.
How much money are they charging to publish your book?
Or maybe smart enough to practice good on-line security (says the guy who posts his IP Address *wink* *wink* *nudge* *nudge*)
If you can't find a picture of our host in two mouse clicks from this page, you are too stupid to use the internet.
Yes, because Orac's identity and visage are clearly well disguised.
Mine is black and white, as it should be: http://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/society/images/newfoundland-dog.jpg
Civics lesson for you, Michael.
Use of pseudonyms in political writing has a long and respectable history. See the Federalist Papers.
Attack the argument, not an internet handle.
Julian Frost says (#52),
Unless you have a profile, you are assigned a picture by the system.
MJD says,
Make a profile with your photo.
Orac has the intestinal fortitude to place loyal members in instant moderation but won't show his face or use his real name. That's the dark side of Respectful Insolence the Science blog.
@ Panacea (#55),
Orac uses a title and picture that indicates he's Homer Simpson.
Is that plagiarism?
I haven't, because I block Gravatar as an irritating waste of real estate. That crap also follows your comments on any Gravatar-enabled site even if you don't use it, since it gets an unsalted MD5 hash of the E-mail address unless implemented properly (i.e., probably not on SB). That's server-side, though.
^ Um, I meant that it probably isn't implemented with security in mind here; that parenthetical was misplaced or something.
Johnny:
In the world of predatory / vanity publishing there are levels of badness (just as in Inferno), and BioAccent is pretty damn near the bottom. Partly because the couple running it chose a name that sounds like a laundry-powder additive, and a logo that was inspired by 1950s designs for space station. But mainly because they spam for submissions by telling possible contributors of their lack of recognition, their consequent lack of standards, and their need for charitable donations.
MJD could find a less contemptible outlet for his work.
Bonus spam from the Bio Accent grifters. Apparently I was personally holding back the emergence of an issue of their Neurology journal-shaped dumpster by my failure to send them an article (and $650), so my year has not been entirely wasted.
"I don’t think they will retract your paper unless your check bounces."
Nonsense. The paper doesn't get published until after the check clears.
So I get to wondering just where MJD's money went. So I Google BAOJ's mailing address. Boy, howdy, about 10 pages of companies use that address.
I checked with DE Division of Corporations, and found that INC.Plan(USA) is the registered agent for BIO ACCENT GROUP LLC. Who is INC.Plan(USA)? (bolding mine)
"Our firm is headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware. We provide all aspects of incorporating services, including the initial state filing, ongoing maintenance for the corporation, service as Registered Agent and mail forwarding. Our objective is to offer efficient and helpful service at the lowest possible cost. Our large (and growing) client base is mostly built on referrals .This clearly reflects the high level of satisfaction that our customers enjoy."
Their mailing address next door (more or less) to BAOJ's "office".
So that's a dead end.
whois tells me the registrant, admin, and tech contacts for bioaccent{dot}org are the same -
Registrant Name: ravishankar kuppala
Registrant Organization:
Registrant Street: pragathinagar
Registrant City: hyderabad
Registrant State/Province: Andhra Pradesh
Registrant Postal Code: 500072
Registrant Country: IN
Googling "ravishankar kuppala, hyderabad india" turned up this -
https://in.linkedin.com/in/ravishankar-kuppala-2015b136
but I suspect he's just a webmaster for hire.
So it looks like to money went to India, but I don't know how to track it from there.
I'm not so sure I agree.
As I noted above, Sub Date: November 10, 2016, Acc Date: November 11, 2016, Pub Date: November 13, 2016.
12 and 13 November is the weekend, so we have 2 business days between submission and publication. But even if it was 4 full business days, that's pretty fast for an international check to clear.
I guess they could have insisted on PayPal or maybe gift certificate numbers (I've heard several IRS scammers do that), in which case, you would be right.
Hey, MJD - how did you pay? What were your payment options?
Herr dokter bimler writes (#60),
MJD could find a less contemptible outlet for his work.
MJD says,
I appreciate your confidence in me and I think we're kindred spirits. :-)
@Wzrd1 (#44),
Who is this Dorit person you we're asking for guidance?
Or were you just snacking on Doritos and had a geriatric moment?
I'm glad that you've made acquaintance with Dorit.
As for geriatric moments, considering our mutual ages, it'd be more probable that you'd have one than I.
Googling “ravishankar kuppala, hyderabad india” turned up this –
https://in.linkedin.com/in/ravishankar-kuppala-2015b136
but I suspect he’s just a webmaster for hire.
