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The dangers of Alcohol

November 1st, 2010

On the eve of before Californians are set to go to the polls to vote on the history ballot initiative  that will decide whether or not adults over the age of 21 should legally be allowed to  consume and grow marijuana within the states borders, I came across this interesting article on webMD discussing the dangers of alcohol. The exact title of the article is “Experts: Alcohol more harmful than crack or heroin.”

As someone who recently become a teetotaler for health reasons, I found this study particularly interesting. It’s found that abusing alcohol is almost 3 times as harmful as cocaine or tobacco. It makes me wonder why we allow a drug as dangerous as alcohol to be consumed without judgement, yet other much less dangerous substances are demonized.

I was actually thinking about alcohol a lot this past weekend, as I ventured out to various halloween-related events and parties. Take Friday night, for example. I was at the Independent to see Lotus in San Francisco and during the set break a group of girls standing next to me were completely hammered. So much so, in fact, that one of the girls fell over and passed out on the floor. It took 3 of her friends to carry her out of the club and,  I assume, left with her to take her home. That girl was done for the night.. and not only that, she was probably so hung over the next day that she didn’t get to do much on Saturday either.

I’m not saying that I condone the use of Marijuana, however, I can’t say that I’ve ever heard of a similar experience from someone smoking weed. I just don’t quite understand why there is such a double-standard when it comes to the health of Americans. If the government was really concerned about the health of its citizens, it’d not only take a look at the alcohol consumption in this country, but also at the food that it allows its citizens to consume.

That said, I’ll be curious to see what happens tomorrow and will be excited to see how people vote on this groundbreaking piece of legislation.

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What I’ve been up to..

October 5th, 2009

It’s been quite a while since I’ve come ’round these parts. It’s been a hectic couple of months, for those of you that know me well.

The Design
The look of The Diatribe was driving me nuts. It didn’t feel right. I needed to revert it to a more blog-like style. I figured this was a little more appropriate. Considering the lack of authorship from my cohorts, I’ve also personalized it a little more for your truly. I’m not kicking anyone out of The Diatribe, just personalizing it, considering I have more than 3/4 of the posts on here. :)

Where am I
I moved up to the Big City a few months ago. It was partially this move that probably prompted my downfall, but I’ve taken up residence in the Noe Valley neighborhood of San Francisco — which is right about here (and no, that’s not my house):

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My Health
Over the past two months, I’ve been battling a terrible case of pancreatitis that was brought on most likely by a gallstone. I spent 2.5 weeks in the hospital (two of them, actually) and the rest of the time I’ve spent resting in bed and on the couch laying down. In my most recent doctor’s visit, I found out that I was no longer suffering symptoms caused from my pancreas, but it’s most likely that the gallstone that caused this little issue is now in some inappropriate place in my innards, causing the pain and discomfort.

I’ve been on a lovely feeding tube for the past 2+ months, and would die for some pizza, chicken wings or pad thai. Regardless, I have a procedure scheduled for this Wednesday to find that little bugger and then I should know more about my return to normalcy.

Conclusion
So, for the most part, I won’t be updating the Diatribe that regularly. It’s more of a place to put some thoughts or commentary that is longer than 140 characters. So, stay tuned.. but don’t expect a flood of new bathroom reading material to crop up here. We’ll take it in stride. :)

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Posted in California, Life

Excitement in the cats!

December 12th, 2008

Less than a block from our house here in Los Gatos, a train derailed causing a main road in Los Gatos/Campbell to be shut down. I missed the action, though Winchester is expected to be shut down through tomorrow morning. For full details of the story, visit the Los Gatos Observer.

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Smokey Says…

May 23rd, 2008

“Only you can prevent Forest Fires.”

Well, I wish someone was listening to Smokey when the yesterday morning. This is about 13 miles south of us, and as it stands now — we’re not in danger of the fires, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t know its there.

It started as a very small contained fire yesterday morning at 5am and spread so quickly that by 7:45 as I was getting ready for work — it was classified a full-on forest fire. Having never lived near forest fires before in my life — the past year or so has been interesting.

Last summer, there was an onslaught of fires which left the sky orange for several days. Last night, while walking little bogart, you could look to the south and see an orange glow coming off the mountains — nothing freaky, just looked like there was some football game or something with an orange hint.

This morning, though, was something different. You looked out the window and it looked like there was a mild fog everwhere — until you left the house and were greeted with the distinct smell of a campfire. From Los Gatos to Mountain View, you could see the smoke in the air and smell the fire. It was very strange.

In case you’re wondering where things are — here’s a map of the activity:


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Yuck

January 25th, 2008

I tell ya, we really lucked out last year. Between the time that we moved to California in October 2007 through October 2008, I believe it rained no more than 30 days during the entire year. And most of these days, it would rain for a few hours — then clear up.

This winter is much more “normal” — from what I’ve heard. It rained half the month of December and I think it’s been sunny maybe 7 or 8 days here in January. And when I say rain, I mean it rains — non stop, solid rain for the entire day.

It’s been raining like this for at least the last 3 days. I’m not too heartbroken.. 50 degree rain is better than 10 degree wind, snow and ice.. It’s also nice, too, because rainy days make the sunny days that much better.

The weather was starting to get a little boring — I’m glad we can mix it up a little out here.

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Wimps

December 12th, 2007

Man, we’ve really lost our thick skin as we head into the winter season. It’s been “cold” out here for about 3 weeks or so now, and we’re freezing. Now, let me clarify what I mean by cold. It’s currently about 49 degrees here — with a low tonight going down to 36.

50 Degrees — and we’re bundled up like ski bunnies. I guess it takes just about a year for your body to adjust to a new climate. Unfortunately, I’m headed back to Boston next week on business just in time to get hit with another storm hitting the Northeast.

I might survive for the three days that I’ll be visiting the Boston Google Office, but — the two weeks that I’ll be out there for holiday break — is going to be C-O-L-D. We’ll be excited to come back to the ‘balmy’ California weather. Heck, in Boston, 50 degrees is shorts weather after a cold winter.

I guess it’s all relative. Anyway, time for me to get my hat, scarf, gloves, and jacket — to take the dog out for a walk. BRRR.

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Posted in California, Default

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My First Shaker

October 30th, 2007

Holy Moly! We just experienced our first earthquake. It registered a 5.6 and was located about 15 miles East of where we live. The house was swaying — very surreal feeling — and Bogart didn’t even know what was going on.

I recall a story The Captain once told me about hearing pebbles and rocks “jumping” outside, after a small Quake in Boston. And I think that’s the best way to describe it — a low rumble, rocks and pebbles falling, the apartment shaking and swaying.

When I first saw the Quake reported, it was stated as about a 3, which concerned me.. “If this is a 3, what’s a 7?” But — after a few minutes, they adjusted the reading to a 5.6. Much more in-line with what I’d expect a “5 or Moderate” Earth Quake to feel like. Whew.

So, I guess we’re no longer Quake Virgins.

Update: According to the 11pm News, this was the biggest Quake to hit the Bay area since the Loma Prieta Quake of 1989. Additionally, the only thing to have shifted after more careful evaluation of the apartment was ‘Naughty Betty,’ who appeared to be 3″ skewed, but still hanging and perfectly safe.

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Posted in California