Possibly a different guy. There's a Kuruma Narasimha Raju who used to boast of a Bio-Accent connection in his LinkedIn entry (since deleted), and he's listed as director of three small Hyderabad IT companies -- Endos Info, Isoy Info and Waandreams Pixelflow. Except these appear to be no more than shells for selling fake job-experience certificates, and he was arrested a year ago.
The other director of Endos and Isoy and Waandreams is one Ravishankar Kuppala. So I'm happy to believe that the two are also running Bio Accent as another income stream.
Partial retraction of post #64 by MJD
My apologies Dorit, I didn't know who Wzrd1 was talking about in post #44.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorit_Rubinstein_Reiss
Greeting Dorit, I hope we can start a communication.
@ Panacea
@ Chris Preston
@ Johnny
@ JustaTech
@ herr doctor bimler
@ rs
@ Delphine
@ Orac
@ Wrzd1
@ Narad
@ Daniel Corcos
( hope I didn't miss anyone)
Thank you so much for providing doses of reality in a topsy turvy world whilst I was away in pursuit of ... well, good stuff
At any rate,...
In other news:
AoA is announcing an online chat by fathers of autistic teenage sons who also happen to be published authors in Skyhorse's rapidly expanding universe of woo. ( Conte, Barry and Grundvig)
Sunday at 9pm US Time
I'm sure it will provide insights into science that rival MJD's
In other news
Mike Adams ostentatiously illustrates his great skill at creating parody sci-fi involving mature thematic material.
( Natural News)
See if you can appreciate his art without a large drink such a Negroni, a Cosmopolitan or a Black Russian.
I can't.
Denice Walter writes (#68),
( hope I didn’t miss anyone)
MJD says,
Yes, DENICE WALTER
You made no attempt to enter the civilized/decent discussion of a recent cancer paper that I published but instead, you delivered a left handed compliment on my insights into science.
Q. Should I have used the word tumuor instead of the word tumor in the paper.
Please advise...
Q. Should I have used the word tumuor instead of the word tumor in the paper.
Please advise…
I think you should have used Timor.
Still trying to decide on an appropriate avatar. I was thinking of this one, when we were all so happy, at Castle Anthrax. https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/3d/aa/b4/3daab4d5005c39637126…
Dear MJD,
I am sorry having not to have paid attention to your published paper, but I have found this retraction more funny:
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/873199
Michael J. Dochniak
Dude, I’m the dumb**s who, five years ago, parsed the threads where you repeatedly posted promos for your book to the point that your comments were a full one third of those posted, on multiple posts. I may still have the notepads with the hashmarks (blank usable pages after that).
Does that make you a “loyal member” or a - um, searching for good euphemism, nope, didn’t find one – PIA?
This comment is an FYI for any relatively new readers who don’t know MJD’s history here.
@David Corcos (#72),
Thank you, interesting read about plagiarism.
@Chemomo,
Orac should place all of these minions into the RI hall of fame based on the terrible things they said about myself and the well received book about a proposed etiology for autism spectrum disorders..
Prometheus, Lilday,Denice Walter, Science Mom,Chris,MjDBot, Lawrence, Bill S. Hit, LW, Justin, Luna_the _cat, Beam up, Anataeus Feldspar, Mathew Cline, When Fun Gets Borin (troll), Mrs. Woo, Vicki, Reuben, Sauceress, Orac (The One), Gray Falcon, Todd W., and Chemomo.
It's ironic, though, that not one minion was listed as an inventor in my latest book titled, Autism Patents and Beyond.
https://www.novapublishers.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=602…
I don't tear down, I prefer to build up. - Andre Leon Talley
@ MJD
Fascinating, because the guy has received a "stern rebuke" for having stolen the paper. Maybe he would have been fired if he had not published.
You may be right, Herr Doktor.
On reflection, I was so surprised that “ravishankar kuppala, hyderabad india” (which looks like my keyboard threw-up (yeah, cultural bias, I haz it)) got a hit, and that the first hit was an actual person who looked as if he had the skills to manage such a simple site, that it didn't cross my mind that there might be two (or more) of them.
Darn, I didn't make MJD's enemies list. I'll just have to try harder.
Totally OT, but seems like the thread for it:. I got a translation deal for a few books at a good rate per page. Good news for once!
@ JP:
Great news.
I am also raking in the... I mean, benefitting financially from the kindness of the literary set.
I thought about your past proposal to try the cook's training ( where they asked for full time or suchlike) and perhaps there is an alternate solution: look to community college or other training where you can take a course at a time.
@Denice:
We'll see. This will be enough to keep me busy for the winter and beyond, and I won't have to learn to drive in the snow and ice even. And the money, of course, is welcome.
Many thanks to my friend Sara for sending me the job...
@ Johnny:
I have a feeling that - in one way of another- you and most of Orac's elite ( and elitist) minions make ALL sorts of enemies lists.
But seriously, MJD falls victim to the woo-meister's fallacy-
i.e., just because you can THINK of a connection between chemicals, nutrients or brain structures **
DOESN"T MEAN THAT ONE EXISTS.
You can think of things that don't exist or never have been in existence and / or never will exist.
Thinking is not the same as BEING.
** or for false news prevaricators/ Natural News writers, Jake- any thought about connections between people, parties or events doesn't prove a relationship between the same elements.
And YES, I know that Freud said that psychological reality is what matters but I don't think that he meant exactly the same thing.
Teresa Conrick's or the Professor's ( TMR) speculations are more in the category of wishful thinking. Similarly, MJD's.
Season's greetings, all. Merry winter solstice deflorination festival.
http://i.imgur.com/wYahuwm.gifv
Gilbert @ 82, I far prefer Solstice Fornication Festival.
At least the crime rate drops and people are a bit nicer to each other.
Well, save to MJD, who earns his share of nastiness due to his pure, distilled drivel.*
*And I'm not listed as an autism device inventor either, although I was listed on some weapons system components.
Do I make the list? I'm already on the antivaxers hit list, albeit under my real name.
@ Johnny #76 I know what you mean. I guess MJD lost interest when I had said my piece and shut up (something he could learn to do).
Although I was tempted to jump back in when he asked if he "should have used tumor or tumuor" in his (joke of a) paper.
I resisted the temptation to point out that he has misspelled the British spelling of the word (tumour), and that since he's based in the United States and not the UK or anywhere in the Commonwealth he should always use American Standard Spelling.
But Delphine's comeback was too good to beat, so I passed on it. Well, maybe now that I've addressed it I can be on his enemies list! ;)
@JP Congratulations! Sounds like a great gig.
JP, Congrats! And please do consider learning to drive in adverse conditions, but in a low-stress, safe environment? (Snow/ice aren't that different from water, so maybe in the spring on a skid pan?)
The thing is that I don't know how to drive at all. Well, technically I know a little bit, I did take driver's ed, but I moved away for college before managing to get my license and have relied on public transit for the past 11 years. None of that out here, though.
So I plan to put off (re?) learning to drive until the weather is a little more friendly.
JP, that's very smart. And actually that puts you ahead of a distressingly large number of drivers.
I've gotten the impression (though I could be wrong) that the schools and classes for adults learning to drive are better than the ones for teenagers. Hopefully!
I'll probably be relying on the school of various male relatives who have offered to teach me. They're all very good drivers and familiar with the local conditions.
Oddly enough, they don't offer driver's ed in schools around here anymore, I found out. Teenagers have to sign up for private schools, the nearest of which is a half hour's drive away in Stevenson, WA.
@ JP,
Congrats!
You've always been so nice to me and the minions.
As a special thank you, I'd like to send you a signed copy of my new book as a gift.
https://www.novapublishers.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=602…
Send me an e-mail and I'll ship it to you ASAP.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, JP!
I got a translation deal for a few books at a good rate per page.
Congratulations! Good Mithrasmas news.
Michael J. Dochniak @ 74, for cryin’ out loud!
Could you do us the courtesy of spelling our ‘nyms correctly?
D'oh!
Add backslash at end of "RI Hall of Fame."
The 10-yo could probably remember to type that in, too.
My behavior is hereditary.
Thanks for the offer, but I probably wouldn't make it through it. If you want to send some wool socks or fleece-lined leggings, though, I wouldn't say no. ;-)
Thanks hdb and everybody else for the congratulations! It's the best Chrismukkah present I could have hoped for. Thanks, Sara!
Alpaca wool socks are super snuggy fuzzy comfy and warm.
@ Wzrd1:
Oh crap!
The Solstice Fornication Festival is tomorrow and
I DON'T HAVE A THING TO WEAR!
Oh, wait...
It'll be alright.
@ JP:
No matter what, you should know how to drive.
Everyone should know how to drive.
It is a question of freedom, personal power and liberation in world of frighteningly great distances and major obstacles.
There are so many times when my own driving helped to get a seriously ill person medical care or assisted an older person who needed food, meds or other necessities- even in floods and storms.
On many occasions, driving enabled me to escape nasty social situations and people I dislike GREATLY or increased my safety or wellbeing.
Driving can transport you easily to educational, business or romantic opportunities
Then there is the pure joy of unimpeded motion on a smooth highway, testing an automobile's action at high speed.
Or seeing a rocky coastline unfurl before my eyes in some g0dforsaken wilderness in the North Atlantic or Pacific
Or imagine driving a car wearing very cool clothes ( but no long scarves *a la* Isadora Duncan. You wouldn't want that).
Despite all of these MARVELS, very little awful has happened to me because I drove a car..
@ JP:
I just wiki'ed that town.
It's rural but not so far from Portland(ia).
Driving is important for people who live in the outback and want to escape it sometimes.
I have to agree, driving is an indispensable skill and being able to drive somewhere can indeed save one's life.
Despite having difficulty walking, my wife still drives on occasion. This, despite having no known form of sense of direction. ;)
It gives one a feeling of control, when life otherwise may be out of control.
@Denice:
Yeah, we're about an hour from Portland. A car and a license would definitely be nice to have.
There is a train, though. I've thought about taking it into Portland for a day and a night it so, just for the sake of getting out...
Gilbert @ 96: "Alpaca wool socks are super snuggy fuzzy comfy and warm." And a right nightmare to knit if you don't have an alpaca-specific pattern.
Me and alpaca yarn have a thing. It feels so nice, but it's so darn frustrating. Gauge is just nuts with alpaca; all the things that make it warm and soft also act like velcro and are just weird.
It might be irrational, but I'm sort of terrified of driving. I've known multiple people who died in accidents. My biggest fear is hitting a pedestrian...
Well, I've always said, if you don't like my driving, stay off of the sidewalk.
The closest I ever came to hitting a pedestrian was when a three year old child (or thereabouts) walked in front of the van I was driving. I barely saw the top of his head over the hood as he crossed the street from his mother's car.
I stopped a foot or so from him, as it was a small Philadelphia street and hence, I was driving quite slowly.
My only accident in the past 20 years was in Qatar, when a road rage enraged Arab decided to try to force my car into a tractor trailer. Nissan Sunny vs Toyota Land Cruiser. My Sunny won, as he left plenty of rubber from his front tire on my driver's door and I did a PIT maneuver on him, after cutting the wheel hard enough to push him back into his lane and he returned for more.
When the police arrived (all accidents, even a dented rim require a police report), I played dumb, pretending to not understand Arabic and nearly broke into open laughter as the offending driver tried to tell the officer that I had hit him. The officer asked, in a lightly outraged voice how so much of his tire rubber was all in one spot on my driver's door.
He marked the "accident" as the other driver's fault. I'm sure that didn't go over well with his employer, as it was a company vehicle.
Haven't even came close to having an accident other than that incident, which was around 8 years ago.
JP: Oh man, I too fear the pedestrians. Mostly because the ones in Seattle dress like ninjas and forget that the cars can't see them. I've actually adjusted my commute to routes where the pedestrians and cyclists go with my flow of traffic, not across it, and where there are fewer: intersections, pedestrians, cyclists.
So far, so good.
I worry more about driving at night. Glare's becoming an issue, due to a maturing cataract in one eye and posterior lens capsule opacification.
Doctor's appointment for that is Friday.
Stupid pedestrians:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OY9gvIre4Zk
JP, watch Death Race 2000.
I'm kind of fond of Duel. The ABC Movie of the Week cranked out some memorable stuff.
My biggest fear is hitting a pedestrian…
I am too easily distracted to ever learn to OH LOOK A SQUIRREL
I remember watching that movie on TV some Sunday afternoon as a kid. I missed the beginning so I was very confused, but reading the wiki on it there doesn't really seem to be any background. Mostly it creeped me out.
@ JP:
Right. But you will overcome your fears of hitting people when, after driving for a while, you observe how well you do and DON'T hit anything at all. But as JustaTech says, watch out for the ninjas and fashionistas all in black.
You can do it. Seriously.
JP, also, trains can be highly entertaining especially if they have a café car. Sometimes you meet interesting and odd people: I once met French-speaking traditional Irish musicians who had fiddles. Go figure ( it was mid-March).
Two routes I have used in the past ten years have great and expansive views of a bay or the Sound so I'd sit there, drinking tea and looking at scenery whilst others stare into their laptops/ other tech. I don't often bring one.
Oh, I've been a passenger on the train between Portland and my hometown many a time, mainly when I was living in Portland. It passes through the west end of the Columbia River Gorge, and the scenery is indeed breathtaking. They have a car with glass windows that take up the whole sides of the car that's great to drink coffee and watch the scenery from.